abacus

went here on a wednesday night for dinner. they have an extensive, but expensive wine list. they were not busy, but it took a very long time before our wine order was taken, and a long time for it to arrive. only then were we given menus.servicewas slow-paced from then on.

they have an interesting and varied menu of small plates, large plates, sushi, and entrees. their much commented-on lobster shooters were interesting and creative, but not great.

my (deconstructed) caesar salad and hamachi sashimi were excellent. the mac & cheese with short rib and the brussels sprouts were amazing.

were it not for the very slowserviceand over-priced wine list, i would have ranked this place 5-circles.

tasion. i love abacus. very creative menu that blends texas and asian foods - i.e. tasion. my favorite menu item is the beef tenderloin. divine! great customerserviceas well. the restaurant cares if you had a good experience in dining.

sorely disappointed. my wife and i recently took our in-laws to abacus for a very special dinner. abacus has always been the standard in dallas cuisine in our opinion. well, i can tell you we will never go back. the food was above average but theservicewas absolutely horrible. our waiter would not shut up. he wanted to tell us where he was from; his life's story, etc... i couldn't believe it. in fact, me wife commented to our family that the coolest thing about abacus was that the waiters and servers appeard to come out of the walls. theservicewas always awesome in the past. well that expectation was shattered the other night. our dinner was served exactly 50 minutes after our appetizers which is unacceptable. when you spend the kind of money you spend at abacus you expect a very special experience. i am out on all rathbun restaurants form here on out. i used to take clients to blue plate for lunch once or twice a week but no more. good riddance mr. rathburn.

abacus has been on my list of restaurants to try for a while and my wife and i finally went saturday evening. we had late reservations and arrived early expecting to wait in the bar until our table was ready. the staff was able to seat us immediately to our surprise. we had a wonderful experience and can see why abacus'serviceand food is award winning. the lobster shooters were awesome. my wife said her tenderloin was the the best she has ever had at a restaurant. i had the duck and it was very well prepared. the creme brûlée / cinnamon roll desert was outstanding. equally impressive were the drinks and wine list. they have some impressive wines and champagne by the glass and bottle.

we will definitely have abacus on the top of our list when we return to dallas and highly recommend

we had a great time catching up with friends and enjoying the menu at abacus. i preferred the appetizers and dessert to the entrees, but none of the food was bad. theservicewas more than adequate and the entire staff was friendly and welcoming. the restaurant has a nice atmosphere that would make it a fun place to dine with friends or a great place for a romantic night with a spouse or significant other.

abacusolutely fabaculous!. we wanted it to be a very special evening. our guests were very special. our spirits and expectations were very high. abacus exceeded all expectations. the food, theserviceand the atmosphere absolultely fabulous. a lot of credit for our magical evening goes to aaron who, with a keen sense of timing (when to jump in and when to hang back) guided us to great choices with cocktails, food and wine, starting the party with those other-worldly lobster shooters. thank you aaron and thank you abacus.
we very highlu recommend abacus, especially for speaical occassions!
dale

abra-cadabra-cus. magic kitchen prepares never ending array of amazing food. after more than ten years abacus remains one of dallas' best dining experiences.

have no idea where complaints about "slow" or "bad"serviceare coming from. ffs this is not "fast" food. this degree of perfection on a plate takes time to assemble even in a magic kitchen.

have never experienced less than professionalserviceeven when i throw a curve ball to the kitchen by adding or otherwise changing the order after giving it, which btw shouldn't be done unless you expect to expre$$ your gratitude accordingly.

will have to add this to my top five list. went for restaurant week and the menu was above and beyond many other places. theservicewas impressive for such a busy place and we were not rushed out. i will return!!

good, but not great, or worth the cost. so, i just went to abacus this past friday with my parents, and two friends. the place is wonderfully decorated, as most fusion restaurants (a la roy's) are. it was just renovated as i understand it, and i am happy that it was.

theservicewas very good, as our waiter scott kept refilling our wine glasses. he even gave us a free dessert!

the food however was not top notch like the place would indicate. i liked what i ordered. i ordered the off menue buffalo tenderloin. it was cooked rare, the way that i feel a steak should be cooked. we ordered the lobster shooters. i was absolutely amazed as to how good these were. when they were brought to us, i was kinda skeptical because they looked like a small helping of tomato soup. they turned out to be the best thing on the menu.

the one dish that was not so good, was the new ahi tuna dish that was just put on the menu. i felt that the tuna was bland, and really was devoid of any strong flavor.

we also got complementary desserts, which i felt were inadequate because the portion was too small. the one that i thought was the best were the marshmellow lollipops. i really wanted the desserts to have a powerful taste that i wouldn't forget, but it just wasn't the case.


my opinion about abacus is that it was a good dining experience, but if you want to pay 100 dollars per person, it better be a great dining experience.

well...used to be a favorite.... but unfortunately i believe either theservicedropped or the food quality has dropped. it seems that some of the finer restaurants have dropped their quality and relied heavily on their name to keep them open.
on the last occasion i went i dined at the bar, as i did not want to have to wrangle with the waiter and buy a bottle of wine. i enjoyed my glass of scotch and ordered the halibut. when it came out it was under seasoned (i'd normally just add salt), so dull in color it was unappetizing (usually get over that as well); but the worst was that it was cold...and overcooked.
trying not to inconvenience my bartender i politely brought to his attention my cold dish and he whisked it away. when it was brought back awhile later, the fish had remained in the same spot, the sauce was dried out, and dun dun dunnnnn...appeared to have either been microwaved or sat under the heat lamp for awhile.
since this incident i have returned a few times to have lack luster and expensive dessert and so-so wines at a high price. i will no longer dine at this restaurant and continue to spend my money on food i can beautifully prepare at home w/ a better dining experience.

good experience, even better food. had the elk steak that won this chef the iron chef award. it was rare and wonderful. love the design of abacus! the food andservicewere 5 star all the way!

great beef tenderloin. this was teh first time i had been there since the renovation. i didn't think the renovation really did all that much but the people i was with all liked it much better than before. i shared a sushi roll with a friend to start and it was good. i had the beef tenderloin for dinner and it was very good. abacus is a very nice restaurant, great food and great service, but it is definitely expensive.


-----27 feb, 2009-----

amazing restaurant. the lobster shooters are probably one of the few overhyped things in my life that i have tried and then stepped back and thought, those aren't overhyped, they really are that good.
impecibleserviceand if you are going to splurge in dallas, abacus is definitely one of the best options.