Review of Kindle Restaurant in Lewes, Delaware

During my summer vacation at the Delaware beaches, I dined at a new restaurant in Lewes called Kindle, located at 111 Bank Street in downtown. Kindle was previously a mainstay in Milton, Delaware, approximately 20 minutes inland from Lewes. However, beach vacationers would never have found it. This move has proved to be wise, since they now attract many more customers.

Outdoor dining is available, with a patio that seats approximately 20 people. The patio faces Bank Street and the tables have electronic candles to add a romantic touch. However, on the night I visited we chose to eat indoors because we were with my kids and it was rather humid out.

I started with the Kindle House Salad ($8), which has tender baby arugula, cherry tomatoes, fresh corn, zucchini, squash and a pleasing vinaigrette dressing which had balsamic vinegar and oil. I was pleased that there was no iceberg lettuce and found the salad to be perfect.

I had asked the waitress to split the salad into two plates so that I could share it with someone else in my party. She advised that there is a $2 charge to have the kitchen split the salad and told me that she would bring out an extra plate so that I could split the salad myself. I found this strange and a little crass for a fine dining restaurant to nickel and dime its customers in that fashion.

I mentally moved on from the salad incident and wanted to enjoy the rest of the meal. Another person in my party ordered the Broiled Crab Cake ($30). This dish comes with a crabcake made with fresh Chesapeake Bay lump crabmeat, homemade hushpuppies, house salad and lime-caper tartar sauce.

Thankfully, the crabcake was made with just crab meat and spices, without filler such as bread crumbs. I found it to be authentic and enjoyable. The hush puppies were made from corn bread and were deep fried. There were actual corn kernels in the bread. The hush puppies were too dry in texture and we didn't eat them.

My husband ordered the Seared Diver Scallops ($25). The scallops were served over sweet corn, edamame beans and a red pepper and asparagus sauté. The scallops were baked in a balsamic glaze. Since only five scallops came on the plate, I didn't ask him to try one. We were both a little disappointed that the plate didn't look more abundant. I think customers would be more satisfied if a few more scallops were given. Regardless of the small quantity, my husband liked his food.

I ordered the Campanelle Pasta ($18). This dish consists of trumpet shaped pasta tossed with a basil pesto sauce, mixed with a touch of garlic, teardrop baby tomatoes and pine nuts on a bed of baby arugula. In the middle of the pasta are three small balls of fresh mozzarella cheese. The dish I ordered turned out to be my favorite.

The pesto sauce was perfect because there was not too much garlic infused in it. The sauce seeped into the arugula and made it delicious. The choice of pasta was perfect because of the waves that held the sauce. I would order the Campanelle pasta again.

There is a kids menu at Kindle. My daughter ordered the obligatory deep fried chicken tenders with French Fries ($6). My son had the pasta with butter sauce ($6). The pasta was the same type as my dish. They had no complaints and ate very well.

Kindle has a diverse wine list and the bartender will make you virtually any drink you request. The restaurant has an earthy theme to it and the décor was warm and cozy. There were sconces with lit candles on the walls and the walls were brown in tone. The owners of Kindle also operate two other restaurants in Lewes. They own Striper Bites (casual seafood) and Half Full (gourmet pizza and wine).

I enjoyed dining at Kindle. However, I would avoid the scallop dish due to the scarcity of scallops. I would try their other offerings such as a rib-eye steak, grilled Alaska salmon or the Kindle Burger (Vermont cheddar, smoked bacon and a burger on a brioche bun with French Fries).