Urbano Cafe

Each time we return, the service is a bit worse than before. The food quality is still quite excellent, but the front of the house is poorly run. The staff are clearly overwhelmed and strain to be pleasant. The place is still good for a weekday bite, but dinner on Friday or Saturday is on ordeal to endure.

Visited Saturday night and true to form, have NEVER had a bad experience. Their food is amazing, the staff is amazing, the atmosphere is awesome and cool.
Every time we have guests in town and want to take them to a cool «Dallas» place, we go here and it never, ever, ever disappoints.
Keep up the good work!

What is not great about this place? A tucked away gem in East Dallas that is BYOB with a $ 5 corking fee. It is small, so making a reservation is a must.
Small menu but everything on it is just short of perfect. The risotto balls to the entrees, there is nothing not to love. And never fear, if you forget your wine, there is a store right next door where you can purchase. Or I’ve heard that they serve by the glass now on their back patio!
This is a must!

What a beating. For the third time we tried to come eat here because the food is very good. But the ambiance is miserable. It is loud, slow service, and impossible to speak. If conversation does not matter perhaps this is a restaurant you would enjoy.

First and semi-​most-​importantly this place is BYOB with a $ 5 corking fee — the cheapest I’ve seen on that. I went for the first time and was blown away by its charm. It is very quaint — even romantic– and seems like a local favorite. We got the first table of the night in the back near the kitchen giving me a great view for people-​watching. The byob-​thing seems very well known and one group even brought in a cooler full of wine and champagne.
We ordered from the specials menu and started with the cooked oyster appetizer which was divine. Then we split the crab-​stuffed tenderloin medium rare. I seriously could have died it was so delicious and tender. And I wish this was on the regular menu because I’d probably get it weekly. Pricing is very reasonable and they do serve wine and beer if you don’t bring any of your own.
Just a tip — Jimmy’s Food store is right around the corner so you can pick up wine there beforehand.
Must call for reservations. Do it because the place is tiny! Such a little gem.

My husband and I have been here a few times and have never been disappointed. We have had the salmon, fried chicken (which my husband said was the best he has ever had), and the recent crab stuffed beef tenderloin special. All of these were excellent! We also love the BYOB option because we can bring in the wine we love and it saves us money even with the $ 5 corking fee. The wait staff is also excellent, they are knowledgeable about the items on the menu and have always provided an enjoyable experience for us. We will definitely be back and would recommend this restaurant to any of our friends.

Came for lunch and found out that the often-​mentioned risotto balls (arancini) only offered for dinner. Will need to come back for it.
Came for lunch and ordered the veal Bolognese pasta since it was the only pasta dish in the menu. They may have another pasta dish as a special though. Veal Bolognese is a good deal, at $ 13 compared to $ 22 for dinner. Dinner menu seems to be a bit overpriced at first glance, but maybe the portions are also bigger but I found lunch portions to be big enough.
The Bolognese sauce was made from scratch and the pasta was well prepared. Good pasta and filling portions.
Cute little place, good for casual yet romantic dates. Reminds me of Buena Vista Bistro in Miami, in the old days.
While Unilocal says this is an Italian restaurant, I found it to be more American (but not Italian-​American). They have sandwiches and salads. And also toffee pudding dessert and chocolate cake. No Italian desserts.

Came on tues night. Fantastic food and service. Felt like we were in Florence again plus roger on the piano with jazz made it a perfect night. Highly recommended. Bread pudding to end with was great.

This place is amazing. Food is impeccable and service is wonderful — they treat you like family with tons of treats along the way!
We came on a Tuesday night when they have live jazz music by Roger. He’s incredible and I was able to sing along the whole time. It was also my husband’s 30^th birthday and they treated us so nicely. We will definitely come back, feels like home with incredible food and the sweetest people to be around.

worst people ever. I am a woman and the male owner got in my face screaming at me because we had been there since 6:30 and it was 9:30. Maybe I could see why he was angry if people were outside waiting… NOPE. 7 table tops of 4 were completely open, 6 in the one next to us and the table right next to us open. Then his minion, a blonde waitress proceeded to come over and treat us like shut because we asked for water. Oh, mind you, I am with my parents and boyfriend.

Well… This place is really unique !!!
— good food for the price
— servers are adequate
— byob is great feature
Had dinner there and food was good,
Ambiance was below par, noise level very high but worth the trip.
But … Know you have 2 hours to eat and LEAVE! Seriously, after 2 hours we were told to leave! $ 200 meal, 19% tip.
Plenty of room, but the OWNER said to haul ass! Then the blonde protégé waitress reminded us to leave!
Worst customer service I have witnessed! Invested in restaurants and would fire any employee treating a customer in the manner we were treated.
They will not have a table of six I was to be included in tomorrow! I will pick up the entire tab not to dine at Urbano
This place and there buss boy mentality owner will be long gone.

Some of the best cuisine we’ve had since we moved to Dallas over a year ago. Room is small and noisy but that’s OK, the kitchen is really on its game.
I am slightly surprised by the PER PERSON corkage fee of $ 5. Actually that’s per person per bottle, so my wife and I were charged $ 20 (brought a champagne plus a red, it was my birthday!). But for the same bottles if we’d been a party of four it would have been $ 40, etc. Never heard of a corkage fee working that way.

Creative mix of ingredients, but overall, the flavors didnt quite come together. I could write that off as a poorly conceived experiment but the fish was also dry and overcooked.
The service was excellent– on par with any high end restaurant and price point, but the tables and noise level are packed and loud, like any restaurant with «café» in the name.
The crowd was older and more sophisticated than most places in that area of town and most customers were toting their own wine.
There’s a narrow row of parking spaces right in front of the restaurant, so try to snag a spot if you can.

I have been back here a few times since my last review and everything was fine but last night was not.
After our server ignored us for the first 10 minutes, our salads came out within a minute or 2. 30 minutes later, the entrees came out without the extra sides we ordered. I ordered the salmon and it was pretty much raw on the inside. Our server kept arguing saying that it’s medium rare, which I said was fine with me but this was not cooked medium rare. She was making it seem like it was my fault that I didn’t like the salmon (I’ve had it before and it wasn’t that rare) and that it was an inconvenience for her to get me another so I just said I was done. Still no sides at this point. A few minutes after everyone was done with entrees, she threw the sides on the table.
Not sure if this was just a fluke but our server and the kitchen were both struggling last night. I will not be going back here again.

I have heard so so many good things about this place but I have to say that I wasn’t blow away. I think my girlfriend and I may have just ordered wrong so I will be back to do it again and hopefully update this review!
We started off with the meatballs that had just a bit to much filler in them for me. They had a great sauce and these crispy chips on top but I really wanted something a bit more meaty for a meatball — these seemed from the consistency, pre-​made.
The beet salad with pear was delicious and perfectly portioned for one. We split it and I totally could have taken one down by myself. Nicely seasoned and not too much dressing.
We Were both drawn to the pumpkin ravioli so we decided on that for our entrée. First off, it came out a little cold. Secondly the pasta was a little chewy on the edges because it was so thick. The sauce on top didn’t elevate the dish at all it more weighed it down. Something with fresh herbs or an acid to lighten it all up.
Looking forward to trying it again because I love this potentially awesome hidden gem. Service was also great and they have a cool little room to the side that is perfect for parties.

I came here with a friend on a Friday night. Please, please, please make reservations. There are only 9 tables in the restaurant and they all are spaced about 3 feet apart.
In other words, it’s tiny.
The menu changes and is smaller. It’s basically gourmet American cuisine. I had the salmon and it was delicious. My friend had the ravioli and ate every bite.
Urbana is byob so keep that in mind if you want to drink. They also charge an «uncorking fee», even if you bring the bottle opener and open the bottle yourself.
This restaurant is definitely one that requires planning which makes it unique and special. I think the evening could have went a little better if the waitress smiled more.
I wouldn’t come back here, but I would recommend certain friends to come.

Cute lunch spot! Food very good, I got the fresh fish sandwich (grilled swordfish) with a side salad. Everything was perfect except the service was a little slow. Would love to come back for dinner.

Happy birthday to me! I recently had a birthday dinner here with several friends and was happy with how it all turned out.
FOOD:
The food is so good. I want to return soon. So many different entrees and starters were ordered so we were able to share a bit and taste each other’s orders.
Starters:
Mussels — I love mussels. These were served in a garlicy chorizo tomato broth and everyone who tried them loved the flavor. The only thing I would change is how the bread is served. Toast it up nicely, and it would be even better!
Hawaiian Ceviche — I thought this was just ok. I wouldn’t order it if I return. It was a bit lackluster for me.
Caprese S’mores — These were good; large portion.
Wagyu Meatballs — They were very flavorful but I didn’t think they were outstanding.
Entrees:
Pan Seared Scallops — It’s hard for me to NOT order scallops if they’re on the menu. These were served on a bed of risotto and were cooked to perfection.
Pork Chop — I rarely order a pork chop. My friend ordered it and I was surprised with the juiciness and tenderness of the pork.
SERVICE:
From the reservation process to dinner service, Urbano exceeded my expectations and were more than accomodating. Even with a reservation, there was some wait time because the group prior to us had not vacated the space we were going to sit at. In the meantime, our server popped open a bottle of the wine we brought and poured us a serving. The place is small, so we were standing squished near a piano just past the tables.
Urbano does charge a corking fee and a cake serving fee per person for the items you bring (wine/​cake).
FACILITY/​PARKING:
The facility is VERY small. There are two different entries. My party was seated in the room on the left which I believe can be rented for private events. I’m not sure how many can be seated there, but their website has information regarding that. The entry on the right has quite a big step when you walk in. Be careful!
I really loved the intimate and warm feel of the restaurant. If you are looking for a special place for a smallish group or a dinner date idea, do yourself a favor and make a reservation. You won’t regret it.
Urbano is next to Jimmy’s Food Store. Parking is minimal, but I got lucky and parked right in front of Urbano.

They take reservations, and though we had to wait a few minutes for our table of 8 to be seated (the prior party was still there), the transition was smooth and the staff friendly. Urbano is BYOB with a $ 3 corking fee per person, which is a great way to save a few dollars if your group is definitely going to be having wine with dinner. They also, to our surprise, have a $ 3 per person cake fee, so be aware of that.
Although the space doesn’t necessarily read $$$, the food itself does, as does the service. Our waitress said the scallops with lemon risotto was one of the most ordered dishes — and it certainly was in our group. I think at least half the table got that. The mussels were also a popular item, and I can see why they were fantastic. I ordered the cod and the hawaiian salmon poke appetizer. Both were great — the app ended up looking way less appetizing when photographed than it actually was. The fish was fresh and the taro chips were crunchy but supple enough to not shred the bits of salmon and avocado once combined in my mouth. The potato crabcake that came with the seared cod was excellent — reminded me of the ‘veggie’ medallions they sell at the Ikea restaurant (which I absolutely love). The base of cream corn actually made sense once you combined a little bit of each component of the dish.
I will definitely be coming back to Urbano to try other menu items. I should note that they had maybe 5 specials in addition to the regular menu that made my entrée choice quite difficult.
Parking is limited, so you might want to get dropped off, but there is parking in the neighborhood (heels not recommended as sidewalks are lacking/​damaged).

For me, I’m all about ambiance. A restaurant that has four star food becomes a five star restaurant when the dining experience is elevated with great service, great atmosphere and in Urbano’s case… byob.
Highlights:
— The food was fresh and wonderfully flavored. It’s Italian but the kind of Italian that marries beautiful flavors with meats and fresh vegetables. Even their pasta options seemed light and refreshing as opposed to the gut bombs normally associated with Italian food in America.
–The restaurant is small, dimly lit with a wonderfully romantic and intimate feel.
— the staff was super friendly and attentive.
— it’s byob! $ 3 corkage! So you mean I get to go have amazing Italian food and bring my own amazing wine to pair with it? Yes please. 5 stars.