Thirty-Six Cafe — Restaurant in Saint Paul

I went last year with friends, we were a group of 5. I contacted them a few weeks in advance to book and I had given them details, I told them we were celebrating and would be bringing gifts. Food: pancakes were great. Drinks: drinks were NOT good. While they weren't bad, none of us finished our drinks because they weren't that great or were watered down. Costumer service: this is a grab your order and go sit down kinda place. I'm reviewing my experience. First, they made it a big deal about how it was important to arrive on time and that if we were late, we would forfeit our reservation. They also gave us a time limit to eat in the cafe. On the day of, we arrive about 10 minutes early and went to check in. They said ok and said we will have to wait because there's no 5 person table for us. So we wait. The time of the reservation arrives and they have not said anything to us and they are not shooing any customers out. So I go check in again. They apologize and said the customers are taking longer than they thought. That we will have to wait an extra 10 minutes. I wasn't impressed by this point. After 10-15 minutes, we get our turn (total wait time from when we were there is 25-30 minutes). I was irritated because they made such a big deal about being on time and about kicking us out within 90 minutes. But on their end, they were late. At that time, they were reservations only, so how did this even happen where two reservations ran into each other? (They knew how many were in my party and that we were celebrating and bringing gifts) They really made it a point to drive home that fact that if we were late we had to forfeit our reservation. I was disappointed because it was surprise for two of my friends and it kinda got ruined because we met in the streets instead of surprising them in the store. Maybe in the future if I'm craving pancakes I'll order to go but I wouldn't go sit down at the cafe. Just...

It's soooo pretty here. I really love the effort put into the decoration here, and how clean everything is. Music matched the vibe well too.

The food was just as pretty, but I felt it was a bit lacking in some parts. I had the strawberry shortcake souffle pancakes, and it was good, but I feel like with some tweaking, it could be amazing. I loved to sweetness level in it, and the fact that it comes with ice cream is such a cute twist to a classic brunch. The overall flavor of the pancakes were good, but it was a little eggy to me and the texture seemed like they were a bit overcooked or over-developed. The strawberries were sweet and I loved the shortcake crumbles, but overall, it the flavor was homogenous and nothing really stood out. I think maybe adding some tart strawberry jam or some lemon zest to the whipped topping or batter could brighten the dish and add some flavor differences.

I only had a single bite of the eggs Benedict pancakes, but I would say I had the same reaction. It was good, but it could be better.

The drinks were delicious! I had the Mango drink and it was super creamy but not overly sweet and rich. There were a few powdery notes in there, but I'm assuming it comes from the mango puree. I would buy this drink again for sure. Latte was yummy too, and the big mugs they come in are adorable.

This is a small place, so I would recommended coming in bright and early in the morning. They don't seem to take reservations.

Final thoughts about this place: refreshing, beautiful café that captures a vibe most cafés don't have. Staff was very friendly and service was great! It's very easy to see that the employees here care deeply about their job and put in a lot of effort to give customers a good experience. Although this place didn't wow me, I enjoyed my time here. My exact rating for this place is about a 3.9/5. With some tweaking to the food, I think this place would be...

food and matcha (especially the mango coconut) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

staff, very friendly ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

space, ordering process, wait times even on "non-peak" hours ⭐⭐

if all the tables are spoken for, your options are either take out or your name being added to the wait-list. if on the list, you may not order food - so while you're waiting for your table, you have to also wait to place your order. say you wait 20-30 minutes for a table (either in a small waiting hallway or outside), then you can place your order, then it's another 20-30 minutes for your food to come out depending on how busy the cafe is.

the souffle pancakes and avocado toast are yummy, they almost make the wait times worth it.

overall, I recommend the drinks and the food. however, the wait times and ordering process (if there are no open tables) is a total headache and I hesitate to recommend the cafe with that in mind.

hope they can figure out a better solution. maybe it's an ipad or receptionist at the entrance where you can sign in with your party number and phone number then be able to order instead of waiting in line to be added to a wait-list. whatever they're doing now isn't working in my opinion - but the food and drinks do make me come back, albeit...