First Look: Savor Gastropub in Klyde Warren Park, downtown Dallas

roasted okra, dried corn, meyer lemon aoli ($11)

lemon rosemary roasted chicken with “sauteed greens” ($21)., which were broccolini…hmmm.

Savor Gastropub, the splashy new restaurant in Klyde Warren Park, opened last week. I popped in for dinner during its first week and have mixed thoughts on this place.

On the plus side, it’s a lovely space, an Instagram-ready glass-walled jewel box in which every buttery leather seat is a catbird seat. Plenty of beers on the menu, a Crispin cider for the coming fall weather, even a few wines on tap.

On the down side, the menu isn’t particularly inspired and its execution left me shrugging. Flatiron steak, usually a deliciously beefy, tender cut of beef, proffered neither. If I had closed my eyes, I’d  have sworn the roasted chicken was actually turkey, brined a bit too long with a heavy hand of  sugar and rosemary.

An early criticism has been that prices seem a bit steep ($11 for a few spears of okra and $27 for flatiron steak–yikes), but someone has to pay the rent and I think the view is almost worth the upcharge.

Sure, a restaurant takes a few weeks to gel, but Dallas diners are a fickle bunch. If you disappoint them on an early visit, you blow your one shot to get them to come back.  I’ll be interested to see if this crew can pull it together. Otherwise, this could be a great location for another one of these.