Avant Garden

Food and Coffee is good. Was my first time here and they didn’t get my order right.

A great gem in downtown Anoka. I’ve been here several times now and the people working are sweet. They also make a great cup of coffee! Open Mic on Thursdays too, very cool.

This is a 5 star coffee bar with a caveat. You MUST appreciate local flavor to love this shop as much as it deserves. Comfortable and very laid back with outstanding brews. Avant Garden has a wonderful mix of people in and out all day. I use this place as an escape to write and always find a nice distraction in a conversation with someone new.
The one issue I have encountered here would be outlets; difficult to find for plugging in laptops or devices. Make certain you are fully charged if planning on working.
Try the Spiced Chai. Outstanding.

I love this place. I stumbled across this café while trying to stay warm one brutal winter. I got hooked immediately. The atmosphere is amazing and the majority of baristas are awesome, as good as they get. I haven’t gone to a Starbucks or Caribou willingly since I discovered Avant Garden.
If you want good coffee that isn’t watered down at a great price in an old-​fashioned kind of feel, this is the place.

The coffee is week and they pay loud house music Sunday mornings… really??? Why? The wifi is über slow. The Panini are good.

Great ambiance, good tea selection. The mochas are ¹⁰⁄₁₀. Their seating in the back outside is one of their hidden gems.

I like Avant. It’s a quirky kind of old-​school coffee joint. They have delicious sandwiches and salads. The coffee is excellent as well. BUT… the service is just ugh. Maybe it’s the time of day I go, or maybe I lived and worked the city too long. But it just annoys me often when I go in here over my lunch hour and have to wait soooooo long to get a sandwich or a coffee. On today’s visit, which prompted me to write this review, I asked the girl if they had an offering on the menu that was QUICK. I wanted something quick because I was very short on time. I thought she could have figured that out. She suggested a sandwich, so I ordered that. Then I proceeded to stand there for ten long minutes. I finally said, «How long will it be for that quick sandwich?» to which she replied, «After the ones on the grill are done.» I said, «Just give me the sandwich.» And she said, «It’s not cooked yet and there’s two finishing on the grill.» I insisted on just taking the darn thing because I literally had five minutes to gobble the thing down on the way back to my office at this point. It was a measly little pile of canned chicken salad on white bread that was spread with unmelted butter. Ugh. Too bad Avant. Your potential is there if you hire girl or guys who are not clueless.

I love this little coffee spot! It’s got great atmosphere and the service is wonderful.

It’s a perfect little coffee shop!

Great spot. Lots of character. Interesting people. Sweet study area. Their Consenza panini was delicious. Their Casselli panini was kinda meh. I also have tried their mango smoothie but it didn’t taste like mango. I also tried a cremosa with passion fruit. Not bad. I should probably get coffee at some point. Typically the service is great and the girls that work behind the counter are very pleasant…
However, my most recent visit, the young woman working was a little stressed out. We were waiting for about 15 – 20 mns for our panini so I asked, and she said, «it’s coming, hun. I’m all by myself here.» I felt a little taken back since she sounded a little exasperated, but that Consenza made up for it. So good. The place was also fairly packed for a Monday afternoon… Still weird they didn’t have at least another barista on board. Will be back here several more times

Having just landed in Minneapolis from Paris known as the home of fine cuisine & food culture, it was a treat to stumble upon this gem of a café on the outskirts of Minneapolis. The «Espresso» sign hanging outside was a sight for caffeine-​deprived sore eyes. It’s hard enough as it is to find great espresso (made the authentic way) & other lactose-​free options like soy as well as wholesome gluten free options in the way of sandwiches and paninis & great customer service which didn’t make you feel like you were lesser than the ordinary customer — just because you had allergies! :) The ladies behind the counter were very pleasant & took our «special» espresso and sandwich orders without batting an eyelid. The Sicilian panini was delish even with GF bread. The espresso was fantastic! Café interior was vintage-​ambient. Stop by this 20yr old establishment & treat yourself. :)

A great alternative to the chain coffee shops. Nice atmosphere, great coffee, and a seasonal assortment of baked goods. There is a nice outdoor seating area for summertime. Nestled in between the antique and gift shops of downtown Anoka, it’s a perfect spot to take a break, study, or chat. Give it a try, and thank the owners for providing a nice alternative to the «buck» and the «bou».

Such a cute coffee shop. I tried the blended Chai Tea Latte and I had to keep coming back for more. The chai is just as good as Uncommon Grounds in the Twin Cities, but we just moved out to Saint Francis so this place is definitely closer and very cozy =) The people who work there are very friendly and easy going. I spent a few hours using their wi-​fi after getting my drink and a slice of amazing pumpkin pie. They have salads too!

The best coffee shop and lunch place you will find in the historic anoka area. super good sandwiches and salads that are also huge! Super good coffee and smoothies. The owners and workers are all the sweetest people in the world. For sure a place to check out.

Good namesake salad. Watery bean soup was more veg than «black» bean. Pumpkin latte worth a Fall trip!

The perfect coffee shop atmosphere. Tin roof, brick wall, restored building, chalk board menu. Nice friendly smiling staff. There is a nice selection of items but this time around I only tried a scone. The Dark Roast was on the stale side as evidence by the fact a cup couldn’t be filled and the Barrista had to supplement with the House Blend. The overall blends were on the weak side. The scone was stale as well.
Not a great first impression but I’ll consider it a rough day and try more food items and rewrite the review.

This place is absolutely fantastic! Their baristas will make literally any drink you want. They also have a very broad selection of teas. On Thursdays they have live music in the back. I recommend that everyone tries the «Hot Cinnamon Sunset» tea when they go there.

We were on the area and thanks to Unilocal,we ended up here! We stopped on for a coffee and a treat and it was a great little find. Super friendly service and yummy treats and coffee. We will be back! (And by we, I mean myself and three kids :)

I don’t know if I’d give this place five stars if it were in the cities, but it almost gets six stars for being so awesome and in Anoka. I am a self-​professed suburbia-​phobe and I always loathe having Starbucks or caribou be my only options once I leave the city limits. So you can imagine how please I was to find avant garden, situated in adorable downtown Anoka.
Furniture and ambiance were perfect, eclectic and unique. Baristas were very friendly and the cappuccinos I had were well made. Free wifi, and some good looking treats on the bakery end of things which I didn’t try. I spent a few hours here on several different occasions and found the overall experience to be quite to my liking. I’ll definitely make some return trips here. Support small business! ESP in the burbs!

I love this place so much. To me this place is the epitome of what a coffee shop should be. They have some big squsihy chairs to sit in and some great crafty tables that have little interesting trinkets in them. The staff while always young (we’re talking HS) always really friendly and helpful. The garden out back is absolutely adorable in the spring and summer. Great place to hang out. I have to assume that this place used to be a bar back in the day because it has a huge, 1920’s-ish style old wood bar to sit at and behind it it where they make the dirnks, It’s more of a coffee bar than a house!
Really the only real reason I come here is the drinks. They have all the standard mochas and lattes and cappuccinos and everything but they really excel at the specialty drinks. Caribou’s are pretty interesting as far as a chain goes but this place takes them to another level. My favorite is the snickerdoodle and the pure bliss… which pretty much has everything in it. Carmel, white chocolate, honey, toffee and vanilla i think. I always get it blended but it’s quite excellent hot too. The prices are comparable to a chain as too, you wouldn’t think so because it’s independent and usually in independent coffee houses a large drink can run as much as $ 7…lookin at you Common Grounds. As close as I live to this place I just don’t make it into Anoka very often. Though i should because they have some really great antiuque and refurbished furniture and goods stores and Truffles and Tortes on the corner is a hidden/​out in the open on Main St. gem.
This place to me is the pinnacle of what a coffee house should be. I love it here and am going to make an attempt to come here more often and support my local business owners. Oh and the food isn’t too shabby either.