Dolce Vita (Austin, TX)

Dolce Vita is a cute little cafe located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin. They offer Italian desserts (including a large selection of gelato), coffee, wine and of course cheese! Dolce vita has a cozy patio and offers fantastic happy hour specials.

The last time I was in Austin, Shavonne and I decided Dolce Vita would be the latest locale for our cheese tasting, wine drinking, conquest!




Overall Score: 20 out of 50

The Breakdown:

Cheeses:
Awesome cheese provided by Antonelli's cheese shop in Austin, TX

St. Nectaire, AOC - Cow, France
Fiore Sarclo - Sheep, Itay
Trugole - Cow, Italy

Presentation: 8 out of 10
The cheese came out on a very nice cutting board with a unique knife. There was also a lot of color contrast on the plate.

Quantity vs Price: 7 out of 10
Overall we got a lot of food for the price ($9). However, there was not nearly enough cheese! The plate was filled with a lot of extras but we really were disappointed with the amount of cheese on the plate.

Extras on the Plate: 0 out of 10
The cheese plate simply did not make sense to us. The berries, though they brought a lot of color to the plate which we loved, were not in season and unfortunately just tasted like water. They did not do anything to to enhance the flavor of the cheese. The spinach, although brought nice color, were wilted! We liked the choice of baguette that was chosen, but it was way too thick and hard. They used canned nuts that tasted like the can and were far too salty. Had they used unsalted nuts or seasoned their own nuts it could have worked.

Uniqueness: 0 out of 10
We didn't see any creativity here. Adding honey to the plate (even though it was it's only saving grace) was very obvious.

Taste: 5 out of 10
We loved the cheeses that came form Antonelli's cheese shop! However, when constructing the plate, Dolce Vita did not put together enough of a variety of cheeses to excite your taste buds. The extras that came on the plate, as we already discussed, did absolutely nothing for the cheese. The herb crackers overpowered the mild, delicate brie.

Overall Experience:
Dolce Vita has a great Happy Hour. Our wine was half off and the selection was pretty large. We enjoyed the wine very much. The atmosphere was very relaxed and comfortable. Great place to go on a date with your friends, work on your laptop, or get a coffee. You can hang out a long time and not spend too much money. The cheese plate, clearly not our favorite, but Dolce Vita overall is a great place to go!