The stunning plates at David’s Restaurant are an ode to imaginative flavors based on minimal aesthetics. It’s a contrast between New England fare and exotic ingredients – using inventive combinations like soy and lime brussels sprouts, or local mushrooms in coconut-lemongrass broth.

Ellen Gibbs

Flavors of the Pacific Rim meet East Coast cuisine.

Two worlds collide with an open designed dining room and kitchen layout, a concept that testifies to the culinary skill and performance of trained chefs. Curious diners can see clearly as to what goes on beyond the bartender, just as chefs can observe guests grading their food.

Ellen Gibbs

Moments after being seated, each table gets a warm batch of garlic-parmesan rolls. Usually I’m not a fan of this practice, on account of it being adopted by one too many dimly lit family restaurants, (the one’s complete with sticky floors and vinyl-checkered tablecloths) yet David’s was able to avoid this trap so many restaurants fall victim to. That being said however, I wouldn’t have missed the infamous bread basket had it not been offered.

Like the paintings on display at the Portland Museum of Art, the plates at David’s are masterpieces all their own, without being too highfalutin. Shingles of sensuous tuna steak are put off balance with an asymmetrical arch of roasted asparagus, propped upon a pile of soba noodles. The composition of toasted sesame and peanut oil with mild citrus schezwan sauce made the cracked pepper crusted tuna even-tempered, as did serving it with cold soba noodles. Break up the heat with bites of pickled ginger, or create a new dimension of spice with wasabi paste. Like the palette of a painter, the delicate and simple arrangement of ingredients lets diners pick and choose flavors to their liking, playing with variations of spicy to sweet.

Expect to be amazed in every sense of the word – from the inventive creative energy to the table side kitchen space, David’s is a mashup reflected in fusion cuisine as well as atmosphere.