Whiskers and Soda — Restaurant in Dallas

So…I’m not exactly sure how to put this. But I kind of wanted to leave as soon as I got there. SERVICE: Now I have 3 lovely lovely cats in my own home who I cherish with my life. And stepping into the cat cafe, the workers were very clearly on edge…which of course, you have a bunch of strangers handling cats. But…it was to the point where it made it feel like you were untrusted, even after pointing out that I had 3 cats. Going inside: Now I went with my mom. And the minute we walked in we realized how small the room was. Not only was it small but it was packed full of people. There was absolutely no where to sit. And if all the cats were occupied, you had to stand in a sea of people in a tiny room. The pictures made it look like they had an entire world full of space and kittens but it was all in all a very uncomfortable experience. I am someone who struggles with social anxiety and being calm in uncomfortable environments. I went to this cafe for my birthday (turning 17) because it was my dream to go to a cat cafe. And I almost wanted to cry because of how uncomfortable the situation was. I wanted to leave immediately but we payed a lot of money to be in a room of sardines. CATS: for the cats, the rules were: you can’t pick up the cats, you can’t hold the cats, if they bite or scratch we’re not responsible. A lot of other stuff I couldn’t really remember. Obviously this was a bit disappointing because, as an owner of three cats all I love to do is cuddle and hold them..but I understand they are just trying to keep them safe. The cats themselves were sadly very unfriendly and aloof. (Which is nothing on them obviously, they’re having strangers come in every day just to pet them) they did not want to be touched whatsoever. KITTEN ROOM: onto the kitten room, me and my mom noticed a smaller room with a small amount of people, we watched from the outside curious and pointing “oh what’s that?” We hadn’t touched the door or anything but suddenly one of the workers came running to us telling us “you can’t go in there, the kitten room is at full capacity”…yeah..we were simply watching through the glass and it felt like they thought we were inside the room itself. They said they could put us on the “waitlist” to go in, you only have 10 minutes. After about 20 minutes of waiting we got to go into the kitten room. And no way what?🫢there were no kittens. They were adult sized cats (which i would know owning 3 cats since kitten size) and were not kittens. And still somehow it was the most enjoyable part of the entire visit because the room was enclosed and only 5 people could go in at a time. Ten minutes of petting the same exact size cats in a different room was the most enjoyable experience. The teenage worker seemingly about my age was rushing us out as SOON as ten minutes striked. "Cafe"?: so the cafe was not a cafe. They had what looked like very VERY old bought like bagels and stuff like I’m a big foodie and will eat anything when opportunity strikes but oh my god it looked really bad. They had like CANS of like ginger ale I think it was and you didn’t even want to attempt to get anything from the cafe (in the same tiny room so imagine how little items they would have) so that part was kinda a let down as well

My most concerning note: now they had mentioned before that they are not responsible for any of the cats scratching or biting. But i had never been more disgusted with the way the workers handled this (uh oh I'm sounding like a karen but hear me out) i saw a poor little young boy, maybe about 6 or 7, his mom was across the room and he was just standing there doing nothing. When a cat suddenly ran up and attacked him, like bit and held onto, scratching his leg. He shreeked (no one heard cuz of the loud packed sardine room). I was right behind him and saw it all…along with one other ADULT worker (not a teenager, ADULT) and she ACTUALLY said "hey no no no, it was just playing it was just- no don't go tell your parents. It didn't attack you" my guy was literally crying, his leg had visible scratch...

So the actual space is cute and seems cozy for cats and guests alike, but I was very underwhelmed by the service and actual cafe experience. Other reviews seem way more positive so maybe I got the employee on a bad day, I get that - but it was a very unwelcoming vibe overall.

I had looked online and saw you can only make reservation if you are a member and the live ‘seating available’ counter showed plenty of space so I took my cat loving child and we went as walk in guests. Walked in and the counter woman is chatting with a seated gentleman. We stand there awkwardly and she continues with her conversation without a ‘hello’ or ‘be right with you.’ After an uncomfortable amount of time she asks ‘do you have a reservation?’ Again no polite or welcoming vibe. We fill out the info on the iPad at the front and to echo other complaints, have to manually enter our own credit card info. Then we are given shoe covers and are told to we can enter.

Enter cafe and it’s not too crowded. I was excited after looking at the google maps review pics to try a coffee and a snack but saw no barista. I go to ask the woman out front but we are locked in the room and her back is turned talking to same gentleman. I wait a few minutes and keep trying to go to the door to get her attention. She finally unlocks it (sidenote - weird to not let guests know they will be locked in a room. What if we have an emergency? I would have liked to be told, but moving along). I ask her about the cafe and she says ‘it’s only on weekends. But there is free coffee and sodas out here.’ Again information I would like to have known before going into locked cat room. I get some lukewarm coffee and a coke for my kid and resume our cat cafe experience.

There are signs telling customers to let them know about not great experiences before leaving reviews online but the woman today did not genuinely seem to care about our experience. Her stiff and unfriendly demeanor did not exact reflect a vibe that welcomed feedback.

I wish I had known the cafe part would not be open so I could have brought my own coffee and that the staff was more friendly and clear towards first timers. I have been to a great cat cafe in Chicago, ‘Catcade’ and it was a similar concept but much friendlier and more pleasant experience.

That said, it was cute, my kid enjoyed the time and wanted to go again. I would recommend going but just know before you go...

The staff were very friendly, but they allowed way too many people in. We were a walkin at 1:30pm on a Saturday. When we signed our forms they scheduled our time for 3 o'clock but still allowed us back. And now this makes it seem like they aren't supposed to have this many people in and were almost overriding their system to pack more people in. I counted 32 people in the cafe during our hour visit. Not including staff. That's way too many people for such a small space. It only calmed down after multiple groups of people finally left just for them to allow more people in again. And a lot of the parents that came in weren't watching their kids, allowing them to mess with the cats, yell, wake them up to play, and chase them throughout the cafe. In their rules that you sign, it talks about NOT making loud noises, running, pulling on tails, etc. And they aren't enforcing their own rules and you could tell some of the cats were stressed out and had to be moved to another room. For example, while sitting at our table this kid kept attempting to play with a cat who was trying to sleep next to us, annoying the cat more and more until the cat lashed out and accidently got my friend with her claws and ran off. And where were the parents? No freakin clue. I will give some of the other parents credit they were on their kids to be gentle and friendly with the cats, and quiet. And it was wonderful to see compared to the others. Other people who came in were respectful and pleasant. As for the cats, they were adorable, but a lot of the cats were napping when we came and or they escaped to the rafters. They might have been more active earlier, but I, too, would have been exhausted after dealing with that many people. And for the kitten room so its a 4 person per session according to their own rules. They were letting 7 - 10 people into the tiny kitten room at once. And the poor kittens were all so exhausted and were hiding, trying to sleep. One was asleep in the back of their litter box. Food was decent and I understand the pricing due to the nature of the cafe. The advertisement that I saw made it seem comfy and relaxed space. And all in all, my experience was loud, chaotic, and not in a fun way. Best of luck to y'all and I hope you are able to improve these things for both the sake of the customers but also...