WOW... amazing food, staff, etc. You're basically walking into a log cabin with a fancy cafe inside…read moreof it. Lots of sweets and menu items, defenitely try the pulled pork sandwich. Banana bread is pretty good too.

This place was so cute and homey! We stopped for lunch and loved the atmosphere. The menu had a…read morevariety of very savory selections from sandwiches to soups to coffee and sweets! If you're vegan, vegetarian or need GF options, this is a perfect spot for you! The service was very friendly and collaborative - meaning we were offered great hospitality from all of the staff members. There are additional seating in the back of the restaurant and it was quite roomy. We really enjoyed the food and experience! We will definitely come again when in the area! Quick tips: - You order in front and will seat your party once everyone has ordered. This may have caused some bottlenecks in the line but we got there when it wasn't as busy. - Your food items will be delivered to your table. - Their hot chocolate and coffee drinks were so delicious! - Their cookies and treats are also a must try!

We were in town for a bachelorette weekend and decided to go here for brunch on our last day. This…read moreplace was so cute and had great service. Downtown has fun shops to check out before or after your meal. This is your typical small down family restaurant but has a fun menu with breakfast classics and Swedish dishes to try. We were limited to the breakfast menu but that was okay because it helped me narrow down my order. I opted for the monte cristo with a side of bacon. My friend got the Swedish pigs in a blanket, which I took a nibble of. All the dishes people ordered were delicious. I got a side of lingonberry sauce for my sandwich and other items, which was a great touch. I would definitely stop back in if I were in the area.

Less Uffda, More Lefse: that's what this place is about! We…read morethought the service was lacking, especially for a Saturday morning (a relatively popular time for them). Since this was our first time, we had no idea that it was a 'seat yourself' type of place and there were no signs indicating so. We stood at the door being stared at by the patrons and the employees. It took several minutes for someone to tell us we could sit wherever. Finally, our waitress stopped over, took our drink order, but because we weren't ready, she left. She didn't come back for more than 15 minutes. She did apologize, but it was far too long. Prices were reasonable and two specials were offered - our kinda place! My husband took part in one of those specials and ordered the country fried steak and eggs. I ordered the regular steak and eggs. We did substitute an order of toast for the Swedish pancakes (gotta!) It took a really long time for our food to come, which was disappointing. Food did come out hot and my husband was a big fan of the country fried steak. I didn't think the Swedish pancakes were anything I would HAVE to order a second time, but I'm glad we tried them. The hashbrowns were probably the highlight of breakfast. A waitress did stop by with a dum dum for kids, which was a cute added touch!

Walking in, my friends and I just had a feeling this would be the best breakfast of our hungover…read morelives. There's something about a hole in the wall diner that really speaks to you. Our server was friendly and accommodating, but our food was truly phenomenal, especially for a small town restaurant. The whole diner was very small and you can hear everyone's conversations, which can be a bit awkward, but very quaint. The decor was silly and very nostalgic, which is probably contributing an extra star to my review in all honesty. Overall, I had a wonderful experience here and would happily return.

It's hit and miss. Service is good. Food quality isn't that great. The grease is usually old and…read moreyou can taste that. Also the grill doesn't get cleaned to good between different dishes so everything usually tastes the same. But it's still a nice local spot.

Amazing food, generous portions, friendlt servers, and a showcase of tasty things when checking out.read more

Went for lunch the other day. Stopped in on Keys Cafe & Bakery. I went with ge hot roast beef…read moresandwich with mash potatoes. Old school best describes what I got. More than you can imagine for meat between 2 slices of gravy covered bread with a generous portion of gravy covered potatoes. Yes I ate all of it. Never waste a good meal. My server was pleasant and attentive, just the way it should be. I give them a 4 star. If you in Forest Lake MN. You have to go to Keys. Nancy had eggs Benedict with crispy hash browns.

Sis and I took a last-minute Thursday late afternoon roadtrip up Hwy 8 due to a FB Marketplace…read morepickup. It was dinnertime and I asked the Seller a restaurant they recommend in the area. She told us The Northern and to make sure to order the cheese curds. Looking at the menu before hitting the road again, sis and I knew the place was for us: burgers, sandwiches and wraps. Pulling into the parking lot was easy. Even though looked full, we were still able to find a spot. I want to note the gorgeous view of the red barn/farm across from the pond when pulling in. I noticed a patio on the North side of the building, which would put this farm in your view. We did have about a 20 minute wait for a table for 2. The restaurant looked busy from what I could see. Once we were brought to out table, I then noticed that the bar seating was pretty much open. Had I known, we might have elected to just sit at the bar. However, I asked for menus right away so that we could at least ponder it during that 20 minutes. We were sat at a high top right near the kitchen door. Being able to see all the food come out, I changed my mind on what I was going to order almost 10 times. We asked for the cheese curds as soon as we were greeted by our waitress. OMGosh! They were in the shape of cubes, deep fried to golden perfection. The outside had perfect firmness from the fryer. The inside was gooey, salty white cheese. Perfect just by itself. It did come with a ranch dipping sauce that was just so yummy. It reminded me a seasoned sour cream. The waitress didn't know the brand of the cheese curds (ie. Ellsworth) but did say the ranch was homemade Sis ordered the Great Northern Burger with French fries. She's a fan of BBQ sauce, bacon and onion rings on a burger. Fries were nicely seasoned, long, soft and semi-skin-on (not crinkle or steak fries). Burger was huge and worth the $15.99 price tag. I settled on the BOTM, the Nacho Burger, with tator tots. Toppings included nacho cheese, Fritos chips, bacon, diced/sliced jalapenos. The tator tots were one of the best I've ever had. Again, seasoned nicely. And the perfect ratio of hard outside crunch to soft inside potato. The Nacho burger was huge too....and messy with the nacho cheese. The Fritos did get a little soggy at the end. The bacon was under the melted cheese. And there were plenty of jalapenos hidden under the meat patty. Those were easy to discard so I could control how many fiery peppers were in my mouth at one time. Was service slower than normal? Yes. Was the service friendly? Yes. Was it worth the wait? Also YES! I would definitely recommend (I already have to my coworkers.) for anyone who loves gourmet burgers. They also have a nice variety to the sandwich, wraps, tacos and flatbread menu. I will just have to take the 40 minute drive again to try something else.

Embracing my Swedish/ Norwegian side checking out the lovely town ofLindström today. Well known as…read morethe town with the teapot water tower just north of Forest Lake. Along with a tasty lunch in Chisago. @thenorthernlaketavern wrapped up our visit with a tasty lunch. We enjoyed the chicken and garlic flatbread, and a mushroom Swiss burger with tots. Uffdah what a fun day! Hoping everyone can find some Hygge in your days.

i come into town at least twice a year, (i live in Nashville TN) and i'll never stop coming back!…read more im ALWAYS, beyond impressed with the food here, the environment, and most importantly the kind and easy going service. that new owner really knows how to bring some incredible food to her menu and she's the sweetest!

We stopped by the Shafer Bar and Grill for a quick bite to eat. Turns out, it was not a quick bite…read moresince we waited over an hour for our food (which was a few tacos and a burger). It did look to be pretty understaffed and the server was friendly, but she never checked in on us after we ordered and there was no transparency about the delay. When we did get our food, it was pretty good but there was no apology or anything about the wait. It was also a very small place with only a few customers in it so I was a little confused about the whole situation. It was disappointing, but maybe it was just a one-off experience. May try again!

Simply lovely, why it was one of the nicest places we ever went to. Need we go on? With such a…read moreraving surely not! But we will. Pulling up to Gustaf's was a delight in itself (did we hear someone say "curb appeal"?) And then we walked in. The wallpaper? The crown molding? The wood floors? The chandelier? The accent pieces? Did we mention the wallpaper? Absolutely beautiful, Americana-Edwardian. The nooks of tables made this place so cozy and private feeling. Your own little spot. The gentlemen severs were charming! Polite and genuine. Who are we kidding we're just gonna call them out, Drew and Michael fantastic job boys! On the menu it said something like, that quality ingredients are important to them. And it does truly show. This was some really nice foodies. Very good. We got "The Swede", Brie cheese with blueberry jam, on wild rice cranberry bread-side of tomato soup (feeling like, in the best way, Denethor with those toms), some hot cider (we forgot how much we love that stuff, be needing gallons of it), and last but certainly not least...apple pie. Our tastebuds were happy happy things, we ourselves were (and still are) happy happy creatures. Heard some worship music in the background and a verse from Ephesians was on the wall. Truly a blessed experience. We have to come back to try the French toast. Also picked up some pot pie for a later date. Wonderful. If we here at The Tight Squad could give you more stars we would. The wallpaper really was too pretty. (In addition there's an upstairs (presumably with more wallpaper we haven't laid our eyes on) that you can reserve) -The Tight Squad

I usually go for like lunch. The food has always been fresh and delicious!!!…read moreThe service is very attentive and accommodating. The owner is a sweetheart!

This is a hunk of gold on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin. We were welcomed by Sadie to some…read morefantastic food and drinks.

We had a great lunch at Sportsman's. Cute patio- good food. Hailey was the highlight, taking…read morecare of everyone at the bar and our table outside with ease and a smile on her face. Such friendly service. We would definitely return!

Great service and food. We had the fish tacos (yum!) crab legs and lobster roll. Also the red beans…read moreand rice which was a hit.

I ate at this Mallards for my second time yesterday while visiting the fish store. The first time…read morewas better, having had the lobster bisque and both lobster rolls, which were all decent. This time, we went with their gluten friendly options: the jambalaya, veggie fries and blackened fish tacos. Both were OK. The jambalaya was not good; the situation with the vegetables especially was not it. They were cut julienned rather than diced and they were overcooked and mushy. The flavor of the overall dish didn't have your classic jambalaya taste so it was all a bit off, and the meat didn't have much flavor to them individually. The tacos were what you would expect when ordering, good adding some hot sauce. The side of veggie fries were good, I really appreciated that option for a side. Service was alright both times. First visit was maybe a 4 stars and second visit was a strong 2 stars, so my review is averaging to a 3.

Ambiance - Great! It kind of reminded me of restaurants in the 60's…read more Service-Excellent, out of this world Food-breakfast burrito Potatoes, egg, tomatoes and Mexican sauce, cheese & sour cream It was served hot, and the burrito was so large I had two more meals with the left overs

The server waited on me right away. I ordered an iced tea - which unfortunately was spoiled. I…read morewould've been OK with that because I would've just switched to water. But she didn't come back to take my order. I waited 10 minutes. I watched her clear off a table, go to a completely different section and clear off a couple of tables, and do what looked like some other busy work. So, it wasn't like she was working with other customers. She either forgot about me or blew me off. That's too bad. I had heard good things about the Village Inn, but I had a terrible experience.