Finnish Bistro Coffee & Cafe
| Address: | 2264 Como Ave, St Paul, MN 55108, USA |
| Phone: | +1 651-645-9181 |
| Site: | finnishbistro.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 6:30AM–8:30PM 6:30AM–8:30PM 6:30AM–8:30PM 6:30AM–8:30PM 6:30AM–8:30PM 6:30AM–8:30PM 6:30AM–8:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
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Katie Carsi
Had never been to the Bistro before, but my daughter had heard good things. So we went on a Thursday night before a play we were attending Northeast. We got got there at 6:00. Charming little area, loved the European Bistro feel. We mulled over the menu for a bit and were disappointed to find our first choices were not available . I wanted to try the Stuffed Cabbage and my Daughter the Butternut Squash Soup. Both were sold out. Then I chose the Thursday special, Chicken Chili, that was out as well. I decided on the Beef Pasty, my daughter on a grilled cheese. I did not care for the pasty. The flavor was just not to my liking. It was well constructed, filled well, and looked appetizing, just didnt care for the flavor. The side salad was very "Off" with the addition of raw onions. The onion just too overpowering. The entire salad was "oniony" as my daughter said. She doesnt care for onion at all. I like onion, but I agreed. Im guessing the salad is made in large batches and there for the onion melds with everything. My daughter somewhat like the pasty so she started eating that and gave me the other half of her grilled cheese, as she was too thrilled with it. She felt (and I agreed) there was too much cheese and it wasnt melted. Definitely could had stayed on the grill longer as it was barely "golden". Did have a good flavor though. We decided to try a latte after dinner to bring to the theater with us. We also each got a treat. My daughter got the AMAZING Almond Kringler... our dissatisfaction from our dinner experience was quickly forgotten. This Kringler was WOW. And I had a Brown Sugar cookie which was also Top Notch. And our coffees were great!! Nice treat to enjoy during a great play! We will not judge the Bistro on one visit for dinner. We are making plans to come back for breakfast. And the Kraut w/ Kielbasa & veggie Soup.... That could be life changing. Staff was wonderful by the way,. Friendly and helpful!!!
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Kenny Bressler
I ordered the oat cakes with reindeer sausage and it was perfectly decent. My issue with the place isnt with the food or with the staff, but with the overly-cheerful, sickeningly optimistic, "life is grand, God bless us all, and dont forget to smile at a stranger today" interior design theme they seem to have chosen for their restaurant. Its filled with scented candles and "art" prints that were bought at a department store. Is it that hard to track down some local artists and get them to hang some paintings up on the walls? Its as if someone just raided the entire "home decorating" aisle in a K-Mart and stashed it all inside this restaurant for safekeeping. On my quest to locate the toilet, I counted seven of those wall plaques suburban housewives often mistake for real art that say well-intentioned, optimistic things, but are also eerily detached from the real world. You know, the ones that say "Live, Laugh, Love" or "Home is Where the Heart Is" or something like that. Well, the owners of Finnish Bistro apparently opted for consistency, as their Granny Plaques all read the same: "Blessed". Blessed what? Me? The food? This restaurant, or perhaps its employees? Or maybe they just mean that things, in general, are blessed. I cant be sure. Be more specific, please. Anyway, these plaques all reminded me of being in the basement of a stuffy Lutheran church somewhere in Blaine. Not my idea of an appetizing atmosphere, but then maybe Im not "blessed" enough to see the beauty in ignoring the problems of the world and painting a saccharin scene of mock-utopia for your customers to graze in.
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Michael Green
We love GroupOn because it gives us the opportunity to try places we ordinarily would not and then repeat if like it. Laurie and I each had an omelet, coffee, and an almond bar kringle I think it was called (we called it yummy!!) and enjoyed most everything on the sun-dappled patio. My Greek omelet, with tender tasty chunk of lamb and salty creamy feta, was great and reason enough to come back and soon! I DETEST over-cooked eggs and these were perfect! The accompanying salsa, however, seemed out of place. Ill likely be coming alone though. Laurie had an omelet with cabbage and pork that was less successful and she ended up eating about half of it. I was really hoping a Finnish Bistro would have a smoked salmon or lox omelet with cream cheese and green onion on the menu. Alas. Maybe thats just a Chicago or NY thing. Toast was OK but given they run a bakery too an option other than white bread would have been a nice touch. Coffee was fabulous and refillable but do not expect staff to come around with a coffee pot. Or another jelly packet. Or napkins. Or to check in after the first couple bites. Or anything for that matter. Unaware of protocol, it appeared from observing more seasoned customers we were expected to bus our own dishes. We presumed that, given service consisted solely of totin our plates to the table, tipping was unnecessary. We got a couple muffins to go. The lemon was very good the turtle so-so.
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Amy weckwerth
I am EXTREMELY disappointed in the lack of professional of the staff. They though I couldnt hear their comments from the table about how they "handled" the game I was playing. To me directly they stated they were only following the rules, but as soon as I was out of earshot, comments were made. If these employees were my staff, I would be appalled at their immature and rude behavior. I purchased a Groupon and yes it states that it is dine on only. However, I asked if it was possible to pack the quiche in a to go container and I would have the other meal. The one employee seemed to be new since she asked her counterpart if that was possible. The other answered no, stated it was for dine in only. I said then I would eat bites of both and then ask for a to go box. The longer tern employee had rude response like well I guess you could do that but,... with quite an attitude. I responded with, well you can not tell me how much I can eat. I feel if the person is rude and judgmental, then I can have an quip back. The voucher states not valid for whole bakery items or cakes. So couldnt I have ordered various baked items, and then taken home what I didnt want? I wasnt ordering an entire cake or whole loaf of bread. It would have been a kringle, a scone, etc. INCREDIBLELY poor experience that will stay with me. My mother and I have been here fre h haenjoyed the
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A Private User
I was very excited when I bought the Groupon for the Finnish Bistro. It is in a nice neighborhhod area, and is very close to my home and Ive always eanted to go there. The atmosphere is wonderful, but the service and food was just awful. We bought 2 sandwiches (BLT and chicken) and a fruit-filled crepes. The person at the counter was annoyed that we took our time (about 3 minutes??) to decide on what we want to order. The total bill was $38 and that was for only 3 items bought and no drinks. The food came - the two sandwiches- BLT & Chicken were ok, nothing to rave about. There was fruit with sandwiches, which were half-rotten grapes in a cheap-looking kids plastic bowl ). If you plan to add anything to a sandwich, please make sure your items are fresh, especially fruit & veggies. There is nothing worse than biting into a rotten food. The crepes were fantastic, but with all the fruit & whipped cream toppings, Im not sure why they added an additional little cup with syrup. They had plenty of sugary things on and in them. I do not think I would eat lunch/dinner at this place again. I do assume that their breads are great, but the shelves at 5pm on Thursday eve were empty, so we did not get any.
