Churchill St. Restaurant — Restaurant in Shoreview

My girlfriend and I took my mom out to lunch yesterday and decided to try something new. We noticed right away that this restaurant is very open, bright and comfortable with indoor and outdoor seating, very clean, the glasses where you got your water were clean, the bathrooms were very clean as well. We were seated at table 4 and informed that when we are ready to order, we just head to the counter and place our order. In looking at the menu, we definitely had sticker shock at the prices, but it didn't deter us from staying and eating. We ordered from the specials board, the BLT, with fries. You also had an option of a salad instead of fries. We also ordered the breakfast burrito and eggs Benedict. The food was brought to our table, and I could tell right away portion size vs price wasn't there. My girlfriend thought her BLT was delicious!! The only issue was that the toast needed to be toasted more or different bread was needed. With Heirloom Tomatoes, they seemed more juicy, which played into the bread becoming more soggy. The bacon was amazing, smoky, meaty, and not a lot of fat. I had the eggs Benedict, and it was definitely good, I didn't expect the hollandaise sauce to be so lemony, but it was still very good. The ham was delicious as well. I also had the option of salad or hashbrowns... Now, when you hear hashbrowns, you think of hashbrowns, not POTATO CAKES that you get from the grocery store frozen food section, or it makes you think of Arby's potato cakes. We paid $16 for the eggs Benedict, and you serve Arby's style potato cakes??? Not OK!! My mom had the breakfast burrito, and she said she did like it. She couldn't eat it all, so I tried what was left. My honest take is that Burrito was void of flavor. Also, what makes this establishment think it's ok to charge an 18% surcharge when we have to come to the counter and order, get our own water, and wait for drinks. I saw in another review that you do have full service at dinner, which, an 18% surcharge I can see and am ok with, but at lunch??? Absolutely not. Lastly, I'm not sure who the lady was that picked up our plates, but smile once in awhile, ask in a better tone if you can take our plates, when someone says thank you, it's ok to say your welcome. Overall, I think this establishment does have some good things going for them, and as I stated, the food itself isn't bad, but I think they need to work on some...

Updated 4/24: This place is still great. Since Alma stopped serving dinner, Churchill has become our replacement. We can walk in, find a table, and know we will have a good dinner. Love that they went back to counter service and added the QR code ordering (which we love; it allows us to pace our meal and not be forgotten by wait staff that always happens everywhere). Keep up the great work Churchill!

The only minor annoyance is the new 'art museum' next door that doesn't share their parking with Churchill; they should. But still, much easier parking than North Loop and still only 12 minutes from our house in NE Mpls. The BEST meal we have had since pre-pandemic (and before). We ate here the first weekend they were offering dinner. Love that they have reservations for dinner so that if we are making the trek out here, we know we have a table waiting. We would never have thought of going to eat in Shoreview if it wasn't for the chef and head of baking and pastry from the old Bachelor Farmer. That's why we came. As long as they are here, we will keep coming back. YUM! Top notch.

We got the mussels for an appetizer, split a chicken dinner, had a great bottle of wine from their well edited list, and split a dessert and cookie.

We love that we can order for ourselves, at our own pace, at the counter. We have missed so many desserts at restaurants waiting for the never returning staff ~ not here!

We are definitely coming back, and next time bringing friends!

Thank you Churchill Street staff!

P.S. Appreciative for most people, and all staff, wearing masks upon entry and while going up to order during this challenging time.

Other notes: -It did seem like they could have out more silverware and extra plates out at the central water station, we had to keep asking for new silverware after each course and I think it was behind the counter. The staff who cleans up your plates (no self bussing) was a bit overly attentive, but that was just opening night professionalism ~ better too much than too little, we are sure they will find their pace. -Free...

Update from 01/27/22. They just opened up for dinner. We walked in and saw signs to “please wear a mask”. But it wasn’t enforced. My best friend made reservations at the bar. Buddy and the other girl working (sorry forgot her name) we’re extremely nice and welcoming. We had some bread hash brown cheese dip thing that was super good. My friend got arancini cheese balls to eat. And also French fries. Then i got a salad. But it wasn’t anything special. It had some vinegrette dressing and big leaves. A few sprinkles of cheese. I didn’t want a big gourmet meal. The fries were okay, the salad was blah. And my friend ate the cheese balls and was up with the worst stomach ache all night. I had to go to the bathroom once myself that night. Maybe it was from cheese dip thing. We also had coffee. (Yes, coffee for dinner). This place is nice. But they cook with some crazy grease or something that makes you get a bad stomach ache. When we had breakfast we had the same feeling. I would only go back for maybe a coffee drink, wine and possibly a pastry. They also have a service charge so be prepared for that.

—Probably sometime in NOV 2021: Stopped in on a Saturday morning for breakfast. Got told there was a 30 min wait. No big deal; they had a nice waiting area. I think we got seated in less than 30. I like the atmosphere and the fact that they have a water/coffee station where you can get your own water. Except there is no ice. The staff is very happy and friendly. I like that you can order at the counter and someone brings your food out. Much better than waiting for a staff member! I didn’t like the ketchup bottle. You can barely get the ketchup out. I tried a knife, a straw. And then kept hitting the bottom of it. Which if i continued it would result in getting ketchup on my clothes. Please change this. I felt really full just after the classic breakfast and vanilla latte i got. I would come here again; i really like the atmosphere and i will have to...