The Little Mermaid Cafe

What a fun building! This place is decorated beautifully with vintage toys and historic pictures around with mermaid themed decor all over the walls. We spent a good amount of our time admiring all the decorations and funny little cafe saying signs. We came in during the dreaded after church lunch rush on a Sunday and the staff handled it phenomenally! We were warned about the wait for food (it wasn't that bad, we were happy to chat!) and you could really feel the passion and care the employees had for the place as we noticed them recognizing many customers by name. Additionally they thanked everyone for coming which is always a nice customer service touch. As someone used to city pricing, this place is a super fest bang for your buck! Sodas were $1.99 for a can and a glass of ice and my BLT sandwich with chips was only $7.99! My partner had their haystack breakfast and their sausage gravy is phenomenal, we loved both of our meals and the over easy eggs came out perfectly! I definitely think this is a great place for families or couples to stop for a meal. The hometown feeling is wonderful and while it may not be the fastest meal or the fanciest/most creative menu it absolutely nailed the experience for us and the kindness the place radiated sealed the deal!

Want to add History and a little culture to your morning? The quintessential small town America restaurant. Slow down and enjoy a great breakfast. Local service preserving their heritage. Plan on the Last Saturday of the month to enjoy a serving of Æbleskiver. Not fast food but good food.

Service is okay, food is excellent! Is a great stop if you want that rustic peaceful environment for your breakfast!

My husband is a regular at this little restaurant that's located in a former school that now houses the Pine County Historical Museum. I've heard so much about the staff and other customers, I couldn't wait to meet all his friends. I want to be clear, this isn't a fine dining establishment. What it is though, is a restaurant that is run by a kind and capable woman, Michelle, who knows and cares for her customers and puts out a consistent product. The museum and restaurant are supported by volunteers from the community. Let that sink in for a moment. This business is an important part of the Pine County community and the citizens show up to support it. The food is solid. Now that I know about it, I can finally skip the hordes of Up North-ers who pour into Tobie's between Memorial and Labor Days and enjoy breakfast or lunch in a much better atmosphere. My husband has tried everything on the menu including the various specials. I've slowly turned him from a Perkins regular into a food snob over the last twenty years, so he knows quality when he tastes it. This is standard breakfast and lunch fare, with a few specials thrown in. The day I visited happened to be the 4th Saturday of the month so I was fortunate to try Aebleskivers for the first time. They're often described as a Danish pancake, but they're really like a spherical hybrid of a popover and a pancake. Delightful! Worth the trip for those alone. From now on, when I accompany my husband on his jaunts up North, The Little Mermaid Cafe will always be a destination.

We had not been to Askov for over 20 years but decided to return to St. Paul from Duluth via 23 until it hit the freeway. It's a great scenic drive. I'm old enough to know it was once the primary highway to Duluth. We went into Askov looking for a store that's gone but in driving by the former school building we noticed it had been claimed by a city museum and a cafe. And it was lunchtime.The school building is fairly modern, built in the latter part of the 20th Century, I think, so it's very useful. Hats off to Askov for making great use of the building. For us, the cafe was a very welcome sight. It's clean comfortable and accessible. A server approached just as we settled into booth and the coffee and water came quickly. The menu was a good mix of American fare and they even offered all day breakfast. I chose fish and fries while my wife selected salad and sweet potato fries. The portions were generous. I couldn't even finish my fish and I love it. The service was accurate and attentive throughout. It's a convenient stop if you happen to be passing through Pine County. I'd recommend it.

Skip the coffee, ordered the basic eggs and bacon, Hashbrowns were an extra which I thought to be rather odd. food was good. atmosphere was unusual for a small town USA Appeared to be an gymnasium turned into a café. Sorry but probably won't be back if for no other reason than The cook was very slow Very very slow and the gym location.

Never ate in at this restaurant, but have ordered to go more than a few times, I have never really been over impressed, not to say I have been unimpressed though. Find the prices a little high compared to other restaurants nearby, i recently ordered a chef salad to go and was not to wowed by the looks as it looked average, but the taste was out of this world good. So you be the judge and see what u think.

Great food. Great staff. Must check it out. And the museum to. Staff is friendly. Great menu options.

Our corvette club, which had 18 cars, met at Chambers Grove by Jay Cook, and all headed down 23 to this restaurant and museum. What a great place to eat lunch. Couldn't believe how accommodating the owner was. She bent over backwards even decorating the tables and printing up special corvette placemats and menus. The food was delicious. If you get a chance, take this drive and have lunch. The museum and gift shop was fun to tour.

I had a generic breakfast of eggs and breaded steak with sausage gravy. It was fine, with a typical chicken fried steak. The eggs were tasty and nicely cooked. My wife enjoyed her French toast.