Rye — Restaurant in Dallas

I think this is the most disappointing food experience I have had in Dallas in 18 years of living here. My wife and son went tonight for my birthday. The service was excellent and our server executed the meal perfectly. However, almost all of the food fell short substantially. This is what we ordered:

Icelandic hot dogs: two perfect bites of food. Dogs were nicely cooked and well flavored, crispy onions added great texture, and the mustard pulled it all together. We were really excited for the rest of the courses after this one.

Chicken hearts: I didn't have these, but my wife loved them.

Roasted vegetables: these were actually pretty good too. The carrots were cooked in different seasonings than the swiss chard and beets, so the pairing of them with the goat cheese and miso sauce went very well together. We used the veggies to season up the tacos.

This is where the wheels began to come off.

Blazin' beef tacos: 3 large tacos with big portions of ribeye in the tacos. The tacos, for being named blazin', were neither spicy nor flavorful. The slaw had to have been kimchi, although it wasn't named on the menu. The sour acidity worked well with the rich beef. The beef needed more flavor than the Korean wing sauce provided. Perhaps gochujang would be more appropriate. Also, maybe something like scallion pancakes instead of flour tortillas.

Cacio e Pepe: very salty, arugula didn't add much peppery flavor. Too much sauce or not enough pasta. Pasta well cooked, however.

Scallops: they're the canary in the coal mine, aren't they? I really thought we were in for a treat. It was the main dish I had all to myself. If you see the professional picture I listed of the three scallops, this was in a review (Dallas Observer) of the restaurant. That is everything you want in scallops. That hard hard sear is glorious. The picture of the partly eaten scallop was my scallop tonight. It is 100% on me that I didn't sent it back to the kitchen as soon as it came out. I hate conflict, however, especially for a special night like tonight, so I didn't say anything. These were gritty, lukewarm with no texture and tasted like water.

Duroc Pork Belly Lollipops: another dish I was absolutely looking forward to. Good hard sear on them, but no flavor and mushy ; lukewarm.

Short ribs: Decent size (maybe 6 oz) portion for $34. The eggplant and puree didn't add much flavor and the matchstick jicama looking veggies were rubbery.

Somebloody to love: enjoyed the drink. Good blood orange flavor, strong and refreshing.

Beautiful restaurant and great service. Hopefully some tweaks to the kitchen can tighten up all of their dishes. We love tapas style restaurants and would love to see more of them in Dallas.

3.27.22

I am not sure how to respond to a response from the owner, so I just added my response to my original post.

The owner felt that I misjudged the restaurant. In other words, my judgement was an "incorrect estimation or assessment of" their food. Since the owner specifically mentioned the scallops, let me reassure anyone considering a meal in this restaurant that the picture I included in my review is a scallop that Rye served me. Any cook with basic cooking skills should have never sent that dish to my table. Anyone working the pass should have immediately sent it back to the cook. And any server that knows hospitality would have known not to bring that dish out. Look at the scallop and compare it to other pictures of Rye's scallops. It is obvious that someone in the kitchen is not doing their job. And that is not up to me to point that out. It would be one thing if it was only the scallops. It was the Blazin' Beef Tacos, the Cacio e Pepe, the Duroc Pork Belly Lollipops, and the Short Rib. And I was mistaken when I mentioned that my wife liked the chicken hearts. She said the flavor was good but they were tough...

Restaurant Review: Rye – “Summer Break” Tasting Menu (Summer 2025) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

From the moment we walked in, Rye was firing on all cylinders. Greeted by a vibrant, attentive waitress who recognized us from a prior visit, we immediately felt like welcomed regulars—and that sense of thoughtful hospitality didn’t let up for the rest of the night.

The Summer Break tasting menu is a clever, nostalgic, and deeply creative journey through childhood memories, reframed through high-concept culinary technique. Each course is a chapter in a familiar-yet-foreign story, and this time around, Rye has truly elevated its game.

Course 1: “Breakfast in Front of the TV” Paired with a banana bread old fashioned, this trio of truffle bagel, “bacon & eggs,” and cereal milk tart was a playful and delicious start. Each bite delivered familiar flavors with gourmet execution, while the cocktail was warmly spiced and reminiscent of boozy banana bread.

Palette Cleanser: “Drink Your OJ” Inspired by the chef’s childhood, the Filipino salamalamig hit the citrusy, sour notes just right—refreshing and nostalgic.

Course 2: “Yardwork” The dish leaned savory and earthy, like a vegetal “sh*t on a shingle” (in the best way). The Skouras 2022 Moscofilero wine was a smart, slightly sweet counterbalance. Bonus points for the whimsical presentation: we were rewarded with $2 bills as our post-yardwork allowance. Genius.

Course 3: “Snacktime” A playful riff on Dunkaroos, featuring roasted salsify with a white chocolate truffle “dip.” Paired with a sharp Siglo Viente cocktail, this was a fun, flavorful interlude.

Courses 4 & 5: “Going to the Pool” & “Sunburn” The Capri Sun + Firewater pairing was a bold twist on a Manhattan—not my personal favorite, but certainly memorable. The escolar dish was delicately presented, sashimi-style, while the crab toast brought freshness and impeccable texture. Both were standout bites.

Course 6: “Lunchtime” Aguachile limeade (served in a Sprite bottle!) accompanied a ceviche taco that was absolutely next-level. It felt like the menu had tapped into a perfect childhood summer memory.

Course 7: “Ice Cream Truck” Foie gras gelato with caviar, sesame, and black cake. A polarizing concept on paper—but one taste and I would commit a felony to eat it again. Paired with Charles Mignon Champagne, this course might’ve stolen the night.

Course 8: “Snack Before Dinner” A single quail “McNugget” with house-made Fernet BBQ sauce—both heavenly. The nugget delivered nostalgia and flavor in equal measure, and that BBQ sauce needs to be bottled and sold yesterday.

Course 9: “Grilling Out” Wagyu skewer and Japanese elote. Both individually perfect, together a powerhouse. Bold, smoky, buttery—like summer distilled into two bites.

Course 10: “Bee Sting” Peaches, burnt honey ice cream, pistachio, pollen salt. Paired with a Turkish delight iced tea, this dessert was both delicate and intense. It had texture, elegance, and a gentle sweetness that felt like the climax of a great novel.

Course 11: “Bedtime (Snack)” A sheep’s milk peanut butter mousse featuring celery seed brittle and… black ants. A Snickers on steroids, with a delicate blue cheese funk. Paired with a 2018 Erben Riesling Eiswein, this was bold, weird, and delicious—a perfect ending.

⸻

Final Thoughts: Rye’s Summer Break menu is more than just a meal—it’s a story, an experience, and a masterclass in how to build a playful fine dining narrative. Compared to our previous visit, this was a substantial step up, absolutely reaching Michelin-star quality. Every element—flavor, presentation, pairing, pacing, and service—was dialed in.

If you’re a fan of elevated tasting menus that combine nostalgia with serious culinary talent, Rye deserves a spot at the top of your list. I don’t give standing ovations lightly, but this...

Was looking forward to finally trying Rye in it's regular form. Have loved the drinks and service at Apothecary many times, and I had a decent experience at the summer pop up. But this visit to Rye, while being way more expensive than the popup, was way worse.

The service was definitely the low light of our visit. Many of the other tables seemed to be more important, though I don't know why. We had a reservation and we're seated promptly, but then we were literally not acknowledged for over 10 minutes. Sat at an empty table without even water. I was very close to going back to the host stand, because there was plenty of staff around but no one even gave us a glance. Turns out our waitress was the one who made three stops to casually talk to the table next to us, but continue to ignore us. When she finally decided it was time to start waiting on us, the only thing she said was that she knew we had plenty of time to look over the menu. Like she acknowledged we had waited a long time but that was just normal there I guess. Maybe that just left a bad taste in out mouths, but it really seemed we continued to be neglected.

A man who seemed to be manager spent his time checking on every single table, but then just skipped only our table. I watched him check on every other table but ours.

Also don't know if this is normal at rye but non of our flatware was ever refreshed. So by the end of our meal there was just an amalgamation of weird flavors on my plate. From the beef juice of the tacos to the foam to the horseradish of the hot dog. All just adding weird bits of flavor to any of the shared ala carted items.

I never did get my second cocktail order. And when desert was offered, again instead of getting the attention all the other tables in ear shot seemed to get, we were just asked "Sweets?". While every other table had the dessert menu explained to them with recommendations.

We ordered dessert and it came right out. Too fast because we hadn't had any silverware replenished. When we pointed that out to the girl that brought the dessert, she tried to be cute and said it was coming and we had to be patient. But it's definitely not good service to leave something tempting looking on the table with no way to eat it.

Like other reviewers have said on here, Rye's not bad, it's just not as good as the prices they're charging. I don't mind paying money for something, but when I do I expect better service than I would receive at a restaurant that is a quarter of the price. But it definitely wasn't very friendly service and it was a far cry...