Merlins Rest Pub

Walked in to a cozy atmosphere Troy greeted us Made our experience memorable we felt like family through our whole meal My drink was great warmed me up on a cold Mn winter day Food excellent and plentiful Can’t wait to go back

ALERT! ALERT! I’m newly obsessed with Merlins.
I ate there twice last week and ate my fair share of 3 different meals.
1. STEAK AND STILTON. I had no idea what stilton even was, thus I was particularly tickled to find that it was a blue cheese. This pie has the perfect crust, the perfect steak, and perfect cheese. It is a luxury pie. I have not stopped thinking about it since I ate it. I shared it last time, but I will certainly have my own next time.
2. Lamb sliders. These. are. so. good. The patties themselves are great and they are perfectly dressed with a balsamic glaze and some magic yogurt sauce. The salad that comes with it is also simple and delightful.
3. Cheese vegetable soup. If this is the soup of the day, you have stumbled into a lucky situation. Unless you don’t like mushrooms, because they are one of the main vegetables. But really, I was sad to see the bottom of the bowl, this soup was incredible.
extra. I’ve never had the fish and chips so I can’t fairly rank them, but my dad gets them every time we go here and they are his favorite fish and chips in town. He’s a picky traditionalist so I think that’s saying something.

Pretty good place. I attended for a Women Who Whiskey event and the scotch tasting was excellent. The server educated us on the scotch and made a point to walk around and answer questions. However, the food service was very slow. I ordered the fish and chips and they were okay. Not the best I’ve had, but fairly tasty. I probably wouldn’t order them the next time I go to Merlin’s Rest, but I am glad that I tried them.

Several different ciders for all different tastes, from sweet Magners to dry Aspall (I’m partial to Strongbow). Lovely lunch menu (try the Ploughman’s Lunch). The only place in the Twin Cities that serves a proper cup of tea. The English toffee pudding is absolutely delicious! Attentive and friendly bar staff and the owner is a lovely man.

So what can I say of this place?
Awesome?
Friendly?
Surely?
Gruff?
Warm?
So I haven’t had the fish and chips yet but everything else has been amazing.
Soups? Ever changing. From a clam chowder to beans and beef to something else with beans. They are tasty and made from scratch. Did I not mention they were from scratch and really f’n good? Throw some fresh made bread on the side and you are styling.
So food wise I’ve has the mussels (big heaping bowl), their London broil salad, and of course soups. All have been delicious.
The place is a hangout for locals, but all are welcome. You can usually find live music and there and a rousing go around of trivia.
And while there is a nice beer and cider selection, for those in the know will come here for their scotch and Irish whiskey selection. Almost 300 different scotches and nearly 80 different Irish whiskeys.
But what I like best is that their kitchen stays open late.

I was so happy to find this pub, the food is authentic and I’ve been eating things I haven’t had since living in Ireland and the U.K. The chips (french fries) are fantastic and so is the gravy that comes with them. The handmade crisps (potato chips) are similarly delicious. I had the Cornish pasty with beef and gravy and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I will be eating here very often.

Great food, great drinks. Classic neighborhood pub.

My absolute favorite place to go for drinks or food!!! Most authentic menu and when in doubt try the fish and chips, true tell of any pub!
The staff and owners are fabulous! There is no better place for drinks and a chance to visit with your friends.
Check out their calendar for fun events!

Great service !! Alyssa the bartender will take care of you! Great recommendations !!! I was very impressed by the scotch… Scotchy scotch

Dropping off middle daughter at U of M. Pulled these guys up on Unilocal and it sounded good. We were not disappointed. I had the Steak Proper, my wife had the Mediterranean Platter and daughter had Cobb Salad with Chicken. No egg for Cobb Salad but everything else was excellent. Cucumber Martini was OK. Blacksmith was excellent. Lots of atmosphere. We will come again!

Nice British– Irish atmosphere with solid pub fare. I had the Steak and mushroom pie which was very tasty. They also serve a decent fish and chips as well as other varieties of dishes. Definitely worth a visit if you enjoy solid pub food with a congenial atmosphere.

I joined a friend and his daughter, his mom and my two teenagers. We really had a good time. It being a Monday and the lunch hour, it wasn’t overly busy so our conversation wasn’t hard to hear.
We all ordered the Rueben with on ordering the fish and chips. I wish that persons was me. The fish and chips were delicious but the Rueben was dry in my opinion. Just the meat though. Everything about it otherwise was outstanding. The kraut, sauce, and the marbled rye. They have some top notch bread and their tater tots resembled Tetris pieces but I never played a game on my plate because I kept stuffing them in my mouth.
Great experience and I will be back. I see a lot of scotch that needs some help getting out of the bottle.

Dope. Super dope! Welcoming and knowledgeable staff. Whiskeys and Scotch abound. In a good way. Super great Happy Hour. Wish they were located Downtown. Would put all the pretentious hippy dippy wackadoodle places in their place! Not trying to be cool. Be cool.

Maybe my last review was a little harsh. I had some snacks and a few beers with some friends the other day. Everything was just fine. I would come back!

This place has changed a lot in recent years (and for the better). I remember when they first opened — I felt like the food portions were too small and the prices were too high (and everything was just kind of okay). Maybe they have acculturated to my American desires, but now the portions are generous and the prices are better and they are BUSY.
The Macalester Pipe Band also plays here semi-​regularly — as a Mac grad this is pretty fun. They have «Irish eggs» (basically Scotch eggs with corned beef) that are awesome. A good whiskey selection too which my mister appreciates.

Awesome British pub and neighborhood bar! Excellent selection of whiskey from all over the world. The food is real deal English and Irish pub style. The pies and fish & chips are a can’t miss. Don’t let the outside décor fool you — the inside has a great vibe. Large booths, tables, and a long bar. Eclectic crowd.
FYI there are some events here that can be loud /​take over the bar like music, trivia, and group vocal nights. Check the website if you don’t wanna run into this business.

Typical UK pub style. Lots of UK beer and scotch /​whiskey. Plenty of pub food for people with the munchies. I’ve read a couple reviews on here that claimed they have the best fish and chips in Minnesota… No. While I appreciate that their kitchen is open until 1am, I wouldn’t put the fish and chips in the top 3 for Minneapolis. Batter was too thick, a lot of the fish was grey, and the «house sauce» was a weird take on tartar sauce. The Cornish Pasty was decent.
tl;dr, fine for drinks. If you want drinks and food, head to Morrissey’s down the road. If you want good fish and chips go to Anchor in Northeast.

This pub is very busy. It is a great location for many of the Longfellow residents to come and enjoy a great time with friends and family. it is one of my favorites in the Twin Cities. Their food menu is interesting. Their mussels has great flavors. We sat at the bar and was treated nicely by the bartenders. They are very knowleagdable about the drinks. Sometimes they have live music on the other side of the room. Nothing could go wrong here, well maybe the bathroom since it is tiny, lol.
Street parking.

The service was good. Nice beer menu. Fish and chips were disappointing. The chips were great but the fish tasted fishy in a not fresh kind of way. The portion was a good size, except I did not want to eat all my fish because of the quality.
I’ll have to try a few other things and maybe the same dish again. Could have been an off day or maybe it really is just another overrated MN eatery.

Amazing food and great whiskey selection. They have live music many nights that is good and not too loud. Great place to grab causal drinks with friends.
This fish and chips are amazing! A wonderful neighborhood pub.