Norske Nook

Decided to stop Sunday on a recent trip from Milwaukee to Minneapolis. Our party of three was seated quickly and then we waited and waited and waited. Although several waitresses were busking tables no one acknowledged us or came over. After 10 minutes I caught one waitresses eye but she looked down and continued past our booth. After 15 minutes we decided to leave walking past two of the three waitresses working in our section. I guess I should have asked for a manager as clearly our table wasn’t in anyone’s section but it’s not my job as a customer to point out bad management and inadequate staff training. In summary the pies would have to be out of this world to make it worth the frustration of the terrible service.

On our way past Osseo, we decided to stop in to the Norske Nook for a bite to eat. We arrived and were quickly seated at a booth directly across from the bakery. For 15 minutes we sat there waiting as servers walked past us. They all avoided eye contact and no one stopped to deliver water. Three waitresses seemed to be servicing that section and none of them acknowledged our presence. Finally fed up, we left without anyone so much as glancing in our direction. If I could give this place less than one star I would.

While famous for their award winning pies, they make some tasty pancakes as well. I tried the Norwegian pancake here and it was pretty delicious.

If you like pie, this is THE place to come! They only have about 50 varieties. And, since we are in Wisconsin, that means it is also Fish Fry Friday. My wife’s cod sandwich was great.
Servers are old school and most have been here a long time. It’s not the most lavish or comfortable place, but the food more than makes up for any other shortcomings. And take a loaf of wild rice/​cranberry bread for the road.

Chili was good on this rainy, chilly day. It was super hearty and flavorful. The Reuben was tasty and spinach & chicken lefse was mediocre. The lefse tasted like a dried out tortilla. The chicken was a little tough. The spinach, chicken, and mandarins were not evenly dispersed. I started off with too much chicken and barely any spinach and then ended up with no chicken and too much spinach. Had I know this ahead of time, I would have open up the lefse and mixed things up better. Service was friendly. Cashier was slooow (it’s an old lady).

We stopped here specifically to blow our diets and eat a piece of pie. I ordered blueberry and my boyfriend had cherry. The cherry was good, but nothing exceptional. The blueberry was disappointing, the consistency was like blue gelatin. Try their other flavors or stop for lunch. It was packed on a Sunday at 1pm.

Delicious food and baked goods! A must stop and see on your way to Chicago. It’s been a tradition in my family ever since my aunt moved to Chicago. The open face turkey sandwich is a memorable one!

Appears to be a real destination. Wife had a Western Patty Melt. It was good and a creative twist on an old standard. I was
more adventuresome. I tried a Burger Wrap. Interesting part was the whole burger, lettuce and tomato was wrapped in lefse. That was pretty weird. The lefse was cold and the burger was warm. It was good tasting, just a little odd. Pies seen to
be their claim to fame. We tied a strawberry cream cheese pie. It was too
sweet. The other berry pies looked good. We wished we had tried the blueberry pie. Any way, stop in if you are driving from St. Paul to Madison. Good spot for a break.

The pie is a 5+ star experience. Everything is pretty typical diner fare for Wisconsin, but the pie is worth traveling for. My favorite when in season is the strawberry pie.

Five Stars for Pie and 3 for rest of menu!
Stopped here on the way home from Minneapolis. The food was good, especially the wraps, but the pies are fabulous! I had the chocolate cream pie and it was wonderful. Others in our group had the raspberry pie and said it was delicious. The place was packed and it looked like everyone around us was enjoying their meals. When we stopped for gas on the way out of town the clerk at the gas station tried to sell us some candy bars and we remarked that we had just been to the Norske Nook and the clerk then gave us an unasked for history related to the new owners, how it wasn’t as good as it used to be, how a family member designed the uniforms etc… I would definitely recommend you check it out.

PIE.
This is pie so good that I will get off the highway during a 4.5 hour drive to make my way into town to park and push my way into a crowded restaurant and wait in line to get it.
My favorites so far have been the raspberry cream and the Snickers/​Butterfinger (different staff call it different things, I just call it delicious). If I had to pick one, though, it’d be the raspberry. So fresh-​tasting and the perfect balance of tart and sweet. Pretty to boot, but I would literally take a totally mangled slice happily because it’s so, so good.
Reasons I should probably actually rate them four stars:
— We ate real food on my first visit and it was fine — not bad but nothing I’d come back for, personally. I had a turkey lefse wrap and it was boring and the mashed potatoes were really potato-​y (aka would have benefited from some more dairy and salt when mashing). I just looked at their menu and it looks like they’ve updated a few things so perhaps I’ll give them another go.
— When they’re busy the lobby is a hot mess. People are crammed into every nook and cranny and the lines for the pie case and the checkout intermingle. I routinely get skipped over and cut in front of and it has taken me almost half an hour on some occasions to get a slice of pie or two and out the door.
— Staff doesn’t seem to know how to multi-​task. I stood in front of the pie case for several minutes on my last visit with five servers standing behind the counter and no one came over to help me or answer questions (pie slices aren’t labeled so I always have to ask what’s what because everything looks good and some aren’t easily identifiable). This happens pretty much every time I’m there.
Despite these shortcomings, the pie is truly so good that I ignore it all and go again and again because I black out with joy the second the first bite hits my lips.

We stopped in to pick up pies for Christmas. WoM was the way we heard about it. This was our first visit and our server was distracted. She shared the pie cost, pie tin fee, taxes, etc. the pies cost $ 26, the tins are $ 7 we added a few cookies and the order was almost $ 70. I loved or check out lady. I was surprised at the high cost.
The restaurant needs to be updated and expanded. This place has great potential. Osseo is a one horse town, Norskie Nook is the main draw downtown.
I will return.

The breakfast was just standard breakfast but the pie was phenomenal! I’d go back just for the pie alone!

Just typing about this gem makes my mouth water.
Go for pie. Lots of pie. All their pie is incredible! Our table of 3 ordered 4 pieces for there and took home 5 whole pies. It’s that good.
I had the stuffed burger (really good) and the boyfriend had some egg dish with hollandaise sauce (was excellent). We then went into a pie coma.
Very clean. Good atmosphere. The staff was VERY friendly and helpful. Would go out of our way to go back. Have sent friends there while they were traveling and they raved about it.

Always a nice stop. The pies The pies The pies
Friendly staff. Nice atmosphere. Good food and good prices. And did I mention the pies? Would love to visit the coffee and gift shop accross the street that they iwn, but it closes too early.

We stopped here on a whim and had a great breakfast. Very busy because it was Sunday. My husband had Scandinavian pancakes with lingonberries and whipped cream in a tribute to the Finnish character in a crime series we have been listening to while on the road. He also had potato pancakes, which he rated as delicious.
This is a quaint place that makes award-​winning pies and proudly celebrates its Norwegian heritage in its décor, its food, and its service. Our server, Bailee, was very sweet.

Be still my heart!!! Just the best place to stop between the Twin Cities and the Dells. It breaks up the drive nicely in almost half each way. The food is consistently good home cooking and the pies and other baked goods are out of this world!!!

I stopped here on the road trip back home from Minneapolis.
My mother ordered the turkey lefsa and I ordered the meatball lefsa.
Both were delicious and filling. ⁵⁄₅
The pecan dessert cake was just as tasty. ⁵⁄₅
I love the authenticity of the food items and the staff was dressed in traditional Norske dress.
We will return and be bringing my grandmother here in the summer!

Delicious as always! However, they were out of a lot of menu items. When our famiły ordered they were out of root beer, the ultimate potato pancake, and the raisin bread pie. We overheard many tables around us ordering and being told they were out of this or that.

Whenever we’re within a few miles of the Norske Nook we stop in for a meal or just pie and coffee.
Beyond the meatballs, I’ve not tried much on the food menu but what I have had has been very good, home made, accompanied by good coffee, and served by exceedingly friendly and helpful staff.
The pies I’ve been a little more experimental with and every one has been top notch delicious with a flaky melt in your mouth crust and tasty fillings. Seasonal favorites are pumpkin and fresh strawberry and cream pie favorites are coconut and Mounds — chocolate and coconut.
Dang. Now I want a big piece of that Mounds pie and and several cups of hot coffee and we’re 100 miles away…