Dan Lew Exchange / DLX — Restaurant in Mansfield

Very disappointing. We were visiting from out of town and went with family on Saturday night. First off, the live music was so loud we had to shout at each other to be heard (I’m not exaggerating). Why in the world the owners think this is appealing I can’t imagine. I said something to our waitress and she said there was a downstairs that was quieter, but she returned later and said she wasn’t allowed to seat us there. So we shouted our appetizer order to her and shouted to one another as we ate the appetizers. The Tex-Mex Egg Rolls were delicious, and my sister said the Crab Rangoon was the best she’d ever had. The food was definitely above par, but why would I pay such high prices to eat in such an uncomfortable atmosphere?

Shortly after that the fire alarm strobe siren alarms started wailing. A guest at the next table joked that the loud music had set off the alarms. I decided that the alarms were only slightly louder than the music had been. We heard someone say the kitchen had caught fire and they were going to have to close for the night. We could see into part of the kitchen and saw water pouring from the sprinklers (it eventually began flowing out into the dining area). No one came to tell us what was happening. No one was evacuated (we were near doors to the sidewalk so we didn’t rush—we were expecting some sort of announcement.)

Finally, our waitress came by and I asked whether they were shutting down. She said she thought they probably were, but she didn’t really know, then she left. She came back a minute later and said, without any other preamble, “Would you like to pay for your appetizers now?” I said no, I didn’t really think we should have to pay for them seeing that the restaurant had pretty much ruined our evening. She said she would have to go ask, and left again. As we waited I kept expecting someone from the restaurant management—or perhaps the owner, who my sister had spotted there—to come around and apologize or tell us what was really going on or simply show some very basic customer service skills. No one did. The waitress finally returned to say we could go without paying (and gave me a receipt). I tipped her (she was young and it was hardly her fault that management was too clueless to handle this situation) and we left.

Basically, this was about as lousy a restaurant experience as one could have. I don’t blame them for the fire, but I certainly blame them for their failure to show concern for their customers (how about, “I’m sorry folks, as you can see from the fire truck outside we had an accident in the kitchen and we’re going to have to close. Whatever you’ve eaten already is on the house, of course, and we’re so sorry to have caused you this problem.”). A customer-focused restaurant might even have offered ‘a discount on your next visit, just to show you how sorry we are’. I also blame them for the painfully loud music. News flash! People don’t come to your restaurant for a show (unless you’ve advertised the evening as such); they come to share conversation and food. It is arrogant of you to take the focus off your customers’ experience and place it on you cool-factor instead.

We went several blocks away to Hudson and Essex. We paid quite a bit more than we would have at Dan Lew’s, and we had a superb meal in a lovely setting with lovely ambience. We talked and enjoyed each other’s company. In short, at Hudson and Essex we had the evening we had set out to have, despite the disastrous...

My overall experience was mostly disappointing.

The Service:

I will start by saying that I made it a point to call prior to heading to the restaurant to make sure they were accepting walk-ins tonight. The hostess happily said yes they were. So my wife and I arrived at the restaurant around 40-45 minutes after the phone call. As we walk up to the women at the hostess stand, the MANAGER of the restaurant comes hurrying over before I had time to talk to the young lady and asked if we had a reservation. I replied with “No, we don’t. We had just called and you guys had said you’re accepting walk-ins.” To which he looked very annoyed and unhappy, and replied with, “Well we have big parties tonight.” After standing there in silence after his comment he eventually told the hostess to seat us. This was just an absolutely horrendous first impression to the restaurant. Our server did make up for it however, as she was just wonderful. She always stayed on top of our drinks, and was very kind, so I was more than happy to tip her well.

The Food:

I will start this by saying most of the food and drinks were just decent. For the price, however, it was extremely sub par. My wife and I had 5 drinks between the two of us and 4 out of the 5 were good. Not heavy pours by any means so the price was slightly obscene. The Moshi Moshi drink was horrendous. The Zanzibar was very good. Now, we ordered bacon wrapped scallops as an appetizer. They were WAY overcooked! I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever had scallops this tough and chewy. So those were pretty disappointing. For my entree I ordered the prime steak, 12oz, and unfortunately, the chef completely ruined a beautiful cut of meat. You could tell it was wonderful quality, cooked medium rare to perfection, HOWEVER, they attempted to make grill marks on what I assume was a reverse sear and it completely ruined the entire steak. It tasted like straight Kerosene and burnt charcoal. The steak tasted awful because of it. I will say the mashed potatoes and broccoli florets I received with my steak were delicious. My wife got the Black Sea bass with noodles and she liked her entree, aside from her mentioning it too was overcooked. I tried it and it was definitely overcooked. But the flavors and quality were great nevertheless.

Overall, I would like to give this restaurant another try, but after the manager treating my wife and I like we were an inconvenience to them as soon as we walked in, I’m not sure...

I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO DLX AGAIN!

The ONLY reason I'm giving DLX two stars is due to the amazing staff who served us. They did there best to honor and rectify the situation caused by their owners.

My family and I have supported this business for years. That's why we were excited to celebrate a milestone birthday at this establishment. My wife organized a birthday gathering with close family and friends. We were told by Dan and his business partner that our price would be $35 per person. We even confirmed with them before the party. Afterwards our guest where told what the arrangement was. After everything was said and done, we were charged $50 a plate. He mentioned that he added gratuity, which is not the issue. The issue, amongst others leading up to this, was the confirmed price was $35 flat for each person. When I went to discuss the concern, he stated "Oh, I forgot to tell you about our gratuity rule" Again, we did not have an issue paying the $50, however what was discussed, confirmed and should have been honored was the $35. Due to his negligence in stating that upon confirmation. TWO MEMBERS OF HIS STAFF stated to his face "that is the price you said," meaning the $35 price and he still proceeded to argue the issue stating, "I understand this is an inconvenience but this is the new price" After going back and forth for ten minutes, his staff checked us out at the agreed price, $35 a person, and stated "we'll take care of it" we paid them and left.

Fast forward to this morning. My wife's account was charged AGAIN for the remaining balance even after DLX staff said that we we're good to leave and apologized for the mix up.

The DLX owners are UNPROFESSIONAL, INCONSIDERATE and should have honored the price agreed upon that EVEN HIS STAFF confirmed.

Not only did they lose loyal patrons, they lost future business with multiple organizations and they RUINED a family experience!

-M....