I really wanted the hype about Dink’s to be true, but alas I was disappointed in not only the service but the food. The “Tapas, Fingerfood Small Plates” were touted as the best way to share food. I ordered the 5 spice Hoisin ribs. The ribs themselves were tasty and tender but the horseradish cream sauce with which they were served was a mismatch and overpowering. I also ordered the garlic cheese bread and found it mushy and much more cheese than garlic. Think soggy greasy pizza. True garlic bread lovers stay away from this dish. The salmon pizza I ordered sounded great on the menu. Lox style salmon with cream cheese onion and capers. What’s not to love? Instead of the bubbling hot pizza I was expecting I got a lump of lukewarm tough dough that I’m sure had been made previously, with a very thin layer of cold cream cheese and paper think slices of lox. The sprinkle of capers and thinly sliced red onions was the best thing on the plate. The pizza was served on a wood plank I suppose to bring to mind the great wooden paddles with which some pizzas are pulled from the hot pizza ovens of yore. The crust was so tough that I gave up on it and just scooped the toppings with a fork. My husband had the salmon dinner which was overcooked and under seasoned. His side dishes were garlic mashed potato (acceptable if not remarkable) and a cabbage apple and vinegar combo that was bland. Hope against hope we ordered a Peach Melba for dessert. The peach was so rubbery that I could not cut it with the spoon. The peach was not spiced and the French vanilla ice cream tasted like cold whiteness. The highlight of the dish was the single fresh raspberry. The raspberry sauce was too sweet and probably better described as a syrup. The only thing worse than the food was the heavy handed and invasive wait staff. Several times during our meal, the waiter rudely interupted our conversation to ask if everything was OK. He also had a terrible habit of rearranging the table. Twice he moved the small plates out of our reach while we were still eating. The most outrageous moment was when both of us were tasting the cheese garlic bread and he removed out plates from the table leaving us with nowhere to put our food! We felt rushed and hurried throughout our meal. I know they want to turn tables but this was at a breakneck speed. After we had finished our meal, my husband was just finishing his wine when we were asked by the waiter to move to the bar to finish. We chose to keep our table until we were actually finished.
The plus side for Dink’s is the decor. The building is industrial modern with plenty of glass and metal. The centally located full service bar is nice. The lounge portion looks good from a distance. We were not allowed to enter as we did not have reservations. All in all I think Dink’s will have a difficult time once the unsuspecting tourist have gone home and the locals are taking our business elsewhere.

Stick with the hamburger. Menu is a nightmare. They don’t have bread except “cheese” garlic bread that belongs in some chain. Restaurant is attractive, large and should have been built in South Palm Springs. The North part of Palm Springs is the new Watts of the Desert.

Well from the news these past few weeks, you wouldn’t think this would be a good time to open a huge (10,000 sq ft), new, sleek restaurant; especially one that has been built from the ground up. But that is just what has happened this week here in Palm Springs when Dink’s Restaurant and Ultra Lounge opened on Monday, and it has had people talking. (DINK: Double Income No Kids).

Yesterday, our former neighbor, Bob, Steve and I went to check it out for lunch. When we arrived we were given the whole tour of the place, it is gorgeous. This is the first brand new restaurant built from scratch in Palm Springs in many years, and its design and architecture certainly take advantage of the views of the mountains, as well as being a “green” building. Carol Saba, CEO of IDH INC. was contracted to build the shell structure with Michael Owings, owner of MDO Hospitality, Inc of Palm Desert, to design the kitchen and the restaurant’s interior.

The menu was a pleasant surprise as well. Made up of a variety of sandwiches, burgers, pizza, salads, small plates, as well as a few more substantial items after 5 pm, the prices were very reasonable too. We started out with some Salmon Pate Dip with Blinis that was served with chopped red onions and capers. The flavor was fine, more like a salmon cream cheese, but the cold blinis didn’t do it for me. Each of us had different items for lunch, Bob had a sandwich, Steve a salad, and I went for the Crab and Avocado Quesadillas that was served with two stuffed small chili peppers and some nice salsa. The quesadillas were done with spinach tortillas and had a very delicate flavor that blended the avocado and crab together. The chili peppers were hot and I was glad I had a Corona to cool my mouth down.

The service was impeccable. There seemed to be a lot of waitstaff, which is good but can make your expenses high, and there were no awkward moments that often happen when restaurants first open. You could tell their training had been extensive. They were attentive without being on top of you and the food runners kept the diet coke and iced tea flowing.

We didn’t try any of the wonderful sounding drinks or desserts, but I am sure we’ll be back some evening to lounge in the fabulous outdoor space.

The service and servers are wonderful but they can’t make the food taste better with their smiles.
I had the lobster shooters, spicy tuna rolls, the eggplant sticks and the cheesebread.
My husband had a pizza.

Everything was AWFUL!
The lobster shooters promise all sorts of flavors but all you get is a lump of dried lobster in a shot glass filled with hot butter and dried red chili flakes on the side. Ugh.
The cheese bread, supposedly a specialty is a piece of french bread with garlic paste spread under cheap cheese.
Oh, and large pieces and shavings of green onion.

The tuna rolls were so hot (and I can take hot) that I couldn’t taste anything after.
The eggplant sticks are breaded and deep fried with a ranch dressing that rivals PIzza Hut.
Ugh, again.

I was up all night sick to my stomach and I just don’t want that to happen to anybody else.
Again, the service and servers are a delight but the food is heavy and flavorless.
The entire menu is unimaginative and confusing.
The decor’s quite nice, though.
They need a chef here, a good one, a REAL one.

I really , really wanted to like DINKS.. I gave them 3 chances at dinner, and one chance for BRUNCH. I tried items from every page in the menu, mostly to much chagrin. ( best food tried, the prime rib soup ) I was there on OPENING DAY to support them in their new endeavor, and the food and service have gotten worse on each visit. Sorry ….. I will never be back, and I cannot recommend the place in any fashion. It is poorly run , expensive, disorganized, and pretenious. We have found the attitude of the managers to be especially pompous and arrogant.
( the DUAL INCOME NO KIDS , our CLIENTS DRIVE NICER CARS mentality is the type of thinking that gives one an idea of their philosophy ) I agree with previous yelpers that the DRESS CODE sign as you enter is epecially OFF PUTTING. I applaud their efforts to make the building GREEN ( Solar panels, etc.) , but the atmosphere is LOUD and the tables very uncomfortable. While sitting at their booths, the table is up to your chin. All 3 times we arrived for dinner, we had reservations, and we had to wait EACH and every time, and not because they were BUSY, they just werent “READY” for us ( party of 3 or 4 each time ) . WE were almost the only diners in the entire restaurant and still had to wait 15 minutes for our "RESERVATION " at one 6pm occasion . The food is OVERPRICED, and lacks flavor and originality… the drinks we have tried have been ALL ICE , and little beverage. Biggest rip off was the pitcher of Sangria … barely enough drink for 3 people even with the tiny glasses they provide you to fill. The wait staff is badly trained and INTRUSIVE during the meal, and absent should you need anything. We also had the experience of wait staff removing plates with food still on them and our forks still in our hands. Dinks professes to want you to relax, enjoy, and share, but they RUSH YOU out, even after making YOU wait. ON Sunday brunch, the fruit still had the rind on it where you had to finish the job of the food preparer and cut the rind off each piece before you ate it, and the bread was stale , and the portions small. I can go on and on with truly no optimism to share. We spoke to the Manager each time we visited. WE politely and graciously expressed our disappointment, and offered suggestions , such as each day take out your reso book, see who is coming, and take a minute to make a nice card with the name/ # in the party, and place it on the table. The server will know we are coming , and the table should be READY … each time still the confusion and waiting …so either the managers done listen or dont care.
so here is my opinion …
Service: 1
Food: 1
Drinks: 1
Parking: 1 ( VALET parking)
A good time: 1
Decor: 3