The Sample Room

A friendly neighborhood haunt, offering elevated cocktails and food options, plus a great atmosphere, The Sample Room offers intimate dining and excellent, attentive service.

This place is so adorable and has a wonderful ambiance, perfect for a date night! It's a lot bigger inside than it looks from the outside, but it's still not a huge place. I recommend making a reservation, especially on a weekend evening!Our server was very nice and helpful, giving genuine and thoughtful recommendations and providing thorough descriptions of menu items we asked about. They were also very amiable and fun.For drinks I tried three different flights (I mean, how can you not at a place called The Sample Room?):1. Amari flight--This one was really bitter and I did not like it. Most of the samples tasted like black licorice.2. Red wine flight--This is exactly what you expect it to be. Nothing outstanding.3. Cello flight--This was my favorite! Sweet, but not too sweet. It makes a really good "dessert flight" if you don't want to get actual dessert!For food, I got the Cuban sandwich, which was AMAZING. It was so greasy, but I loved every bite and ate it all up. I cannot stress more clearly how much I recommend this sandwich. SO GOOD. For dessert, we got the amaretto crepe cake which was fine. A little less sweet than I normally like my cake to be, but some may find a less sweet cake more tasty!

First time at The Sample Room and we went for a cute date. I didn't make the connection until we got there that perhaps the name comes from all the flights they offer?? Lots of options on the menu! this time around, however, I went with a classic cocktail instead of the flight. I got an old fashioned, which was a little on the sweet side. For my entree, I decided to be adventurous and ordered the meatloaf! It came with a turnip purée. A little small for portions but very delicious and would get again. Not on the menu, but we also ordered a side of fries as an appetizer. It came with Parmesan cheese and because of the size of my entree, I was glad to have the extra food. Finally, for dessert, we ordered the Amaretto crepe cake with cherry mascarpone. Beautiful layers and has a slight coffee taste, like a tiramisu. So good!Overall, we had lovely service and the aesthetics of the restaurant were very cute and cozy. Truly felt like a neighborhood staple, and I look forward to returning.

I feel like the name "Sample Room" is a little misleading. It is related to the history of the building itself and maybe the drink menu? Surly, not the food menu which I sorta thought that's what it meant. The inside is small and historic feeling with the old brick and tin ceiling. It's gives off a vintage/speakeasy feel. Going off the speakeasy feel, the food offered didn't really match that. The food choices were upscale, a little oddball combos, and didn't really match the vibe I got from the ambience inside. The chicken wings were the only dish that tasted good. The flank steak was overly salted and the chimichurri was off and needed more punch. The flat bread had sweet potato and goat cheese and extra arugula on it. The goat cheese overpowered any other taste and needed something sweet, like a balsamic to balance it out. I was hoping the sweet potatoes would help that but I didn't taste them at all. They offer various liquor and wine flights - that come with three different samples and amount to one drink. They have a nice cocktail/drink menu we enjoyed. Service was wonderful. Overall, we enjoyed a nice dinner here but felt the food was trying too hard.

How have I not been here before?! This place was great! I am already wanting to go back. Great mocktail options. We split three appetizers as our "meal" and were not disappointed. The Brussels sprouts with the miso glaze were delicious. The beef tartare was so good, frankly I'm mad about it. We had great service. Cute, relaxed vibe in there. Small onsite lot tucked behind. Would be fairly accessible if you have mobility challenges.

I visited The Sample Room on a Friday evening after work. They had a small but decent selection of wine, a list of cocktails, and a great selection of NA drinks. I ordered one glass of their Nebbiolo and one glass of their Cabernet Sauvignon and both wines were good. The pours were generous, too. The glassware was one of those thicker glasses, but that's just a preference thing for me.My friend and I split two appetizers, the cheese curds and the Brussels sprouts. The cheese curds were good, but needed a nice hit of salt. The ham that is served alongside was ok, but I would have loved to get some spice in the jam. It would have added some good flavor. The Brussels spirits were great. They were big and crispy and the pickled red onion gave a great vinegar flavor and nice crunch. The pickled onions were on the sweet side on their own, but went well in the dish.My friend ordered the kale soup that was the daily special and she really liked it. I ordered their pasta with poblanos, sweet corn cream, and oaxcan cheese. I thought this dish wasn't well put together. It was sort of buried in cream and cheese and had a weird flavor profile.I've overall, our food here was good, our server was friendly and very fast, and the wine served was good. I would recommend this for a casual dinner

The burger was super good, the half sandwich and salad goes well and healthier together. The burger was juicy and the hashbrown was crisp. The pickle was not my favorite. Overall a good local neighborhood place to enjoy some river view or outdoor dining. The services was good!

Solid 4.5 stars!Date and I decided to sit at the bar (good decision), although I'm guessing the wonderful servers would have answered all of our questions.Date gave me the reigns, as he didn't know what some things were. The steak tartare... FABULOUS! Soo good, but the squished bread didn't help get the deliciousness into my mouth!Lion's mane mushroom cakes. So good. THAT could have been my meal. Definitely an interesting texture, but delicious! The sauce it comes with was definitely spicy... so let that be known!But my fav... was the smoked trout cake with ritz crackers. C'mon now. Get this in your mouth and enjoy!We both had the Old Fashioned. Damn. I mean damn it tasted good!!

The Sample Room is a small restaurant located in Northeast Minneapolis. There is no parking lot - but street parking is available. It was a quiet Holiday weekend, so finding street parking was easy. I am sure it can be harder when it's dinner hours.They do have a side patio and it looked like a back tent set up as well for outside seating. The inside reminds me of many older bars in Milwaukee/Chicago. They have various booths, a bar, and some tables as well. I definitely like the vibe.I had a Sangria to drink which was nice. I saw they had wings and I had to have them. They are full wings that come in two flavors. I went with the Garlic + Dill Pickle which comes with a side of dill aioli. The wings were nice and crispy, tender, and seasoned well. I definitely liked the flavor but would not mind if they were a bit juicier on the inside.The menu has a lot of things I want to try again. I was to enjoy a Whiskey Flight, and many other food items. Their desserts even sounded good. I will absolutely be returning.

Great relaxing pub with some good food. Pretty creative menu. The food was great. I had the cioppino. Perfect flavors and a fair amount of scallops, shrimp, mussels, etc served with some grilled bread. A little short on the broth which was great but not enough of it. It made the dish look under plated. But I have to SAY the seafood was cooked perfectly. It wasn't overcooked. Thank you!Other people had flank steak, shrimp & grits and a really nice looking burger with hand cut fries. All enjoyed their food and had a very nice time. Cocktails are top notch. Nice variety of beers and great wine flights. Coming back one day.