Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub
| Address: | 2716 E 38th St, Minneapolis, MN 55406, USA |
| Phone: | +1 612-208-1450 |
| Site: | northboundbrewpub.com |
| Rating: | 4.6 |
| Working: | 11AM–1AM 11AM–1AM 11AM–1AM 11AM–1AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 10AM–1AM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 10
JE
Jennifer Leigh
I met up with a few friends here one evening to have food and beer. My two friends arrived before my husband and I. We sat down and the server didnt take our drinks orders for a good ten minutes. The place wasnt even packed, it was 9pm on New Years eve and a 1/3 of the restaurant was full. When our server finally came to take our orders, I asked her what kind of gravy was on the croquette, she says "normal gravy". Ok... normal gravy. Did you mean beef gravy? Maybe beef isnt normal to most people... could have been any type of gravy for all I knew. That was all the questions we were going to ask since this server couldnt explain any of the food items in detail. We ordered the croquettes, chicken wings and waffle battered cheese curds. It was all very disappointing. The croquettes were warm, not hot. The wings had a rubbery texture. The sweet waffle batter with the smoked cheese was not a good combination. Overall, the food was not worth it and the service was worse. It took another 15 minutes to order drinks. We finished our food and were just drinking beers. The server comes to our table and asks us what "our next plan was" and if we were ready for checks... we werent ready to leave yet but hey, why not?? The server sure did want us to go and everything else in the restaurant was very dissatisfying so why not leave when she assumed we wanted to go? It was the one thing she did right all evening! Overall, I would not recommend coming here to eat or to drink beer. Their beer wasnt worth this trip. I would recommend every other brewery with or without food over this place. You will have a much better time somewhere else.
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N Robinson
Northbound has quickly become a favorite place to eat or drink in the entire city. Our first visit was a bit marred by some boring onion rings--we had eaten at home a few hours before and werent hungry for a full meal--that was our punishment for playing it safe. However, since then we have still gone back for more. Their sandwiches, wraps and burgers are delicious. Have yet to have a meal that we didnt like, and the burgers and the (traditional) reuben are some of the best to be had around town. The beer is great. Love the Porter and the Big Jim. Other local craft beers on tap, which is bonus if, for example, you like Indeed but dont feel like going all the way to Nordeast. But they are accommodating if people in your party arent craft beer drinkers and have a cocktail menu too. The neighborhood isnt super busy so even if the restaurant is packed, its easy to street park and people have always been friendly to share space at the outdoor tables.
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The Beer Minds
The Beer Minds is a group of homebrewers located in the Twin Cities who gather once a month to soak our taste buds in delicious craft beer! We visited the Northbound Smokehouse last month and had a great experience. The little brew pub was packed and the only space available to sit was at the bar (a testament to how good the place really is). I had the smoked beef brisket and some onion rings. They were out of their Big Jim IPA so I had the Light Rail Pale Ale and Smokehouse Porter. These are very good beers. They also have other local brews on tap such as Indeed, Fulton, Steel Toe, etc. Great beer and even better food. I highly recommend the smoked beef brisket sandwich! Hope to be back soon!
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Steve Klein
Beer is fantastic, wish the food was as good. theres potential with the smoky meats they serve. Last night my wife had a burger ordered as medium well, but was served med-rare. otherwise she thought the burger was tasty (good, not great). My mom had the salmon wrap which she loved I had the porketta which again was good, not great. BBQ sauce was excellent (maybe a little too much on the vinegary side) but expected a little more from the pulled pork in taste and texture. In the past Ive tried the wings which were good but nothing too special, and the smoked platter which again was underwhelming. Overall, great place and amazing beer! but could use a little work on the food
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Laci Balfour
This place is a regular haunt of mine. Their house beers are fantastic, and you can buy growlers to take home. They always have interesting guest taps. Their mixed drinks are also well made and yummy. I love their bloody marys. The fried chicken sandwich is made with a waffle batter and a delicious house-made sauce. It is something you must try. I like almost everything on the menu, but some of my friends think the smoky flavor is too prominent. There is usually a wait around mealtime, sometimes over an hour, so plan ahead. During the summer it is great to have beers on the patio. Also, since the patio is seat yourself, you get to meet people from the neighborhood.
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Adam Paltrineri
Stopped by on opening weekend, at the only point they werent totally packed (according to our helpful server). Sampled all the house beers and enjoyed every one, esp. the Big Jim IPA and Columbus PA. Smoked Buffalo wings were great, and porketta sandwich quite filling. Good homemade cheesecake for dessert. Impressive for being open less than a week! One thing detracts from the overall score: Very little ambiance. Decor is almost nonexistent. Lots of patio space and big windows make for a very open feeling, but even with 50+ people inside it still felt a little like an empty factory.
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Gabriel Romero
Service is excellent, the beers have been delicious (especially the smoked porter during a snowy night), but the food seems to be lacking. Having house smoked meats and cheeses is an excellent idea, but the thin deli sliced portions make you wonder if they are just smoking some Oscar Meyer and Kraft singles out back. Okay, not quite that bad. The fried foods and wraps are delicious, its just that this place has the *potential* to be fantastic. Right now Ill call it a great brew-pub with the perk of some decent food.
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Dawn Thomas
While the food was good enough to have possibly brought is back for a second visit, the fact that it took us an hour and a half to get our food tonight will guarantee we will never be back. There were only three of us, and of those three, only one of us ordered a dish that needed to be cooked (a burger). The other two ordered an egg salad sandwich and smoked trout tacos, which are served cold. There wasnt even an offer to reduce our bill or give us free drinks to compensate for the inconvenience. Never again!
MA
Martin Smith
Beer was delicious; had a Smokehouse Porter and would differently get an entire growler next visit. We waited about 25 minutes on a Friday night to be seated. Food could use improvement, however. Everything had a cooking oil aftertaste. Our onion rings even had a pool of oil at the bottom of the basket. We ordered cajon fries but received regular. Most of the food could have used more seasoning (Maybe Im just accustomed to over salted cowboy jacks type burgers). Overall a fun place with great brews.
DO
Don Dude
Just stopped in for beers. A good selection, and you should be able to find a brew for everyone. The outside seating area is nice. Bar is also good seating. A handful of TVs to catch whatever game is on. The Big Jim IPA is solid. The Imperial was touted as Mega-hoppy, though good, it fell a little short of expectations. The Castro Reserve was quite good. Very rich. Their sour was solid. Want to go back for food sometime. I hear it is good bar food. Will update more after next visit.
