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Bordertown Coffee
Categories: Food Coffee & Tea Food Bakeries Coffee & Tea, Bakeries [Edit]
315 16th Ave SEMinneapolis, MN 55414
Neighborhood: University
(612) 379-7277
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 7 am - 10 pm
Fri 7 am - 8 pm
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage, Street
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
13 reviews for Bordertown Coffee
13 reviews in English
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Review from Carrie W.
2/23/2012 4 Check-ins Here
This is a haven for all Caribou and Starbucks haters!
Fresh homemade baked goods. Friendly non-robotic baristas. Quiet. Warm. NOT Starbucks. Non-corporate chosen music. Close to campus.
I am always happy when I leave with a cup of Border Town in my hands.
Favorite coffee shop within a mile radius of UofM.
End of review. -
Review from K. P.
Seattle, WA
4/9/2012
The thing I missed the most in moving from the Pacific Northwest to Minneapolis was the cafe scene. But, Bordertown is awesome! The baristas are chill, the music is cool and never overpoweringly loud, the pastries are DELICIOUS, and they even make a good sandwich. It's a great place to work with your laptop (the internet connection is fast and very reliable), plus they have couches and a separate room that groups can book for meetings.
It's hard to see on a whole-number system, but I have actually awarded only 4.5 stars.
The deduction of .5 of a star is for:
1. Not being open on weekends. Do you know what I did on Saturdays, people? I cried. I went to every coffee shop in Dinkytown looking for a suitable replacement, and I cried. By Sundays I'd learned my lesson and stayed home. -
Review from Stephanie R.
Minneapolis, MN
3/15/2011
After betting with Sara W, we discovered that this place does, in fact, exist. At first look, it appears that this place is simply a creepy "open" sign in some fratboy's bedroom! And it is actually a former frat...turned into a coffee shop! Although it used to be a frat, it does not smell like stale beer and dirty boys. (Which is a good thing!)
This is probably the coziest coffee shop around Dinkytown! A little less well-known, with the home-y atmosphere that many area cafes seem to lack. There are comfy chairs, high-top tables, and individual tables with plenty of convenient outlets. Also, with a group of 4 or more, you can reserve their conference-esque room for free! (Except during the lunch hour). Perfect for working on a group project!
I ordered their Cold Press Mocha (made with espresso instead of coffee) and it was delicious!! Next time I am definitely ordering one of the baked goods or quiches that are made in-house. They looked scrumptious!Listed in: Caffeine Fiend, A Dinky Little Town
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Review from Corey S.
Madison, WI
11/15/2010
Bordertown is by far my favorite coffee shop on campus. The music is amazing. So far tonight I've heard Sufjan Stevens, The Shins, Beatles, and even some Johanna Newsom.
The Chai is pretty darn good as well. The people here are mostly university students - and it's really quiet. The staff that I've dealth with are amazing and very friendly.
I think most of the profits go towards charity, which is pretty cool too ;) -
Review from Kedar D.
7/23/2009
Bordertown is an easy-to-miss little coffee shop located inside a beautiful old frat house on a quiet side street. I stopped by for a cup of tea and a vegan cookie and was quite pleased.
For one thing, the place offers a variety of loose leaf teas, which is always a huge point in their favor (I loathe independent coffee shops that pawn off "Stash" or "Republic of Tea" prepackaged bags, which is a cheap and mediocre way to do things). They also have extensive coffee/latte offerings.
I also had a vegan chocolate chip cookie ($1.50) which was excellent: this was definitely one of the best vegan cookies I've had in the Twin Cities, beating out anything you'd find at The Wedge, Hard Times, or Seward Co-op (however, Common Roots and Seward Cafe do make excellent cookies, albeit with different styles).
Bordertown's cookie (which was also their only vegan offering) is moist, sweet and substantial in texture and heaviness.
I went back a few days later and had a double chocolate chip cookie with fresh almonds ($2) that was also amazing: rich, soft and fresh.
However, the place's hours are troublesome and the main room was a bit too bleak for my likes. The chairs and tables weren't very comfortable or cozy and the noise level is too quiet (mostly because the acoustics of the room amplify even whispers). This might be a good place to study, but not to chit-chat or hang-out. -
Review from caitlin n.
Hackensack, MN
5/14/2010
I do occasionally partake in this place though I do not feel at all comfortable supporting a religious (Christian) organization. Read more about the KPA "missional" fraternity the shop is based out of: http://www.cjxa.org/kp...
Why does it matter, I guess?...They serve good coffee and excellent cookies.
I went in there today (Friday) unknowingly without money--before I could order I was told that I could return on Monday to pay, that they're "that kind of coffee shop." Hell no, there is no kind of coffee shop like that! Awesome sauce.Comment from Stephen M. of Bordertown Coffee 5/10/2011
Thanks for the great review Caitlin! Just to correct any… More » -
Review from Darshy N.
2/3/2010
Bordertown Coffee is a non-profit coffee shop located on the University of Minnesota campus in Dinkytown in an old fraternity house, Bordertown has a unique, warm setting with excellent drinks, baked goods, and food items.
Go to Bordertown Coffee and get there early for the fresh baked goods! Try the Maple scones and delicious banana bread!
The coffee is made with Fair Trade Organic Espresso as well as Fair Trade brewed coffee. -
Review from Christy G.
Minneapolis, MN
7/11/2011
This is where I go to get work done. Many of the coffee shops around campus are crowded and loud, but that's not the case at Bordertown. The coffee is tasty and the baked goods are absolutely divine. My only wish is that they stayed open later.
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Review from Jamie T.
Oakland, CA
2/18/2010
This is a cozy little coffeehouse on the campus of the University of Minnesota. It's a non-profit with a cool, co-op vibe, contained in a re-purposed fraternity house. There's a nice fireplace, which adds to the homey atmosphere.
It's conveniently located near Rapson Hall, where all the landscape architecture and architecture students live ... I mean, study and go to class and occasionally sleep ... so Bordertown was on heavy rotation as a caffeine-refueling station during my grad school years.
The Fair Trade coffee and espresso are good, and the scones are yummy and buttery. Good soups too. A perfect place to spend some time in the dead of winter for reading, writing, or quietly chatting with friends or professors. -
Review from D. L.
Minneapolis, MN
8/21/2010
Bordertown is lovely, quiet coffee shop tucked away on University Avenue and it's one of my favorite study spots on campus. A lot of the patrons here are getting down to serious business with their books and papers so it does have a hushed atmosphere that is conducive to studying but that doesn't mean it's not also a good place to kick back with a friend or two.
It's a little pocket of calmness that feels shielded from the hustle and bustle of campus and the food and drink here ranges from good to great. It's easy to run on less-than-stellar food at the U because the choice is often between taking the time (and spending the money) to sit down for some decent food or wolfing down something fast and cheap. I feel like Bordertown bridges that gap.
The soups and sandwiches are decidedly quick, fresh, and tasty (although I was sad when they stopped using Rustica bread). And I really appreciate that they think about tea drinkers just as much as coffee drinkers here. They offer a variety of loose leaf teas by the cup or pot. But the baked goods are the stars here. Is Sara still the on-site baker? Because she's wonderful! She came on when they first opened and her penchant for homey, comforting treats in generous portions means irresistible slices, nay, hunks of chocolate loaf cake, superb cookies, flavorful scones, and sometimes, fancier items like a tart or a pudding of some sort. Everything is very reasonably priced too and in fact, a few of the baked goods are serious deals for what you get. You can get your food and drink to go, they're quick about it. Or hunker down and get some work down while you're recharging. Or hang out and catch up with a friend over lunch or coffee and dessert. Bordertown is good for all of it.
p.s. - Yes, I think there can be a quasi-religious vibe sometimes but not in an intrusive way. Plus, I don't really care and don't really notice. I just want to eat cakes and cookies. -
Review from Judd S.
New York, NY
1/26/2010
Points for cozy old frat house living room setup without the fratty people. Great old beamed ceiling and terrazzo flooring. The coffee, meh, just average. You probably can't do better in Dinkytown, but plenty of other TC places blow them away. Points off, however, for the mediocre baked goods (they are made in house, but too sugary and kept cold in a fridge case -- why??). I also do not recommend for food - most people were not eating here and they do not seem set up for a big food operation. Soups are "from US Foodservice - like SYSCO," I was fearlessly told. Try at your own risk.
Comment from Stephen M. of Bordertown Coffee 5/10/2011
All of our soups come from a local family owned place (just… More » -
Review from Angela P.
Boulder, CO
10/27/2009
Good food, good coffee. I love the atmosphere and the peole who run the place are great and have a cool story, worth checking out at their website. Have a couple of chairs and a couch that are super comfy, along with a bunch of chairs and tables. It is a great study coffee location...just quiet enough, and a sit-down-and-stay-awhile ambiance. A star taken off for their hours...I wish they were open later, but there are plenty of other places to go for late night coffee and studying.
Listed in: My Neighborhood, We like to study
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Review from Nikki B.
Saint Paul, MN
10/3/2009
This place is definately easy to miss. Located off of University Ave., on a little side street across from the U of M. Some parking in the front. Coffee shop is located in an old house. There are two rooms that you can go hand out in/study/talk. It was pretty quiet in there and it looked like people were studying or looking at their laptops. Probably students from the U - you think? :) I ordered the Caramel Bisou - very tasty:) They had a lot of vegan options, soups, sandwiches, cookies, muffins. Person behind me ordered the broccoli cheese soup and it looked pretty good. Would stop by again.
