With the relaxed atmosphere of a small-town coffee shop paired with panoramic views of Baltimore that rival the most upscale restaurants in the city, the Skyline Café is The Johns Hopkins Hos­pital’s newest eatery. While it has options for everyone, Skyline Café’s menu caters to oncology patients to help ease the discom­forts of cancer treatment, and the café is a light-filled place where they can escape their worries.

Opened in May on the top floor of the Skip Viragh Outpatient Cancer Build­ing at 201 N. Broadway, the Skyline Café is just one block south of the Kimmel Cancer Center.

The hospital’s food and dining culinary team delivers freshly prepared dishes ranging from a crab Cobb salad to a Thai chicken wrap to superfood smoothies, such as one named the Elvis that boasts peanut butter, chocolate and banana. Patrons can also indulge in hot soups, tasty desserts or grab-and-go salads, sandwiches or wraps.

In the years leading up to the opening of the café, Leo Dorsey, district manager of food and dining services, and his team met several times with the oncology Patient and Family Advisory Council for Oncology to learn more about what type of dining environment would meet patients’ needs. They also collected feed­back from a survey they administered to faculty and staff members who work in the oncology department. The result was a menu to accommodate oncology patients’ diverse diets, and foods with a variety of textures to help when chemotherapy af­fects eating.

“We learned that getting proper nutri­tion during cancer treatment is important to help them maintain their energy and strength,” says Dorsey. “We kept the patient in mind every step of the way.”

The décor is calm and comfortable. Bright, light colors to encourage vitality and healing adorn the walls, and the large, open windows allow natural sunlight to fill the room. Patients and visitors can choose from a variety of seating options, whether they want to sit alone on a corner bench or enjoy others’ company on a chaise lounge. A row of seats looks onto a view of the campus and city skyline.

“It’s a very healthy alternative to some of our other restaurants on the East Balti­more campus,” says Dorsey. “While it was created with oncology patients in mind, we hope staff will stop by for a quick bite and recommend it to their patients.” He says the views of the city are unparalleled, and patrons can take the pedestrian bridge to get to the Skip Viragh building through the Orleans Street Garage.