Dovetail

I LOVE this restaurant. We recently ate at Dovetail for brunch and loved every aspect of the restaurant. The food was delicious, the presentation was wonderful, and the service was perfect-attentive without being either snooty or overly fawning. What more could you ask for?

I went to the Meatless Monday at Dovetail and the meal was quite delicious (presentation was superb), but it's the desserts that I want to rave about. Our souffle was taking like two minutes too long (we didn't even notice), so we got complementary ice cream that is home-made by the dessert chef - seriously, it was to die. The most amazing ice cream my friend and I have ever tasted (and we've tasted a lot of it). Souffle was perfect, as was the raspberry tart. Really, she is a genius (we were told the dessert chef is a "she").

I am bewildered by the positive reviews of this restaurant on this web site. The food at dinner was uniformly disappointing and overpriced. There are any number of better places in Manhattan. I agree the ambience and service are nice if somewhat pretentious.

Two friends took me for my birthday to enjoy Monday night veg night. I am a veggie, my two friends are not. The meal was inventive and delicious. I salute the chef for his creative menu which is both vegetarian and omnivore friendly (flextarian). It's really rare to find a menu like this. The wine list is strong and has a few affordable options. The space has a great cozy, comfortable feel. I will be back and I hope they carry this menu over to other week nights. Big fan.

I think Dovetail is quite a ridiculous experience. That's not saying it is bad, but be prepared for the pomposity and don't come hungry. Let's start with the bar snacks which the waiter takes 10 minutes to describe. It is a 2 inch cube of popcorn, basically. My friend ordered a consomme which meant being shown some vegetables in a jar of water first. I thought I was back in biology class or being shown what my liver might look like if I drank more glasses of Pinot Noir (their wine by the glass choice is excellent, by the way). Following that were teeny weeny morsels of food introduced as if they were created by Michelangelo. I thought LA had all the out of work actors as servers... If you can get past the pomp and ceremony, the food is quite delicious and original. Not a lot of choice for me who does not eat meat but that's OK, it doesn't call itself vegetarian. My carnivore friend was impressed. The service is good (if you can stop yourself from giggling at the over-the-top descriptions). An interesting , albeit expensive place worth one visit at least!

Just went for brunch today. Given the reviews, we expected much more. Service was not great, we had to ask for more coffee several times, waitress seemed uninterested in everything but pushing the 14$ mimosa and bloody mary. Food was good but definitely not worth the money. Will not go back.

I've been to several restaurant week places and have to say this takes the cake. The food was executed perfectly and was truly delicious and refined, with 3 great selections for each part of the meal. I had the squid appetizer which was a true palate awakener, with its light Thai-influenced flavors (and not in a cloying way). The cod entree was perfectly cooked and flavorful without being heavy. The lemongrass pannacotta was light but not my favorite, needed to be a touch sweeter (and I don't usually like overly sweet food). The bread pudding which I tried from another person was amazing. The service was smooth and pleasant with nice touches like bringing out tea on a metal standplate in an Asian kettle. I loved the little extras too like the amusebouche (a beet-salmon-sour cream combo which was unique) and the petit fours at the end and the amazing cheddar cornbread (I hate cheese usually but this was different, salty-tasty in a good way.) My only quibbles were the decor, which indeed is somewhat blah and plain for a restaurant of this level, and having us sit next to the cheese cart, which wafted over some unpleasant odors to our table. Maybe it should be moved elsewhere? All in all, the food was executed very well, and tasted better to me than the similar Telepan, which I also liked alot, but the food just wasn't quite as refined and delicious. The best place to me for restaurant week, and it bodes well for the regular menu (which is moderately priced). I hope to return soon.