Dudley's On Short - Lexington

Let’s start with the positives: the staff and the atmosphere were pretty nice. Now to the rest. The food was fine. I have a theory, that any great restaurant should be able to make an amazing burger. If they don’t, and the rest of the food is good, they shouldn’t have a burger on a menu. Unfortunately, Dudley’s should not have a burger on the menu. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine. But there is absolutely no extra care given to the burger. On my burger the bottom part of the bun was wet and the vegetables tasted like they were cut two days ago. My partner ordered one of the specials. It was a pasta with braised beef. It was nice! But it was not $36 nice. Pasta should be absolutely exceptional at that price point in my mind. Not because I am cheap, but pasta is not expensive, not time consuming and in all Honesty, quite easy to perfect. The beef was nice but kind of sparse. The sauce tasted a bit like they had added too much ketchup. The flavor showed no hint of the complexities that are fairly easy to get with a slow cooked ragú. Our two meals, a beer, a $14 bourbon and a Paloma ended up at a total just short of $94 tax and tips. As much as I love great food, and I’m happy to pay for it, this wasn’t that. We went on recommendation. And sure, they could have had a bad day, but although I am normally a firm believe of a second chance, I don’t think I’ll be coming back here. As icing on the cake they charged $1 for the “big ice cube” in the bourbon. I don’t know if the smaller ones were cheaper. The cube itself was only about the size of a large marble and it wasn’t particularly clear, so I doubt they had added much effort to make it. Still, $1 for ice.

All in all, a well kept restaurant with courteous staff. The only annoyance was an espresso that didn't deserve its name (see photo! . However, the bartender said that her espresso always looked like this and that was correct, after all the machine cost $3,000. That's actually quite low for a restaurant in this price range and should be neither confirmation nor an excuse for a strong coffee without any espresso aroma and without crema. Maybe the gentleman will talk to a barista if he doesn't believe a chef from Germany.

For haut cuisine my steak was too chewy. Dishes were OK but not more than that

Delicious all around, we got the duck and the steak, both great tasting and fresh, great service as welln

GREAT place. Food was great. Service was spectacular. The atmosphere was really nice. The bar is a great spot. And then the food. Wow!!