Dalya’s Restaurant

This was a truly wonderful special occasion restaurant that I will miss greatly.
This is what is posted on their web site:
—–
The restaurant has closed after exactly 20 years, time to retire.
Frans and Mita van Berkhout and the staff of Dalya’s thank you for the business and support you’ve given them.
We all have wonderful memories and stories to tell.
People met at Dalya’s or had a first date here, an engagement party followed.
Then a bridal shower, then the rehearsal dinner and sometimes even the wedding.
We would see a baby carriage under the table after some time and see the kids grow up.
We hosted anniversaries, regular birthdays, special birthdays and so many other occasions, including after the funeral and memorial luncheons or dinners.
A new, Indian restaurant will open in February, called «Holy» meaning Festival of Color and Light.
We hope you will enjoy that new restaurant as much as you have enjoyed Dalya’s.
Again, thank you for your support over the years, many of you we know already since Le Bellecour in Lexington,
for us it has been a marvelous 36 years in the restaurant business, now it’s time to retire.
We will miss many of you, especially our «regulars» and our very dedicated staff.
Our chef Udiel Restrepo was with us 25 years, our cold kitchen chef Adauto Maciel close to 30 years and the rest of our kitchen staff close to 20 years. Our professional wait staff (most close to 20 years as well) was such a great bunch of people to work with, we will miss all.
Best wishes to each of you for a happy, prosperous and above all healthy new year.
In many ways, this is a time to celebrate and reflect on «out with the old, in with the new».
Frans and Mita van Berkhout

*** Last day of business reportedly will be Dec. 20, 2014. Will be closed permanently. An Indian restaurant will take over the location in 2015.

Dalya’s is a French country restaurant. I had venison and potatoes with blueberry sauce; yum. Everything here is 5 star. The atmosphere is rustic, warm, and very comfortable. In the 10 years I have frequented Dalya’s I have never been disappointed. It’s a little pricey, but worth it.

Dalya’s has been our favorite restaurant in the Bedford area for well more than a decade. Not inexpensive, not a top location or great atmosphere, but consistently good food and always a good value.
This seems to have changed. Bread is no longer provided. I heard every table ask for it, but you need to pay $ 5 for a few pieces of focaccia and flatbread – nickle and diming when entrees are over $ 30. Their beef carpaccio is the best in the world (we can testify!), but it’s no longer available as a starter on the fixed price menu. My favorite dish, the Mediterranean seafood stew, is no longer to be found on the menu. The tuna Nicoise was rather bland. Even the wine pours seemed a little smaller, even though the prices now approach or exceed $ 10 for a glass.
There are lots of very nice restaurants in the Bedford area, but Dalya’s had always been at the top of our list; it always delivered.
It doesn’t seem to be like that anymore.

A cozy, quaint little place. Certainly a New England type charm/​atmosphere. Good selection of wine by the glass. The goat cheese and roasted beet salad was great and my tenderloin was done to perfection. Had a spoonful of the cobbler for dessert and it was great! I wasn’t as offended by the pricing as any of those commenting.

One star is being kind. My issues are primarily management but I did have some food issues. Allow me to explain.
My husband and I went there during restaurant week on a whim. Typically I go to
tried and true places but I thought I would try somewhere new with that sort of being the idea of restaurant week and all. Ordering was unremarkable except for the fact we did have a conversation with our server about the restaurant week menu and how we did want that menu but my husband wanted an appetitzer above and beyond what was offered. Informed her we would pay cash for that and we knew it wasn’t included. We ordered everything off the prixe fix menu. Salads were both over dressed as one of the previous reviewers mentioned. In fact my husband didn’t eat hardly any of his wedge and the server didn’t even ask if it
was satisfactory; we typically do not send items back when we go out to eat unless something is over/​under cooked. Meals where fine but way overpriced if it weren’t restaurant week. Capital Grill has steaks that cost less! Now where it gets ugly. The bill comes… we had one prixe fix charge and the other was ala carte. I walked over to the bar to address this with my server and explained to her, she made a mistake that I ordered the top sirloin, not the filet mignon. Apparently, we had a communication error and could it be fixed. She said she couldn’t do anything for me after speaking with someone in the back and gave me the bill with my credit card reciept. I honestly couldn’t believe that the server messes up my order and I have to pay? not ok…

I thought that this place was really cute and would definitely come back. I came as part of restaurant week.
1. We were greeted upon walking in and taken well care of the rest of our stay there.
2. The bread basket was yummy and I’m glad they served it with hummus instead of butter. That was a cool idea, the only think I would do would be to serve it warm.
3. We tried the veggie rolls and crab cake, both were delicious. We then had the ½ chicken and steak entrée. Both were really good. I did not care much for the potatoes augratin, but the mashed potatoes were great.
4. Lastly we had the Lidya dessert and the apple/​cranberry cobbler. They had good taste, but I think that the cobbler should have been warmed longer, especially since it was served with ice cream.
Overall, we had a good experience, even with restaurant week, with a glass of wine and tip we split the bill and paid $ 58 each, but I can honestly say I think the experience was worth it.

Don’t get me wrong. it is good food… but the meals I’ve had remind me more of Thanksgiving… not a dining experience out.
Defintely a «yankee» menu and often seems a little dated. Restaurant was probably at the top of the suburban scene in the 80’s…but I’d rather travel a bit further into town to have a more memorable experience.
I can only do Thanksgiving once a year.

I’m surprised by all the bad reviews. Dalyas is a nice little restaurant, and I’ve never had a bad meal there. They have an extensive menu, and everything I have gotten has been great.
I have access to a lot of restaurants in my area, but we will drive to Dalyas to meet my parents for dinner occasionally because it is a good halfway point. I really don’t have anything negative to say, and would fully recommend it if you are in the area.
The steaks are good, the duck is good, etc. Mid-​Range prices, easy to get to, plenty of parking.

I went to Dalya’s based on a Unilocal review and am now compelled to write my first review to echo the positive feedback.
Everything sounded so good; and everything we chose was excellent! I had a fish chowder and a delicious salad made with loving care. I tried my husband’s Venison dish which was so tender it cut like butter! The side dishes with this entry were broccoli rabe and root vegetables that were perfect companions.
We asked who the chef was to give him special kudos. He is Udiel Restrepo and apparantly has been a loyal employee of Frans and Mita van Berkhout for enumerable years. I’lll also mention our server, Kelly who was pleasant and proud to speak of her restaurant colleagues.
Admittedly, the meal was a little more pricey than we typically spend, but absolutely worth every pennyy. We will return soon and keep this on our list of preferred places to go.

Lobster & Corn Chowder (Great) Lamb Tenderloin (Great) which was tender. It was served with a cucumber and avocado slaw (Great) and tomato with a feta and olive Mediterranean mix (Good) and a traditional Tzatziki sauce. I also tried the Crème Carmel «Alexandra» (Good) very tasty — and rich. While it was good, It was a little pricy.