the cafe at shields date garden

third time eating here, and the experience keeps getting better and better... from the date pancakes, to the the salmon sandwich on sourdough, and everything in between, this cafe is the best in all of indio! maybe even the best in the eastern valley... eat here quickly! you're missing out if you haven't yet.

beautiful place! been some time that i wanted to pass by here. we stopped by for some late breakfast. we all loved what we had! the shield date pancakes were amazing!! especially with the date butter. my salad wasn't too good though but everything else was just great! stop by the shop, theater, souvenir shop etc next time i'll have their date shake at the shop!

shields date garden has been here since 1924. walk inside to the gift shop. they have an ice cream bar and make their famous date shakes.
it's a fun tourist stop that is like stepping back in time.

the tasting bar has containers of sample pieces of their date and banana breads sprinkled with walnuts, pecans or almonds.

behind the store is the cafe. it serves breakfast from 7 am to 2:30 pm they offer omelets, steak and eggs and some mexican favorites that include chilaquiles.

they also make shields date pancakes from scratch with organic eggs and flour, mixed with date butter and deglet boor dates on top.

our server jose was very nice. on the menu, lunch specials include chipotle crab cakes, a shields salad with deglet noor dates, dried cranberries, walnuts, pears, crumbled blue cheese and a house mango vinaigrette.

they also have date burger with sautéed deglet noor dates with bacon and melted blue cheese.

we ordered a grilled turkey w/ melted pepper jack cheese on brioche bread. the side salad was enhanced with dates.

the chef was nice to make our daughter a veggie wrap. the fresh fruit was cut in large pieces.

the ice tea was my favorite unsweetened tropical tea. finish your meal with a vanilla date shake.

lot's of free parking in front and on the side. be sure to peek inside the date theater.

lots of fun in indio, california. i read about shields, i wanted to experience it for myself. the parking lot is huge. the gift/souvenir shop is huge. there are lots of date samples. there is a theater showing a film about dates. our lunch on the patio was most pleasant. my half a shields salad was interesting: spinach, asian pear, mango, walnuts, blue cheese, dates and cranberries. barc had a perfectly prepared medium rare cheeseburger with salad. emily took excellent care of us. after lunch we walked through the gardens. it reminded me of the stations of the cross with several additions. it was a fun place to visit. we know a lot about growing dates....don't try it at home.

a regular patron.. two words " simply amazing". as a relocate from new orleans, la. almost cried when we left, were leaving the most delicious food ever (breakfast at surrey's) was and will always be amazing, but surrey's, step aside as we have the cafe at shields. here in indio. next move, lunch and dinner.

all time favorite. i've been coming here for 40 years and never tire of shields' fantastic date shakes. now, with the excellent food at the cafe, shields is hard to beat for price, quality and wonderful sense of tradition.

very pleased. when i pulled into the parking lot it was packed and i was sure there would be a long wait. we were seated immediately, our food came in a short time and it was very good. i live locally, so you can be sure i will be eating there again soon.

date shakes wow. our first visit to shields we enjoyed the history lesson on dates as we do
not grow dates in canada. we then shared a date shake, my wife has not
stopped talking about it ,we will be back.

the weekend before we went to palm springs, jake and i went to the bacon fest at the fair. normally when i go to the fair i have a whole list of things i want to get, one of them being a date shake. well, if you remember that post then you’ll know i was not able to consume one other thing and was not able to get my date shake. then i remembered that dates totally grow in the desert! and that i could probably get a date shake during our trip! and i was totally right. enter: shields date garden in indio, ca. there’s no way you can miss shields with this giant solider in a suit of armor pointing out the way. this side of the building is pretty unassuming. the other side though has got this risque looking sign talking about the romance and sex life of dates. see what they did they? dates. heh heh. of course i had to go watch it. of course. you have to walk through the whole store (which sells a variety of sweets, snacks, and of course dates) to get to the little theater in the back. it’s a

fresh & delicious!. i've dined here several times and have never walked away dissatisfied. every menu option i've had has been nothing short of amazing! the date burger is something everyone needs to try! great atmosphere- the grounds are beautiful, including the dog walk. the service is amazing, too!

an oasis of wonderful. the food was great, the service excellent and the environment was perfect. a breath taking view of the santa rosa mountians with date palms accenting the way and set off by a beautiful garden lake... a wonderful experience.

so glad our friends told us about this gem.

date-lover's dream. the date shake was very good...thick and rich. our favorite was the date burger. the meat was good quality and handmade. it wasn't a frozen patty. it was topped with dates and blue cheese. the blue cheese was on the mild side. my husband does not really care for blue cheese, but he liked the kind they used on this burger.it was amazing! i wanted to steal the homemade pickles off of everyone else's plates. the fries were really good too...nice and crispy. the restaurant was clean, confortable and pleasant. there was outdoor seating, but it was 104 degrees. the service was excellent. i would go back without hesitation.

the grounds are beautiful and the outdoor seating is great. food is good and the staff is on it. they even gave us a date shake sampler. i am hooked on the shakes now!

outdoor seating available, friendly attentive staff. classic breakfast menu with a mexican/peruvian twist.