French chain La Madeleine is one of DAL’s few sit-down options.
In Terminal T past security, La Madeleine covers the basic French café playbook: omelets and pastries in the morning, soups, salads, and sandwiches the rest of the day. Expect counter ordering and food run to your table rather than full service. Pricing runs in typical airport range, roughly $10–$18 for a meal depending on whether you add soup or dessert. It’s a known brand in Texas, so you’re getting the same menu style you’d see in town, just at DAL markups.
Breakfast usually hits first: think croissants, quiche-style egg dishes, and coffee that’s a step up from straight drip at the gate. You can often be in and out in under 25 minutes if the line is short, which works for a 60–90 minute layover. For something light, a pastry and coffee will land around $8–$12. If you want a more filling plate before an early Southwest hop, aim for an omelet or breakfast combo instead of grazing at the newsstand.
Midday and later, the usual La Madeleine staples show up: Caesar or strawberry pecan salads, half-sandwich-and-soup combos, and chicken dishes with rice or potatoes. Tomato basil soup is the chain’s anchor item and, if it’s on here, it’s generally more reliable than random airport chili. Figure $13–$17 for a combo with soup and half sandwich, and closer to $18 if you tack on dessert like a lemon tart or sacher torte slice.
No standout complaints or “order this” cult favorites surface for this DAL location, which tells you it mostly behaves like a standard La Madeleine dropped into an airport concourse. Service speed will live or die by how many flights bank around your time; give yourself a 30-minute buffer before boarding if you’re sitting for a hot meal. One practical move: mobile-check your gate first, then pick a table with a clear sightline to departure boards so you’re not sprinting from your last bite to T’s farther gates.