Blue Dahlia Bistro

Reviews 4

AS

Ashley Marco

After nearly 2 years of hoarding a gift card to Blue Dahlia, myself, my husband and my infant decided to go for brunch on Mothers Day. The curiosity could not have been more heightened. We were near giddy as we drove from South Austin to the Eastside for this well known gem. Which is why it pains me terribly to say that we were less than whelmed. We were what you would call underwhelmed. By all of it. The hostess, the waitress, the poor service, the flies, and unfortunately, the food. Let me start from the beginning. We put our name down and it was only a 15 min wait - on Mothers Day! We were so excited. When our name was called a confused hostess found us and said "Oh....youre three," looking at my 7 month old son. To which I replied, "No, we have two. And a baby." She looked suddenly really upset. Started shaking her head and said "this table cant fit a highchair... I just....I dont....". I said "Dont worry, hes too small for a highchair. We dont need one" to which she looked at me with utter disgust and said "so youre just going to HOLD him??" Why no, that wasnt the plan at all. We were hoping that you would sit by our table and spoon feed us while my child clings to you for dear life, pulling out your hair and teething on your face. Yeah.... we planned to hold him. We sat down at a small, rickety table outside and were greeted minutes later by our waitress (who may have been new). She couldnt make drink recommendations because she was only 18 (....). I ordered a Bellini but got a mimosa. Strike 1. Then it took forever to get the actual drink that I did order. We ordered the bread plate w/spreads and as we communicated we were "really hungry so hoped it would come quickly" to which she replied that dont worry, it would. Well it didnt. And when it showed up, it had (I kid you not) ONE tiny square of butter. For 5 pieces of bread. No spreads. No jams, no jellies. When we asked if something else came with it she sent the spreads over with a busboy who promptly dropped them off without explaining what was what. Strike 2. When the food finally came we spent more time fighting off the flies than enjoying our meals. And honestly, I get it. Were outside, flies and other bugs might show up. But put something out to at least TRY to keep the flies away! By the end, I had one in my drink, stuck to my crepes and my husband almost ate one. The food itself wasnt anything to write home about. Maybe we got the wrong things? We didnt get any recommendations so I wouldnt know whats good anyways. Every place has its off day and holidays are always difficult. But unfortunately it was really difficult, and for this first timer, on MY special holiday. So no, we wont be going back. I might, however, call the hostess to babysit.

TA

Tatiana B

Ive been to this place a year ago and I really liked it, so I decided to visit it again today. The cafe itself is pretty cozy and the food is good enough for the money, but the staff is not really interested in making their customers feel welcomed/respected. At some point our waiter forgot about us and I had to bother other waiters to ask for more bread and for desert menu (after our waiter showed up and then instantly forgot that I asked for desert menu). Then we had to wait another 15 mins for him to remember about us and ask if we want something for desert. We asked for two cups of hot chocolate to go and a check. They brought the check within 10 mins, but chocolate came out way later. We were about to go when I tasted the chocolate and it tasted like plain milk. Second cup tasted the same. I came up to their "coffee station" and said nicely that chocolate doesnt taste like chocolate at all. The lady said "its not possible, I put the chocolate there myself". I said that I dont know the reason, but it simply doesnt take like chocolate. Long story short, they gave me lots of attitude and tried their best to demonstrate that I annoyed them with this issue. They made me to make my own new hot chocolate for us (yes, thats correct) - they whipped the milk and then made us pour chocolate syrup into it. The chocolate was thick and I had to ask for a spoon to stir it. Apparently they didnt stir it at all in the cups they gave us previously, but its not our fault by any means and even if we knew that this is the problem, we wouldnt be able to stir ourselves, as no spoons or sticks were provided. There were 3 people at the coffee station and all 3 of them made sure we see how annoyed they are by what happened. Of course I didnt hear any apologies, although I didt really need it. I own a grocery store myself and I know how hard-to-deal-with some customers can be. But till the end I was nice and respectful to the stuff, although they werent. I wont come to this place again and will not recommend it. If you go there, as it still a cozy place, just dont take that $4.5 hot chocolate that actually tasted worse than $1.5 hot chocolate at gas stations.

DE

Deborah Coley

One afternoon as I was wandering around the 11th Street District enjoying the sights, I discovered that it was time to eat. I serendipitously bumped into a good friend who recommended that I try Blue Dalia Bistro. Initially, i was skeptical to venture into Blue Dalia because i was afraid that the prices might be out my comfort zone, but I was pleasantly surprised the learn that since I arrived during happy hour my worry for naught. As i walked onto the premises, I noticed that the outside of the bistro is full of quaint cafe tables and greenery. The black attired servers briskly moved among the customers with casual sophistication. As I made my way into the main dining room, i was struck at the rustic dark wood tables, floors and a few original paintings adorning the walls. The bistro most definitely gives off a rustic French cafe vibe and was very inviting. My waiter approached my table and informed me of the daily blackboard special that happened to be an open-faced sandwich, or tartine, in French. My friend, who recommended this place to me, mentioned how good the sandwiches are here, so i was instantly sold on trying one. I had the special of the day which was a ricotta, dried fig and apricot jam tartine on freshly baked bread accompanied by a mess of fresh spring lettuces and red grapes. I ordered a coffee porter with my meal which proved to be a good choice to offset the mild sweetness of the cheese and jam. The sandwich arrived on a black platter resembling a pizza stone. It was an absolutely perfect meal! If I could give Blue Dalia eleven stars, i would!

GA

Gary Hwu

I came here on a whim for Happy Hour with no expectations. Blue Dahlia Bistro has a great one-of-a-kind atmosphere. I dined in their back patio area, which felt like a zen garden with all the bamboo shoots surrounding the fence. For food I definitely recommend the Smoked Salmon tartine (open sandwich). The herb cream cheese with the salmon are a perfect match for each other. On the sweeter side, I would recommend the Blue Dahlia Brie with walnuts tartine. The Board of Cheeses consists of 5 cheeses paired with apple slices, grapes, bread, and a mango papaya jam which was delicious. Service isnt very attentive. It took a while for a server to come take our order, and it wasnt even our server. Actually, I dont think we ever saw our server whose name was supposedly Corey...but did we see a Corey...well never know. dun dun dun. There was a really cute calico cat lounging around that kept us occupied while we were waiting. But despite the slow unattentive service, while we were dining it just so happens that they were drilling holes in the fence for candle holders. The owners came to each table in the back patio and apologized in advance for the loud noise and gave each table a complimentary dessert on them. OK! I got the Sea Salt Caramel Gelato and it was the bomb! I thought the gelato would be a small scoop, but it turned out to be one massive scoop...definitely worth it. With great food and great atmosphere, I will be back. I want to try their bunch menu items too.