White Squirrel Bar — Restaurant in Saint Paul

Not a negative review and yes I would recommend you try it here. It's cool on the inside/outside and the drinks are delicious. However, it is just not my type of place: it's expensive for how much you get, parking is a very tight and it's cramped inside when it's crowded. So once again this is not a negative review, I will personally not likely return unless I have a special occasion (I can see small bachelor or bachelorette groups coming here and having a chill evening in a cool environment). I will try to be thorough in describing the actual establishment and what they have to offer in my experience though. They have an outdoor smoking area and cute nooks and places to sit indoors. It's darker inside and the ambiance is on point/eclectic of you're into more of an upscale/hipster hole-in-the-wall. I didn't feel like I was in st. Paul anymore once I walked in which was kind of cool. The building itself sits on a corner-y island thing. There is bar seating as well as booths and tables. Drinks are not OUTRAGEOUSLY priced but for like a low-ball glass of whatever like, a gin and tonic it was pricier than I expected. It was tasty and if I were someone who always chose taste over alcohol content then this would be my spot lol. Overall, once again I would recommend this bar to anyone who lives in St. Paul and anyone visiting the city who is interested in a non-clubby, hipster, "craft beer-y feel" (idk if they have microbrews but I hope you get what I mean lol, it's people who like craft beers and stuff ) It's like the exact opposite of Skarda's for example lol. It's worth it to go to check it out and see if you like it. In my opinion it was inconvenient for parking, prices, seating and my goal isn't typically to sip on a nice cocktail for like an hour. Side note: They only have like 5 spots to park otherwise it is street parking. But they have a handicap spot and a ramp!

Update 8/10/22: idk if it's a staff change or just a change in attitude but I went here again recently and I like it. It's chill and kind of feels like a friend's house in the outside area....

I got invited by a friend to go see someone play here, we were supposed to meet up with his friends and see someone play... Well, we got there and my friend did a few roundabouts, looking for his friends, which we never found.. So we chose to stand towards the front of the crowd to watch the music anyways to support the local music scene... I got tired of standing and needed to smoke so we went out to the patio and smoked a bit before deciding to leave.. As we got ready to leave, my friend was putting the lining of his jacket back into his jacket over a fence in the parking lot. One lady thought he was messing with her scooter, which we quickly cleared up.. However, at the same time, a bar tender came out and started some beef with my friend, complaining about how we didn't spend any money there, and asking "what are you even doing here?" To which I replied that we came to see someone play and nobody showed up so we decided to support the local music.. I asked are we not allowed to just come support the music? We don't drink, why are we required to purchase alcohol in order to be left alone? He said they support many non drinkers, so I asked him "What exactly did we even do wrong then?!" And he went back to saying that he's the bar tender and he watches everything.. Well, if you were seeing everything, then why were me and my friend being hassled to heck and back? This was a horrible experience. I couldn't believe this guy! All we were doing was watching the music!! If I could give zero stars, I would... I do not recommend giving any business to this place....

The bartender was so passive aggressive, to the point where I felt like they were shaming me for asking a question. In stead of say no, the bartender had the attitude that I had offended them by asking about an espresso martini so they were going to ignore me the rest of our time there. they snapped no and moved onto the next person… they asked for my ID so they clearly saw that it was my birthday. They actively ignored me and my friends.. even when we were just trying to pay and leave. Had we known it would take twenty minutes to get their attention for the check, we would’ve paid cash so we could exit the establishment as fast as we all wanted. We asked another crew member if we were able to even just pay them as they were standing there and the bartender continued to actively ignore us, they said no. It was such a sour experience.. especially on my birthday. I loved the live music but it’s not worth putting up with the surly, shaming bartender. It’s not as if I demanded a drink they didn’t have, I asked if they had a certain drink and they didn’t, I didn’t complain, I had a back up order ready (figuring they didn’t make that drink, but thought there was no harm in asking). Long story short I came out for a casual birthday evening afternoon a 14 hour work day, excited for live music and was shamed immediately and ignored the rest...