Written by the Seasons, The Quad — Restaurant in Dallas

Oh man, we wanted to love this place, we really did. 2.5/5 in reality, but rounding down to 2/5 because my heart is broken.

Everything was SO SALTY. I don’t know if it’s normally like that, or we just got the wrong things, but the amount of salt on our dishes made me physically ill. We really should have said something about it in the moment, and I don’t know why we didn’t! Maybe the new place and new experience intimidated us, but this experience made me promise myself to bring up any complaint from now on at any future restaurant experience. Here’s what we had: Sourdough and Balsamic - great! It’s bread! Local, though we didn’t ask from where. Can’t go wrong, the balsamic dip had some spicy elements and was well balanced.

Burrata and stone fruit - the fruit was prepared deliciously, and the greens would have been nice if not for the amount of super salty dressing they were lathered in.

Cod fritters: let’s be real…glorified fish sticks. But pretty good nonetheless, haha. Paired with a sauce that had a little kick and was also well balanced, and more SALTY greens again! There was a citric brightness to them that was really good, but overpowered by whatever salt soaked substance they seem to put on everything green.

Glass noodles, w/salmon: this one was disappointing…the presentation was kinda just slopped on the plate. It is a cold noodle dish, which isn’t stated on the menu, so it threw me off, though my partner likes cold noodle dishes. The small salmon piece was pretty good, though it failed to overcome the wetness of the sauce on this dish. Thin, wet sauce…on cold noodles, with hot salmon...yum? :(

I think the kicker is that this was $150. It just did not seem worth that amount of money. Put all the rosemary you want in my water, that doesn’t justify high end prices for pretty mid food. We woke up this morning after eating there last night, and just still feel so disappointed by the overall experience. When something sticks that hard it begs the question, “is it just me, or was something off here?”

Also the chairs are uncomfortable!...

The kimchi pancakes are a popular dish and a lot of people really like them (myself included). We got the carrot muhammara, kimchi pancakes and the mushroom plate as appetizers. The muhammara with the pancakes was actually a good combo. I was surprised at how amazing the mushrooms were as well. My husband got the duck confit for his main and was very happy with it. I got the steak, medium rare, and it was cooked perfectly. The outside was crispy and the inside pink. We did end up asking for some salt and that elevated the brussels sprouts for me (I like things salty). The only thing my husband and I were not a fan of was the mashed potatoes. They had a creamy gravy mixed in and it wasn't a flavor we personally prefer. Overall, I think the appetizers were very good and I could easily have an entire meal of just the apps. At the end of the meal we were both very full and took most of our main course to go.

Service: The staff was very attentive, knowledgable, and professional. The chef asks that all the food (except dessert) be ordered at one time and they will space it out when they bring it to you. I like this system, it made the experience much more effortless. Although, I think they are still figuring out the flow and pace of the customers because at times there was not enough space on our table for all the appetizers and they were trying to help us clear off mostly empty plates so that felt slightly rushed but I think it's something they will nail down soon.

Atmosphere: I love the interior. It's cozy and has big windows. The furnishings are cool. I am a fan of the design. We did notice that some of the tables for two (like where we were seated) were very close to the other tables (so you can easily hear each other's conversations) if that is something that bothers you it may be a good idea to request different seating. It was not a problem for us as we were not discussing private matters but I wouldn't want to sit there for a first date or a business meeting.

Parking: They have valet and cover the cost of this, so parking was...

I hated covering for chefs when I was a waiter in college. It really stinks when a chef saddles you with a subpar menu. The GOOD: 1st, our server and the manager went out of their way to take care of us thank you. Mocktails are A+. Spicy Sunrise was a nice combo of sweet and spicy, albeit 12 bucks ea. The BAD: Charcuterie board was all filler no killer. Skimpy on cheese. I’m 95% confident every ingredient was from Trader Joe’s. From the Parmesan bread, to the cornichons, olives, golden raisins to the tasteless Brie. A dead ringer. My wife buys them to make charcuterie boards regularly. Shame. Shame. The UGLY: The spicy baked eggs were too spicy to taste much. A good spicy dish gives you the flavor then brings the kick. My wife started tearing up because she planned this special date and the food was overpriced and terrible. She left early. I can’t believe this is Michelin recommended. Perhaps most telling, a large festival was going on in Bishop Arts and most restaurants were full...