Longfellow Grill

Solid, reliable neighborhood café. One of Stephanie Shimp’s resaurants, so you know you’ll be happy.

Its been a while since I had been here, and it had been a while because my previous several visits had sucked. I don’t know why I thought this time would be any different, but the wife and I had got a babysitter and were going to see a movie at the Riverview and Longefellow Grill was close, so…
We arrived at 5:10 and put our name in and were quoted a wait time of 20 minutes. We left at 6:00pm with two groups still in front of us. I understand you can get a wait time wrong, but when it is that wrong, its just plain lying.
While we waited, I went up to the bar to order beers. Getting anyone’s attention to receive help was a Herculean task that was only accomplished by a group of strangers banding together to get the bartender’s attention. This bearded hipster was moving at such a snail’s pace, and served me with such disdain that I wanted to leave and be done with it right then and there. But at that time I believed we were close to being seated and so gutted it out.
I went up to ask about the wait time at one point and explained we were going to see a movie, and needed to decide if we should fish or cut bait and find another place. I was told were were next. About 10 minutes later I watched a couple get seated and went up to ask how if we were next how come they were seated. «Next» and «seated right away» are interchangeable here, and both are factually inaccurate.
I recalled as we drove away hungry that the last time we were there we waited for a table for twice the wait time that was quoted.
I won’t go back here. Ever. In my life. I live five blocks from Groveland Tap and Scuzi and slightly further to Highland Grill. Its going to be a long time before I return to those places, or any Blue Plate restaurant again. I’m deleting their app and am done with them.

Two words: breakfast burrito. If Chipotle made a breakfast burrito, this would be it!

I’ve been to this restaurant so many times, I’ve tried many things on the menu and just have never been wowed. From the food, to the prices, to the service, it’s all just kind of «meh». If you are going here, doing the breakfast or salads would be your best option. Not sure why I decided to order chicken and waffles here but it was poor. The burgers are okay.

I can’t believe this is happening. I’m going to write a negative review for another Blue Plate restaurant. Something awful is happening with this business. First the Highland Grill goes from great to blah. Now Longfellow goes from great to ick.
Happy hour on a Wednesday evening: Out of a beer they were selling. Oh well, I guess that happens. Ordered the Beef Stroganoff and it tasted rotten. I’ve smelled bad beef before, but never tasted it. Now I know. I mean it when I say ROTTEN. My friends had the Eggplant Parmigiana. It looked amazing, but was just ok. I liked our server. She was very busy, but still took care of us.
This is strike 2 for Blue Plate in less than 2 months. Seriously, one more bad experience and I’m done. Quit being cheap. Serve quality food or sell the business to someone that will.

So because Highland Grill was still under construction, we moved a brunch meeting across the river to Longfellow. First, the parking… terrible. Good luck. All I got for ya. Next, getting there. Good luck, construction is a mess.
Once inside, it’s solid. Staff was great, we had great service from our actual server as well the manager who took some time to chat it up with us and fill coffees.
For some unknown reason, I ordered their blue berry french toast and she ordered the oatmeal cakes, plus we got the American/​Traditional breakfast (meat, hash, toast, eggs) to split because one breakfast is never enough… or two and a half or three for me. Our guest ran with a little BnG action.
Food didn’t take too long. Much like any other blue plate restaurant, the food was solid and wasn’t lacking flavor in any regard. The french toast was big, well done and served with a nice dallop of crème. Oatmeal cakes were really good. Of course the woman had to spread peanut butter on them (she’s a PB junky, it’s established), but the bites without before she could were really good. A different texture than other cakes I’ve had in this manner, but, still very good.
The only gripe was that the sausage gravy for the BnG was a little on the blahh side. Was hoping for either a little more sagey flavor from the sausage, or pepper, or something… but it was rather blah.
Other than that, very good meal, and an awesome place to have some chow.

I had breakfast– my favorite at any restaurant! The blueberry french toast to be exact. it was really good, made on ciabatta bread with a hint of cinnamon. I got a side order of eggs and they were exceptionally greasy and tasted like sausage, pretty awful. My boyfriend had the roasted herb chicken sandwich and a side salad. The service was good, the wait was short, overall it was a good experience — I’d definitely come back again to try something else.

When you enter a busy restaurant and everyone, including the staff, is happy to be there, it’s going to be a good experience. Longfellow Grill is such a place. You just know that the staff and the neighborhood love meeting here for breakfast or lunch.
We found immediate seating on Saturday morning, despite the crowd, and settled in with some prompt cups of hot coffee while we pondered our options. The menu here has something for everyone — including my two favorites: eggs benedict and Biscuits & Gravy. I went off the menu and tried their Spicy Sausage Hash, while others ordered sweet strawberry waffles and pumpkin pancakes.
The Spicy hash wasn’t spicy enough — or enough of a hash — to meet my craving, but it was tasty. It’s just that the sausage was blander than I had expected and the vegetables didn’t have that «just grilled» or «just baked» crispy edges. The tangy fresh kale topping also added a nice ‘tanginess.’ It was a good dish… but I’ll reach for the biscuits and gravy next time.
The pumpkin pancakes with praline drizzles were ‘fall on a fork’ and the strawberry waffles hit the spot for my daughter’s sweet strawberry craving.
The food rates above 3 stars and the ambiance they’ve create here is 4 stars+. The outdoor dining patio is spacious and dog friendly. The Longfellow Grill is a neighborhood treasure and a great spot to meet friends for a casual, comfortable breakfast or lunch.

I went to the grill for the first time today. We went in and they were busy. Took a bit to get seated. The table we sat at had a good view of the patio as well. We meandered and people watched a bit. Plus side on the patio byod! Bring your own DOG! That is the only thing that I needed to know I was coming back. After about 20 minutes we had to call over someone to take our drink order. By that time we also ordered food. We all ordered bloody Mary’s two breakfasts and I had the grill burger with an egg and fries.
Bloody Mary’s get an A+ if you like spicy do that option the regular doesn’t have a big kick.
Grill burger delicious first place that actually did the meat the way you request it.
Fries OMG so amazing.
The people I was with ordered chocolate chip pancakes for their side. The pancakes didn’t come out so we checked in then they weren’t chocolate chip. The server came and apologized you could tell he felt bad. The manager also came over spoke with us. They took the pancakes off our bill without a word from us.
The manager was on the floor and helped out her crew. They meshed and were personable.
Not only is the grill dog friendly but there were multiple families with young children. As one family walked out the father stated «this was super kid friendly» it also adds to their appeal as they provide goldfish crackers and the usual crayons and paper to entertain the youngsters.
Overall a great atmosphere and great food.

Longfellow proved to be a good choice for our last-​night-​out during our stay in MNPLS. We’re late diners, so the there were only a handful of tables occupied when we walked in. Even though, our service was pretty solid.
Menu’s heavy on more up-​scale versions of «pub fare». Since it was late, they had a selection of appetizers for $ 5, so we indulged in some of the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever had. Thick cut, the crispy to melty-​center ratio was awesome. I had BBQ pulled pork on a cornbread waffle and it was FANTASTIC. Closed the evening with dessert — don’t let the server fool you, each of those desserts is absolutely big enough to split!

Came for dinner, but couldn’t resist going for the breakfast food anyway. I love the chilaquiles too much to see it and pass it up. It was very flavorful and delicious as usual. Perfect amount of hash browns. My friends got the Szechuan steak salad, and had nothing but good things to say.
I wish I could have sat out on the patio — it looked beautiful out there. Nice atmosphere inside. Friendly waitress (although she could have been a little bit faster bringing waters, checks, etc.)

We (six of us) walk in on a beautiful Friday evening, get seated in the patio outside!
Our server takes our drink orders and brings them out in 10 mins. Well I had ordered a virgin mojito he brings in the wrong one so I request for the one I specified and guess what it took him another ¹⁵⁄₂₀ mins to get me my virgin mojito. that too after calling him and reminding him of my drink which he screwed up on the first go and guess what he says, «I know my bar is slow it will be out!».WTH!
Worst service from the start till the end.
Next me and my husband ordered duck and grits and we asked him if it was a shareable entrée since we weren’t super hungry and he said yes and guess what the portion was tiny and mind you all we are small eaters so when I say tiny it literally means TINY!! It clearly shows he has no knowledge of the menu. He joked with my husband saying I guess this duck was small. Well after seeing our split entrée we immediately ordered steak and pierogies.
The duck and grits were just OK the grit was in a cake form unlike a purée form and the duck was all shredded totally not what I was expecting!! Though the sauce was decent but the texture was not to my taste!! I have had some best grits in Nola so I know my Grits well!
Well then came the steak and pierogies… The steak was tender and delicious, good flavoring and was cooked to perfection but the pierogies lacked taste they were just filled with potatoes and cheese no flavor whatsoever. I preferred the steak and pierogies over the duck anytime.
As we ended the dinner our server handed us the cheque without even asking for the dessert. this is how poor the service was well anyhow we cleared our cheques and then asked our server to show us the dessert menu. Amongst the six we shared a bread pudding which was delicious and a chocolate moose cake which was pretty good too!
Overall an unpleasant experience due to the fail service of the the server!! Sometimes the service just changes the whole experience!

Longfellow Grille is a great place to meet people and have some great cocktails!
Went there for the first time after trying Highland Grille and really enjoying that place as well. After getting there at 745 we decided we would hang out until 9:00 for the Happy Hour and the waitress was completely fine with that. We order two drinks and a appetizer while we waited.
The bacon wrapped corn dogs from the seasonal menu was pretty good, the breaking was slightly soggy but the very crispy bacon made up for it. The fried artichokes were awesome with a mystery sauce, the menu said Italian Vinaigrette but it didn’t look like one, unless it was a creamy one.
My one compliant about this place is that it looked slightly spendy but I’m sure the rest of the food matches the price in terms of quality! I would recommend this place and I will be returning!

Super disappointed! I love the other blue plate restaurants, so I figured this would be another awesome spot, not so much.
Had a hard time deciding what we wanted, I finally settled on the turkey burger. Big mistake, it was super thin, and had no flavor at all. I had my husband try it just to make sure it wasn’t just me, he agreed it was super bland. Sweet potato fries were amazing and about the only saving grace.
Husband had the BBQ salmon salad. Yuck! The BBQ sauce they used did not compliment the salmon. Only thing that was good, was the asparagus.
9 year old ordered the grill burger, still wasn’t amazing. They really need to season their food.
Our waiter was super friendly and we loved him, his name is Matthais. hope I spelled that correctly. We told him the turkey burger was pretty bad. He apologized and said he was going to talk to the manager and see if something was wrong. He offered is a dessert and headed to the kitchen. He came back with a beautiful dessert! He said they had another complaint that the turkey burger wasn’t good today, he apologized.
When we received the bill the turkey burger wasn’t taken off. Granted he gave us a free dessert, I am lactose intolerant, he obviously doesn’t know that… but I would have much rather had the burger taken off the bill than the dessert.
All around, there are just way to many good restaurants around to waste our time coming back to this one.

We got here around 10:30 PM on a Friday night after hoofing it from Sheboygan all the way across Wisconsin.
The inside may have been dead when we arrived, but the outside patio was packed. This perplexed us, as MNPLS has mosquitoes that don’t mess around! (And Longfellow’s happens to be right on the Mississippi river!)
Was it the name that drew me in? Most likely, as well as the location betwixt St. Paul and Minneapolis (I didn’t feel right choosing sides without knowing either city yet!)
Their turkey burgers have apparently won awards, and while the taste was good, my husband and I agreed the burger was far too thin and scant for the $ 11 price tag or the hype. Feed us, people!
As for me? I didn’t really know what to order (the turkey burger was my first choice, the chicken and waffles sounded appealing) — so the waiter said his favorite was the fish tacos.
My sister loves fish tacos, but I can’t recall if I’ve ever ordered them before (maybe once?)
At any rate, I’d like to thank our waiter for this suggestion. I received three massive soft-​shell tacos loaded down with tons of tilapia, delicious guacamole, and, as I ate my way through them, black beans and other delicious taco essentials (tomatoes, corn, lettuce, onion, etc).
I absolutely loved these and would come back to have them again in a heartbeat!
Also, worth noting (because at the very least it’s funny) — they’re ‘happy hour’ literally lasts all day! Or well, almost. Apparently it’s from:
8am — 11am (M-​F)
3pm — 6pm & 9pm — Close (Everyday)
That’s a lotta hours to be happy! ^^

It was good. I know I am a giant pain in the rear end when I go out to eat. I ask a thousand questions about the menu becasue it’s CRITICAL that I make the best possible decision. I am super nice about it though.
Anyways, the server was in training so there were two of them and I asked a million questions about their salads before settling on the spinach salad with added chicken. I also got some kind of blackberry poblano margarita concoction that was delicious. My servers were patient and indulged all my questions. The drank was good, not too sugary. The salad was good and came with a giant chunk of brie, which was awesome, and a corn muffin. My friend liked his sandwich too. Overall nothing blew us away, gfood was basic, but solid. I want to come back and get some of their breakfast food asap though!

I’ll start off by saying that Longfellow is an adorable neighborhood. Whether you’re driving, biking, or walking through, it’s lined with cottage-​esque homes and foliage you only see in Minneapolis ³⁄₁₂ months of the year. But we’re not here for a neighborhood review, so let’s get to it.
Their brunch: the meal of the free, home of the brave, and the best biscuits and gravy I’ve had in all of Minneapolis (sorry, beautiful clouds of gluten covered in meaty fat from other brunch spots… I still love you). Their outdoor patio is great for those lazy Sundays out, and people from all levels of functionality are in attendance — from the family getting a nice bite to eat after church, to the disheveled college students regretting life choices, everyone can find a place at Longfellow sans question.
Aside from their fluffy and rich Bs&G mentioned above, their breakfast sandwich is straight out of a flavor profile dream: the thickest slice of ham you’ll see in your life, cheddar cheese, tomato chutney, and fruit compote on two grilled-​cheese-​style pieces of bread are all brought together by an egg on top, and even a hangry person such as myself had a hard time finishing it (due to the satisfyingly rich composition, not because I didn’t try to). My piece of advice would be to go with a friend and share; I don’t recommend passing up the biscuits and gravy, but you’ll regret it if you don’t order this sandwich. Do the right thing.

This place used to be on my go-​to list, but I think that’s because I wasn’t good at food yet. Either that or their kitchen has seriously slipped in the last few years.
After a couple of pretty meh meals there recently, I went with a crew of friends who wanted late night drinks. I figured I’d just order dessert.
All of their desserts are stupid expensive. $ 6 for ice cream. $ 8 for pear crisp. Do you know what’s in pear crisp? Canned pears, oats, sugar, butter. This is a church basement potluck dessert. $ 8 is basically stealing money from the pockets of my kindhearted, sweet-​toothed Minnesotan brethren, and I take offense.
I landed on their $ 4 butterscotch pudding. I don’t know how to say this nicely: I paid four times what a SnackPack costs, for half the flavor and three times the clumpy-​ness. This pudding tasted like plain, clumpy sugar milk– not butterscotch, not vanilla, just sweet… sugar milk. I didn’t finish it.
All of this being said: their sweet potato fries are probably still the bomb.

After an overnight 12 hour shift of cleaning up poop and changing IVs, there’s nothing like unwinding with colleagues over some $ 3 bloody Marys. That’s right. Monday morning happy hour. I don’t feel at all guilty sipping on bloodies and chugging beers at 900am.
It also helps that they serve some damn good breakfast. I like the Chilaquiles. I seem to have an affinity for Mexican type breakfast. it’s good. My wife appreciates the visit because I always order take out for her. Nothing like waking up to a restaurant breakfast with bloody Mary lingering in your husband’s breathe.
I recently ordered take out breakfast for my wife on her birthday. The bartender gave me a candle. Thoughtful.
Thoughtful service. Yummy breakfast. Thanks for the bloodies.

Scratch this off my to-​do list and put it on my to-​return-​to list.
I took the excessively long but scenic route here yesterday and requested a patio seat because my mom-​in-​law and I are covered in sunburn and love to be tortured. It’s a family thing.
Actually, it was rather pleasant (once the clouds rolled in), as was the service. Our waitress was very soft spoken and on top of our orders without a feeling that she was being rushed. It made for an easy breakfast.
What didn’t make for an easy breakfast was my order of Blueberry french toast. It was absolutely delicious but large enough to feed a family of four. The toasts were super thick and soft but I only made it through one before I was full. I ordered a side of turkey sausage patties because I was curious about their patties versus the disgusting frozen variety I buy at work. I was shocked when I took a bite because they tasted nothing like turkey and I was pleasantly taking bite after bite.
My companion ordered the biscuits and gravy with an over easy egg. It came with hash browns and she ordered a side of bacon. I only tried the gravy on her dish and it was rich and flavorful. The bacon was a little chewy for me but it had a good amount of flavor. At a $ 4.25 price tag on each of our extra sides, I thought that was kind of steep. That didn’t stop us from ordering them, though.
Our coffee (and creamer and sugar — because we use ridiculous amounts of these) was always kept full and upon haling for our bill, it was delivered and rang up within 5 minutes.
My favorite part about this place is that they pretty much uploaded my playlist so I didn’t have to sit there listening to some obnoxious Nicki Minaj or country. While there wasn’t anything innovative or particularly interesting about this place, it’s still worth coming back to.