Lauren B.
Yelp
I was counting down the days until I could check out Two Hands - I was thrilled they brought it into Dallas! My general sentiment is it was a disappointment for the hype and price, but still had some gems.
The ambiance is gorgeous, really a perfect example of cultivating a space that feels modern, abstract, but still polished. I love the intentional use of colors and shapes.
We did the tasting menu, so we each got our own 3 course meal. This isn't a super value by any means - depending on your choices, you could end up saving just a few bucks. I think it's more so there to help guide you through recommended dishes (though in my opinion, not all should be recommended).
To start, we got the burrata and the brussels. The brussels sprouts were awesome - really one of the stars of this meal. They were cooked so well, crispy, easy to eat. The portion size was pretty generous. The burrata on the other hand was a let-down, and this is coming from a burrata lover. The complex dish includes peas for days and pickled zucchini, which doesn't sound terrible at first glance. But, those who order this will find out that the acidic flavor from the zucchini coats the cheese, making it sour and unpleasant. The pea fritters were like falafel, but with the sour flavors of a cheese that should be creamy and borderline sweet makes for a thumbs down dish.
For our entrees, we got the pesto pasta and the peri peri chicken. The pesto was decent, I liked the breadcrumbs on top. It was very lemon-y if that's your thing. I thought the pasta was cooked well - al dente but not too tough. The chicken came out in a half bird style with a lot of bone. This makes for a difficult meal to eat while engaging in conversation. The chicken came with this actually horrific grain salad that was completely bland and inedible. When our server cleared our plates, she said "Isn't that the worst?"...okay...so why is it on the menu and why did she let us order it?
Then there was dessert, another polarizing course. I ordered the pavlova and it was a DREAM! The perfect balance between fresh, light, sweet, and creamy. I loved it. My bf didn't know what to order and our server said they were known for the banana coffee bread, so he ordered it. It was so bad - incredibly dense but also hard, like it was just brought out of the freezer. You had to push the fork hard to even get a bite, and the bread was so dry. The coffee cream on top was overpowering. Just a seriously bad dessert and I am shocked it was recommended to us.
The service was meh. They printed out our bill and put it on the table with the total being $0.00. We asked about it and they fixed it, but the restaurant was not busy (this was a Wed) and it just shows how careless they were. Overall, I won't be running to come back. I don't think a good restaurant is one that has 50% amazing dishes and 50% notably bad ones.
PS. They are on the inKind network, so I would use that to save some money!!