The Deer and The Dove

We’ve been twice now to this restaurant in two weeks. Both times we’ve driven 45 minutes in order to come experience this restaurant. The food is absolutely incredible extremely unique and well-thought-out and curated. The service is incredible and the atmosphere is super cool and a beautiful restaurant. Be sure to get the coffee rubbed venison, and the trout is incredible as well. On both occasions, people in our party got the burger and absolutely loved. It said it was one of the best burgers they’ve ever gotten.

$280 for two. The food itself is fine, but the price is too high and the amount of food is rather small. It’s gonna cost a lot if you want to get full (me and my friend weren’t full even though we spent $250+). Taste: food themselves are good. We especially liked the burrata. The bone marrow & snails is a little disappointing because the edible part is really small. Most of the dish is the bread (although the bread tasted good). The squab has a good texture and the beans underneath taste nice. The duck and the hulibut are good but not beyond my expectations. The desserts are average. Service and vibe: the atmosphere is cozy and the servers are nice. The only problem is that the serving speed is really slow, perhaps because the house is packed that night. We waited thirty minutes after we placed our order and the main dishes took another thirty minutes to come. Price: the price is too high for almost every dish. The food is good but either the amount and the taste don’t really match with the price.

My husband and I came here for our anniversary. And it was also our first time dining here. Wow we were impressed. The atmosphere was fantastic as well as the service. And OMG the food. Top notch and not your run of the mill restaurant in Decatur. It’s definitely higher end. The dishes come out looking so fancy you almost don’t wanna eat them. But don’t worry we got over that real quick. The first thing we had was the D&D Cured Salumi plate. It was so delicious and almost too much for two people to share. Good problem to have in my book. Next came our main courses. I had the pheasant dish which was absolutely incredible. And my husband had the trout which he said was insanely good. We also enjoyed the two mock tails they had on their menu. Also, very good and wasn’t just juice in a glass. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Overall, it really was a fantastic meal and we will definitely come here again in the future for more date nights. I highly recommend. And if you can sit outside, do it. There was a man playing the sax on the street and it was very enjoyable

Decided to dine here for my 48th birthday dinner. The restaurant had some rave reviews, so I thought this would be an excellent way to celebrate my birthday. Unfortunately, I think the menu is overrated. Here's why: 1) The Bone Marrow + Snails were amazing. Definitely recommend it due to its richness and FLAVOR. Wow! On the contrary, the focaccia it was served on had the consistency of it being 3 days old. Not good. Since the focaccia was so difficult to cut, we decided to order the Homemade Salted Yeast Rolls. 2) The Homemade Salted Yeast Rolls - get them! And eat it with the Bone Marrow + Snails. Swirl your warm rolls all through that sauce and enjoy it. We certainly did. 3) The Halibut - sure, the fish is fresh, but the sauce underneath it had a strong mayonnaise taste that did NOT compliment the fish. My Mom and I both found it to be off. She didn't care for the taste, but ate it anyway (in disappointment). 4) The Porkchop - holy moly, it was THEEEEEEE toughest porkchop I've everrrrrr had. And that's no exaggeration. I had to send it back because I could barely cut it! And I rarely ever send food back to the kitchen, but this was incredibly overcooked. The next one came out and, to my surprise, was almost as tough as the first one! Also, after looking at the team's online photos, it was the owner Jenn who came to our table to resolve the issue that night. Quite frankly, she was kind of a "See You Next Tuesday" about it if you catch my drift? Listen lady, if you want to be mad at someone, talk to your chefs. Don't make me feel bad for sending an extra, extra, extra well done piece of meat back. Get it right the first time. Note to the restaurant: Take the porkchop off the menu for the sake of your knives and for the customers. It's either A) not that great of a chop that you're ordering from your supplier or B) your chefs are just overcooking them, like a lot. Whatever you do though, don't get rid of that sorghum pork jus the porkchop is served in because that sauce is divine, really. So overall, was it the dining experience that I was hoping for? No, far from it. Just a heads up - if you're going there hoping for a nice, complimentary birthday dessert, it ain't happening. The waiter, very rudely, said to my Mom "We don't do that here." I was taken aback with his tone. In my 11 years of working in the service industry, I would never speak to a customer that way. Ever. I realize this review may be a little harsh, but this was our experience at a restaurant that was apparently recommended by the MICHELIN Guide and was a James Beard Foundation Award Winner. Then again, that was in 2023. Just goes to show you that a lot can happen in 2 years.

Pretty place with rustiv deer-and-dove theme décor and fine service, but overall overpriced for what you get. Dishes look great but don’t quite deliver on flavor. Simple, ethnic vibe — nice experience, just not worth the hype or cost.