Two Hands is an Australian Cafe that opened in New York in 2014, and has since spread to Colorado, Tennessee and Texas. The Austin location was the first to open in Texas, and Uptown Dallas' address is the latest, which opened last month.
The cafe's concept is rooted in Aussie culture, but it sources locally and sustainably. It serves breakfast through dinner, complementing health-centric lifestyles. Although the Two Hands menus are the same throughout, each location has its own unique touches.
Uptown has a few paintings, like a surfing cowboy and other nods to the blending of cultures that make it distinct, but the rest of the details are the same. Inside is clean and bright, as you'd expect, with blues and greens breaking up the neutral color pattern.
Outside, there's a patio that's not a good idea right now but will be in a few months. Inside, there is bar seating, booths and high-top tables, which cater to a variety of occasions. They also have a barista counter inside that doubles as its own coffee shop for to-go drinks and pastries.
The brunch-lunch menu is just a condensed version of dinner, but with breakfast options. There's a lot to drool over in the brekky section, like the lemon poppyseed waffle, seasonal scramble and the brekky muffuletta, a sandwich with shaved leg ham, sunny egg, arugula, giardiniera and lemon kewpie on house-made focaccia.
Each menu offers a full roster of drinks, including espresso-based coffee drinks, specialty options like strawberry rose matcha, classic cocktails, signature cocktails, wine, hot teas, beer and sparkling drinks, as well as plenty of N/A options.
We tried the Clean Up Your Act zero-proof cocktail, and it took us on a wild ride. It's made with Pentire Adrift, olive brine, lime, agave, jalapeño and bay leaf. How does it taste? All of the above. It's salty, sweet, spicy and everything in between. It's an interesting little drink that's had us thinking since we tried it.
Dinner expands on the appetizers section with farmers market hummus, corn and jalapeño fritters, charred carrots and a handful of others. Staple entrees are the steak au poivre, the Two-Hander burger, Rod & Reel market fish and the pesto cavatelli.
The Observer was invited to their grand opening celebration, which we attended, but we also stopped in for a second visit for a proper vibe check.
The best things we tried were the Two Hander burger, pork belly and cheddar croquettes, warm marinated olives and last but most certainly not least, the coconut and key lime pavlova, which could be the crown jewel of the entire menu.
Some things didn't quite hit the mark, like the tandoori schnitzel that begged for a pinch of salt but was still solid, and the tamari mushroom soba noodle bowl that was advertised as having a jammy egg, but we received one that was fully hard-boiled. It's a small detail to be missed, but a devastating one.
And to our utter shock, we questioned if the banana bread was the Aussie way that people have been raving about. This one was made with walnuts and featured an espresso mascarpone on top with toasted buckwheat and honey. Given that the cafe wasn't technically open, we want to hope we got a bad batch.
We missed the hype on the banana bread, but that's OK because the pavlova stole the show.
Aaren Prody
Any day of the week is a good day to stop in because they're always running specials. All day, every day, they have one-liter mimosa carafes for $39. From 4-6 p.m. every day, they have happy hour with $3 off signature cocktails and $2 off beer and wine.
Tuesdays are burger nights, where you can get a burger and a beer for $19 or a burger and a cocktail for $23. Wine down Wednesday has 50% off all bottles of wine all day. Finally, Saturdays and Sundays offer bottomless Bloody Marys for $25 per person.
Two Hands, 2681 Howell St., Sunday - Thursday, 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Friday/Saturday, 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
