Kafe 421

Awesome food, friendly staff, & it never fails to impress. A true fresh tasteful Mediterranian restaurant. Lemon Risotto is to die for. Staff are very nice. Like to go there every week.

The boyfriend and I scoped the menu online and made a 5pm reservation (on a Wednesday) because of it’s close proximity to the Northrop Auditorium hosting Puscifer! To start we shared a small Greek salad. We had been craving mashed potatoes, so. the meatloaf for me, pan seared chicken for he, was the best! Small venue, $ 3 happy hour beers, I recommend a reservation if you want to make this a destination. Nothing bad to say, however never used the restroom.

Like it so much! Prefer the chicken! Next time I’m gonna try the lamb sandwich and the dessert!

Here for the second time. I really enjoyed both times here.
Not the standard «Greek» food I usually come across. It seems more gourmet… and they do not have any stuffed grape leaves or a single bit falafel. Which is both good and bad– I was craving it today. Normally I’m ok without it.
I had the half sized Harvest Salad with Shrimp added. So many things I liked about this salad!
–I was able to order a half size… leaves room to order the awesome eggplant & hummus dips. Plus, I get full fast.
— Spring Green mix. I really enjoy Spring greens SO much more than lettuce.
–Everything else on it was just such a nice well balanced flavor, texture, visual treat. The dried fig slices were awesome! Same with the dressing.
–The Shrimp… I usually dislike shrimp in general in restaurants here in MN. It taste dirty, old, blah. But it was absolutely delish! Best shrimp I’ve had in years.
My sister ordered the Lamb burger.
Of course I required her to let me have a bite. Think of a gyro mating with the ground lamb burger and tangoed on the grill. It was SO dang good!!! It was more along the lines of a gyro in flavor/​spices but texture of ground lamb burger. The toppings may have helped give it the gyro flavor as well. I’m SO going back just for this burger alone. Darn that the scrumptious salad filled me up or I would have ordered one to go.
The place is beautiful inside to boot! You’d never guess by the looks on the outside. Romantic lunch place for sure. Or one to take your gal pals that appreciate a pretty eating environment to.

This place started in Dinkytown since 2003. We came here for Restaurant Week and will be back for dinner again. The Mediterranean style food was delicious. We ordered the apple parsnip soup, which was warmly served but it reminded us too much of an «adult» baby food! If there is such a term! The bruschetta with mushroom, pistachio and goat cheese drizzled with balsamic however was fantastic. I normally do not like goat cheese but this was a mild one.
The main entrée was grilled trout with orzo. We could taste the charred flavor from the fish and the even grilled the vegetables that came with it. The lemony flavors mixed in with the grills gave it a wonderful Mediterranean flavor. It was really refreshing.
Now on to the best part of the meal!!! I think I squeaked a little out of excitement! You wouldn’t think of Kafe 421 as a dessert place but oh boy, their trio dessert was impressive! The Baklava was ah-​mazing! The best I ever had compared to the middle eastern restaurants I have frequent at Central Ave. They were lightly sweeten, drizzled with honey and the best part of it all was the puff pastry layer. Crunch in every layer of bites, oh what a wonderful treat. Even their mouse chocolate had a rum flavor that was complex yet delicious and not your typical sugary taste of boring old fashion chocolate dessert. We also had a good lemon custard. Great job Kafe 421!!!

Kafe 421 is a quaint spot tucked into Dinkytown. The menu has a variety of dishes and the food is rich and delicious. They have a really great happy hour that includes delicious $ 5 apps. I recently had the artichoke feta dip with pita bread, a good amount of delicious food for only $ 5. The café itself seems kind of fancy inside in comparison to all of the other restaurants to eat at in Dinkytown. I think it is one of the best places to eat in the University area.

Fantastic Greek-​influenced café, terrific food and lovely service. Probably the best place to go for a reasonably-​priced meal in Dinkytown.

This is a lovely restaurant. I had the tomato basil soup, which I loved. I also ordered the harvest salad, and it was average – the butternut squash was almost raw, so I would not recommend this salad.

We went on a late Sunday afternoon and the place was almost empty. Food was average at best and service was good. Good place for college kids to hang out and have some sandwiches.

Nice staff and good food. The ambiance is nice because the lights are low without being too romantic.
Surprising find in a college town.

I had my birthday party in the back room at Kafe 421. What a great venue with great hosts! The décor is rich, warm and lovely. The space is quiet and cozy (we had about 45 people) and the food was oh, so delicious!
Georgia, Loren and Antigone were extremely helpful in choosing what to have on the menu for my guests. Everyone absolutely LOVED the food and desserts. Robin, our server, was gracious and took care of every little thing we needed.
If you want to have a wonderful celebration of ANY kind without the hassle of having to clean and make room at your home you should consider this beautiful restaurant. Fresh, home-​made ingredients served with love and care. And the beer and wine bar is amazing! KAFE 421 takes the worry out of planning any occasion by providing you with a great venue, fantastic service and delicious food and drink. Plus it’s the perfect central location… easy to get to by 35W or 94, with plenty of parking all around. Also, no stairs so it’s VERY handicap accessible!
I must highly recommend this lovely little café in Dinkytown for a glass of wine, a great meal at a relaxing place with perfect service!

I’m very biased towards greek food, as it is my favorite, however Kafe 21 really impressed me tonight. I wasn’t starving so I just got the greek salad which is pretty similar to other restaurants’ greek salads but still delicious, fresh veggies and all. My friend got one of the specials, a sampler plate of their best appetizers; SO good. I especially recommend the Feta Artichoke dip. mmmm. For dessert the chocolate mousse was a necessity. To die for! It was also very nice to be right in the heart of dinky town, surrounded by college kids but the restaurant felt very cozy and sophisticated, but still family friendly.

We had a very good meal here. Bouillabaisse good, grilled salmon got rave reviews for its quinoa veg bed. Waitress was on the spot at every turn. Free brownie was a nice touch for wifey Bday. Gave it a five mainly for quality of meal and the value.

We went for our first time tonight. I liked the vibe, quaint — yet active. I like that there is an option for a larger group. We had the harvest chicken salad and the chicken wild rice burrito. They were both tasty. We will go back :)

went with my cousin on a not busy Thursday night. he ordered a lamb dish I had what I think was a pasta dish.
Service was not good, very slow, especially since there was only one other table.
our food was greasy and wayyyy oversalted.
This place is overpriced and overrated

As a U of M student, I expect relatively little service upon entering a restaurant. After all, collegiate are not exactly known as excellent tippers.
Kafe 421, however, has provided me with nothing but superb service, food, and ambience– regardless of whether I enter alone or with my parents.
The restaurant is a lovely «nicer» restaurant for a special occasion or date, with fresh white table cloths, candles and a wine bar.
The servers are attentive and courteous. Nothing but excellent manners, no pressuring to order many courses, and flexible with particular orders.
The food– oh boy! Fresh ingredients, refined preparation, and a wide variety to suit any palate makes this a great option for anyone. My personal favorite is the delectable harvest salad with grilled shrimp. My mother and father, born in a city with far superior Greek food to Minneapolis, were thoroughly impressed with their spinach pie and gyro platter.
All in all, a wonderful experience at an extraordinarily reasonable price. Highly recommend.

I have had dinner several times recently at Kafe 421 in Dinkytown. I work at the University of Minnesota and in my opinion this is the only reasonably upscale place to eat within walking distance. I expect parking may be an issue for anyone driving in however. Although not mediterranean restaurant per se, the food, which has always been uniformly good but not spectacular, has a mediterranean influence, Portions are large. Recently I have been there with relatively large groups and they have done an outstanding job in handling our crowd which can be a challenge. Service has always been excellent. I will definitely be back.

I love being surprised. I didn’t have high expectations when I just happened to stumble on this place on a day I was just walking around and exploring the area. Given the location in Dinkytown (college hood), I just assumed the food would be so-​so.
The atmosphere inside was cozy and inviting. The menu was pretty enticing and I was conflicted about whether to go for a burger or something else. I settled on the Chicken Wild Rice burrito and had a glass of French Malbec to wash it down. The dish came with a side of soup, ceasar’s salad, or mixed greens. I chose the mixed greens.
The food was utterly delicious. This was also the first time I had a Malbec from France. I typically drink Malbecs from Argentina. The wine was excellent and the service was very respectful.
I’d definitely recommend this spot for a solid meal.

Kafe 421 is located in the heart of Dinkytown. The ambience of the restaurant was nice, with a dim-​lit, and calming atmosphere. Went there with a group of friends for dinner and we were seated in the back of the restaurant. The menu offered a variety of items that were fairly priced. I ordered the spanakopita as an appetizer and was disappointed. There was an overload of spinach and not enough feta cheese or flaky bread. The main courses we ordered consisted of lamb burgers, eggplant burgers, and salads. Everyone seemed to be happy about their dishes, however, not exactly thrilled. Service was good. Nice restaurant but nothing special.

This is my favorite restaurant in Dinkytown because it has great quality food for a really good price. The servers are friendly and fast. Georgia (owner) always makes you feel at home. I always get the Pavo with extra fried onions and house fries. The turkey club sandwich is on point too. Lately, I’ve been ordering their chopped salad – there are so many ingredients and flavors going on in the dish but it works. Their portions are also very generous. If you order off their catering menu for an event, go for the crostini assortment and roasted tomato flatbread! They are my favorite!

I came here for a work meeting and as per usual, the service and food were excellent. We made reservations beforehand given that lunchtime can be busy. We were seated and waited immediately.
We first shared a sort of mediterranean appetizer platter which had crab cakes, chicken skewers, artichoke dip with pita bread, gyro meat with tzarziki sauce. The platter was plenty for 6 of us to share. I loved the crab cake so much that i end up getting the crab cake sandwich. Food came hot and fresh about 15 minutes after we ordered.
As noted, I ordered the crab cake sandwich with fries, and a cup of clam chowder because I have a tendency to eat one large meal a day. The clam chowder was so so so good. Coming from California, I was honestly surprised given I am always wary about seafood in the midwest. But the soup was rich and plenty of clams that appeared fresh rather than from a can. I regret not getting a bowl of this despite i was rolling out in pain from overstuffing myself. The crab sandwich was also quite good. The crab cakes were not too dry or oily and fell apart when biting in the sandwich (in a good way). It was topped with a fennel and pear slaw which gave it a little added sweetness. The tartar sauce came on the side which I thought was a smart move because I love tartar sauce, probably more than even ketchup. I probably should have boxed half the ‘wich but I gobbled the whole thing up. The french fries were plentiful and freshly fried. Again, I finished everything and rolled out in pain and partial self loathing from overstuffing myself with yummy food.
I been here probably over 10 times for work meetings and it continues to rank high on the places I’d bring friends, colleagues, or visiting faculty. Definitely will be back, and likely will leave overstuffed again.

I was a little skeptical going into this place… but it ended up being a great experience!
This place is located in the heart of Dinkytown and parking is a b*tch. Your options are the limited number of metered parking spaces, the parking ramp 2 blocks away or you can roll the dice and find free parking a few blocks away. Once you get that figured out, make your way into this joint and you’ll see it’s much bigger inside.
I had reservations and did have to wait about 5 minutes as they cleared our table. Once seated, menus and water came out shortly after. I will say, it’s pretty dark inside, we had a table in the back and you may need a flashlight to read the menu if you can’t see well in the dark (who can?!). Anyhoo, the menu is filled with plenty of options; from crab cakes and pita chips to burgers, pasta and meatloaf.
As a family, we ended up ordering…
*Crispy Calamari with Romesco Sauce
*Kafé 421 Signature Humus dip (w/​pita bread)
*Lamb Burger
*Bolognese
*Petite Steak
*Gyro Platter
I had the lamb burger and it was a little different than I imagined. The lamb was amazing; ground and seasoned well. It’s served panini style, grill marks and all. Fresh cucumbers, onions, feta and tzatziki. All around great burger/​sandwich; more a sandwich than burger (I had envisioned burger bun…). The bolognese was good (nothing super distinct, but well made), the gyro platter was EXCELLENT. Lots of gyro meat, packed full of flavor!
All in all, good food and great service :-)