Cafes are having a moment and that “moment” goes beyond a good cup of coffee. Founders offer spaces that touch on a culture (from horror to bougie to goth), and drinkers are sipping it up. These third spaces go far beyond the need to caffeinate and embrace a sense of culture, art, style, music and ambiance. There’s literally a cafe out there for everyone.
And, fortunately, the coffee is usually great as well.
Take El Jardin Cafe in Oak Cliff (which, I admit, I have a crush on). This space along West Davis Street sits next to Spelled Milk in an old building that’s been modernized enough to feel fresh, but still has charm with a simple layout and an exposed brick wall. Decor leans toward all things Mexico; it’s clean, bright, and thoughtful, with family pictures and flowers. For now (in late October), there’s a large ofrenda in the middle of the store, with strings of marigolds overhead and Monarch butterflies on the wall.
Simple bistro-style tables are available for work or hanging out with friends. A few tables out front are perfect when the weather holds up.
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The brothers behind El Jardin (from left to right): Alfredo, Alex and Max Leal
Owners Alfredo Leal and his two brothers, Alex and Max, started talking about opening this cafe about five years ago.
“Me and my brother Alex, we first initially wanted to open up a retail store, but it was going to be selling shoes,” Alfredo says. “We tried to incorporate coffee into it, but then we’re all like, ‘OK, the market for that really started slowing down a lot.’ But we knew that coffee’s always been a big thing. So about three years ago, we came up with a concept.”
They wanted to keep their roots in the business; their parents are from Mexico, and the goal is to focus on the nostalgic drinks from their childhood. They got lucky finding a space; their landlord is a local guy who “does things old school,” says Alfredo (bless him). Getting permits from the city was the hardest part of this journey — so much so that Leal advises against anyone looking to open a space in the city of Dallas (something we’ve heard before). There were many surprises along the way, leading to costly back-and-forth with the city, including a last-minute requirement for a drop ceiling.
They were able to finally open in September.
“But then we didn’t realize everything that came with hiring,” Alfredo says. “We had over 80 applicants for two positions.” He wanted to hire everyone he interviewed because everyone was so enthusiastic. Whittling it down to two was work.
A bonkers opening day
Opening day brought even more surprises.
“When we first opened, we had ordered 280 stickers [with their logo] for the cups. 280,” he repeats to make sure I heard it. “We thought that was enough for a week.”
Alas, they needed a lot more stickers.
“They were gone in two hours,” he says. They called their cousin, who makes custom stickers, and she printed a thousand more in a couple of hours. “They were gone by the second day,” he says. “It was insane.”
It’s amazing when cousins come in clutch like that. And the whole family is pitching in here. Another cousin is a barista. And the boys’ mom, a longtime baker, provides the pastries, cookies and conchas, which she makes at an off-site kitchen.
They didn’t think the pastries would be a big deal either. “The cookies sell out before 11 a.m.,” he adds. The same happened with the cinnamon rolls on weekends, which are based on a popular recipe from a bakery in Monterrey, Mexico.
“We bring 100 a day. And they sell out before 11 a.m.,” he says. On a recent Saturday, I grabbed the last one in case at 9 a.m. (although maybe (hopefully) there were more in the back). They’re looking into a bigger pastry case.
El Jardin has a tight and much-appreciated coffee menu with four specialty lattes, four matchas and a section for clasicos. The highest priced item is $7.50 (the banana horchata and matcha fresas con crema). If you’re a purist, start with something under the clasicos like a flat white, so you can really taste the beans here. El Jardin tapped local roaster Noble Coyote, which provides a variety from Chiapas, Mexico, called La Chilana, with notable chocolate notes.
It might be the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had. I paused and pondered whether they had mistakenly added chocolate, but realized it was just the richness of the beans.
Kevin Sprague of Noble Coyote says that they learned about this coffee farm in Chiapas from a longtime industry partner. They only get a certain amount each year and hope it lasts until the next harvest (as I make a note to grab a bag from Noble Coyote’s store near Fair Park). Noble Coyote picks up the load after the annual harvest from a warehouse at the border (where the owner is related to the farm’s owners) and brings it straight back to their roastery in Dallas. About as farm-to-cup as you can get in Dallas.
Alfredo chose this variety, obviously, because it’s from Mexico, and for its velvety chocolate undertones.
Noble Coyote helped the brothers estimate what they might sell in the first week, but that only lasted a day and a half. They had to close early on their second day.
“They actually came in on Friday to drop off our weekly drop-off, and they told us that we broke records,” Alfredo says with a humble shrug. “We sold the most coffee in a week.”
Lines for stickers
Aside from the matcha, coffee, pastries and general vibe of the place, one other thing draws customers into the space: a sticker machine. It sits very unassuming near the door and looks like a retro toy dispenser. On any given day, people come into the cafe with a handful of quarters and the giddy excitement of a toddler in a candy store just to buy stickers.
The sticker machine at El Jardin is busy.
Leal got the idea from his best friend’s sister, who runs Charmed Creative Studio. She made small stickers for a birthday party and Alfredo asked if she could do the same for El Jardin. There are four stickers, each representing something about the cafe that cost $1 each.
Now, they can’t keep up with demand as people try to collect all four. On a recent visit, the machine was sold out. But it appears there’s a new Día de los Muertos set. There will be (more) lines.
We recently lined up for the cinnamon rolls. The huge bun is too big for the to-go packaging — a great problem to have. There’s a thick layer of icing on the top of a cinnamon-laced roll. Purists might want to scrape the icing off for the amazing not-too-sweet roll underneath, but sugar fiends will love the entire thing. It’s enough food for two. Or four.
There’s a lot to discover at this coffee shop. Just be sure to bring your quarters.
El Jardin Cafe, 714 W. Davis St., Closed Tuesdays, Open Monday, Wednesday – Saturday 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.