Location
1662 Grand Ave., St. Paul
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Ratings
| Location: | ★★★★ |
| Atmosphere: | ★★★★ |
| Coffee: | ★★ |
| Food: | N/A |
| Service: | ★★ |
| Vibe: | ★★★ |
| Overall: | ★★★ |
Pros
Great Grand Ave. location in the heart of Macalester-Groveland, lots of seating, funky interior.
Cons
Somewhat slow service, coffee is sub-par.
Review
I’ve driven and/or walked by Coffee News Cafe many times, despite not exactly being a “regular” in the Macalester area. I’m usually in this vicinity to eat at one of my favorite Thai restaurants, Pad Thai, which is just across the street and down the block. This stretch of Grand Ave. is bustling, with a slightly bohemian vibe (it is adjacent to Macalester College, after all), especially compared to the more “uptown” character Grand takes on a couple miles farther east, towards downtown St. Paul.
The interior of Coffee News Cafe is cool — there’s definitely a lot of history at this place. It apparently used to be a diner, and remnants of the old lunch counter remain. There’s a typical indie coffeehouse vibe on top of that, but it’s definitely skewed towards the eclectic and organic, and the usual coffeehouse art-for-sale on the walls would fit in much better at the Walker than at MIA… to the extent that coffeehouse art could be museum-worthy.
I’m focusing a lot of attention on the interior for two reasons: today’s review was somewhat unexpected, and I already partook of my morning ritual of a cappuccino and Clif Bar at Nokomis Beach Coffee — so I’m not eating here, yet — and because the coffee, on its own, is not that impressive. It may be that my Nokomis Beach experience a mere three hours ago has set the bar artificially high, but I suspect that the main draw of Coffee News Cafe is its extensive food menu — and the beer and wine it will be serving later — and not the coffee itself.
To be continued… maybe.
P.S. SLP and I elected to go across the street to Pad Thai for lunch instead of staying at Coffee News Cafe. This was our first trip to Pad Thai at lunchtime, and I highly recommend it. The lunch menu is fast, cheap, and delicious.
