Maria’s Café

Corn Pancakes! Whole smokes those were delicious. My wife spent a year in MN and has raved about Maria’s corn pancakes for years. Well I finally got to try them, I am so satisfied. There was now way she could have talked these up, they were delicious! Make sure to get them with the cotija cheese, you won’t regret it. We also had Pablo’s Omelet which on its own is delicious. Service was great and fast. A nice gentleman started playing lovey music from around the Spanish speaking world, what a nice atmosphere. You just leave this place feeing happy and satisfied. We will definitely be back.

Corn pancakes with cheese. Just do it! I also love the breakfast sandwich. This is a great brunch place. Bring a big group if you want, but sometimes there is a wait. You should also try the plantain cakes at least once!

I’m traveling for business in Minneapolis. I am only here for one day. I went to Maria’s for breakfast to try the highly praised Cachspas (corn pancake) with Cotija cheese. I also ordered a side of sausage.
The restaurant is equipped with plenty of table seating as well as a counter if that is your preference. I sat at the counter. Within a few minutes, very attentive staff asked me if I had been waited on.
A gentleman two seats down had the pancake breakfast I was searching for. I could see that one corn cake which filled the plate would be more than enough. When asked for my order, I simply stated «I will have what he has». With butter melted on top of the pancake combined with Cotija cheese sprinkled liberally on it, it was a delightful breakfast. It is also served with syrup but there was no need for that. The pancake was sweet on its own and blended nicely in flavor with the mild crumbly cheese.
I could not finish my meal as there was more than a generous portion of both a single Cachapas and three large sausages.
Should I ever be in the area again, I would gladly go to Maria’s for breakfast and enjoy one of those delightful Cachapas pancakes.

Great food. Pablo’s Omelette is delicious. Can’t beat the Cachapas Venezolanas (corn pancakes). Fun to listen to the hippy dude playing Latin Jazz tunes.

Really good food! So good. Would have given it 5 stars but the server «Brittany» was not good. She wasn’t around. Had to ask for water and had to flag her down to do so. It wasn’t busy or I would understand. She was too busy sweeping g and not looking up from her «busy work» jobs.
But seriously the food was really good. I got a grilled cheese. Very worth it.

Cachapas, Corn Pancakes with Cotija Cheese
Loved it! Grainy bites of corn inside the pancake itself. Generous portion, I almost got full from just eating this. If you are into sweet and savory (get the cheese), you would enjoy this!
Colombian Hot Chocolate
Not your average hot chocolate! Much less sweet, which I personally enjoyed but still very chocolaty — it’s more like Hot Dark Chocolate.
Maria’s Columbian Huevos Pericos
The scrambled eggs I felt like I could have made myself. I prefer my salsa to be chunkier (Fat Nat’s Eggs!) and have a little more kick. Wasn’t impressed but a decent choice for comfort food, homemade-​y breakfast.
Overall, I enjoyed my meal here. We waited about 15 minutes to get seated on a Sunday afternoon around 1PM. Service was alright, we had to wait quite a bit to order after the initial check-​in from the server. The sides are a bit pricier — $ 2.25 for a side of salsa!

This is a most excellent place for an affordable breakfast that’s just enough out of the ordinary to appeal to the adventurous and filled with enough standards to satisfy the non-​adventurous. My favorite is the Juan Sandwich I think it’s called, and I’m not usually that keen on breakfast sandwiches, so that’s a big compliment.

Great special quesadilla and my friend had the corn pancakes. Live music was nice but do we really need the speakers on? Was very busy so service was slow but food made up for it!

The wait was forever… but totally worth it! There was music and the corn pancakes with cheese was amazing!

It took 20+ minutes for someone (anyone!?) to take my order. My food came out instantaneously.
A cold Corn Pancake.
Luckily I didn’t wait 20 more minutes to get someone to take it back and make another one.
Now I’m the only one in the middle dining area and my server is wiping every table but not taking my check. After 10 minutes of this I finally ask if I need to take the check up front.
Sad thing is we’ve experienced poor service here many times, but I keep giving them a second chance. No more.

This review is for my one-​time experience. We went to try the highly recommend cachapas (corn pancakes popular in Colombia and Venezuela) and they did not disappoint.
They are the size of a dinner plate and sweet and savory with little bits of corn mixed in. I ordered one with cotija cheese and it was very delicious. I didn’t think it would be enough so I ordered a cup of black bean soup as well, but it was a huge portion (not a cup but a small bowl. unless they mixed up my order lol). I was super stuffed! My point is if you are hungry but don’t want two cachapas or pancakes, get a side of fruit or something light.
We also enjoyed live music by a very talented singer/​classical guitarist who entertained us with works from Spain, Portugal, and South America. We were there on a Sunday around noon and it was busy but no wait and service was fast. Not sure if they have music all weekends but it was a nice touch!

Ordering the corn pancake with cheese is a must! My husband doesn’t like pancakes but loved this one. We also had Pablo’s omelet which was good. Had big chunks of tomatoes in it. Warning to those who don’t like tomatoes but you can pick them out. What made it really good is because we ordered Colombian sausage on the side which was one of the best breakfast sausages I’ve ever had. It just had a different flavor that was so yummy. Service was good too. Everyone was friendly. I would definitely recommend this place.

I absolutely freakin’ love this place. Corn pancake with cotija cheeeeeeeese yes pleaaaaaaaaaseeeee. I’ve been coming here for quite a few years and it’s still one of my all-​time favorite breakfast spots! The bar is a great place to sit, and the service is amazing!
However, the weekend brunch specials tend to be VERY popular, so if you want one (highly recommended, as they’re delicious and authentic Colombian) get there early otherwise they can sell out! Yuca! You must try!
But it really is all about that corn pancake. Yummmmmmmm.

We stopped at this restaurant by happenstance (the first few of our choices had a 45 minute wait for Sunday breakfast). It was good find! The service was friendly, the kitchen kind of slow but they were pretty buy. Food was good (as most point out in reviews, you MUST try the corn pancakes) with a somewhat limited menu. Plantain pancakes were just so-​so but the banana and strawberry pancakes good. The Columbian hot chocolate is a must try if you are at all a chocolate fan. Coffee was strong and good.
Sundays late mornings also bring a singer/​guitar player who is good. While we were there, he played and sang in Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.

I heard this place was pretty good from my friend who lives in the neighborhood.
That looks to be true by the food everybody was eating in there.
However, I was in the mood for a breakfast burrito so this is purely a review on their version of that.
For the record, I came in and told the very nice waitress that I would just like their best breakfast burrito. She said, «Well, we have a Shepherds Wrap (or something).»
I said that was fine, and that’s what she brought me.
If you’re in the mood for an awesome, authentic, Mexican breakfast burrito, you may want to skip Maria’s. But again, everything else looked good and the people there were pretty friendly.

This place is a disaster. The corn pancakes were great, once we got them. It took an hour from the time we placed our order until the time we got the pancakes, and they forgot our side order. There were no apologies from Maria’s…could they at least have given us our cup of coffee for free? Nope. They wouldn’t even give us a to-​go cup without a $ 2 charge.

The service seems to be pretty hit or miss, which is quite a bummer sometimes but the food is a must try. It’s just a cute little place serving up great ethnic food. The corn pancakes with cotija cheese are a definite must. I dream about them actually. They are very large and very filling but great. The food is great and it’s worth a go!

Checked out Maria’s based on the high reviews. After reading the history (on the back of the menu) of how this café came to be, of Maria’s story as an immigrant small business owner, I had an appreciation for the place even before getting my food.
Had the special of the weekend: sautéed yucca, homemade pinto beans, scrambled eggs, chorizo link and arepa. I really did want to love the food, but honestly, it wasn’t much to rave about. Bland to the extent I had to ask for tabasco and douse the food in it to add flavor.

In Minneapolis visiting from California. I decided to find a breakfast place while the wife went to work. Found Maria’s Café on The Food Network site and decided to give it a try since it was only 2 miles from the hotel.
When I walked in, I was greeted by a nice open restaurant full of color and Latin music playing in the background. I seated mysellf and looked over the menu. It’s a fairly basic menu, without a lot of combination options. Breakfast is served all fay long and there are lunch options starting at 10 or 11am. It actually took me longer to decide what I wanted to order than it took for my food to be prepared.
I settled on the corn pancakes, chorizo, and two eggs. The corn pancakes are the specialty and I strongly suggest you try them. The cakes are plate-​sized and can be a meal unto itself. The cojita cheese is an interesting touch, I, personally, could take it or leave it. The chorizo is the best I’ve ever had; nice fresh taste and not at all greasy. Friendly servers and a diverse customer base. I took a look around at what other people ordered and it all looked good.
I would definitely give it another try.

Get the corn pancake. Add the cheese. If you are very hungry add your favorite side of meat or vegetable (but it won’t be as good as the pancake). If it is the weekend and they are there get the plantains: they are different than usual — fried with leeks and peppers and a touch of salt. They are sweet and salty and delicious.
Anything else is going to be OK, but you can probably have it the same or better at a number of other places. The corn pancake is where it is at.

Great place for any meal! Prices are fair! First time here. The price and food was great. The waitress didn’t seem to be in a good mood. She didn’t smile and looked as though the customers were annoying her when they asked questions.
Bathroom was clean. The place is bigger than it looks and accommodates large groups! Despite the waitress I would try it. Hopefully she doesn’t work everyday.

My boyfriend and I came here for a late Saturday brunch to avoid the Mother’s Day brunch crowds on Sunday. The place was in an interesting location and in a strip mall so we didn’t really know what to expect. When we got there it seemed pretty dead and we saw a sign that said to wait to be seated so we did. Turns out you can seat yourself and the place was not dead at all, they just have three different rooms and only one was empty. They had a guitar player singing some Spanish music which was kind of a fun addition. Our waiter didn’t seem to know much English but that was okay.
I ordered the Saturday special and my boyfriend got the huevos pericos. We ordered a cachapa with cheese to share but were thinking we should have ordered two… not the case! The special was generously sized and the plantains were genuinely addicting (I may be biased since I had been craving plantains). The arepa was a nice surprise as I normally find them bland but it had a nice salty/​butter flavor and was topped with cheese. Everything else on the plate was good as well. The huevos pericos I tried a bite of and they were distinctly spiced and also tasty but I preferred my plate. The cachapa was huge and filling so we struggled to finish it after cleaning our previous plates. I enjoyed the sweetness of the corn with a little syrup and cheese, it was something I would order again.
We both agreed we would go back and I still have a food baby six hours later.

The stars are for their corn pancakes. Even for someone like me who is not a big fan of pancakes I would eat this again. It’s light and slightly sweet and creamy. I like mine plain with a little butter and no syrup. I also ordered a side of bacon and the black coffee. They are good. My friend ordered the breakfast dish but she didn’t like her potatoes.
The franklin area may not be the nicest but there is an easy parking lot available. There was no wait on a Saturday morning and part of the battle with going to brunch is the crowd and the wait so this was actually nice and definitely recommended for groups. There was also a live band singing and it sounded good not loud and intrusive for a pleasant conversation with my friends.

Corn pancakes with cotija cheese for life. Really, the rules are that you must order one of these. They are massive, so either have it be your meal or split it with someone! Maria’s was a staple in my college days and remains such after.
I’ve only had breakfast, but its all good. I love the breakfast veggie burrito a ton and on the weekends they have Columbian breakfast specials that are YUM. I’ll be honest and say that the service is almost always sub-​par, but the cheap prices and good eats are worth it.

Corn Pancakes actually are a meal.
I’ve always said, «pancakes aren’t a meal…» But, lo and behold I was wrong.
Been here a few times now and I always get the Cachapas with cojita cheese. And, I always get 2, I can’t eat both, but I always think I can. I don’t know what makes these darn things so delicious, but they down right tasty. As others have mentioned, the cojita cheese is a must.
It’s the place you have to go early in the morning, we always go before 9 and it’s never busy.
Dining companion loves the egg scrambles, the salsa and the breakfast burrito. I always think, «I should try something else…» I never do.
Service is efficient, although not overly friendly, price is right and food is darn good stuff.
Be sure to follow the signs to get in, we always get confused cuz, it’s a little wacky to get in, but once you do get in, it’s very spacious and comfortable.

Say it with me now, «Cachapas».
Cachapas
Cachapas
Cachapas
I’m updating my review to remind you that the corn pancakes (+ cotija cheese, that stuff is MANDATORY) are still delicious.
You only need one (they’re HUGE) and you’ll be stuffed.
I no longer care about the service or the coffee (what and WHAT?) because I’m only here for those fluffly, tasty, ever-​so-​slightly-​sweet pancakes of love.

When I think of pancakes, I think of Maria’s Café. If you want good pancakes, then this is the place to go! Maria’s Café isn’t for any of you Perkins eating, IHOP loving, or pancake mix adoring folks out there, because Maria’s is the real deal when it come to pancakes!
With authentic Columbian taste, Maria’s offers some unique Columbian inspired cakes.
Options include:
Corn Pancakes (with corn inside the cakes)
Raisin & Walnut pancakes
Wild Rice Pancakes
Fruit pancakes (choice of Blueberry, Mango, Banana, Raspberry, Pineapple or Strawberry with Maria’s Homemade Syrup)
My favorite is the Mango Raspberry Fruit Pancake! So filling, so good!!!