The Bulldog Lowertown

Stopped in during June 2016 jazz fest with 5 other gals. Good service good food. Overlooks Mears Park.

One of my favorite spots in the twin cities! The Bulldog never fails. You always know what you’re going to get and you always know it will be satisfying. Super friendly staff, great beer selection, and tasty bar food!

3 ½ stars. Nice bar with good food selection. Five of us had a variety of food dishes that were all just average. Decent selection of beers on tap, better bottled beer selection. Full bar, service was above average. One of the few places that was close to and open after the Saints game.

It’s a nice place to have a drink in a relaxed atmosphere though it tends to get crowded during happy hour. The food menu seems to have expanded with a nice selection, though not a lot of healthy options. But hey, it’s a bar. They have several choices of draft beer as well as liquor. Service has always been good.

First time visiting the restaurant and I’m glad I did. The Hawaiian burger was really good and the service was great. I plan to stop bye again before traveling back home.

Went here for lunch while on business and had a great experience. Staff was helpful and friendly. I ordered the Turkey Avocado Sandwich and it was huge. I could only eat half of it! Would recommend this place for sure.

Was driving around pretty late at night on Easter Sunday, desperate to find something to eat. Found this place and called to make sure they were open and upon confirmation, went in. I glanced at the menu and saw that they had poutine which is something I had wanted to try for forever. Theirs is a pot roast poutine and after tasting it, it was absolutely a great decision. I’m not a big fan of pot roast, but this was amazing. It was hard not to go back the next day for more. Also ordered a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burger (half bacon, half ground beef) and while it was a bit too salty for me, it was still really good. Server was also very friendly and helpful and kept the drinks filled. Definitely a spot to check out for some good eats.

Very very disappointed in everything at the Bulldog last night. Mediocre service and marginal food. Very rude bouncer and manager. We had a low key group of ten moms for a fiftieth birthday and were treated very disrespectfully. I was a big Bulldog fan. Won’t be going back.

The first time I went to this restaurant (about 3 years ago) I was not impressed. I returned in December 2015 and was EXTREMELY impressed. We had the queso dip for an app, a few hot dogs, and some chicken strips. I couldn’t stop raving about the queso for weeks!
I just returned on February 26, 2016. I was so excited to have the awesome queso dip again! Unfortunately, they changed the dip so that it’s pretty much tasteless. It was just disgusting. I’m bummed that I had to pay almost $ 9.00 for something so terrible.
The three stars are for the fun environment and the pretty great wait staff. However, the food leaves much to be desired. I really want to love the Bulldog. I live in Lowertown and I want to frequent the restaurants, but it’s hard when the food is so-​so.

The happy hour here is pretty extensive, and very well priced! Very good list of beers, all also on great happy hour deals. Problem is, nothing is good. I take that back, the chicken strips were solid, beyond that, juts bad. Deep fried pickles were all grease, the… well, pretty much everything was all grease. If you’re looking for a good priced happy hour and solid beer selection, then I definitely recommend The Bulldog. Just don’t get the food, you’ll be pretty disappointed.

Looking for a good beer? Nice atmosphere? Delicious apps? Well friend, I think you’ve found your place in Lowertown. It’s ideal if you can take public transportation since it’s close to the Green Line and parking in St. Paul, well, it never seems to be a stress-​free experience. Bulldog Lowertown is always a go-​to since I work only a couple of blocks down so I can attest for its greatness. It always seems to be crowded but even going in somewhat large groups (8ish people), we always seem to be squeezed in without having to wait for a table. Extensive beers on tap are always a sure thing and their happy hour is comprised of some great specials. Cheese curds, deep-​fried pickles, and tater tots is what my co-​workers and I chowed down on most recently since we obviously try to stay as healthy as possible, but rest assured all of their starters are tempting and I’m confident that you can’t go wrong with whatever you choose. Recently tried lunch here for the first time instead of happy hour and it was by all means not a disappointing experience. Our food didn’t take long to arrive, even though we were a large group, and our server, though maybe not the most attentive, still got the job done correctly. Everything came out at once even though a couple of the dishes were ordered about 10 minutes after everyone else. The Portabella Philly was, to put it simply, CHEESY. To the extent that I think the cheese sauce was all I could taste. Ok not entirely true, but it was still loaded on there pretty heavily. Didn’t quite have the spice I was looking for by claiming it is a «spicy cheese sauce» but still, all in all, it was a satisfying sandwich, served on a white hoagie bun, that undoubtedly cancelled out all of my workouts the past several days beforehand. Did I mention that it is served with potato chips (and a pickle) too… Anyway, I haven’t been to the other Bulldog locations but even if you have, they all have different menus so be sure to make it out here.

Worst chicken nachos I’ve ever had! It is like flushing a $ 10 bill down the drain! How hard is to make a decent bowl of nachos? Apparently, it is super hard for Bulldog to come up with a decent recipe.

I ordered the Chicago dog, it was very good. I just wish they used a better bun so the hot dog and everything else wouldn’t just fall through. Their fries are actually really good.

We went on a Wednesday night and it seemed like an after work happy hour crowd. It was very loud. Both of our meals — black bean burger, fish and chips — were below average. The black bean burger was weirdly doughy and the fish I guess was too fried? It was very hard.
Looking for our go-​to places in Lowertown, and this won’t be one. It is accessible through the skyway system, so that’s handy — there’s an elevator between Barrio and Bulldog.

This is a spot that I’ve been looking forward to visiting for a long time. Maybe that’s why it turned into such a letdown when we came here on Saturday night to enjoy some beers and games. The bar has plenty of seating, a good thing, but the acoustics make it seem louder and busier than it really is.
We asked our server for happy hour and menu recommendations. She responded that «there is nothing special here.» No drink specials. Nothing she liked on the menu enough to recommend to new patrons. Maybe she was just having a bad day, but (sadly) it set the tone for our entire experience here. We moved on a few minutes later.
Have you had a better experience here? Let me know.

I think these might be the best hamburgers in the Twin Cities. I also love the ridiculous amount of garlic that is applied to the Garlic Tots/​Fries… not for the casual garlic fan.

My boss brought us here for the 40 beers on tap, and that was all well and good (great mix of local, out of state, and international beer), but the BURGER was on a whole nother level. I had the cheddar and bacon burger, medium rare, with extra-​crispy fries. Burger ranked among the top I’ve had this year – rich, but not heavy, and just so perfectly seasoned and cooked. Extra-​crispy fries really delivered, too.

Great beer selection and atmosphere. The food menu has a decent range of options. Their specials are usually good, too.

I’m no novice to The Bulldog. Always a fun time with a great beer selection! And the food is pretty decent. Big fan of their Ruben. And one must always, ALWAYS upgrade to the tots… because it’s Minnesota and we love tots!

I have yet to find a Bulldog I don’t love. How do they even get that many different kinds of beer and still manage to turn them over quick enough to keep them so affordable? Idk, but I’ll take it!
We had a few apps — poutine, French fries, and nachos. Each one was better than the last. How do you make basic deep fried apps stand out from other places? I don’t know, you just do. They were freaking delicious. (Probably totally didn’t have anything to do with the affordable beer.)
Plus. Hello, dog friendly patio. I literally got to play with the cutest, laziest little pup on the planet (except my own, of course) while enjoying grease and alcohol. Does it even get any better?
Oh wait, it totally does. Because the security guard came over to our table to chat and started cracking jokes. Just terrific service.
Parking isn’t convenient, but it’s Saint Paul. Parking is never convenient.

I have long enjoyed Bulldog NE and Bulldog Lyndale, so decided to try the Lowertown location since I moved to Saint Paul a few months ago. Big mistake…
My fiancée and I went to the Bulldog on Sunday. After initially being brought the wrong item, I was brought a wild boar sausage that was totally raw on the inside, an obvious food safety issue. I told the server, whose reaction was, more or less, to shrug her shoulders.
We ended up talking to the manager who first denied the meat was raw, claiming it had been smoked to a safe temperature before grilling. As it happens I have a smoker and smoke meat on a regular basis (in fact, I had smoked 35 pounds of pulled pork for a party two days earlier). This sausage was not smoked — it was totally gelatinous and raw. The manager then told my fiancée that maybe we were just not the sort of people who should come to the Bulldog (pparently they prefer people who will eat dangerously cooked food without complaint). I found this a totally bizarre and frankly shocking response. He then comped our meal (something we hadn’t requested) with a scowl and sent us on our way.
I have experienced the occasional crummy service over the years, after thousands of meals in restaurants, but I have never had the manager of a restaurant discourage me from coming back because I had the nerve to point out that unsafe food was served.
I have spent at least several hundred dollars over the years at Bulldog NE and Lyndale. They will see no more business from me. I would only recommend the Bulldog Lowertown if you are comfortable giving your money to people who don’t care about your safety.

We went here after a friend’s wedding reception and we’re treated with exceptional rudeness. Many members of our wedding party had single-​serve size bags of potato chips, passed out at the end of the reception. When an employee saw these bags of chips, he aggressively confronted us and kicked multiple people out of the bar. While I completely understand a restaurant’s policy against outside food, this employee’s reaction was disproportionate by orders of magnitude to the offense. Learn how to treat your patrons with a little respect and class.

Saturday, lunch time, patio, beautiful day, a view of Mears Park (parking was a bastard as you can imagine)… what more could you ask for? How about some god damn curds and a burger?!
Check and check!
Service here was stellar throughout from the server to the runner. Even greeted and told open seating when we strolled in, rather than stand at the door and look like a doofus.
We go with the normal curds, I opt for the Porky Pig (burger with pulled pork) and curds. The woman rolls with her breakfast burger — bacon and a fried egg — with fries.
Curds come out shortly after, and look just amazing. Batter isn’t your deep fry batter, it’s a smooth style, not tempura style. Kind of heavy, but flavorful. Doesn’t over power the cheese though, which is great. And the «house marinara» is a step above your normal red sauce. Adds just enough to the curds to be a solid addition.
Burgers come out a little after, and they look amazing. Cheese is melted around mine encompassing the pulled pork perfectly. Her burger is nearly flawless with the egg intact and fit nicely on there. Tots are fried to perfection. First bite, delicious, but missing something. But, then I realized that the bbq sauce wasn’t on there at all, JUST on the side (I noticed it on the side, but thought pulled pork burger, probably going to be on there too). No worries, start dunking and to quote my teenage niece… OMG OMG OMG. Tasty as all hell! Sauce is a little on the smokier side, but adds enough sweetness still to be perfect. Tots are fried a little past where they normally would be, so they’re extra crunchy and awesome. Great burger, through and through.
Her burger, which I devoured half of… very well done. Another solid burger, and again, dunked in my BBQ, amazing. However, and this is why that 5^th star doesn’t pop up… the fries are under done. I know. The easiest thing to do, and it gets screwed up. You’re asking «how bad was it?» Well, ya know when the inside of a fry is still that starchy-​moist? It was like that. If they were done like the tots, this would be 5.
All in all, a great burger/​curd mission that we both called a success.

Went here before a Saints game. Loud, dirty, too many TVs, and the food was horrible. Ordered the wings and they were overcooked, tough, and strangely seasoned. The fries wilted at the touch — too greasy. Even the beer was lukewarm! Did I say it was loud?
Lowertown could really use another restaurant like this (that’s not high end or just pizza) to either make Bulldog up its game or put it out of business altogether. Never going back.

So my buddy and I are here on business and we stop in on a Sunday to check out some football games, have a drink and some food. Food was bad, but not a surprise, as… we’re at a bar. So I won’t hold that against them too much. Though I did get sick from their food afterward so maybe I should. Regardless of that, there was a game on, two good playoff bound teams playing each other. We sat in a corner with a TV that only we were watching. The entire rest of the bar was on the local Vikings game. They were facing another non playoff bound team, so we were happy to be watching a good game.
Then the waitress comes around and changes the channel. We ask them why, and they said because of fights that break out. Keep in mind, my friend and I are not in any football gear, and our teams were not even playing. We just wanted to see a quality football game. We go to the manager, who we think could be in control of their own establishment and keep order, but we were mistaken. They said that it didn’t matter that only we were watching that particular TV (That does matter, cater to your patrons, thats your job) and wouldn’t change it back. So of course the Vikings lose (To the Bears, now I remember), and everyone in the bar is sad, and now the TVs change back to some good games. It would have been nice if the manager had a backbone. But at least now I can say this is not a place to recommend and not friendly to out-​of-​towners.

One of my dearest friends is moving to L.A. After I was done drinking my tears, I asked her where she wanted to go before she leaves. No hesitation — «Bulldog». I assumed she meant the Northeast location, but she replied, «No, Saint Paul. Dry. Rub. Wings.»
If you didn’t know, each Bulldog location is owned separately and boasts a different menu. The dry rub wings are one of the highlights of the Lowertown BD, and I can now attest to that. I was the first to arrive (I am aggressively fueled by hunger), so I secured a table for 4 outside. Even though the rest of the party was clearly not there yet, the waitress swooped in promptly to rid me of my many workday annoyances. I had just a couple minutes before Happy Hour ended, so she put my discounted beer and 12pc wing order in asap.
Everyone else shows up and is promptly disappointed with the mere 12 chicken wings on the table. They were so crispy and well-​seasoned and the sweet&spicy sauce was so perfect that I agreed that ordering less than a dozen is just freaking ridiculous. Again, our server was quick to take our orders and the food was delivered in a timely fashion too. When my friends received their «What Came 1^st» sandwich, they were enjoying it so much that I was afraid if I reached my hand near their plates I would pull back a stub. My boyfriend and I split a Korean sandwich, and the kitchen had our order split perfectly into separate baskets, which spared us a bloody tater tot battle. But I have to say I was disappointed with the sammie. A Korean BBQ anything without kimchi is heresy. And the BBQ just tasted sweet, no other savory or spicy notes. But the tots and ranch dressing shut me the hell up from complaining much. Hopefully I can make it back here soon and enjoy more quality time with their HH specials.

Met some friends here for happy hour. The service was was not the best, the waiter kept asking if we needed another round before we were half way through with our drinks but didn’t bother to refill our waters (even when we asked).
My friend ordered a margarita and thought it tasted funny and insisted I try it to confirm. I tasted it and confirmed it did tasted more like a heavily watered down Mikes Hard Lemonade then a Margherita.
When we got our bill we we had to flag down the server to correct some items that was over charged to us. We were additionally charged for a shot of Crown Royal and beer. We explained to our server that these items were not ordered and she sniped back with a ugly attitude stating we did in fact order a Margherita mixed with Crown Royal and that’s how the restaurant bills the drink. My friend explains she did not request a whisky Margherita but didn’t want to argue about it and would pay the tab. The server then snatched the tab from the table and said she would have her manager take care of the overcharged items.
I personally had a $ 14 tab for two beers and when I clearly gave her a $ 20 she didn’t return my change, I had to request for it. I’m sorry but I will not tip 40% for rude service.

If I could have given it 0 stars I would. The food was cold and sub-​par at best. The effort they put forward towards the menu is pathetic.
It might be a great spot to grab a drink but that’s it. Do yourself a favor and eat next door at Barrio or Public.

This place is super busy. We went during a weeknight dinner time hour and the place was packed. It’s first come first served seating. The staff was super friendly, always a plus.
There is a parking garage down the street since street parking is challenging at best.
Food was decent, typical pub style food. Ambiance was dark and comfortable. It looks like a place frequented by suits who work nearby as a happy hour gathering spot as well as random locals like me who are looking for different places to hang out.

The food was mediocre at best. I looked at the menu online ahead of time and was planning on getting a steak salad but it wasn’t available over lunch break evidently. Nothing overly healthy on the menu so I went with a bison burger with a salad instead of fries. The salad was typical iceberg, nothing fancy. The bison burger was definitely well done, not medium like I asked for. It tasted decent. Nothing special about this place. Service was good. It smells like stale beer though.

I went to the Bulldog in Lowertown under the assumption that I was in for the same deal as Bulldog NE. But alas, there’s a very key difference.
The menu. Lowertown has a more limited menu. No entrees, fewer burgers, etc. And most importantly, they don’t serve the meal I went there for: brunch. That was my mistake so it’s fine. I ordered the reuben and tots which were just good, greasy bar food, same as any other Bulldog location.
Another difference is the layout. Both the downtown and NE locations are working with pretty tight set-​ups, but Lowertown’s space is big and open. And they have shuffleboard and darts here.
A similarity to other Bulldog locations? A shitty beer menu. I mean, they have a great selection of beer, but the beer menu is all over the place. It’s not updated often enough, some beers prices are listed while others aren’t, etc. I would hope that the servers and bartenders can speak to the differences in the brews they serve, otherwise you might be S.O.L.