Trotter’s Cafe & Bakery

I went there on Sunday for brunch, I had roasted red potato hash, which was definitely edible and was simply Okay. Hazelnut latte was not hot enough for a hot drink but it tasted good.
I liked how cozy and homey this place was but the food was not all that great. It wasn’t bad either. I’d recommend this place if you’re looking for a spot to eat, not too expensive, edible food but you wouldn’t mind not so stellar meal, go for it. I’ll call this place a nice average place.

Pretty good sunday brunch. A few too many potatoes in the special I had, but overall very well done and good service. We will go back.

Trotter Café has a real good diversity of omlettes and a wide ranging tea selection. This is one of the local restaurant businesses we’re committed to enjoy every once in a while. This was the perfect ambience to relax following a long morning walk while many locals exchanged the stories of the days. It’s great to see familiar faces every time!

We were so hungry, thirsty and tired when we happened upon Trotter’s after a long day at a track meet. The owner was working and she was very friendly. The menu is healthier than your average sandwich/​soup/​salad place and we enjoyed our lunches. I think if I lived in this area I would stop here a lot out of convenience and that I’d be guaranteed an acceptable meal. It wasn’t stellar but it was fine for what we needed.

I really enjoyed this place. The food was excellent, I had the summer pasta salad, and the portions were a good size. The coffee here is delicious and the staff is very nice. It seems like it’s a good place for kids in groups of 2 to 4 people.

Mmmm, nope. 20 bucks for a soft drink and the chicken pasta. My meal was as follows: a half a plate of «organic» noodles with three tiny pieces of poorly prepared, over seasoned, rubbery chicken tossed in. The vegetables in the pasta consisted of a tomato that appeared to have been hacked apart by a nine year old, a couple pieces of flavorless summer squash and an overly ample amount of red onions. Smashed next to my hot, oily pasta was a pile of lettuce (again with the tomato shards) and a giant ramekin of the only kind of salad dressing in the house, a vinaigrette of some sort, which was well balanced and tasty. The grilled bread accompaniment was delicious.
My table marker, used to distinguish one guest from another for food delivery, was a dual sided laminated photograph of two completely different children, one a toddler, one an infant. I just wondered how that works. «The pasta goes to the table with judy’s daughter when she was 16 months at Como park that time, or, if it’s flipped around, it goes to Tom’s middle son, not counting the fourth that his wife is currently pregnant with». Wouldn’t «the pasta goes to 12» be easier? I dunno.
One is to gather their condiments and silverware prior to the meal, and to bus their dishes after. Which would be fine, at a third of the price. WHY did I tip again? The counter attendant was friendly, and this place has potential, but this establishment needs to work out its identity issues, and rethink their format. It dresses like a bistro but it acts like a deli. I’ll be at Longfellow Grill if you need me.

Trotter’s is definitely one of my top favorite restaurants in the Twin Cities! Good-​quality healthy food, friendly staff, and relaxing atmosphere! I’m also very fond of the fact that it doesn’t tend to get very crowded there. The only thing keeping me from giving it five stars is the fact that not all the food there is served all day. For instance, strangely enough, I once wanted and tried to order pancakes there for lunch, and was told that those are only served in the morning for breakfast. That said, I suppose that’s not particularly unusual for restaurants.

So today I wanted to order their pizza. I said, «Hi I’d like to try the half pizza.» The person taking my order then replied with a bit of an attitude, «you can’t ‘try’ the pizza.» Excuse me but I was planning on ordering the friggin pizza not sampling it. I also ordered a coffee which wasn’t given to me and I had to go back to ask for it. Definitely wish I wouldn’t have given them that dollar tip. I won’t be going back.

As a neighborhood gal, I try to support the local places when I can.
But Trotter’s disappoints. It’s expensive ($ 10 breakfast — before coffee) and the food isn’t that good… ok well breakfast isn’t that good. Lunch is better, but still expensive for what you get.
I had the oat pancake today, and it reminded me of fried meal. Tasteless, thick and gooey. It was like warmed glue seasoned with chunky paste.
Furthermore, despite the «organic» garb, there was only fake-​syrup available for sweetening. Really? The butter was the only good part of it.
I was also frustrated with the service. Patrons are served at the table after you place an order, but the server doesn’t provide silverware or napkins, so you have to get up anyway. My feeling is: either call my order «up» and have me self-​serve (including fork, knife, etc.) or deliver the whole shebang.
They get an extra star for their coffee. I would go back for that. And maybe I would return for their Monday night pizza special. But never again for breakfast.

I wanted to like this place – but Trotter’s pretty much sucks.
My wife and I had breakfast. We give them one star for the food and the service, and we reluctantly bump it up to two stars because of their lofty hippie ideals.
We expected good food and an interesting experience at this hippie, organic, recycle everything joint. We WANT to support a local business, eat organic, and recycle. And we’re interested in unconventional businesses. Oh, man, what a disappointment!
First, the entire process is confusing. Where do you order? What can you order? Who do you place your order with? Where do I bus my stuff when I’m done?
Second (and fatally), the food sucks. It’s bland, the portions are small, and it’s expensive.
We would have been better off going to a Perkins for breakfast.
–Daddy Maxx Retro

Love their menu and the variety of their specials. You can almost always find something new to try. The regular items are also awesome. The tempeh Reuben is perhaps the best sandwich in town. They have all around great vegetarian options. The staff is always friendly. They have excellent fresh baked bread and we buy all our bread here thru their discount «loafers club.» They also have amazing pizzas and a great Monday pizza deal. Good beer too. Everything is locally sourced and they even exhibit new local artists with frequency. A truly great establishment. Trotters is a Merriam park institution.

Living outside the Metro area in a town called Rockford, I enjoy making a commute to Trotter’s often (well worth the 50 – 70 minute drive!!)
Service is friendly, food is completely delicious! Very flavorful sandwiches, hearty stews, delightful pasta as well! My favorite is the Thai Sandwich. Definite must-​try!
The only downside is that parking is a bit hard to find on the streets, so I usually park in the small parking lot behind the building which is accessible by an alley.
They also feature local musicians every so often and it is nice to have live music while enjoying your delicious food and soaking in the friendly neighborhood atmosphere.
Again, on an average day I live over an hour away from this restaurant. You know what? I don’t care because this is the bee’s knees!

My dad was visiting and actually picked Trotter’s for breakfast after seeing a write-​up in an in-​flight magazine profiling Twin Cities eats. True to the article, Trotter’s was absolutely delicious! All ingredients fresh and locally sourced = amazing noms. I had the potato mountain, which is what it sounds like: a mountain of breakfast potatoes topped with eggs and the most delicious bell peppers I’ve ever had.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere as well. You can’t get anymore neighborhood-​y than Trotter’s. Small, order at the counter, bus your own table, fair trade Peace blend coffee. It was very cute. It’s a bit out of my way, but I’ve declared it my brunch place of choice from here on out. So say we all.

1.5 stars.
This is not a place to come for entrees.
I truly wonder whether the cooks taste what they make. A beef stew and a noodle dish were truly terrible: bland, fatty beef pieces, squishy pasta.
This is not a place to come for entertainment. My dining partner and I had to suppress laughter listening to a hippie chick singer songwriter wax philosophic. Truly terrible.
This is not a place to come for cake. It is stale and dry.
I can, however, imagine coming here for coffee and to read the paper. Sandwiches are also passable.

This place is the only place within walking distance of the University of St. Thomas that has delicious, healthy food. The potato mountain is particularly delicious and filling. I mean, the name says it all: potato mountain. Literally a mountain of potatoes in my face and down into my belly.
Trotters has a breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, as well as a full café. The coffee is delicious, and often fair trade. There are free refills at the counter, which makes it particularly difficult to leave on a winter’s day.
There is music a couple of nights a week from local artists, as well as local art hanging on the wall.

Was expecting to love this place but the lumpy milk, fishy-​tasting turkey sandwich, and bland asian salad wouldn’t let me. They need to concentrate more on the food as they’ve got the décor down pretty well.
Bright spots: charming, eco-​friendly, and the diet coke tasted fine.

Pleasant, helpful and informative counter service on this visit for dinner. Sampled one of their soup selections and then ordered a bowl of the «Brunswick Stew».
Yum.
A light tomato-​y broth with chunks of potato, bits of bacon, pieces of chicken, corn, and butter beans. Smokey and tasty.
The bread stick served alongside was o.k.
Walking into the place felt eerie because it was so quiet. An interesting and welcome change from so many places whose music is blaring so loud you cannot hear anything else.

Avoid the food. Boring and overcooked.
There is a parking lot behind the dry cleaners that you can use, which is nice considering that there isn’t any street parking.
But the coffee is fantastic. And the cookies and bakery are pretty darn good.
If I was rating it for just a coffee shop it would get four stars, and as a restaurant two.
Apparently, it is better if you like vegan and gluten free food, but since that all tastes like grass clippings and paste to me, I will leave that to other people to discuss.

This place is quite charming. Good food, reasonable prices, order at the counter.
It’s a great neighborhood restaurant — they offer discounts on your meal for living nearby and/​or biking there.
The night I was there, kids were dancing to live music and it never seems to get too busy. This would be a great place to bring your kids.

I like to get takeout here for dinner, as it’s much healthier than other local options. With the African sweet potato stew in hand, I feel like I’ll eat like a king at my desk. The Tuscany chicken is also good, if starch-​heavy. Their dinner selections do tend to lean toward the starches in general, with mostly sandwiches as alternatives. I’ve had the buffalo burger, which was as good as any I’ve had elsewhere. The vegetarian 232 Grilled Focaccia is a winner. Hot grilled veggies with fresh sprouts and cheese, and very satisfying.
The bakery seems to be hit or miss. I had an E-​bar cookie once, and was disappointed. The bar kind of crumbled, and didn’t provide me with the energy boost that I was expecting. But the molasses cookies are good.
It’s a fun and cozy place to hang out and linger over tea with a friend. I feel great eating local there. I wouldn’t drive out of my way to go, but It’s solidly good and worth stopping by if you are in the area.