AK Cafe

Had lunch here on Wednesday. Not crowded at all, we were able to eat outside and enjoyed it. Service was definitely slow, slooooowwwwwww, but when it finally arrived, the shrimp salad (me) and grilled sandwich (spouse) were both good. I appreciate that they even have a restaurant in the museum and this one was fine.

Well… That was disappointing and bizarre. I found the prices very reasonable, however. While spending an afternoon at the art museum, I decided to pop in for soup, a sandwich and some wine. I stared with a vegetable barley soup, which was under-​seasoned and seemed to consist mainly of mushrooms. It was okay.
I then got an apple and arugula sandwich, which sounded amazing (especially in apple season) but missed its mark. It again was bland and unbalanced. The concept of this dish was great! The actual flavor– meh. Green apple and arugula?! I don’t know how they messed that one up.
The thing that really got me, though, was the service and ambiance. I will start by saying my server, Emma (?), was trying her darnedest! But because the rest of the waitstaff was confused by their tablets (used to take orders) and was constantly pulled away to help I was often left unattended. Additionally, often I felt very uncomfortable at the bar (I was dining alone and so I sat there) because behind the war was where the servers were all hanging, rolling eyes at customers, and getting frustrated with their tablets (all while I sat needing service)
When I first got in Marty (?)(who appeared to be the chef) was standing in front of me and kept looking at me– it freaked me out. I’m all about a chef making sure everyone is enjoying their food but I sat with an empty glass for at least 20 minutes with him within arms reach and he never offered me another. While technically it should be my server’s duty, she was super swamped and so I cannot blame here. Instead I blame Marty and the other waitress who were chatting behind the bar and not dealing with customers.
In summary, if you’re starving at the gallery, then eat here. If you can manage eating elsewhere– do.

Come see some art and have a bite.
This café is located in the museum itself. You can make a reservation, and they are encouraged, but I’m not sure always needed. Its open mostly for lunch and sweets, except on First Fridays, when they do a full dinner as well.
There is inside seating year round. The tables are nice, and they can move them easily to accommodate all size groups. The chairs inside are very comfortable. A surprising shade of green for a restaurant, but since its in a museum it works well.
In the summertime there is also seating outside in the courtyard. The courtyard is nice, the seating is under an awning, so no sun issues, and since its a courtyard no wind issues either, although there can be a breeze on occasion. The chairs outside are not quite as comfortable as those inside, but that’s our only «gripe» and its minor.
This café has gone under a few iterations and had different names, and different chefs over the years. While I’ve been there many times, both for lunch and the occasional wedding shower, they seem to have revamped both the menu and the ingredients recently.
We have had lunch there a few times recently and the food is great. Its a limited menu, I think perhaps 5 salads, three «sandwiches», three Panini options, some soups etc, they make those things well and are using nice ingredients. There are also the usual soup and a sandwich /​soup and salad options as well. We have sampled the salad nicoise (not usually my fav), and its great. Some snap peas, some rare seared tuna, a nice dressing, good greens, olives eggs and more. The turkey sandwich is very pleasant and not dry. Can be toasted or not, just let your server know. The eggplant panini is very good, I think its new to the menu, I hope it stays a while. The steak sandwich is good, you will need only a light dinner after that. The portions here are generous, and I could see bringing some home on occasion, although we have not had leftovers yet.
We had a dessert today (we don’t usually have one) that was a blueberry tart with homemade whipped cream that was marvelous. Easily enough to share, in fact I would say too much for one alone, its a generous portion.
There is a beer and wine offering, they carry Stella in a bottle, not sure about the rest.
They offer afternoon «sweets» as well, daily from 3 – 5. Sounds like the modern version of «tea», but so far I have not been there for that.
We will be back again soon I’m sure. This is a really nice place to have lunch, see some art, perhaps pick up a gift in the gift shop and then stroll around Hoyt Lake.
Discount if you are a museum member. Prices reasonable either way.
Parking is either by the park, or in the AK lot off Elmwood.