Café Intermezzo

Cappuccino and a case of cakes, kept European

The cappuccino is the drink the house builds its whole picture around, and it is meant to be taken with a pastry rather than in a hurry. Café Intermezzo calls itself an old fashion European coffeehouse, an attempt to reproduce a 300-year-old coffeehouse tradition on a Dunwoody corner, and the room runs that idea across the day: coffee and cake, conversation, a meeting, a glass of wine, a cocktail, late appetizers. The coffee comes from Kaldi's, with the house regular, house decaf and both espressos grown in Central America, which gives the core menu a settled supply rather than a rotating bean list. There is a chilled coffee lane too, but the cappuccino and the pastry case are the center of gravity.

A room built for the long pause

The idea in the name is the intermezzo, an intermission from ordinary pace, and the room is designed to make that plausible: music, aromas, art, and interiors meant to feel like another time and place rather than a quick-service counter. It works for a rendezvous, a meeting, or an hour alone with something to think about, and nothing about it hurries you toward the door. That flexibility is why the same room holds breakfast, lunch, dinner, wine, cocktails and a late dessert visit without changing character. The Georgia Restaurant Association gave Café Intermezzo its Grace Award for Hospitality Hero of the Year in 2023, which fits a place whose whole argument is how long it will let you stay.

Order the cappuccino, then choose cake with intent

Take the cappuccino first, then go to the case. Pastry is the main event on the sweet side, and whole cakes are part of the program rather than a special request: 10-inch cheesecakes and 10-inch tortes are made to be carried out to a celebration. For a group, the cheesecake is the straightforward centerpiece, while a torte leans more cake-like in the same large format. Sitting in, the honest order is one pastry and one coffee, held for as long as you want the table, and the case is broad enough that the second visit rarely repeats the first. If the evening runs later, the wine and cocktail list keeps the same slow pace, and the late appetizers are there for anyone who arrived for dessert and stayed.