Convention Grill

Quality burger joint. If your in the mood for a little nostalgic trip back to the happy days era, this is the joint for you. Burgers are better than average. Fries are good. The hot fudge malt was the star at our table. Homemade hot fudge is not worth missing.

A sentimental favorite, yes. Classic diner style burgers and malts. But they do it right, no doubt. Big burgers, done the way they should be done, to order. Real fries. Thick malts. They accommodate large groups. And the menu is more than just burgers, but that’s what you come for, and you can bring friends or family who want a salad or something else. This is a Twin Cities landmark as much as it is recalls a neighborhood hangout from another era. Priced right too.

This place is a throwback with delicious malts, solid fries, and burgers cooked medium well. I think that last item explains the 3 stars. You have no choice.
Overall, I’m a fan of Convention Grill and I’ll definitely be back to try their other sandwiches, but while their hot fudge malt is sweet and delicious and their crispy, salty fries truly hit the spot, cooking a burger, especially a patty so thick, to be dry and flavorless is inexcusable. No self respecting 50s diner would do that. That said, a lot of their other items looked solid.
I want to love this place. The service, the coffee, the slightly long wait time — the heart is in the right place. I recommend trying it out. The malt list alone is worth stopping by.

This place is absolutely amazing. An oold 1930’s style classic burger joint. The staff is so friendly and nice. Went with a group of 4 and we order the full fry and each got a burger. Let me tell ya the regular fry can feed 5 people easy. The fries are fresh cut and fried nice and crispy. The salt was a little much they put on but that’s ok they were so delicious. The burgers were really good too. The malts also a full could easily satisfy 3. Price was decent and the atmosphere was wonderful. Cant wait to come back.

Great place for Burgers, Fries and Malts. Frequent this diner often…

This place is pretty great and we enjoy coming here every now and again. The atmosphere is very old school diner, which brings out the 60 year old woman in myself. We stopped in this evening because the kiddo doesn’t really care for our normal ice cream spot (so luckily for the kid, I cater to specific requests) and this is what was asked for. We always recommend their ice cream, but nobody can go wrong with a burger and fries. Will we be back? Most likely, this place is a hidden gem in the city.

As far as diners go, Convention Grill is very hard to beat. Coming here is like stepping back in time they’ve been around since 1934. The Convention Grill is a small diner, with a friendly staff and spectacular food. They deserve your money, though they don’t ask for much of it.
I highly suggest checking them out!

Could be the best milkshake I’ve ever had (and I’ve had my share). Burger was fine, a bit overcooked for my taste (the menu said all burgers are cooked medium well, mine was well done, brown and dry throughout). Regardless, would definitely come back again, mainly to try more of their shakes.

What a fun place! You walk in and the sights and smells of the diner fills your senses. The waiters have the old fashioned white malt shop getup which adds to the dining experience. We sat in the attached room that had walls of mirrors. I can safely say that it the first restaurant with walls totally covered with mirrors. I’m still not sure if I like it or not? The other part is a typical diner with a lunch counter complete with the grill behind it. This is strictly a burger and fry joint but they do it well. The hamburger was perfect and the fresh cut fries were addictive! The malts were good as well. Waitstaff was friendly and the food was served hot and fast. This is a must stop if you are in the St. Louis Park area.

I am not very picky in all honesty. Many times food is fuel and food is food unless it is amazing or terrible. In this case it was terrible. We stopped in on a whim and my company and I agreed it left you wanting a pallet cleanser… and by that I mean a whole second meal from a restaurant we knew. Definitely did not hit the spot, and the burgers tasted like something that would come out of a school cafeteria. The spot and interior are adorable and I’ve been to many other diners before, but the food just didn’t cut it.

This place brings back a lot of memories from my time in SW Minneapolis and Edina. Like Tastee Treat (I miss you), the Convention Grill was always on my list of places to go and eat when I was young. The place is an institution in the Morningside area, and it has been there for over 80 years. I will always love their malts and french fries. They both are the best.
Overall, I will agree with some people on here that the burgers aren’t the best in my opinion; however, other people I know swear by them as the best. With that in mind, I never seem to have an issue because I’ve loved their triple-​decker, three-​cheese grilled cheese sammy since before I can remember. It’s been my favorite since the 90s at least. I’m glad they keep it on their menu; it’s really good and the only sammy I ever seem to get from here. Thanks Convention Grill!

mmmmmmmmmmmmm … reminiscing the flavors of this joint from yesterday oh man
so yesterday afternoon or late afternoon my boyfriend was craving a hamburger for dinner well I have been eyeing this place for a while now list of hamburgers to check out so we went for a drive. We parked at there lot and as we got off the car you can literally smell the burgers from outside.
I wasn’t as hungry as my hungry man so I was debating on what to get!
As we stepped inside the place it was so old school feeling I was like wooo the service was super friendly we sat ourselves at a booth and ordered. I ordered a half cesear salad and half order of fries with of course hot fudge sundae which you must try! and my booskie ordered a cheese burger with reeses malt
The food came in like maybe 15 min pretty quick the reeses was so bomb thick my sundae well I don’t need to say much just that is the SH*T my salad was so big im like ummmm im not that hungry but okay! and the fries I also said ummmm I said half lol its all cool tho because for the price and the portions im cool with that and Irvins burger was pretty legit nothing really special but because my salad was so big and his burger didn’t come with lettuce I piled my salad on his burger! win win for both
The food was tasty although I am a huge fan of a great Caesar Salad that thick creamy dressing I was a lil shocked that the dressing looked like Italian dressing and it didn’t taste like a Caesar dressing but it was still good! the fries tho! are the bomb! I can just eat that and my sundae and im fine
its worth checking out the portions are big and cheap

I gave it a 2 star because vs 1 since they have good service and nice employees, but I thought very little of the food. It is plan and simple American diner food, good for families and not really great food

Friendly service, fun cooks! Wonderful hand pattied burger (is that a word?) and the fries rocked! But the malt was fabulous! Came with malt tin cup and SEVERAL flavors available (with combos).
I’ll be back

Food/​Drink: The burgers are on point and you can pretty much fix it up however you’d like (bacon, cheeses, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, lettuce). A buddy and mine caught up here for lunch, each ordered a burger, and split a half order of fries (yep, enough for two) and split a full malt (yep again, enough for two). The fries are real potatoes that probably went through a cutter made in the 30’s and end up being crispy and awesome. The malt options are plentiful and you won’t be disappointed. The burger flavor and preparation is awesomely executed. It hit on all cylinders.
Ambiance: It’s a burger joint that’s kept it’s old school feel. Don’t change, ever. The booths are spacious enough for two, the entry had to be the original diner part, but has changed now to basically the kitchen and expediting area with the majority of the seating in the back.
Service: I hate to say it like this, but the «old fashioned» waitresses really fit in well for the ambiance of the place. Not saying you’re in a time warp (with the style of the uniform), these people know how to check in on you, get your order right, make sure you’re not forgetting anything and check back to make sure everything is good. They also know some people are just trying to eat and get out so they’ll bring the tab out and let you know where to pay (front on the way out) when they see you winding down.
Overall: Do you need a burger, fries and a malt? This is the place, hands down. Not a place for special toppings, stuffed burger or state fair sides, but the menu covers the basics (and sometimes that’s what you want). Regardless, the food that’s on it is on point (and always be thinking malt, shake, sundae…) and the service is to boot. If you’ve been a long term Minnesotan and haven’t visited this institution, then that’s another story and you need to go now.

The chicken soup looked and tasted like it could have been from a can so I wouldn’t get it again. The cheeseburger didn’t taste spectacular either but I did enjoy the fries. The half order came in a pretty hearty portion. It had a diner feel in the front and a more family friendly, cozy section in the back. We nabbed a booth and saw plenty of families with small children seated in the tables at the center of the room. Definitely kid friendly with the abundance of flavors for milk shakes and kid menu on the back. Personally I wasn’t sure the value was enough to merit spending over $ 30 but it was a neat place to experience.

The poster child for an original burger joint from the 40’s. The waitressess (older women only) still sport the classic all white uniforms and white aprons and write down your order on a little green pad.
The menu is quite limited — really the only reason to stop in is for a burger which you can get with or without grilled onions and 3 or 4 different types of cheeses. Lettuce and tomato are available but that’s called the «California burger». Their fries are not to be missed — all hand cut — and a very generous portion. The small size easily feeds 3 adults.
The other standout are the malts and shakes. They offer a couple dozen choices but we always gravitate to the chocolate (they make their own chocolate sauce). One is eought for two people to share but be careful — the malts come out right away so don’t get filled up on the ice cream before your real food arrives!
Definitely not a low calorie outing but hey, life is short! Live a litte (once in a while).

Two stars because the malt was delicious. I got caramel with fresh banana and it was hot caramel sauce and banana slices blended with malted ice cream and was fantastic. The half size at $ 5 was more than enough, even though it’s only a $ 1 more for what I assume is double the amount for a «full» size.
The burger, however, was laughable. For $ 6, you get just an overcooked patty on a bun with three sad looking slices of pickle. No other condiments. For another $ 1.95 you can get cheese and bacon but not even those two things could save the flavour. Also, especially in a dive like this, if you’re charging $ 6 for a piece of meat on some white bread, it should be a given that you can throw some fries on the plate included. Charging another $ 4 for a side of fries is near extortion. Come for the malts, don’t stay for the food.

The sum of it’s parts may add up to ⁴⁄₅ but Convention Grill gets a ⁵⁄₅ because it’s a true classic diner with everything that goes along with that. There just aren’t that many of them around anymore and they hold a special place in my grease clogged heart.
The burgers: 3.5÷5
The malts/​shakes: ⁵⁄₅ ooooh the flavors. And portion size. Yes.
Fries: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Price: ⁴⁄₅
Atmosphere/​Space: ⁴⁄₅
Just go. Get a cheeseburger with smoked cheddar and a malt that’s not chocolate or vanilla. I’d suggest trying the butterscotch. Live a little.

The CG has been around for years and no doubt the malts are out of this world! The fries are pretty darn greasy and good too.
Honestly the rest is just ok, I know it use to be better.
However…I get the check for 3 of us (1 adult 2 kids) it was $ 52? I’m sorry but that seems a little steep for lunch!?!
Next time, I will just get malts and fries and not break the bank.