Mamani just opened a few days ago led by Executive Chef Christophe De Lellis.  The French born De Lellis was last at 3 Michelin star Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas.  This restaurant is named for the brother owners Brandon and Henry Cohanim’s grandmother who they called Mamani.  The brother’s previous projects include Bar Colette and Namo.  Much anticpated the menu features Italian and French style cooking in an elegant yet comfortable room. It’s the largest restaurant to open in the new Quad development in Uptown Dallas.  The ‘L’ shaped restaurant has 2 dining rooms, an enclosed patio, bar and a private dining room for 10 at one end.  Pastry chef Peter Edris makes the breads and Pastry Chef Nicole De Lellis works with her husband on the dessert options.  The new place bustles with activity – there are a lot of service people and I didn’t see any empty tables.   The background music was too loud but they graciously turned it down when we remarked about it – service is plentiful and responsive.  You see the open kitchen when you first enter and the dining area has peach tones, coved ceilings and carpets.  The 2-tops were fairly small marble tables with the 4-tops running larger but they made it work without making me crazy.  The wine list was large, not online and heavy into French burgandy styles.  According to our fun server most of the portions are “humble sized” except for those items in the “to share” section.  Spot on, but there was enough to split and have a good taste of the items.  The prices are commensurate with the top-notch ingredients they use in the dishes and the level of service as well as the expensively finished interior.  I found the food wonderful, the staff and owners engaging and would easily recommend it. Continue reading →