14 Global
For more than a decade, 14 Global has been offering globally-influenced small, medium, and large plates for a largely shared dining experience, with one of the most ambitious menus in Bethany Beach. While many dishes are coastally-inspired, each has an ingredient, herb, or spice not native to Delmarva, giving the dish the ‘international’ look and feel of the namesake restaurant. The tapas-inspired menu was built for experimenting, ranging from snacks, dips, salads, stir fry, and seafood and meat dishes, many with curious spices or preparation. The problem with group sharing at 14 Global, however, is that the tiny tables barely accommodate the parade of dishes pouring out of the busy kitchen, and the pacing is overly prompt and uneven. Groups of four are constantly shifting around plates and dishes, trying to locate room for the shared food, but not spending enough time enjoying; add in cocktails, and the table turns into a puzzle arranging experience, indeed, better to have an organizational engineer among your dining party.
14 Global has historically been known for its food, and the choices are ambitious, but upon our last visits, they do not reach their intended culinary promise. Not the same with drinks, however, as they are a specialty of the cozy, dark, and sometimes loud restaurant, made with fresh ingredients and lots of love by the bar tender/owner, who takes great pride in concocting exotic cocktails. While there are a few outdoor seats, passing through the door, you will forget that you are dining in Bethany Beach, instead escaping to the memory of a tiny bistro last enjoyed somewhere in South America.
Note that 14 Global charges 3.5% for credit card use, a growing Delmarva restaurant practice increasingly angering patrons who find annoying a credit card tax, especially one that is perhaps a tick higher than the fee charged by the card processor. Some react by paying through an Amex card in order to reduce any margin enjoyed by the sur-charging restaurant. Our message to restaurant owners: be transparent and increase the cost of your dishes rather than charging for the convenience of using a credit card, because the suddenly disclosed fees when the bill arrives tend to dull the otherwise pleasurable dining experience, especially when you have to ponder whether Delaware tax was credited on top of the extra charge, and whether to tip on top of the processing fee. Restaurant bill payment should not require an abacus. While 14 Global certainly is not alone in adding a credit card surcharge, the faux-global dining experience is no longer worth the increased fee.