I really like their stirato bread, soft and chewy with lots of nooks and crannies. Great that you can get the small rolls instead of the entire loaf. Eat in and enjoy the bread with their plentiful butter and jam. read more

I wish I could live here. The big windows are lovely, plus the array of delicious baked goods help, too. I prefer to sit down with a cup of coffee and a pastry. I've had their soup and a salad before, but they were average. Cute place. read more

I've been here a couple times & each time the service is bad. The people that work here are rude. But they have a nice selection of bread & pastries. Never going again though. read more

This was my second visit. First time the gal at the register was huffy because I didn't know where to order. This second time which is a few years later, It was still confusing! This time they were friendly but why does it have to be so unclear to a new person walking in? We ordered and waited and waited. We inquired and they brought a bowl of soup and again we waited and finally inquired. They had lost our order. The food is excellent however customer service is always number one so I won't be back again. On a bright note, they refunded our money and gave us a gift certificate. Still.... read more

First of all I have to say my experience was amazing! The service was really nice and super fast! It's in the middle of a cute town. They have many good options and their soups are especially delicious! (I loved the wild rice chicken soup!) Overall, I will definitely be visiting again! read more

Turtle had a good-looking carrot cake in its bakery case last Sunday (May 1), and I happened to ask when it was baked. "On the 19th," was the answer. read more

It's the soups. Spicy lentil soup. Curry apple squash soup. Tomato basil soup. Artichoke soup. Vegetarian soups galore, and every one I've ever tried delicious and impressive. If only chocolate bread paired well with garden vegetable soup.... read more

Love this place...fantastic soups and breads. It is a cozy environment and very affordable. The food is phenomenal...I crave the Tomato Basil soup whn I am not in Minneapolis. Their desserts are to die for...you will not be sorry! xo read more

Why have an espresso machine if staff doesn't know how to make drinks? Also why have a breakfast menu stating "7 30-11" if the cook isn't going to even arrive until 7 45? Complacent. Just because its in a nice location doesn't make this place worth visting. read more

Great little neighborhood place. A lot of folks who come are regulars. The food is high quality, and there is something for everyone on the menu. It's casual, and I like really like it. Their soups are to die for. read more

This is a must stop for all of those living in Minneapolis and the metro area. All of their pastries are made fresh and the soups are fantastic. It is also in a great location for being next to Lake Harriet. The service is friendly and they are happy to help you any way that they can. read more

Just a nice casual spot to enjoy a bowl of soup and a sandwich. Liked the ambiance and the horseradish mayo. Like panera but with real food.

Turtle Bread is an amazing coffee shop. Although you may see Penny's right down the street which looks young and hipper, always choose Turtle Bread. All of their employees are super kind and respectful. Their food is amazing! When i had my wisdom teeth removed I had so many bowls of the tomato basil soup. They keep it clean and it looks so beautiful inside, especially in winter. They extended their seating area so plenty is available. The prices are pretty correct. They are relatively quick and the food/drinks are amazing. Totally recommend. read more

Poor customer service as others have said. We live in the neighborhood and went there on a Sunday night. We walked in the door at 7:00 on the dot and just wanted something to go. The girl said "Sorry, we close at 7:00" and that was the end of that. If you close at 7:00 and a customer walks in at 7:00 and you haven't locked the door yet, you should help the customer. It's basic customer service. The two employees working the closing shift on 5/7/17 were extremely unhelpful and seemed like they were just ready to go home. If I owned this establishment I'd hope my employees would take the time to help a paying customer that walked in the door prior to it being locked for the night. read more

Turtle Bread is not far from me, it's about a 15 minute walk. I want to love this place, but the problem is that you never know what you're going to get service-wise when you get there. They have in the past suffered from incompetent teenagers running the place. If there's a long line I would recommended turning right around and leaving since you're likely to be stuck there a long time due to some snafu. They also have no way to make the line order-ly and they often wait on folks who are behind folks who have been patiently waiting in line. This is unfortunately a Twin Cities epidemic I've found and it drives me crazy. If you find yourself getting served the soups are good - and so is the quiche. They have really good bread and desserts too. It's not at all cheap, but if you can get someone to wait on you it's a good place for a snack. read more

Went for brunch today, very disappointing. Undercooked potatoes, no seasoning and no salt or pepper on the table. No service either. There are way better options in this neighborhood for brunch. read more

Love the cookies and fresh made sandwiches. Service can be a little chaotic and slow at times but being able to make a sandwich with what ever you want on it makes up for it. The horseradish mayo and pepper jelly are great. Plus they give a pickle spear with the sandwich as every sandwich place should. read more

I usually come in for a piece of quiche (it's truly delicious). However, the service is usually terrible. Someone always takes my order to grab the quiche and heat it up, and each time I have to remind them to grab it from the microwave and bring it to me. Today, I stood behind a lady who asked about the type of coffee available and one of the employees (an older lady) gave her some snide and unhelpful comment. This place really needs some customer service training. I will come back for the quiche, but that's about it. read more

I've lived in the neighborhood for over a decade and have witnessed the sad decline of Turtle Bread. This shop used to be the only outlet and it was buzzing. Half bakery and half gourmet grocery. In the mornings there would be those tables of freshly cooked pastries and breads that would sell out if you were too late. Then there was a remodel. The grocery section was removed and then more seating was installed. Instead of improving the overall ambience, I'm afraid it decreased it. It now feels really shabby, like an un-bussed table. That's my visual, in fact, when I think of TB. In my mind the quality of the food has declined. For sure, the service has declined! The past few times I've been there, I have had the same problems: confusing line to order (sandwiches here, soups here, pay there), no direction from staff (they just stand and stare at you), no clearly marked menu hanging anywhere ("Oh, here is the sandwich menu."), and mistaken orders. I think the biggest problem is the staff. They just aren't well trained to work with food and customers. They don't give a s***. Nice kids, but they don't know what they're doing. Turtle Bread, PLEASE train your people! Put some menus up! CLEAN your establishment! read more

Delicious bakery items as well as soups and lunch items. I don't usually like quiche but here it is amazing!

Awesome find in the south neighborhood. Great menu and nice surroundings. Tasty and friendly.

i've never had any issues with their soups and have found all the kinds that i've tried to be pretty delicious. love the bread, too. my biggest gripe is the service. AWWWFFFULLLLLL service. every time i've ever been here i've been assisted by one of several hip and stylish teenagers behind the counter that prepare your food and ring you up in between text messages and gossiping with their coworkers. overall, i'd say the food is the equivalent to a minutely upgraded panera bread. don't expect much from the service, though. read more

Tomato basil soup of my dreams and their jam is out of this world. The aesthetic is comfortable and laid back.

I want to start with saying that we got their baked goods from the NE Farmer's Market, not the store itself. My wife and I were taking our baby to his first farmer's market and wanted to get a treat. We saw Turtle Bread croissants and got one for each of us. At three dollars each, they were expensive for a farmer's market, but we'd had them before from the store and enjoyed them. First bite and straight out of a movie, my wife and I looked at each other and asked 'do these taste old?'. To be fair, we didn't go back and talk to the workers but I was very disappointed in my stale bread. We got there an hour after the market opened and were surprised by the low quality of the bread. You'd think that they want to send their best stuff to draw people in, not day olds, and if that was their best stuff they've gone downhill since we tried them a few years ago. It was the first time ever that we didn't finish our croissants. read more

One and done-overpriced and bland at best. My wife and I each ordered omelettes, and each were cold and overcooked. I also got a side of bacon, and it had been microwaved resulting in 1/2 of each slice being overcooked while the other half was undercooked. Potatoes were good, but how hard is it to pan fry a spud? Only redeeming part of the breakfast was the coffee. read more

Stopped in to pick up accompaniments for dinner. Bread was really good, hearty and not dry. Cookie was big but tasted only OK. It's nearby so I will be back. read more

I just had a very bad salad at a very cute restaurant. The Greek salad: old lettuce and anemic tomatoes and olives. As 99% of it was just lettuce it was a very sad salad indeed. Again, it is not hard to make a good salad.. read more

The baked goods, food and the soups are decent. I love meeting friends at the Linden Hills or Chicago Ave location, since they both have good atmospheres. My one complaint is the spotty cleaning. Sometimes it's fine, but more than half the time, things are sticky or the mop/table cloth has not been changed enough so it leaves a smell. It's has been hard to find a clean coffee cup at times. read more

Coffee prices are outrageous - twice as much as shops a few blocks to the East. I guess that's the price of rubbing elbows with affluence. I'll stick closer to my poor neighborhood in the future. read more

the best i can say is: most of the soups are very good. the pastries are OK; quiches mediocre. won't go out of my way to go there. the linden hills co-op (only a couple blocks away) sells Rustica bakery items, which are far superior. my biggest complaint about Turtle is the staff. trying to engage them in conversation is a waste of time. they act like they are doing you a favor by allowing you to make a purchase. and since they did some remodel work, the smell is very off-putting. plug-your-nose smell. so, steer clear. many other good places from which to choose read more

I really don't understand why people like this place so much. I recently moved to the neighborhood and can walk here and everyone I know is, "That's great! Your really close to Turtle Bread." Why is that so great? The baked goods here seem quite good, but the food they serve is meh. Run of the mill sandwiches, some pretty good soup and salads, but also some very mediocre soups and salads. The biggest drawback is that it seems poorly run and staffed. Today when I tried it out, two people in the span of 10 minutes brought their food back up to the counter because it wasn't what they ordered. The place is staffed by vapid teens that give you a syrupy smile, ...but obviously couldn't give a crap. On top of that the organization is just plain silly. The line at the counter sneaks around in a way that isn't visible from the door, so inevitably someone that has never been there before walks right up to the counter and can basically cut in line without even realizing it at first. And remember the vapid help? They won't even suggest the person get in line. They'll just take their order and let everyone else wait. The sandwich ordering system is unclear as well. The guy in front of me ordered a sandwich and some other stuff and sat down with his number card that they use when bringing your order out. Strangely, the number system does NOT apply to sandwich orders. They made his sandwich and just set it on the counter. And it sat, and sat, and sat. Remember the vapid staff? They finally realized the sandwich was just sitting there and gave a half-hearted call out "sandwich for Rick?" 2/3 of the restaurant couldn't hear that but the server just shrugged his shoulders and went on his way. I wonder if that sandwich is still there. read more

good breakfasts, great bakery. fair to middling coffee.