Location
3753 42nd Ave. S., Minneapolis
GOOGLE MAP • YELP • WEBSITE
Hours
Mon-Wed: 6:30am-10pm
Thu: 6:30am-10:30pm
Fri: 6:30am-11pm
Sat: 7:00am-11pm
Sun: 7:30am-8pm
Ratings
| Location: | ★★★★ |
| Atmosphere: | ★★★ |
| Coffee: | ★★ |
| Food: | ★★★ |
| Service: | ★★★ |
| Vibe: | ★★★ |
| Overall: | ★★★ |
Pros
Great location; dedicated kids’ play area.
Cons
Subpar coffee and premade sandwiches; spotty WiFi; dedicated kids’ play area.
Review
It pains me to have to write this review. Mainly because I already wrote a review of this place earlier today, but through my own ineptitude that is gone. But circumstances have brought me back to the Riverview this afternoon, and I’ve decided to give it another chance.
That works to the Riverview’s advantage. My earlier review was based only on the adequate but not amazing croissant I ordered for breakfast, along with my previous memories of eating soggy premade sandwiches here. This afternoon I broke out of my mold and tried their corn and green chile bisque, which was excellent… enough so to justify an extra star for their food and a half-star bump in my overall rating.
Sadly I don’t have it in me to recreate in full splendor the amazingly well-crafted review I produced this morning. So I’ll just sum it up in PowerPoint-esque bullet points:
- Bad lighting; simultaneously too dark and too bright. Not sure how that’s even possible, but they’ve done it.
- The kids’ play area, while well-done and seemingly a great benefit, somehow manages to detract from the experience, whether or not you come here with kids.
- Great location; proximity to the Riverview Theater and the attached wine bar makes this a great place to hang out, though not necessarily a great place to work.
- I’ve never liked their coffee, yet despite my numerous criticisms, I still kind of like this place and find myself coming back again and again… even in the same day.
- If you’re trying to get anything done, bring headphones.
Mac-to-PC ratio: 3 Macs, 1 PC.
And thanks once again to the magic of Google, my original review has emerged in their cache. Here it is. I should note that my newer review (above) reflects a half-star overall rating increase based on the bisque, which I really enjoyed.
This is another one that I really wish I liked more than I do. The main thing it has going for it is undoubtedly its location: diagonally across from the Riverview Theater, attached to a wine bar, convenient to both Minneapolitans via Hiawatha Ave. to 38th St. and St. Paulites via the Ford Bridge to 42nd Ave.
Unfortunately both the quality of the coffee and food, and the love-it-or-hate-it (even if you have kids) kids’ play area, contribute to making the experience less than wholly satisfying when you get here. It’s a matter of taste, naturally, but I have always found the Riverview’s coffees to be too bitter. And the food options — soggy, premade sandwiches wrapped in plastic; a limited assortment of baked goods — are among the weakest of any of the area’s independent coffeehouses. I think part of the reason they do the food the way they do is that, although the place is usually busy enough to warrant having two on-duty baristas, I have never seen more than one working at a time. And although they’re usually good at what they do — attentive, hard-working, friendly — long waits in line are an all-too-frequent occurrence.
Maybe I need to come here in the late afternoon, when the west-facing front windows bring in the most natural light, but in the morning and noontime, the front seating area always feels slightly cold and gloomy, ensconced in shadows while cars passing by reflect blinding sunlight, and the rest of the place is lit with halogen lamps that manage to be both inadequate and unpleasantly harsh. There’s also a more secluded reading area by the back entrance, with bookcases full of second-hand store castoffs and some comfy-looking couches, but it’s usually occupied so I’ve never actually sat there in the dozen or so times I’ve visited.
And then there’s the kids’ play area. The owners have really made a concerted effort to create an enticing and safe environment for kids. It’s an enclosed, elevated space, wrapped in a colorful undersea mural, and loaded with toys. Unfortunately this is often such a draw that, if you have kids, there are too many of them crammed into the space, and if you don’t, well… let’s just say the overall effect is not going to be very conducive to whatever it is you intend to do while you’re here.
In the end, though, I do find myself coming back to the Riverview again and again. Even though I don’t really like the coffee, it’s not bad enough to be a deterrent; I usually plan ahead such that I don’t “need” to eat here; and on miserable winter days when the kids just need to get out of the house but there’s nowhere else to go, it’s a reliable option. The Riverview is not an ideal place to work, but headphones can go a long way to improve the experience. And if you’re just interested in having a place to sit for a while and chill with the beverage of your choice (I’m pretty sure you can bring wine over from next door), especially before or after a movie at the adjacent Riverview Theater, the convenient location of the Riverview Cafe is pretty much all that matters.
Mac-to-PC ratio: 1:1