Restaurant in St Paul, United States
St Paul's go-to relaxed brunch spot.
The Buttered Tin is St Paul's go-to for a relaxed celebration brunch or solo morning treat, with an easy walk-in policy and a counter full of baked goods you can see before you order. It works best for parties of two to four on a daytime occasion. Skip it if you need a late-night or dinner-format venue.
The Buttered Tin on 7th Street East in St Paul is the right call for a relaxed special occasion breakfast or brunch — a date morning, a low-key celebration, or a solo treat where you want something noticeably better than a diner without the formality of a full dinner reservation. If you are planning a late-night occasion, note that this is a daytime destination; its strengths are in the morning and midday hours, not after dark.
Visually, The Buttered Tin reads as a neighbourhood bakery-café with a counter presence that pulls the eye immediately — baked goods stacked and on display, the kind of room where you can see exactly what you are about to eat before you order it. That transparency is part of the appeal for a special occasion: there is no guesswork, and the setting is warm without being precious. For a celebration brunch or a date, the low-formality atmosphere works in its favour , you can linger without feeling rushed.
On a practical level, this is an easy venue to book, which matters. For a last-minute celebration brunch in St Paul, you are not going to hit the booking friction you would at a tighter reservation-only spot. That accessibility makes it a dependable anchor for a morning-occasion plan.
Solo diners do well here , counter seating and a walk-in-friendly policy make it one of the more comfortable solo options in the St Paul daytime dining set. For groups celebrating something, it works leading for parties of two to four; larger groups may find the space less accommodating. Dress is casual; St Paul's daytime café culture does not call for anything beyond everyday clothes, and The Buttered Tin fits squarely in that register.
For context on how St Paul's café and restaurant scene compares more broadly, see our full St Paul restaurants guide, and if you are building a full trip around the visit, our St Paul hotels guide and bars guide are worth checking. You can also explore St Paul experiences and wineries in the area.
Booking difficulty is easy. No phone number or booking URL is listed in our current data , walk-in is likely the standard approach, and given the easy booking difficulty rating, that should not be a problem except on peak weekend mornings. Arrive early on weekends to avoid a queue.
Against its St Paul daytime peers, The Buttered Tin competes most directly with Colossal Cafe and Cafe Latte for the brunch-and-baked-goods niche. Highland Grill skews more dinner-and-diner, while Foxy Falafel and Caffe Biaggio serve different meal formats. If your occasion is a celebratory brunch with visible pastry quality as part of the experience, The Buttered Tin is the call over a standard diner. If you want dinner-level service for your celebration, look elsewhere in the St Paul set.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Buttered Tin | Easy | — | |
| Cafe Latte | Unknown | — | |
| Colossal Cafe | Unknown | — | |
| Caffe Biaggio | Unknown | — | |
| Foxy Falafel | Unknown | — | |
| Highland Grill | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Yes, but calibrate expectations: this is a relaxed neighbourhood cafe on 7th Street East, not a formal dining room. It works well for a low-key birthday breakfast or a date brunch where the priority is good food and a comfortable setting rather than ceremony. If you need tableside service and a prix-fixe format, look at Cafe Latte for a slightly more structured experience.
It's one of the more solo-friendly options in the St Paul daytime scene. Counter seating and a walk-in-friendly approach mean you won't feel stranded waiting for a table. Bring something to read or just watch the room — the counter placement makes it easy to settle in without feeling like you're taking up space.
Colossal Cafe is the closest competitor for the baked-goods-and-brunch niche and is worth considering if The Buttered Tin has a wait. Cafe Latte, also in St Paul, offers a broader menu in a larger space and suits groups better. For something further from the brunch format, Highland Grill runs a full diner-style operation with longer hours.
Specific menu items aren't confirmed in our current data, so treat any dish-level detail you read elsewhere with caution — menus shift seasonally. The counter display of baked goods is a reliable starting point: what's stacked up front is worth ordering. Ask staff what came out that morning.
This is a neighbourhood bakery-cafe on 7th Street East in St Paul — come as you are. Jeans and a jacket are fine; so is whatever you'd wear to a Saturday morning errand run. No dress code applies here.
No booking URL or phone number is listed in our current data, which points to walk-in as the standard approach. Given the easy booking difficulty, showing up without a reservation should be workable most days — though weekend mornings may see a short wait. Arrive early if you're going on a Saturday or Sunday.
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