Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub

Beer is more a fourThe food makes it a five starJust a cozy placeNorthbound is pretty unique, at least in Minnesota. They are a full fledged brewery, but they also have an in-house kitchen and a full bar. Forager in Rochester is the only other one that comes to mind with this trifecta. The beers at Northbound are solid, but I don't put them in the very upper echelon. The Anniversary Ale 2024 that I am sipping on now is fantastic.Love the food here. The Porketta, the Wild Rice Burger, the wings, etc. All awesome. Northbound really knows how to smoke some meat. I'm here pretty regularly. If I lived within walking distance, it would probably be weekly.

I didn't get a chance to try too much of their food... But their brewed-in-house beers are GREAT! I tried the pale ale and lager, both truly really good smooth and flavorful beers! On Tuesdays their beers are 2.50 from 3-6. Is this the best happy hour in the cities?? Be warned though, the space is fairly tiny! There was essentially always someone waiting for a table during the happy hour, so expect a 15 minute wait. Even though it was busy, it was still a great environment for a happy hour and you were able to have conversations! The staff was quick and friendly. I had the mac and cheese as a small bite. It was a little cold but great flavor. The whole menu was a BBQ lovers dream. Overall would come back for happy hour!!

We've travelled to almost every southern state and ate our way through their best BBQ along the way. This place most closely resembles the quality & technique of the southern states, with a northern twist. They are doing BBQ their way! We ordered the Alabama white sauce wings, and a platter. We also tried quite a few of their beers, including the award-winning Doppelbock. All of them were fantastic and no matter what your preferred style, I think you'll enjoy it! Everything was fall off the bone, extra saucy and tangy. Well developed flavors overall. When the meat is cooked right, it makes it easier to enjoy and experience their unique flavors. Although the wings are named "Alabama" white sauce, the flavor just makes sense in mayo and ranch loving MN! LOL. Creamy, unique, and delicious! Loved pairing everything with pickled things and bright slaw! Their house made pickles were nummy!Street parking, large tropical ambiance patio. Friendly service. I believe there was a single server holding down the whole place at one point and he was killing it!

Small establishment and it was jam packed thankfully we were able to be seated right away and snagged one of the last available tables. Staff was super cool and friendly. I didn't really know what to expect honestly, my mocktail was good but a little sweet for my liking, I think it was called the ginger pear. Our food came out in a timely manner. I had the house chilli which I will say tasted pretty darn close to my homemade chilli so A+ for that. I'm not sure what wings typically go for these days but about 7-8 wings (1lbs) is 17.50 (to be fair sometimes I pay attention to price sometimes I don't regardless IMMA EAT okay!? Ha!) but the description said jumbo and they were average size, the jerk dry rub was packing in the flavor department though! Hubs wasn't crazy about his fish and chips he felt it was a little too greasy. Our kids loved the burger.

A hopping restaurant in a fairly gentrified area. It was very loud but it was also incredibly busy. We were craving BBQ but the one we wanted to go to nearby had closed early so we landed here. We had to sit by the door because we walked in without reservations and didn't want to be cramped at the bar. The service was great, our server was very friendly but the food was incredibly bland and actually made my husband almost throw up. He ordered the ribs and there must have been floating ribs or something because there was cartilage or something that looked like worms or like animal fingernails. My brisket and fries were so so dry so I didn't eat much of it either. For how much we paid... let's just say we won't be coming back for round two.

We stopped by on the weekend for lunch. The place was nearly packed to capacity, which tends to be a statement attesting to a positive dining experience. We weren't disappointed; the food was good and the service was attentive despite the full crowd. They have a full lineup of craft beers, many of which have won awards. The menu items showcase smoked meats, and you can smell the smoke wafting from the restaurant (in a pleasant way) even from the street. I had a BBQ Chicken Bowl that included a wild rice blend, jalapeños, pea shoots, and melt-in-your-mouth hush puppies. My dining partner enjoyed the Northbound Burger with a side salad. The food was tasty! We each chose a beer from the offerings: Snownami (dark porter) and Light Rail Pale Ale (reminiscent of an IPA). I noticed they have a happy hour deal on Tuesdays that looks worth checking out in the future: $2.50-$3.50 beers. There isn't a dedicated parking lot, take the first street parking spot you see when you get close to the restaurant.

The interior is pretty stark but the food is delicious. No GF bread options if you like sandwiches but the bowls (pre-set or design your own) are always an options. Love that the bathrooms are unisex. Server was attentive but not pushing the most expensive menu items. Full bar as well as beers they brew. The Bloody Mary was tasty! I like mine a little spicy & it fit the bill!

We really like Northbound Smokehouse! This was our second visit and we loved being able to bring our pup with us to their dog-friendly outdoor patio. The patio is a little bit on the smaller side, so just keep that in mind. The service is friendly and quick. The real reason you come here, though, is the amazing food. We got the burnt ends, brisket philly and hand-cut fries--all were great. In the past, we've had their bowls which are also delicious. Most of their cocktails are great, too! My wife enjoyed the Bacon & Smoke Old Fashioned and the Spanish G&T. It was a hot day so I tried the mojito slush and it was so-so.

4.4* (out of 5)Food: 5* Atmosphere: 4* Value: 4* Service: 4*Would I go back / Recommend?: 5* (Definitely)Total check/person: $4105/16/2024My wife found this place while searching for places where "Guy had been" to meet her sister's family - and boy was it ever a gem! We had 10 in our group, so it was very difficult for them to arrange tables to accept our group inside - so we agreed to sit outside on the picnic tables. It was a bit chilly, but we made due given the circumstances.Beyond the historic brick building and great smokey smell as you walk up, their in-house craft beer and mocktail lists were impressive. We started with a round of their craft beers and since I always like to try multiple different beers, I went with a Flight (see picture). I was impressed with their craft beers as usually there are multiple that you wouldn't order again - but I found all except 1 to rate on the high end of my Untappd rating scale.My only disappointment was that the picnic table tops were extremely uneven - which caused all of the beers in the flight to tip over onto my son when I slid them across the table in their rack. A server came out to clean up and said that he usually warns people about that when they order...but no offer of even a discount on the refills.On to the best part of our visit - the food! We started with Smoked Wings (see picture) and were delighted with the flavor, tenderness and moistness of the chicken. For our main courses, we ordered the Reuben, 18 Hour Porketta and Smokestack sandwich - all with a side of fries (see pictures of each). My wife and I shared the Smokestack and as the cut-away picture shows, it is one large stack of different delicious smoked meats!As we usually do, we all shared samples from each dish and all of us really enjoyed all of them. Beyond the obvious and delicious smoked meats, I really enjoyed the home cut fries. As the pictures show, they had a good brown color on the outside, the seasoning was perfect and the ranch sauce was a great consistency for dipping!Exceptional smoked meats, scrumptious fries, and an extensive variety of quality in-house brewed beers make this a must-visit destination.If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow.Photos copyright: happyhourdesmoines.com & thefoodanddrinkguy.com

Most definitely my favorite wings in the city. My wife raves about the black bean burger and the beers are pretty good as well. I love that it's clearly a place with lots of regulars. It also has a great patio for the warmer months. I've never had a bad experience here. Just a hilarious one when a friend who had not been drinking made a lame joke to the waiter and was cut off after she thought he was too drunk :) we still give him crap for that several years later. But thats how long I have loved this place.