Went here for a Valentines date and we loved it! Excellent service, delicious food, and I enjoyed the pianist adding background music. Definitely a fancier restaurant reserved for a special occasion, but we enjoyed the experience and would go again! read more

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A classic high dollar restaurant. Don't eat there if you want to eat cheap, but the service and food was excellent. Mark was attentive and helpful. The ambience was also very nice. No complaints after taking our kids out for an anniversary meal, other than realizing this isn't casual dining on the cheap. read more

Great idea place to eat. Service is always friendly and the food is always delicious!!

I have been here before and it was great. Unfortunately, this time the food only ok and underseasoned and very disappointing, especially for the price point. While our server was very friendly, it just did not make up for the lackluster food. read more

Everything about the place was amazing! Excellent service, wonderful food, and the piano added to the soothing and elegant ambiance without being pretentious. read more

Cafe Renaissance - Osso Buco and Risotto = phenomenal - Mediterranean Near Me - Waite Park, Minnesota

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I am a regular at CR, so I am quite familiar with the menu, servers, owner, normally eating at CR 1-2 times per month. I regularly try items and last night, for an anniversary, I ordered the 8 oz. Lobster Tail Trio dinner (see menu item pic, attached). What I received was totally unexpected - notably, that there was no lobster tail on the plate, only a lobster tail shell. Let me explain, and see if you agree that I should have received a lobster tail, as I believe the menu item description is very deceiving. The owner explained that the lobster tail was actually chopped up into little pieces and 1) placed on the shrimp that was in the shell. Yes, as expected, there were shrimp in the shell with small bits of what I expected was a bit of lump crab as the menu item describes it; and, 2) mixed in with the Mac and Cheese. Yes, the M&C did have what likely was the lobster mixed with it, but since is described as "lobster Mac and Cheese" I didn't think I was donating my 8 oz lobster tail to make it! The owner provided a $20 gift certificate and didn't charge for our crème brûlée, but for a $56 lobster tail dinner (what I expected when I ordered), I felt poorly treated as a regular customer that simply read the menu and expected to get what it says. read more

Cafe Renaissance - Receipt for meal - Mediterranean Near Me - Waite Park, Minnesota

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Where do you start? The exquisite ambience.? The fresh fish? The captivating Middle East spices? All great starters. However, it's the welcome that starts when you walk in read more

This was our first time eating here. We were celebrating a 60th birthday and wanted something a little fancier. This place checked all the boxes. The atmosphere was very pretty. They were careful not to sit people right next to each other so it felt a little more like a private dining experience. Our server Mary was spot on. Very professional in both appearance and service. The food was excellent! So much variety I had a hard time picking one dish. We will definitely be back. read more

Plenty of food choices for carnivores and sufficient options those who prefer vegan or gluten free. Attentive service with all receiving food at the same time. Fanciest decor in town with linens and carpet. At 5 pm the low noise level was conducive to good conversation among old friends. read more

We've dined here many times, and the food always impresses. Our most recent visit was for Valentine's Day. We had the stuffed shrimp appetizer, lobster chowder (the best I've ever had), followed by filet mignon and a lobster tail, and shared strawberry cheesecake for dessert. They also had a great pianist, which added to the romance of the evening. The food was fantastic, and the service was excellent. Highly recommend! read more

Cafe Renaissance - Mediterranean Near Me - Waite Park, Minnesota

Cafe Renaissance is my type of restaurant. It has all the elements of a great place to dine. It is elegant, has a great selection of quality food, and the service was top notch. - Kudos to our waiter, Sebestian! To top it off we had live piano playing the whole time during dinner, which was so romantic. We enjoyed a lovely dinner here on a friday night. To start off we shared the Meditterrean salad. It was fresh, perfectly marinated with olive oil, and a decent sprinkle of kalamta olives. Then the soups came. I had the delectable, creamy, rice, and filling butternut squash soup. My lovely companion had the vegetable barley soup. Now for the main couse, but oh wait- Sebastian gave us some citrus flavored icey to clear our pallette. I enjoyed every bite of the Guinnes Short Ribs that I could handle. My dear thoroughly enjoyed the Lamb Shank and we both had enough to take home for a second serving. For dessert we had some Baklava. It was a lovely sweet treat to top off the evening. If and when I return to St. Cloud, this restuarant will be at the top of my list. Whether its a special occasion or not. It is just worth it. read more

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We made a trip here for dinner before the cirque Italia show. We pulled up to a sketchy looking strip mall and were a bit hesitant. We entered to what felt like a palace with chandeliers and beautiful murals painted. We got seated and ordered from the menu. The menu was so large it was overwhelming at first and difficult to find a meal. Our server was amazing and we could not choose so we told him what we didn't like and let him order for us. The cheese platter was amazing and the gumbo was on point. We plan to make another trip soon to leave a better review with more time. We sat by the piano guy and in the little time enjoyed his music! read more

Great menu with lots of options. The outside of this place doesn't look like much but inside it is white tablecloths and a fun sophisticated environment. The waiter was amazing and made some great recommendations. We started with the opah flaming cheese. It was delicious and a great presentation. I had the Moroccan Tagine with beef. It was a little on the spicy side, but very enjoyable. The couscous had a strong cumin sent, and was very good with the beef. For dessert I had the Zeppoli that was Brulé on top adding a nice smoky sweet texture to the cream and berries. this place was a great find in an area with lots of quickserve and fast food options. read more

Fantastic, loved it!!! Great service great food, beautiful restaurant with white tablecloths. Definitely will be back soon.

Nice atmosphere. However, beware of entrees listed as "MP", maybe check that price before you order. The steak I ordered ended up being 69 dollars (just the steak)!! To add insult to injury....it was overcooked and a bit tough. If I choose to pay that much for good food, I can think of much nicer places that would probably justify the price.....this one doesn't. read more

Great atmosphere, great food!! Love this place! Baklava is so good! The best in town!! read more

The exterior is deceiving bc it doesn't look like much, sort of dark and not very welcoming. The interior is a bit old school a la Italian renaissance....However, the food was great! It's a mix of Mediterranean and Italian food, that are well seasoned and delicious. From the freshly baked focaccia bread before the meal to the palate cleanser (bite of mango-strawberry sorbet) before the main course, everything was well thought out. The staff are also attentive without being overly intrusive. It's good for a special occasion and/or outing with a group! Will go again! read more

Cafe Renaissance - Mediterranean Near Me - Waite Park, Minnesota

Upscale-ish environment with a menu that is too ambitious. I've been impressed with the number of options that go on for pages, but nearly everything I've ordered is subpar in execution. Dry and paltry portions of gyro meat on the gyro salad. Bland jambalaya. And, so many dishes taste as if cumin is the spice of choice. The best thing I've had here is the bread. After that, it's mostly down hill. The front desk is staffed by welcoming, very nice people. The wait staff, however, can be a little low energy and robotic. Still, after saying all that, I still go back when I have visitors from out of town or for some special occasions because there are literally no restaurants attempting to be high end. read more

Great food great services. Love the atmosphere. Lots to choose from. Great place to celebrate read more

Great food. Great service. Relaxing ambience. Perfect place for a special evening w/ family & friends read more

Great drinks, good food. Friendly staff that made great recommendations. French onion soup was delicious and so was the Manhatten. read more

This place is a bit pricy but highly impressed my spouse. Fine dining, great food, live piano music nestled in the woods. The service is unbeatable! read more

Fantastic experience here on a random Tuesday when we just wanted to do something a little different for a date night. Service was great, food was honestly some of the best I've ever had. We started with fresh baked bread, and for a main I got the New Zealand lamb shanks. The sauce was the perfect blend of smoky, sweet and spicy and the meat was prepared exactly how I had hoped. We will definitely be back, and should have probably went sooner! read more

Very nice, elegant decor Awesome menu My wife and I had the halibut special and the Moroccan Tagore. Waiter was awesome, knowledgeable of menu and very friendly. Food was fabulous read more

Nice place, so nice it was like I was to broke to even walk in. We got the crab cakes & stuff shrimp really good! My friend got the thingy with clams on it. I got spicy lamb curry. Then we ordered some of that custard with blueberries and strawberries. We called it a zamboni waiter nicely corrected us on how to say it and joked about it when he brought it out. I thought the rice was a bit dry but I'm not a fan of rice so I don't know what good rice taste like. Otherwise food was really nice read more

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Service was awesome, and the food was pretty good. Nice place for a date night, would go again.

If you're looking for a fancier restaurant in the St. Cloud area, this is the place! It's located in a strange area so I always forget about it, but I'm never disappointed when dining here. Best service I've ever received and the food was delicious. read more

Cafe Renaissance - French onion soup - Mediterranean Near Me - Waite Park, Minnesota

If you didn't know they have stuffed pizza... check it out! I have had an assortment of food here as well as the chicken and spinach stuffed pizza. Everything was awesome, but I keep telling more and more people about grabbing the pizza to go when venturing near St Cloud. It's worth it! read more

We have been regulars for several years. Tonight was the first time that we had their New Year's Eve extravaganza. We each had a different item from all 3 courses; everything was perfect. The preparation was spot on and the service was timely. We did our dessert to go, as we were both too full, but wanted to make it a perfect evening. I had lobster chowdah, stuffed prawns and a filet. The chowdah should be a regular menu item. It was OMG delish. The sauces that came with the filet were delish and there was a perfect amount to add to every bite. The prawns were very tasty too, but the chowdah and filet were the stars from my evening. It was on the expensive side, but I felt like it was well worth what we paid and would be fine paying the same again for a meal of this caliber. Kudos to the staff for preparing a feast to remember. read more

The prices were expensive, and the portion sizes small, but the quality of the food was great! The overall ambience of the place was fantastic as well, and the employees working there were very friendly. The food came out in a timely manner, although it took a bit longer than expected to receive the check. I will definitely be coming back to try the other menu items! read more

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Great place. The food is the best. Service and staff great. Ambiance is a little off but I wouldn't let that stop you from having a great meal there. read more

What an unexpected find. This restaurant has truly delicious food and very good service. I can honestly say I have not had a better meal than the Chicken Bryan. Rich, flavorful, and so good I did not leave a single crumb. Our waiter Allen was attentive and kept us supplied with wine, water and delicious bread. We were looking for Zeppole Pizza and expected to find a pizzeria. Instead we found a sumptuous Italian restaurant. I do not award five stars as: we called asking for Zeppole Pizza and were not told this is a fine dining establishment not a pizzeria, the side dishes of soup were not appetizing to me, and I expected to be provided clean forks. Other than these minor details, we were delighted with our meal. Everyone at our table loved their food. It is great to know an excellent restaurant of this caliber exists near St. Cloud. We highly recommend Cafe Renaissance. read more

There's many locals who rave about this restaurant and can't get enough. I'm not one of those people. Tried the escargot and they were too salty and inedible. If they weren't it would have been better. They were also swimming in butter. It wasn't appetizing. The Philly/ French sandwich wasn't good at all. The meat was over cooked and so were the fries. The redeeming quality was the soup of the day. I haven't tasted something that unique in quite a while. I believe it was ginger and carrot and possibly apple. All I know is it was good and unique. There was an incredibly rude, loud, and annoying take ruining the experience. I wish a staff member would have done something about it. There were several others who were annoyed and had it ruin their meals. I'm not sure I'd return at this point. read more

It's been awhile and I'm very happy that this wonderful restaurant is able to withstand the pandemic and keep serving the local community here. The upscale ambiance is a perfect place for a romantic night out, friends bonding, gathering of the business minds or just a nice family time. The service is phenomenal..all the friends agreed that the waiter was very professional, attentive, funny and great customer service. He brought us one of the best table bread served..savory focaccia bread with olive oil. I decided to order the Moroccan Tagine and upgraded my soup to the French onion soup and the Flaming Saganaki Opa for the table. That is definitely a showstopper for the table with the display of high flames set on the Greek cheese squirted with lemon juice and a quick yell out "Opa!"The melted cheese had a gooey texture with the light lemon zest taste. I'm not fond of their French Onion Soup... watery without much onions but packed with cheese. The Moroccan Tagine was delicious..flavorful lamb stew with tomato based served with fragrant basmati rice. The Tuscan chicken with the lemon cream sauce with artichoke hearts just makes your mouth salivate. Bacon wrapped scallops were perfectly seared...highly recommend. It's like a play of sea in your mouth. The walleye was nicely cooked topped with the white wine butter sauce. We were so full and didn't leave room for dessert. Highly recommend to come here and the next time I'm going for the paella. read more

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What a great place. The atmosphere is great especially with the live piano playing in the background. The service, Chris, was amazing. Great recommendations as it was our first visit. The food was out of the world. We had the almond crusted halibut and the bouillabaisse. Each one was full of excellent flavor. We splurged and got the Tiramisu for dessert. What a great decision as it was the best we've ever tasted. read more

My favorite! I have never had a disappointing meal. From the Osso Bucco to Seafood Special to the great appetizer soup, consistently pleased with the food, service and atmosphere! read more

This is the best food in St. Cloud period. Live piano music doesn't hurt. This restaurant would do well in any major city, we are lucky to have it here. We all should support it so we continue to have access to fine dining. It's great for proposals, birthdays, anniversaries and business meetings. read more

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Hands-down, this is the classiest restaurant in Central Minnesota; don't let its strip mall location fool you. They have a huge menu, an excellent wine list. Why we like Cafe Renaissance - let me count the ways. 1. You won't find decor and ambiance like it anywhere else in Central Minnesota. 2. An immense and eclectic menu to choose from, with Mediterranean, Greek, and American dishes on the menu. 3. Live music during dinner - piano playing in the background. 4. Tremendous service. The manager will stop by your table every time you eat here. 5. Great food. I've had fish, pizza, lamb, pasta and more. It's always been delicious. 6. Great place for a date night. It's truly distinctive. While the prices are higher, you can eat here for less (pizza), and still get the wonderful ambiance. If you're looking for a nice evening out, this is the place to go! read more

Great food, great service, wonderful dining experience. Food quality I didn't think could be found in the St. Cloud area.

Excellent service and delicious food. We didn't have a reservation, yet the hostess fit us in- so thankful! Allen was a wonderful waiter! We enjoyed the gyro platter and stuffed salmon as well as the Tuscan chicken. The roasted veggies were perfect! We all had dessert as well- delicious cheesecake and baklava! read more