Aishwarya I.
Yelp
On this exceptionally rainy, pouring-cats-and-dogs-kinda-morning that brought in a cold front, I decided to give Otto's a try. I feel like I always say "this spot has been on my list forever" but it really is true in this case -- for years, in fact, and I just never found a good opportunity to go. Somehow, that ended up being on a day that had me walking into this beautiful coffee shop completely drenched, despite the use of both raincoat and umbrella. But after having a brown sugar latte and spice cake, I decided I'd walk through the pouring rain again if it meant getting to savor the experience of visiting Otto's for the first time.
Believe me when I say that this fine coffee and these artisanal pastries are worth navigating inclement weather and the pain of parking in downtown Dallas. I can't speak to the valet situation that other reviews have described, but there's usually at least some street parking spots open along one of the adjacent streets and it's super cheap to park for 2 hours. Speaking of cheap, I was also pleasantly surprised by how reasonably priced everything was here -- despite it being a classy, upscale joint in the Adolphus Hotel and all that, the coffee and pastries are still priced comparably to other coffee shops in the city.
They use Full City Roosters, which my friend with high standards for coffee tells me is one of their favorites in the city, and the decaf tastes just as good as non-decaf. Not all their syrups are made in-house, but the brown sugar syrup is and I highly recommend it if you like a slightly sweetened latte where the syrup nicely complements the espresso without overpowering the coffee taste. The spice cake was also not what I was expecting, but in the best way possible -- it was dense without being heavy, perfectly balanced in terms of spice, and the frosting on top was buttery, not too sweet, and complemented the cake perfectly. I also had the chance to try a piece of their chocolate chip cookie, and o m g it is 10/10 the FINEST chocolate chip cookie I've ever had. Brilliantly made. They're also known for their liege waffles, which I hear great things about and would love to try on another visit. The vibe is classy and elegant, all clean lines and modern black and white with wood tones; it's also plenty spacious to sit and work for a bit if you need, though I'm not so sure about the outlet situation, as I wasn't coming here to work today.
All in all, this Viennese-inspired coffee shop definitely lives up to the hype and I can't wait to come back to try some of their other drinks and baked goods.