I just love controversy, especially when it comes to reviewing a restaurant.
So, a few weeks after Bin 303 opens, the newbie reviewer at the Dallas Morning News goes with friends, hates the food, gets snubbed by the hostess/owner and proceeds to diss the experience in a really big way. Contrast this with our Yelpers who largely love Bin 303 and give it glowing praise. So, which is it?
Ok, it's easy to dissect the pitiful review from the DMN. First of all, a bad experience in the early weeks of operation is certainly not surprising, so hanging that night around the necks of the proprietors seems overly brutal. For the record, Mrs. G and I have been to Bin 303 only once, however, our other friends have dined several times, and these Rockwell-ers follow our Yelper cousins with claims of high praise.
I'll share the specifics of our experience. Yes, the cute house and overall atmosphere is cool. Service was very good. Food delivery, etc., seemed reasonably prompt. Price for 4 people, including 4 salads, 4 entrees, 2 desserts and 2 bottles of wine was $200 before tip - seemingly pricey compared to their local competition.
We chatted with proprietors Mat and Breean for a fair bit of time. Really nice folks. It's clear that Mat loves to cook and puts loads of passion in his efforts. Breean appears to run all affairs outside of the kitchen and, again, things seemed to be well under control.
So, the real question in my mind is this: does Bin 303 really deliver an exceptional dining experience, given they have decided to price their dishes on the upper end of the Rockwell/Dallas restaurant market? My answer: Maybe yes, but not consistently nor enough, and this surely seems like a tough row to hoe in a place so off the beaten track.
Let's take the wine list. I'm ok spending $50+ per bottle for very good wines, but why not offer more pretty-decent bottles in the $30 range? I really liked my BLT salad, and Mrs G thought the Wilted was good but not exceptional. So if the salads were $6 apiece instead of $8 I'd be giving higher marks, alternatively I think they could add more "stuff" to the salads to make it a better $8 experience. Entrees range from Ham&Cheese and burgers in the $14 range to steaks nearing $30. The H&C was really good, but making a pricey burger has limitations and challenges. The high end entrees were good-to-very-good but not exceptional. I had the flounder special, which I think has been available for a few weeks as an off-menu item. We hear that the menu is changing, however, I wonder if there would be ways for this restaurant to get some local foods and mix this more into their nightly offerings, rather than keep the same menu for a longer time? Just a thought on how to make the price point more palatable.
Again, I wish there was a 3.5 on the Yelp rating scale. These guys have a good thing going and appear to be working really hard to make it work. Food is very good and the whole package makes for a nice night out. Now, will Rockwell-ers frequent Bin 303 enough? And is the food exceptional enough for Dallas foodies to flock there? read more