Knob & Kettle Restaurant And Lounge — Restaurant in Park Rapids

This was our second time here. The first time we were here, the whole restaurant filled up with smoke due to an issue they were having with the smoker or something. We had the prime rib which didn't have any real seasoning to it other than a really strong smoke flavor (not sure if that is how it always is or if it was just due to the other issue they were having). Between the smoke in the air and the heavy smoke flavor of the food, it was not a good experience.

We decided to give it another try because, well, things happen, and maybe our first experience isn't typical for this restaurant.

We were seated right away, and our waiter was at the table for our drink order before we even got settled; a good sign. We got our drinks and asked for a couple of minutes to decide. We had arrived just after 7:00. For the next 33 minutes, the kid from the next booth was invading our space and generally being annoying to us and it was clear his parents didn't have much control as they sat and played with their phones while he was inches from my wife and waiving his shoe around (I realize this isn't the fault of the restaurant, but it certainly did not help our situation). Our waiter didn't come back for our order until we got up to pay for our drinks and leave. He seemed confused as to why we had changed our minds about dining.

I've heard from people that the food is good, but I don't think that we will be back to see for ourselves. Two bad experiences are...

My wife and I were staying at the nearby State Park and were looking for a new spot to have dinner. I went in and ordered at the counter since we had our pup with us. Our food was ready in 10-15 mins. The staff was very friendly at every point of the sale, from ordering to receiving. We ordered the walleye bites for the appetizer (I highly recommend). My wife ordered the Chicken & Swiss sandwich w/cheese curds. I had the Brisket Dinner with baked potato and house salad. Both were fine. The baked potato tasted like it was cooked in the microwave, in my opinion. The 5 pieces of brisket were very tender and full of flavor. My wife's sandwich was hot and tender. She loved the cheese curds. The house salad was a typical salad. There were slices of chocolate cake showcased on the countertop, which was enough for me to buy one. Very moist cake! I wasn't sure if the frosting was made from cream cheese or not. I forgot to ask. It was very good. The meal for 2 and a slice of cake was around $60. One could tell they spend their time on the bar-b-que. It's very delicious. With that said, I felt the price point was just a tad high for the portions for the brisket dinner. I remembered to get a photo of the brisket about halfway through the dinner. I'd go back again to try the walleye...

It was a very busy place on a Friday night and it took us a long time to get our food, but the wait was worth it! The manager (or owner?) checked in with us several times to make sure they hadn’t forgotten about us and or food was being prepared. They were very proud of the their house made batter recipe.

Fried walleye bites and walleye sandwich were absolutely first-tier delicious. Totally worth the drive and the wait.

Spicy prime beef sandwich was extremely yummy but didn’t have as much heat as advertised.

Southwest chicken wrap was good. But the fries were even better!

Fried pickles were deep fried spears instead of discs, which was odd for us but good.

Bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers were delicious, but again very mild...