Brickhouse Food and Drink — Restaurant in White Bear Lake

It's our birthday weekend, my wife and I. We are two days apart in that I'm July 1, and she's July 3. So we almost always go out July 2. My wife went to this restaurant and said it was great so we booked it for our traditional July 2 dinner out. I have to say I'm disappointed. This is a long story, but TLDR: there are better places to eat for east metro residents; I would recommend Phil's Terra (best Greek food ever), Devils Advocate, The Velveteen (Stillwater), and most of all Domacin (Stillwater, but that steak tenderloin will haunt your dreams).

So here's the breakdown. RSVP for 6 PM on Sat, July 2. Cool. Get RSVP email confirmation saying we are good for 8PM. Call and confirm 6 PM, and they are like yep. Great. My wife left a comment saying we would prefer rooftop deck if available. RSVP cancelled because you can't book rooftop deck as they dont take RSVPs for the rooftop deck. Okay? Call and reup on RSVP with note that we would prefer rooftop deck, but not if we would like to keep our RSVP. Get another email saying that our RSVP is cancelled. Call again and reup on RSVP with same note on rooftop deck. This is a lot of hassle for a White Bear Lake restaurant.

Sure they were just ranked #1 in White Bear Lake, but it reminded me of Dellwood Country Club (see my review). This isn't a coincidence as the same chef also does the food for Dellwood Country Club.

We arrived to a mostly empty restaurant and I asked to be seated on the rooftop deck, to which the guy behind me (who was clearly some sort of administrative person for the restaurant) noted that "a Benjamin for the hosts would go a long way to helping get your way." Funny, which is what people say when they don't laugh or otherwise appreciate the comment.

Sure if you were busy, then maybe. If you were packed, I'd consider it. Empty? Not a chance. They took us to the rooftop deck which was maybe over half full. It's a great space and you earned your first star.

Staff was okay, nice but not very quick, which I would understand if they were actually crowded, but when the entire restaurant is almost empty ... not sure what to think. Literally, there were 3 people at the upstairs bar and everybody else was outside. I get that its a holiday weekend and maybe staffing was short, but explain why I need to tip $100 to eat outside?

Appetizer was great. Shore lunch consisted of lightly breaded and fried sunnies. Worth the $19 dollars. Drinks were fine. I had one and the wife two. You get another star for the sunnies which are a rare find at restaurants around here.

Wife liked the shrimp special. I'd give you a star for that but no dice. I got the pasta burrata prosciutto bucatini and was very disappointed. Pasta was on point. It was cooked perfectly. I'd give you another star, but ...

The sauce was meh. It was basically canned San Marzano tomatoes lightly marinated/cooked with oregano and basil. Not much salt or pepper, and it lacked much if any real flavor.

The prosciutto was not crispy, which should be a crime. It was wrapped around the cheese, which was great when hot (the cheese) but not when cooled as it turned into a stringy mess. The breading on the prosciutto wrapped ball of cheese was perfectly crisp, but who cares when the prosciutto star is limp and largely tasteless. Literally a waste of prosciutto, words I never thought I would write.

Also, we got the BH hash browns but dont waste your time. I have more but GOOGs is giving me a word limit so I'll condense this into not worth it.

For all the hassle and poor joke/slow service, I will gladly remove this from my list of places to return. I spent over $180 (with 25% tip - because the pandemic sucked for servers) for this "experience" and I have to think I would do better most anywhere else both in terms of service and food. They may be #1 in White Bear Lake and certainly play that hubristic part, but I would have definitely enjoyed a bit of humility and care, both for the food and...

I'm so disappointed to have to write this review, but after 3 consecutive bad experiences, I can no longer hold my tongue. I wish I could give zero stars because Brickhouse doesn't even deserve one.

My husband and I came in for lunch today (a beautiful, sunny Thursday in June) wishing to sit on the rooftop deck. The greeting at the host stand was warm, but that's unfortunately where our compliments end. We asked for table towards the railing and the host said that was ok but promised to clean up the dirty table for us. She removed the dirty glassware from the table but never came back to wipe it down. We were also sat next to a table with a man who spoke overly loudly and smacked his mouth while chewing food. After sitting at the table for a minimum of 5 minutes without any greeting or even acknowledgement of our existence, and knowing we wouldn't be comfortable at a dirty table next to a loud guest, we went inside to politely ask the server to move to a different table on the deck. This is where things turned very sour for us.

We received nothing but attitude and sass from the server with comments of, "Ughh I don't know. Sure? The host stand is downstairs, so I don't know. I guess we'll just figure it out." Quite taken aback, my partner asked, "is that a problem?", to which the server doubled down on the sass. We eventually go to the other side of the deck and sat at the second table and watched the very same server (her name is either Annie or Laura - the girl who wasn't wearing the braid today) actively ignore us and circle our table, spending MINUTES at other tables right next to us, taking care of everyone else before even saying a word to us. Are you serious?

I have to ask, is it that problematic to simply ask for a different place to sit?

We spent another (minimum) 5 minutes sitting at the second table waiting to be greeted. I tried to make eye contact with the server and she continued to ignore us, I do believe intentionally, because we apparently upset her by asking to move tables. The carafe of water that was set on the table is warm. We are ready with our full order and hungry. When she passed us a final time without greeting, we got up to leave.

Of course, as we are walking out, she tries to stop us (as she is talking to another table?) and ask if we are okay. We told her firmly that we are taking our business elsewhere. We go downstairs and talk to management immediately because why does anyone deserve to be treated and talked to that way by staff?

This has not been our first unfortunate experience at Brickhouse, but it will certainly be our last. I'm not sure what is going on with the service staff there, but things are ugly, and it shines through to the guest experience. We have received unnecessarily rude service our first two experiences and this third one was the straw that broke the camels back. Don't believe me? Go read some other poor reviews and see that this is not a unique experience.

If you want way overpriced, mediocre food, and to be treated very poorly by staff consistently, Brickhouse is your spot. My partner and I have been serving tables in the restaurant industry for 15+ years each. We do it still to this day. Even on our worst days of not wanting to work we would NEVER treat guests the way we were treated today. It's not that hard to be kind, even if you have to fake it.

Not only will we never set foot in Brickhouse again, but we will also go out of our way to tell family, friends and our co-workers in the industry to actively avoid Brickhouse at all costs. Take your business down the street to Acqua or Mizu, where they actually care about their guests, food and the experience people have when...

My husband and I went to the Brickhouse for the first time on my birthday. The food was great but unfortunately our experience was not. Long story short, the service was awful. We vowed to never go back. I voiced my concerns and the next day we got a call from the manager Benjamin who apologized and insisted to refund our meal. We paid with cash however, so he offered to send us a gift card and asked us to come back where he would guarantee a great experience.

When we decided to give it another shot (I mean it was a free meal essentially so why not), we were nervous because we didn't want to be pampered or for anyone to be extra, we just wanted a normal, pleasant dining experience.

When we arrived and got our table, our server Elvis (yes his name was Elvis) met our every need in a friendly and timely manner. We ordered drinks and appetizers (they have amazing cocktails and the sticky ribs were to die for!), and then our meals. He was often checking on us and made sure we were 110% satisfied. We saw Benjamin running around, checking in on things and doing what managers do. We didn't get a chance to talk to him, although I wish we could've thanked him but he seemed busy. All in all, the food was amazing and so was our server. We left with smiles and full bellies.

When I got home I noticed a missed call and a voicemail from the manager, asking if we were still planning on coming. I was surprised because if he didn't know that we were there, that means the service we had wasn't fake or forced or anything, it was just standard.

I was impressed with the way Benjamin reached out to us. He obviously cares about his business and his customers. I highly recommend going to the Brickhouse Food & Drink in White Bear Lake if you get the chance. Ask for Elvis. Get the...