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| - This place is definitely a sleeper gem for a great brunch and/or tea in PGH! I visited with some friends this past Sun. at around 1:30pm, per their suggestion. They wanted to visit since they'd been to the Frick before, but had never been able to eat at the cafe. In order to ensure that we could get in this time, they called ahead, and although only members are able to make reservations, they allowed us to make one on the day of. When we arrived, they originally were going to seat us inside, but given the beautiful weather and available tables outside, one of my friends asked if we could sit at one of them, and the waitstaff were happy to oblige.
I wasn't aware that the Cafe offered a brunch, but we were handed a menu containing an insert for brunch. Although we were given the disclaimer that there may not be brunch items left, our waiter checked on it, and it was our lucky day, since there were still some left. In light of this, one of my friends and I ordered from the brunch menu, and the other decided to order off the regular lunch menu instead. The brunch comes with three courses: soup, entree, and dessert, to which drinks can be added for an additional cost. For soups, I ordered the soup of the day (creme of broccoli), and my friend ordered the squash soup. Both of the soups were good, but to my surprise, I ended up preferring the squash soup, based on my spoonful of my friend's soup, due to its richness and complexity of flavor. For entrees, both of us went with the pumpkin bread pudding, per the waiter's recommendation, and it was dynamite--definitely one of the most unique and delicious brunch entrees I've ever tried! It had the perfect balance of flavors and textures: savory yet sweet, soft yet crunchy--it was seriously heaven on a plate! It was quite rich, though, to the point that my friend wasn't able to finish hers (I did so shamelessly, however).
My other friend ordered the mushroom ravioli off of the lunch menu, which came topped with arugula. Although it looked small to him at first (he's a big guy with an accordingly large appetite), the portion size ended up being just enough to fill him up. According to him, the flavor of the raviolis was great, but the arugula and other toppings took it to the next level. He highly recommends it.
Each of us ended up ordering a different dessert: pear-apple tart, hazelnut torte, and creme brulee (me). (I'd originally wanted to order a slice of maple cinnamon cheesecake, but they'd run out of it.) All of the desserts were quite different in flavor and texture, but all of them were wonderful in their own way. My friends had coffee with their desserts, and I had the Frick blend of tea, which was quite mellow. The tea helped cut the richness of the creme brulee, which was the perfect combination of a crispy exterior and a creamy interior generously seasoned with nutmeg.
Although this brunch cost a bit more than I'd usually spend ($24 w/o tip), the high quality of food and service, as well as the atmosphere, made it well worth it. Our waiter was quite friendly and attentive, and offered great recommendations. As for the atmosphere, I couldn't imagine a nicer place to have brunch on a beautiful Sun. afternoon. It was so relaxing to feel the gentle breeze, take in the beautiful fall colors, and watch the leaves drift lazily to the ground while catching up with friends and enjoying delicious food. (So relaxing, in fact, that I forgot to check in on Yelp, which rarely happens--oops!) As a bonus, after we finished, we enjoyed checking out the greenhouse, art gallery, and new gift shop--all for free! :-)
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