L’Etoile Du Nord

Wonderful food and excellent service! The chocolate tort was fantastic! And the risotto was delicious. A small place to that is way to drive by. But definitely a can’t miss!

Oh man. The only negative is not being able to order everything on the awesome menu. Great atmosphere, nice staff and the food, coffee and chai is delicious and unique. We loved it and will go back often.

I heard from a friend that had breakfast here that it was a unique restaurant with a very European feel. I wish my first visit had been breakfast or lunch to share her good experience.
I went on Wednesday evening instead. The atmosphere is European and cozy, and I liked the repurposed tables made from the ceiling rafters and all the cute pictures on the wall. The staff was very friendly. The «new» wait staff should be allowed a little cheat sheet to help with questions, like wine and beer choices. There were four of us, and we opted for the beer $ 6.00 instead of wine which we all preferred, because it was $ 13.00 a glass. We shared 2 pizza’s The Pheasant with the pumpkin and braised greens with cheval. Also the Lonza with the poached egg on top. It was the most unusual pizza I have ever had. I liked the crust which was nice and crusty from the wood fired oven, but both pies were actually quite bland.
I wish the owner success in his new business, but please offer a couple of choices of wine for the going $ 6.00 per glass and maybe some type of frites or appetizers that will appeal to the neighborhood folks until they visit often enough to take a challenge at some of the more unique menu offers.

First and foremost: the service here is god awful. The two times I went here, the servers I had never checked up on me to ask if I wanted more coffee or to make sure my water was filled. It was pathetic. They also didn’t know Jack about the food and where they got their ingredients, which is hugely disappointing. Second, this place uses iPads for guests to pay. How impersonal and awkward!!! Third, the food I’ve had here is so overpriced for the quality you get. I was really excited to see a new restaurant pop up in Bayport… unfortunately, this place is not worthy of any praise. The last time I went, I got a salmon frittata… I waited over an hour for the frittata which came out as egg and potato for a mere $ 15. The server seemed nonchalant about the lack of salmon in my food. It was so embarrassing. Overall, this café is really pretentious, overpriced, and disappointing. It should convert to a simple patisserie. If this place wants to actually be a restaurant, they need to take table service seriously and teach their servers how to provide hospitality and care about their guests. Perhaps then, it would actually be worthy of another visit. Good luck!

We really wanted to like this place.
Everything sets it up for success. Great interior, friendly waitstaff, bicycle clientele coming in at a regular clip, Cyclocross mags on the bar racks, lovely patios for warm weather, light shining through the big windows.
Unfortunately a few things worked against our experience:
–There is not a lot of space for groups of more than 2. Dining space is very small and galley-​like. If you can, be sure to have a reservation.
–My eggs were runny and cold. :*(. Runny uncooked egg whites to be exact. Runny yolks is perfectly fine.
–My bread kind of vaporized under my eggs.
–The portions were really, really small ~and I don’t eat much. Throw a bit more lettuce on the salad or a second waffle on the plate — it is needed. Our entire party was disappointed by that.
–The coffee was really bad, which we didn’t understand at all. If I saw correctly, there is a roaster in the back of the space.
The interior of this place is top notch and there is so much potential here. An especially great destination for bikers, or to come have a Duvel (on tap!!). But the food just wasn’t worthy of us coming all the way out here (from Mpls). Hopefully it was an off-​day and our experience was an exception rather than the norm. For someone who put so much money and effort into this quaint place making me feel like I was transported to Europe and in the ‘home’ of an avid bicyclist, I am sure success is important. If the owner wasn’t cooking, he needs to push his staff a little harder on not just appearance of food — but substance.

Sunday breakfast as made from scratch and fresh. Really great coffee as well. Service was spotty in a forgetful way. But, outstanding food. Look elsewhere if you just want bacon n eggs n hashbrowns.

I’ve been there twice on Sunday mornings with my 2 kids. Their Savory Eggs Benedict is amazing as is their Trout Fritatta. Kids favorite is the Nutty (Nutella) Waffle. We sat outside on their front patio and was perfect reading the paper with a little sun. They have paper & crayons for the kiddos. Their coffee is roasted in house and is really good. Food is fresh, organic and absolutely delicious. Staff is very friendly and attentive. Get their early as the seats fill up quickly. This is one of my favorite spots and cant wait to return!

Interesting little café with patios front and rear. We had the pizza of the day with wild mushrooms and pesto, topped with a few sweet berries. Excellent! The only Belgian place we have ever visited. All the food is fresh off the farm, so the menu changes daily.

The name means «star of the north» and they have very select hours so make sure they are open before you plan your trip. You can sit at the bar and enjoy a very fabulous beer or wine and watch them cook and prepare your food. They have cute little tables inside and also patio seating in the back and front. They have savory and sweet waffles all the time and a pizza of the day that they fire up in the gorgeous open oven inside. The menu changes with the local availability of ingredients and the season. They are a little on the pricey side but I enjoy the variety and unique options they provide. I had the savory waffle with a poached egg and ham and cheese. It was really good.

I’ll giving 3 stars with the hope of 4 stars, IF:
1. Service picks up: We sat for 10 minutes before menus were brought. 10 – 15 more minutes before our order was taken, then 30 minutes before our food arrived (we had to ask them to check on it). This is not a large place, there were 2 servers who should have been able to take care of the space. And, a bit of friendliness on the part of the servers and the chef/​owner, who is very visible in the open kitchen, would go a long way.
2. More detail on menu: I ordered the Wild Mushroom cassolette with root vegetables. My husband had the Le Croque Madame sandwich which was wonderful. The cassolette had great flavors, however, the mushrooms were few and the root vegetables non-​existent. The main ingredient was LOTS of small white beans. There was no mention of this on the menu.
3. They pay attention to their guests: There is very little interaction from the servers to their guests. It was obvious we were done with our meal and no one came to check on us. After another wait, she came and asked if I wanted a box. After declining, and telling her of my disappointment with my dish, she said she’d mention something to the chef. We finally went to the front counter to pay since no one brought us our bill. It then took at least 5 minutes for them to check us out. I was given a $ 5 discount for my dish.
4. They need to do something with their system for placing orders — the servers take way too much time fiddling on their little iPads.
This was our 2^nd visit. We’ve been there for breakfast and now lunch. I’ll wait until more kinks are worked out before going again.

I would suggest to John R. to give the place another shot. I live in the area and have eaten here several times and not once were we neglected by the staff. They were right on cue with a smile and greeting as well as menus, water and any other drinks we ordered.
Everything we have ordered here to eat has been well thought of and very tasty– Veggie breakfast sandwich, Quiche, Trout Frittata, and Le legume sandwich. We have tried some of the coffee items and all have a great fresh roasted flavor.
I am not just a local, but travel extensively and I hate to say it a bit of a food snob, and one to point things out if they are not right.
This place is new, and I am sure there might be a few falls but as long as owner and his team continue to innovate the food, stay on top of constructive criticism they will succeed. This has become and will be a regular spot for me and my family.

I went here two weeks after it opened, and was hoping it was going to be as good as the impossibly hard to pronounce name would imply.
The restaurant is in a beautifully built out space, and the actual appearance was by far the highlight of this meal. A well utilized space, with nice finishes. The food was unique, and reasonably priced. I had the eggs Benedict, which although I had watched the cook make it, somehow came out luke warm.
Where they fell short was everything else. I didn’t feel welcomed by the staff, they had open tables in the tiny restaurant and nobody said hello, or smiled when we came in. The servers took 5 minutes to acknowledge us when we sat at the bar right where they were standing, 5 minutes to order, 5 more to get a cup of coffee. Both of them seemed to hate their job and have no interest in customer service. Several people in the place seemed to know the owner and when they came in, he would greet them and completely ignore everyone else. The cook also kept complaining to the owner about the way the servers were writing the orders. I never was offered a refill on coffee, and had to ask for one the only time she stopped by which was to give us our check and say «pay there!» while she pointed at the register.
An FYI, The space won’t accommodate groups of more than 4, it just isn’t big enough unless you all sit facing the wall.

Sooooo good! Shared a wood fired pizza, pear salad and cassoulet for lunch today and each one was amazing! In fact, as we watched food being delivered to the other diners, we were tempted to ask for a taste of each one. We’ll just have to return soon (and often) to try them all! Might have to try breakfast the next time as we’ve missed Olivier’s pastries and coffee since his exit from the Bikery. Tips– portions are perfectly sized, charming atmosphere, fresh roasted coffee/​espresso in-​house, great vegetarian options, fresh ingredients (including seafood), serve wine and beer, says they will start dinner service in the next couple of weeks!

Oliver has taken his Belgium heritage cooking to the next level. We had shirred eggs with savory waffle and the Lieges gaufres with poached pear and carmelized walnuts. Looking forward to returning — often!

Mussels are featured on Fridays lunch menu. The mussels are better than the mussels we had in Brussels.