Of primary note is that this is a museum cafe. Also noteworthy is that we arrived on a holiday weekend at prime lunch time. With these factors in mind, that both the food and service was as great as it was came as a surprise to me. A concise, deftly prepared menu of very fresh, healthy fare was happy to be ate by my face. Our server was casual, informative, efficient, and attentive. If I were to gripe it would be to note that the back room we were seated in felt more like a lecture room than a restaurant (which perhaps it is off-season?) and the dining room was worse for wear what with all the families dining there. Kinda filthy, really. That said, it's explicable given museum cafe at high tide. In any case, I will be back for the fare.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Savannah Sinfield
Wanted a taste of Scandinavia before I left Minneapolis and FIKA did not disappoint! They made sure to rush my order when they knew I had a flight to make — attentive and kind service in a beautiful setting. The attention to detail and freshness of the Skagen was beautiful, and although I’m not typically an espresso martini girl, this was the best I’ve ever had!
Xiaoqing Wan
Service was terrible
Clinton Alexander
A small cafe at the American Swedish Institute. The food and service were great! Try the Swedish Coffee! The meatballs were scrumptious! The Cadamom Bread Pudding was to die for. A slice of Pumpkin Seed Bread was yummy as well.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Swedish Meatballs, Cardamom Bread Pudding
Francis Buckingham III
Food was good but in small portions. Our waitress Tina seemed to be perpetually annoyed and was curt with pretty much interaction despite us smiling and saying please/thank you. I don’t think I’d come back at this price point.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
Shane French
Excellent service, personable staff and professionally executed food presentation. I'll always enjoy eating here
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kianmehr Ehtiatkar
Love this place! It’s very conveniently located in the Swedish Institute and perfect for families with small children! The menu is well curated, and there are coffee and pastry items for purchase as well!
Had a great lunch here when visiting MN! If I'm back in the area again I'll be coming back :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rick White
Visited on 7.1.2025 and got served by Neil. The Swedish Meatballs and Lingonberry Soda were Perfect. The Café is a fantastic compliment to the American Swedish Institute. BRAVO Neil! Your service was Spectacular!
Food is fresh and delicious. A little speedy, but the quality is amazing
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kathryn Van Wert
We love ASI for the kids’ play area downstairs, and often we’ll stay for lunch after a visit. The food at Fika is mostly excellent, but I don’t know why they can’t figure out how to provide decent service. We’ve probably eaten here 20+ times, and almost every time we experience a VERY long wait for something - to take our order, bring our food, bring the check, etc. I’m not sure if they’re chronically understaffed or just have inexperienced servers, but we’ve started to avoid eating there because we expect such a long wait, even when we can get a table right away.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 1
Angela Mielke
Wow! I was thinking this was going to be cafeteria food. I was ENTIRELY wrong! Everything is made in house! The food, coffee and desserts are incredible! If you've never tried Swedish food you must stop here! So yummy!!!!
Jeffrey Truckenmiller
FIKA Café – 1 Star I came here for a relaxing Swedish lunch and left feeling like I’d accidentally joined a minimalist cult that worships dill.
First of all, I paid $19 for three meatballs and what I hope was potato purée—though it had the texture of something Björn dug up from a glacier. The lingonberries tasted like IKEA sadness and unmet expectations.
The server told me the experience was about “slowing down and savoring.” I slowed down. I stared. I waited. I aged. I achieved full Norse time dilation. Odin himself could not have endured the eternity between ordering and receiving a plate of deconstructed melancholy.
Their “cardamom bun” tasted like a cinnamon roll that gave up on life halfway through baking and decided to major in interpretive dance.
Also, the aesthetic? It’s like dining inside a snowdrift designed by a ghost.
Would I return? Only if I lose a bet, or am sentenced by a Scandinavian judge for crimes against design.
Josh M
A fantastic gem for lunch. Their patio is very nice. The bread pudding was spectacular.
Of primary note is that this is a museum cafe. Also noteworthy is that we arrived on a holiday weekend at prime lunch time. With these factors in mind, that both the food and service was as great as it was came as a surprise to me. A concise, deftly prepared menu of very fresh, healthy fare was happy to be ate by my face. Our server was casual, informative, efficient, and attentive. If I were to gripe it would be to note that the back room we were seated in felt more like a lecture room than a restaurant (which perhaps it is off-season?) and the dining room was worse for wear what with all the families dining there. Kinda filthy, really. That said, it's explicable given museum cafe at high tide. In any case, I will be back for the fare.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wanted a taste of Scandinavia before I left Minneapolis and FIKA did not disappoint! They made sure to rush my order when they knew I had a flight to make — attentive and kind service in a beautiful setting. The attention to detail and freshness of the Skagen was beautiful, and although I’m not typically an espresso martini girl, this was the best I’ve ever had!
Service was terrible
A small cafe at the American Swedish Institute. The food and service were great! Try the Swedish Coffee! The meatballs were scrumptious! The Cadamom Bread Pudding was to die for. A slice of Pumpkin Seed Bread was yummy as well.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Swedish Meatballs, Cardamom Bread Pudding
Food was good but in small portions. Our waitress Tina seemed to be perpetually annoyed and was curt with pretty much interaction despite us smiling and saying please/thank you. I don’t think I’d come back at this price point.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
Excellent service, personable staff and professionally executed food presentation. I'll always enjoy eating here
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Love this place! It’s very conveniently located in the Swedish Institute and perfect for families with small children! The menu is well curated, and there are coffee and pastry items for purchase as well!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A hidden gem.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Swedish Meatballs, Gravlax, Beet Salad, Salmon Smörgåsar, Fingerling Potatoes, Kladdkaka, Scone, Salmon Sandwich
Had a great lunch here when visiting MN! If I'm back in the area again I'll be coming back :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Visited on 7.1.2025 and got served by Neil. The Swedish Meatballs and Lingonberry Soda were Perfect. The Café is a fantastic compliment to the American Swedish Institute. BRAVO Neil! Your service was Spectacular!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Swedish Meatballs
Restaurantji Recommends
Food is fresh and delicious. A little speedy, but the quality is amazing
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We love ASI for the kids’ play area downstairs, and often we’ll stay for lunch after a visit. The food at Fika is mostly excellent, but I don’t know why they can’t figure out how to provide decent service. We’ve probably eaten here 20+ times, and almost every time we experience a VERY long wait for something - to take our order, bring our food, bring the check, etc. I’m not sure if they’re chronically understaffed or just have inexperienced servers, but we’ve started to avoid eating there because we expect such a long wait, even when we can get a table right away.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 1
Wow! I was thinking this was going to be cafeteria food. I was ENTIRELY wrong! Everything is made in house! The food, coffee and desserts are incredible! If you've never tried Swedish food you must stop here! So yummy!!!!
FIKA Café – 1 Star
I came here for a relaxing Swedish lunch and left feeling like I’d accidentally joined a minimalist cult that worships dill.
First of all, I paid $19 for three meatballs and what I hope was potato purée—though it had the texture of something Björn dug up from a glacier. The lingonberries tasted like IKEA sadness and unmet expectations.
The server told me the experience was about “slowing down and savoring.” I slowed down. I stared. I waited. I aged. I achieved full Norse time dilation. Odin himself could not have endured the eternity between ordering and receiving a plate of deconstructed melancholy.
Their “cardamom bun” tasted like a cinnamon roll that gave up on life halfway through baking and decided to major in interpretive dance.
Also, the aesthetic? It’s like dining inside a snowdrift designed by a ghost.
Would I return? Only if I lose a bet, or am sentenced by a Scandinavian judge for crimes against design.
A fantastic gem for lunch. Their patio is very nice. The bread pudding was spectacular.
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