Kat's Cafe - Eden Prairie, MN

I had driven by Kat’s Café once while I was lost on the endless curving dead-end roads of Eden Prairie and knew I wanted to eat there. I checked it out on line and knew if I didn’t put it on my calendar at work, I’d forget to do it. The day arrived!

The place is a little difficult to see, but thankfully, they have a sandwich board sign out in the grass out in front of the place. One reason it is difficult to find is it is on the ground floor of a residential apartment building. Odd location, but it really makes it unique once you’re inside. Despite this statement jeopardizing my male card status, this place is so cute, it will make you want to squeeze a panda bear’s cheek. It is super tiny in the section you order your food in and then it opens into an equally cute and happy green dining area with four tables in it. Seriously, this place makes you smile. The friendly woman behind the counter and her cute 3-year-old son walking around adds to the charm.

The food menu isn’t huge, but they have some appetizery things and some sandwiches. It is basically a Vietnamese sandwich shop that sells coffee and bubble tea smoothies. I’ve had a few Banh Mi sandwiches that were just ok, but I thought I should give this one a shot. I also got an order of fresh spring rolls and a lychee bubble tea smoothie. Al the food here is REALLY cheap, so keep that in mind and don’t skimp on ordering – the portions aren’t small, just the cost. The sandwich costs 3 dollars and the spring rolls were either 2 or 3. Very affordable for a light lunch.

It didn’t take long. I think the lady made the spring rolls fresh after I ordered it – at least they tasted like that. There were two of them and they were quite large and delicious. I’m glad I got these. There was a cold peanut sauce to dip them in and they really hit the spot.

The bubble tea smoothie was quite good, but they usually are. I was just happy to have one since it was over 100 degrees outside.

The sandwich came out a short while later. I am not even sure what was on this sandwich. It was on a hard baguette, which I normally don’t like, but this one was crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. There were slices of cucumber and carrots, jalapenos and pork, but then there was also some white thick layer that I couldn’t tell if it was a soft root vegetable or a piece of meat with something in it. I know some places put head cheese on the sandwich as a sort of pate, but I don’t even know if this had it. The same goes with mustard – I couldn’t taste it, but it might have been on there. The whole thing had a great fresh cilantro zing as the aftertaste that was really good.

This is one of the best banh mi sandwiches I’ve had. I’m not an aficionado or anything, but I was really quite happy with this entire meal. I’ll definitely be back here. It is extremely close to where I work, and I’ll see if I can talk some of my friends and coworkers into going here. It’s worth a trip. But only during the week – they aren’t open on Saturdays or Sundays.

Just go here and make sure this place stays open. It’s a little gem hidden in deep, dark Eden Prairie. This place is awesome.

Top 5 things about Kat’s Café
1. Banh Mi sandwich
2. Fresh spring rolls
3. Super cute on the inside
4. Lots of bubble tea smoothie flavors
5. VERY close to where I work

Bottom 5 things
1. Small menu
2. If this place gets more than 5 people in it, it will be packed
3. Not open on weekends
4. Small food menu, unless you like appetizers
5. It simply difficult to find, unless you know where you’re looking

www.katscafemn.com