Raphael's Bakery — Restaurant in Bemidji

Quality - * five stars.

Our memories don’t always meet with reality. For decades, I have failed to find chicken and dumplings with the flavor and texture I thought I remembered from childhood. I decided those chicken and dumplings do not really exist.

Raphael’s bakery proved me wrong. Their chicken and dumplings have exactly the flavor and consistency I have been searching for. The balance of ingredients (peas, carrots, green beans, spices, chicken, and dumplings) created the perfect flavor, and the dumplings were chewy without being tough.

Those might not be the chicken and dumplings you’d be looking for, but they really made me a happy camper.

The tuna melt, although not an aspect of my childhood, was also delicious - just the right flavor and consistency to make me a very satisfied customer. The tuna was little messy, dripping out the ends, but that was part of what made the sandwich fun to eat.

Unsweetened iced tea was my beverage of choice. Again, very well done. It was not in the least bitter, and it was free from little tea particles that usually cloud the drink.

Quantity - * five stars. I am by no means a pig, but I eat a little more than the average person my age. The cup of soup was sufficiently filling all by itself, not because it was so big, but because it was full of hearty ingredients. Then the tuna melt on top of that, filled me to the top. In addition, my order came with chips and a sugar cookie to fill in all the spaces left in my tummy. I was with a party of four, and none of us went away hungry. Wanting more, yes. Hungry, no.

Service - * also five stars. Our waitress appeared quite young. Perhaps she was a junior or senior in high school, or perhaps she was freshman or sophomore in college. Nonetheless, this young lady, was very friendly, very gracious, and very efficient.

My party of four was basically made up of old people. At the age of 59, I was the youngest. Also, my aunt suffers from drophead syndrome, so she cannot lift her head up and see clearly all around her. That being said, you can understand why we had a couple of spills at our table. Even before the food was served, my aunt spilled her tea. Our waitress did not panic. She did not walk off in a huff to go get cleaning implements. She very cheerfully said, “oops, I’ll go get a towel.” After she cleaned up the spill, without the least bit of complaining, or shaming us, she brought two new place settings to replace the two that had fallen victim to the spill.

The cooks were also super efficient. I’ve had to wait longer in a fast food restaurant than I had to wait at Raphael‘s bakery. Plus, you’ve already heard what good cooks they are. Not one of us was the least bit disappointed in our meal.

If you ever find yourself in Bemidji Minnesota you give Rafael’s...

I only want exactly what I order, nothing extra it doesn't even say anywhere on the menu that anything "comes with." I inspected the menu very thoroughly and did not find those unwanted side items I couldn't check the ingredients of. I have dietary restrictions. I did not think it necessary to disclose because the item I ordered itself did not contain anything I avoid. There was zero indication it was going to come out with other things. So when that happened I just wanted to leave immediately with only the actual thing I ordered, and I think it is messed up that anyone acted like that was weird of me to do. The restroom is in an uncomfortable location, you have to walk visibly behind the bakery staff. And there's what I believe to be a child too young to legally be working at the register, who didn't even tell me there was an extra charge for using a card before I paid, which is just a basic decency thing even if there's signage. The signage is poorly placed. They both shouldn't have a literal child working the register and need to train everyone better. Will not...

Awesome donuts, fresh every day! Very friendly and helpful staff! The building had a very small town cafe' atmosphere, very clean and tidy staff and building. The food I had was at breakfast time, and one of the staff walked arouind with a heaping plate of fresh-still warm- donuts, a welcome treat! I usually don't go for the plain donuts, as I love the raised donuts they have in the case, but the plain ones were great too! To the person that reviewed the bag of plain donuts, I know that they don't use the same oil for donuts and other food, and if you're going to rate a business with the cheapest/plain option at a restaurant, you're not going to get a helpful review. Try one of the at least 20 other premium flavors (Bavarian cream, long johns-some bacon topped, jelly filled, fried cinnamon rolls, fritters, etc)of donuts before putting down a private family owned small business! Everyone is struggling in these times, and this business is...