The Local - West End — Restaurant in Saint Louis Park

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Local West End, where bartender Matt provided exceptional service and made our night truly unforgettable. From the moment we walked in, Matt made us feel welcome and at ease. He was incredibly friendly and easy to talk to, which made for a great atmosphere in the bar.

One of the standout moments of the night was when Matt recommended some dishes for us to try. He clearly knew the menu inside and out, and his suggestions were spot-on for our group and celebration. We were all blown away by how delicious everything was, and it was clear that Matt had a real passion for food and drink.

Speaking of drinks, I have to say that I've never had someone know how to properly pour a Guinness until I met Matt. He took his time and really knew how to do it right, which made for a perfect pint every time. It's these little details that really set a great bartender apart from the rest, and Matt absolutely nailed it.

Throughout the night, Matt was always attentive to our needs and made sure that we were well taken care of. He was quick with our orders and the service was fantastic overall. It was clear that he was a true professional of his trade, and we all felt lucky to have him as our bartender for the night.

In summary, I can't recommend Local West End and bartender Matt enough. If you're looking for an excellent dining experience with exceptional service, this is the place to go. Matt's knowledge, expertise, and friendliness truly made our night unforgettable, and we will definitely be back to visit again. Thanks for a wonderful...

So, in the initial first view, it looked a little interesting. Once going inside, though, I was enjoying the designs on the windows, ceiling above the bar, and the overall feel of it. It was very slow, so there was a minute of wait out of them checking on the few that were there. The employees there were very kind in allowing me to take pics when asking to, which I'm glad of.

So, for food:

I got the appetizer of the knot pretzel. It comes with a side of cheese and very spicy mustard, but I opted for just cheese. The pretzel had a nice flavor and wasn't flooded with salt, which I'm glad of. The cheese that came with it had a nice tiny spice as well. I loved the detail of there being a "newspaper" article under it.

For the entrée, I had a classic burger, adding bacon on it, and my partner had gotten fish and chips/fries. The bacon was smoked and tasted absolutely delicious. I let him have a small amount for taste, and he said it was good bacon with emphasis, as well. The fries/chips were expertly seasoned and crispy, so I had no problems in eating them without ketchup. The burger was well done, so I can't fault them for if the seasoning cooked out of it a little. He had said that the fish was good, too. It's still amazing of the large pieces he had for the fish and chips meal.

All around, at least on a Wednesday early afternoon, it was...

Our reservation was at 6:30, we weren’t seated until 6:45. I know it’s hard to plan out exact time slots, cool I get that, it’s fine. They have qr codes set up at the table, scan it with your phone, order and pay at the table before you even get your food or drink. They add on 18% gratitude automatically, I’m fine with that, as I used to serve/bartender. We order our drinks at 6:55 and don’t receive them till 7:20, a little annoyed at this point but whatever. Order food at 7:11, even though we hadn’t gotten our first round of drinks yet. Remember, we have to put in our order ourselves and they charge %18 gratitude automatically. They drop off food at 7:30, nobody stops back to check in after. I had ordered a side of ranch and bbq that I never received because they dropped the food off and never checked back to see if anything was missing or taking a minute to ask in the first place. We order one more round 7:45 get them at about 8:00. Staff member comes up to us soon after and let’s us know we are 1O mins over our time and we need to leave. We were seated 15 minutes late, everything we order took 15+ minutes to get there and they automatically charged 18% gratitude. I worked in the service industry all through college and have no problem tipping 30% but this was an awful experience and you can get bet service...