Review: Il Premio brings a winning combination of steaks and classic Italian pasta to Old Fourth Ward
Mar 19, 2025
Atlanta is a steakhouse town. It has plenty of them—between 100 and 150, depending on how you define steakhouses and Atlanta. As a result, such restaurants find differentiating themselves challenging, and newcomer Il Premio faces that obstacle head-on. Few steakhouses are near its location at the
newly minted Forth Hotel in the Old Fourth Ward near Ponce City Market, so it has an immediate edge.
Il Premio, whose name translates to “prize,” draws its inspiration from the Palio di Siena, Italy’s most famous horse race in the Tuscan town of Siena. The walls of the ground-floor restaurant, covered in thoughtfully curated equestrian-themed art, and the rich fabrics, such as mustard velvet seating, make the space look like a swanky Italian polo club. Its menu is also Italian-leaning, and you can expect to find sections for crudi and secondi. Chef John Adamson previously led kitchens at the health-forward True Food Kitchen and steakhouses Marcel and American Cut (the latter closed in 2022).
“We are trying to differentiate,” Adamson said over the phone. “A lot of the steakhouses are not super seasonal or driven by the produce aspect of it, so that’s something that we’re trying to incorporate, because what do you think about Italian food? Everything is seasonal and hyperlocal.”
Adamson also took inspiration from Italy when he designed the menu sections. “It was hard incorporating all of these steakhouse aspects with Italian because we still wanted an amazing pasta program,” the chef said. “I didn’t want to be a seafood tower–type steakhouse. If you eat the seafood tower, you’re probably not gonna have room to enjoy the pasta. Everything is kind of built in a way that you can enjoy something from every section.”
So, instead of a chilled seafood tower, Adamson features crudi: fresh starters centered around raw fish. One of my favorites was a swirl of impeccable Mediterranean sea bass decorated with cucumber slices, a pop of brightness from Finger Lime pearls (the citrus fruit has an interior like caviar), and a whisper of brine from its real caviar crown.
The beef tartare is one of the most elegant steak tartare preparations I’ve recently encountered. Its combination of mustard dressing and the umami of black (aged) garlic is a powerhouse on the palate, and its precious plating resembling a flower was almost too pretty to break apart.
The two salads on the menu are a fresh and vibrant stop before indulging in the pasta and meat. My one criticism is that the amount of radicchio in the restaurant’s namesake salad needed tempering as its bitterness overwhelmed the balance on the plate. The same could be said for sides that showed promise but had far too many flavors and ingredients that overwhelmed my taste buds or didn’t come together, such as the eggplant, which felt too rustic and sloppy. Sides, notably, are the Achilles’ heel for many Atlanta steakhouses. I advise any steakhouse to favor simplicity over innovation and use fewer ingredients. There is nothing wrong with a well-executed baked potato or sauteed spinach.
Serve it forth, starting with Wagyu beef tartare and a bit of bread, then a spread of bistecca alla Fiorentina, pastas, and broccolini.Photograph by Martha Williams
As the restaurant is Italian-inspired, the pasta program features handmade versions of classic dishes. Adamson’s takes on tagliolini with ragu Bolognese and bucatini all’Amatriciana are faultless in execution, perfectly balancing indulgence and opulence. The pasta dishes, flavorful and rich, are a nice course to share on the way to the main event: the steak.
The menu has a delicious filet and New York strip, and many show-off orders. For larger parties, one such showstopper is the 41-ounce bistecca alla Fiorentina, a porterhouse steak that became popular in Florence. It is one of the most expensive cuts on the menu and one of the best to eat. The bone-in steak was cooked to our specified medium rare, presented beautifully sliced on a cutting board, and imbued with smokiness.
The open kitchen, with its impressive wood-fired grill and adjustable grates, is a focal point. This grill provides the intense flavors and char that give the steaks at Il Premio their signature taste. It’s also fun to watch the chefs and cooks at work.
The bomboloni, an Italian-style doughnut filled with a vanilla bean Chantilly cream, is a perfect finish to the meal. Warm and light, it is not overly sweet but provides the tiniest sweet indulgence after a rich meal. Get to the restaurant early to drink at the hotel’s rooftop terrace, Moonlight, which has jaw-dropping, expansive views of Atlanta.
Or you can cozy up in the restaurant’s bar, where rich tapestries and fabrics make for a comforting space. I was especially enchanted with the Il Premio martini service, which arrives with the remainder of the olive oil–washed (infused) Belvedere vodka, Fords gin, Acqua Di Cedro, and dry vermouth in a small, chilled sidecar glass.
What makes me want to return to Il Premio, aside from its food quality, is the service. My first visit of many to the restaurant was accidental when I decided to slip in after a nearby event where they served more booze than food. Even though it was Il Premio’s opening night, the hospitality was some of the best I have experienced in Atlanta in 20 years. Service is the first thing I mention whenever I talk about the restaurant.
Adamson and the higher-ups took a trip to New York last April for inspiration. “I probably ate at 20 restaurants in three days. It was like breakfast, lunch, second lunch, dinner, second dinner,” Adamson said. “We compiled notes on 20 of those restaurants, and then we went around the city here and did the same.” In other words, they did their research, and that also extends to pricing.
For a high-priced steakhouse, Il Premio’s pricing is competitive. Adamson says they audited local steakhouse prices before opening and chose prices to provide the best value while maintaining quality. You can ball out if you want to, as there are three types of caviar on the menu. But it’s also easy to share a few courses here and be satiated without taking out a second mortgage. I cannot always say this for the rest of the steakhouses in this town. Il Premio offers a distinct twist from the American or French-leaning steakhouses we’ve come to know and love. It’s a prize, indeed.
This article appears in our March 2025 issue.
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