Restaurant Review: Cafe at the Gardens
Category: Local...
Posted Thursday, December 29, 2005 at 11:15 PM [GMT-6]

George over at Sleepless in Midland posted his impressions of Midland's newest upscale restaurant a couple of weeks ago. He was quite impressed with Cafe At The Gardens, but his review was based on a lunchtime visit. We've just returned from eating dinner with friends at The Gardens, and I thought I'd share our perceptions, now that the restaurant has a little more operating time under its belt.

• Atmosphere - The setting in the middle of a working nursery (Alldredge Gardens) gives the restaurant an ambience not found anywhere else in Midland, or in all of west Texas, I suspect. Part of the restaurant is, in fact, located inside one of the huge greenhouses. The downside is that there a big exhaust fan over the greenhouse tables, and it was emitting a rather grating high-pitched squeal as we passed by it on our way to our table located in the interior atrium. Also, the greenhouse was rather warm and humid, which may be either a plus or a minus depending on your personal preferences (the atrium setting was on the cold side, so you might keep this in mind when making reservations). Overall, however, the restaurant's setting and decor are quite pleasant; the tables are well-spaced (although the one we were seated at was too close to the rather small bar) and the feel is one of comfortable elegance. A highlight is the comfortable chairs, in stark contrast to another of our favorite upscale restaurants in town, The Garlic Press, whose hard chairs make lingering after a meal a painful proposition.


• Menu - The menu is extensive, highlighted by a long list of daily seafood offerings which vary depending on availability. There are also veal, chicken and pasta dishes, but I suspect that the lineup of steaks are the main draw. Three of us tried the Black Angus tenderloin, one got the prime rib and my wife was the lone non-beefeater, ordering the salmon instead. The menu offers either a 6 ounce or a 10 ounce tenderloin, which is a bit of an awkward choice, in my opinion (I really prefer the 8 ounce offering at The Garlic Press, for example). However, all the food was prepared as ordered -- the kitchen managed to get my medium-rare steak medium-rare, a rare accomplishment, pun intended -- and delicious. The dessert offerings are not extensive. I don't know if they vary each day -- there was no menu -- but there were five choices this evening: chocolate, zebra and carrot cake, cheese cake, and Key Lime pie. The desserts were good, but not ecstatically so (the chocolate cake would have benefited from an ice cream option, but, then, I think everything benefits from the addition of ice cream).


• Service - The service was pleasant and attentive; our water glasses never emptied and coffee was refreshed via new cups rather than refilling the existing ones. The wait for our food was not unreasonable, although things might be different on a busier night; the restaurant was probably less than a quarter full this evening.


• Prices - This is probably the priciest restaurant in town, a bit more expensive than The Garlic Press, I think. Our tab for five dinners, which included only entreés, desserts and coffee, and no wine or bar drinks, was just under $150. These prices are not out of line for similar offerings in other cities, in my experience. Still, this is, for us anyway, a "special occasion" type of restaurant, not something our budget will accommodate on a regular basis.

Overall, we were quite pleased with our experience and I recommend Cafe At The Gardens to anyone seeking a special place for dinner as a change from Tex-Mex and barbecue. My hat's off to the owners of Alldredge Gardens for having the vision and determination to create a unique business, and I hope it does well for them.