For fast-casual dining, this Cocoa Village cafe is tops in Brevard | Restaurant Review
Let’s cut to the chase: Cypress Table is one of the best restaurants of its kind in the region.
Located in what formerly was a doughnut shop and then a bakery in Cocoa Village, it has been completely reconfigured so that for dine-in meals it is small and intimate, though not with so many dark wood tables that diners feel crushed. Its background music is relatively soft, which makes it fine for conversation.
And “restaurants of its kind” here means fast-casual: You order at the counter, get a number and your food is delivered to your table by servers who know what they’re doing. Everyone there seems to feel the need to be helpful and friendly. Bravo!
Menus and specials change regularly, but we went for brunch, which means a bit of everything, not to mention enough light for photographs. Last Sunday, it had 11 menu items and a blackboard chalked with specials, one of which was a glorious-looking house-smoked coffee and brown sugar salmon perched atop a bagel spread with citrus-herb mascarpone. Next time.
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We went with other things: the Cypress Cuban ($15), deep-dish quiche ($12.50) and chicken biscuits ($14.50).
The Cuban sandwich was a revelation: exquisitely smoked pork and Serrano ham, with Swiss cheese that eventually melted atop the hot combination served in a pressed, actual-Cuban roll and spread with a touch of stone-ground mustard. Is this the Cuban sandwich you would find in a diner in Miami? No, but it is one of the best sandwiches you will find in Brevard County.
The quiche was exactly what you want quiche to be: egg-custardy and a little cheesy, with touches of herb goodness. It’s nicely browned, with a wonderful, substantial crust, and like other dishes at Cypress Table, served with a variety of fresh fruits.
I am a fool for chicken biscuits, probably because I can’t resist decent fried chicken or well-made biscuits together or alone. Good Lord, maybe I’m becoming more Southern as the years go by.
Anyway, in this case, the biscuits were of the (big) drop variety, flavored with just enough cheddar and kind of flaky, so they fall apart with a little pressure. So you eat with knife and fork: so what? What you consume is a decent-sized piece of buttermilked and lightly fried chicken breast that has the slightest hint of piquancy. The dressing with which it comes, honey hot sauce, is akin to certain pepper mixtures: fairly mild at the front, but fiery thereafter.
Desserts were doughnuts, which gave Cypress Table such a great reputation on the local food scene when they were sold at Rockledge Gardens and elsewhere, and if you’re a northerner who spots raised doughnuts, you are a happy person.
My dining companion had one of the Snickerdoodle variety, a huge thing sprinkled in a cinnamon and sugar, and she loved it.
I, on the other hand, went for lemon meringue, and oh my! It was one of the best things that ever has gone into my mouth, a combination of soft, unsweetened doughnut topped by lemon custard and a twisting, pointy mountain of torched, soft meringue. The combination of textures was terrific, as was the not-too-tart favor of the filling. This alone will lead us back to Cypress Table.
Beverages included a bottle of bubbly Spanish wine and a mason jar of fresh-squeezed orange juice ($40) for the table, as well as canned water and an Iron Beer soft drink that tasted like a combination of cola and root beer, sweetly satisfying.
Did the restaurant have any flaws? Well, part of one of the chicken pieces in its biscuit was a little undercooked for my taste, though not to any troublesome degree. The chicken could have used an alternative to that hot sauce as well. Aioli, maybe?
And while I understand the use of trays in this circumstance, a big no to plastic dinnerware. Good food deserves better flatware.
That’s it. Judged against the breed standard, Cypress Table takes the rosette.
We’re not thinking about returning. We’re thinking of making it a hangout.
Cypress Table
Four stars Address: 307 Delannoy Ave., Cocoa
Call: 321-307-2412
Online: www.cypresstable.com
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays
Other: Beer and wine served. Doughnuts served daily
About our restaurant reviews
Restaurants are rated on a five-star system by FLORIDA TODAY’s reviewer. The reviews are the opinion of the reviewer and take into account quality of the restaurant’s food, ambiance and service. Ratings reflect the quality of what a diner can reasonably expect to find. To receive a rating of less than three stars, a restaurant must be tried twice and prove unimpressive on each visit. Each reviewer visit is unannounced and paid for by FLORIDA TODAY.
Five stars: Excellent. A rare establishment to which you’d be proud to take the most discerning diner.
Four stars: Very good. Worth going out of your way for. Food, atmosphere and service are routinely top notch.
Three stars: Good. A reasonably good place with food and service that satisfy.
Two stars: Fair. While there’s nothing special about this establishment, it will do in a pinch.
One star: Not recommended. Don’t bother.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Delicious donuts to a killer Cuban sandwich, this Cocoa cafe delivers
