Toast Wine Bar & Cafe

My fiancé and I had a horrible experience here about a month ago. Prior to this unpleasant dining experience, my fiancé had been here a few times beforehand and raved about the ambiance and the flatbread pizza. Additionally, we have family members and friends who live in the apartment complex who have had very positive things to say about the restaurant.
At the onset of our most recent visit, our waitress was pleasant and helpful with our wine selection and questions we had about the menu. We ordered a flatbread pizza and a few Cabernet’s. The wine was great, but when we received our pizza we noticed that about half of it was missing topping. My fiancé noted that the prior flatbreads she has ordered here did not look like this, so we politely — and somewhat reluctantly — asked if the waitress could send it back and bring a new one out. She was apologetic and took our feedback very well. We thought nothing more of it.
Five minutes later the owner came out with the pizza that we sent back in his hand. He was rude and crass, demanded to know what was wrong with the pizza, and iterated a number of times «this is the way I have been making pizza for seven years.» We essentially took that as «take it as is or get out of my establishment.» We simply explained that we were expecting topping that we ordered on the majority of the pizza, and after five minutes of this ridiculous encounter, we simply asked for our check. Unfortunately, the owner’s ego got in the way of even a semblance of customer service, and caused two willing and excited patrons who live in the city to leave very disappointed.
The most unbelievable part of this whole event is that as we were leaving, a different waitress in the restaurant walked by us and uttered under her breath «maybe try Papa John’s» with a sarcastic smirk. It was like something out of a movie. We were both amused and appalled. We will definitely not be going back to Toast, to say the least.

We stopped in here after dinner one night and had a great experience. The service was fantastic. They have a nice wine selection and the atmosphere was very laid back. We didn’t order a meal, but had a couple cheeses, which were delicious. The only thing I didn’t care for was that it smelled a little musty inside, but it seemed like their HVAC might not have been working properly since the windows were pretty fogged up and was a bit damp inside. I’ll definitely give it another try though.

Great wine choices. Great cheese. A quiet comfortable wine bar in a off the path spot. Please find it!

A great experience overall!
I think I’ll do negatives first just to get it out of the way. Service was a little slow and fairly awkward. My only complaint.
Now for the positives, of which there are many! We went on a weeknight when there were half off bottles of house wine. Tuesday? Or Wednesday? Either way, bottles were super cheap and good quality for the price.
Food was also the perfect happy hour fare — lots of awesome crostini, cheese, and charcuterie options. High quality stuff, well-​chosen and thoughtfully combined and presented.
I’d definitely return!

I’ve only been here once, but I’ll definitely be back soon. They have a good wine list — as someone that lived in CA for 10 years, I have definitely been missing full wine lists when I go out here in Minneapolis, but this place has a decent number of wines by the glass. Their food is tasty and has great prices and portions. Parking is easy, nice outdoor seating, and friendly and knowledgeable staff.
It’s a great, well-​rounded place to relax with food and wine.

I really really like this place. 5 stars for great wine! (we didn’t try any food, but next time we will). Came here late on a Saturday night and sat on the patio. I love the neighborhood friendly feel here yet they are able to maintain a certain sophistication with their knowledge of wine, that is not at all snobby. I really appreciate that!
I wish I remembered the name of our waitress, she was so awesome. I asked for a random flight of some white wines, and she brought some great, unique Rieslings. We will definitely be back! I am so glad I finally found a wine bar in Minneapolis where the wait staff is actually knowledgeable about the wine, but not at all snobby about it.

I had a wonderful experience here. The staff made us feel like family and the food was excellent
Check it out!

Last Saturday, my soon-​to-​be-​in-​laws and I met up at Toast for a surprise engagement party. I’d never been before but it is a favorite of the happy couple’s…I tend to trust their restaurant/​bar suggestions and this time was no different. It was the perfect place for the type of celebration we were having… drinks and share-​able snacks that felt classy yet an ambiance that wasn’t at all stuffy. It helped that they put us at a cluster of high-​top tables pushed together so that people could stand or sit, not feeling confined to one spot. It is a pretty small place but the only time it felt cramped was when I had to push my way past a huge birthday party in order to get to the bathroom. Presumably this is NOT the norm.
Seeing as they are a wine bar, the wine list is extensive and organized into several large categories. However, their specialty cocktails are also worth a gander. I saw local aquavit, Gamle Ode, on the menu and couldn’t resist — but also tried a glass of sparkling rose, as well as champagne which was ordered for the table so that we could… well…toast!
The menu changes seasonally but definitely had some tasty things, including vegetarian items, and everything I tried was well-​liked. Our group stuck to more snacky items — a couple of salumi plates (from which I tried the addicting almonds, a variety of olives, bread, sliced apple, and boquerones), some buffalo chicken flatbread pizzas (these were a real crowd-​pleaser but I did not partake), and some crostinis. You order the crostinis a la carte style so I tried three different ones… the chickpea purée with lemon, avocado and sea salt was delicious, the white anchovy and lemon vinaigrette was fine but I basically had the same thing using what came on one of the salumi plates, and the third crostini I cannot locate on the online menu but was so rich, garlicky and delicious that I had wonderfully awful breath the rest of the night… NO COMPLAINTS, honest.
Lastly, shoutout to the servers here… it was busy, the birthday party AND our party probably made things chaotic for them, yet they were cheerful, helpful and totally on top of things. I will definitely be back!

Affordable personable and delicious. Napa valley casual and taste with Midwest charm. Small neighborhood gem.

Wonderful service — our party of 8 was well taken care of throughout the night.
Toast serves excellent wine, cocktails, and small plates in a cozy yet lively space.
Highly recommend as a winter dinner spot.

I hosted a group there last night. I called a couple weeks prior to get everything arranged, Scott was very helpful. Ended up being a slightly smaller group than I thought. Andrew was our server and he gave us a meal/​wine course that was excellent. We had 3 wines and 3 courses; antipasti with olives, cured meat, bread. All were delicious. Crostini came next, had 4 varieties of which I tried 1. Group I was with all said they were good. Pizza for 3^rd course; margarita, Italian sausage, squash. Thin crispy crust, also tasty. We had red velvet cake to share; it wasn’t a traditional red velvet but I did like it. We enjoyed a dry prosecco, a nice Pinot Grigio, and a red blend. Andrew brought out an extra wine for dessert, a super Tuscan I wasn’t loving at first, but I had a second taste and it grew on me :-). Great experience, will be back.

Honestly the best dining experience I have had in the longest time — possibly ever. I cannot say enough amazing things about this place. We went here for date night, and will definitely be back again — on the regular. We sat out on the patio, which was beautiful and quiet — and dog friendly (bonus). The place is obviously a favorite of North Loop locals, because it seemed that every person who walked by knew someone on the patio or vice versa. Everyone was giving hello’s and stopping to say hi. It seemed as though everyone was friends there, which I loved.
Our night started off by joking with our server, Andrew, that because it was «Wine Wednesday» there should be some kind of special. To our surprise, he agreed and responded by bringing us an amazing bottle of his choice at a ridiculously good price that definitely wasn’t the norm: point 1 for Andrew (and for us, obviously). He then talked us through the wine and what would go well with it. We chose a bunch of small plates, and he took the initiative to bring them out in groups in a 3-​course style dinner «so that we could enjoy each dish.» Okay Andrew… I like your style. THEN, with every course he brought us each a complimentary glass of wine that he paired nicely with the food. Amazing. Point 2 for Andrew (and again, for us).
He was amazingly attentive the entire night, as was the rest of the staff that wasn’t even serving our table. To top off the amazing deal on the bottle, the complimentary glasses throughout the meal, and the great service overall, he finished our meal with two complimentary glasses of the house limoncello. Point 3 for Andrew: TRIFECTA. Needless to say, we had a phenomenal experience and would recommend this place to anyone and everyone who loves wine, crazy good food and a cozy, romantic atmosphere. Already made plans to return next week on «Wine Wednesday», and hope that Andrew is working again.

The owner knows everyone in the building, so it was fun sitting outside with a drink and some great eats and seeing him call everyone by name. Made you feel like you were in a real regulars place. We sat outside so no trouble with noise as per one of the other reviews.

Not the best spot for date, though in order to hear yourself over the din of other patrons and odd music choice you have to lean in close if you’re not going to yell… so maybe it’s not all that bad. Cocktails were pretty good overall. They were kind enough to round up to the nearest dollar when they charged my credit card though… so keep your receipt, because that’s pretty lame.
Other reviews suggest it’s good for wine, so I’d say skip it unless you’re going there for that.

This is your wine stop at 5:30. Any Day. They choose the perfect varieties. Taste some!

Great wine selection and wonderful cured meat plattera. Get one and the malbec and you will be in heaven!
The staff are not the most attentive but with the atmosphere it’s okay. Also try the mixed drink, dark and stormy.

A true wine bar with great nosh and friendly atmosphere. The staff will happily let you taste a varietal prior to ordering or make an appropriate selection to your taste.
As far as eats — Crostini toasts, tasty crisp crust pizzas and offerings that are accessible to most. Ingredients are well sourced and always fresh. Salads are well thought out, without the usual ingredients found at every other local. Do not miss the ever changing choice of cheese and charcuterie.
Equally enjoyed on your own or in a group of any size. No TV’s — just a great way to enjoy an afternoon or evening in a nice tucked away gem in the north loop. Outstanding patio in summer.
On a side note — owners are connected with 45^th parallel distillery in New Richmond, wi. Some great locally sourced libations not of the grape category.
Sound to good to be true — it is to me, but you be your own critic.

Another gem of the North Loop, Toast is perfectly nestled on a small side-​street for an intimate date/​wine night. I recently walked here for a wine night with one of my best friends, and we both adored Toast.
The café itself is nestled a little below street level, allowing room for a small patio. Since there is a short window where patio seating is bearable, we opted for an outdoor table and split a bottle of their Malbec. I had already eaten but my friend ordered one of their pizzas and said it was great. Our server was attentive and very funny.
My favorite part about the patio, aside from the trees and string lights, was the fact that they allow dogs. There sadly weren’t any when we were there, but there were little water bowls all around. Cannot wait to go back many, many times.

We loved toast
We were actually early to a dinner reservation close by so ran in here just as a rain storm was brewing.
I can’t review the food here because we only came by for drinks but just e wine and the atmosphere scores this top points for me.
Scott (one of the owners maybe) was awesome and chatted to us about the vino as we drank, recommending different types and even offering us samples of some more unusual vintages/​flavours!
Toast is located in a cool area of downtown. by all the new trendy warehouse apartments and it’s cozy and romantic. While we were there they had various wedding parties coming in so such a great atmosphere.
They have some more unusual wines and the customer service totally won it for me

Toast is a cozy little wine bar tucked into the North Loop area of downtown Minneapolis. I’ve been to Toast on quite a few occasions over the years but have been going more frequently recently. Why? Let’s talk about that.
They allow ½ glass wine orders, which I take advantage of to to make a custom wine flight. I love trying new wines and this is a great option for those who enjoy a good tasting. But Toast isn’t just one and done. In addition to a nice variety of wine, they have some really good food.
At least half of their menu items include cheese. Toast, you have my attention! There is even a section devoted to burrata. And I’m telling you now my friends, this is some very delicious burrata. Not a mozzarella fan? No problem. Create your own custom cheese plate by choosing from their large selection of soft and hard cheeses. Or order a few of their tasty crostinis (Taleggio with caramelized onions is a personal fav). If you want something a little more substantial, you really need to try their crispy thin crust pizzas. That crunchy crust is topped with unique ingredients like BBQ pork with green onions and provolone. Yum.
Toast is the perfect stop before a night at Acme Comedy club or for an after work beverage. Check it out.