dwight's bistro

overrated. from the outside, dwight's has all the makings of a dive. so we were pleasantly surprised by the low key and inviting decor on the inside. we had heard some positive reviews by word of mouth, and had high expectations. sadly , we were disappointed. my wife had the sea bass, which was too deeply fried and ended up tasting like a distant cousin to a long john silver's fish stick. i had one of the homeade pasta dishes and was unable to tell the difference between this and some ronco noodles. thecrabcakes were excellent, however, and if you're going to go, i would recommend these to cut your losses. at the end of it all, our bill was well over $150 for two people. yikes. we'll be more careful before we choose a "quaint" underground jacksonville restaraunt the next time.

highly recommended if:
- you love bland food
- you are happy to pay $42 for a plate of 3 smallcrabcakes that looks like something put together at a family picnic
- you pay $35 for “veal sausage spaghetti” that really should be called over cooked noodles with veal sausage bits and hints of tasteless marinara sauce
- don’t mind eating in a decor that looks like a men’s only roman steam bath
- if you are willing to believe all the overrated reviews about this place

not recommended if:
- the thought of paying gourmet prices for amateurish food really pisses you off
-you enjoy food that is perfectly seasoned and professionally plated
- you know the food is ok but the location is outstanding - this place is located in a nondescript strip mall and the overkill of tile and cork mosaic decor would make a great episode on restaurant makeover
- you wonder is iceberg lettuce “gourmet”?
- you generally don’t trust restaurant reviews in jax

liked it. fabulous atmosphere with great service and fine dining. dwight makes all his pasta daily. hiscrabcakes are to delicious! excellent wine list and inviting staff to guide you if you need assistance. great date place or if you just want to go to the bar and grab a nice glass of wine andcrabcake it offers that too.

exceptional. had the pleasure of dining there last night. restaurant has a warm & inviting feel with an open kitchen which is always good in my book. the staff were attentive without being intrusive and most helpful - a rare thing. the spinach salad with pecan, goat cheese was fresh/crisp with a dressing to die for. thecrabcakes could have taken a little more seasoning for my taste but full of lumpcraband good for that. the yellow fin tuna was delicate and perfectly cooked, likewise the foie gras. the creme brulee was the best weve had in a long time. all in all an exceptional experience rounded off by being thanked by chef/owner dwight himself - great personal touch!

phenomenal. go to dwights. date night. bestcrabcake in jax. lobster special was delicious. i had quail, lamb, and fillet... cleaned the plate. dwight cooked my meal, then shook my hand on our way out. the end.

bestcrabcakes on. the. planet. period. try 'em and see.

very disappointed, more than a little overrated. we went there to celebrate the occasion of two birthdays in our party of four. we had heard favorable word of mouth from friends of ours who frequent the 'jacksonville top 25'.
frankly, we were more than somewhat disappointed - for several reasons. the pricing here is really quite high for a place that truthfully looks like a 'neighborhood dive' on the outside and most of the inside as well.
we were seated in the small second room by a party of six who obviously had been well into the winelist (which is quite lengthy and extensive) for a while. before our orders were taken we requested that we be reseated due to the extreme loudness of the other party, although there were open tables visable in the third room, our request was declined and we were told that the other party 'would be leaving soon'. thirty minutes later they did leave - we could not even hear the waiter tell us about the specials & the menu selections due to the noise. conversation at the table was next to impossible until the party at the other table left.
thecrabcakes are apparently their best item, and the waiter recommended a 'half salad' andcrabcakes prior to the entrees.
crab cakes there are very good and if you dine there you should indeed try them. the salads, however, were extremely ordinary, to say the least. worst of all was the spinach half salad - no more than a few spinach leaves with some carrot & onion shavings and a spinkle of bacon crumbs. no dressing of any type was in, on or beside the salad when delivered. none of the half salads were very large at all either, contrary to the waiter's advisement.
we all had pastra entrees, three different ones between the four of us. they were indeed very good, but averaged more than $25 each. we have to say that there was not $100 worth of pasta there on the table! (you get four ravoli for that type entree) also, delivery of the entrees was awfully slow, particularly as the place was half empty at the time.
in our experience, this place is way over priced for the dining experience and atmosphere it presents. the two small rooms other than the entree room by the 'bar' both look like the back rooms of an old house converted into a diner. if you want to order a mixed drink, you are out of luck as well.
in summary, you simply can do much better at most of the others in the jacksonville "top 25' for the money.