Restaurant Review: Naranja Cafe in Denton

by Carrie Sands and Carli Baylor of North Texas Daily

DENTON — Students that don't mind paying a little extra for an ice cold sip of fruity heaven or a hot cup of java may want to stride on over to the Naranja Café.

Having just recently opened at its new location on Avenue C, Naranja is surely within walking distance for any student who happens to be taking the scenic restaurant route to class.

When we walked into the store, we gandered at the pastel green walls, yellow trim, and extremely clean furniture. Looking a bit bare, the café had a few wooden chairs and tables for customers to sit and relax in while studying last minute for a test. There were a few magazines, some Uno cards, a Connect Four game, and even some poker chips stacked on a large rack. Other than a large colorful menu full of hot and cold drink orders, the walls contained nothing but a few small boat snap shots that reminded Carli of a tiny shop you might find at a boardwalk. Carrie hoped that since the Café had just recently reopened, the owners weren't done decorating on the inside.

As jazz music played in the background, Carrie ordered a small Bubble Milk Tea and made sure to request the infamous Boba, the small gummy-like substance that Naranja puts at the bottom of all of their drinks. She enjoyed the decorative pictures of animated cartoons that were located on the plastic lid of her drink. She smiled when she heard the tiny popping noise that her massive red-striped straw made when it ripped through the top of it, but soon decided that there was too much Boba in her tea. It tasted too chewy and like a gummy bear without any flavoring but did however note that the Boba appeared to look like chocolate chips in an iced coffee.

Carli opted for a sweeter drink and ordered a small banana vanilla smoothie. Not ordering any Boba in her drink, the smoothie was silky smooth and although extremely tasty, Carli probably would have become ill from its rich taste had she ordered a larger serving. By the time she got to the bottom of her drink, large chewy chunks of banana were even too big to be sucked up by the humungous straw. At least customers will know the café uses fresh fruit in their drinks.

With only one person working the counter, it did take awhile for our orders to come out to us. The waiter was not extremely chatty and didn't appear at the front of the counter unless an order was needing to be placed, but didn't seem unfriendly either.

Costing anywhere between $2 and $5 for an ice cream, coffee, tea or smoothie, Naranja Café offers a fair deal that is definitely cheaper than Starbucks but not the kind of change that most college students would spend on a regular basis. If people are looking for a hot or sweet treat for a special occasion Naranja Café may be the place for them.