Even Coast — Restaurant in Dallas

C H A S E - THE REAL MVP. Beautiful restaurant. Bright and vibrant enough so that it's not stuffy, but chic enough to have some class. The service of the entire restaurant crew, from the hosts, to the food runners, busser, kitchen crew, bartenders, servers, chefs, and managers (and anyone else that got missed), is something that is hard to find these days - even in very nice restaurants. C H A S E - THE REAL MVP. Paying attention to detail is something that every part of the team was clearly working on. From the branded ice cubes, to the dusted coffee Even Coast logo on top of our espresso martini, details matter here. Clean tables and fresh silverware throughout your meal. Smiles from almost every staff member as we walked through the restaurant.

The manager and host made us feel welcome from the moment we walked in, and our server Chase really sealed the deal. Chase was extremely attentive and informative, without being overbearing. He was more than happy to spend ample amounts of time, like seriously a lot, with those in our party that had more questions than most. Not once did it ever seem like we were asking too many questions, or that he was concerned about moving on to get to whatever he needed to do next. The food runners were able to help with everything we needed after they brought the food, and there were multiple levels of service staff that were happy to assist our table, even if it was the only interaction that had with us. We were dining with a young kiddo, and he unfortunately knocked a plate on the ground, and broke a wine glass. Within literally 15 seconds, or probably less, of the plate breaking, we had a new one on the table, and in about the same amount of time, we had multiple staff members taking care of the broken wine glass. No scoffs, just service. We were celebrating a birthday, and with some great timing from Chef Omar and his team, we were able to sing a quite happy birthday and blow out a birthday candle with our entire party present.

C H A S E - THE REAL MVP.

Too many purses or coats at the table? No problem, Chase is going to bring over a personal coat and purse rack for the table and be sure to free up some space. Happen to be dining with a toddler? You won't feel the dagger eyes that you might get from most restaurant staff at other places. Actually, to the contrary. The servers, chefs, and line cooks were all more than happy to give a wave and a smile to help keep the kiddo entertained. There is a kids menu available. Curious about anything and everything on the menu? Chase is going to let you know where it's from, how it's prepared, what side it's going to go great with (might even talk you into getting a second side), and what bottle of wine he's going to bring out that will go best with everyone's meal. Adults are enjoying their dessert? MVP Chase made sure that the kiddo had a little sweet something to enjoy as well. Chase will be sure that you have your espresso, espresso martini, or after dinner drink of choice with your desert.

No doubt the best pistachio ice cream is the best I have ever had. Espresso martini is no doubt in the top three best I have ever had, very good chance it might be number one.

And if it is not clear enough, our server Chase (C H A S E - THE REAL MVP) and his service crew deserve a real shout out. He did a great job. It was also very clear that he and the rest of his service team were working very well together to take care of our table. Unfortunately, I was not lucky enough to catch everyone's name that stopped by our table, but a shout out to Chase and the rest of the crew that took care of us. Also, a shout out to Chef Omar, his Sous chefs, and the rest of the kitchen crew for delivering exactly what Chase and the menu promised, and even more. The technical skills and flavors of this kitchen do not go unnoticed. This place would be worth a visit for either the food or service alone, luckily, here you get both.

C H A S E -...

First thing – I would suggest making a reservation ahead of time – especially on the weekend. Our group of 3 decided to go to Even Coast after attending a Saturday matinee show, and since we’d get to the restaurant around 4:30-5:00, we didn’t think that it would be very crowded, so we weren’t going to bother with a reservation. Thankfully, I decided it would be better to be safe than sorry and went ahead and made the reservation earlier in the week. When we got to Even Coast around 4:40 last Saturday it was already very busy and by the time we left it was packed. It’s not that we wouldn’t have been able to have been seated, but it probably would have been a wait, and we were ready to eat.

The restaurant itself is lovely and has an outdoor seating area that’s going to be great in better weather – especially the Spring and Fall. The main restaurant seating is sophisticated and upscale, without being fussy, with a mixture of banquet and table settings that feels open but still private. There’s also seating at the bar and in the bar area. The music was a little loud when we first arrived, but it seemed to get turned down to a more comfortable, conversational level after just a little while.

Once seated, our waiter was very attentive without being pushy and he was well informed about the menu when we had questions. Even with the restaurant getting more crowded, the pace of the meal was relaxed, and we never felt rushed.

Second order of business – Happy Hour is EVERYDAY between 2-6 [EDIT: HH on Fri & Sat is in the Bar-High Top area only - not the main dining room. We found this out this past Friday, 03/14, but it's not currently shown as such on their menu or online, so be aware.] Their Happy Hour menu isn’t large, but a $7 martini with blue cheese olives is never a bad thing. We also had the Cornmeal Dusted Oysters ($12 for 6), which were incredibly good. The coating was crunchy, and the oysters were still plump and sweet. I’ll probably be swinging by after work for a drink, cornmeal oysters and a bowl of their clam chowder for dinner.

The hardest part of the meal was narrowing down the entrees because there are so many great options. We ended up ordering the lump crab meat Bucatini, the 8oz Filet, and the Charcoal Grilled Loup De Mare. You know the food is very good when the table is quiet for the first few bites and then the “WOWs” begin. There was a ton of crab meat in the Bucatini, and the sauce was delicate. The filet was seasoned well and cooked perfectly and served with creamy whipped potatoes. The Loup De Mare was an amazing branzino filet with crisp skin and sweet, light white meat. Almost better than the fish was the fall squash risotto with a toasted hazelnut and pomegranate brown butter sauce on which it was served. I would put that sauce on just about anything, it was so good.

Finally, we ended the meal by sharing the Millionaire Tart – which was so rich and decadent that I can’t imagine eating the whole thing by myself, but so delicious that you want to try.

The whole experience was so good that we were already planning our next visit as we walked to our cars on the way out.

TLDR: Highly recommended – the food is delicious, the atmosphere is sophisticated but not stuffy, and the...

I chose this place to celebrate my birthday dinner with friends because it was new and the high reviews.

FOOD: [BAR] Oysters on the Half Shell were fresh and not Gulf (even during HH) [BAR] Cornmeal Dusted Oysters were also tasty. Unfortunately, the rest of dinner was meh. Creste de Gallo - The creste di gallo pasta was unique but severely undercooked to the point that it was still crunchy when you bit into it. They remade it and it was properly cooked and the sauce was great. Nova Scotia Halibut - Dry and unflavorful, went unfinished. Fish N’ Chips - This was decent but it's fish n' chips. Charcoal Grilled Spanish Octopus - It came with two legs that looked shriveled and skinny like hotdogs with no suckers remaining. The flavor was also lacking. We didn't even finish this. PEI Mussels - Also lacking in flavor. Also went unfinished.

DRINKS: Dirty Martini - This was worth a mention because this was the best dirty martini we've ever had. Kudos to the bartender. Non-Alcoholic - They do have a few non-alcoholic drink options (pictured) which is great for non-drinkers and pregnant women. I like to see this inclusive effort.

SERVICE: [BAR] I arrived early and grabbed some glasses of wine at the bar and the service there was great! My bartender was very helpful in trying to find me a nice white and let me sample a few.

Once we were seated in the main dining area, our waiter was very polite and memorized the talking points well. But they have to come up with a better system of dividing and conquering the restaurant. We were eating family style and there were dishes that still had portions left and we had 5 different people come up to ask us if we wanted it cleared. It became so annoying that we finally said, "Yes, just take it." When we notified our server about the pasta, a Manager came up to let us know that they would remake it. He walked away and another Manager immediately walked up to see if there was anything wrong. It was a continual roulette of different people walking up asking to remove things off our table to the point where we felt rushed out. Mussels weren't done but they removed the shell bowl. And when all the plates still have food remaining, maybe take notice and wonder why. I do think they had best intentions (which is why I give 3 stars for service instead of 2) and was trying to do good service but it was jarring and disruptive. I could see my friends struggling with the desire to leave but also wanting to do the birthday dessert thing but it was such a hassle trying to get the dessert menu back they opted to take me for dessert elsewhere.

ATMOSPHERE: It's a nice looking restaurant with a crowd that tends to the older demographic (about 75% of the restaurant). There was an elderly couple seated next to us that must be regulars because they seemed to have an established rapport with our server. As they were leaving, they told our server, "I saw that table get seated and I got worried for you!" Which was odd because we were a party of 5 and we weren't being loud or boisterous or anything.

TL:DR - Go for the HH and sit at the bar for the drinks. I wouldn't...