To sum up Davis Street Espresso in one phrase: it’s coffee heaven. At first, when I walked into the Dallas café I thought to myself, “okay another rustic coffee shop”, but then I began to pay more attention to detail. Every minute element of Davis Street Espresso’s design is well thought out. For instance, door handles are portafilters and lights are made from Hario V60s. Antique coffee equipment (roasters, espresso machines, coffee makers) are placed all around the large shop.

Inside, loud 80s music blasts as large groups gather together on a Thursday morning to chat over their morning coffee. All of the seating inside the shop is along the walls because sitting in the center of the room is a coffee lab perfect for barista (or barista competition training) and cupping. Outside (where the heat prevented most people from sitting) there were benches and, strange enough, a bus with tables inside of it to sit at as well. With a menu of homemade yogurt, avocado toast, and baked goods the food options perfectly compliment the Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters coffee.

I ordered a cappuccino, which is known to be Davis Street Espresso’s specialty. After the first sip I knew I needed to try more coffee drinks on the menu. Unfortunately I only had a total of 10 hours in Dallas, but still I had the opportunity to try the latte and a pour over as well.  Both the latte and the cappuccino were served at perfect temperatures with nutty espresso and silky textured milk. The main difference between the two drinks was that the cappuccino does a better job of highlighting the flavors in Oak Cliff’s espresso. As for the pour over, I decided to go with El Espiritu, an organic coffee from the Dominican Republic. After drinking this cup of coffee I came to the conclusion that one cannot go wrong ordering anything at Davis Street Espresso. This coffee was brewed with a Chemex using an automatic brewing system (I wasn’t able to catch the brand). I really enjoyed the bold and earthy flavor of El Espiritu, which only got sweeter (in a more caramel sense) as it cooled down.

So, if you can’t already tell by the length of this post, I absolutely loved Davis Street Espresso. If you are a coffee geek  like I am, this coffee shop is a place you must experience if you haven’t already.