Friesen’s Bakery & Bistro

On two separate occasions I attempted to patron this establishment after hearing friends give high compliments. The first time I was ignored as the representatives took care of Euro-​Americans first, I shook this off. I tried to make a purchase yesterday and was completely ignored while standing on crutches after the person in front of me finished checking out. The counter girl literally went to the back to box pastries while I stood there. We made eye contact even and she made no attempt to acknowledge me. The dessert is not worth supporting a business that supports discriminatory practices!

I was lucky enough to meet owner Tony Friesen at the Maker’s Fair on 10−10−15. My friend and I stopped by Friesen’s on our way out of town and we were not disappointed. The Kato Classic is one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I’ve eaten in a very long time. The garlic spread totally makes the sandwich. I could eat one of these every day and be very happy.
I also grabbed a slice of the Apple «Pie-​Sposion», which is an apple pie baked inside of a spice cake. Yes! A pie inside of a cake! Genius! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but both the pie and cake were delicious. I want Tony’s secret. :)

Their sugar cookies are to die for! They are honest and use good, clean and simple ingredients like grandma used to use! I know I can always find something yummy for my entire family at Friesens!

I moved to Mankato right before Friesen’s first expansion, and it’s been fun to watch them grow and thrive. They do a lot of things right: their signature grilled cheese, potato salad, zorba rolls, and practically every single soup they offer. They’ve had a great garbanzo gazpacho available almost all summer — fresh and tasty. Not to mention they like to source locally and are really involved in the community. The staff is super friendly as well.
That said, I wish their bread selection was a little more varied. It’d be great to see French baguettes, sourdoughs, ciabatta buns, or anything with a nice thick crisp crust. Also, their mocha bars are amazing, but they’re not mocha! They’re a block of chocolate or yellow/​white cake (not sure, only ever had chocolate) coated in white bakery frosting and peanuts. They taste awesome but when I hear mocha, I definitely expect some coffee flavor.
Prices are a little high on most baked goods, but you can get big cookies for a dollar. Soup and sandwich prices are fine, about seven dollars for a combo. And I’m always willing to spend a little more to support local business.
Overall, Friesen’s is awesome; go whenever you can.

I’ve stopped by Friesen’s a few times now and each time been happy that I did. They have an interesting rotation of soup and sandwiches during the day, and most of their baked goods are brilliant. I’m a carrot cake fiend and found theirs a bit dry and dense, but the cookies and other sweet bits are fantastic. I’m happy to see a local business thrive, so definitely stop by and enjoy something tasty.

A very Quaint boutique-​esk bakery downtown Mankato with quite a nice variety of home-​made style goodies.
We stopped in anxious to try their cinnamon rolls, but they were not serving them (or out?) when we arrived after lunch.
We weren’t disappointed though after seeing their assortment of three layer cakes; including Carrot, our favorite. So, we could of course indulged.
The cake was moist, with a nicely dense layer of cream cheese frosting between each layer. A smattering of walnuts crested the exterior end and its worth noting that the walnuts used were deliciously sweet and not at all bitter (which walnuts can sometimes be). At $ 3.99 a slice I did expect a little larger serving but what we each received was still substantial in terms of richness and fulfillment.
We’ll definitely plan to stop back again to see if we can try those missed cinnamon rolls.

This is a Perfect community-​driven, locavore celebrated spot! Mankato has been lacking a soup bar for decades so it is lovely to finally have this place!

We decided to serve Friesen’soups for a light meal for supper on Thanksgiving. It was a fun way to introduce my out of town relatives to what Mankato has to offer. We had many compliments on the quality of all the soups (we severed 5 different flavors). Might have to make this a tradition!

My wife and I had a craving for some soup and we were looking for a local place with home cookin. This bakery delivered with some indian spice soup that was very hearty and flavorful. We also had their grown up grilled cheese sandwich that had a hint of blue cheese also very good. We finished off with a large English toffee cookie. Mm mm good. One of the owners talked to us a bit and gave us a warm welcome. We are excited to have found a new hangout and will be back for more.