Ingredients Cafe — Restaurant in White Bear Lake

I visited at lunchtime and ate off the lunch menu. It was fairly busy and seems like a popular place to try. Guests were all being seated along the wall without much regard to social distancing at all, which personally didn't bother me as I'm vaccinated ,however I could see concern on others faces and overheard discussion as we were seated so closely. The staff is pleasant, and the cocktail I tried was tasty. The food unfortunately tasted extremely bland lacking flavor , the steak(for salad) and chicken (appetizers) were both very chewy. The best thing I ate was cinnamon ice cream they have on tres leches dessert plate amazingly delicious ice cream all though the tres leches itself wasn't what I was expecting when I ordered tres leches as that's one of my favorite desserts it wasn't the cake that I've grown up eating but it was still tasty ! I'll be back for the ice cream😍 I requested crackers for the tomato basil soup I ordered and was told they do not have crackers but she offered to bring me some bread so I said that would be great, I was then charged $3.00 for bread on my tab which I felt I should have been told there would be a charge for bread. Salads were...

first let me say that the artichoke dip here is incredible! For our meal, we ordered a bottle of Faust Napa Valley Cabernet and I ordered the “seasonal” short rib with mashed potatoes and shaved Brussels Sprouts, my wife had the Creamless Alfredo. She had it before and raved about it, which is why we came. As you can see the beef looked amazing! My wife said the Alfredo was presented differently, which made me curious. Then we began the meal. I was curious at first when the sauce on the beef plate was Au Jus, and not the traditional reduction. Strange. My wife kept saying, just try it! The “Short Rib was more like a piece of chuck roast and the sauce really was Au Jus. It had flavor but I wouldn’t recommend it. Not worth the $26 for what amounts to a French dip. Then my wife tried her Creamless Alfredo. Sadly, it wasn’t as she remembered. Flat and and tasteless. I tried it. More like flavorless Alfredo. We will give this place one more shot. People have bad days. To be fair, if we a good or bad experience, I will...

Some of the photos on google are not of Ingredients in White Bear Lake. This restaurant is a cafe within a generic shopping strip, not a fancy cafe in urban Paris as some stock photos suggest. Menu is overpriced for quality of the food/ recipes. It does not compare to other restaurants nearby with the same, high pricing. It's just not exceptional in any way, and sometimes not even good. Then add the fact that it's just a normal looking cafe inside, and there is no reason for the high prices. The grill is often too hot-- food gets burned, and the flavors are just not there. Dinner is sometimes accompanied by live music, and that generally brings a loud atmosphere as people try to talk over the music. I think this is a great spot for a few drinks, and maybe an appetizer. I wouldn't plan on a culinary experience, or a romantic night out. Kids meals are priced too high as well, for what they are. Sorry-- wish I could say it is better. I've given them many chances, and been...