Mosaic Café

I decided to try this place and support local businesses around my office. Small cafes are becoming hard to find. I miss that home cooking food that brings back memories of your mom’s cooking. I was hoping this was one of those places…
We had the Moon Burger and the Chicken Torta. The food was OK. I wasn’t wowed by anthing here. Just a middle of the road place to me.

The atmosphere is really chic, comfortable and fun! The rosemary fries are incredible, if you like garlic that is, because they’re loaded with garlic. Amazing with the dill sauce! Definitely coming back here!!!

Yet another decent place in my new neighborhood, I’ve now tried Mosaic twice. Both times, I’ve gone here for dinner but after the perceivable dinner rush (so, after 8PM). The first time I went, it was a particularly hot and exhausting day and my body was craving salad. My fiancé, his then-​roommate, and I sat out on the super cute patio (non-​smoking, in case that’s something you care about) and each ordered a beer. Their beer menu was quite small (they also have wine) and pretty typical for pricing (roughly $ 5 pints, though apparently they have good happy hour specials).
We split the hummus plate appetizer which came with bread as well as fresh (and blanched?) veggies. My fiancé’s then-​roommate recommended the Farmer’s Market Salad («Spring Greens, Red Onion, Grape Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Dried Apricots, Maple Candied Pecans, Goat Cheese, Honey Dijon Vinaigrette» for $ 9.50) which I ordered with goat cheese on the side, passing it off to the guys since I can’t eat cheese. The salad was good, but I would like to see a more veg-​friendly and healthy salad if they’re going to name it that! Dried fruit and candied nuts are tasty, don’t get me wrong, but it was not the super refreshing and light salad I was really craving.
The second time I checked this place out, I was in a wildly different mood. Coming down from a jam-​packed and super sweaty weekend of moving, I came hungry and desiring air-​conditioning. We sat inside where there was some live-​music playing in the corner, though this is a bit awkward considering the dining area inside is pretty small. It was still nice enough, though, and the A/​C was refreshing. After seeing my fiancé’s burger the last time we came, I decided to try the Moonburger («Black Bean Patty made with Herbs, Roasted Veggies and Brown Rice. Topped with Muenster Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Guacamole, Cilantro, Served with Chili Lime Crema» $ 9.50, ordered sans cheese and crema). Burgers come with kettle chips but you can sub a side salad for $ 2 or rosemary garlic fries for $ 3. Since the burger itself was already $ 9.50 and I was not exactly swimming in cash at the time, I settled for the kettle chips. They were actually really good and I ultimately did not regret the decision, though I’d like to try their fries sometime. The moonburger was tasty and adding cheese + crema seems like it would be unnecessary. I don’t think this was a vegan burger (and I didn’t bother asking) — but it was so good that I didn’t care if some kind of dairy binding was used in the patty and might make me sick.
Overall, I like this place just fine and consider it a decent option if I’m too lazy to cook but also don’t want to wander too far from home. The Portabella Torta and Tempeh Banh Mi’loaf are each on my to-​try list for future visits, and I’d also like to try their happy hour.

I had a very enjoyable brunch at Mosaic this Sunday. My breakfast burrito was full of fresh and delicious ingredients, and it is moderately priced ($ 8.50) considering what you are given. The service was friendly and attentive, although the waitress did write down a couple nuances of other’s orders incorrectly (nothing egregious though). As other Unilocalers have noted, the food seemingly took a long time to arrive, but for us it didn’t matter since we had time to kill prior to the May Day Parade. Our entire table finished with the salted caramel custard which was absolutely delectable.

My experience was a mixed one when we went to Mosaic last weekend. The food was awesome. A very «homemade» kind of meal where the tastes are fresh and comforting but you don’t feel like you’ve ingested a week’s worth of sodium and fat (even though the food has a decadence to it).
Unfortunately, though our server was friendly, the service was lacking. It is no exaggeration to say that we waited over 45 minutes for our food after we ordered. Our friendly server brought us some free muffins to tide us over, but even for some very fresh made food it seems ridiculous that a burger and a breakfast burrito could take 45 minutes. At one point during our wait, I changed my mind from kettle chips to garlic fries, so I hunted down are server to ask if I could change my order. She said it would make it take 8 – 10 longer, so I said, «oh, no thank you» But then it still took another 15 minutes for the food to come.
I sympathize because their semi-​open kitchen is quite small, but I think you can still find ways to get food out to customers in a timely way. It wasn’t even that busy.
Still, even after the frustration of waiting so long, the food was so good that my wife and I were wishing for it again the next day. So there’s that.

Came here for a quick lunch the other day. I’m a big fan of Banh Mi, so at the recommendation of the counter staff, I tried the Banh Mi’tloaf sandwich. As the name suggests, the pork on the sandwich is comprised of little patties. Taste was relatively authentic from the spices to cilantro to a bit of serrano heat. Would definitely order it again.
Décor is bright, colorful and cheerful w/​nice sized windows looking out on the street. Staff were friendly and helpful. Would recommend.

I’ve been here twice now and have tried a few different items on their menu. Each one has been tasty. The chili was hot and spicy when I needed «heat» in the depths of January’s freeze; the Waldorf Salad was a delight to my cold-​weary palatte; the beef burger was tasty and juicy when I needed a heavy dose of animal protein; and their garlic-​rosemary french fries are explosively garlicy (too much garlic even for this garlic-​lovin’ girl). I think they’d be much better without so much garlic.
The service was fine on both occasions, accommodating our tight time schedule when we mentioned one.

The Bacon Blue Burger was fantastic! A must try for burger fans. It was cooked to medium as I requested, the blue cheese was just enough to add a nice creaminess to it without overpowering the burger and best of all it wasn’t greasy like the burgers you’d get at your nearby chain restaurant. The multi-​grain bun is a nice healthy carb addition.
There are a ton of outstanding reviews on their Rosemary Garlic Fries so I knew I had to try them. It certainly lived up to it’s hype. Toasty, crunchy, garlicky and pure deliciousness. I didn’t think it could get any better but then I tried it with the aioli sauce and it was the icing on the cake. Do not skip the aioli sauce with your fries.
The only pitfall to my dining experience was that the café is small. It didn’t help going there on the last day my Living Social coupon was going to expire, others seem to have the same plan. The wait time for a table was longer than I would ever wait for and I am going to assume waiting 1.5 hrs for a table isn’t typical on a regular basis here. Although, that might change as they are gaining a lot of attention and popularity from the locals.
With it being especially busy that night and nearing the minutes to closing our waiter was extremely courteous and patient. There were a family of five seated next to us and they are the kind of family I hope to never get as a server. They repeatedly requested things making the waiter run back and forth bringing out whatever single item request each family member conjured up at the latest second. «Hey you, see how busy it is? Show the waiter some respect and make all of your annoying requests at once.» For i.e. don’t have each person request a to-​go box at different times. Talk amongst each other and decide how many boxes you need collectively and ask the waiter one time you need these many number of to-​go boxes. I was impressed at how nice the waiter was with this family — if he was feeling any annoyance, I could not tell.
Overall, I give it 4 stars because of the unusually long wait time (not their fault but due to my own experience) and menu is on the pricier end for burgers and fries but don’t let that stop you from experiencing this place!

We had a cozy and delightful dinner at Mosaic Café last night. Their 2-​for-​1 tap beer happy hour special was a great start to the meal, and I loved that it came from just across the street at Harriet Brewing. Both of us ordered burgers: the Bacon & Blue and the Moonburger. I found my Moonburger to have good texture (creamy black beans + slightly chewy grains) and a great balance of flavors between the patty and the fresh toppings — I would order it again. My date enjoyed his Bacon & Blue burger.
I think for me, the standout item was those Rosemary Garlic fries — I’m a person who loves crispy fries and bold, creative flavors, so they were PERFECT! The side of aioli they are served with was spicy-​fresh and a great accompaniment. Don’t skip it!
I was eyeing the custard that fellow diners were eating, but was too full at the end of the meal to justify ordering any. I’ll be returning to sample that, and also try out some of their happy hour apps.
Our service was attentive and friendly, and then I pointed out a small mistake on our bill, she apologized and fixed it without hesitation. Overall: Delicious fresh food, great experience.

The Bahn’miTloaf was an amazing mixture of flavors (of course, hoisin sauce can make almost anything delicious. As I bit into the sandwich my mouth was filled with the expected vietnamese flavors, but the pork and hoisin sauce added tto the taste explosion. We had to have the rosemary garlic fries. These are amazing: cooked perfectly, crispy and rich.
The menu was full of possibilities for the next time (s). I hesitate to say more because I (selfishly) don’t want it to become too crowded!

Mosaic Café was the single best dining experience I have had in my 39 years. From the atmosphere, to the service, and to the food, everything was perfect. Just like leaving the movie theater in awe, we were both satisfied and mystified that an experience could be so right. We started with the guacamole and chips. The guac had the perfect blend of spice and zip. It satisfied my taste buds rather than challenging them.
We both ordered the Bahn, after it was suggested by the waiter. I can now say that I have lived a full life. Every bite not only started well but finished perfectly. It had a good mouth feel, where all the flavors (dozens of them) not only worked in perfect harmony, but they complimented each other. They say that in Heaven 12 angels will sing 12 different songs to you at the same time, and you will be able to understand each song individually, and also as one. That describes this sandwich.
After the meal we had the custard: One scoop of each: salted caramel, peppermint, and chocolate. They were all good. I’d love to stuff my face with the salted caramel and only wish the custard portions were a tad bigger. If I had to guess, I think a scoop is 3 – 4 tablespoons/​quarter cup.
They also have craft beer, and a nice happy hour from 4 to 7 which includes appetizers as well. We are definitely going to be back.

OMG, get a burger. No, get anything. Get the rosemary fries.
I also came here with a Living Social (as well as a previous Unilocal event) and have found this place to be cozy, offer great service, and really high quality food.
I also love their plug for Harriet Brewing, which is right across the street and what they offer on tap.
I didn’t have the happy hour, but it looked like a pretty decent one.

Excellent service, good food, and a quaint little establishment. Everything I could want in a restaurant.
For starters I ordered their White Bean Chicken Chili. It was good, however I would have preferred it to be creamier and spicier. My boyfriend ordered a side of their potato salad, and I loved it! It had kalamata olives in it which I thought was an interesting touch.
As for entrees, I ordered their Bahn Mi’tloaf, and my boyfriend ordered the Pulled Pork Sandwich. Both were delicious, but I honestly preferred his pulled pork to my bahn mi. The flavors of the bahn mi were all there, but the texture of the pork patty kind of weirded me out. His pulled pork was phenomenal; only complaint was that it was served BBQ-​sauceless, which seems a little odd for pulled pork in my opinion. He got the rosemary garlic friend with his sandwich, and they were fantastic!
The best part of the meal in my opinion was their custard. I ordered the Salted Caramel flavor, and it was heavenly. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would go back JUST for that custard.
Overall a lovely little restaurant, and I will definitely be going back to try more of their menu.

So I’m not the first to point out that the Banh Mi-​tloaf is a culinary cultural crossover delight on par with Korean bbq tacos and other things normally found on the city’s many excellent food trucks. I would be happy to eat this every single time I go here. I would maybe like to see a bit fewer chips on the side and maybe a small cup of slaw or something. But that’s just me being picky.
My only real complaint is that the «frozen custard» they purport to offer is about as far from custard as it is from Milwaukee (where I grew up in the shadow of one of the country’s most renowned frozen custard stands: Kopp’s). Now it is obviously unfair to expect that any place can live up to the standards of a place that produces hundreds of gallons of custard per week, but I was disappointed that the product Mosaic offers was rather far off the mark. Frozen custard is a type of ice cream that has a substantially greater proportion of fat. Think of a soft serve version of Ben and Jerry’s, but richer. That’s not what they serve here. There are many regular ice cream places around here with richer products. So, unless you are just in the mood for something cold and moderately more flavorful than a jello pudding pop, I would skip the «custard».

I wanted to give this place four stars because the food was delicious — I had the reuben with some very garlicky fries (the way I like them!), both hefty and filling without making me feel gross afterwards. Coupled with a fresh beer from Harriet Brewing, the neighbor across the street, and you have a winner.
Unfortunately, though the place was only half full for an early dinner on a Saturday night, it took us about 40 minutes to get our meal. Even then we had to wait an extra ten minutes between getting our sandwiches and getting the fries, so I ate half my sandwich before the accompanying fries even arrived.
Such a shame, but three stars it will have to be. I hope I can come back when they’ve stepped up their game a bit.

Delicious!!! I had the Moonburger with rosemary & garlic fries, and Guy had the turkey burger.
First, how do they get their fries so crispy?! They’re magical!!! Guy said he could have done without all the garlic, and I’ll agree it was a tad heavy-​handed, but still good.
Second, that turkey burger was probably the best turkey burger I’ve ever tasted. There was just so much flavor in the two bites I stole from Guy, and he absolutely loved it. The Moonburger was excellent as well. Everything just had a really great balance of flavors and tasted so fresh. We got a double scoop of salted caramel custard to go, and enjoyed it at home later that evening once we weren’t so stuffed from our burgers & fries.
The only reason I’m not giving this 5 stars is due to service. We walked in and passed a server, who smiled at us as she walked by. Given that it was a pleasant evening out and these days are numbered as winter approaches, we sat ourselves on the patio, where there were only 3 – 4 other tables that were occupied. We then spent 10 – 15 minutes watching a different server (the only one who appeared to be working the patio) go to every other table except ours. Another server came out with some wood to stoke the fireplace with, and again, walked right by us at least three times.
At that point, we said screw this, and got up to leave. Finally, one of the servers acknowledged our presence and said «Oh, did you want???» A menu? Some food? A beverage? Obviously, yes. Yes we do. That’s why people go to restaurants. I just said a menu would be great, thank you. He apologized and brought us each a food menu, but did not bring a drink menu/​wine list, so we had to ask for that. Once the awkwardness of initially being ignored and left without menus was over though, it was a very lovely dining experience and our server was extremely helpful and nice.
I can’t wait to try some of their other items, such as the tempeh sloppy Joe. Neither one of us eats red meat, and there’s a really nice variety of veg, poultry & seafood items for us, so that’s rad. We will definitely be back very soon!!!

Mosaic Café was right at the end of Open Streets — Minnehaha 2013, which was perfect for me to stop in for some food and then head over to Harriet Brewing for a beer afterwards for desert.
I have read previous reviews about bad service and long waits, and unfortunately I experienced the same. Hopefully management reads these reviews as I want to give it 5 stars but I simply can’t because of the service.
When I sat down the server passed me 3 times without noticing me somehow, although I watched him as he scanned over the tables left and right? I was sitting alone, but I also wasn’t doing anything but waiting for him to hand me a menu so I’m quite baffled on how he missed me. Finally he came over and I ordered some juice which was delivered in a Minute Maid bottle (disappointing). I sat there for a good 10 minutes before going to the bathroom to wash my hands. When I arrived back a party of 4 was sitting at my table. The server still had not delivered any flatware, napkins, water, etc so they thought it was vacant. I was a party of 1 so I told them they could take it while I sat at a small table.
Fast forward 45 minutes and I’m still waiting for my food. During this time the only person that ever came outside was the one server, I never saw anybody else helping or delivering food. This is when I realized the 2 guys behind me have been waiting forever. So bad that they started telling them every 5 minutes that the food was on the way, and they did this for another 15 minutes while the patrons got more irritated. They eventually comped their entire meals (and some others as well) and the owner came out to apologize to practically every table except mine.
I waited over an hour to get my food; I had the Banh Mi’tloaf sandwich which simply put is the best meatloaf I have ever had. I personally hate meatloaf but glad I made this choice, thanks to all you Unilocalers out there.
The food is a 10, the atmosphere is a 10, the service is a 1 which works out to a 3 and a half on the Unilocal scale. I was in a great mood and I want to come back so I will give them the benefit of a 4 out of 5.
Mosaic Café, please work on your service, I must have had heard «sorry» 50 times that day.

Love this place! We used to go here when it was Glacier Café and enjoyed it but I think the food is way better now! The outside patio is still lovely and pet friendly!
What we ordered was the Banh Mi sandwich which was so delicious. I can not really explain it. It was different than your typical Korean Banh Mi in that the meat was more like pork patties with this incredible hoison sauce. The garlic/​rosemary fries with garlic aioli sauce were amazing.
Ci ordered the Moon Burger which is a homemade veggie burger raved about by fellow Unilocalers. She loved it.
For Dessert, we shared a scoop of salted caramel custard. Ohhhhh… How i wish we had ordered more than one scoop!!!
Server was the best! She brought us our own carafe of water which I love! Why can’t more places do that? Just bring me a jug of water so you don’t have to worry about refills! Besides that, she answered all of our questions on the menu politely and was perfectly attentive.
Part of the draw here for us, is for Teddi to join us for dinner so now that cold weather is upon us, I am not sure we will make the drive over to Mosaic until Spring but if I lived in the neighborhood, I think I would be here every week.
Check it out Longfellow Residents! Support a local organic Diner.

The cheeseburgers, grilled cheese, and pastrami reuben are all fine, but the banh mi sandwich is out of this world. I hesitate saying it’s the best bang mi I’ve had because this sandwich is not traditional bahn mi, but it’s the best banh mi I’ve had. The pork patties in it were very good, but the hoison sauce and flavorings made it fantastic. And the fries and potato salad are fantastic.
Unfortunately though my sandwich and my daughter’s burger both came with a huge pile of tasty kettle chips, naturally I wasn’t going to let her eat all that junk food so put hers on my place, which of course I planned on only eating just a bit of. But before I knew it I looked down at my plate and saw only 2 chips left (since there wasn’t really enough left to take away, I just ate them). It was like I had been possessed, and when my soul returned to my body, the chips were gone!
Mosaic Café is a re-​imagined Glacier’s Café, same owner, different chef. Still has great custard, but now has a more creative and upscale menu and décor. Mosaic is part of the trend in upscale diners, that invent their own fusion cuisine.
Fantastic patio, it’s bigger than the indoor space, with lots of comfy chairs. Patio would be a great place for a private party.

We were a little bummed when we saw that Glaciers closed, but stoked to see something new and potentially better open in its place. Last night we went to check it out and were definitely pleased. We sat on the patio to enjoy the weather and test our dog’s patio skills. We got the nosh plate, which is a collection of hummuses, pickled veggies, goat cheese, and bread. Definitely good for snacking. We followed it up with the moon veggie burger. As I told my husband, «I have a new favorite veggie burger.» It had a good consistency and flavor and was deliciously topped with guac and cilantro. Pair that with a decent glass of wine for $ 3.50 and I am a happy girl. Only regret is that we were too full for dessert.
This neighborhood is totally ripe for this kind of a place with reasonably priced food, veggie options, and laid-​back, yet hip vibe. Looking at the brewery across the street and my fellow diners, and walking home past an art opening, microcinema space and coffee shop, I had a sense of pride that our affordable little neighborhood is actually getting cool. Thank you to Mosaic Café for being a part of that.