The Malt Shop
| Address: | 809 W 50th St, Minneapolis, MN 55419, USA |
| Phone: | +1 612-824-1352 |
| Site: | themaltshoprestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
A
A Private User
So upon realizing that Broders had an hour and a half wait, we decided to check out another establishment on the City Pages list of cheap eats, "The Malt Shop". Even before entering, I felt like the city of Minneapolis was trying to warn me not to go there. Trying to navigate the streets around the malt shop is near impossible. All the one ways seem to converge in the area and direct us away from the malt shop. Once we finally found a parking spot, we walked to the door on the 45 degree angled sidewalk. It was trying to warn us as we approached to go in the opposite direction. As we entered, we were seated right away on the faux patio, surrounded by foliage and Christmas lights. I knew my date was in for a treat! After our initial greeting by 50s greaser waiter, we were served our plastic tumblers filled with bathroom sink water. After looking over the menu, we settled on Lasagna and the special of the day, salmon. Being the full course meal that it was, we obviously got salads to accompany our meal. The salads were served with our choice of dressing, served in what appeared to be the same small paper cups used to serve patients in a mental institution their pills. Our chocolate shakes arrived shortly thereafter which appeared to have just been blended with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup, which was not fully mixed in. They were also already half way melted, probably due to the long trek to the patio which was 3 feet away from where it was made. If it sounds like I only have negative things to say about the malt shop, you are wrong. As we waited for our main course, we scanned the foliage surrounding our table. We played the game, "which garbage is meant to be in the plants, and which is not". This is where we found the best surprise of the night: a senior picture. This was not an ordinary senior picture, but one thats meant to inspire great things. This was a picture of a girl in her fencing leotard!! This made the malt shop worth going to. Lastly, the dinner arrived. The lasagna appeared to have no pasta whatsoever, but rather was made up of marinara and greasy melted globs of cheese. The salmon was decent, but I think we should have just both went for hamburgers.
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Ras Kafka
I came here for months, to have malts, before ever thinking to eat here. But the food here is really tasty, especially the way that they make their tunafish sandwich. 6 months later, follow up review because I had to bump it from 4 to a solid 5 stars.... This malt shop not only makes amazing shakes (with a huge selection of flavors), but the food is several steps above your average malt shop. A large selection to choose from, but you will probably get so hooked on your first visit, that you will order the same thing for your next few visits. For me, that first meal was The Monterey sandwich. It is a tuna cashew salad with sliced avocado, Monterey cheese and then grilled with choice of bread (I do rye). Everything that they do sounds so simple, but is exceptionally and uniquely flavorful. Burgers are also excellent. My favorite is the Malt Shop Burger Supreme. 1/3 lb burger (or step up to 1/2 lb for a buck and change) with mushrooms, avocado, bacon and pepper jack cheese. And my experience is that they always correctly cook the burger as ordered. For me, under or over cooked meat, per my request, can be frustrating. No problem here. I could go on about many more menu items or about how they have locals playing piano or guitar some nights, but I doubt many people even made it this far in my review. Just go there and see for yourself!
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Richard Corbett
Late lunch with Mom, Thursday. Nice smile on our waitresss face, but it took over 10 minutes to get our shake and malt. Then we ordered lunch: same dreadful slowness. Over 30 minutes for a burger and salad to arrive. These time estimates are NOT exaggerated. Malts and burgers are your specialty and it takes that long? Only 2 other tables at the time. The malt, the burger and the french fries were GREAT, but I mean, I was looking around wondering where our food was...then as we exited, I said "Thank you!" as we passed the gal at the host stand, but she was too busy on her cell phone to even look up. Very poor etiquette. I mean give me a break. Great food, but back of the house has serious attitude issues. You cant survive, even with great food, when your service sucks, and on this day the waitress was good, but her co-workers dropped the ball. Thats why I couldnt possibly rate a 3, even with great food, because half the reason I dine out is so I can simply relax with my friend and get waited on. Management needs to instill and intensify a constant sense of urgency in the back of the house, because even when business is slow, like it is during late lunch times, theres still no excuse to drag your feet or prioritize other tasks ahead of your guests.
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Collette Nicole
The food was delicious!!! My ONLY reason for not giving 5 stars is the bathroom... I understand the times that we live in... but Im TOTALLY NOT comfortable going to the bathroom and out of the other stall comes a grown man!! So PARENTS: PLEASE ACCOMPANY YOUR CHILDREN TO THE BATHROOM. (In no way am I saying all/only men are predators- Im saying that with grown ups, of both sexes, and children ALL using the same two stalls in one bothroom space- is a sketchy situation for ANYONE.) I almost want to give one star for that reason, yes-its THAT BIG OF A DEAL to me, but the food was delicious, the shakes were delicious, and the service was just as good, so I will give two for now. I had an amazing blt that was jam packed with bacon! I had a raspberry shake that tasted like it was made with fresh raspberries! And I had a chocolate malt that satisfied my chocolate spot just right! I really would love to give 5 stars, but that whole bathroom idea is 1000 thumbs down for me. I am still willing to eat there again, but I do hope they can figure out something else for the bathroom/s. Maybe just remove the door that closes the space in and have two unisex stalls with the common sink... SOMEthing!
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Christian Wilkie
You know what? I was expecting not to like this place, and I liked it. I came here (as countless hundreds do) because George & the Dragon had their legendary section-of-a-day waiting requirement. Has anyone calculated how much business George & the Dragon has willfully turned away? Well, Malt Shop picks up the slack and then some. I was astounded to discover their burgers were not some high school food service patty, but a quality recipe with fresh ingredients. And in my case, they made the sauce with a beer from a local brewery! Now Im looking forward to the next time I can go here and explore their menu in earnest. Theyre right on multiple bus lines, so theres no need to gamble with parking. They have an honorable local beer selection with prompt service and ample seating, and the prices are reasonable for the high quality product you receive.
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P Collins
I left a review at Yelp, so I might as well leave one here. I like this place. I had my middle school grad party here long ago, and its always been a keeper despite the occasional problem. I wish they still did breakfast, but they stopped doing that a while ago. We also miss Mario. Havent seen him in ages. Anyway, I still like coming here from time to time. The malts are killer, and the food is usually good. Every once in a while, the food has been a tad lacking. But, with that said, that doesnt happen too often. Also, the building is really cool, too. Good thing theres an alley in between it and those buildings that burned down a while ago. Too bad Patina came back. :)
