King Coil Spirits — Restaurant in Saint Paul

Updated May 2025:

Since my original review, the previous menu of apps and pizza has changed and been replaced with OG Zaza, which is an utter disappointment and massive step down. However, my current review only reflects the cocktails and service. The cocktails were good, but the service was practically non-existent. My group sat down at an outdoor table and there was a QR code to order, but no signage about whether or not there'd be a server to check on us or even bring waters, or if it was self service. We waited for about 10 minutes and weren't greeted by anyone, so we placed our first order for cocktails (via the QR code). When the server brought our drinks we asked them about water, and they did bring some but then told us we'd have to go inside for more. We ordered a second round (via QR code again), and I only found out that they were out of ingredients for my drink when the server handed me a different drink entirely, and offered to make me a different one if I didn't like it... But then she walked away before I'd even been able to say anything in response. The server never checked on us outside of dropping off our drinks. At one point I glanced towards the bar inside and it looked as though a group of the server's friends or maybe other staff were inside chit chatting?

I understand that the restaurant and cocktail service industry are difficult (my partner is a former chef), but between the QR code / no server greeting to the dismissive and laissez-faire staff, I don't personally see myself wanting to come back here again when there are many other cocktail lounges around town. I hate writing negative reviews, but I feel like the managers / owners should be aware of how the disengagement with their customers via the current business model and blah staff can be perceived by patrons.

Original Review: I've enjoyed apps, cocktails, and pizza here a few times and will keep going back. The apps are fantastic and I appreciate the wide range of vegetarian-friendly options. My favorite pizza is the one with mushrooms, but their other signature pizzas are creative and friends who've ordered a few different ones have always said good things. In comparison to the too-dense, bready, and bland Wrecktangle pizza crust, I find the King Coil pizza crust to be more balanced and the crust has great flavor, texture, and depth. The majority of cocktails I've tried I really like, and I imagine as they're open longer their signature cocktails will increase in variety and creativity. Their service is great and I really like the ambience. They have many different dining and seating options that can adapt to a wide range of different parties. The patio area that's shared with the brewery is also a big plus.

Overall I highly recommend...

King Coil Distillery on Vandalia in St. Paul just opened. They have a bar plus table seating, and a large pizza oven. They are serving a small number of starters plus an array of rather interestingly topped pizza - like topped with fish pate!

However, this is a distillery. They have 2 gins, 3 whiskeys (only one distilled here), 2 rums, and 15 assorted other liqueurs, to include an anisette flavored one, a maraschino flavored one, and so forth. They offer flights, currently only in the back bar, so I opted for the flight that included their dry gin, what they call their modern gin, and their chartreuse-like liquor that they describe as made with an "herbal bouquet". This they call trentaerbe, and has a taste profile like yellow chartreuse. It actually tasted quite nice on its own, but would have been better chilled. The gins would have been nice chilled also. Their dry gin is a pretty typical London dry gin, with a clear juniper note to it. Their modern gin was quite nice, I thought, and had a bright citrusy, floral flavor profile. Both of these gins were good. I would buy them.

The downsides: We only tried one of their house specialty cocktails, the toasted sesame boulevardier. They describe it as sesame oil fat washed bourbon, their rubarbaro rossa liqueur, and their chiaro liquor. Both are vermouth-like. This cocktail was bad. It tasted like peanut butter. The bartender recommended adding a bit of their amaro. It didn't help. To be fair, the bartender did offer to produce a different drink. Still, this drink is just not good. I saw someone else who got it, and you can see by the look on her face that she thought the same.

We tried the smoked white fish pate. The pate was delicious, but the accompanying rye crackers were overpowering for the delicate fish flavor, and the pickled vegetables with which it was served were so vinegary that it really just destroyed your palate for your drink.

I think they have some nice spirits, and there's a lot of potential here. They really do need some work on balancing flavors in their small shared dishes, and then developing cocktails that are more balanced. We will probably try again and have another of their specialty cocktails, but I am not impressed with what they have developed thus far. They have only been open 2 weeks, so these things may shake out in the next month or so. I hope so.

There is a big parking lot, so parking is generally easy. They share the parking lot with Lake Monster brewery, so it can get packed as the night goes on. And make reservations. They really don't seem to like walk-ins.

To end on a positive note, I did, however, really...

The in-house food here used to be fantastic and matched the vibe of the cocktail room - their new restaurant partner is very tasty but really doesn’t feel like it fits in, although I understand the reason for the change. We went with a group on a Saturday evening and the service was practically nonexistent as well. Nobody greeted us and there was no sign telling us to seat ourselves, so we just awkwardly waited for a bit before sitting at a booth. Still nothing, so we started perusing the menu on our phones until someone did appear with some waters and menus. They never came back to actually take our orders though, so a couple of us ordered on our phones and the others went up to the bar to order. The ones who went to the bar waited 15+ minutes for their drinks, and for whatever the ones who ordered from their phones got drinks very quickly. It seems odd to prioritize a fast casual style of ordering when drinks are almost $20 each after tax and tip, and honestly the quality of the drinks does not seem to match what it used to either. Super bummed about the Silk Road being taken off the menu, and other cocktails (aside from the draft ones which are always pretty good) tend to be pretty imbalanced. We come in here every few months and each time there’s a new element that makes it a little less enjoyable, but we really do come back in hope of improvements being made. It’s a really...