Cardinal Tavern

I have been to this place twice for dinner. The second visit was only for the benefit of the doubt. Those are two visits I wish I had never made because I did not leave there satisfied either time.
The worst part of the visit was on my first visit, when a few customers started getting loud and angry. It was making a lot of other customers, including myself, nervous. The employees and a manager passed by them and did nothing to try to dissolve the situation. I think such action on the employees was uncalled for and needs to be brought to their attention. I almost left there without ordering anything. However, I was hungry and desperate so I stayed and ate.
The atmosphere did not feel right. This ranged from the customer base to the overall layout of the interior. The decorating looks okay, but it is nothing that I would brag about to my friends. Also, the cleanliness and order needs some work. On both visits, there were several tables that had been left neglected for a while. I was stuck having to look at messy and dirty tables for most of my visits. The business was not busy so there was no excuse for this to happen. On the second visit, I had to ask my waitress to clean my table before I sat.
I was not impressed with the food. On both visits, I ordered the cheeseburger basket with fries. Nothing I ordered tasted delicious. In fact, it left an awful after-​taste in my mouth. The overall food quality needs a lot of work. The only thing in my order that tasted good was the wine.
To their benefit, my waitresses I had were friendly and helpful. They both seemed knowledgeable of the menu and the food that they serve. They were happy to answer any questions I had. Therefore, I felt comfortable approaching them.
In the future, I intend to avoid this place. I would rather to Light Rail Station, which is a half mile away and much better.

A great place for a burger. For less than 6 bucks I had a cheeseburger fries and cole slaw. Cheaper and better that a fast food place and in and out in a half hour. The staff is very friendly and attentive. I will definitely be coming back for my lunch breaks.

This place is like falling into a time warp. You walk-​in, sit down and before you know it, you look at the clock and four hours have passed. Oh and mind you, this place is old-​school Minneapolis — back when licenses were divided up — it’s beer only here!
Prices are great — pitchers ranging from $ 10-​$ 22, a lot of local favorites as well as the typical cheap big brands. The food is good, great staple bar appetizers like cheese curds, onion rings and wings all for super affordable prices.
Definitely a place to stop as the nightcap on a day of drinking or bar hopping. Or a great place to go to get a bit tipsy and enjoy good ol’ bar food!

Neat little tavern. The food is fantastic. Word to the wise, this a is a beer and wine bar. So if you need something in the 80+ proof category, you’ll need to consider this.

I cannot comment on the atmosphere of the place, as this was a takeout experience for me. My life was coming apart in all the minute ways you come to expect in young adulthood: career wants one thing from you, boyfriend wants another, family still another, and you yourself only wish to sleep, but ah! You’re still finishing school and need to study. What else do you do but find a burger?
I, being too lazy to leave my apartment, utilized a free delivery I had on a well-​known delivery service. This being the only burger place open that wasn’t way too expensive, I went for it.
Not a PERFECT California burger, but a damn good one. It fixed me like I needed it to, and I think that it was still good without being in a tavern and being drunk and etc. says a lot. And it’s cheap.

After 55 years we returned to eat dinner to celebrate our 49^th wedding anniversary. This time we ordered from the Senior Menu. Wow. Shrimp potato salad toast and peaches. Very sweet deal for $ 5.95 each. Everything was the same in the restaurant and bar plus free parking along the North Star Commuter train.

This is my favorite dive bar. The service is great, the food is good and the drinks are cheaper. It’s close to the light rail and they often have good deals on foods and drinks. I love this place.

Yes, it looks like a dive bar as you walk in. Parking is not easy. We were there for 5 minutes and left. Big plastic sheet on one wall. Dark, loud. I understand this appeals to some people. We think there are nicer places for a burger & beer.

Had to kill some time around 5 pm on Friday. What a dump. Most of the people at the bar were drunk. White trash, alcoholics, losers. Why do places like this exist?

We love the burgers and salads here! The veggie burger is one of my favorites. Also, you can’t beat the price and the friendly staff. I’ve heard lots of people say that this is their «Cheers, a place where everyone knows your name.»
We like to come on Mondays for Bar Bingo or every other Saturday for Karaōke.
AND it is right on the Blue Line. Lots to love at the Cardinal.

Dive bar. Food is not even average, neither is the beer selection. BUT I LOVE the jukebox, and Ill go back every so often.

A mediocre burger in a craphole bar! Clientele was 100% white trash! As in permanent open slot on The Jerry Springer Show! 1^st and last time.
Not sure at all how the Cardinal earned a reputation for having great burgers???

Perfect! My husband and I were looking for a little breakfast spot after a very early flight into MSP and found rhis cute place. It looks the same on the inside as it does on the outside. The breakfast was traditional american eggs, omlette, cakes and browns. It was good i expensive and the staff was friendly. I will defenately be returning to pick up my small hoodie, as promised!

Hit the Cardinal Bar around 7pm on a Friday night. We were able to find parking in the lot across the street but we got the last spot. We were lucky because there didn’t seem to be a lot of street parking around. When we went in all the tables and seats at the bar were taken. We waited about 5 – 10 min for a table to open up.
We got 4 appetizers to share between the 2 of us and it was wayyy too much food. It was good though. The beer battered onion rings were awesome, as were the beer battered chicken tenders. Cheese fries were delicious too. The mini corn dogs weren’t that great. They were crispy and hot but I just didn’t like the hot dog part. Needless to say we weren’t on a health kick that night. But you’ve got to live a little once in a while, right? There was lots of other stuff on the menu I’d love to try but our eyes were already bigger than our stomachs. The food and beer was inexpensive and tasty. I’ll definitely be back to try out more food!

Decent burgers… they have a long list of burger variations that are all mediocre. Tots are awesome though!
Kind of an odd and short beer selection, 3 lighter beers, Stella and a special on a Goose Island IPA when I was there for Sunday football.
Overall a cheap sports bar I’d probably go watch football at again.

After arriving at MSP Airport, I told my business associate that I was hungry. He took me to the Cardinal Tavern for a late lunch. I was blown away by the food and the service.
At his suggestion, I had a Juicy Lucy burger. This is a big, fat, juicy burger patty stuffed with cheese. One of the things that I really appreciated was the fact that it WASN’T loaded with all kinds of toppings (although I wouldn’t have minded a slice of raw onion). This is a burger that can stand on its own — and it stands TALL indeed.
The fries were hot and scrumptious. The iced tea was very good, too. And the service was prompt and friendly.
The atmosphere is, well… it’s a bit of a dive. But who cares? The food is killer. If you’re looking for a hip, trendy place, you’d probably want to look elsewhere. But if you want a burger that will knock your socks off, the Cardinal Tavern is your place!

Absolutely loved this place! FOr the Pub Crawl, we got two pitchers and on Wednesday, it is 50 cent Wings day! HH is from 4−6PM and they have $ 2.5 baskets of onion and rings and other delectable bar foods that go well fro the drunchies!
The drinks are pretty cheep ($ 9 pitchers) and it was the fullest of all the bars that we went to on a Wednesday.
The service was the best part! The bartenders were so nice and played 80’s music for us since we were in our 80’s gear. I would def. come back for another pub crawl!

For many years I’ve noticed the Cardinal when driving along 55 and never really thought much about it. Yesterday it fell upon my partner and myself to provide lunch for his mother. Translation — nothing too spicy, dang it.
We checked out their menu online before heading over and were amazed at the decent prices and were impressed that they patty their own burgers every day. We ordered three burgers, one plain, two with cheese and fried onions as well as some onion rings and tots. The third pound burgers were well seasoned and well seared for that extra delicious burger taste. The onion rings were of the battered variety and were wonderfully sweet and delicious. The tots were perfectly crisp outside and fluffy inside. To top off the absolutely delicious burgers the bill was just over $ 20!!! for three people.
I can understand why people will sometimes hop the light rail to come here for lunch. Definitely will be back!

My husband and I went here after being disappointed by two previous places. This place is not fancy by far and is your regular dive. We ordered burger, fries, onion rings, fried mushrooms. To my surprise, the food is awesome!!! The service is quick. The people who go there are very friendly and the servers are very friendly. I would definitely go back again!!!