Looking Inside the Most Exciting Lakeside Dining of the Season

Restaurateur Matty O’Reilly and chef JD Fratzke have restaurants operating all over the Twin Cities. Each possesses its own vibe: the exhaustive beer lists of Republic, the chill by-the-water good times of Red River Kitchen City House, family-friendly pizza at Delicata, Provincial tavern-style of Bar Brigade and the budding newest, Spring Cafe.

The optimistically named restaurant opened the same weekend an historic blizzard struck the Twin Cities. It’s a good thing that the restaurant located in the Como Lakeside Pavillion has year-round facilities in addition to the seating that overlooks the still-freezing cold water.

The restaurant is open daily from 11 am to 9 pm serving a menu that’s a mix of portable sandwiches and salads with sit down options like nachos, brisket or walleye dinners and a selection of desserts. Spring Cafe also has a full bar with $10 cocktails like a Como Libre, hoppy cola mixed with rum.

Katie Cannon/Eater Twin Cities

The cafe space inside the Como Lakeside Pavillion underwent a major renovation in 2015 when the previous tennant, Como Dockside opened inside the historic building. Como Dockside closed late last year and the park board, who oversees the building quickly selected O’Reilly as the next cafe operator.

Katie Cannon/Eater Twin Cities

Spring Cafe joins a handful of other park concessions that have a similar set up, like Minnehaha Park’s Sea Salt and Lake Nokomis’ Sandcastle.

Katie Cannon/Eater Twin Cities

Along with the indoor, fully cozy, seating, there are benches and tables outside of Spring Cafe that afford lake views. Below the cafe there are kayak and paddleboat rentals for a little post-nacho activity.

Katie Cannon/Eater Twin Cities

Katie Cannon/Eater Twin Cities

Katie Cannon/Eater Twin Cities

• The Receipt: How Much Money Minneapolis Makes on Park Restaurants [MNMO]
• All Spring Cafe Coverage [ETC]
• The Most Anticipated Spring Openings of 2018 [ETC]