The Daily Cafe - West Midtown — Restaurant in Atlanta

Unwelcoming staff, mediocre food, poor acoustics.

We arrived about ~15 minutes before closing, and when we got to the counter the man at the register yelled to the line that they were closing in a few minutes. I asked what that meant, if we couldn’t order, and he just asked if we wanted dine-in or carry out. He was clearly making the point to tell us we needed to eat fast, which was just a rude way to start the visit. If you want to make sure your spot closes at a specific time then create a dine-in cutoff time rather than yelling at people before they’ve even ordered and still allowing dine-in.

Food then took almost 20 minutes to come out, one toast and an egg wrap. So they served us after they were closed, and it wasn’t even busy there. The entire time we were waiting for our food there were people cleaning the restaurant for closing, it smelled like cleaning solution and sounded like scraping chairs all over. The place has no sound dampening so it’s really loud in there. I understand you don’t want to hang around all day after closing, but these aren’t tip-waged staff, they are paid hourly to close, so it was just intense how heavily they were cleaning while there were still probably ~8 people eating before actual closing time. It made an already unwelcoming staff vibe even worse. I wish they’d just told us we needed to do carry out.

Food was okay. My friend liked their egg wrap, although the fillings were only at the bottom, he had to eat 80% just eggs before reaching the other fillings at the bottom of the pita pocket. My salmon and dill toast was not good, it came out with the spread super messy spilling down the side and back of the toast and plate, like a kid had plated it. A single thin piece of salmon across the top, there was so little salmon you couldn’t taste it over the spread. It was poorly presented, terrible portion size, and taste was mediocre.

Had high hopes for this place, super cute online, but vibe + food were lacking. Drip...

After seeing an announcement on Atlanta Eater from a few months back, I have been eagerly awaiting the opening of The Daily. I have not visited their cafe in Charleston, but I was super glad to hear they were opening an outpost in Atlanta.

I'm usually a hesitant visit a new cafe/restaurant soon after their official opening. Usually there are kitchen or service issues to be resolved.

This isn't the case at The Daily. The staff are at the top of their game on Day #2, which is amazing, admirable, and much appreciated.

The restaurant itself is just gorgeous. Open, airy, with both a huge dining area and cafe counter-type seating. This isn't a cookie cutter Starbucks - this is type of restaurant where you'd want to stay a while.

Staff were super friendly on my visit, where my husband and I ordered an americano, cortado, and a couple of breakfast burritos. The coffee was promptly crafted and delivered spot-on. I'm not a coffee connoisseur, but the beans used were definitely better than the generic Italian roast ones.

The breakfast burrito was slightly non-traditional from the usually "carb and calorie" fillings of most burritos. However, the Daily's amendments to this classic dish took the meal to a higher level of fabulousness. The combination of pickled onions and cilantro added more depth to the overall flavor. The house (complimentary) hot sauce was a perfect compliment to the egg and cheddar.

As the cafe is nearby, I'm looking forward to being a regular visitor and making my way through the rest...

Plenty of parking and signs pointing to the parking :)

Walk in, order at the counter, very helpful staff and fast/delicious breakfast at the table within 10 minutes.

Loaded Avocado Vegetarian (bowl) had Half an Avocado, Over Easy Egg, Fennel Chili Crisp, Market Greens, Pickled Onion (yummy), Chives, Benne Seeds & Crunchies, Mini Toast (see photo - this was a slice of sourdough bread, I believe lightly grilled)!

Hubby had the Veggie Sandwich W/ Roasted Sweet Potato Salad (the sweet potato salad blended into the sandwich overall...but all tasty), Charred Zucchini, Roasted Peppers, Pickled Red Onion, Romesco, Whipped Feta, Local Lettuces, Ciabatta Bread $11 I will say the whipped feta and soft bread made the sandwich...so it just melts in your mouth.

We both ordered drip coffee, came in a paper cup as they were out of regular cups. $3 and just over a $1 for refills. Not a bad deal for a good cup of smooth coffee.

The restaurant is clean, spacious and they have free wifi (just ask for the code). Seemed as 75% of the patrons around 9:30/10:00 were busy working. The building is concrete and walls mostly bare with just a bit of macrame on one wall and a colorful mural on the back wall.

Music is just loud enough to have to talk up/over it but I put my headphones on and listened to...