Tea Room Review: Cafe Danielle

Phone: (214) 741-2244
Address: 5710 W Lovers Ln Dallas, TX 75209
Reservations recommended.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 teacups
Ambiance: 2
Service: 3
Food: 5
Tea: 4

Nearly invisible behind the Buffalo Gap Trading Company, Cafe Danielle provides a surprisingly delicious addition to the Lover's Lane tea rooms, acquitting themselves admirably along side the Renaissance Garden Cafe, Maudee's, and City Cafe.

From the outside, the cafe has a pleasant feel, lovely trumpet vines spilling over the adjacent wall. A smattering of antiques are hung on the walls and from the ceilings - the price tags detracting only slightly from their eclectic charm. The tables are spare with bamboo folding chairs that provide no cushioning and minimal comfort. On our visit, the windows were extremely dirty, detracting from what would have been an otherwise lovely view of the flowering vines. The table setting itself was charming, with an interesting mishmash of cups and saucers and teapots provided with pressed glass plates that seemed at odds with the spare surroundings.

A selection of five teas from Tea Forte (http://www.teaforte.com/) is provided, in charming silk tea bags. The pyramid shape of the bags alone afforded a great deal of comment and interest. The quality of the teas were excellent - unfortunately, we were left to our own devices in determining which to try as our server did not provide any information about the varieties, their characteristics, and what they might match best with. A tea menu with a brief description of each tea would be a welcome addition.

The food was, by far, the most enjoyable part of the entire experience. The enormous scone was served with a lucious clotted cream (the best I've tried in the metroplex to date) and a generous portion of jam. The sandwiches were both delicious and imaginative - excellent breads served with up-to-date versions of old favorites. The dessert course was as wonderful as the sandwich course and included a heavenly warm chocolate cake that stole the show. Each course was of impeccable quality and presentation, although we were uncertain exactly what each sandwich and dessert was since the server offered no information about any of the courses.

Service was prompt, polite, and cursory. Our server spent most of the time in the kitchen, audibly giving directions for a catering job later in the evening. We were definitely left with the feeling that tea is not the primary (or indeed, even the secondary) business for this cafe. Nevertheless, we look forward to returning to sample more of the wonderful food.