Lovely, comfortable, good food, AMAZING SERVICE, good drinks, great selection of liquor and wine. I have to say, I can’t believe this place is not packed all the time. Situated in the back of Preston Center, near Houstons and Sevy’s it is not a place you are likely to spot from the road. Really except for the fact that it is in Preston Center its location could not be worse for drive-by discovery. I have actually been by it many times and had a fleeting moment of curisity. “Wonder what that place is like” I think to myself and then promptly forget all about it. Last night a friend and I were going to go to Houston’s for a drink and conversation. We walk in and it is packed to the gills and loud a busy city street. 45-50 minute wait?! No thanks.
So out we go in search of another spot to sit and chat and drink a nice G+T for him and a nice glass of wine for me. We look across the parking lot and there it is… R+D Kitchen. We make a bee-line. We walk in and it is lovely, muted, and homey in a completely elegant way. We are greeted promptly and seated immediately despite what appears to be a reservation policy. I have a moment’s pause, we are seated next to the kitchen, across from the sushi bar and in most places this means Grand Central station. Still, it seems nice and so we sit down in our little elevated booth for two.
Someone is by immediately to take a drink order, shortly there after our waitress comes by to introduce herself and get a sense of what we need. We need a minute, she flashes a smile and is gone in flash. Drinks appear promptly along with water and menus. Tiny little thing this menu… appetizers are limited strictly to sushi. (I had the spicy tuna… and I have not been having much success with those lately… these were AMAZING… best I have had in ages) There are a few items in their sides menu that can be ordered as an appetizer… most notably… Deviled Eggs. Woot!
I had a respectable Tempranillo from Spain. Not bad at all, and my friend had his traditional Gin and Tonic, with which he had no complaints. So we hung out there at our table taking notes and making plans for our upcoming projects and were just super busy bees… As soon as my wine glass was empty there was a waiter there with another glass and whisked away the empty… such perfect timing. I don’t think I have ever had that happen before. Water magically appeared in our water carafe, Gin and Tonics appeared from thin air… no one bothered us unless we needed something… It was wonderful. Several hours later all our conversation and planning done. Notes taken, tasks assigned. We raised our bleary work weary eyes and decided…. We could eat.
We split the special, Grilled Swordfish with some sort of Lemon, butter, wine sauce… the perfect amount btw. It clung to the fish but did not pool on the plate. Garlic mashed potatoes and spinach. It was perfect. Perfectly cooked fish, potatoes were the perfect texture and tasted buttery and lovely… but not overly oily, like they can when an overzealous cook puts in too much fat. The spinach was wilted, loveliness that seems to also have some cabbage with it… Sooo… good. All in all this was one of my top dining experiences, and the most comfortable Dallas restaurant I have eaten in.
I highly recommend. I did not take pictures and there is a startling absence of information about it on line even though there appear to be two other restaurants in other cities. If you have one on your town… check it out. If you live in Dallas… check it out! I think you will like it as much as I did.
