Vanilla Bean Bakery & Cafe

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Don’t let the name fool you! The Vanilla Bean is way more than great coffee. This is your breakfast, lunch and dinner destination for BIG FLAVOR and GREAT VALUE.

VANILLA BEAN -- sounds cute doesn’t it? Well it is but that "cute coffee shoppe name" was chosen for a bakery before we even had a location. When we found the perfect building to start our locally-owned family business it had two front doors with one half already set up as a cafe, so we decided to give THAT a try, too! We opened both front doors in May 1998. A business like this has a way of taking on a life of its own and in our case the bakery’s viability faded away while the cafe grew year by year through word-of-mouth. Folks would stop for coffee and a sweet only to "discover" the BEST full service restaurant for miles around, and then return time and time again often bringing friends along. Our loyal visitors describe us as "the best kept secret on the North Shore."
While we struggle every day against the “cute” coffee shoppe name we continue to build our reputation for BIG Flavor and GREAT Value. The Vanilla Bean is WAY MORE than great coffee. And we are proud to say that our friendly servers and accommodating kitchen staff are the truly the best you'll find anywhere.
We are open every day, year around, with breakfast served from 7:00 - 11:30 AM. Dinner begins at 5:00 PM Friday and Saturday night year around and every night from Memorial Day - Labor Day. Call for current hours. Closed only on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

We’re frequently asked, “What’s the most popular menu item?”
Oh my gosh, how do we pick just one?! Everyone LOVES our huge Oven Baked Omelets for breakfast and our Cranberry Club Sandwich is a lunchtime favorite. Our Pan-Fried Walleye has been a number one lunch and dinner choice since the day we opened! If you want experience the true flavor of fresh, pan-fried Lake Superior herring, this is your stop. We received the "Minnesota Monthly Critics Award" for our delicious made-from-scratch soups. We use Minnesota grown produce as often as seasons allow and about 1/3 of our menu is vegetarian.

Our most popular dessert is our Caramel Pecan Bread Pudding. It began as a way to use our leftover sweet rolls and became so popular that we now bake off pans of cinnamon/caramel pecan rolls just to make that dessert. The rolls are broken up and baked in a sweet creamy egg custard. To serve we top each warmed piece with our own homemade burnt sugar caramel sauce and whipped cream. Yum!
Paul and Jan Bergman and the entire Vanilla Bean crew invite you to stop by soon to Experience the Flavor!