Connections Cafe

We were walking around Ligonier’s picturesque town square and a passer by asked if she could help us find anything. We asked where to go for lunch, and she nailed it– we lived her recommendation: Connections Café. We each had a salad plate with three fresh house-​made salads over greens– dessert was fudge almond tart with raspberry sorbet. Delicious tea and coffee!

Positives: The atmosphere is cozy, in an old and well-​kept up house. The food is healthy and good for vegetarians or vegans. Cute how they have fair trade gifts for sale in back rooms.
Room for improvement: There is no menu, only new entrees written on a chalk board every day, which is part of the style I guess, but was a little confusing to a newcomer. Food could use a little more protein even for vegetarian or vegan, more egg, cheese, or tofu, this would make it more filling and satisfying. The random entrée idea is unique but I think they would be more successful if they picked out a few favorite entrees and perfected them, gave them more flavor, generous portions. I had potato salad, pasta salad, small piece of quiche, cheesecake and tea and think that a reasonable price for all of this would be under $ 15. Though the ingredients are organic I think they would be successful if potato and pasta salads were relatively cheap. Service needs a little tweaking, little things like asking if the customer wants a drink refill, bringing out a clean fork with dessert, little things that go a long way. Maybe they can learn about effective customer service from successful restaurants in the area. After these minor wrinkles are ironed out, I think the place can be a successful and satisfying place to go. It’s a great concept as I love the idea of healthy, local foods at restaurants.
Also, unique music would be good, something like a record player, live music now and then, something like that.

The salads here are like a work of art! I’ve tried at least 6 types and have loved them all!

Connections Café is the best place for lunch in Ligonier. The owner/​chef Sharon is friendly, welcoming, and understands quality food. The daily specials are listed on a chalkboard, and she invited us into the kitchen to see the different salad options. Made from local and organic ingredients, the salads and soups blend Italian/​Greek/​French influences with a rural American home-​cooked style, consistent with the Ligonier surroundings. I had a Tuscan white bean soup, and a 2-​salad plate — one quinoa-​based, one califlower-​based. All was delicious. There are plenty of meatless options on the menu. Four of us had lunch for $ 45. The dining room is nicely decorated, with a classy but casual feel. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

Oh my goodness. We just are at Mexican Night at the Connections Café. EVERYTHING we ate was the best hands down Mexican food we have ever had. Super fresh, super friendly. I had no idea tacos could taste that good. The chicken white bean soup was so good we ordered an extra quart to take home.

Great little café. Very comfortable dining experience, and it felt like my mother was cooking me dinner in my own house. I was there with my fiancé, and the cook came out and asked us how our meal was, and gave us two coronas on the house! (It was Mexican night). The food was delicious, some of the best I’ve ever had, and they really know how to treat their customers.

This place is outstanding! New menus everyday and you feel like you are in someone’s home. If you have the chance, try the cauliflower salad. You won’t be dissapointed!

A lovely café! It’s a house that’s been converted into a restaurant. There are various different bean, pasta, beet type salads to choose from. Depending upon the day there are also frittatas, pizzas, or sandwiches. They have a huge selection of tea’s as well. A lovely place to stop and eat. The atmosphere is very calming and happy. The food is marvelous! I had a frittata and red bean salad, my hubbie had a 3 combo plate of different salads. I highly recommend you stop here!

Great place to grab great, fresh food! Vegetarian and vegan options are available, and theme nights have always been great. They post regularly to Facebook with daily specials and menu options. Highly recommended.

Stopped in here for lunch when passing through Ligonier. Just a really nice place. Quality food, a lovely atmosphere, very welcoming. Really good French Press coffee, and proper loose leaf tea. A very satisfying lunch.

We come in for sourdough waffles on Saturday. A wonderful breakfast with fresh berries and maple syrup. Great French press coffee and a wide selection of teas. For lunch, great sandwiches, light salads, all fresh and healthy. The grilled cheese sandwiches are perfect. They also cater and have special dinners once a month. They have a fair trade gift shop and free wifi. Very friendly and accommodating.

I give this place 5 Stars because, having grown up around Ligonier, and then having lived in foodie meccas like Montréal and eaten up a storm all over the world, I crave a homey place like this when I come to visit. I don’t know why it took so long for Ligonier to have a place like Connections. There aren’t many good food options in Ligonier, unless you go to one of the private clubs, and that’s not my scene. Some of the stuff is organic, like the teas, which is a plus. There’s a surprisingly large and varied selection of freshly made salads, and each one I’ve tried was delicious. I’m not a fan of white chocolate, but the white chocolate raspberry tart is fantastic, as is the pressed coffee. This is a perfect place to have lunch or a mid-​afternoon break. Free WiFi is a big bonus for us traveling from Canada. The owner, Sharon, is friendly and talkative and also knows when to leave you to yourself. They left the old woodwork and the ceramic tiled fireplace intact, so it’s a cheery, homey, cozy interior. Sharon also allows the space to be used for food pop-​ups, and she supports other food-​preneurs in the community. Very cool. More business owners should do this. In short, I love Connections.

This little gem is off the Diamond in Ligonier on 711 south. It is in a little house on the right. They have amazing salads, teas, desserts and in the summer they grill pizza on the porch.
They have a menu board on the porch, or when you go in the hostess invites you into the kitchen to see what they have for the day. We shared a crab and corn frittata which was good, but the salads were amazing. You can get 2 – 3 salads on a bed of greens. We split a 3 plate of a cauliflower pea salad in a creamy dressing, a red bean and tuna salad in a vinaigrette with a hint of blue cheese, and a winterberry, apple and curry salad. Each one was better than the other! There were also a few others we did not get to try.
After this delicious healthy lunch we splurged on a piece of white chocolate raspberry torte and an apricot scone with an amazing lemon curd and a cup of mango green tea. We will definitely be eating here every time we come to Ligonier.
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This is such an unexpected surprise in Ligonier! I have been impressed with the change that the downtown area has been undergoing in recent years. While it has always been a cute place to visit, it’s never really attracted a «hip» crowd as much as it seems to be doing so now, and Connections Café is no exception.
Food: Pretty good! Confusing since they don’t hand you a menu and kind of supposed to read the board before you sit down. If you’re not aware of this, then you sit at a table and kind of stare at each other dumbly until they let you know. It’s also all cold salads during lunch and a hot sandwich if you want. My salads were great and my mom’s grilled cheese with apples was excellent. The food is mostly (I believe) all local and organic and health-​oriented.
Atmosphere: Very cute, casual, and quaint. The whole café is within an old house and I enjoy that since it sticks to the Ligonier style, but what I don’t understand is the sports shop. It feels random, forced, and out-​of-​place. Also, they sell all fair-​wage goods from other countries, but the irony is that the whole sports shop is filled with over priced, Made In China «chotskies» that are definitely not from fair-​wage shops.
Overall: Go! I find myself wanting to go back and it’s not that close of a visit.