Lolo American Kitchen

My new favorite local restaurant! I love the décor, the food is amazing, and if you want the best burger with a little spice, get the LOLO burger.

My friend in Stillwater told me I HAD to go to Lolo, so we made a Thursday night date and I made the «trek» out. I can say I will be making the trek a lot more often now that I’ve been here.
We were able to sit at the bar and thus skip the wait (from what I understand, there’s always a wait – it makes sense as this place was built in an alleyway and is pretty small).
We started in the proper fashion: with cocktails. The cocktails were delicious, and not over-​priced. Each cocktail was creative and an experience in itself. Our bartender was really great, giving us recommendations and just being generally friendly.
The food was SO GOOD – impeccably presented and most importantly, delicious. We ordered two of the mini tasters which, while delicious, I don’t know if I’d bother getting again just because they leave me feeling like I want more. I think I would stick to the larger dishes. We had two of the small plate/​appetizers. Unfortunately, the bartender got one wrong (we had been talking to him about a lot of them) but owned up to it immediately and comp’ed it, so no big deal. We also shared some duck tacos with rosemary fries – the thin cut, tangy cucumbers in the tacos were what made it for me. Everything was superb and we were very full (so unfortunately, no dessert review).
I’m excited to bring more friends here, it’s a nice little escape from the places we are used to in the city.

Food and wine good; however, when another customer walked by knocking my partially full glass of wine shattering to the floor, neither the waitress nor the manager (who acknowledged the incident) said anything. When my friend suggested we would like another glass of wine, the waitresses response was ‚“well, it wasn’t full” to which my friend replied, «don’t worry, we will pay for it» — which we did.
I don’t think I’ll be driving from Edina for this less than stellar experience anytime soon. Poor customer relations…

Saturday evening, albeit somewhat early at 5:30PM. The wife and I show up and are seated immediately, which was awesome considering the size of this place — it’s cozy. We get the only open table left in the place, which was table 26, and possibly shouldn’t be a table at all, as it’s squeezed between the booths on the wall and the bar, so there’s a lot of traffic heading past this table because it’s on the main walkway through the cramped dining/​bar area. «Not a big deal», we thought; after all, we were lucky to just get a seat on a Saturday evening. Candidly, without the packed/​busy feeling of this place, I’m not sure the experience would have been the same, so I’m glad the table exists. Because we were part of the action at this table, I felt like we were part of the important crowd that should be at LoLo on a Saturday evening.
On to drinks — I ordered an Insight double IPA on tap, which was delicious. My wife ordered her usual — some sort of wine, which she said was very good as well. Their drink menu was perfectly stocked full of interesting selections that you wouldn’t find at the local Applebees, but not overdone, as if they had something to prove. Great work, LoLo!
From there, we ordered the crab tater tots for an appetizer, which was very good. My only complaint? We received a grand total of 8 tots at $ 10 for the appetizer. If my math is correct, that’s $ 1.25 per tot. Ummm, wtf?
On to the entrée — my wife ordered the salmon, and said it was one of the best pieces of salmon she has had in quite some time (and she orders salmon always), so that’s quite the compliment, especially for off-​season salmon. I ordered the Fat Joe burger with smoked fries. The burger was awesome and cooked perfectly. And, it was just the right size, meaning it wasn’t so large that I felt like I was going to explode after eating it, nor was it too small where I felt it was nothing more than a McD’s burger with a few extra condiments on top. The burger was perfectly flavored, the bun held the juices perfectly, and I loved every bite of it.
Finally, we grabbed a dessert to share too, the Butterscotch Bundino. This isn’t something we would have normally ordered, but our waiter advised it was his favorite, so why not? Nice choice, it was spectacular.
All-​in-​all, we had a great time, loved that the place was small and packed, and thoroughly enjoyed every bit of our dinner and drinks. Total price with tax and tip was $ 90, so it was a bit on the spendy side, but let’s be honest, with the line at the door, if I wasn’t paying it, someone else was, so I can’t complain. I’d definitely go back, but would probably opt for a weeknight when it’s possibly less busy. Nice work, LoLo.

I’ll start by saying the food actually was 4 star quality. We ordered the lobster crostini, pulled pork taco, mahi mahi taco and 2 small plates.
Now the not so good part…
Cleanliness may be a concern there and a big reason we may not go back…
Right after we ordered our food we saw a worker drop a mug on the floor and immediate pick it up and put it back on the ‘clean’ mug shelf?! We tried to not let that effect our excitement for the food, but we ended up asking for the manager in the hopes to address it. And when we asked to see manager guess what?!
It was actually the same guy who had put the mug back, gross and disturbing, the manager?! At that point we asked our waitress to remove that mug and surprisingly the manager didn’t even come over to address his mistake, which left us to wonder what else was going on like that at the restaurant?
Lastly later we noticed my wine glass was not clean at all, ugh and yuck!
We hope that the manager was an anomaly and not how they typically run their business… and yet sadly the manager didn’t think he did anything wrong.

Absolutely delicious. Honey crisp-​pear Brie crostini, Gorgonzola salad, fish tacos… all so delicious. But my favorite was snitching kettle chips from my husband’s plate. Who knew something so thin could have such an amazing potato flavor.

we wanted to get lunch, but we quickly found out that we were there during the «social» hours, which I think is from 1−5pm. But I was like what the hell this place looks clean and busy so lets give it a try. The finger food was amazing! the steak tacos were so good i started to order a bunch of them as soon as i tried my first one. the drinks are well made and the ambiance is wonderful. definitely recommend!

The place in Stillwater. The honey crisp crostini, rosemary and smoked salt fries were beyond good. Apple peat salad maybe best I’ve ever had. Top it off with butterscotch and Red Sea salt custard. Boom. Staff very friendly and engaging with the menu.

We stopped at Lolo for post Christmas tree cutting appetizers and cheer and we loved it. It was social hour so we shared lots of small plates. Every one of the tacos was amazing. We especially enjoyed the scallops and prosciutto. The Nicolette was a treat worthy of a trip to Stillwater. Visit Lolo! You’ll love it!

A F O R M E R A L L E Y !!!
What?, this used to be an alley between 2 buildings. Yup, from Main St towards the river. Talk about utilizing space! That is why it is so little and narrow.
Here for the first time with high school friends, and we were blown away.
Excellent locale
Excellent service
Excellent lobster salad on crostini
Excellent fish tacos
Excellent coffee
Excellent table
Excellent chair
Excellent floor
Excellent menu
Excellent wine list
The only issue I had was that it was too crowded in there, not really a big deal. Main Street Stillwater is Prime Real Estate, so space has to be maximized. Well done, but a little uncomfortable for me, and not real private.
I wished I lived closer so I could come back to try something else sooner than later.
I L O V E S T I L L W A T E R

Lolo American kitchen has some of the best food in Stillwater and in all the twin cities. All the food is fresh, never frozen. They don’t even have a freezer in the restaurant. I have eaten everything on the lunch menu. Everything is excellent, the food is wonderful. I can’t wait to start eating everything on the dinner menu. I forgot to mention the cocktails. These guys are cocktail scientists. I’ve never had drinks so sophisticated, then at Lolo American kitchen. Did I mention they named a drink after me. Coffee and Cigarettes, a Joe Goulet story. I would recommend Lolo American kitchen to anyone who wants great food and great cocktails.

I have been here twice and ordered five orders of scallops. The scallops with prosciutto are incredible. I don’t know how the crust on the scallops is so perfect every time, but it is. I also love the tuna poke.
The hot dog was good. The lobster crostini was okay; it wasn’t that flavorful and mine had a piece of shell in it. The shell was crunchy, although inedible.
The person next to me loved the anchovy crostini. I ordered it and thought the crostini was perfect. I gave away my anchovy because I don’t like anchovy. Surprise! Anchovy will taste like anchovy even at Lolo.
The drinks look fancy on paper. I had the Pears Gone Wild and Cabin Girl. Both were good, but not memorable. The boy had the mole beer. It is very smoky.
I end up going back to Lolo for the scallops and poke. I am also happy when my boyfriend surprises me and takes me there.

Excellent service and excellent food. I had the fish tacos, I’m not so adventurous, but they were wonderful. Try the smoked fries, and the Mark Rosen cocktail.

Best restaurant in MN. Hanger steak, burgers, tator tots & deserts were excellent. The staff is very pleasant! We were 8 at our table and enjoyed every single plate. The bathrooms are 2015 modern & clean.

Nice atmosphere. Creative, fresh, and delicious food. Server was friendly. Highly recommended!

Everyone says try the burger and fries. Good thing they don’t offer it on their menu.
Service was poor, bathroom was dirty, menu was lacking and food was so-​so.
What a let down and waste of a trip from the cities. We are on to a new dinner spot in Stillwater, since they only serve micro-​bites here. $ 2 for 1 bite of bacon that is ok, is a rip off. See ya LOLO, you are LAME!

The food is so good that it made up for the fact that we didn’t feel very important as guests. They didn’t even fill up our water when the bottle was totally empty.
Thumbs up to the crostini trio!!!

I think I expected top notch because Unilocal told me it had a near perfect rating. Anyhow, I went in with very high expectations. It was pouring rain outside and I came in the back door and was confused about if I should seat myself or not, and since I was alone over a lunch break out of town, I sat at the bar. It was freezing in there, so I had to keep my coat on the whole time.
The bartender was also taking orders at tables, so I kind of had to track him down/​wave him over to let him know I was ready. I got the Korean steak tacos based upon his suggestion, and the ahi poke taster.
Food came out fast. The salad was drenched in dressing– it was tasty, but there was WAY too much and it was kind of oily, so I couldn’t eat it all. The tacos were amazing and had a great flavor. The ahi poke was great too. I had to wave someone else over to pay so I could leave, which is annoying.
Overall the food was good. Service was mediocre, but maybe they were just busier than expected that day. It was after 1 pm, so not prime lunch rush. I’d definitely come back because the food was good and there were other things I’d like to try. A little bit expensive for the amount of food that you get though.

Mmmmm! Had just about the best burger I’ve ever eaten at Lolo last night. Juicy, perfect char, bun not too firm or too soft. Three of us shared crab tater tots and duck bacon appetizer. Duck bacon was super rich, but the portion – one bite per person – was just right. Flavors were complex and satisfying: bacon-​y, a bit of citrus, blue cheese, and a pecan. Yum-​o! And the tots were killer, crispy and satisfying potato laced with crab. Especially good dragged through aioli.
One of my dining companions had fish tacos, the other had steak tacos. We shared two sides of rosemary fries and one of their steamed asparagus. All were delicious, the fries positively addicting. Crispy on the outside, very flavorful.
Service was friendly and attentive, prices moderate – not cheap but not through-​the-​roof expensive, either. The atmosphere is casual and noisy enough to feel friendly and lively but not deafening. This is the place I’ll visit in Stillwater when I’m looking for great food but I’m not ready to drop a bundle at Domacin.

Stillwater continues to breed trendy new spots to wine and dine on the beautiful St. Croix River. You want to impress a lady, bring her to Lolo’s. I recently took my girlfriend out to celebrate her new job and chose Lolo’s never being there myself which was a risky move after my last failed attempt right down the street… I walked in and impressed myself. It had a beautifully decorated inside that gave off an intimate atmosphere in the small space that was provided. It was very lively on the inside compared to the deserted streets of downtown Stillwater on a Monday night in March.
The service was prompt and the waitress greeted me immediately and answered any questions I had. They offered a good selection of craft brews and a long list of house made specialty drinks. The dinner menu was even better. We started out the meal with a small plate, Honey Crisp Apple & Pear Crostini. It truly was a small plate with only three small crostinis but what it lacked in size it made up for big time in flavor. Whatever the do back in that kitchen is magic. I ordered the Jamz burger for my entrée and upgraded to the smoked fries which is a must! Such a unique burger! I promise you won’t find anything on their menu anywhere else and that’s what I love about this place. It is so delicious and unique and so reasonably priced for these amazing meals.
Great atmosphere, great service, amazing food and drinks. Easy five stars!