Manitou Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant in White Bear Lake

I’m Going Back To My Roots!

Another day, another door, another high, another low. Kind of seems like a battle cry for a lot of restaurants no matter what you’re attempting to deliver to the masses and sometimes you even hit rock bottom, rock bottom, rock bottom! And, while I would love to have dinner with the fellas of Imagine Dragons, I’m really glad that one of my favorite places didn’t hit rock bottom.

Back in 2009, a couple of pals decided that it was time to enter the culinary scene in White Bear Lake and I thank them for that decision. They called it Manitou Station and they offered some delicious Irish pub grub and even offered what I consider to be the most important and best created appetizer item to ever be created – Scotch Eggs!

When I first went to this place with a native Laker and co-worker of mine at the time, I immediately fell in love with the food, especially those darn Scotch Eggs. Sausage wrapped around a hardboiled egg, baked and deep fried to perfection and served with some spicy mustard. Seriously, who thinks of amazing things like this?

Then, some identity changes came. They decided to re-brand under The Station and to be more of a white linen restaurant, but dropped several of their key menu items. And, while I understand that you have to keep it fresh and new, they removed too many comfort food items, including the Scotch Eggs and customers weren’t returning. Items that made them who they were. Items that drew people back for seconds, thirds, fourths… But, it all came to an end finally when new owner Brian took over and deciding to go back to some of the roots of what made Manitou what so many of us enjoyed about it. The all new Manitou Grill and Event Center was born and today, they’re doing fantastic.

They brought back all those great comfort food items that were enjoyed by the community. They brought back the Scotch Eggs that I love so dearly. They added some new items and even added something that is a MUST TRY! Brian took a trip out east and during his travels came across a little street food vendor serving Lobster Rolls. He decided to grab a sack and immediately fell in love and wanted to make it a feature on his menu at the Manitou.

Today, his Lobster Roll, the same one he fell in love with walking down the streets of New York is now one of the best selling items on the menu and is definitely a must try if you’re a seafood fan like myself. Seriously, it’s one of those items that will definitely have you returning for seconds, thirds or fourths. And, on Wednesdays, they run a dinner special on their Lobster Rolls.

It appears that Manitou Station had to lose its way to know which road to take and Brian and his talented chef, Andrew are definitely on the road to success! I applaud them for what they are currently presenting to us...

The restaurant is quite dark and beautiful inside. The bar really stands out and the dining area was very spacious. There were a ton of people waiting to be seated at a table so my friend and I sat at the bar. I love bar seating because I feel like the service is so much more attentive. Plus, you can kind of watch the gears of the place wind up. The bartender was so, so busy last night. She was tending to the bar guests, some of the bar tables, and making drinks for the tables in the dining room. It took her quite awhile to get to us but we weren't in any rush. That girl seriously hustled! And, I honestly think that they're lucky to have someone that works so hard yet also takes the time to make sure everyone has everything they need.

The food came out decently quick but it was kind of disappointing, to be honest. My friend got the almond-crusted walleye which was decent but the remoulade was really just too thick and fatty. It tasted like straight mayo instead of having any tang from the capers. It basically did not elevate the dish but kind of ruined it. So, we discarded it. I got two appetizers. The brussel sprouts were pretty boring. Though, I like the way they were cooked. They were crispy and blackened on the outside and soft on the inside. It's just that the lardons, aioli, and queso made it taste like fat on fat on fat. I asked the bartender for some lemon wedges to add a zing of flavor. I honestly think that a balsamic drizzle would do the dish some good. The steak bites were pretty mediocre. The bordeaux sauce was meh, and I didn't taste the horseradish at all. I was really looking to the bite from the horseradish. The roasted tomatoes were good but should have been cut smaller and spread throughout the dish for the perfect bite. This was also another missed opportunity on flavor. The steak was cooked perfectly, though. I will give them that. The portions are also pretty hefty and the prices were decent.

I'm a contract worker in the area with limited time to try all of the local restaurants. Would I come back? Maybe. But, I'd definitely order...

My family and I went to the Manitou Grill for dinner on Saturday, March 10th. Apparently, the restaurant was busier than usual, and/or they were short-staffed, so the hostess was assigned to our table. She was very sweet but made it known that she is not usually a waitress. First, she put in the wrong appetizer, but it wasn't too big of a deal. We enjoyed it anyway. We ordered some drinks and my boyfriend was told that they were changing the tap on the beer he ordered. About 15-20 minutes later, he was told that they were actually out of that beer. So, he ordered a different beer and I ordered a second glass of wine. My mom also ordered a second glass of wine, which she received relatively quickly; however, a couple of servers brought my mom's "second glass" to the table two more times, unaware that one had already been delivered. At that point, we had been there for 50 minutes and my boyfriend had yet to get his first beer. The hostess, our waitress, was cleaning up tables and seating people, obviously not paying much attention to our table. Finally, my dad went to complain and asked to speak with the manager. The manager came out to speak with him and she was so incredibly unprofessional, it was ridiculous. She criticized my dad for making the hostess cry, and instead of just apologizing for the terrible service, she challenged him. It's not my dad's fault that the hostess cried...it's the manager's fault for putting that poor girl into that position in the first place! I couldn't believe that she talked back to my dad the way that she did. Obviously she has never heard the saying "the customer is always right." My boyfriend finally got his beer, after we got our food. I never received my second glass of wine that I asked for two separate times. The manager did do one thing right, and that was to comp our entire meal. I don't blame the hostess for any of this...I blame the manager, who clearly could use some training. Or, better yet, maybe a different job. Needless to say, we will not...