I have found an urban oasis in our concrete jungle. A respite from the harsh realities of real life. A veritable dreamland that waxes poetic over your soul. Basically, a cool freakin’ place to grab brunch and drink for hours outside. I had you guys going there for a second that I was all classy and whatnot. But we all know that I cuss a little.
This place is Saint Ann Restaurant and Bar. And if you haven’t been. Your life is just not complete. Oh, but you can fix that real quick. It’s got a neat story (did I just say “neat?”). It was built as a school back in 1927. Seriously. And it’s right in the middle all the hubbub downtown – between the AAC (American Airlines Center) and Klyde Warren Park over in the Harwood District. They remodeled it into this modern masterpiece with a SUPER large garden patio.
It is seriously the GREATEST Patio on Earth.
Great architectural design and beautifully decorated, this place is legit. It’s INSTA-legit. We went with #Snitchfriends Mark and Kristina – who had never been. And they were blown away with all the outdoor seating and stunning downtown views. I believe Kristina put it best “Hot Damn, Hot Dog, this place is the NICEST patio I’ve been to!” She’s not from Texas, so that’s probably a phrase from some other place. Or she just made that up. Either way, I like it. I’m going to make it a thing. Like Gretchen Weiners did for “Fetch.”
We settled into our patio table on a near perfect Dallas day. I mean, we weren’t even sweating outside. Perfect, right? They had a great interior dining room, which would be totally a scene in the evenings, but it was midmorning, we were feeling saucy and the weather was fine.
#Snitchtip: If you finish brunch early, duck upstairs and check out the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Samarai Collection. Yeah. That kind of Samarai. Like with swords and stuff. Totally a fun little excursion.
Everything about Saint Ann’s is top notch, especially the waitstaff, which was totally on fleek. Yeah. You read that, right. We were torn between mimosas and bloody marys (per usual) and our dynamite server just casually mentioned “why don’t you just get a carafe of each.”
What? What? BEST decision of the day!
What did we get
We tried to mix it up with some lunch and some breakfast options because I know I have a responsibility to you lovely people. And you’re damn curious. That’s cool. We’re cool. You HAVE to get the Strawberry Shortcake French Toast. It’s sublime. It’s both crunchy and sweet, with a whipped strawberry butter that will remind you of those Strawberry Shortcake dolls and their delicious smelling hair. That you totally sniffed. Like a junkie. That’s cool. We’re cool.
But seriously, get the French Toast.
Lunch type things we got included the Breakfast Quesadillas with Steak. Which were freakin’ phenomenal. But you know what we discovered would have been better? Swap the steak for bacon. Are you with me? Do that, you won’t regret it. It makes the perfect brunch quesadilla. Your stomach will want to thank me so much. We also got the BLT with a side salad. You need this sammich in your life. Light crispy bacon and the perfect ratio of lettuce and tomato. Not like when you get a sammich with too much lettuce. I hate that. I hate that so much. It throws off the meat component. Then you get those places where the bread is too thick – damn it – don’t make a sammich that’s too big for my pie hole. Wait. Where was I? Oh yeah. None of those things are wrong with this sammich. Feel free to order this one and feel safe about it.
We hung around for a long time. The people watching is great and the patio is dog friendly -and the drinks flow fast and easy. Do yourself a favor and check this patio oasis in the city out, it’ll treat you right.
Saint Ann Restaurant and Bar
2501 N Harwood Street
saintanndallas.com
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