Carol's Restaurant

Good Food, poor service. I have been here many times. The food has always been good, but the service, except for a few waitresses, is VERY SLOW. Desserts are usually pretty good, though they do fall below par once in awhile. I recommend you go, but only if you have time to spare. more

Took my 8 year old grandchild on Jan 6, 2012. I had meatloaf sandwich with potatoes, gravey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Absolutely delicious. My granddaughter had a childs portion of chicken strips and french fries. I am not a french fry eater...but after trying one of hers, had a hard time to keep from not ordering a plate of my own, but we were in a rush to get to the movies. The atmosphere is like Moms kitchen. Server very cheerful, attentive. Finished off with a piece of pie that was better than I have made so far. For my Grandaughter to be thrilled with anything but Mc'Donalds, this was a surprise. We actually like the same restaurant. more

I took my daughter-in-law and 2 young grandchildren for lunch to Carol's yesterday. All of us were craving pancakes and I'd heard Carol's had good ones. When I discovered that they don't serve breakfast past 11--it was after 12--we decided, since we were already there with the 2 kids in tow, we'd stay anyway. Big mistake! First of all, my daughter-in-law is a very small and picky eater and knew she wouldn't be able to finish a half pound hamburger so we asked if she could order the children's menu portion. We were told NO, absolutely not, the manager would never go for that. She ended up eating a quarter of the regular hamburger. My grandson's grilled cheese came with seasoned fries, not the plain regular fries. WHY would they serve, as a default (you have to order the plain ones specifically), the ones little kids would not eat? Seasoned fries require a more advanced palate and it would be just as simple to give them regular unadorned fries. Then, at the end of the meal, when we were waiting for our server so we could pay the bill, we found that she had mysteriously disappeared. We waited quite a while for her return and finally gave up and went to the front counter. By then, my grandchildren were interested in the pies in the front case so I decided to buy a piece to share at home. BIG MISTAKE. The person at the front desk told me she had to find our waitress to add it to the bill. I asked why I couldn't just have it on a separate bill, as they'd do with a regular take-out. She said then I'd have two charges on my credit card. I told her I didn't mind. It wouldn't cost me any more to do that. She wouldn't do it. When it finally got settled and I added a tip I'd figured when I saw the original bill, I wondered if I should have added more tip, given it was another $5 for the pie. I didn't and left, feeling really cheap. It was not a good experience nor a good value, costing$40 for two sandwiches and two children's meals and a piece of pie. The food was merely mediocre, with the exception of the wonderfully delicious banana cream pie. All in all, it was a huge disappointment and not what I'd consider family friendly. more

My teenage daughter and I frequent Carol's about every 4-6 weeks either for dinner or just a late afternoon piece of amazing desert. From the hot turkey open face sandwich to the salads the food is amazingly yummy. And if you go, you have to try the deserts. Everything is delicious! Service has always been excellent. And, it's a great place to sit and catch up on things. We love it and can not recommend Carol's any more exuberantly. Oh - and don't forget to browse the gift shop. They have beautiful pretty things to look at - and it smells great. Prices are quite high on most stuff, but it's fun to look. more

I had some friends from Arizona in town and had read some reviews for Carol's which seemed to be good. Our experience at this ""hometown"" restaurant was horrid... We'll never go back again. The service was absolutely unacceptable. Not only our waitress had appeared in a negative light, but also the management that had come out to check on us. If you have kids under the age of 10, this is not the place to bring them. We had been seated on the outdoor patio, which was fine, but after that we had been forgotten about. We sat out there for nearly 20 minutes prior to even being brought water. When we did order, we had order our kids meals along with a few appetizers, 20 more minutes had passed prior to having our waitress back out, all of our water was gone and yet no food... Our order was placed and 45 minutes later when we recieved our meals, 2 of them had been incorrect and my meal had been forgotten about completely. After being at the place for nearly 2 hours, I requested that my order be cancelled as my kids had been antsy. I was told that the food was all ready started to be prepared and that it could not be cancelled... Even with a few subtle hints of unsatisfactory the bill was not deducted and gratuity added. The food was nothing to brag about either. I was extremely disappointed in with our service, time spent and everything about this place. I would highly recommend you save your money and go to Perkins. The prices are much better, service is 10x's better. I regret bringing my out of town friends to this place. No wonder I've lived in the Coon Rapids/Blaine area for 10 years and haven't heard any reviews about this place... Anyone ever asks me about it, I'll be sure to give them my review... I've never written a review on any other place regardless of service, but this place topped any other experience... more

we ate at carols today and the service was the best I have ever had talk about making a customer feel at home!! they were on top of everything we needed or asked for!! and the food was unbelieveble!!! it was so fresh tasting as if they just pulled the turkey out of the oven for just for us!! and the fresh homemade deserts It was hard to pick so we had the coconut cake there and we took german choc. home!!you just have to go there to experince the wounderful food and service!! more

I have written about Carol's before and I am sad to say that my experiences there have not been improving.... more

I have written about Carol's before and I am sad to say that my experiences there have not been improving. The last few times I have eaten there ha... more

Whenever I have family come into town, I proudly take them to Carol's for the best homemade food ever. And they are never disappointed. I love the the Thai Peanut Chicken wrap. The tomato basil soup sets the standard for all others for me. And the turkey dinner is better than Grandma makes it. I highly recommend this restaurant to any and all who want great service, beautiful decor and amazing food! more

The food is just so good! I can’t even praise the cooking enough. You can close your eyes and point to something on the menu and be guaranteed to enjoy an excellent meal. As an added bonus, all the meat offered is free range. As an omnivore who has recently sworn off all factory farmed meat, this was an extra special good day! The servers are kind and the owners are right there and happy to answer questions. Do yourself a favor, skip the chain restaurants and make your way down the access road…find a special treat (and maybe take one home from the excellent bakery). more

I went to Carol's for the first time tonight, based on an outstanding review from my parents.\r \r From the unique drink, through the dessert, there was not a single flaw with the meal or the service. \r \r The salads come with home made dressings, which are outstanding. I had the pork chop with homemade stuffing, au gratin potatoes and veggies that I actually enjoyed eating. The pork chop was perfectly seasoned and juicy. I could have had an entire plate of the homemade stuffing, it was the best I have ever tasted! \r \r All of the desserts looked so delicious, I couldn't resist taking a slice of strawberry pie home. I was so full from dinner, I just didn't have any room left for dessert!\r \r The ambiance was perfect, small enough we were able to carry on a great conversation, all while enjoying great singing from a very nice gentleman.\r \r The service was perfect as well. Not too fast or intrusive.\r \r It's been a very long time in which I left a restaurant feeling like I had an outstanding meal, but Carol's fit the bill to a T! Pros: Relaxing, quaint, home cooked meals more

It all started with the big smiles and welcomes my family and I recieved from the staff as we walked into the door Pros: amazing service, average prices, at home atmosphere Cons: not for more

I have an on-again/off-again thing going with Carol's. I have been there and the food was fabulous only to... more

I have an on-again/off-again thing going with Carol's. I have been there and the food was fabulous only to go back to truly mediocre. I don't know ... more

This place has nice decor, that is about all it has going for it. The staff are rude, take their sweet time (2 1/2 hours to get a meal). The gift shop is fair, but you cannot use your check card for purchases under $10. Every time I have eaten here I have had bones in my hot turkey sandwich. Not small bones, but part of the turkey's spine, a leg bone and 1/4 set of ribs. When I brought it to their attention, they offered to bring out a new one. They would not take it off the bill and there was no appology whatsoever. So if you are bringing children or elderly people here, be aware that there will possibly be bones in your meal.\r \r I have had the salads here as well, they tasted pretty good, but I found gnats and flies in my salad and I got really sick from it twice. \r \r I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. Pros: The decor is like a tea shop Cons: Everything that requires a human more

Emphasis on homestyle cookin served with a medium scale restaurant flair. The service was attentive (altho a hostess to seat was unavailable when we arrived) table seating seemed abundant. This reminded me somehwat of Pannekoken Huis, Perkins but with more homestyle flair in the food. Don't get me wrong though, the presentation was better than those restaurants mentioned as the attention to detail the food serving was noted by the chef/cook. The place was a bit cold for my liking, (we went in Winter) They have a nice fireplace, but it was not in use. The decor is pleasant and is suited to most occasions. Foodwise: ordered a sampler appetizer, the tomato basil soup. Entree was a hot turkey sandwich smothered w/gravy. Everything we ordered was served hot, and tasted very good if not great. The wraps or deep fried chicken and black bean tortillas were very flavorful. Onion rings were crisp. Chicken fingers were real white meat which seemed like strips of breast battered in the same batter as the onion rings. The sauces that accompanied were very tasty with attention again being paid to detail. One was like a chipotle ranch? honey mustard, and a pecan flavored sauce mixed with what liked similar to a pesto type of base but sweet. Tomato Basil soup was more on the thick n chunky side like a spaghetti sauce and tasted like it could be a good base for that also. Seemed made from scratch. Lots of basil/tomato flavor. The turkey sandwich was served on rather thick slabs of white bread. Mashed potatoes & dressing also graced as sides. There was a good deal on meat on the sandwich which cost 10.00 and it was mixed in which and dark but it seemed to me there was probably more dark than I would like. All in all, it was very good. The coffee, latte, etc tasted very good also. Pros: good homestyle cooking Cons: cold more

Have been to Carol's several times. The food is always fresh, homemade, best salad's (ranch dressing, croutons around). The food is definitly not low fat... but if your in the mood for some good turn of the century cooking... homemade jelly and bread. Best Sweedish meatballs around.. Give it a try... the deserts are amazing..! Worth the wait and very reasonible prices. would highly recommend! :) Pros: Good Food, Friendly Service, Great Prices Cons: Sometimes very busy more

We have been to Carols twice. Both times we have had excellent food and even better service. Carols wants you to come back. Pros: Service, Food, Gift Shop Cons: Busy more

My wife practically had tears in her eyes when we saw that a new non-smoking restaurant was opening. Blaine is devoid of good food. On our first visit we looked over the menu and saw several items which looked great! None of which were available that day, and were subsequently crossed off the menu. Then we ordered an salad with baby greens, only to be served, without warning, iceburg lettuce. On our last visit, this morning, we planned on eating breakfast, but were told at 10:45 that they were now on the lunch menu and we could not have breakfast. I'm on a low carb diet and wanted eggs and bacon. Instead I had a marginal steak. What bothered me was that they served breakfast to others after they said no to us. Not once during our three, less-than-perfect meals, did the owner come out and talk to us. Pros: Good Burgers, Good Parking, Non-Smoking Cons: Poor Service, Expensive, They don't care more