Taste Of Scandanavia Bakery & Cafe

I stopped in here to get some work done while my car was being serviced a few miles away. The indoor is roomy and cozy, feels like a smaller town county diner. I got a White Russian Latte while I sat at my computer, it was pretty good, better than Caribou or Starbucks. The staff were very friendly and attentive.
The one thing that stood out here were the pastries. I didn’t try one, but man they looked amazing. The cakes and desserts were all very tempting (I was on a sugar fast so I couldn’t indulge.) The next time I want a special cake for something, I am going to give this place a look. I did cheat a bit and try a sampling of one of there cakes, it was very moist and tasty (I think it was Banana Split?).
The other people that were there ordered food off of the menu and it all looked very good. I will try to come here some other time for lunch or dinner because it looked like some good stuff I was missing out on.
What I also like about this place was that it actually served Scandinavian food (and some of that with a twist). Sometimes you will go to a «Scandinavian» place and they will only have one or two things that aren’t really that Scandinavian when you think about it. I have Scandinavian blood in me and I like to try more of my heritage than just Swedish coffee and Swedish rolls. I can do that here with pastys, lefse, etc. Yum.

This is my favorite place for breakfast or lunch. Nothing fancy inside but very clean and open. Everything on the menu is amazing.

Very good spot for fresh pastries and breakfast, but be forewarned about the free samples by the coffee pots: during a recent visit I witnessed idiot after idiot old man reach into the sample container and reach OVER the tongs to pick up samples by hand!!! Clearly, a LARGE sign on the outside of the container is necessary so as to remind clueless, inconsiderate slobs to use the tongs and not their grimy, germy hands! Un-f***ing-believable. Just because you’re old and/​or retired doesn’t mean you get to throw manners, hygiene and common courtesy out the window!!!

Dude, this place is super dope. I maxed on some Almond Kringler and Chicken Lefse Melt and it was bomb. Highly recommend

So good! I had the Breakfast Hash Wrap with ham & my boyfriend had the Caramel Banana Belgian Waffle. Both were awesome & we can’t wait to try more food. :))

Good food. I’ve had breakfast’s here and salads. You can’t beat their house salad. Always the local client all and usually busy. Coffee is always good. I also visit the high way 96 location and like that one also

Not your basic buttermilk pancake! Super thick! If you need a good breakfast spot check this place out.

was in area to check out a furniture store (Hom) and stopped by for lunch
tried the Norwegian chicken lefse melt where lefse is a (pretty big) flatbread, strongly recommend trying it out if you head there
portion size very fulfilling :-)

If you’re looking for something sweet, check out their lefse, crepes, frenchtoast or cake. It’s heavenly divine!

I met some friends at Taste of Scandanavia Bakery & Café in Shoreview, MN this past weekend.
I had already eaten breakfast — but sat there, with envy emanating from my body while they ate the most delicious looking breakfast I’ve seen in a long time. One ordered the Sicilian Scramble with potatoes, eggs, cheese, sausage with asiago cheese and salsa… the other ordered a Ham, egg and cheese croissant breakfast sandwich. Seriously, my mouth was watering. Plus, they have a bakery case full of delectable donuts, rolls, breads, muffins, etc. I can’t believe my will power.
The café was busy. We had to wait for a table — and once we were seated we felt a little guilty for lingering since there were other people waiting as well. It was lively (aka loud), but I was able to hear my companions just fine. The prices were very reasonable and the portions were ample! The café is located in a strip mall — so there is plenty of parking in the lot in front of the strip.
I will return with my husband so we can try it together.

Kids love their donuts and cookie and visit there often. We are thankful to have this great place in the neighborhood.

Yum yum yum! Great food and the baked goods are to die for! You can get a huge piece of cake for under $ 3! The breakfast and lunches are huge! Think about sharing. Open a store in Phoenix please!

Great place for a little breakfast date :-)
I’ve gone here a couple times now for coffee and a great meal with a special someone. It’s been pretty quiet there when I’ve been in, with a few adorable elderly couples enjoying their morning coffee. Such a nice atmosphere.

We stopped in for lunch on a day when the rain was just pouring down. The cheerful interior and great food did a lot to lift the spirits!
We had the Swedish Breakfast and Mom had the Swedish Pancakes. Everything was really good. This is the first time I’ve ever been to a Scandinavian place in the States that used fresh lingonberries. They also piled high other berries, which made for a very refreshing meal.
I would definitely come back again the next time I venture up to the St. Paul /​Minneapolis area. We really enjoyed it.

A nice surprise! We were looking for somewhere close and different for lunch so we stopped here. They have a good selection of soups, sandwiches, wraps, and even a couple of Greek dishes. Tasty salads and wonderful baked goods too. I had a huge, fresh avocado tuna wrap and my friend had the Spinach Pie made with flaky filo dough and feta (delish) served with pita, cucumber sauce, and tomatoes. We’ll be back.

Eggs Benedict was disgusting. English muffin wasn’t toasted, a soggy mess overall. The leftse scramble was made with powder eggs. Would not go here again.

I purchased a cake online for a birthday. Outstandingly delicious! Highly recommend. When I called to confirm the order/​pick up date/​time, the people on the phone sounded harried and unfriendly, however.

Great place hidden away in a tacky little suburb but worth the drive. Food is great, will be back to try many more items on the menu.

I’m 75% Scandinavian, everyone. Brought up in a family that celebrates that fact, we made lefse (ohmygoshyum!), lutefisk (yuck), and other Scandinavian treats every year for as long as I can remember, and probably even longer than that. When my friend suggested we check this place out for brunch, I was pretty excited.
This place makes their own lefse, which — if you either haven’t had it, or have only had the store-​bought version — should make your mouth water. These people do it right. I had a sampler of french toast with apples and Swedish pancakes (We call them «tunpankaka»… which translates to «thin pancake». Think crêpe, but better because it’s Swedish.) with lingon berries. (Lingon berries can be compared loosely to cranberries, but in miniature, if you didn’t know)
My food was great! As was my husband’s. It was some mixture of things stuffed into Lefse. The atmosphere was quaint with a no-​fuss attitude towards decorating, but not skimping on cleanliness. Prices are reasonable. If you’re not in the mood for a full meal, they are a bakery as well. Their day-​old bread can be rifled-​through at discounted prices.
I wish they had a location close to me. I’d be back again and again.

I have to lower my rating. I really didn’t want to but I must. We have been here several times since I wrote my initial review. Although the food has remained somewhat consistent, the order takers are just shy of being rude. They clearly hate working there.
What really makes me lower this, however, is what happened at our most recent visit. We tried to order burgers but they said they were not making burgers that day… Really??? Why is that? I have a feeling I know why. They seemed really really short staffed that day and probably did not want to take the time to make them. That really does not make sense though because we then ordered Eggs Benedict which can be time consuming as well.
Terrible Eggs Benedict-​Hard poached eggs… Hollandaise sauce was lumpy and it all was pretty much lukewarm. We were in a hurry so we just ate it but I think I will not visit for quite some time.

I tried a sample of chocolate old time donut, cinnamon roll, and croissant. Overall, I would try another bakery. This is not the taste for me. The croissant was buttery but way to big and more bread-​ie than croissant like. The old time donut was good and would recommend. The cinnamon roll looks great. However, their use of cardamon as a spicing in there did not go with the roll. I use cardamon in my tea not my cinnamon rolls. But they probably sell a lot of them and if you like that taste, go for it. Kids probably will not go for something that is not traditional flavor. I wish it would have rated higher, but not worth a second try.

My husband and I, with the help of most of my family, tried many, many types of wedding cake all over the Twin Cities, but nothing was nearly as good as the Scandinavian Stawberry Torte at Taste of Scandinavia. The cake has three layers of yellow sponge cake with one layer of chocolate mousse and whipped cream and one layer of raspberry jam and fresh sliced bananas and strawberries. It has a whipped cream frosting. After the wedding, I had multiple people ask me where I had found the cake, because they had loved it so much.
In addition to being the best-​tasting cake in the Twin Cities (in my opinion), it was also one of the most reasonably priced — both the tiered cake and especially the sheets (which you can use if you need extra cake). The service at Taste of Scandinavia was also really great — they were happy to do any design that we sent them a photo of (as long as it was technically possible with whipped cream frosting). We ended up going with a simple design with yellow ribbon and fresh yellow flowers, and it turned out beautifully.

We stopped in here while looking for a local place to eat.
I figured, «Taste of Scandinavia», I’d order something Scandinavian… but then I saw that they had burgers… so I ordered a «Swedish Burger»…but I was told that it would take 20 – 30 minutes. That threw me a little… I don’t think I’ve ever seen any kind of burger from start to finish take anywhere near that long, but whatever… so instead, I ordered the Swedish Meatballs, because when in Rome…
The meatballs came out fairly quickly and there were about 8 of them with very good Swedish meatball gravy and some mashed potatoes and lingenberries. Altogether, it was very good.
The café itself was fairly small and not crowded, but we did go in at 3 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, so that may have had a bit to do with it.
Still a little thrown by a 30 minute burger, however.

Having been here twice over the past few months I thought it time to write a review.
Their coffee is good. It’s a fill-​your-​own style place.
Their pulla rolls are not all that good (a sweet bread with cardamom). They’ve been dried out each time I’ve had them. They’re much better at Finnish Bistro.
I think it’s really nice they put out samples of their baked goods for people to try.
Their counter service is just so-​so. Unfortunately, I’ve found them to be not that friendly to interact with.