Talia's Cafe — Restaurant in Allen

Giving some grace here because it was Mothers Day but that should have been all the more reason to ensure the team was prepared… 0 stars for overall experience, 2 stars because the food could have been good…

I will start with the ‘check in’ process. We were a party of 4 (pretty average) and we were advised of a 30 minute wait (not bad at all for Mothers Day). This was problem number one (which I should have picked up on by the others waiting around). The host wrote something down but it was not my name or phone number (which is usually a standard to keep track of who is who in line) - I even asked specifically if they needed my name and that was a ‘no, I have you down already’…

Fast forward 20 minutes… this is of course earlier than the advised 30 minutes but I wanted to check in because I was a bit concerned on how we would be able to be called for seating when again no name or number was taken… Adding on another 20 minutes past the 30 I expected to wait there were several parties coming in just as concerned with how they were going to be seated having arrived before and after us without their name or contact having been taken…

We were eventually seated after needing to call out the elapsed time and chatting among other parties to figure out approximately how much longer we would need to wait vs what was advised when we had ‘checked in’ … again, understanding it is a holiday waiting a little longer is no problem but clearly there is an organizational issue if everyone that ‘checks in’ is waiting longer than anticipated and as a host you are unable to advise on any updated time estimates for anyone…

Getting into the seated experience — This took a while which again… Holiday, I get it… but when waiting guest we’re being told that the extend wait times were due to ensuring a waiter was available… We waited an additional 20 minutes for the waiter to come just to introduce themselves and bring water… keeping with the trend here, entrees were also long waits to the point where the forgotten item(s) were cancelled. Adding to the waits- when we got our food we did not have any silverware to eat so an additional wait here. When we were finally brought the silverware it was straight out of the washer (wet and not checked for cleanliness)

Forgetting everything else - was the food good? No… but I think it could have been… Everything came out barely warm… Hash-browns are hard to mess up but at arrival (even without silverware) they were barely hanging on. The croffles I think could have been good but they were not presented well at all… I never order eggs from restaurants just because the idea makes my stomach hurt but my mother took that chance and those too were not fresh…

I would like to give this place a second chance in the future but something has to be done in how they organize to ensure they can meet or exceed...

Walking through the reflective glass doors of Talia's Cafe, you are immediately transported to what seems like a regal tea house along the streets of London. Lined with navy blue covered booth seats and carefully arranged bouquet of vibrantly colored flowers, each table is decorated with a golden encased candle dancing to the jazz music in the background. It is radiantly lit with dazzling chandeliers and lofty pendant light fixtures creating a warm and pleasing atmosphere.

On the first whiff, you are greeted with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee interfusing with subtle hints of crispy applewood bacon and a minute accent of peppery sausage patties, not overbearing of course... just enough of the ever-so-welcoming scent to tingle the senses and perk you up for a scrumptious dining experience.

You wouldn't need to linger long because a lovely waitress (in my case, it was the lovely Mary-Anne) strides up to the front desk with the widest smile to greet you ever so kindly and show you to your seat. You are then presented with an expansive array of choices for food. You sit there, for a moment, spoilt for choice but you pick one knowing that you are going to love whatever you chose because the smells emitting from the kitchen don't lie.

In my case, I settled for the chicken fried steak with a side of fries and an egg over easy (I didn't pick a bread and did away with one egg as I knew I couldn't finish but if you must know, the meal comes with 2 eggs, a type of bread, a side and of course the steak). I ordered a steaming hot cup of coffee on the side as well because I couldn't resist the scent of freshly brewed coffee.

Not more than 10mins after the order, I was presented my breakfast. The chicken fried steak was fried to perfection - a light but crunchy coat with a touch of seasoning enveloping a thinly slice of succulent beef. On one side a faultlessly cooked egg over easy prompting your fork to playfully bounce on it. On the other, piping hot freshly fried crispy fries - soft potato goodness coated in a slender savory crusty batter. The gravy was thick, creamy but light; harmoniously gathering the entire dish to create an explosion of flavors and texture in the mouth. Each bite was divine.

Throughout the meal, I was offered coffee top-ups and if I had any other wants. I didn't have any of course but I'm sure, some of my lovely readers, would like to know they can take them up on some of those instead of having to scour for attention to get assistance like some other places.

I left feeling extremely satisfied and thoroughly delighted that I chose Talia's Cafe for brunch. I highly recommend it and hope you guys enjoy it as...

We usually expect that an establishment strives for perfection in its opening, even a soft opening. This is especially essential given the number of such places popping up. This is an extremely competitive space right now and there is no room for lackluster performance. We all know that you only have one chance to make a good impression. Our first experience here fell far below what we’ve experienced at the other Breakfast spots growing in the area.

The staff was pleasant albeit clearly inexperienced. We’ve also been used to an owner being visible and engaged to ensure perfection and solicit real time feedback. If the owner was there, they were certainly invisible. It seemed like the restaurant was turned over to the kids for the morning.

My wife is Vegan and the waitress helped her craft a skillet that was a slight variation on a menu item. Basically the meat and cheese were both removed, and a couple vegetables were replaced with others. Unfortunately what they served first was not what she ordered. They kindly re-made the dish. The second try had the right ingredients although was luke warm and swimming in oil. She was able to eat at least some of it. The real shock came when we got the bill. What she has ordered at many other breakfast spots for roughly $9 - $10 ended up costing more than $16 because most of the simple ingredient substitutions were priced individually on TOP of the cost of the menu dish itself and there was no consideration for ingredients that were removed like the meat, and cheese. Buyer beware!

I always try the Eggs Benedict in a new place. The menu made a point of stating that they served Canadian Bacon in their Benedict. What came were two paper thin pieces of Ham. The eggs were done nicely however the dish was mostly cold, possibly because it was served on an oversized porcelain plate that itself was cold. The hash browns were clearly frozen, unusually flat, and lacking texture and taste.

Honestly the most annoying feature for my dish was the large porcelain plate that was warped and annoying to eat off of. I’m used to using sugar packets to stop a chair from wobbling. This is the first time I’ve had to level my food plate this way. I informed our waiter but I suspect the plate will live on to annoy other customers.

Even with the ‘soft opening discount’ we dropped more than $40 for a simple breakfast for the two of us, more than we have in the past outside of a Breakfast Buffet.

We like to see new locals succeed but nothing less than perfection...