Caffe Niche
779 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City ; 801-433-3380
(see
map)
A stylish all-purpose cafe with an approachable menu. Weekend brunch and fun wine list a bonus.
| Overall |
 |
| Food |
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| Mood |
 |
| Service |
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| Kid-friendly |
YES |
| Noise |
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Cuisine: American, Bakery
Price: $
Hours: T-Th, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; F, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.; S, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Su, 9 a.m.-3 pm
Liquor: Wine
Corkage: $ 10
Reservations: Not accepted/necessary
Accepts:    
Website: http://www.caffeniche.com
Recommended Dishes: Tartine, PLT (pancetta, lettuce and tomato), "rigatonialla" rustica.
August 8, 2007
Cafe melds high-style décor and down-to-earth cuisine
By Vanessa Chang
It's a slick package. I'm sitting on glossy dark wooden furniture. Whimsical light fixtures and abundant sunlight from the ample windows keep the space around well-lit. Mixed media art and bold filigree accents in print and metal pieces adorn the walls around me. Even the people around me are pretty. They're talking, eating and even looking at the art. Caffe Ibis coffee scents the air.
You could say that Caffe Niche ("neesh") is an all-purpose place, offering culinary and caffeinated respite to a mostly residential area. But you can derive a lot of pleasure from its utilitarian presence, especially in this atmosphere that would make Anthropologie set designers chartreuse with envy.
Sure, it's easy on the eyes. But it's easy on the wallet, too. Consider this Salt Lake City's answer to beloved neighborhood eateries that make everyday eating in Brooklyn, N.Y. and Portland, Ore. so enjoyable and possible.
Menus at such places rarely challenge palates. Approachability, comfort and familiarity are the motto. Morning, noon and weekend nights, Caffe Niche features the usual suspects of pastries, sandwiches, grilled panini and salads. A few items are too approachable, such as a Caesar salad ($4.50 small; $7 large) that had plenty of crunchy chopped romaine, but not enough garlic or anchovy to spark a random Wednesday craving. My disappointed salad-loving friend remarked, "Maybe this place just has a pretty face."
It's a pretty face that's appealing to a lot of people. It's quickly becoming the spot where girlfriends, with little ones in tow, feast on grilled turkey sandwiches (all sandwiches, $7) and office folk hold power meetings over a salad.
But if you look closely at the menu, you see that familiar items get admirable upgrades. Tucked into that sandwich is real roasted meat, crunchy, magenta radicchio and homemade blue cheese. And that salad? Slender Belgian endive and more radicchio arrive in a sweetish port vinaigrette ($4.50 small; $6.50 large).
There's considerable thought in the concise menu. Familiar items and good flavors coddle folks into trying acacia honey with Gorgonzola cheese on a tartine (a light, open-faced baguette sandwich) or accepting pancetta into the holy trinity of bacon, lettuce and tomato, re-named here as the "PLT." Maybe we were too quick to judge Niche's pretty veneer.
It goes further with the evening selection that branches out into hot dishes of pasta, one of which, the "rigatonialla" rustica ($8), features locally-made Creminelli sausages. The sausages are the best I've tasted stateside. An espresso-lavender-coated cheddar, from Beehive Cheese Co. in Uintah, is the star of a fruit and cheese plate ($8). World-class Crumb Brothers' bread adds gustatory and political substance to the sandwiches, tartines and panini.
The wine list (available at noon) is as concise and thought-out as the food. Novices are hooked in with chardonnay and wine geeks can sample a Portuguese Vinho Verde, 2005 Jeriko Rosé or even a glass of Marques de Gelida Cava (all $6 a glass, $25 a bottle).
When it comes to the concise and ever-changing weekend breakfast menu (even more concise on weekdays) portions of goat cheese-spiked Italian scrambled eggs ($5) are moderate, which is great for me. Not so great for my friend who is a bottomless pit when it comes to eating. When his breakfast burrito ($7) arrived, fitting perfectly within the boundaries of a standard dinner plate, his eyes entreated me, "Is this it?" The lukewarm scrambled eggs and beans in the tortilla didn't help. Heavy eaters, you've been warned.
Other quirks popped up at brunch. A side of breakfast bacon ($1.50) came out to be five measly half-slices sprinkled with chopped parsley. Maybe they were intended for sandwiches. Maybe they were to promote saturated-fat moderation. Fine. But if I wanted greens I would've ordered a salad, which did come with my lovely eggs. I had also heard initial gripes about the service, tables getting their food at annoying intervals, that sort of thing. But I never encountered it.
It's a slick package, but also one with substance. I expect that with time Caffe Niche will smooth out imperfections and find its own rightful niche in people's dining rotations.
Tribune's rating system
Overall rating
1 star Good
2 stars Very good
3 stars Excellent
4 stars Extraordinary
Entree price
$ Entree under $10
$$ $10-$18
$$$ $18-$25
$$$$ Above $25
Restaurant Noise
1 bell Quiet (under 65 decibles)
2 bells Can talk easily (65-70)
3 bells Talking somewhat difficult (70-75)
4 bells Raised voices (75-80)
A bomb Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising.
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