The Bottom Line
- Always something new to try on the menu
- Big windows make it bright, sunny and perfect for people watching
- Tables a little too close together
Description
- 518 Selby Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55102 - Telephone 651-287-0112
- Plenty of on-street parking available outside.
Guide Review - Restaurant
The Bon Vie cafe is small, a rectangle with one corner occupied by the kitchen, and the other by an espresso bar. The walls are sophisticated, bright colors, and the large picture windows fill the cafe with light and provide excellent people-watching opportunities. In the summer, sidewalk tables outside are a fine place to have a coffee or a meal.
It's popular, but not excessively so, there isn't usually a wait for a table like at some popular breakfast spots. The staff are friendly and the service is fast.
The menu changes completely twice a week. Great for those who like to try different things but annoying if you have the most divine sandwich one day and then it's gone. They do have a certain style, so if you like what they do you'll be happy even though there's never exactly the same thing twice.
Food is breakfast items, and soups, sandwiches and quiches, and luscious deserts from A Piece of Cake, the bakery across the road, Bon View Cafe's sister business.
Because it's small, the tables do feel a little squeezed in. But this is a breakfast spot, and the more people tables, the less likely customers will have to wait. And there are benefits. Last time I visited, the people behind me were having a conversation about a Very Famous Person who they had met when she recently visted Minneapolis, which was very interesting.
Life is good at the Bon Vie Cafe.
