Great Food, Great Scenery
Harbor View has big city style without big city pretentiousness. Its food is magnificent, hip without being trendy. When given a choice of restaurants, I always opt for the Harbor View over any restaurant in Minneapolis-St. Paul--even though there are certainly some terrific ones there.    [26 Jun 2002 14:41:03]

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Recommended Dishes: pesce, pork, internal organs

     ­Jenny Brantley   

Worth the Trip
This place is a gem. Intelligent, stylish, creative dishes with Midwest generosity. The place is homey, comfortable, inviting and friendly. I live in San Francisco and the Harbor View would definitely hold its own here. I try to drive down every I'm in the Twin Cities.    [23 Jul 2002 01:31:39]

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     ­   

A Safe
The dictionary defines the Harbor View Cafe as tranquility in motion. Your journey begins with a splendid drive along the mighty Mississippi River and Lake Pepin. Once in Pepin, you'll see that for a small town, this one has a lot to offer. Head to the Harbor View and get your name on the list while you relax and enjoy the awesome views. When your name is called, you'll enter into what can only be described as romantic.

The service and food have never been anything but outstanding in the 5 years we've been visiting. The changing menu allows one to enjoy the seasons as well as the food.

In short (if that's now possible), I can't say enough about this magnificent treasure.    [03 Mar 2003 17:18:42]

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Recommended Dishes: sautéed chicken breasts

     ­BOB   

Outstanding Food and Warm Atmosphere
The ride to the Harbor View, in my opinion, is what makes this expererience so great. If you go in the evening on a clear day the sunset over Lake Pepin will bring you to another world. As you drive on the coast line you pass through charming towns such as Stockholf and Maiden Rock before you reach Pepin. When I walk into the Harbor View, the warm aura that illuminates the room is only surpassed by their gourmet food. Boats that cruise the Mississippi bring a slowness to the night as the moon rises above the river. Believe me. It doesn't get much better that this.    [26 Apr 2003 17:07:28]

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Recommended Dishes: halibut with black butter caper sauce

     ­Anonymous   

Harbor View Cafe: Jewel in the Bracelet of the Mississippi
Living in the Twin Cities is possible because of this restaurant. In the 16 years I’ve been making the pilgrimage south to the Harbor View Café in Lake Pepin, Wisconsin, each meal has been nothing short of an extraordinary experience for the senses, especially the palate.

The Harbor View prepares regional fare with intelligence, flair, inventiveness and sophistication that would make Alice Waters proud. It’s no exaggeration when I say the way they handle seafood is second to none. I grew up on the ocean; I am extremely discerning and I know fish. The Harbor View is a temple for freshly prepared seafood and fish. It’s the only restaurant in the entire Midwest I order fish and know it will be respectfully and ingeniously prepared each and every time.

Go at different times of the year; you will experience the absolute best each Midwest season has to offer. Where else can you share an exquisite meal, select from an intelligent wine list, have a fantastic cup of coffee, listen to classical music, gleam shelves of a bookstore for great literature, books on birds and wildflowers or watch boats sail one of the widest expanses of the Mississippi? Drive along the bluffs of the Mississippi River on Hwy 35 or get a map and explore back roads of Wisconsin. Each meal you enjoy and any route you take to the Harbor View Café will be the perfect one.    [25 May 2003 09:12:25]

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Recommended Dishes: salmon in parchment, sautéed chicken breasts with champagne grapes, spring lamb, roast pork with red cabbage

     ­Anonymous   

Absolutely Wonderful
My wife and I just moved from Portland, Oregon to Rochester, Minnesota. We were told by my barber about this little place in Pepin, WI, an hour away and decided to drive up there. After an hours drive past some beautiful scenery, we arrived in Pepin - a quaint little town - and dropped in to the Harbor View Cafe.

After growing up in the Virgin Islands and spending the last 6 years in Portland, Oregon we breathed a sigh of relief. There is class and beauty and taste in the midwest. We didn't have time to eat there but with the little time we had we sat at the bar and had a drink and chatted with the bartender and the owner as if we were old friends and assured them we would be back. The 28th of June is our 5th wedding anniversary and we will be back for supper and drinks. See you guys there.

Robert and Michele    [24 Jun 2003 09:40:29]

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     ­Gonzo and Anxious1   gonz0 at teleport dot com

Don't Get Fooled
The food here isn't worth the money or the trip. I think many people see the reviews of others and get fooled into settling, then thinking they have something worthwhile. I have eaten there several times, and none of the food was all that good. The salmon I had wasn't fresh or even well-prepared, and when I complained about it the staff acted like they have never heard anyone complain before. No adjustment or replacement of the dish.

After the second course was screwed up, I just gave up and made do with what I got, I think that is what most people do when they go there - just settle for what they get. I won't go there by my own choice; only if someone insists over my strong objections will I go back there.

I agree the drive is nice and the setting is wonderful, but the bar up on the highway has much better food, and the coffee house is better at almost everything else. Why waste your time or money here.

Yuck!    [29 Jun 2003 14:52:16]

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     ­Anonymous   

Heaven
You must seek out this little slice of heaven.    [08 Jul 2003 22:29:12]

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Recommended Dishes: catfish with black butter caper sauce, sautéed chicken breasts with champagne grapes, black bean fritters, stuffed mushrooms, pork tenderloin, pesce, baked salmon served in parchment, chocolate buttercream pie, Key Lime pie, Georgia walnut pie, Kahlua cheesecake, chocolate bittersweet pie, custard, Stuffi's chocolate cake

     ­Jen   

Pretty Uninteresting
I appreciate the sensibilities of the restaurant, but I have to agree with anonymous that this is not the jewel it's cracked up to be. The fish I had there was overcooked and the sauce was not terribly interesting. I must vociferously disagree with Jenny Brantley's assessment that it is better than anything in the Twin Cities. On the contrary, most of the "A-List" restaurants in the Twin Cities are better (Vincent, Aquavit, Auriga, and I'm told Cafe Lurcat), as are the B-List restaurants (Zander Cafe, D'Amico Cucina, etc.), and I'd even rather have a Jucy Lucy or a pizza at Punch than make the drive.    [18 Aug 2003 18:05:22]

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     ­John Brogan   

Bad Experience
The Harbor View Cafe left nothing but a bad taste in our mouths. The hostess was rude, directing us to look at a blackboard for the menu items, and then pointing us to our table. We found the menu items over priced and unpalatable. We were made to feel it was a privilege to be served at their establishment.    [22 Sep 2003 10:17:45]

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     ­Anonymous