There are always restaurants you root for, restaurants you hope will be special and successful. The Victorian English Garden Cafe, perched on the north end of downtown Gilbert, is one of those restaurants.

It is not that the idea of a cute little clapboard house with an eatery inside is anything new, even in Gilbert. Just down the road is a whole village of them. And tea rooms are cropping up all over the East Valley.

But what is always appealing about these places is that they are almost never chains. Usually they are conceived and born of regular folks from the community who dream of owning a little business. Against all odds and despite the dime-a-dozen coffeehouse giants and sub shops enveloping their tiny restaurant, they launch the place and keep it going, and somehow manage to make a living at it.

The Victorian English Garden Cafe is all of these things tiny, quaint and independently owned. The problem is in what it is not: a particularly good restaurant.
A novelty restaurant such as the Victorian must reach each of the five senses of its guests. The look, the feel, the smell and even the sound of the place must ring as true as the taste of the food.

The Victorian is cute enough, inside and out. The outdoor seating is nice, although it is hard to give yourself over to the charm of the place with cars whizzing by on Gilbert Road just in front of you and the raucous lunch crowd at Joes BBQ next door shattering the stillness of the supposed English garden.

But the smell of smoked meat from Joes is welcome when it overtakes the two other aromas at the Victorian: a chlorine-type disinfectant inside and, even worse, what is either fertilizer or dog poop outside.

Good food could make up for a lot, but the folks in the kitchen dont seem to want to make the effort. The soup has no flavor, the sandwiches are uninspired, and the iced tea is cloyingly sweet and artificial-tasting.

On a recent visit I ordered a turkey, cream cheese and cranberry sandwich, picturing in my mind something similar to what we make around my house in the days after Thanksgiving. But instead of hand-carved roasted turkey, I got turkey lunch meat; in lieu of well-prepared cranberry sauce, I got a sweet, jamlike cranberry curd; and in place of the homemade bread or roll I expected, I got plain, store- bought sandwich bread.

One can only assume that the ambition of the Victorian English Garden Cafe is to provide a unique, special experience for everyday lunches as well as bridal showers and other occasions. It is a nice idea.

But those who run the place cant rely on pretty plates and scones on the menu. Without good food, the only thing that sets these Victorian-themed eats apart is the pretty packaging.

What: Victorian English Garden Cafe
Where: 309 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday
How much: Most items $4-$7
Info: