Aster Cafe Reviews

The Aster was perfect for our big day. We rented the River Room and Shasta Tent. The venue coordinator, Serina, was so easy to work with and an excellent communicator. We planned our wedding from San Diego and she made the process so easy. She was also very flexible when we had to make some last minute changes.

We also paid a little bit more to customize our menu. Charlie had a great pulse on the type of meals we wanted and the execution was beyond anything I ever expected. Even 5 months later, people are still talking about the food! The drinks were really great as well.

The bar and wait staff were so attentive and considerate. I was obviously rushing around all day, we were taking pictures when dessert came out so we missed it. At the end of the night when everything was closing down, one of the wait staff brought me my dessert that he had saved for me. You can imagine my joy after a long day and a few palomas, haha!

The space and the location are dreamy. It was perfect for our wedding with 75ish guests. The European style vibes from Aster paired with a beautiful June evening along the Stone Arch Bridge made for a totally magical evening.

Having out wedding was at Aster Cafe in their River Room was wonderful! The room itself was beautiful and unique which meant we had very little of our own decor. We also were able to utizlise their outdoor green Shasta tent for our ceremony and cocktail hour. We loved that space too and was really happy we had the option to use that space along with the River Room. Serina was wonderful to work with as well. Great communication, knowledgeable and timely. She was great to talk to during the planning process and she was great to work with day of. The bar staff was 10/10 and the food was 10/10 (Jefe). For anyone who is wanting a smaller wedding under 100 people I highly suggest Aster Cafe and their River Room. Thank you Serina and Aster Cafe for the best day!

The River Room at Aster Cafe was perfect. The staff was amazing to work with. We mostly worked with Serina Brasseur for planning. Serina was unbelievably patient with my many questions. They also let us reschedule because of concerns regarding rising COVID-19 numbers in 2021 so we got legally married and then had our party at Aster in 2022. We had 68 guests and that felt pretty good in the space. There is a room flip if you plan to do dinner and a party/dancing, but the staff was very speedy and people just chatted in the hallway for a few minutes. Food was delicious and came out pretty timely given the large number of guests. Would absolutely recommend working with Aster.

Our December wedding was perfect thanks to the beautiful ambiance and decor of the River Room, the incredible staff that was so attentive and professional, and Serena's attention to detail throughout the planning process. We had 80 guests and it was a very intimate, warm setting, with amazing views of the skyline and even passing horse-drawn carriages. We loved every minute of it!

We used this space for our rehearsal dinner in June of 2021. It was absolutely the perfect size for our group. With the bar and dinning area there was plenty of room for everyone to have a great time. Serina did a wonderful job helping us plan our event!

The Aster Cafe made our wedding so memorable and enjoyable. They have an excellent team- we are STILL getting comments about how great the bar staff and wait staff were. Considering it was the middle of the largest blizzard of the year, staff could have been crabby and late, but everyone was smiling and quick to help when needed. The coordinators were so helpful and reassuring through the planning process, and so kind through the event, handling everything with such grace. The River Room was perfect for our group of about 80.
The planning process was also a highlight of the experience with the venue. We toured the room a couple of times, and the coordinators were quick to answer questions and work with our ideas. While creating the menu we changed our minds multiple times but they helped us refine our ideas and it turned out amazing- all of the food was incredible.
January 18th, 2020 was both the coldest and best day of our lives. Despite the storm, it was not at all stressful and that was largely in part to Aster.

Aster hosted our groom's dinner, and it was a night to remember! We booked the River room, and it was perfect! The venue has so much character, beautiful view, and very roomy.

The bartenders, servers, and the Chef were fantastic! We had many great drinks, and everyone is still talking about the food. I'm telling you... the food was some of the best I've ever had.

I strongly recommend you consider the Aster cafe for hosting your groom's dinner or wedding, for that matter!

We had a smallish wedding of 65 people in the River Room and our day was absolutely perfect. We chose to do a Sunday Afternoon brunch of plated and served Eggs Benedict and French Toast and then had flatbread pizzas served at Happy Hour time about 5:45pm during our dance with our small bluegrass trio. Everything was stunning. If you plan on having your ceremony in the River Room note that the space is a bit tricky for photography and getting a good spot with light. We were fortunate to have an amazing photographer who was there early to help us set up and create the optimal ceremony space. I'll include a picture of how we set it. Hope that helps!

For those hoping for an intimate wedding setting you simply cannot find a better venue than the Aster Cafe. My wife and I got married underneath the Shasta Tent with the reception in the River Room afterwards. Every single one of our guests told us it was their favorite wedding venue/atmosphere and the food was to quote "AH-mazing!"
No review of Aster Cafe without mention of Dawn, their event coordinator, would be complete. From start to finish, we could not have asked for a better captain to man the helm than Dawn. She simply was amazing. Professional, accomodating, and super understanding with all the last minute changes and details we decided to make. She went above and beyond for every step of the process. We cannot recommend Aster Cafe highly enough.

Wonderful venue for small intimate ceremony and reception. We had the most perfect wedding ceremony and reception at the Aster and Dawn was a doll to work with!

Where to even begin?! We hosted our 120 guest wedding on a very rainy spring day at the Aster. Dawn was our point person throughout the entire planning process and day-of, and we could not have dreamed of a more capable, flexible, unsayably awesome person to put in charge. A lot of people have mentioned the wonder that is Dawn in these reviews, but I cannot express just how amazing this woman is. I produce events professionally and am especially particular, but I had no problem turning over the reigns the moment we first met-- she's just that good!

When the skies parted and began pouring down on our outdoor ceremony site, Dawn and her team were quick to rearrange the chairs under the tent so our guests all stayed dry. The food was delicious, the bartenders were hilarious, and we were simply in awe of the naturally romantic, cozy atmosphere that is the Aster. All of their spaces feel like an old haunt somewhere in Prague-- it's truly one of the most beautiful venues in the city. We chose to host our ceremony under the Shasta Tent, reception in the River Room, and toasts in the Grotto. Because of the historic style of these rooms, we hardly brought in any decor-- the spaces truly speak for themselves. We just brought in some lanterns and tossed the bridal party bouquets in empty vases and voila! Instant ambiance.

Aesthetics aside, we continue to have our wedding guests comment on how much they adored our bartenders, Dawn, and the whole Aster crew. If you're looking to host a gorgeous event with minimal stress, look no further than the Aster!

We had a rainy Friday night wedding at Aster Cafe. The staff at Aster was amazing and super accommodating, especially given the rain/cold. Their coordinator Dawn was great during planning and the day of. If you go with Aster I recommend paying the nominal fee to have them take care of everything. Its completely worth it to have them set up everything, flip the ceremony space to be a hang out space, etc. It was great not having to think about that! Aster was super open and flexible with what we wanted to do as well. We had a band, pinball tables, and more of a cocktail/party style reception than the usual sit down. There was a change of the guard mid planning so it felt as though some info/details got lost in the shuffle, but despite some last minute changes/additions everything went off without a hitch! If you want a smaller wedding (around 100 or less) Aster is a great option! Price is great compared to other venues in the Minneapolis area. You don’t have to decorate if you don’t want to, everything can be at one place, their food is good, and the area/space is great for pictures.

Aster Café was phenomenal accommodating our requests, needs, wants, etc... it's a beautiful venue that is extremely flexible in everyway. We did not originally book the outdoor patio space as we felt we would not need it but when more guests arrived than RSVP'd the venue took it upon themselves to make sure our guests were comfortable and added seating outside without charging us or even commenting on the matter.

The food was wonderful, fresh, hot and to our requests. Everything went so smoothly all we had to do was enjoy our day without feeling stressed our venue wasn't following through. They went above and beyond with courtesy and professionalism when they easily could have chose to stick to the bare minimum. Fantastic vendor with a real people who genuinely care about your event.

I truly wish we could do the entire day again and again because it was so easy... literally the day was perfect because they took care of everything and were so kind.

We honestly feel that this is a perfect venue for a small wedding! The River Room is incredibly beautiful. Truly, you have to see it in person. Everything from the original brick, to the classic decor, to even the tables which suit the space perfectly.

Our entire experience was fantastic. They were accommodating and helpful, and the servers/bartenders were so amazing at our reception. Every one of our guests asked how we found this venue!

Aster Cafe turned out to be the perfect place to get married for my husband and I. We originally chose this venue because of the smaller size and our smaller budget, but we were blown away by the level of service that was provided to us in planning out our day. They took care of our every need, including ones we didn't know we even needed! They provided us a day-of wedding coordinator (Dawn) who was wonderful to work with; very professional, experienced, and accommodating. Would highly recommend using Aster Cafe as a wedding venue for weddings up to 80 guests like we had - it was the perfect size, and all of our guests had a blast.

I was hoping to book Aster for a fall wedding to use the outdoor space for a ceremony, but when our plans fell through we switched to a winter wedding indoors using the River Room. I was not disappointed, it was wonderful, intimate, and such a cool space to use along the river. There was a change in event management halfway through planning the event, but it still went very smoothly. My favorite thing about the venue was that it is so atmospheric (and historic), you don't have to bring anything in to dress it up more. My photographer kept saying how perfect it was. Just find a good florist and a few personal touches and you're good to go! The Aster is a gem; you couldn't go wrong with using this space for a smaller wedding.

When my husband and I got to the River Room at Aster, we knew it was where we wanted to have our wedding. It was the perfect size and vibe for what we were imagining. We worked with both Jenn and Michelle throughout the planning process and they were both great. Extremely flexible, low key and very responsive to my (millions of) questions. We chose to have our ceremony on the patio under the tent - it was a beautiful day so the background noise from restaurant patrons was a little distracting but not an interruption. They quickly flipped the ceremony space to a lovely outdoor space for the reception in addition to the River Room. We had some passed apps and the taco bar - very popular with guests! Also loved the house wines and beer selections - so many weddings have the standard light beers and "imports" but Aster offered delicious craft beers. The prices were comparable to other venues we looked at but overall I feel it was a good value for an amazing night. The team at Aster took everything down for us at the end of the night and made sure our valuables were locked up for us to pick up the next day - very much appreciated. The space itself has so much history and requires very little decoration - major bonus! It is also on St. Anthony Main so there are amazing views and photo opps nearby. I wouldn't have wanted to have our wedding anywhere else - Aster was perfect!

We had our son's rehearsal dinner at Aster in the River Room. The room is absolutely beautiful especially after the sun goes down. It glows with all the candles lit and the view of the city is spectacular! Dawn made it extremely easy to plan and it was everything we hoped it would be. The wait staff are very professional and although attentive we hardly knew they were there, in a good way. Guests loved the food and the room is set up perfectly with the bar right there. Very happy with our choice of Aster Cafe!!

Fantastic place to have a wedding!! We are so happy with the way things turned out!! Thank you Aster!!

They were too expensive to book as a rehearsal dinner venue so we just got a reservation for 14 people and it was amazing!

From the time we booked they raised the entree price 40% from $29 to $45. The day we went to set up the bartender "joked" that they were closed. Not funny when you are stressed enough during wedding time. The coordinator had a family emergency but instead of getting someone to cover for her, she was there and on the phone ignoring us. Three servers stood on the side of the room and we had to get our own drinks because they aren't "beverage" servers only servers. We were told the door could be open to outside and when I asked, the bar helper yelled at me and refused. It took a talk with management to get it done. The bar helper then proceeded to clear 3/4 full drinks and pour them out when we were paying for each one. He was extremely rude to myself and other guests. The only high note was the bartender who worked extremely hard. I called for items left the next day and they said they would call back within the half hour. Never did. Next day when I went to retrieve items, it took them 20 min. to get them to me. The food was okay but NOT worth $45. Nor was sitting on fold up wood chairs. Overall experience was very disappointing. For 35 people the $2500 price tag seemed ridiculous.