The Doves Nest — Restaurant in Waxahachie

On a recent excursion to Waxahachie, TX we followed a recommendation and took lunch at the Doves Nest. It had been raved about by some of our fellow day trippers, whom had visited it on previous occasions. It occupies much of a city block in this old, but nicely restored central Texas community. Patrons enter the restaurant through the "antique/boutique store” That is my vocabulary for a merchant that sells a few antiques, but mostly overpriced home decorator boutique items. Their business card describes it like this, "A Gathering of New Southern Cuisine & Catering Gifts, Antiques, Old Rugs, and New Friends." This review, however, pertains only to the restaurant.

We had our name placed on the waiting list at 11:00am and were seated within five minutes. There is a large (approximately 2000 square foot) downstairs dining room, and a smaller dining area upstairs. We were seated by a hostess and told that a server would attend to us shortly. Within seconds, we were greeted by our server, received menus and asked for water. While she was gone, a bus person began cleaning the table next to us with a spray bottle of Windex (or some equivalent) and managed to over-spray onto our table and my wife's arm. Grateful to be inside a well air-conditioned eatery, we said nothing, and when the server came back, placed our order. My wife ordered the Chicken Apricot Salad, and I chose the chicken quiche which came with a soup or salad. Nineteen minutes later, our food arrived. Again, we did not say anything, and in all fairness, it was very busy. Her very small salad came with and even smaller cup of dressing on the side that left her still feeling hungry. My quiche (generous a portion as it was) was very dry - clearly over-baked. We considered sending it back, and asking for something else, but we did not want to wait another nineteen minutes, so we made the most of it. As like most crowded eateries these days, it was very noisy. An across table conversation was very difficult.

When the check arrived, it was handwritten and not totaled. We were instructed to pay at the counter, so we did. when I mentioned that i was somewhat disappointed with my lunch, I was told that i should have told the server and asked for something else - I knew that. So, I explained that we did not want to wait. Cindy - the owner was apologetic, but made offer to adjust the bill, but then again i did not asked her to either. After all, I ate the food dry as it was. When you're hungry, you’re hungry.

As already mentioned, the restaurant and shop occupy an old building on the square across from the courthouse. I do not know if the restrooms are not ADA compliant, although it does appear the doors are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair.

Bottom line, there are dining choices around the square. Walk around check them out yourself before you...

We will definitely be back! Waxahachie has more than 1 great local restaurant but The Dove’s Nest may be a new fave! (A 20 minute wait for 2 people at 11:25am is a good sign that it’s popular!) It’s not the cheapest restaurant but $20ish to be totally stuffed with amazing food is not a bad deal at all! Mom and I usually order our own and split everything so she got the Dove’s Nest Salad Medley ($13.95) with Apricot Chicken Salad and Baby Spinach Salad which was very large and super fresh! The chicken salad has sherried apricots with fresh rosemary honey Dijon mayo which sounds like a strange combo but is probably the best I’ve ever had! The Baby Spinach Salad has apple wood bacon, golden raisins & apples with orange curry dressing… again sounds suspicious but amazing! I ordered the Ham & Jam Sandwich (slices of grilled pit ham & Brie with arugula, mayo and private label peach habanero jam on a toasted ciabatta $12.75) on the recommendation of our very nice, friendly and attentive waitress (Rebekah I think)! Again, didn’t sound super great but ya super great! I got the 1/2 sandwich with a cup of soup as the soup of the day was Green Chile Chicken which can be a bit spicy but this was just about perfect! In case that wasn’t enough food (which it was) we each got an oversized slice of Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie (comes with a double scoop of ice cream for $7.50) which was GREAT! Real metal utensils and cloth napkins in a cool old building (without the increasingly common loud music) are just added bonuses! A few things to be aware of… 1 there’s an upcharge for not paying cash… 2 the entrance to the restaurant is not the door on the side street but through the gift shop door on the corner (which is by design because) 3 you have to go through a great gift shop where you (and especially any female companions) will almost certainly find something to buy. Apparently the Dallas Morning News gave them 3.5 stars (which I think is short by about 1.5) and Texas Monthly magazine voted them one of the top 10 best small town restaurants in Texas! They’re only open for lunch but if you’re in the area it’s a...

Not a kid friendly place. My friend and I went in for lunch today and she and I both have 3 year old daughters, and I also have a 16 month old daughter. They didn’t have a single high chair in the restaurant and the only option was a booster seat with no strap. I reluctantly agreed but was concerned about safety as my 1 year old is rambunctious and usually needs to be buckled in. I asked if we could be seated at the booth since that might’ve been a little safer with a booster seat, and the hostess said no, that they reserved that booth for parties of 9 and up. Since we were a group of 5 I was very surprised that they didn’t make an exception, considering they didn’t have a single high chair. The waitress got our drink order wrong; she didn’t write it down and I ended up paying for a drink I didn’t order. No kids menu so we paid adult prices for the 3 year olds to eat. I ordered a Cesar salad with smoked salmon, and the smoked salmon tasted like it was canned and was overly salted. The dressing was overly salty as well. I walked out of there spending $40 for mediocre food for a place that doesn’t accommodate kids. The corn jalapeño relish was good and I did buy a jar of it, but it was all over priced. I won’t be back, and I doubt they would have any regrets about it since they don’t accommodate for young children. It makes a statement when they don’t even have a single high chair for a young baby; I have a wooden restaurant style high chair at home and it only set us back about forty dollars, so there’s no excuse not...