A fantastic dining option in downtown Dayton, De’lish Cafe and Bar is a lot more than the simple facade you see outside. Its interior is a bar concept that looks like it might be fit for a nightclub, except it’s much more a business lunch destination. De’lish serves up a number of different light dining options covering a wide variety of cuisines. I like some of them more than others, but ultimately I would say there are a lot of great reasons to come out and give this Main Street spot a try.
The menu shows a lot of variety. Here are some of the options I like:
- Grilled Portabella Panini: Delicious! The panini features a huge amount of mushroom served with a little bit of zucchini, squash, red onion and dried tomato aioli. It comes with chips, which are bagged but they’re fine.
- Tilapia fish tacos: Probably my favorite item on the menu. The tilapia is charred on the outside just a little bit, so that the edges are a little crisp but moist on the inside. It’s topped with some coleslaw and a balsamic vinagrette that is awesome. What’s more, it comes with a mesclun salad, ostentibly as a palette cleanser, which has just a little bit of a freshness to it.
- Chipotle Chicken Wrap: I wasn’t a fan of this dish so much; the menu notes a buffalo chicken sauce and a bleu cheese dressing, but all in all the flavors don’t come together that well. Maybe the chicken needs more seasoning, or maybe it needs more sauce, but something about it is just a little off. I do like the sweet potato fries, though, they’re a little crisp and served with a sweet sauce. Maybe they could use some kind of seasoning, a little salt or a pinch of rosemary, for some dimension.
Service is good. The food at the restaurant takes a little longer than some of the other places in downtown Dayton, but the food is good, and the price points are low normal for an upscale-food bistro, and that counts for a lot. Service is great, the employees seem to frequent each table, refilling water constantly and making sure everything is in order at this spot. All told, I would say that De’lish brings a lot to the table with the technical expertise and thought that goes into the food. In all, it’s a great place to take a business partner, or even a date.
Recommendations
- De’lish makes for a great business lunch spot, it’s low lit, intimate, and has a lot of light cuisine to enjoy with a classy element to it. The kind of place you like to get credit for “discovering.”
- I like the items that are grilled, the paninis and the fish tacos, but myself I am not a fan of the wraps.
- There is also parking out front in the evenings, which makes parking a little easier.
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