The best coffee shops in East Dallas

They say there are two certainties in life – death and taxes. We would like to add a third: coffee.

East Dallas residents have witnessed an influx of coffee shops and roasters moving in. Whether you’re looking for a spot that’s best for a quiet chat, a breakfast meeting, or a grab-and-go, the next time you’re picking up a cuppa, consider checking out one of these shops. You might just become a regular.

Ascension coffee

Ascension White Rock

9353 Garland Rd.

The card: East Dallas’ newest coffee shop is located inside the historic White Rock Community Chapel, after an impressive renovation. After scaling back a bit during the pandemic, Ascension is expanding again; this location is the company’s seventh in the DFW area.

Stay a while rating: Serving breakfast and lunch all day every day, Ascension is as much a restaurant as a coffee shop. There’s also a wine program and a “Golden Hour,” which is its version of happy hour, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 3 p.m. The space is huge, with plenty of tables and seating for people to eat, work, hang out or all three, including an outdoor patio

Beans: The shop serves only the 3 percent best coffees in the world, roasted at the roastery in Dallas. Ascension works directly with coffee producers, and prioritizes women-led farms in its purchasing.

What else: Ascension enjoyed great success with its Culinary Director and Executive Chef Jason Connelly, who previously worked as Executive Chef at the Adolphus Hotel. Also note: the bagels in the shop come from local bagel shop Sclafani’s.

Drinks to try: Doki Cold Fashioned is a coffee mocktail with bitters, a Luxardo cherry and a twist of orange.

Pull through the coffee shop

Pull through the coffee shop

4875 W. Lawther Dr.

The card: Pull Through, which has been open for about two weeks, is owned by Christina James, who used to work at Cultivar Coffee but decided to open up her own space when she saw a need for cyclists and runners to have a place to rest and have a cuppa on this side of the lake. In addition to coffee drinks, she offers kolaches and pastries from East Dallas’ Leila Bakery and Cafe, as well as treats from local cottage bakeries.

Stay a while rating: There’s a good amount of seating on the patio, and you can certainly sip while shopping inside the bike shop, but there’s a lot more to walking up (or cycling up) and getting on with your day.

Beans and things: The beans brewed at Pull Through are from local distillery Cultivar. Depending on whether she gets many requests from customers to buy beans, James may consider selling bags in the future.

What else? While Pull Through is pretty bare for now, James says she plans to spruce up the walk-up window with plants, signage and more.

Optional drink: Part drink and part snack, a Wake the Waffle is brewed coffee or tea topped with a Stroopwafel.

Stephen Karlisch

Cafe Duro

2804 Greenville Ave.

The card: From the hospitality group behind Charles, Bar Charles, Sister and El Carlos Elegante, Cafe Duro is a small cafe and market offering coffee, breakfast, grab-and-go house pasta, charcuterie, cheese and more.

Stay a while rating: The cafe itself doesn’t offer much seating, but what there is feels cool and European, and tables on the porch of Sister, next door, are available to customers when it’s closed. The food offerings and the grab-and-go market venture well beyond breakfast, and the shop is open until 10pm every day.

Beans and things: The team at Duro have been tight-lipped about the bean details, but those who want to recreate the cafe experience at home can pick up a bag in store.

What else: Cafe Duro and Duro Hospitality launched a wine program with bottles and concierge service available in store. It promises wines that are not easy to come by elsewhere in the city, and diners who have dined at any of Duro’s outposts know how deep the cuts can be.

Drink to try: 007 Espresso, which comes shaken, sweetened and iced.