Notch 8 Restaurant & Catering — Restaurant in Brainerd

I took my very pregnant daughter there for dinner as part of our date night and was so unbelievably disappointed with the food and service. I live in the Brainerd and was excited to bring my daughter to try something new. I was hoping the location and atmosphere would provide a unique experience. The menu is very limited, however, she decided to give one of the melts a chance. We all know melts come smothered in onions, she however doesn't care for them and baby doesn't seem to either so it was requested that these be left off. The gal that brought us out our dinner was not our waitress and appeared to be of management position. When she dropped the food I politely told her we asked for no onions. Before taking the melt back, she just stood there looking at us. She looked at us with this look that told me she was irritated. Fast forward 5 minutes and a new plate is presented to us, the cheese is far from melted and the burger this time is so rare, it is bleeding onto the plate and soaking the bread red. It is so raw that it is completely uneditable and this was expected to be eaten by my 36-week pregnant daughter. At this point we were done. I asked for my sandwich to go and requested her food be removed from my bill. At the end of our time there, I still paid $24 for a sandwich far from worth it and service that was far from impressive. I will not be returning and I will not be recommending this place to anyone.

The only reason I gave 3 stars for service was because my original waitress was very sweet and I know she tried her best. Whoever the lead or management was last night October 27th needs to be talked to about her customer service skills and how she should treat and handle customers. For her to have looked at that food and actually brought it out to us is ridiculous. You need to get your cook staff better prepared if they are going to be expected to cook food that costs between $17 and $19 for a...

Alright, Notch 8 used to be our favorite place to bring the kids for pizza and "pub" like food. Now it's more of a date night stop. Which is OK but bummed about missing all our pizza options. I came for dinner in July to try their menu & check out the space being that there are new owners here's my thoughts. Food: I was disappointed to see some of our favorites gone. With that being said, the options now are good too! The onion blossom (not sure if thats the actual name) for an appitizer, they were good. The sauce for them is not worth the extra cost, in my opinion. I got a pasta meal for my main dish. At first, I wasn't sure, the flavors were different but honestly really good. I enjoyed it alot! The garlic bread was amazing too! The only thing I didn't like was that they asked if I wanted the garlic bread with the pasta, I said yes and then they charged me for it. Note to self: garlic bread does not come with it and they will charge you. Make sure to ask if there are additional charges if they ask if you want anything. Seemed like there were so many extra charges for little things that should have been included and stuff like that adds up quickly. Drinks: The drinks were good. I had a speciality drink ( one for the 4th of July ) it was amazing!!! They were a little on the spendy side though. Atmosphere: I miss the relaxed feel, it feels like they are trying to make it more classy with table cloths and having to wait to seated. Idk, it's ok either way. I love that they have a patio now! We did not get to sit outside being it was a nice night and it was full but we will back and we will try to enjoy the patio next time. Overall, we will be back for date night again. It's a nice change from some of the other places in town. I...

I ate here with my mom and 12yo brother for lunch on 9/13/25; I wish I’d have taken pics because we had such awesome food! It is a bit pricey, but they post their prices so people should be aware of that going in. Serving sizes may be small for some of the central Minnesotans who favor meat and potatoes, but it was plentiful for my small appetite. The area it’s in is an old train yard and is so cool with all the brick buildings!

We got their daily special drink (a peach fizz) as a mocktail. I don’t like peach flavored things much, but I loved it.

For an appetizer, we got their boujee crack bites and while you don’t get a lot of them, the quality is top notch and we loved the combo of flavors. My mom and I were scavenging the remaining greens on our plate even.

I got the truffled naan melt with onion petals for my main; I can be hit or miss on if I like truffle flavor, but this was a perfect match and I loved it. I’d just add a balsamic glaze on the side (or sparingly right in the sandwich). I think a touch of acidity would put it over the top, but honestly it was great even without.

My mom and bro split the chicken curry and that was also fantastic, ranking up there with the best we’ve had; very fresh all around with a subtle chutney amplification option included to mix in and make it sweeter if you like.

Will be back when I’m in the area (I live about an hour away in St Cloud) and would recommend to others I know would appreciate the unique and...