Dovetail — Restaurant in Macon

Dovetail hits many desires for a good high quality option in Macon. Most of the food is farm to table and the menu is constantly evolving. Certain staples are maintained on it but everything is constantly in flux due to seasonal availability.

The service is usually really good but sometimes it can be bad. For example one time my wife and I went to the dovetail in the evening. Usually we go during brunch but have been there different times of the day. The greeter meets us at the top of the stairs and tells us it must be our first time there. Now I don't know why she had that impression but we told he no we have been multiple times. She responds, oh well I have never see you. It was a strange incident and it kind of came off like she didn't think we were the type of people to go to dovetail. This situation guided us towards going to the bar to eat.

I recommend eating at the bar for two reasons. First, you can always get seats for your party at the bar. I have never had issues getting something to eat and drink there regardless of how busy the location was. If you are looking to have an impromptu romantic dinner you will not be able to get a table on Friday or Saturday night without a reservation. Second the bartenders are extremely talented and have some of the best customer service. Like stated earlier we usually go to dovetail during brunch and go the bar to eat and we usually have Sam as our bartender. Her service truly makes the experience worthwhile. She has excellent bartending skills and remembers all her regulars orders/drinks. She represents the best dovetail has to offer.

The food itself all has a consistent quality that I really appreciate. The freshness is helped by making certain items seasonal in order to make sure it is at its best flavor profile. Nothing tastes like it is frozen or reheated. All items whether it be vegetables, proteins or desserts are all well selected. The only thing I wish they would do would be to try and be more imaginative. I understand that middle Georgia doesn't usually bring to mind fine dining so keeping things tame breeds familiarity. The only issue is that it can also make things formulaic when you get the same style of dish. I would like to see more daring dishes on the menu. Also maybe a multiple course meal once a month would be fun.

With all the criticsms and strengths aside I still strongly recommend this location if you want fine dining in Macon. Anytime I have guests from out of town I take them...

Visited this restaurant for the first time on Saturday. The food was okay but to be perfectly honest, I thought the menu was a little limited however, I was well aware of that prior to arriving. I'm sure they have their reasons for such a limited menu but I would have liked more choices. The smoked pork belly bites were very good & my wife enjoyed her flank steak but I thought the portion was extremely small for the $26 price tag. My $24 hamburger was juicy & tasted alright. I don't recall tasting any pickles couldn't tell if it actually had house sauce on it. I did taste the bacon jam on the burger. In hindsight, I should have omitted those so called special ingredients & opted for the good ol' lettuce, tomato, & onions but overall, the food was okay.

With all of that out of the way, let me provide my reason behind the 3 star rating. When we initially arrived, we were seated by the hostess, who was very nice & professional. Later our server came to introduce herself. She didn't appear to be the nicest person in the world but she was very knowledgeable & professional. While sitting at the table some type of small bug kept flying around bothering us so we asked to be moved away from the window. The server accommodated our request & moved us to another table. After being relocated & trying to eat peacefully, we continued to see small flying objects as well as a housefly or two (deduct one star).

A gentleman visited our table & asked how things were & I informed him that we would be fine if we didn't have to swat gnats/flies away. His response caused me to deduct another star. He stated that there was no real way to keep gnats/flies out of the establishment. Sir, I have to disagree with that statement. Now I've eaten quite a few $5 to $12 hamburgers & never had to worry about swatting flying insects away while attempting to eat my meal. My suggestion to this establishment is to invest in an air curtain that prevents such insects from entering the establishment to begin with. Do whatever you must but rid your establishment from pest such as this.

Overall, the food was okay but seriously overpriced, service was good, but those darn flying insects...

9/7/2024 Visitation:

All tens for this laid back yet upscale restaurant experience! Our server, whose name I’ve unfortunately forgotten, was a very friendly, red-haired gentleman with a thorough knowledge of the menu and of the local farms and fresh food suppliers in the area.

I first ordered the short ribs and scallops. My 1 complaint was the menu itself. The actual menu lacks thorough explanation of the dish preparation/plating. The main protein of each dish shld be emphasized in greater detail on the menu. Not every item failed in Thai area but the items I ordered did.

I easily assumed the scallops with bacon were wrapped in bacon but there were these hearty pieces of bacon scattered atop the perfectly prepared risotto. The scallops were cooked to absolute perfection - not overdone! I unfortunately returned the short ribs as they jus were not what anyone would have expected. There were shredded pieces of short rib which were mostly dry and lacked flavor. The shredded pieces totaled approximately one tablespoon of meat. This shredded meat lied underneath a savory bread pudding patty which was also dry and lacked flavor. What I appreciated was how easy it was to return the item and in its stead I ordered the deviled eggs.

They eggs were a huge hit!!! When they came out the wonderful mgr offered me a local farm’s hot sauce to use from Rag & Frass Farm. My spouse & his friend ordered the double decker burger with the bacon jam. The unexpected flavors combined beautifully and they both commented that it was the best burger they’d ever eaten. Overall 10/10!! Can’t wait to stop by the next time we’re...