We hadn’t been to The Palms at Hamilton (6925 Shallowford Road) since its previous incarnation – I believe it was Ocean Avenue. After the “not so good” experiences there, we had hesitated to go back. We are glad we finally decided to pay them a visit.

For starters, it looks much nicer inside than previously. The people working there were also a lot friendlier. We only had a couple of very minor issues.

The menu did have a listing of appetizers, but we decided to forego and wait for the entrees. I ordered water to drink and Wayne ordered a diet coke. It didn’t take long for water to be delivered, but no coke was appearing. After the waiter made a few trips passed our table, Wayne stopped him and asked about the coke. It seemed he had forgotten.

When he returned with the coke, he was ready to take our orders. There were so many tempting items on the menu, it really was difficult to narrow it down. We both decided to order steaks. Wayne ordered the 8 ounce Beef Filet Mignon ($25.95) which is served with two side items. He chose the Chili-Lime Corn with Cilantro and a Loaded Baked Potato (additional $1). I ordered The Palms 14 ounce Signature Ribeye ($24.95); with my sides being Sautéed Spinach and the Mexican Mac ‘n Cheese ($2 upcharge).

When he finished taking our orders, he said he would bring us bread to nibble on until our food was ready. No bread made an appearance. We sat there with nothing other than our drinks for a good 20 minutes, hoping bread would come our way.

It seems the system is that people from the kitchen deliver the food on trays to the Coconut Room, then your server delivers it to your table. The servers do not go to the kitchen. Therefore, you will not be getting bread until the kitchen delivers your entire tray – or that was our experience. I will say that once the bread arrived, it was quite good.

When our food arrived, it was wonderful! Our steaks were done to perfection and had a delicious charred taste. Of course, I took half my steak home since it was quite large. As for the sides, the spinach was good, but seemed to “need” something to give it a bit more flavor to bring out the taste. I probably would not order the mac ‘n cheese again for several reasons. It was too large a portion for one, it wasn’t cheesy enough, and I didn’t care for the contrast between the corn and the macaroni. Wayne liked his corn with the chili-lime giving it just a hint of “kick”. There was no problem with the baked potato – basically your average baked potato.

The Palms also has chicken, a variety of seafood, salads/soups and burgers/sandwiches.

Hours for the Coconut Room are Monday through Saturday from 4 p.m. until 3 a.m. The lounge is open Monday through Saturday from 2 p.m. until 3 a.m. and Sunday noon until 3 a.m. Brunch is served on Sunday in the lounge from noon until 4 p.m. We think you might enjoy a special occasion dinner in the Coconut Room. We have not visited the lounge.

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