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Provided by Citysearch
Perfect Date Spot
Posted by AZ8 on 10/01/2009
My (now) husband and I have been going to Kafe 421 regularly for 3 years now. It is our favorite date spot! We even went for dessert the night we got engaged, they had a special table made up in the back with flowers for us. I can honestly say I have not had such good service anywhere else in the Twin Cities. Each time we go the food and service is outstanding. They did take our favorite dessert off the menu a few months ago (the Chocolate Samana) I still crave it. I believe it was taken off because it took 45 minutes to bake in the oven. That time was well worth it though, and it gave us time to digest. I highly recommend you try Kafe 421!
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Amazing!!!!
Posted by deder84 on 10/17/2008
Kafe 421 catered my wedding on October 4th at the Weisman Art Museum. My guests are still raving about the food. The servers where professional and prompt. The steak done perfect and wine glasses always filled. All I can say is if your torn on who to have cater your wedding Kafe 421 is a no brainer. The owner and her daughter where so easy and wonderful to work with as well. The sweetest people I have ever met!! Thanks again ladies!!
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This is a Lovely Place
Posted by yesterdaywasnice on 09/17/2008
This place is pretty delicious and is an excellent place to have a glass or wine, a sandwich, or go on a date. The decor is right out of Europe. It's sweet, mild, and just an nice place to eat. The prices are average, and the only bad thing I'd say about it is that the Eggplant is very bland.
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Provided by Citysearch
Okay
Posted by Dinner2008 on 07/22/2008
We went to Kafe 421 for an early dinner and we were sat in the back area where it was very cute. We ordered the sampler appetizer that had spanakopita and artichoke dip. The spanakopita tasted like it was microwaved and it was tough...not good. The artichoke dip was very good though. I ordered the eggplant sandwich and soup for my meal. The tomato basil soup was very bland. The sandwich was also very bland and fell apart as it was very sloppy. The bread was like toasted white bread that wasn't strong enough to hold a sandwich like that together. I ordered a side of ranch to dip as it needed something, and even the ranch wasn't good. When the waitress asked how the sandwiches were I told her mine wasn't good. More than half of it was left on my plate. She says "oh." That was it. Not can I get you something else, or anything. My husband liked his sandwich and the artichoke dip so that is why the three stars. I wouldn't go back.
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Food extraordinaire
Posted by aabertke on 03/30/2008
We have eaten here numerous times since the Cafe opened and find each experience better than the last. It doesn't make any difference if it's lunch or dinner the food is always good and the desserts are simply out of this world. If you have questions the staff will quickly satisfy any inquiry. And it doesn't make any difference if there are two or a party the service is tremendous. This is one restaurant I would highly recommend to the most discriminating of tastes.
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Provided by Citysearch
Amazing Valentine's Day dinner
Posted by daveyt on 02/14/2008
I cannot begin to explain how wonderful Kafe 421 was for Valentine's Day. I made a reservation for 7:30 for my date and I. We had a 10 minute wait for our table but there were literally no open tables in the restaurant. Despite our wait, the staff was very friendly and was genuinely concerned with getting us seated quickly and in the area we had requested. Since my date and I went on Valentine's day the restaurant had a special menu featuring things like heart shaped crab cakes, and heart shaped ravioli. Also for Valentine's day the restaurant brought in a musician to play acoustic guitar in the front part of dinning room. The guitar mixed with the subdued lighting and the fresh roses on the table made for an amazingly romantic experience. My date and I shared the crab cake appetizer which was amazing, and we split a bottle of the Angel Tears White wine (also very nice). For dinner my date had the shrimp santorini and I had the chicken fettuccini alfredo. The food was light, had amazing flavor, and the portions were not huge. Our dessert was equally well prepared and fit well with the rest of our dinner. All in all Kafe 421 was better than I could have hoped for and stuck out as one of the few restaurants I have been to in the twin cities that has a friendly welcoming atmosphere and honestly great food. I have had few amazing dinning experiences in the Twin cities especially on such a busy night at such a busy time, but if the staff at Kafe 421 can give me an amazing experience on such a busy night than I am sure they could do just as good on a normal evening. I will definitely be going back!
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Fancy food at an affordable price!
Posted by brown_underground on 10/19/2007
I've been to Kafe 421 several times, and have never been disappointed. I've even had a birthday dinner there with 10 friends, and still experienced the same exceptional food and service I would if I were only dining with a few other people. The wine list has affordable options, the seafood always tastes fresh, and even the burgers are something special. They have several vegetarian options, imaginative salads, and well thought out sandwiches. If parking wasn't such an issue, I'd be there once a week! They're always willing to cater to any needs, and there is live music on certain evenings which just help the already cozy and quaint ambiance. The lighting is soft and yellow, the narrow tables encourage conversation, and the lull of foreign tongues just make it the most soothing place to catch a gourmet meal!
Must try: Their tomato basil soup...it's creamy, tart, and topped with amazing olive oil-drenched garlic croutons. It would be a shame to miss it!
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Wow! Couldn't have been more impressed...
Posted by ana6781 on 10/10/2007
What a great place! I can't believe I hadn't heard much about it. We had a group of 14, which can get a little overwhelming for a small place, but the service was incredible, helpful and friendly. Each person's entree was better than the next, and the desserts were pretty darn good too! Our server took the time to listen to everyone's questions, suggested serving sizes, and even gave us seperate tabs without missing a beat. It made a special afternoon even better. I can't wait to go back!
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Best food on campus
Posted by tcdiner on 08/26/2007
Don't let its size fool you; Kafe 421 is amazing. The food is reasonably priced, and you get what you pay for. I recommend sitting on the patio for Dinkytown's best people watching. The service was a bit aloof; however, I suspect that's because it was four of us U of M students dining. But even with the less-than-enthusiastic service, the dining experience was worth it.
If you're looking for a great dinner in Dinkytown, skip the overpriced, overrated Loring Pasta Bar and go to Kafe 421 instead.
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Best appetizers in town
Posted by swmmer608 on 07/23/2007
I go there for appetizers all of the time. It's the best calamari I've ever had. The calamari to fried ratio is huge. It's perfectly cooked, not rubbery or chewy and it comes with this roumelade sauce that has a great seasoning and flavor to it. The camarones greca, their shrimp appetizer, is full of large shrimp in a tomato based dipping sauce with grilled crostinis, the shrimp are also cooked perfectly and the large chunks of tomatoes make a great bread topper. Lastly, the mussels appetizer was very delicious and came with a good number of them. My boyfriend and I can go and get 2-3 appetizers and eat that as our dinner. It's delicious seafood at a great value (during happy hour it's 1/2 off). They have great service and great pours of wine. It would be very nice for a romantic date and their small outside sidewalk patio is wonderful during a perfect day/night. The one appetizer that did not wow me was the crab cake. I would not order that again. It was missing something. It was lacking flavor and that special kick that I like to have in my crab cakes. The sauce that it came in also was very distracting and somewhat overpowered the flavor of the cake. It seemed more like cake and less like crab. Overall, the service is great, the ambience is great and the appetizers are even better. It's a must-try! It is rather small on the inside with perhaps 2-3 four seat tables and perhaps 8 two seat tables so large groups might have difficulty dining here on a walk-in basis.
