Brine’s

Started off ordering a bloody and apps. The bloody to my surprise was average at best??? I thought they were known for its Bloody Mary? We ordered the sweet potato fries and boneless wings. The fries were slightly over cooked (but still better then most) and the boneless wings were almost un edible. These were pre cooked and a complete waste of a chicken. I’m actually shocked that this is the same place I visited years ago and had such good memories of the food. We told the server of our disappointment and she said «ya, I wouldn’t have ordered those» ??? WHAT!!!
On the positive side of things, the Coors light was cold.
P. S. The Server did discount the boneless wings which helped the sting of regret.

Sigh.
I really wanted to give this place more stars, but it’s just gone downhill in the past couple of decades. Or perhaps I am viewing it through childhood glasses? Please bear in mind that this review is for the restaurant on the second floor.
I remember going here with my family as a child and getting a wonderful meal in a old wooden building that had a certain smell and feel to it. The burger and fries were always good and the milkshake on top of it made you want to forswear food for the rest of your life.
Going in there now, though, is like visiting a friend who has lost their will to live. It looks the same, even the floor creaks in the same way it has for years, but it just seems soulless now. The food is mostly to blame. Everything is always dried out and tastes bland and uninteresting.
The last time I was in there they had a «french dip» (Actually I don’t think it was called that on the sign) and waffle fries on special so I ordered it. The sandwich was, as you can probably guess, dry as hell. It consisted of a few slices of roast beef folded in half on a hamburger bun with nothing else on it. Even dipping it in the juice seemed to have no effect on it. Half way through I thought maybe a little horseradish might perk it up so I asked the waitress for some and she brought me out a couple of packets. (I won’t go into what I think of horseradish packets served at a sit-​down restaurant at this time) Unfortunately all I ended up with was dry sandwich that now had a vague flavor of horseradish.
The waffle fries had obviously been in the deep fryer way too long as they were dried out and brittle. The few shakes of salt I attempted to apply just bounced off their hardened surface and settled at the bottom of the basket. I swear I even scratched the roof of my mouth on one.
The service, however, was good. The waitress made sure I had everything I needed and was very friendly and pleasant.
It’s a shame this place has stopped serving good food. It used to be a fixture in Stillwater and practically qualifies as a historic landmark (Actually, it might be). Now. Well, I was in during the lunch «rush» and there were maybe four tables occupied including mine.
I’m sorry, Brine’s, I truly am. I’d like to give you a better review but you’ve been going steadily downhill for the last twenty years now.

Brines has a cool looking old school interior. It’s dingy and feels lived in which I think adds to its charm. There is a bar on the first floor with darts and games and the upstairs is a family friendly environment with big old wooden booths. I’ve been there 3 times in the past 2 years and each time I feel good walking in but I feel agitated and somewhat disappointed when I leave.
We used to come here every year when I was on a bike racing team and Brines sponsored the bike race. I loved it and had great memories of the place from the late 80’s. Now, ugh.
The food is mediocre. I got the salad bar the last time I went and it looked like half the veggies were run through a food dehydrator. The pasta salads were slimy with dried crusty layers on the top. Things just aren’t getting changed out there quick enough. My wife got the adult grilled cheese with fries. It was no different than the kids grilled cheese meal and nearly double the price. The kids had hamburger kids meals. I could nearly count the fries on one hand. At $ 5.95 each x 4 kids, it set us back quite a bit for just a few bites. All things said and done, we walked out with a big bill, and all of us still hungry as caterpillars.
On the menu, the burgers look like a decent deal but you have to pay $ 3.95 extra for the basket (a small handful of fries, little slaw, pickle). Just get the burger and an ala carte fries ($ 2.50) and you get more fries for a $ 1.25 less (minus the 1oz coleslaw).
There’s nothing wrong with the service or the ambiance, just the cost to food value ratio. I felt bad because I felt cheated enough to not leave a good tip. It wasn’t the server’s fault but I just couldn’t drop anymore cash into that situation so she suffered for it. That made me even more agitated.
Solution: Give more food (namely: cheap fries) with your order. You can find ways to increase volume enough to make customers happy and not break the bank. In fact, the 10 cents you lose on extra fries will draw hoards of new customers and more than make up for the losses.
Change out your salad bar. If you’re not selling enough salad, change the menu on the salad bar. People aren’t really looking for 4 types of spiral pasta soaked in Miracle whip and Kraft Italian dressing these days. Be creative, go to a few restaurants around the cities and check out what’s happening. Nothing wrong with the old mainstays until it tanks your business.
Maybe I’ll stop back in 2 years to see if anything has changed. My wife won’t. She was so upset, she got on her phone and looked up other Stillwater options so next time we were in town, she wouldn’t leave with a sour taste in her mouth.

My favorite Monday night burger spot. Great bar food and kick ass beer cheese soup. Nothing fancy, just good reasonably priced bar fare.

D O W N T O W N S T I L L W A T E R
This dirty old bar was a lot more fun when I drank a whole lot more!
I haunted this place for about 5 years when I worked in Stillwater. Good Times. Real good times. Love the birthday power hour in downtown bars here. One of my most favorite birthdays ever.
P A R T Y O N

3 time here. Definitely a place to stop by for some good burgers. The first time I came here we got the ruben sandwice with the side of coleslaw and some fries the total was about $ 9. The waitress could have been happier, they do have a pool table to make up for the boring service and music. I’d be hesistant to go a 4^th time since the food has changed so much. But It’s worth a stop by. Watch out there are 2 entrances one to the bar which was where we went.

My husband and i tried this place. The food was a 6. The atmosphere was a 4 and the service was a 3. I think this place has potential, but they are holding back. We will come back in one year and hopefully they will have understood their full potential.

I’ve been to Brine’s a bunch of times and it’s awesome. My favorite seat is right in front of the taps at the bar and have received great service every time. I tried the smoked brat with sauerkraut and it was delicious! Straight up greasy bar food! This place is great to stop in for a quick bite and a beer.

You know when you go to a place for brunch at 9:15 am and you’re the ONLY patrons, the place is bad! Seriously, we were the only people in the place!
They didn’t even have all their food out and what was out, was dry and gross looking. I opened each lid to see what was available. Not good. No, and I mean ZERO pastries even.
And they want to charge $ 12 a person. Skip on that.
We literally did an about-​face and went to Joseph’s where we had a great breakfast and some of the best service ever!
How sad!

The middle aged male bartender with a goatee is really mean, disrespectful, and any positive I could have taken away from my dining experience was mitigated by him. I don’t think I will ever go back. This was my first time going there and it is too bad it was ruined by him. He also isn’t very knowledgeable about the hockey or MN Wild, yet forces conversation. Bad bartender vibes.

Horrible service. Server came by three times. First time to take our order, second time to bring our food, and lastly to bring the check. Never to see how our overcooked burgers were or if we wanted refills. For a Saturday in a tourist town I expect better service. Only good thing was the spicy cheese curds that came with our meal when we wanted them first.

We used to love eating here but the last time was worse than mediocre. BLT had bacon that was way overdone and very thin. This from a restaurant with the meat market downstairs. We’re going to have to find a new lunch stop.

Its Stillwaters downtown sports bar institution. Kids take over at night but the 2.50 domestic pints and Friday deli spread make it a great hangout for beers and brats.

In Stillwater for a tourney and we planned on stopping at the Freight House but they were not opened at the time. Menu here looked ok so we went in. Burger was dry and chicken sandwich just wasn’t good. Service not great being it wasn’t that busy. Hard time getting refills on soda or water. Probably won’t stop back to this place. There are much better places in Stillwater.

Worst service I’ve ever gotten at a restaurant. 2 large parties walked in after us and had their order taken before we even had received menus. One also got food before the waitress brought our drinks. Waitress was very disrespectful.

We brought our east coast family to Brine’s when they were visiting. What a horrible decision! Our table was dirty and sticky, it took an hour to get our stale bunned sandwiches and the surly waiter argued with us. Nothing was done to right the situation and there was no explanation why it was taking so long as we watched tables that were seated after we were receive their food. We never saw a manager either. NEVER GOING BACK!!!

I do this every time I get the chance: I test a place by ordering their Rueben sandwich. I don’t know why a good Rueben is so hard to find, or why that sandwich is so easy to screw up, but it’s my barometer.
It’s decent, but not overwhelming. I was glad to have it served on a pumpernickel roll; it was a refreshing change of pace from the too-​greasy butter grilled rye that most places serve. The corned beef was good, Swiss cheese wasn’t overwhelming, and they use sour cream instead of Thousand Island dressing. Not something I’d do all the time, but interesting. The biggest problem I would say it had was not nearly enough sauerkraut. I don’t know that I’ve ever had «too much» sauerkraut on a Rueben, and since Brine’s is well-​drained it wouldn’t make the bread soggy if they added a little more.
The pickles are home made and delicious. You can tell they’re home made from the color, texture, and cut. Love that.
The beer cheese soup was just okay– a little too similar to nacho cheese sauce, but I could still taste the beer distinctly.
I think my favorite part of the meal was the excellent IPA from a local Stillwater brewery. It was perfect.
My wife and I decided to try Brine’s because we saw the «bourbon pecan pie» on the street side menu. Pecan pie is another one of those things that always disappoints me: nobody makes it as good as Betty Crocker’s recipe, but I always want to try others just to check. When I was disappointed with the pie, our waitress Lisa took it off the check without me even asking! I insisted that she not do it, because the nature of experimenting is sometimes being disappointed. She said since it was the primary reason we had stopped in and I was so nice about it, she didn’t mind at all. Can’t complain about service that nice!
The lower floor is the bar, the second floor is the restaurant, and the third floor is their banquet room. Honestly, the food only makes this a 3-​star joint (until they get more generous with the sauerkraut!), but our experience and getting to watch the riverboats out the back window cranks it up to a 4-​star night.

Went to the bar the other night to eat. Very poor service. Had to go to the bar and ask to be waited on, said they were not providing table service. It was not busy, about 3 other tables, 2 bartenders. Go somewhere else that wants your business!

It seemed more like fast food with plates than an actual restaurant. The food was edible but boring and mis-​represented on the menu. They get bonus points for having some traditional deli things on the menu, but lose points for either being out of them or serving some pretty lame imitations. Half a heat packed supermarket pickle is not acceptable if its listed on the menu as «large kosher pickle». Especially if you’re called Brine’s, lets get our pickles straight.
I would skip this place– there are better places to eat in Stillwater.

Good alternative!
Checked this place out very early on a Saturday evening. By early I mean, early bird special in Florida early. The 8 of us had the run of the upper level for a little while.
We sat down and were greeted immediately. We ordered our drinks and perused the menu.
I decided on a cup of the black bean soup (the special for the day) and the grilled capicola and mozzarella sandwich platter with a DC, I subbed sweet potato fries for the regular fries and donated the cole slaw to my dining companion. Others in the group had a range of items — from appetizers to burgers, soups and malts.
My soup came quickly and was quite delicious! It was full of beans, corn, tomatoes and maybe some rice or barley. It came with a couple bags of oyster crackers. I don’t really like crackers in soup, except for oyster crackers. More places should serve them.
Our main meals came out right after. My sandwich was good, but the bun was way too much. The capicola was slightly grilled and the cheese melted. My fries were good, but weren’t overpowering with sweet potato taste. Everyone really enjoyed their food. My favorite part was the fact you had to order fries if you wanted them. I like it when sandwiches just come as a sandwich. I don’t need fries to start with so I think they have the right idea.
The food was decent, the service was great (she kept my DC filled at all times) and the prices were very reasonable. We all ate and drank for around $ 125, which included at least 8 Bloody Marys, 4 beers, and 2 malts.
If I were in the area, I think this is a great alternative to other places around for a quick meal at a pretty good price.

Dirty, smelly bar w bad food and incredibly small TVs. We’re talking 20″ computer monitor types.

Boyfriend and I stopped here for lunch on one of our Stillwater days and I have to say, it was pretty all right. It’s in a nice old building, which sort of adds to the family restaurant feel, but I didn’t think the food was all the great. They have all the regular diner staples, like burgers and reubens and all that, but I wasn’t really overly impressed.
The prices are great for how much food you get, though, so for a quick bite without a lot of expectations, I’d say Brine’s is a good stop if you’re downtown.