Black Coffee and Waffle Bar — Restaurant in Saint Paul

Skip this place. I'm not sure what I was expecting but my experience here was disappointing after reading some stellar reviews before visiting. I checked out this place, wanting to pay for the convenience of a quick, good meal while I was running errands and get on with a busy day. I had some issues with cleanliness, service, and food quality for its price.

I came in and wasn't greeted. I'm noting it in hindsight with some other things here; but, I didn't really mind at the time because it was obvious that the server was busy and probably overwhelmed, judging by the way she was moving to fill orders. (There were maybe 4 or 5 tables already seated and just me at the counter.) After a few minutes of waiting, I ordered the Apple Strudel waffle (with baked apples, cinnamon, caramel, whipped topping) and a cafe cortado (espresso and milk). Tipped 15% upfront.

I grabbed a seat at the bar area and found that the table had a layer of something sticky on it that pulled at the skin on my forearms while texting and at my phone when I picked it up after briefly sitting it down. It didn't seem to be an obvious spill of syrup in one spot or something. The table was just oddly sticky.

The server brought out the cortado and sat it down without a word in a to-go cup although it was for dine-in... The taste of the cortado was good. The waffle came out after a while and again an item was sat down without a word or question if I needed anything. (The server never checked in on me after the food came out or said anything as I got up to clear my own table and leave, either.)

The presentation of the waffle was good. I realized I didn't have any syrup and got up to ask for some but noticed a couple of bottles at the condiment stand. Another customer had asked if it was syrup; so, I guess they didn't get any with their order, either. I grabbed one bottle and dug in to the waffle. The waffle was quite tough to cut through with a butter knife and fork; it was overcooked and not very warm. (I'd expect a crisp outside maybe and an airy, fluffy inner texture but this wasn't the case.) The apples didn't seem to be baked but firm and maybe fresh cut; I could definitely be wrong about this detail, depending on the kind they use though.

But, in any case, it just didn't seem like my order was put together with care at all. This -- in combination with the price and service I received -- is the reason I won't be returning. I own a waffle maker at home; so, I really don't know how one can mess up a waffle like this, especially if the business is known for waffles and charges a premium price for something made of quite cheap ingredients...

I didn't complain while I was there because: I was hungry; I had somewhere to be right after; the waffle was not great but it was edible; and I honestly didn't have the energy at the time to inquire about multiple basic but important things going wrong, which I recognize as a customer but also as a former cashier/server/runner/supervisor in food industry gigs. Writing this review to maybe temper customer expectations and give management an opportunity to address whatever bandwidth and/or quality issues may be present here. (Also, the chairs are loud AF when you move them. Please put pads on the bottom or something.)

(Edit: After taking a moment to sort for "Lowest Rating" reviews and read a bit more, it is clear that these issues are systemic or at least misses quite frequently and this has been the case for at least several months/over a year. Skip this place altogether. The value is too inconsistent for the money.)

(As an alternative for breakfast food, I'd highly recommend checking out Pickles Cafe and Catering on 44th in Minneapolis. For example, they serve an AMAZING cinnamon fresh toast at something like half the cost of my order here. I inhaled it in 3 minutes and came back another day with friends in tow to try out their offerings. 10/10, cute little place and super...

We went there on a rainy saturday morning and saw the usual brunch crowd, crowded enough to be lively but not bad enough that we couldn't find a table. We ordered two drip coffees and two waffles and were served the coffees right away. To our bewilderment, the waffles arrived an hour later. I have no idea why two waffles would take that long to cook when their website mentions that they are cooked for 5 minutes and the toppings prepped in another 3 minutes. So with 8 minutes a pancake and only a few customers ahead of us, I wonder why our order arrived so late.

As for the food, the waffles were nothing to write home about, nothing you couldn't get at an IHOP. Except the toppings were way more scanty than you would get anywhere else. My husband ordered the apple strudel one and found maybe 3 small pieces of poorly baked apples (that looked like potatoes) under the gargantuan serving of whipped cream. My fat andrew order received maybe half a teaspoon of peanut butter but a more generous sprinkling of bananas. Overall, the experience was underwhelming. I highly recommend the coffee but the food was truly awful and the quantities (1 waffle for 10 bucks, seriously?) not worth the price.

Worst of all, when we bused our tables, we found the trash can overflowing and when we used the restrooms, they were out of toilet paper. It was cruel that we were faced with an toilet paper-less restroom after waiting an hour for a so-so waffle.

The staff were friendly and courteous but inexperienced and had no idea how to speed things up. They were totally free of any urgency and remained unflustered when we gently nudged them about our wait. The restaurant management needs to reconsider its "relaxed" operating practices and run a...

The food was actually really good! I got the strawberry cheesecake waffle and my husband got a s’mores waffles. The coffee was decently good also. The problem was the service. It was pleasant when our order was taken, but went downhill from there. The wait for the waffles was fine, but we ran into a problem with the coffee. We were more than halfway done with eating our waffles and we still hadn’t received our drinks. We walked up to the counter to ask about our drinks, because employees were either standing around or cleaning. So we assumed they had been forgotten. We were immediately snapped at by an employee, who sneered, “CAN I HELP YOU FIND SOMETHING?” Then when I asked pleasantly where the drinks were she interrupted and rudely told us that someone, “was probably making more vanilla or something and that they’ll be out”. After that point we waited and received them 5 min later. They looked like they were thrown together sloppy and quickly. We also had seen at least 3 people who had been behind us in line recieve their coffee before we had. They are only receiving two stars because the...