Keefer Court Bakery & Café

Minneapolis, United States

4

Closed now

32 reviews

Does not accept credit cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 612-340-0937
Website:
www.keefercourt.com
Address:
326 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55454
West Bank
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
350 ft3 St S
500 ftRiverside Av
510 ftRiverside Plaza
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
No
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
No
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Divey
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Ambience
Divey, Casual

Today

Today 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Minneapolis) 21:42 Saturday, 31 May 2025

Business hours

Monday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday –
Wednesday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Fortune cookies are a great dessert and at Keefer Court we make our own! We also specialize in birthday and wedding cakes.

History

Established in 1983.

We’ve been serving Chinese pastries in this location since 1983, and we’re proud to still be serving you today. Over the years you may have seen our children grow up with the business. Our fortune cookie division grew up, too, and moved to it’s own state of the art facility. Currently, we are excited to bring you our newest line of Chinese and Hong Kong style menu items, and we hope to see you stop in soon! Wishing you wealth, health and happiness. — Sunny Kwan and family

Meet the Business Owner

Sunny K.

Business Owner

Chairman Kwan’s initial venture into the culinary world was in 1982 with the introduction of Keefer Court Bakery. This was the first Chinese bakery in Minnesota. Keefer Court specialized in making Oriental pastries and baking its own fortune cookies under the Golden Plaque #1 label. All of the fortune cookies were made with a labor intensive semi-​automatic machine. It took three people to make 2,000 cookies an hour. For the custom fortunes, there were no computers, so every fortune was written by a typewriter.

As the Midwest demand increased, Chairman Kwan knew he had to invest in larger, fully-​automated machines to keep up with the competition and to be able to fulfill large wholesale orders. His purchase allowed Keefer Court Food to produce 14,000 fortune cookies in an hour, which stomped out regional competition in the early 90s. Keefer Court Food saw a great increase in wholesale fortune cookie business, which allowed for the construction of Keefer’s own fortune cookie factory.

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32 reviews of Keefer Court Bakery & Café

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Place rating: 1
Saint Paul, MN
This is one of the worst restaurants I have ever eaten at! I have never been treated so rudely and felt so cheated after a meal. Not only do is the food just so-​so, but when we were set to pay I looked at the receipt and there was no way to figure out if we had been charged the right amount for the dishes we ordered, as the receipt only listed the price and «dine-​in» instead of the dish name. When you order food for 10 people it’s difficult to remember what exactly we ordered and their prices. To top it all off, they only take cash or check – come on, even food trucks take credit cards! Oh, and as we were chatting after the meal the owner stood over us like she was waiting for us to leave, after we just spent $ 150 at this place! I will never come back here again.
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
Best Hong Kong style café around. The bakery items were fresh and tasty. The wonton noodle soup, beef stew overv rice, bbq pork lo mein, and roasted duck lo mein were great. Dining room is smallish, but its a café.
Place rating: 1
Provo, UT
It was easily the worst bakery I went to. After taking our order, the owner ran off into the back for 5min without explanation and left our baked goods on a plastic plate, which I pray is clean. The egg tart is bland and greasy, curry roll is slushy, and of course the stick rice roll was wrongly replaced with some weird barbecue. Left more than half of the food on the table.
Place rating: 5
Osseo, MN
I go to keefer Court every single month. Definitely one of the best Chinese restaurant I love in town!!!
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
Fresh hot made to order Chinese food that is super tasty, fast and affordable? Keefer Court nails this trifecta. I’ve eaten a lot of Chinese lunch in my lifetime and this is one of the best in the Twin Cities. The only caveats is that it is cash/​check only and there is limited parking. The chicken wings, noodle soups and paper wrapped cakes are my favorites from here. The pastries are fresh and made every day. I’m in heaven.
Place rating: 4
Blaine, MN
So, full disclosure, I’ve never actually been here. I don’t live close and any time I’m in the area I cannot find easy parking. That’s why I can only give 4 stars. (someone please inform me if I can park in back!)
However, my dad is often in the area and whenever he is he brings me seasame balls. These are one of my favorite foods in the entire world and Keefer Court is one of the few places I know I can get them (Hmong market being the other). They are DELICIOUS and make me so happy.
The egg tarts are also delicious (best when warm) and I had a bite of the cream puff thing — so light and fluffy and amazing.
Some day I’ll make this place a special trip and find parking and enjoy the hell out everything there. (Do they have coconut buns? They are also a favorite!)
Place rating: 5
Roseville, MN
Ordered the steam pork bun with Chinese sausage and shrimp wonton noodle soup. Both were REALLY good. The cashier was nice and greeted me on the way in. The only regret I have is not ordering more buns
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
Right across from the Humphrey School where I work and study. Has become a staple food joint for me. I don’t go here only because it’s close by though, I go here because they have some of the best bakery products and soups! Their shrimp wanton and house special noodle are absolutely amazing — wonderful broth with fresh wantons, meat and vegetables. Among the baked products, definitely try the BBQ pork, custard, pineapple, red bean, coconut cream buns, all very good! The cream filled scones look great but are salty and a bit weird frankly, so avoid those. Take cash with you, although you won’t need much. Or you might, if you get greedy.
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
I literally did not know this place existed until this year… I have been here 2x and have not eaten inside yet besides takeout as the place is small and does not have that ambiance that comes with a Chinese restaurant. People rave about this place for not its traditional Cantonese-​Chinese food, but for its fresh Chinese custard buns/​tarts. I don’t know any other restaurants in Minnesota that specializes in this food offering.
If you’re novice and don’t have too much experience with Chinese desserts (like myself), then I would recommend trying the bo lo bao (pineapple bun) or char siu bao (bbq pork bun). These two are great choices to give an individual an introduction to both the sweet and savory elements of these desserts. The prices for each item is around $ 3, which is worth it!
Last tip — make sure to bring cash and coins as the restaurant does not accept credit cards. Why? My hunch is to avoid cash register rental fees, receipt fees, and taxes. This makes it authentic, right?
Place rating: 3
Minneapolis, MN
Came here with my brother to eat the reunion dinner because we can’t go home this year for Chinese New Year. We ordered congee, fried rice, veggies, meat. The food was very good, particularly the duck egg and pork congee. The only unpleasant part was the service. As the person that served us was very impersonal. Would be a 5 star if they were nicer.
Place rating: 5
Lancaster, PA
First off, this place has THE best Chinese style noodle soup ever! The noodle soup is the main reason I come here. I’ve had versions of the same soup in Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto chinatowns and Keefer Court in Minneapolis is still the best. The flavor of the broth here is unbeatable. Who would have thought the best version of this soup would be in a city that doesn’t even have a Chinatown?
Every time I go here, I get either the braised beef noodle soup or house special noodle soup. The house special comes with their roast duck, roast pork, and shrimp dumplings which are all delicious.
They also have some really good pastries, although they are expensive relative to the other Chinatown bakeries around the country.
I’ve since moved away from Minnesota but I’m coming back here for their soup whenever I visit!
Place rating: 3
Minneapolis, MN
This is my go-​to-​place when I’m at the Humphrey Institute for classes or events.
The atmosphere: It’s usually filled with all Chinese-​speaking customers (always a good sign). Hole-​in-​the wall feel but means it gets packed during busy times & longer waits for food.
The food: I like the noodle soup but after trying many kinds, I suggest just sticking with the pork noodle soup and not the brisket (too greasy) or multiple meat soups (too much meat). They give you a lot of meat regardless & wish they gave more noodle but the broth is good (you can tell they cook ingredients for their broth). Also, when they ask you if you want to include vegetable to your soup, just say yes! Makes the soup better by getting a couple bokchoi thrown in. Their egg tarts are ok. I get them since there’s not many places you can get them in the Twin Cities but the crust is too thick for me. I like that the filling is not too sweet though.
Overall, I recommend going here. It’s pretty authentic and you can get lots of different dishes, including bakery goods! I also like their steam buns. Remember, cash only!
Place rating: 4
Minneapolis, MN
It’s been a very long time since I’ve had goods from a Chinese bakery, nearly five years since I’ve moved from home in Florida. Keefer Court is the first I’ve found since moving out to the midwest so excuse me if I rave a little bit too much.
Some of my childhood favorites include egg tarts, coconut cream buns, and the pineapple bun. This place has them in the dozens, along with a host of other buns that I didn’t have an opportunity to try. As they coin themselves a café, there is a variety of other items on the menu including duck and wonton soup. Based on the lack of foot traffic here, I would say you could probably get these items in better quality elsewhere.
The pineapple and coconut cream buns were on point, especially after a 20 second session in the microwave. They are excellent in tasty, size, and price. You’d pay twice the price for half as much for most sweet treats you’d get at Starbucks or other coffee shops. Please skip on the egg tarts unless you are sure they are fresh. As I mentioned, they don’t get a huge amount of foot traffic so they sit for a while. You’re better off ordering them fresh at dim sum.
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
Just had a wonderful noodle soup lunch. Chatted with the owner’s daughter and her dad, both incredibly engaging. The dad is a laugh a minute! The soup was great. Shrimp dumplings for me, garlic pork for my friend, and duck combo for my husband. All three were fresh and tasty. Will definitely go back.
Place rating: 4
Hong Kong
The moon cake and bbq pork buns were the best I’ve had since moving back from China. I will certainly be visiting again to explore.
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
A small, informal-​feeling interior, which could seat 12 maximum. TV plays a chinese-​language channel; sometimes news, sometimes dramas, sometimes movies.
The noodle soup is amazing. I’m partial to the shrimp wonton noodle. The price is good, and the quality is great. One of my favorite lunch spots.
Tasty baked goods for sale as well.
Place rating: 5
Hopkins, MN
This was quite a surprise as the restaurant has an unusual name and it looks like a bakery. The food however is excellent. My daughter and I had shrimp with Chinese broccoli. The were butterfly shrimp, very fresh in a light sauce, so different than other restaurants. Would highly recommend!
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
In general, an average Hong Kong Chinese place (but really really good for the Twin Cities); I would be surprised if there are other or better Hong Kong Chinese food in the Twin Cities. I go there mainly for the breaded pork buns (cheap and tasty), congee, and the triple meat (char siu, bbq, duck) with noodle soup. It’s not the best soup but way better than I can make at home! The ladies are very sour — 1 star for service.
Place rating: 5
Bentonville, AR
This is a small family owned Chinese bakery with a small restaurant of a few tables in the back. While small in size, the menu is extensive and everything we had was absolutely delicious !! We ordered seafood congee and the duck noodle soup and these came out with servings definitely large enough to share. The seafood congee had some squid and a few nice sized shrimp and a very authentic satisfying flavor. The noodle soup with duck was done perfectly too with a moderately salty duck broth and a nice portion of roast duck on top (there are several pictures of this here on Unilocal). We also had chicken with black bean sauce on pan fried noodles which also had a very nice selection of onions and peppers. And a few others at our table shared some of the honey walnut shrimp which had a mayo/​honey sauce they enjoyed too. Great variety, very nice sized large portions, and every bit of it was excellent. Then there’s the bakery — we will need to go back to try more. We did have the the custard buns and they pretty much melt in your mouth. And the red bean cake had a nice sweet red bean filling that was better than I’ve had even comparing to some I’ve enjoyed in Hong Kong or Singapore. Overall — this is a very special «hole in the wall» we will make special efforts to get to again :)
Place rating: 5
St Paul, MN
5 stars for the beef curry puff. I just ate one and it was perfect. The crust was flaky and light. The beef was tender and the curry was flavorful. I wish I would have gotten 10 more so I could have a week’s supply. They are closed on Tuesdays, but the beef curry puffs are available every other day. Get them before I eat them all!
Place rating: 4
Northfield, MN
This bakery has many chinese/​Cantonese style buns.
Bbq pork bun: my favorite! It is bigger than I thought and is absolutely tasty. The pork filling is just like the ones I had in China, and the bun itself is fluffy and not too dry. Plus the price is fair.
Pineapple bun: another kind I like. It is also big in size and yummy!
Bbq pork pastry: not as good as the other two. It is just not very well made. The filling seems to be the same as the bun but with more of a pork taste. Would not try in the future.
Place rating: 4
St Paul, MN
So. .. So Good. Keefer Court is amazing! The only better BBQ Pork Buns that I have had are in SF Chinatown. Sampled the Curry Beef Bun and Custard Buns too which were both splendid as well. The absolute best part though is the price. $ 1 50 per bun, which easily puts it on my «Epic Deals of the Twin Cities» list. The only negatives are: 1) Lack of their own parking lot, 2) currently does not accept Credit Cards, and 3) bath rooms are harder to find.
Place rating: 3
Minneapolis, MN
Soup and some of the bakery items are pretty tasty while other bakery items do not seem very fresh. Note that it’s cash only.
Place rating: 4
OZONE PARK, NY
This is the only place I’ve gotten that chinese bakery taste — red bean bun, beef curry, roll cakes, etc. Selection could be wanting more however.
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
I have only been here to get bakery items to go. I love that there’s a place in the twin cities that has something that resembles a chinese bakery! It’s not super big so there’s limited options but what they do have is super good! They also sell zongzi or what some might call a chinese tamale! When I miss my mom’s homemade zongzi, I go on over and buy some from this place! They make these fresh weekly so don’t worry! It’s not sitting there for weeks or months! I love the fact the people who work there speak cantonese! Not enough cantonese speakers in MN! It feels good to use my chinese when I go there since I have such few opportunities in MN.
Place rating: 3
Austin, TX
This was kinda a gem in it’s location. Walked here from Triple Rock because it looked pretty delish when we drove by it. The bakery items were limited when I was there but I got a winter melon cake and some red bean cakes. They were ok, not the best but not the worst. They just seemed like they had been sitting there for awhile and they weren’t as affordable as I’ve seen in other bakeries around the country. Some were 1.35 and others were 2.50, but I totally understand the amount of time and work that goes into them, just wish they were fresher. I did enjoy the beef curry puffs though.
I also got the egg noodle soup with duck to go and that was pretty fab. The broth itself was pretty tasty, however I got extra veggies and I do not think they were rinsed that well because when I threw it in the both and ate it, it became really gritty and tasted sandy and immediately that made me want to just gag. The duck was good though, flavorful and really enriched the broth.
Cash only. Overall, I thought it was good. The to-​go order looked pretty sad when you get a side of veggies it’s really like 4 pieces, and the amount of duck was minimal but I honestly would go here again if I was in the area to try out the wontons that everyone talks about.
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
Come and order a crispy roast duck! I won’t go to any other place, but be sure to call ahead to make the order… they can be cooked in a few hours for pick up if need be. I used them for Thanksgiving! Tasted amazing! Also not a bad place to pick up some curry beef buns!!!
Place rating: 3
Saint Paul, MN
Came here to get my Chinese bakery fix. The varieties range from your typical pineapple buns to bbq pork buns. Standard egg tarts can be found here as well, however, they did not look really appetizing… I know, right? How the hell can an egg tart not look yummy? Well. They certainly managed to botch it. Not sure if that is the average batch but they looked like a sad bunch as if they were just sitting there lifelessly begging to be thrown in the dumpster.
I tried a few of their buns when I got home. I was not disappointed and I was not impressed. I was just happy to get my hands on some bakery items. I drove a good solid 30 minutes in this winter season to get there and 30 minutes back for a pile of goodies… Instead what I got was just average. Nothing to write home about. I have been blessed with great buns and delightful egg custards from other bakeries before. Mind you, egg tarts are one of my favorite treats to gorge on when I am hungry and I was totally let down by just the sight of those sad little buggers.
As many others have said as well, they only take cash. There is an ATM right outside their bakery. There is metered street parking right outside the bakery. Now they do serve food in addition to the bakery stuff as I did see a few patrons eating some traditional Chinese style egg noodles soup. I also hear they do a fine job creating a custom birthday/​wedding cake. I cannot attest to the quality of their cakes but their selection of buns and pastries leave a lot to be desired.
Place rating: 3
Minneapolis, MN
Came here with. … high? expectations, since some of the reviews were encouraging.
The layout of the place is a bit on the narrow side. Service was prompt, and I placed my order to go.
I ordered the fried rice and the roast duck dishes. Both were just okay, a little on the oily side but not too greasy. In terms of Chinese food, not authentic, and not too spectacular.
It’s a toss up whether I’ll come back for their other dishes, but maybe I’ll come back to try some of the bakery items and the buns.
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
You have to try the house special noodle soup and Scrambled egg on rice.
Right on the corner of cedar and riverside. Best in the Midwest.
Place rating: 4
Atlanta, GA
Keefer Court is the biz, I’ll tell you what to eat,
Treat yourself to some barbecue and curry buns, puffs, and other savory treats,
The egg tarts are alright, the ham and cheese croissants I wouldn’t recommend,
Pay with your money, what no credit card? Get it from the ATM,
Two dollars, you will find it in the hallway next to Keefer Court,
Don’t worry, this place ain’t trying to hustle aka extort,
Your money, I’m being funny; I’m getting back on track,
If you want dinner, I’ll tell you where it’s at,
This tiny place has solid stir fry dishes, like how they cook their fishes,
Don’t worry the seafood is good, no need to be suspicious,
But if you want to impress someone, or show-​off to a group,
Then an absolute must is to eat the Wonton Noodle Soup,
Wow, one of the best to digest, it’s hard for me to express,
How shrimpy-​tastic the dumplings are this is what I assess,
The solid noodles, the incredibly savory and delicious broth,
Not too salty, other restaurants make it off,
Parking is hard, three dollars for the lot in the back,
They don’t validate, how super whack is that? Lol
Place rating: 4
Urbandale, IA
Nice Chinese bakery in Minneapolis!
I’ve only been to Chinese bakeries in Chinatown in Chicago, Oakland, and San Francisco so this was a nice treat to have a little closer to home. It’s relatively close to the U of M campus and the buns are generally pretty filling. One stark difference I observed between these buns and from Chicago’s buns, is that they are considerably more expensive and not as abundant in supply. However, some of the buns are a little bigger (e.g BBQ pork) The BBQ Pork bun here is pretty good and juicy. I tried the egg tarts here and they are delicious. I like how they don’t have too much pie crust around the edges because I i like getting straight to the egg filling. My siblings also like the coconut custard bun and the BBQ Pastry Puff.
It’s also a nice service that the employee can heat up your buns on the spot rather then having it lukewarm at some other Chinese bakeries. This place also has a nearby ATM which is more convenient then having to get lost walking blocks for one.