128 Cafe

05/19/08

Great wine, apps, and dessert

by Foodie315

I went to the 128 for a birthday celebration about a month ago. The food and atmosphere was fantastic. The interior is cozy, quaint, and comfortable. The rissotto was delicious, as was the goat cheese and chutney platter with baked garlic clove--never had anything like that, excellent pairings and wonderful flavor. The hostess and server were younger, presumably college goers at UST--they could have been a bit more on top of things as we were left for extended periods of time. but the apps, wine, and their ribs more than made up for it.

• Pros: The food and their wonderful flavor combinations--truly a place for those who have a more refined palate.
• Cons: Pricey, difficult to park with all the permit-only restrictions.

01/14/08

Not as Good as Expected

by earl2

I had been meaning to get to 128 Cafe for years and finally made it. It really was not as good as I had anticipated. The food and service were okay...but my fish way too under-cooked, and when I asked them to take it back, they first said that it's supposed to be that way - and when I asked them to do it anyway, they barely cooked it much more. I also placed a take-out order, and realized after I left the restaurant that it was a fraction of the portion that my friend was served for her meal. The portion looked more like someones leftovers, but still cost $18. Although small, it was tasty. Won't return anytime soon.

02/15/07

Very good food, not very good service

by rtarrago

My wife and I went on Valentine's Day. They had a fixed price 4 course menu. We were seated within 5 minutes. We waited 5 minutes for our server. When we told her we'd like to look at the wine list, she showed us where it was and then we didn't see her for 15 minutes. When she came back, I asked her if she had a choice between the Tempranillo/Merlot blend or the Pinot Noir, which would she choose. She looked at us blankly and said, "uhh, those are really different wines." The entire night the service was excruciatingly slow. For the 4 course meal, we were there almost 3 hours. All of the tables around us experienced the same thing...some left without dessert even though they had already paid for it. The food was mostly very good. The pizza appetizer was cooked perfectly and very flavorful. The Caesar salad was VERY average. Just some romaine on a little plate with some croutons..no garnish whatsoever. My pork tenderloin was very good and perfectly cooked. My wife's was ordered medium but came out rare to medium rare. Dessert was excellent. I'd highly recommend any of the Izzy's ice cream selections. The atmosphere was cozy but crowded...the people next to us could barely take off their coats without us moving out of the way. So overall, pretty good food the such bad service that we probably won't go back very soon...too many other choices in the Twin Cities with comparable or better food and definitely better service.

• Pros: Good food, romantic
• Cons: Terrible service