Cafe Latte

A cake case, a cafeteria line and a wine bar

Three operations share one Saint Paul room at Cafe Latte, and the cake case is the one people come for. The bakery runs fresh daily rather than to a fixed catalogue. Baking happens daily and covers cakes, tortes, tarts, cupcakes, fresh baked breads and scones, made without artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. The cakes carry the reputation: vanilla cheesecake, turtle cake, German chocolate cake, raspberry cream torte, banana cake, flourless chocolate cake, vanilla tres leches and buttercream cupcakes are the ones named most often. Behind the bakery counter runs a cafeteria line of soups, salads and sandwiches, and at the back of the room a pizza and wine bar takes over later in the day.

Grab a tray, then decide how far to go

The service model explains the place. Guests take a tray and move along the line, watching food finished in front of them, which makes the experience counter-driven rather than table-served and keeps a large room moving. Seating is expansive and the atmosphere is lively, sometimes loud, with live music adding to it. The scale is unusual for a bakery cafe, and the cafeteria format is what makes it workable. The wine side is more serious than the format suggests, with more than thirty wines by the glass at the rear bar. That structure gives the cafe a natural progression: pastries and cakes for a bakery visit, soups and salads for a fuller meal, then pizza and a glass of wine. The room changes character through the day rather than doing one thing well and the rest badly.

Start at the cake case

If dessert is the reason for the visit, the turtle cake and the vanilla cheesecake are the two to start with, and the German chocolate cake, raspberry cream torte, banana cake, flourless chocolate cake and vanilla tres leches all have their constituencies. Buttercream cupcakes are the smallest way in, and cakes can be ordered whole when the occasion calls for it. For savory ordering, the cafeteria line covers soups, salads and sandwiches, and the back bar adds pizza for a more social stop. The operation also extends past walk-in dining into catering, weddings, celebration cakes and a private event space called Tres, along with a regular music and events programme.