The Dopeness Doesn't Live Up to Its Name

Let me start by saying I really, really wanted to like The Dopeness. I kept checking it out while it was being built out, getting excited for what seemed like an awesome space with a very chill and artistic sensibility. On this front, I wasn't disappointed. The restaurant itself is different, urban, eclectic, and creativity abounds. However, in pretty much every other area, The Dopeness disappoints and worse, it disappoints for no real reason other than being disorganized.

I'd attempted to go three times prior to this occasion, all at different times on different days and each time, it was closed - no explanation, no note, no hours posted on the door. Just closed. While frustrating, I didn't consider it that big of a deal although it definitely became a longer and longer stretch of time between attempts. Finally, the fourth time was the charm. 

We went in on a Saturday night around 7 pm and the place was empty. There was one table of three seated towards the front, sort of tapping their fingers and looking around but no one else in sight. This should have been an indication of how the night would go. After awkwardly standing around for several minutes, someone came out and told us they were expecting a large party around 8pm in the back, but we could have either of the other two open tables in the front more loungey/bar area so we sat down. And then began what turned out to be a long night of waiting.

It took several more minutes to get water and menus, but we eventually got them, struggling to read the script on the menu. While I appreciate wanting to keep a certain theme going, it should not be done via menu font. Once we placed our order, we received some chips and warm salsa. The salsa was a bit spicy, slightly tart, and quite flavorful. The chips were cut pretty thickly, a couple were overly oily and a couple were stale, but overall they were pretty good and it was a decent way to start off the meal....especially considering our meal wasn't brought out to us until over an hour later. I ending up leaving to go accept a grocery delivery, unpacked the perishables, went back and the food still wasn't there. Granted, I live within a few blocks, but I had been expecting to be done with dinner by the time the groceries arrived, not still waiting for my food.

About 40 minutes into the wait, our server came out (one of the two people there) and apologized, saying the chile relleno were freshly made and took a while which made me wonder why they hadn't mentioned that beforehand and even being freshly made (as I would hope), why it would take that long. Another 30 - 40 minutes after that, we finally received our food. Between the three of us, we got chicken enchiladas, the chile relleno, and the El Mariachi burrito - in picture order below

 

All of our meals were tolerable. Nothing great, but not inedible. There was very little spice or flavor to the chile sauce on the enchiladas which was disapppointing. The melted cheese on both the enchiladas and the chile relleno were basically hard shells which was baffling considering we'd been waiting so long and presumed these would be coming steaming hot from the kitchen (they didn't). The burrito was pretty standard issue but fairly skimpy on the carne asada. The beans and rice were similarly fine, but not worth noting.

 

At first, I tried to rationalize the wait - they were setting up for a big party, there seemed to only be two people on staff...but in reality, everything in the back was set up when we arrived and no one arrived for the party until we were close to leaving, the restaurant is BYOB so they weren't worrying about drinks, and if you can't handle two tables an hour before a large party is arriving, then the restaurant should be closed except to that private party. It just seemed like a lack of organization right from the beginning and then to have sub-par food on top of that was disappointing to say the least.

 

All in All

The staff seemed incredibly nice, the space is awesome, and I love a lot of the ideas behind The Dopeness but as a restaurant, it doesn't work, at least not in its present form. It's part lounge/part boutique/part restaurant/part event space but all those parts aren't adding up to a great whole. The bar/lounge area seems awesome, but until/unless they have a liquor license, it's not a big enough draw especially since the food is lackluster. If they want to be more of a creative space, then they should focus on that and not offer a full service menu. There's a lot of potential but with so many different things going on, those ideas aren't being well-executed. I want The Dopeness to do well....but it's going to be a while before I'm willing to give it another chance.