What’s old is new again at Kimbell Café: The chili is back, and soon regular service
The Kimbell Café is nearly back to normal, and the next step comes Feb. 8.
That’s when the art museum cafe — now also known for its busy afternoon tea service — will bring back plates and bowls for lunch, replacing the take-out boxes of sandwiches, salads and quiche served in times of short staffing.
In many ways, the cafe is the same restaurant that has drawn lunch crowds for 50 years to the Kimbell, 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd.
The lunch platters are the same.
The salads are the same, plus pimiento cheese and chicken salad.
The soups and chili are the same — and it’s some of the best chili in Cowtown.
Once regular table settings come back after the crowds subside from the “Turner’s Modern World” exhibit, everything at the Kimbell will be back in place.
(That is, except the old cafeteria-style serving line. The former “buffet” is now the Kimbell Café.)
Afternoon tea is now the big draw, attracting crowds for a very dignified tea with fruit, pastries and finger sandwiches for $12.50, with extra pots of tea for $6.
Choose from Earl Grey blends, green tea or seasonal flavors such as a bourbon-barrel-aged tea or ginger-peach decaf.
“It all started during our [COVID] break,” chef Peter Kreidler said, referring to the pandemic shutdown of restaurants in 2020.
“It’s the perfect place,” he said in a recent Eats Beat podcast. “When we put it together, we didn’t know what would happen.”
The Kimbell quickly went from baking 20 scones a month to serving that many people each day.
Tea is served from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. daily, except Monday. Reservations are required on weekends and recommended most days.
“it was a way to introduce something new — it’s evolved so much,” Kreidler said.
The cafe is serving familiar light lunch fare.
On a recent day, the lunch menu ($12.50 combo) included a basil-pesto quiche, red-beans-and-rice salad, mushroom soup and a roast beef sandwich wirh horseradish.
On April 3, the museum will open a stunning collection of works from Africa, followed in September by an exhibit featuring the Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and then by the 50th anniversary events in October.
The Kimbell Café is open for lunch and afternoon tea daily except Monday (note: it’s closed New Year’s Day); 817-332-8451, extension 721, kimbellart.org.
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
