Keys Café & Bakery

Restaurant Review

When I lived in Minnesota, I probably drove past Keys Café & Bakery every week and I never stopped there for a meal.  There are nine Keys Café restaurants in Minnesota/Wisconsin area and although I had heard of them before, I had never eaten at one. Was that ever a mistake – I wish I had eaten there many times before. My friend, Doug, said Keys was very good, so we went to the Spring Lake Park location for breakfast one morning while I was visiting Minnesota recently.

We arrived at the peak of the breakfast rush, about 10 am on a Sunday morning. The place was packed and had a waiting list. We were told it would be about a 10 to 15-minute wait. I was pleased when we were seated in about 10 minutes. The person apologized for seating us in a smaller two-person table and assured that we were okay with the smaller size. We were.

Service at Keys was top notch. After being seated, our waitress, Lauren G., asked what we would like to drink and given menus to review. The manager (or owner?) arrived very quickly with our coffees and waters. Shortly after we lowered our menus Lauren returned to take our orders.

I decided upon a Greek Omelet, three eggs with gyro meat, onions, tomato, black olives, and feta, served with tzatziki sauce and hash browns. Doug decided on the “Loon Omelet,” three eggs with Minnesota wild rice, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, provolone, and a mushroom cream sauce. It sounded very exotic in a Minnesota way.  

"Loon Omelet"

The food arrived quickly, even in the ultra-busy time, and was amazing. The omelets were made very thin, the way they should be made, with lots of filling added and rolled nicely. The tzatziki sauce was on the side as was the “Keys Jam” – a homemade jelly much like a cranberry applesauce. Very tasty. I had the “Cranberry Wild Rice” toast for $1.00 more.  It was good, but lacked any of the texture I was hoping for from the wild rice or the taste I expected from cranberries. The Keys Jam helped save the toast, which I wouldn't pay extra for again.

Doug thought his “Loon Omelet” was excellent, lots of filling and a great mushroom cream sauce that covered the omelet.

The hash browns were uninspired and a bit underdone for my taste as was Doug’s English Muffin.

Lauren came by about a minute after we received our food to assure that we had everything we wanted and or needed and to freshen our coffee.  I could not have asked for better service; her service was a pleasure.

Checkout was at the register by the entrance. It was a little hectic with people checking out and people crowded, waiting for seats. But again, the manager was double checked that everything was good with our meal.  

Ratings

Ambiance: 4 (Clean and open, good for conversations.)

Food: 4 (The omelets were excellent; the sides were mostly fine.

Service: 5 (Server was friendly and attentive.)

Price: 4 (Breakfast omelets were $12 (+$1 for special toast) and $12.50, a bit high for breakfast.

Value: 4 

The Keys Café philosophy is simple, “Memorable service and absolutely the best food… breakfasts…. Created from scratch recipes ‘you grew up with.’” Their service was memorable in a good way and their food was delicious with just a touch of the exotic. I’ll certainly include Keys Café in my breakfast places whenever I am in Minnesota.

Location:

Keys Café & Bakery - SPRING LAKE PARK

8299 University Avenue NE

Spring Lake Park, MN 55432