Joseph’s Grill

Dear Joseph’s (like I’m writing a pen pal or something…)
Each and every year, I am required to pay a visit to Joseph’s to celebrate my wife’s grandmother’s birthday — it’s her pick. I always ask my father in-​law to try and persuade her to pick a different place, but we end up at Joseph’s anyways. Hey, it makes grandma happy! :)
Unfortunately for this foodie, I end up leaving unsatisfied and hungry. Over the years, I’ve had their burgers, Philly, sandwiches, pork dishes, fish tacos and during my most recent visit, the Lebanese plate. Burgers are nothing to brag about and I have stayed away from them for good, the Philly is a roast beef sandwich with onions and cheese, the sandwiches are mediocre, the pork dishes are so-​so and the fish tacos need some work. As for that Lebanese plate, I would stop serving it!
The Lebanese plate special (on Saturday nights) includes beef and chicken kabobs, tabouli, Lebanese rice, garlic sauce and flat bread. The best part of this meal, was the flat bread. The chicken came out dry, but somehow not fully cooked. Figure that one out! The beef wasn’t terrible, but a little tough. The rice was dry and I was putting the tabouli on my flat bread.
Sure the happy hour is good, but everyone has a decent happy hour within 10 miles of this place. Appetizers are appetizers, you can find the same quality anywhere and I’ll always enjoy a cold beer! :) I can always suck it up for grandma though, I just need to find something that’s worth eating so I don’t have to eat before or after…

Good burgers. Little bit expensive for burgers. Good service. Nice sports bar with lots of TVs. I had the quasadilla burger, it was unique and good. Fries were good. Good.

We had a retirement gathering at Joseph’s Grill. John and Mike were very helpful answering all of my questions and making recommendations for food. The room was perfect for such a special event and the staff was on top of everything. The appetizers were all delicious but the BBQ meatballs were the most popular. There was plenty of room to mingle and it was an exceptional evening. I highly recommend Joseph’s Grill!

Good food, good drinks. Friendly staff. Easy parking. We’ve been going here for years. Awesome patio, great specials. Thursday pot roast will fill up two people and it’s really good. Check them out any night!

Generous portions, read mashed potatoes and home made entrees. Excellent old-​fashioned food in an attractive space. I especially like the specials.

Joseph’s is the closest bar and restaurant to my home and my wife’s favorite go-​to happy hour. Appetizers are half priced during happy hour and drinks are $ 1 less.
Joseph’s is an easy place to have a good time. It’s easy to find. It has ample parking. The menu has something for everyone… and while you’re not likely to be «wowed» by anything… you probably won’t be wildly disappointed either.
It’s the neighborhood equivalent of a TGIFriday’s. I’ve had dinner there a couple of times, but the place really shines during happy hour — so I’ll share my thoughts on some of their best appetizers: The egg rolls are great. An crispier, americanized version of the classic with a tangy, spicy sauce. The nacho plate is huge, but overgarnished. You’ll run out of chips and leave a trail of lettuce across the table. Order the chicken Quesadilla instead. It gives you the same flavors without the mess. Bruchetta and flat bread pizzas are a must-​add the your appetizer selection.
Joseph’s is a great place to go – especially for happy hour — when you’re with good company and its more about the people you are with than the food or location. The restaurant, the food, and the drinks are always fine, but its not fine dining.

Decent service but my kids kiddy cocktails were terrible. It took about 15 minutes for them to bring our food and it was alright

Food and drinks are ok. I wish they had more beer variety, preferably IPAs to suit us hipsters ;)

I’m torn on this place, since I have been here multiple times now, having my office located within spitting distance. The first time I came to Joseph’s, we had the wings. They were VERY good wings. They were moist, had a nice outer crust, almost like a southern fried chicken. I believe we had another appetizer, which I cannot remember what it was, but I think was decent as well.
The times that followed however didn’t live up to the first time. At one of the next outings, I decided to try the taco salad. As far as taco salads go, it wasn’t terrible, but nothing stood out. It had about a cup and a half of red onion, which I’m guessing the chef must really like, because it overwhelmed any other flavor on that side of the salad. Otherwise, a fine taco salad, just not a knockout.
Most recently, I decided I wanted the fish tacos. It was nice out, and I was looking forward to a flaky fish, some pickled red cabbage and red onion, some jalapeño, and just overall a nice cool refreshing taco. What I got was inedible. I would have said something, but I was out for a business lunch. The fish was SO incredibly dry that I have had easier pieces of beef jerky to chew through. It was crusted in some sort of bread crumb, and was not the big piece of fish you expect, but almost a dusting of fish particles. I am guessing that it had been in the fridge for about a week uncovered, since it was so tough and dried out. On top of that was a big heaping pile of red cabbage. Raw… red… cabbage… Usually you would try to pickle this in some manner, at least for 30 min or so. This was like a wedge salad of cabbage on my dried fish crumbs. Pretty, but the only time I want to see that much cabbage is on St. Patty’s Day. Next, the «avocado pico de gallo» had ZERO avocado in it. I was really looking forward to the avocado, but no, just chopped tomato and jalapeño and onion. I’m fine with it just being pico, just tell me so. Overall, it was $ 15 for three tacos, and I only was able to choke down part of one. I threw the other two away.
Morale of the story: if you are at Joseph’s, go for something deep fried and greasy. The wings will be my go to next time, and maybe, just maybe I’ll try a burger.

This is one of those gems that is forever shadowed by it’s location. It is not easy to find, and you don’t really see it from the main roads. However, once you know it is there it’s a SUPER easy place to get to and it’s just across the river from downtown St. Paul.
My favorite recommendation there is Monday Margarita Madness. They have inexpensively priced, but incredibly yummy tacos and excellent Margaritas on Monday. The other daily specials are also good, and the full bar is nicely stocked.
They have various community bar games (like bingo nights) and lots of TVs for the sports enthusiast. There is a more formal (less bar like) restaurant seating side as well.
I recently went with friends and they had the pork ribs. They were excellent, the portion was plenty enough for two meals! Love this place, for quality food at a good price. You won’t go wrong and if you are in town without a car, just take an Über ride, it will only cost a few dollars.

Found this place because of Unilocal.Close to the crowne plaza where we were staying, and has ample parking! We had the eggs benidict and Cajun breakfast and both were awesome. I would suggest getting here prior to 10:00am as it really gets busy fast!

Went there for breakfast this weekend for the first time after driving by it a million times over the last few years.
I got the breakfast sandwich. The bread (which was thick, obviously store bought wheat Texas Toast), was completely dry. There was NO butter or anything on the bread. Never had a breakfast sandwich that dry at a restaurant before. The cheese would have possibly helped, except for they put one small slice of American cheese on the sandwich, which is definitely not enough for a breakfast sandwich with two very thick, heavy pieces of dry bread. The ham could have also helped, but that was dry, too (and quite flavorless). It was a weird and disappointing sandwich. I don’t think I’ve ever been saddened by a breakfast sandwich before, and this one made me sad. Thankfully, I had asked for the hash browns on the side (they were supposed to come on the sandwich), and those were decent.
My husband got the pork fritter with gravy and eggs. He thought the gravy was gross, and the fritter had a weird taste to it. The sunny side up eggs he ordered were cooked properly, so at least he had that to eat with his toast.
The service was friendly, so no complaints there, although the guy who I think was the owner was going around cleaning up tables with a really cranky look on his face. Seemed like perhaps it would be the opportunity for a smile to create warmth in the room (it was cold and snowing, so not incredibly busy). There were several older customers there who appeared to be regulars, judging by their interactions with the staff. I would think they would want to try and make it a more inviting environment for new customers, too.
Maybe the non-​breakfast stuff would be better?

Been a fan of Joseph’s for quite some time. It’s one of those places where you can go for pretty much anything. Nice sports bar area with a decent patio, good happy hour specials, and a dining area that sits far enough from the sports area where you’ll know when the Wild score, but you won’t hear everything else.
Food wise, they make a solid burger and the happy price apps are great, especially the tater skins. I’ve tried the Cajun pasta a couple times, and it doesn’t do anything for me. Same for the alfredo. They do make a killer breakfast though. Some amazing French Toast, and solid omelets.
Service is never an issue here. The staff do a great job from greeting you when you walk in to getting your drinks refilled to making sure your dining experience in the dining room portion is a pleasant one.
They also offer the shuttle service to Wild games (and possible other venues) which is fantastic. Makes for a great staging point as well to stop in for a light lunch, and then walk across the bridge into DT STP or hit up the parks along the river.
Solid place through and through.

Joseph’s is one of those places that has been around for ages. I remember going there as a kid with my parents and the neighbor lady for her birthday.
Anyway, flash forward to now: the food is kind of old school diner-​esque. They have some standard current bar food options (nachos, potato skins, etc) but then their entrée options swing towards «thanksgiving dinner» and «open face beef sandwich» which is not all that common in the Cities anymore. It has always reminded me of small town Wisconsin and visiting my grandparents, mmm nostalgia. Last time I was there I had a gigantic salad, which was pretty and tasty.
There’s free wifi and although it has a sports bar on the one side, if you go there earlier in the day you can comfortably treat Joseph’s like an internet café. The waitresses are happy to let you work and check in every so often. The bar doesn’t get too crowded or too loud at earlier times, so it’s a nice atmosphere. Everyone’s really kind and relaxed, which makes this a comfortable hangout.

Had a gathering with my boyfriend’s family at Joseph’s about a month ago. It’s a sports bar with an above — average bar menu. The crowd is a little older and it’s def not a cool place to hang out, but it was just fine for the occasion. The waitress was my favorite part of the experience. She handled our group of ten very well and was slightly gruff yet entirely hilarious, in an old-​school-​diner-​waitress kind of way. A variety of dishes were ordered and everyone was pleased except the person that ordered the fish tacos. She said the (supposed to be) cilantro cream sauce served with them was more like a roux (for biscuits) and was disgusting with the tacos. The waitress did something to fix the situation, so that was nice. I enjoyed my chicken flatbread sandwich and the fries were very good. I also tried my boyfriend’s chicken wings — I’m not really a wing person but these tasted like they were tossed in an Asian sweet and sour sauce and were surprisingly good. I wouldn’t go out of my way to return to Joseph’s but it was my boyfriend’s mom’s favorite restaurant so I have a feeling another family gathering will bring me back.

I recently attended a Groom’s dinner here and it was very pleasant. The servers were friendly and the food was pretty good. We had an hors d’oeuvres table with fresh fruit, vegetables, crackers and cheese. For dinner we we had a buffet style meal with baked chicken and potatoes and Salmon with rice. Everything tasted great and we were all filled up!

We often find ourselves here on the most random of nights having mixed drinks. They have some pretty good appetizer specials late at night that are hard to resist, as well.
I highly recommend the traditional Asian wings; they’re like a cross between Cora’s and Buffalo Wild Wings. And they go damn good with a beer.
This is stupid and I don’t care, but I love that they garnish the White Russians here with hazelnuts. I’m enamored with them both individually, but together? The heavens open up and sing every time I have a glass.
The crowd that hangs out here tends to be on the older side. This is perfectly fine for us since that greatly decreases the chance of encountering a common pack of wild d-​bags and it means the general noise level is much more pleasant for chatting.
All that aside, however, I feel as though it’s my duty to forewarn all those who would listen about my meatloaf excursion.
Yes, I know it’s stupid to order meatloaf when you’re out; I know it’s almost invariably never what you imagined.
But I wanted it, damn it. I wanted meatloaf.
And so I puffed out my chest and proudly/​apprehensively proclaimed it to my waitress.
Shortly thereafter, the moment of truth came. She glided toward me and, in one graceful swoop, placed it before me on the table. It jiggled for a moment like a fat lady’s naked, freshly smacked thigh before coming to a stop and settling into a gelatinous appearing blob.
God, why did I order the meatloaf?
I gulped and prepared myself to take a bite.
And then I did.
And lo, it sayeth unto me
For I am of Alpo
Nay; Ol’Roy.
So it was dog food. I’m absolutely sure of it to this day. It was squishy, gelled, completely devoid of texture and it was an odd beige color.
Please, for the love of everything you hold dear, do NOT order the damn meatloaf.
Everything else is fair game, though. Some notable standouts:
The crab and artichoke dip appetizer — creamy and satisfying.
Their walleye, whether broiled or fried — Very fresh and well-​prepared.
The tortellini straw and hay — Rich, comforting and creamy.
Also, they have a great drink selection and a very adept bartender capable of making many mixed offerings.

This wasn’t our intended destination, but remembered that someone had mentioned they had decent steaks.
We were seated by a nice young gentleman. We waited for a bit and then he came back out with some waters. There were two or three pretty big parties going on so I can understand the wait.
Our server finally came about 15 min later and asked if we were ready to order. No greeting, just asked if we were ready to order.
I ordered the steak sandwich its an 8 oz NY strip on a really big bun. It was ok. The steak really had no flavor to it. It was topped with onions and canned mushrooms sauteed. I opted for the onion rings for an extra charge which were worth the charge. They were really good, and there were a lot of them.
J ordered the $ 5 dollar Tuesday night special sandwich with fries. Where’s the meat? Really big bun, not a ton of meat. For $ 5 it was ok.
Service was ok. She was busy with the other parties, but was fine for what we needed.
Highlight was the onion rings. Ok place to try… Pretty decent menu with nightly specials.

My wife and I had a $ 30 Groupon for Joseph’s. We entered about 12 before a big St. Paul Beer Fest was about to start. We saddled up to a high table near the window and there were a good amount of TVs playing sports on the wall.
I ordered a beer and it was nice to peruse the menu. They have the nice 25 oz mugs. During lunch I scaled it back to a 16 OZ Stallion IPA, good stuff. There was a beer fest ahead of me.
Our server was nice, it seemed like she had done this for 30 years, but she was nice enough. The crowd was an estimated age of 60, but everyone was real cool. It was like a Saturday meet place for senior citizens clubs.
There would be 12, 70 year old guys around a table and 6 older women round another.
I ordered the bison burger. Medium. This bun was awesome and the extra side salad I got was awesome for like $ 3. I love when a side salad is not a premium. The burger came out and I took a bite. Perfect gaminess. It seemed pretty low fat, but still just enough grease to make it super yummy. The side salad was, again, perfect!
My wife got the Call of the Wild and just had the salad, so I had half my burger, and half her sandwich. The chicken was juicy (Always the way to go with chicken, dry chicken is the worst)
So I took home half of the bison burger (Awesome) and half the Chicken sandwich (Awesome) If it were a hipper crowd, I may have gone 5 stars.

I used to work pretty much right next door to this place. Have been to lunch and happy hour here countless times. It’s always the go-​to spot when someone gets promoted, someone has a birthday, someone does an exceptional job, it’s friday, etc.
It’s very deceiving from the outside. It’s built in to a low-​slung industrial building. Inside though it is quite nice and open. It’s a pretty good sized place with a big bar. They have a nice outdoor patio too.
The food is very good and reasonably priced. The drinks are good, and the service has been consistently good. It’s a great restaurant in an area that doesn’t really have a lot of «sit-​down» dining joints.