The Butcher's Tale — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Bottom line up front: You cannot go wrong at the Butcher's Tale in Minneapolis. We went there based on reviews and we can only say that the reviews were too modest.

Went to the Butcher's Tale in Minneapolis last night. Had good reviews, which was one factor, but also was within walking distance of the hotel where we were staying. OK, this was advertised and reviewed as a meat restaurant. Not an Argentinian or Brazilian meat, meat and more meat place. Rather, it is an old time,you get what you ordered restaurant. So, before we get to their meat, I ordered a Black Russian. After I stirred it a bit, it was very good, just the right proportions of vodka and Kahlua.

So now we move to the menu. The wife and I agreed on the jalapeno sausage as an appetizer. it fell into the category of chorizo, a little spicy but not overbearing. The added jalapenos were spicy enough, more than I expected in Minnesota. Well worth ordering as the appetizer.

Next came the main course. I had the New York center cut. I ordered it medium+ with a pink center. It arrived just like I ordered it. It melted in my mouth and was just what I had hoped it would be. If you want a steak and are in the area, I can recommend this place without reservation.

My wife ordered the pork ribs. She was amazed. They tasted wonderful and I could not talk to her for twenty minutes because her mouth was full and she was busy eating. Only after she stopped to take a breath was she able to praise the pork ribs to high heaven. Again, recommend this place for pork ribs.

There was a lot of meat on both plates. I was just able to finish my steak. The wife ate her ribs only to find that there was a second floor of ribs underneath. We took a box of these home because we did not have the ability to finish them.

No room for desert (which, for me, is really saying something).

Now for the service, They were there when you wanted them and not there when you didn't. Tiffany was our server and handled everything with perfection. However, she was outdone by the other guys supporting her. They filled the water glasses without asking (a big point for me), bussed the empty plates at the right time and helped bring the dishes when they were ready.

Overall, this was a great experience.

The only thing I regret about this place was that I got so busy eating, I forgot to take a picture or two. Don't...

My sister and I would like to thank the Butcher's Tale and their event planner Raleigh for an exceptional and delightful evening.

We were looking to have a party for out of town guest in conjunction with our niece’s wedding weekend. The Butchers’s Tale came recommended along with other venues. Residing in Texas and Iowa we did our vetting by phone and email. Raleigh’s professional and personable manner settled the choice of venue quite quickly for us. From there about all we did was provide a guest list (~100 guests) and a budget. Raleigh did the rest. Yes, there was some choosing of the hors d’oeuvres and decorations, but Raleigh facilitated that too.

The event truly came off without a hitch. Raleigh proved to be a as pleasant an individual in person as she was by phone and email. Her staff of bartenders and servers were not only adept, but personable. The quality of the food and drinks including many of the Butcher’s Tale’s signature items were superb. The outdoor location was ideal. The weather cooperating was a plus, though the outdoors site was covered and flexible enough that even a significant rain would not have postponed it.

I tip my hat to the Butcher’s Tale and their event planner Raleigh. They took the worry and stress out of planning such a gathering and left us to enjoy a wonderful evening with our friends and guests. I would highly recommend them should you be planning a similar event.

John

(My sister’s comments:) Thank you, Raleigh, for all you did to make Friday night so easy for John and me and for making it so magical for our guests! We continued to get thank yous and compliments the next day at the wedding! The evening was exactly what I had envisioned! You caught that vision from MILES away and made it happen! You were such a joy to work with and so professional - from handling the business aspects to providing an outstanding venue and menu to even bartending! If we ever have another opportunity to host a party in Minneapolis, we will not hesitate to get in touch with you and The Butcher’s...

We went to the Butchers Tale for our 5 year wedding anniversary, and overall were happy but not $300 dollars happy...

First the positives The service was great The food was great quality, seasoned well and flavorful

The SoSo The restaurant is kind of small and felt very cramped, when the waitress was taking the order from the table next to us her posterior was actually over our table and she was a fairly small lady They seem proud of their bacon, but as someone who makes his own bacon it really tasted more like smoked pork belly and not the salt cured smoked pork belly as you would expect The whole hog Mac N Cheese, the Mac N Cheese itself tasted very good, but we were both put off by the 1/4" cubes of unrendered bacon fat mixed in.

The bad We ordered the calimari and the entire bowl was filled with banana peppers, capers, and fried lemons, there were a total of 8 calimari pieces in the entire dish.... If I order calimari I expect the calimari to be the star and most of the serving to be calimari with some garnishing not the other way around My wife ordered the 8 ounce filet and I ordered the 16oz MN ribeye. When our steaks were delivered I thought my steak looked on the skimpy side, then I looked at my wife's steak, realistically if you cut her steak into 3 slices as thick as my steak, she had more meat than I did... With 2 sides, a salad and an appetizer I would not have eaten a entire 16oz steak... I ate my entire steak and could have eaten more... As someone who cooks, smokes, and grills extensively I am a pretty good judge of meat size, the steak I got was guaranteed no more than 10 to 12 ounces and more likely 8 to 10 ounces... So i would say my wife got a bigger filet than she ordered, but the ribeye that I ordered was considerably smaller than what I ordered.

At this point due to the apparent shorting on proteins I would be very hard pressed to either go back to the Butchers Tale or to reccomend the...