Fabulous Fern’s Bar & Grill

Looking for an early lunch, we stopped in at about 11:30 on a weekday. No one there, some staff who appeared to be doing set-​up chores. Our waitress was friendly but inattentive. The food took FOREVER (what were they doing in the kitchen since we were the only diners???) and was definitely disappointing. I ordered a grilled vegetable on focaccia sandwich — what arrived was more like a wrap with a few dispirited slices of zucchini. I was starving within an hour of this meal. My husband’s sandwich was blah, boring, mediocre. When we left there were two more tables of diners. This place used to be buzzing at lunchtime.
It’s a shame that Charles Senkler’s death has apparently led to the decline of this great restaurant. I feel bad writing this, but the new owners (heirs?) need to do more than focus on the bar.

I want to say go here for the food. But we’ve had two extremely poor (non existent) service experiences in the last 2 months on less busy nights. absolutely no feedback from the general manager after writing a personal note outlining all the drops in service. No response.
There are better places to spend your hard earned money with better service.

The brunch here deserves 4.5 stars for sure! If you’re going to come here, make sure to come for brunch.
That being said, don’t bother coming for dinner. I’d rate dinner about 2 stars. I had the Fern Burger with a side salad. I asked them to cook the burger medium. The inside was certainly medium but the outside was burnt which took over the whole flavor of the burger. Also many pieces of lettuce in my salad were wilted and slimy. It was disappointing to experience this in a restaurant because it makes me question the quality control for the rest of their food.

We happened upon Ferns on Christmas night, on our way to MT. What a pleasure! Everyone was friendly, food came, piping hot and satisfying. We could tell it had been busy, and then the manager came over to talk and told us about the night, the neighborhood. The owner stopped by, (his Dad had run it for over 20 yrs) to make sure we were happy. I loved feeling welcomed into a familial neighborhood on such a special night.

This is a great place with a underrated new brunch that I find myself attending more often then I figured I would. For the price of roughly 17 $ after tax with no additional drink (coffee not included) its pretty decent. Some shortfalls however seem to be a high lack of gluten-​free options, and I have only seen one item (a coconut macaroon) labled gluten free.
It’s a very American brunch, and they do a good job at keeping things stocked. They rotate out certain types of dishes like the «fish» or the «crepes», but sometimes I grow weary of there being some very little options for proteins that are healthier and not breaded or fried.
Its located in a nice spot on cathedral hill area, so that is a plus as well. If it wasn’t so convenient, I’d probably opt for other brunches in Minneapolis. The service can be pretty touch and go as well.
If you like American brunch, do not mind fried and conventional foods, this place is solid. If you like healthier options, more quality food, even though perhaps a little more limited, I would go elsewhere. There are just so many options out there, that while this place is good– it just misses the mark in non-​greasey food. In fact, its hard to find vegetables here other than a sad boring salad (with dried fruits in it) and some veggie cooked to death and slathered in butter (I have seen green beans and corn)

Love the food, nice ambience, great staff. Daughter had the pecan crusted walleye. loved it. I had the blt salad, just the right amount of dressing and very generous amount of bacon. Hubby had the pot roast, which was to die for. Great beer selection, great prices.

The search for the ultimate weekend brunch is an enigma of sorts in Saint Paul, a thing talked about and debated endlessly, sought as if it were a pirate’s long lost booty. For anyone having yet to take the Fern’s brunch buffet litmus test, stop wasting your time and dive in at your first opportunity. Fern’s offers one of very the best values available and completely free of the quality hindrances one might expect from the buffet model. Satisfying and rich, sweet and savory, quiet and boisterous, warm and cozy, be your own judge.

My husband witnessed an employee take a bottle into the bathroom and place it on the urinal! He waited to see what he was going to do with it and he stocked the bar with it after he was done with his business. Completely gross!!! The employee denied it after my husband told the bar tender. Seeing is believing so how do you think the food is? Unsanitary! Yuk!

Wow! I mean that in the BEST way. Stopped for Father’s Day but did NOT eat the buffet. Instead I ordered one of the BEST meals I’ve had in NINE YEARS of eating in at least 200 restaurants in the Twin Cities off the menu.
Prawn pesto crêpe… Excellent! Prawn and scallop pesto pasta… EXCELLENT! The cook on the prawns and scallops was perfect. The sauce was so savoury I couldn’t stop eating the delicate balance of pesto and garlic from the plate.
I have a palate and this isn’t even a 3 star restaurant but served me food better than any of the so-​called 3 star restaurants in Minneapolis or Saint Paul!

A solid neighborhood bar. I frequent here during peak business hours when avoiding a wait at the cow or gnome. For me their strong suit is the laid back yet attentive staff. Food is always pretty solid too. Their liquor prices are on the high end when comparing the variety of awesome neighboring restaurants (W.A. Frost, Moscow, La Grolla, Muddy Pig). I really like that they have bingo and some fun happenings during the week. I All in all — pop in. Have a beer, or five! Patio isn’t amazing but it’s a patio and we gotta soak in the fresh air when we can eh?

Not a great first impression. In fact, it was so remarkably mediocre I actually felt compelled to write a review about it.
Food: The upside is that it didn’t look like we were going to get food poisoning. The fish and chips were decent. Albeit you can get better for less elsewhere.
Drinks: Liquor drinks were weak and small. Not sure what else to say here.
Atmosphere: Bad music playing way too loud and tacky decorations that Bennigan’s wouldn’t even take (except the miller lite goalie sticks those were cool). Wasn’t sure what sort of crowd to expect but it managed to disappoint as well.
Service: Slow and inattentive. Don’t know if it’s an under staffing issue or just an off-​night but it might have been the slowest service I’ve ever had, and I have Comcast for my internet.
Overall: It’s not the worst place I’ve ever been, but I probably wouldn’t risk any of my personal relationships by recommending it to my friends/​family/​coworkers.

Stopped into Fern’s last night for a light meal. I frequent Fern’s often… at least a couple of times a month… but generally I am in the bar. On this particular Friday night, we opted for the dinning room. At 8:00pm, the dining area was nearly deserted. Maybe 6 tables.
We were greeted and seated immediately. Water was delivered. About 5 minutes later our server, Abbey, came for our drink order. Martinis. About 20 minutes later, the martinis arrived. We ordered 2 appetizers. Sipped the martinis, having a great conversation. About 20 minutes later the appetizers arrived. I had finished my martini, and 3 refills of water, so I decided to have a glass of wine. About 10 minutes later, Abbey appeared with my wine, asked how we were enjoying the appetizers and asked if we’d like a bread basket to go along with the appetizers. She reappeared promptly with the bread, but we were mostly finished eating, but the offer was appreciated.
The appetizers were good. I can recommend the spicy green beans. We also had the special appetizer of the night, kielbasa grilled with onions. It was good and had a great mustard.
I’m confused by the glacial speed with which drinks and appetizers were delivered, given the emptiness of the dining room on a Friday night.
Abbey was very sweet but I’m guessing she is rather new to waiting tables. But I don’t think her inexperience was the issue. She doesn’t make the drinks or the food.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Fern’s. But I think the competition in the neighborhood — WA Frost, Moscow o the Hill, Red Cow, Happy Gnome — are busy on a Friday night for a reason. It just seems Fern’s has lost a step or maybe a little luster. I hope they get it back because I shouldn’t be able to just walk up and get a table at prime dining time on a Friday night.

We did their Thanksgiving buffet. It was AWFUL. The turkey was bad. The ham was gristle-​y. The gravy looked like it came out of a jar and tasted like it, too. The pie was easily the worst I have ever had. The restaurant was crowded and the staff was ill-​equipped to handle the volume of customers.
Look, I’m not kidding, this was just so bad that I can’t imagine how they did it. How is the pie worse than the frozen pie we buy at Cub foods? How can they reduce roast turkey to little chunks of beige meat floating in barely warm juice? I am in awe of how this restaurant cheaped out on a buffet that cost $ 16 plus per person. The food was worse than school lunch fare. Oh, did I mention they were out of several things?
The woman in front of me in line got to the end of the line, spotted some kid food they’d put out, and grabbed some mini-​corn dogs because, damn, they looked better than the rest of the crap on her plate.
Shame on this place. People paid a lot to have Thanksgiving with their families here and got ripped off. I felt really bad for the families from out of town who clearly were taking out grandparents or elderly relatives.
My sweetie took me out to Keys so I could have real turkey, gravy, and dressing the next day. It was wonderful. So yay Keys and boo Ferns.

I’ve been here twice for trivia night. Service is good when you can get it, but you may go long stretches of time waiting for your server to come back.
I’ve had the fish and chips twice — pretty good. I like the regular fries, not the fancy fries. Pretty much a no-man’s land for vegetarian options. :-(

I had the lunch special today, which was tilapia with parmesan. I got 2 sides of brussels sprouts instead of the starch. The brussels and onions were good but overly dripping in butter. The tilapia was good. They gave 2 fillets so I took the other one home. Overall was decent but forgetable. Too much oil/​butter for me. Service was great.

The kids took me here for Mother’s Day brunch, and we went once for dinner, and I went once alone. We ended up with 3 VERY different experiences each time!
Mother’s Day Brunch (make a reservation!) was very fairly priced and had lots of fresh fruit and salad along with this amazing mushroom ravioli that should be on the main menu. We couldn’t get enough of it! Service was lacking, but, they were really busy, so we let it slide.
The second time we went for dinner and the waitress and the host looked crabby, no smiles, no welcomes, nothing. She couldn’t keep my son’s water glass even half-​full, and then told us what NOT to order… I was embarrassed for the owner!
The third time, I went alone. I stopped there because everything else nearby was closed already, The waiter was snobbish and acted like I wasn’t good enough to be there, the ladies’ room was FILTHY and out of toilet paper, and I was really uncomfortable trying to relax and read a book — like rushed — even though I was only 1 of 3 tables in there. They had plenty of room and plenty of time before close time. I had ordered an entrée, appetizer, drink, and dessert, so it wasn’t like I was freeloading their space…
If I ever go back, it will be for that mushroom ravioli on the brunch buffet!.

I love this place. I sat in the restaurant area, which is classy and comfy. I was surprised how affordable everything was on the menu considering the intimate setting and the décor. I feel like this is a sweet «Cheers» vibe of the Cathedral Hill neighborhood. I’ll definitely be back!

Place of last resort when my girlfriend’s first few options for her birthday fell through. They at least accommodated the large group request, which was nice.
I’ll start with we were pretty pissed from the outset. We schedule a time to hit their happy hour so everyone’s bill isn’t a total mess. Well, apparently there is a force field from the bar to the dining room that prevents the happy hour deals from reaching. No drink specials no food specials could be granted. Must be a magical realm that bar area…
In any event, we order some sangria’s which were good… when they actually arrived. One in our party ordered it, waited 20 minutes, never got it, got charged and had to wait around for the manager to fix it on our way out. Wouldn’t have been much of an issue had it been happy hour priced.
Shots were delivered timely and as ordered, so that was nice.
No birthday deal at all was kind of a let down though. But, this is a place that couldn’t extend happy hour to another part of their own restaurant, so, not overly shocked.
Food… the app dips were totally overpriced and forgettable. Spinach and arty dip was a total blah as was the black bean dip. The chips/​crackers were at least fresh though.
I went with the blue berry — chicken salad, which was far more salad than berries or chicken. Would have been nice to get more of the name-​sake salad item, but, I guess not overly possible. And if that’s a whole chicken breast you get, they should probably change vendors to what that can deliver a bigger chicken boob. The tiny splash of the blue berry vinaigrette I got was good. But, a cap full wasn’t enough for the copious amounts of lettuce you get.
The lady got fish and chips. Extremely forgettable fish and chips. The cole slaw was the best part of the basket. Otherwise, the fries were over salted and fish was utterly tasteless. A huge letdown. Not even their «house» aka Kraft tarter sauce could fix things.
Overall the mood was a «meh» around the table for everyone that got food from flat breads to burgers to my salad and their fish and chips.
For the area, we thought it’d be better. But, alas, we were all mistaking.

Easily my favorite bar. The owners are friendly with all of the regulars, which, I guess is me. Servers are friendly and the bar tenders are as well. I’ve read complaints on here about their food, but to be honest I’ve never had a complain myself. As a matter of fact everything I’ve ever eaten there has been fantastic. They have a new soup of the day every day as well as a weekly specials menu which is 4 – 5 new food items and a selection of beers and wine to match the food as well. I find myself eating lunch here at least one a week on my lunch break. Friendly place that accepts a wide range of people without thinking twice. Bar bingo on Wednesdays for cash prizes sponsored by the American Veterans, of which I am one so I try to go a few times a month to support both the bar and the AV. As I said, it’s my favorite bar on cathedral hill. Stop in and check it out.

This bar is nestled in a great neighborhood. It reminds me of the TV show Cheers (where everybody knows your name). The staff is very friendly and attentive! I love the people watching here. My hubby and I hang in the bar on date nights and enjoy the patio in the summer.
Wednesday nights are Bingo nights which I have recently become addicted to! My favorites on the menu include: BLT Salad, Kalbi Wings, Liver & Onions and the Pub Cob Sandwich. Ferns has a large beer selection, and diverse menu.
Pro or Con depending on what you like: Lighting is moody, so I look great with minimal makeup:-)
Definite Con: Huge game area, darts pull tabs, trivia and more. Fun atmosphere for hanging with your girls, guys, or after work happy hour.
*Warning* This is not a stuffy place so if you are not looking to relax, let your hair down and chill it’s not for you.
Faatemah