The Hubbell House — Restaurant in Mantorville

The hypothetical next time I come here (because it won't happen in reality), it would be nice to not have the waitresses chaotically pile up the dishes right next to our table. Usually when you sit at a place that claims historic atmosphere, you're going to want to bask in it, and enjoy conversation. Instead, I got to listen to plates clacking together and logistics playing out, verbally, in real time- my right ear is still ringing... no, that's just the squeaky wheels of the dish cart replaying in my head. I suppose I should talk about the food though, after all, it may be a historic place, but people aren't coming here to stare at the walls! The crab cakes were pathetically small. I love to laugh, but not when it's because I paid 15 bucks for some Gerber's medallions with Old Bay on them. As others have noted, the salads are ridiculous. Mixed together was 50% lettuce, 50% onion. They were keen to further impress with the two freshly picked (out of the refrigerator) cherry tomatoes on the side. On the other side of the tomatoes was my Caesar dressing in an Applebee's-core plastic sauce cup. I paid for a luxury meal and what I got was a chance to mix my own salad. The garlic bread (crisps?) were pretty good, but if you're with your tummy ache prone partner, they might not like them as much as you. A rare win for me on the day I ate here, I got them all to myself. The French Dip was good, as in, the French Dip was just good, but the only time I'll ever be talking about it again is right now, as I write this review. However, the fried chicken just plain sucked. No seasoning at all, hardly with even salt. Look, I get we're in rural Minnesota territory, but this is fine dining, not a Lutheran household! If I sit down at a nice restaurant and wish I had instead gone to KFC, there is something, somewhere that is somehow wrong. Perhaps my pedestrian tastes are to blame for picking the fried chicken over something thrice the price as the Lobster, but given everything else, I just may have saved myself 2/3's of my gastronomer's remorse I got walking out of the place as I passed the wall of collectible ceramic boot decorations behind glass. Is it there instead because the good reviews...

The Hubbell House is a steakhouse in the old Americana style, drenched in history. You won't find molecular gastronomy or avocado toast on the menu. What you will find is hearty Midwestern fare in a fine dining setting.

Atmosphere: Elegant and understated. Wood dominates, chairs are upholstered, rooms are named, antiques are on the walls. No televisions, and indeed there are few signs to indicate that the 21st century exists. The acoustics do allow for conversation, though a boisterous speaker or small child can be heard quite clearly at a distance.

At times players from the Mantorville Melodramas may wander through and announce performances.

Menu: Classic Midwestern fare. Steaks and chops, walleye and cod.

Appetizers tend towards 'batter-fried something'.. cheese curds, onion rings, mushrooms. The salads are simple, and the house dressing is worth a try.

Entrees are generous and not overly complex. A protein, a side, and salad/soup/fruit. The steaks and chops are prepared excellently and presented simply.

Desserts are also simple in nature (creme brulee, bread pudding, etc.) but prepared skillfully and presented simply.

The overall effect is fine dining without fripperies and razzle-dazzle, which suits the location perfectly.

Service: Expert service without a lot of ruffles and flourishes. Whether a state governor or a tourist from Iowa or a national celebrity or a complete unknown you can expect to be treated with respect and skill.

I recommend this place to as many people as I can think of for occasions to remember. Sure, you may get more Instagrammable and more social-media friendly meals elsewhere, but if you want a good meal in a good setting, classy but not intimidating.. seek the Hubbell House.

Post-merger and post-Covid, the Hubbell House continues to provide class without contrivance.

While the menus reflect the price changes of the time the dishes remain unchanged for the most part.

Bunny cake has replaced the original birthday sundae but that is by no means...

This is actually the worst restaurant I have been to in the Rochester area. I have years of experience working in professional food service as a chef. They are thoroughly confused on what good cuisine is. I ordered the "tender" beef tips, with a salad and "au gratin" potatoes. I predict the restaurant is losing money and they are trying to take shortcuts where they shouldn't Beef tips: This was an old steak they cooked for a previous meal, they had then cubed it and recooked it on a flat top until it was overdone. They simply then poured a runny "mushroom" gravy over it. The gravy was likely from a powder and to make it seem more real there was literally an entire mushroom cap in the sauce. In the sauce there were also raw onions and green peppers. They then unceremoniously dumped a 1/2 cup of watery brown rice over the top. Really awful. The Salad;: The salad was 95% iceburg lettuce that had been cut up using what I think was a french fry press, the 5% other was green leaf that didnt even fit the meal. There was a single cherry tomato and a single slice of cucumber for garnish. Terrible. Potatoes au gratin, most certainly not potatoes au gratin. There was no a single sliced potato in the dish. In fact I would classify these potatoes as a bad rendition of what Utahns call funeral potatoes. They were pre cut potatoes designed for has browns in which they added a sauce that had sour cream and ham in it. Mind you these aren't even good funeral potatoes, they were dry and seemed like they had been sitting for quite a while. They then placed them on a wierd plate system that didn't even fit, making the plate the potatoes were in rock back and forth.

It seems like one of those restaurants that was purchased by people who don't know the culinary industry and are trying to control the kitchen. Please hire a trained chef and let them fix your restaurant.

TLDR Don't go here the food is horrible.

The service...