Cafe Lago

This place is great. They have super healthy and fresh options. The meusli on weekends is the best!!! Puppy friendly patio is nice also. I love their sangria and it is bottomless on weekends for only $9-$10 i can't remember exactly. It is a great place to escape and relax it is never over stimulating like so many restaurants can be. I love it. Pros: delicious food and fresh, dog friendly Cons: no liquor more

First, the positives: they have a dog-friendly patio, and even a dog-friendly menu. And a portion of the proceeds go to animal charities. And they were one of the first to have a dog-friendly patio. Oh, to be a dog.... This restaurant has a serious service problem. It doesn't matter if you are the only one there. It doesn't matter if every table is full. The service is awful. Period. They have this weird division of labor, where this girl, who acts like she is from outer space, busses the tables but also fills your water and coffee. And if you order coffee, for some reason they have a special cream carafe they pour the cream from, for you. I don't have a problem with this in general, but it interjects a special step into the whole process and it results in a delay. I have been several times where I've ordered coffee right off the bat, and have either had to go to the counter to get it, or remind the waiter. And,yes, this has happened when I was literally the ONLY ONE THERE. Don't plan on eating there in under an hour. I went recently and ordered soup, and a sandwich. 2 hours later I had to go up to the counter to get my check. The menu is full of admonishments - don't talk on your cell phone. Don't let your children run amock. Please pay with cash and not credit card bc we are a small business, yada yada. I don't know why the owner is in the service industry. She doesn't know how to treat her employees, or her customers. I've personally seen her chastise her employees, which is INCREDIBLY inappropriate in front of customers. Why this restaurant hasn't gone under is totally beyond me. We need a good, solid, customer-oriented brunch location in the White Rock area. more

All I can say is WOW. I just moved into the area and I love it. I was excited about having a nice place I could walk to for a cappuccino, or breakfast before work. But regardless of location, I will NEVER be back to Cafe Lago. I had heard some stories and thought, well I'm not going to be rude so there is no reason for them to be rude to me. Well, when I ordered something that I could not take two bites of, I didn't ask for my money back, just something to replace it. This is when Satan's daughter (the actual owner) came out on a rampage. No class, no couth, definitely not wanting repeat business. I am baffled how someone can be so rude because I changed my order.... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! more

If you want a relaxing lunch, brunch, or dinner this is your joint! I love it! Pretty fountain and they even have an outdoor fireplace for colder evenings! Their food is great! I love the Lago omelet and the cuban sandwich. Wednesday night is tapa night which is fun to get to try new things, I suggest the eggplant rings or the corn pudding. They also have killer sangria and they are very reasonably priced. They can cater too. Great local treasure. Pros: best patio & dog friendly Cons: none :) more

OK, so I'm a soup lover and I have yet to find a better homemade soup spot. They change daily and there are 2 or 3 to choose from. I particularly like the gazpacho and the spinach soup. They aren't cream based so the are good for the waistline :) They have a really nice patio and killer sangria. Oh, and they are dog friendly! Pros: fresh food, not a chain, healthy Cons: no liquor more

I go to Cafe Lago usually weekly and at least several times per month. Several of the staff members and Gaby, the owner know me by name. Having this personal type of service is important to me.\r \r The food is outstanding. I have never had a bad dish. My favorites are the Lago Omelet, the Cuban Sandwich, the Chilaqules and the Yogurt Muesli. The sangria is to die for....best in the city. The patio is so relaxing. I can sit out there for hours. In short Cafe Lago is more than just a place to get a meal, it is an absolutely engaging experience.\r \r Others have mentioned slow service and the rudeness of the owner. The service can be slow if super busy but the staff will always acknowledge you and work hard to assist as soon as possible. And yes, when I first started going to Cafe Lago I thought that Gaby was a little hard on the employees and maybe slightly rude. However, she hires young people and what I came to realize is that she is trying to teach them skills that will take them beyond Cafe Lago. She has a high standard and sometines young people just don't understand how to fulfill the expectations without specific coaching/teaching. I think she does an outstanding job.\r \r I am also impressed that Gaby strives to be a good community citizen and uses the restaurant in that regard. She serves on the board of an organization in Dallas that helps abused women and their children.\r \r I love Cafe Lago and I think you will too. In fact, I have to get off now because Sunday brunch is calling me! Pros: Excellent sangria, healthy dishes, serene patio Cons: Service can be slow if busy more

I find myself at Cafe Lago about once or twice a month for brunch on Sunday. The smoked salmon omelette is always great - probably my favorite - but everything I've had there has been great. I've never had anything but good service here - and the owner is always pleasant and helpful. I recommend this place if you're looking for a great Sunday brunch - with the added bonus that it's almost never packed. more

The service was inattentive and the waitress was VERY RUDE. My 2 friends and I split the check evenly and the waitress charged us each $.50 over what we should have paid. But we were so uncomfortable there we didn't complain about that, or the fact the woman didn't give us copies of our receipts. I marked through the tip area and wrote the total without any tip as her ""service"" did not deserve it. (I found out later, my friends did the same.) Our credit card statements all came up 20% more than what we'd signed!\r \r I called the restaurant twice (as they never called me back) and was informed by another rude woman that they added on their own tip and 20% was standard. She also told me the $.50 split charge was listed on their menu (it's not, I didn't see it in person and it's not on their online lunch menu). I told her the service was terrible and the waitress was horribly rude, and I intentionally did not tip. She told me I should've complained while I was there, and she refused to refund the 20% to my credit card. I've had to file a dispute with my credit card company.\r \r Avoid this place like the plague. The food was mediocre, the attitude was unprofessional, and the aggravation afterward is inexcusable. Cons: Rude wait staff, fraudulent charges more

I'm easy going, but when someone overcharges my credit card with a 22% tip and then expects me not to notice, I get a little upset. Is this part of the new Obama plan to take money from people unneccesarily because they think they've EARNED it?!! The service was beyond horrible.....not just NOT checking in on you, but insulting me for my choice of food and acting put out when I asked for an explanation of the food. I was there with guests and was very embarrased. \r \r Watch your back if you eat at this place. And watch out if they don't give you a receipt, because I was sick of her attitude and didn't want to ask for it (I used my credit card), but now I know why she didn't give me one. ...because she was going to overcharge me and she knew it and now I have no way of proving it unless I call up the IRS and get them to investigate, which I have better things to do...but I do have time to write a review on her to protect everyone else. And I know it wasn't a mistake because the same thing was done to the other people at my table who also used credit cards. Someone smart enough to be a smart a_ _ is also smart enough to know that they are overcharging 3 people. One person at our table also called the restaurant to inquire and was given lame excuses and not called back (as of yet), which raises further doubt. Pros: Good food Cons: unethical service and rude management more

I will NEVER dine here. I've never seen an owner be such a B! I didn't even have the chance to dine. After talking to the owner and seeing her attitude I chose to not support her restaurant and left. I don't believe in belittling people. The negative energy is so thick there, I'm really sad for them. more

I like Cafe Lago's menu and was delighted when I walked in and found a delectable selections of desserts just inside the door in a glass case. My first meal was an acceptable but not outstanding sandwich, chips and dessert, but somehow the bill totalled well over $20. \r \r I returned to carry home dessert, Boston Creme Pie, but when I got it home I discovered that it was so old that the cake was dry and, worse, the chocolate ganache was as hard as peanut brittle and inedible entirely.\r \r I then went for breakfast, finding their breakfast menu intriguing. I had just ordered and received my drink and was trying to concentrate on the menu when a party came in with a young infant. The mother immediately trying to get everyone's attention on her and her baby by crackling a ""crackly toy"" at the baby, trying to incite him to riot. When this failed, she whipped out a squeaky toy -- yes, you heard me right - a squeaky toy at what professes to be a nice upscale cafe - and finally managed to get the child screaming so that all heads turned her way. As soon as the squeaky toy came out, I got up and moved to the other side of the counter and asked the waitress to move my drink, etc., telling her why I was moving (it should have been obvious! And it isn't ME who should have had to move!) No apologies from management or discount on my bill. I noticed the cafe seemed to clear out soon after I moved, though new people came in behind them. You know ""manage"" is a verb. If you manage a restaurant, that doesn't mean ignore obvious rudeness. It means cater to your more considerate clientele.\r \r Besides this debacle, I had to finally observe this last trip that their service is slow and you're always having to flag someone down for something. It looks so good on paper and is close to my home, but I'm afraid I'm taking my business elsewhere. Pros: Location Cons: Service, old desserts, lack of management more

Lovely setting, incredibly stilted to the point of rude service. Servers won't leave any cream for coffee, they pour it themselves. Requests for anything (brown sugar, more coffee, whatever) are met with cold stares and the owner has no concept of courtesy. The breakfast prices are midrange to high, particularly since you get what she wants to give you, versus what you believe you're ordering!\r \r Stingy with extras, waitstaff that is terrified of their boss, it's a lovely place with too many rules to go for ease and comfort. Really sad. I will not be going there again. Pros: Lovely setting Cons: Rude owner, timid and nervous waitstaff more

I have REALLY tried to like this place because the patio is nice and it is close to home, but the service is horrible the the owner is rude. I have tried this place at least 8 times and have now decided not to return. The food is fairly tasty (I like the sweet potato fries), but it is expensive for what you get. When you eat here, you feel as if you are imposing on the staff! Next time I will drive further. Pros: nice patio Cons: rude staff, slow service, expensive more

I never even got served. After waiting 10 minutes at my table, I asked the manager/owner(?) Gabriella if she wouldn't mind sending my server over. She was so rude in response, I decided to leave and go elsewhere.\r \r Reading other like reviews here, why would anyone eat there? It seems as if they don't want to stay in business. Pros: I now know not to go there. Cons: The fact they're still in business. more

Personally breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, Cafe Lago gives me my favorites all the time. i love the oatmeal with berries yummo!! but my two all time favorites have to be the breakfast tacos and the egg and cheese croissant with ham. they give you the most amazing potatos or sliced tomatos depending on your diet of the day. Gaby is a smart lady for offering such a variety of great foods the homemade muesli and pastries on the weekend are great when you are on the run. or you can do what i do and have a great mimosa with a tasty breakfast. Pros: fantastic patio, great art to look at, above all great food and service Cons: cant think of any!! more

Find this little jewel after spending a relaxing day at White Rock with my dog. Came in sat in the patio and enjoyed a great evening. The food was great and the service courteous.\r I ate the best sawdich in DFW grilled chicken chipotle in foccacia bread with a crisp salad and a cool glass (well actually 2 glasses) of the house white wine.\r Finished with a mouth watering Banana pudding made fresh in the premises.\r They even brought a bowl of water for my dog.\r VERY RELAXING. THANK YOU!!\r We will return. Pros: Great food, very relaxing atmosphere Cons: Far from home, but i will make it back more

I thought the food was great. The cuban sandwich was perfect and get the sweet potato fries with it. My husband is an artist and he loved the decor. He had the eggplant rings and the fish special, also very good. The paintings are unique and give it a great feel. This is a little neighborhood gem! Pros: great food, it is nearby, healthy food not greasy more

I am amazed at the glut of bad reviews; however, I do know that when people are mad they are more likely to try to find an avenue for their displeasure. Satisfied people, customers, don't tend to write. I was looking for the address to tell a friend to meet me and just happened upon the surprising reviews. I have NEVER had bad food! NEVER! Maybe once, the service was slow but I had been there before, we weren't in a hurry, realized how busy they were and were patient. I do know who the owner is and have interacted with her on occasion but I never had an occasion to complain. I do understand when a group is there and you have recommended it, though. Given the number of customers who have complained about the owner, it can't be a fluke. I have been to Cafe Lago probably 10 times. I would go more frequently if it were more convenient to me. My favorite is the corn souffle. It can be the whole meal. What is the recipe? Okay. No recipe. Guess I'll have to go there to eat it. I will definitely return. I have had other equally good food and desserts. I just love the corn souffle. Give Cafe Lago a chance. Hopefully, the owner will read these reviews and mend her schizo ways--toward the friendly and patient that I have always observed. Whatever she models for her waiters will be how they tend to act. You've got it made with the great food. Don't loose it with an attitude. more

The food is good, but the service is definietly lacking. I waited tables for a number of years at Houstons and therefore know something about customer service. The service was slow the night we visited and our servicer almost seemed to be sleepwalking through her shift. I ordered a glass of wine for $6.95 that was way under poured . When we mentioned it to the waitress she said it was at the correct level, but if we wanted to speak to the manager we could - we said ""yes"". The manager never appeared so we decided to order a bottle instead, thinking it would be cheaper. Boy were we wrong. It took quite awhile to receive the bottle (they couldn't get the cork out) and we never received a cooler for the wine though we were outside in 80 degree weather. All of which wasn't a big deal, but then we got the bill. The bottle of wine cost $36, which is more than what we would have paid for five ""wines by the glass"". OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!! They know what their doing when it comes to food, but the management has no idea what it takes to run a restaurant that people will enjoy and want to come back to again and again. Too bad, it really could be a fabulous place for the neighborhood. Pros: Great food with a comfortable ambience Cons: Service and prices more

I just wouldn't listen to the warnings...but have now had enough. I cannot help but wonder how they can possibly stay in business. It's a shame too, because it could be such a ""happening"" place. Management can make it or break it, and time will tell. Cons: Abusive more