Dans Restaurant

By far an excellent dining experience. We come to the area for the jazz fest but alway have to stop here for our dinner. The food is extraordinary and the staff and oeners make you feel at home. The chef always surprises us with an incredible combination of ingredients that never misses it’s mark. This is my first Unilocal post and Dan’s is worth it!

It’s faux fancy, but Dan’s still has a certain charm.
If you’re looking for a true fine dining experience, you won’t find it here. But that’s not to say you won’t have an enjoyable meal.
The menus were a bit ragged, and the font was in Comic Sans (!). I think I used that same font on a term paper in high school and got docked 5 points for using anything less than Times New Roman.
With smiles on their faces most of the time, the waitstaff was generally up to the task of making our outing a pleasurable one. I would put them on the same level as my favorite diner waitresses. Order accuracy was spot on, though their knowledge of the menu was lacking. Don’t expect them to know what comes with certain dishes or how others are prepared. As for a description of «how a dish is», you won’t get much more than, «Oh, that’s a great choice. You’ll love it.»
Ambiance is key, but the dining room is cramped and tables are uncomfortably close to each other. Also, the sound bounces off the close, stale walls, and you’ll most likely hear more of your neighbor’s conversation than your own.
Of course there’s the food, and I can’t knock it for much. The menu was filled with a great assortment of seasonal dishes, and the flavors came together nicely. If I have to criticize it for anything, it’s the presentation. Sauces were splattered carelessly on the sides of the plates, and the overall plating of the food was sloppy.
If it sounds like I’m being harsh on this place, I suppose you’re right. But since Dan’s exudes the fine dining experience and charges fine dining prices, I hold it to a higher standard, than say, the mom & pop dinette down the road.

I reviewed Dan’s on Morgantown Road, not when it was on Penn Street. Maybe I put it in both places accidentally. Maybe Unilocal did. So I am erasing this review of the Penn Street location.

Summary: Food was good with high and low points. The cost to quality ratio was not there and the wine list was generally lacking. We expected (and paid for) great food and got good food.
Detail:
We love to fine dine and not having been to Dans before made this a dinner out with high expectations. Unfortunately, Dans disappointed on several counts. The atmosphere, the staff and the service were excellent but from here on it gets a bit bumpy. The wine list had some nice wines, Stag’s Leap a stand out among the selections, however, at $ 120+ per bottle we moved up the list a little. That’s where it fell short. Once you got beyond the $ 100+ wines you had a small selection of newer year wines. We found these wines to be very pricey for the offering. The food: the beet salad appetizer was fantastic but the asparagus bisque was bland and despite being green I’m not sure where asparagus fits in. The entrée’s were very good and the best item was the crab cakes, they were excellent. The scallops with risotto were good but the pepper seasoning on them over powered the citrus sauce. The risotto that came with scallops was bland and slightly undercooked. The vegetables were also bland and salt was missing from the table. I’m not a huge salt fan but I also like something to flavor my food. Desert: the coffee was average and the crème brûlée was horrible! The egg had broken leaving a gritty consistency. At a fine restaurant like Dans this should have never been served. Sadly, we are unlikely to give this est5ablishement a second try.

I had such high hopes for our meal at Dans but 3.5 hours of mainly waiting for food and just a few minutes of eating was just frustrating and took the enjoyment out of the evening. While the food was fine, there is NO reason a meal should take that long. This was not an example of fine dining but more of poor organization and service. The food was good but not «oh my gosh» good. Definitely not worth going back again. Such a disappointment.

Dans, after many years in the city, is moving to the Green Hills Inn on Route 10. The basement space at 11^th and Penn will still be available for special events. I used to go regularly for many years and would again if there were vegan entrees I could order right off the menu (rather than bothering servers and the kitchen with special requests). They always had well-​chosen wines and wonderful service. I wish Bill and Monir good luck in their new place. Maybe it will have a bar where those wines can be enjoyed along with some elegant snacks.

We had been there many years before and it was very good but since then it has been sold and we tried again and were so very pleased with the food and the waitstaff. We were totally delighted. The waiter was attentive but not overbearing. Very friendly. Our bottle of wine came prompty as did a wonderful little appetier of toast with cheddar cheese, pesto and walnut. YUM. I had the crab cake first course and my hubby had the duck ravioli. The crab was high quality lump crab with a flavorful dill aioli and the duck ravioli was truly superb. Next time I know one of us will order the duck ravioli second course because it was so delicious. For our second courses we had the roasted salmon with fresh spinach and buerre blanc, and the rack of lamb. Everything was done to perfection, down to the fresh green beans cooked till just done, with a bit of crunch, as well as the asparagus and carrots included in the vegetables. A true exquisite blending of flavors and definite perfection in cooking. Then the dessert… brioche bread pudding with white chocolate and dried cranberries. Oh, WOW, again. We shared this as it was quite big but a finale that left us knowing we would come back soon. The prices were reasonable for the quality and flavors you got. We were very pleased and would suggest this restaurant as the best in Berks… as we love food and have tried many places. Happy Eating!

A++ I had not been to Dan’s for over 10 years until last night. The atmosphere was amazing, and the food to die for. I had the twin filet of Duck over mashed potatoes; I told the owner in advance that I didn’t like sweet sauces so he made a special one that was amazing. My wife had vegetarian pasta with lots of veggies, also amazing. We will be going back, for sure 100%, best meal I’ve had in Berks for a very very long time. Service, atmosphere, and food all 100%…

Haven’t been here in years. I think there’ve been at least two changes in ownership in that time. Our meals were really good — tilapia and filet min. Definitely above average cuisine but you will pay for it. It’s more expensive than it should be.

My mom took me here for my birthday last week. I got the cream of mushroom soup & Salmon dish, and it was honest to god the best meal I have ever had in my life. It’s a once in a lifetime type of meal for me though, however, if luck has it and I hit the lottery, this will definitely be my go-​to restaurant when I come back home on weekends.

Dans has incredible food and service. My family and I have been dining at Dans for years. The quality and the attention to detail is unmatched. No matter what you order you will be pleased with your meal. Everything about Dans is top notch. Bill and Monir go out of their way to make every night at Dans the best meal you’ve ever had.

Four of us had brunch at Dan’s last Sunday. It was a great meal all around. The waiter was attentive and very accommodating, and the food was very good. The chef sent out an amuse-​bouche, which was a small toasted french bread with cheese topped with a dab of pesto and a walnut. Yummy. We started with a mushroom soup that had homemade croutons and small chunks of ham. Three of us had the risotto with duck confit and the fourth had a crab cake with a tangy sauce. My only wish was that the portions could have been a bit larger. However, that allowed us to save room for dessert and I’m glad we did. The dark chocolate bread pudding was divine. Don’t miss this hidden gem!

The husband and I celebrated our 1^st anniversary here last weekend. The food was the best I’ve had in Berks County. I had the organic green salad (with red beets, goat cheese and walnuts — yum!) and the pennsylvania chicken. The only odd thing about our experience was by 8:45pm (maybe 9pm), there was only one other table in the restaurant besides us. I will definitely return here, however, and recommend it to others! Fantastic food!