Cafe Molise

Normally I just stick close to work when I go out for food, which normally means the fast food and better known restaurant chains in the food court at City Creek. Today I decided to take a crack at some of the smaller joints that line Downtown Salt Lake's city streets. I took a stroll around and found Cafe Molise.

The Atmosphere 5/5

I entered and was asked if I would prefer indoors or out. Since it was a balmy 73 degrees, I choose outside and was quickly seated. My drink order was taken and quickly delivered to the very pleasant outdoor setting.

The garden patio is quite lovely. It features a pool with a raised section for what I assume a band or musician could play which would set the mood even more for a romantic night out. The patio area has overhead awnings to keep the rain and sun out of your meal as well. In today's temperatures, it was perfect.

The Service 4/5

The service was as expected. I give them the benefit of the doubt as it looked like there were only three working the front while I was there and a group of 20 came in right after me. I also got there right before lunch, which seemed to only increase the load. My service was still fairly quick. My drink did get to the bottom and sat there for a bit, but was refilled within a minute or two by a young lady who looked like she was really trying. Everyone was courteous and very kind, offering suggestions.

The Food 4/5

The menu was about what I expected for a smaller cafe with a limited selection but a number of dishes that sounded great. My waitress, whose tag also said manager, told me of the specials for the day, one of which was the Chicken Panini, which I ordered. It didn't seem like I waited terribly long for it to arrive. The panini was good, though nothing really made me say wow. It had plenty of cheese and plenty of flavor. The salad appeared to have been a store bought mix and lacked much dressing, but was fine.

My waitress came back to pick up my plate and asked if I would be willing to have any dessert. The panini had left me pretty full, but I figured, what the heck. If I'm going to rate a place, I'd better get the full experience. She recited the dessert options and I went for the bread pudding. Now, I've had some wonderful bread pudding, and I wasn't expecting to have something that would wow me, but this one did it. It was smothered and covered in a delicious caramel sauce and the pudding was delicious, moist and fluffy. Absolutely delightful. I would recommend it to anyone needing a nice sweet spot hit as well as a taste bud extravaganza.

Conclusion

 This was a lovely place for lunch. I'm sure dinner would be nice as well, and will definitely consider taking a date here sometime. I may wait until it gets a little cooler, but not too much. I imagine their staff will be fuller in the later evenings due to this mentality as well, so I don't expect the standard to be different.