4 Eclectic Minneapolis coffee shops to soothe the winter blues
**(2024 UPDATE: Cafe Ceres recently exposed their business’ anti-Palestinian stance. The workers at Cafe Ceres were told to not wear Palestinian flag pins. The workers announced their move to form a union, as of June 18th, 2024. I am pro-union and I am anti-genocide, and I hope the staff demands for a fair workplace are met, but at this time I no longer drink coffee from Cafe Ceres. Thank you for reading this update.)
My motivation dwindles once we’re about 1 week into January. Everyone’s busy improving their overall quality of life via resolutions. Meanwhile, I’m usually in a slump just wishing for a sudden burst of creativity or inspiration. After spending 2 years of the pandemic in my tiny Minneapolis apartment(and redecorating too many times), I realized my environment heavily affects my mood and creativity.
Sometimes I forget I even live in a city, because I’m not exploring it anymore. This is why I now routinely go on walks to local coffee shops–to give myself a sharp reminder of how unique my local surroundings actually are. Through my Minneapolis coffee ritual, I’ve found some gem coffee shops, and I want to share some here. SOME, because I could go on forever naming my favorite Twin Cities coffee shops (but maybe I can make this into a quarterly recurring blog series).
I originally wrote this back in December, but I didn’t feel comfortable posting it then due to Covid and the holidays. I thought, “hopefully someday soon, we can go back to sitting in these cafés, using big mugs adorned with latte art,” because, ugh… I dream of the good old days when I’d be clacking away on my macbook in a coffee shop being the world’s biggest cliché.
(Now that the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have enforced a vaccination mandate for indoor dining, I finally feel comfortable sharing these places, because it’s safer now to be indoors with the mandate.)
The cafés on my list have character and eclectic style, so let these spaces give you a small glimmer of joy or inspiration–at the most… and at the least, I hope they give you warmed hands. Like many, I can’t wait to spend my time sitting in coffeeshops again. Until then, here are the 4 eclectic Minneapolis coffee shops perfect for curing your winter blues or your creative slumps.
Misfit Coffee
Occasion: wearing your coolest thrifted outfit
I walk to Misfit Coffee regularly for the great menu of coffee and tea drinks. I also love that in the evening they convert to a cocktail lounge! Its great place to get a drink–any drink! The bauhaus color palette with Hansa Yellow cups are already a great imagery, but the 80’s/90’s troll dolls and Japanese lanterns make this space entirely unique.
My order: A mocha (to-go)
Café Cerés:
when you want to pretend you’re somewhere warmer
I have seen this coffee shop on instagram at least a billion times. I know it seems like an exaggeration, but I am dead serious. I knew I had to go and see the hype, and honestly, it's gorgeous. It's made in an old auto body shop for cars. And it made a really creative use of the space, with a bright aesthetic upstairs, and more seating in a basement level with a skylight from the main floor.
When I imagine being in Paris, I think of this place… but in a way, it also gives off a very “LA” vibe, with the raw sanded wood tables and the wicker chairs. So basically f you want to feel like you’re NOT in Minnesota this winter, go to Café Cerés.
My order: Mocha and a croissant
Dogwood Northeast
When you want a cool latte photo for instagram
I used to go to the uptown MPLS Dogwood Coffee regularly because I worked in the area, and I loved the overall aesthetic. It wasn’t until I was without Dogwood that I started searching for where to get it. I found the Dogwood NE location with an old friend, and it wasn’t allowing seating at the time. It was such a gorgeous spot that I knew I would have to go back in the future.
There are modern seating areas, pods for doing work, a ping pong table room, and a mural that spreads across the most visible wall. Dogwood Northeast is a great place to make your life a work of art.
Go to Drink: Oatmilk Mocha for the latte art, and a coldbrew with a splash of cream in the warm months
Canteen
For feeling like the main character of an indie film
I grew up in Minneapolis until I was about 11, and when I think of a Minneapolis summer, I imagine the lively residential offstreets with warm pavement and overflowing greenery. On a hot summer day, you can hear sounds of cars echoing in the distance while trotting down a semi-crooked sidewalk leading to this coffeeshop. If you pass by Bryant park, the community will likely playing outside, regardless of whether its a humid summer day, or a brisk -10 in January.
Canteen transports me to the feeling of an old Minneapolis Summer. South of Lake Street, this coffee shop carries the energy of the city, how I remember it being on a day in the early 2000s, walking around uptown with my mom. I go here year-round to capture that summer feeling. The intersection of 33rd and Bryant is quiet, yet busy. The inside is energizing, yet zen. And it definitely gives off a Juno or Moonrise Kingdom vibe.
My go-to drink: The Canteen Girl (Coldbrew, vanilla, half & half)
If you got to the end, give this a like at the bottom of the page or comment your coffee shop recommendations! (from anywhere in the world, not just the Twin Cities)
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