New Ulm Turner Hall — Restaurant in New Ulm

I've returned to Turner Hall! Or rather... the Rathskeller... which makes much more sense since Turner Hall is the hall and the restaurant is the bar. The Rathskeller is the bar/eatery famously known as Minnesota's oldest bar, which makes it historic, and the eatery was once held exclusive to members who paid an annual membership fee. At one time, you had to have this membership or come with someone who did in order to eat here. Sadly, most of our friends who had membership have since passed so had it not opened to the general public without membership, I may not have had the option to dine here again on return. So this review is much more about the Rathskeller than it is about Turner Hall and their hall facilities, which we also did enjoy as part of their 2024 July 4th celebration. You can see some shots of these in the photos.

Every time I come back to New Ulm Turner Hall and a meal at the Rathskeller is a must. Years ago on one of my first visits I had a burger and now no trip is complete unless I have another. Their burger is somewhere between a classic patty and a smash burger where a smash burger is too thin and the regular patty does not have enough surface for enough sear goodness. On top of that, they understand that the bun matters as much as the meat and condiments and pair it with quality bread. One thing to note, that it seems in MN, a California burger means with lettuce and tomato where in CA, that means add avocado so make sure you specify if you want tomato and lettuce.

My wife ordered the Walleye. She loved it and was happy to have ordered it since it is one of MN's state fishes. An item we don't often see in our home state. You should also know the Rathskeller serves it in 2 options: grilled or battered. If you do not specify you will get battered by default. This is more of a crumb than a batter coating. My wife wanted grilled, didn't specify and got it battered and still thought it was good.

In addition to these items I also had the coleslaw and cheese cubes. Both were quite good. If you love German Potato salad, note that they do not have it on the menu on the regular and typically make it for special occasions.

I do recommend Turner Hall's Rathskeller dining. Go there and try the burger. It may not be the best burger you ever had, but it is one of the better burgers I have had and maybe it will be...

The best place for a wedding reception- no questions about it! Our wedding went so smoothly, I don't even know if there was anything that went wrong because it was that well handled. TJ is truly the best. He kept the whole planning process low stress, was very responsive, and ran the day of spectacularly. The reception space is beautiful, lots of room, and having multiple areas (patio, bar, dance space, tables, open corner for pictures) added to the atmosphere of the party. Grandma can hear over the music, the speeches didn't sound weird and muddled, there was plenty of space for everyone. The meal was delicious. I was not expecting this many compliments for a wedding meal. Normally a wedding meal is fine but not as good as something you'd get if it was only prepared for a few people vs hundreds. For our 250 person wedding, food came out quickly, it was hot, the chicken was juicy, the porkchops were fantastic, and everyone was full. Now that is a win. Again, I highly recommend going with Turner Hall for your wedding. In terms of price, you get what you pay for. I didn't have to set up a table, call for rentals, or fold a napkin. TJ ran the event and let my mom and aunts enjoy themselves. Turner Hall quite simply knows how to do weddings. I wish I could give more...

"Oldest bar in Minnesota" is the brag to this restaurant and thirst quenching dive. Came here on a Thursday to scope out a good campout for Vikings games, which this probably isn't quite it for that. Turner Hall does deliver a nice rustic atmosphere though. I find it odd that I'm saying this, but this place needs the crowd to look and feel the environment it's offering. Believe me, I love quiet, but this historic platform missing even a few patrons and bar flies seemed ironic as to how it made it this far. My buddy got a Reuben which, in both our opinions, is the best in town. Chunks of corned beef cut right off the brisket and plenty of sauer kraut. I got the bleu burger that tasted great. The burger was a little short on the bleu cheese aspect. I will certainly come back as I am interested in what more there is to offer and see this place in a more...