December 9, 2011
I am sad to hear that this fantastic little bistro is going to be headed off into the sunset. Their food is pretty decent, and at a reasonable price. I love the old wood and firehouse features the place has, and I would love to spend another summer evening on their patio. Obviously, their Surly selection is good, and so I give them a bump on that, otherwise I might have rated it a bit lower.

December 5, 2011
Visited for lunch on a Friday. Modern cafe in the shopping area of a great neighborhood. Interior design was clean and bright, warm and welcoming. Service was friendly and attentive. I like the surly only draft list (Darkness and Damien were on when I visited) and the bottle selections are solid as well. I had the ham sandwich, which was really good - great pepper spice to it. Overall, I was very comfortable here; this would be a great local, and for out of towners, worth the visit for special surly drafts.

July 21, 2011
Another great spot in Linden Hills - from the location, to the great wait staff, to the tie to Surly, cool little vibe, great food, and nice selection of beers - can’t go wrong here.

December 21, 2010
I decided to head over to Cafe 28 for brunch last Sunday. As I entered I noticed how clean the place was, which is always a plus. I enjoyed the Huevo Rancheros, which is an item I order every chance I get, and this was a great example. It was nice to see that they use some local ingredients in their food. The selection of beer was awesome for a place this size. A great chance to try the newest Surly stuff is the icing on the cake. Plus the coffee was excellent as well. I will return, truly a great place.

March 15, 2010
After about 15 minutes of winding through downtown and back-and-forth through some really old (and presumably historic & pricey) houses I find Cafe 28. Parking was a bitch, even on a Thursday evening. All was soon forgotten when I entered a very nicely renovated craftsman style cafe. Good menu, chicken verde tacos were delightful, and a small, but solid tap lineup. I came for the Surly Four, but I would gladly come back again. Friendly service, proper glassware, and a nice atmosphere. A little pricey at the end.

July 15, 2008
An absurdly charming cafe in one of the twin cities’ most lovable neighborhoods. Surly on draft, and a careful variety of styles available in bottles. A small but very well chosen selection. Menu choices focused on local and fresh, leaning toward midwestern comfort foods done with style, quite similar to St. Paul’s exemplary Heartland restaurant, but far more affordable. A real gem of a place. An altogether streamlined presentation of ambience, service and food that maintains a quaintness and relaxed aura that’s perfect for passing the time on a weekend afternoon.

April 25, 2008
Well, I had a little time to waste before a piano playing job at the Edina CC, so I invited a couple of coworker beer geeks here to sample 2007 Darkness. The place is definitely cafe, and you would not know this place has great beer, other than by the fact it is co-owned by Todd Haug, master brewer at Surly. The food was surprisingly good, and the waitress was very knowlegable about beer, which was pretty cool. All in all, a pretty nice place, although I could see with the small size of this needing reservations at certain times of the day.

February 3, 2008
Nice location in the very charming Linden Hills neighborhood. The restaurant is in an old fire station and they carry some of the motif to a tasteful extent. Otherwise it is a really nice setting where you find great food and three taps – Furious, Bender, and the limited release. When there, I found it to be Two (see rating). I had the breakfast burrito off the brunch menu, which was very good – not your standard burrito, with black beans, real cheese, moist scrambled eggs, and homemade mild salsa. The waitress was very nice and a fan of the Two also. Service is great. This is good to get to try Surly tap only releases in a nice atmosphere and great food.

November 20, 2007
Nice calm atmosphere for dinner or casual conversation with friends. I got Darkness here so nothing else reallly mattered that much, but I would definitely go back anytime. Nice place.

September 14, 2007
2nd time here and I am not dissapointed. The food is different and good. The beer is surly, what else!! It is a remodeled fire station and pays homage to this. Cool place. Too bad they don’t have a nice large tap list like muddy pig. We need that in the west part of the metro.