Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Cafe Renaissance

    4.5 (104 reviews)
    Closed 3:00 pm - 9:00 PM

    Cafe Renaissance Photos

    CAFE RENAISSANCE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Romantic
    Intimate
    Classy
    Quiet

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Cafe Renaissance

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Osso Buco and Risotto = phenomenal

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

    Receipt for meal
    Thomas A.

    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.

    Mediterranean salad split for two
    Sheri S.

    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.

    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!

    See all

    Photo of Jane S.
    2
    22
    67

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of S N.
    21
    239
    7

    2 months ago

    Excellent Mediterranean food - Greek and Turkish dishes . Waiter was great also . Food was prepared fresh. Highly recommend.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

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

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jon P.
    8
    86
    25

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 8
    Thanks 0
    Love this 8
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Emmee H.
    10
    124
    108

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

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

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Thomas W.
    48
    27
    14

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ian H.
    10
    19
    2

    4 years ago

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

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Thanh T.
    29
    22
    24

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tom B.
    66
    40
    0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Sam E.
    1
    52
    135

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Karen S.
    36
    90
    32

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tim D.
    105
    852
    2329

    11 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

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

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Cafe Renaissance

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    LA FERME

    LA FERME

    4.5
    (98 reviews)
    59.2 mi
    $$

    This is in the cutest, vintage old building off the main street running through downtown…read moreAlexandria. You can park in the lot in the back or park on the street. It's a little hard to spot because the sign doesn't stand out and it's tucked between buildings. You order at the counter and they will bring your food to you. I love the idea the owner has about bringing fresh locally farmed ingredients to the menu. The menu is simple and it was perfect for lunch. We tried the tomato basil soup, smoked turkey sandwich and chicken salad sandwich. Everything tasted so good! Just a heads up, they aren't huge sandwiches but it was plenty for me.

    Let's describe the restaurant - a french restaurant "out of place" in Alexandria Minnesota. So they…read moreserve sandwiches at lunch and dinner as a necessary way to provide interest in the restaurant. But - they have a very interesting french style dinner menu as well. Intriguing. We were traveling and our anniversary was while we were in Alexandria. We wanted something special, and a french dinner seemed cool. But wait. They had a "chef's table" as well. Not an everyday thing, and not inexpensive, but - a chef's table in Alexandria Minnesota? We were totally there. A five course meal, wines accompanying, and it was totally delightful. We often blog our travels, and we wrote pages about this meal. Kudos to Matthew and Amber!

    Photos
    LA FERME
    Smoked Turkey sandwich and chicken veggie soup
    Smoked Turkey sandwich and chicken veggie soup
    Family recipe cookies

    See all

    Family recipe cookies
    Suzette's Restaurant

    Suzette's Restaurant

    4.2
    (90 reviews)
    68.0 mi
    $$

    Very poor. My husband was finally getting his appetite back after chemo and wanted to go to some…read moreplace special. Suzettes was close and we enjoy French food. This place was awful. The food was bad but he suffered through it because I was nagging him to eat more. I ate my dinner because I thought it would encourage him to eat. The seafood tasted old, the steak was cold and slimy. We both ate our food thinking the other person was enjoying their food. We should have said something to each other at the time. This morning my husband was nauseous and almost vomited when we were talking about the meal. I'm not the sort of person that complains about a bad meal, but this was one of the worst I've eaten. On top of all this, we did not feel welcomed. We will not go back.

    I almost never leave restaurant reviews because I don't take things that seriously but this time, I…read moreabsolutely needed to clear something up and sincerely apologize for a misunderstanding. My boyfriend and I did visit Suzette's recently and had to leave early because I wasn't feeling well. It had nothing to do with the food just a personal health issue that, looking back, turned out to be a small blessing in disguise. Unfortunately, my sister happened to be on FaceTime during our visit, saw me getting sick, and assumed it was food poisoning. Without realizing the situation fully, she went ahead and posted a very negative review on our behalf. I was mortified when I found out because that review doesn't reflect our experience at all. To clarify: when we first arrived, I had to wait a bit only because my boyfriend was in the restroom not because of the staff. Once he was back, we were seated within minutes. Our server was incredibly kind, attentive, and genuinely sweet she even complimented my hair and helped us choose from the menu, suggesting some great dishes. The restaurant itself was beautiful so charming and coquette that I even took pictures and showed my sister the lovely carnations on the table. The food was different from what we usually eat, but it was by no means bad. My boyfriend finished his entire meal, and I would've finished mine too if I hadn't started to feel unwell for unrelated reasons. Having worked in the food industry myself, it really didn't sit right with me to see such a harsh review about a place and staff who did nothing wrong. If I hadn't gotten sick, we were actually planning to order dessert! So, I want to extend my sincerest apologies to Suzette's for the confusion and for any hurtful comments that were said. Your team treated us wonderfully, and I'm truly sorry for the mix-up. I've already removed that review and wanted to thank you for being so gracious and for sharing your little piece of France with us. My boyfriend, our little one ;) and I will definitely be coming back soon.

    Photos
    Seafood mixed grill - lobster, shrimp and scallops in garlic and butter.  Served with vegetables and whipped potatoes.  Delish!
    Seafood mixed grill - lobster, shrimp and scallops in garlic and butter. Served with vegetables and whipped potatoes. Delish!
    Crab cakes
    Crab cakes
    Petite Filet with bordelaise sauce and garlic, herb and Romano cheese crusted Shrimp

    See all

    Petite Filet with bordelaise sauce and garlic, herb and Romano cheese crusted Shrimp
    Maison Margaux

    Maison Margaux

    4.1
    (195 reviews)
    61.6 mi
    $$$

    Maison Margaux treated us so well on our first wedding anniversary! We made brunch reservations and…read moresurprisingly, we were the only people in the restaurant for the whole morning! Everything was so lovely; the french art deco vibes were so fun and being able to see the inner workings of the kitchen from our table was so cool. The staff were extremely generous and treated us to some complimentary oysters and champagne to celebrate our anniversary. The oysters were so decadent and carefully crafted! We ordered some pastries to go along with our lattes and they were absolutely to die for. The pistachio chocolate croissant was our favorite of the bunch. We also ordered the omelette au fromage and the merguez omelette. The eggs were cooked lightly and to perfection and the fillings of both were rich and perfectly balanced. Another perk was the bread service; this was some of the best sourdough bread we've ever had and it was served with whipped butter and raspberry jam. Everything was so incredibly delicious, we left full and happy. Everyone was so nice and very attentive. Highly recommend their brunch, can't wait to come back for dinner some time!

    Bordeaux blanc . Les Hauls de Lagarde Blanc $13. Very good. Recommended by the server…read moreManhattan. Old Grandad was very nice Amuse Busch was the cigars from Fhema. Very good Petite Salade Nicoise $ 19. Very tasty. Cod Bordelaise $34 was well executed but not very exciting. Homard au Pot $35 lobster pot was good Banana Carmel profiteroles $13 good Chocolate soufflé et cre $18. Good Server was Dylan K and was very good.

    Photos
    Maison Margaux
    Briaised short ribs
    Briaised short ribs
    Vieux Carré cocktail

    See all

    Vieux Carré cocktail
    Meritage

    Meritage

    4.1
    (544 reviews)
    69.9 mi
    $$$

    I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner at Meritage. My bestie and I celebrated her 30th birthday and wanted…read moreto be somewhere that felt like a Parisian restaurant. We were not disappointed. Our server, Freeman, was attentive and gave great recommendations. He was knowledgeable on the menu and spoke french! He was such a joy! We ordered the chicken liver smear which tasted sweet and salty. It was the perfect first course to start our meal. We then moved onto the cassoulet. We did not enjoy this, the duck confit base was a bit too heavily oiled for us so instead we ordered the steak frites and burger. We loved our second choices and were happy with those selections. Then, we ordered affogato for dessert. Meritage makes their ice cream homemade and it was a good ending to the meal. The restaurant was busy but voices did not carry. It was a beautiful dinner and I would recommend anyone who likes French cuisine to visit!

    This place was awesome, I went for steak frites night on Wednesdays…read more $32/per person price fixed -steak frites -UNLIMITED french fries -House salad (or french onion soup for a $5 upcharge) -warm bread They had cocktails and vegetable add-ons for $11, the garlic mushrooms were so good. The food was delicious and it was a great deal. I had a vodka collins and it was so crisp and refreshing Parking as long as there is not a big event there is ample metered street parking around it. There is also a valet service available for I believe $20. I will be back for steak frites night. The restaurant is cute and has large windows to look out on the street near excel, providing great people watching.

    Photos
    Meritage
    Ratatouille raviolo
    Ratatouille raviolo
    Valet $20

    See all

    Valet $20
    Demi

    Demi

    4.6
    (123 reviews)
    61.6 mi
    $$$$

    The restaurant is very quaint and beautifully attired. The staff was extremely knowledgable and so…read morepolite. We did the wine pairing with our 10 course experience and it was the BEST overall dining experience we have ever had anywhere! They only have 2 seatings an evening but even each seating is staggered so it's like you are having your own private tasting for your party. Each course was better than the previous course and every course was INCREDIBLE with outstanding flavors that were explained in great detail each time! It was such a memorable experience from the first course to the last course that you never wanted it to end. You also get the entire menu including the wine pairing in a nice note before you leave. It includes your various Sous Chefs and service directors you had the entire evening! This was an EXCEPTIONAL overall dining experience that everyone should try especially if you love, food and wine!!!! I can't wait to go back and experience a whole new menu for sure!

    I have hesitated to write this review. But in the end - I had to be honest about my overall…read moreexperience. Demi had been on my list for a long time, and we finally decided to experience it. There is a lot to say about this restaurant, and most of it is very good. The ambiance had perfect energy. It felt lively, but never loud or overwhelming. It struck a really nice balance for a special night out. You could comfortably enjoy the experience and conversation. The service was exceptional. Not just friendly, but incredibly knowledgeable. Every course and every pairing was explained in detail, and the staff clearly knew their craft. Service - they absolutely delivered. We chose The W.C. Whitney Menu. I had the Premium Wine Pairing, which was excellent and very well done. My wife chose the Temperance Pairing since she does not drink alcohol. This was one of the few disappointments of the evening. Many of the drinks were designed to mimic the taste of cocktails and wine, while my wife does not care for the taste of alcoholic drinks. When it came to the food, there was a range. Some dishes were truly outstanding and worthy of Demi's reputation. Some were good but not exactly great. And honestly, a few were mediocre. With a tasting menu, you expect some variation, but at this level and at this price, mediocre does not cut it. Here's what it really comes down to. I would rate the experience itself 5-stars. But the cost of the evening did not come close to matching what was delivered. I was not looking for, or expecting value! We spent over $700 for the evening. Demi is very good. The service is exceptional. The ambiance is awesome. Much of the food is outstanding. But in my opinion, the overall experience did not justify the extremely high cost.

    Photos
    Old fashioned and the view. so cool to watch them work.
    Old fashioned and the view. so cool to watch them work.
    Demi
    Open area bar

    See all

    Open area bar

    Cafe Renaissance - mediterranean - Updated July 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...