A business colleague (and good friend) took me to this restaurant in February 2008 and I am so glad she did. Rainwater is located off of Haynes Bridge Road in Alpharetta and I was not expecting such a sophisticated place in the middle of all the office buildings.

The interior is beautiful, with large fireplaces. You definitely feel like you are in a classy space here. We sat at the bar for a cocktail before claiming our reservation. The hostess did not rush us while we were at the bar either. It was very nice.

Our bartender was great, friendly, not overly pushy or fake. We talked about the drinks and he made us a sample of the grapefuit cocktail for us to try at no charge. I had the Tuscan Martini which I absolutely loved. Drinks were very good.

Dinner was in the main dining room. Comfortable seating, nice table presentation. I had the beef filet, but I requested that no mushrooms get near it (even though it was part of the dish). I was accommodated without a single peep and the chef even added the tempura onion rings after I mentioned to the server that they looked great (but did not come with my meal. Kudos to the server for that kind of detail. I wish I could remember her name to properly give her credit, too much wine.) Speaking of wine, they had an extensive list here. I'm not a wine expert but I managed to find a great bottle for a decent price.

Back to dinner...my beef was cooked perfectly. I asked for it to be between rare and medium rare and I'll be darned, they hit it right on the head. My friend had lamb that she is still talking about. Finally, dessert. I had the sampler and my friend got the creme brulee. The brulee is definitely big enough to share after a big meal, if you can stop yourself from eating all of it. It is very good. My sampler was good too. It would have been perfect, if I wasn't so full.

I really, really enjoyed my meal here. I am definitely going to return to this restaurant when I'm back in the area. It was one of the more flawless meals I've had in a long time.