11/06/09

THE place in downtown St. Paul!

by books4766

We love eating at Mo's Downtowner Woodfire Cafe! The atmosphere is a blend of woodsy lodge and sophisticated urban restaurant, with a very relaxing, aromatic wood smoke smell. Hardly a restaurant around has this kind of friendly, professional service, and the food is almost always top notch! Mo's cajun breakfast is my personal favorite!

• Pros: Friendly owner and staff, decor, food
• Cons: parking sometimes

02/22/09

Valentines Day to Remember

by StPaulGirl4

My fiancee took me to the Downtowner to celebrate a romantic Valantines Day and I was so pleased! I have to let others know. The atmosphere is incredibly romantic with dim lighting and a big roaring fire, the fountain on the wall.. it all just felt so warm and intimate. Hard to do on a freezing February night.

The staff were great and acknowleged the special occaision and gave us a great seat near the fire, We started with a good bottle of red and tried the Chef's special for the night, I had the scallops and my honey had prime rib that melted in your mouth, The salad was really beautiful with deep red orange pieces that looked like hearts and the chocolate desert was heaven,

I think we will plan to come back to the Downtowner every Valentines Day!

Special thanks to our server who advised us on the wine list. She was right, it was perfect!

• Pros: The food! the menu is not too big to be intimidating and everything is great
• Cons: Maybe the parking.. as the have a private lot.. but it was full

02/07/09

Disappointed Birthday Boy

by wtrluvr

My wife took me to the Woodfire for my birthday, as we had heard good things about the restaurant. We were both very disappointed. The New York Strip I had was tasteless, and my wife's shrimp was overcooked. The salads, bread, and atmosphere were excellent, but overall the experience was not worth the cost.

Hope to hear the food has improved, or they have a new chef!!!

• Pros: atmosphere
• Cons: food

01/02/08

Great atmosphere and food, affordable, excellent service

by rebmilsch

We made reservations for NYE after the Wild game. We were a little underdressed - in jeans - for their establishment, but they accomodated us nonetheless. Luckily, we weren't the only ones who came right after the game in our game attire. : ) The restaurant itself is gorgeous - beautiful craftsmanship and architecture within, white tablecloths - very rich-looking. We were seated in a back room that appeared to be for small groups (4 or less) who had made reservations for the evening. If I had one complaint - one tiny complaint at all - it would be that the tables were a little too close together in our area. Rather that witty banter between the two of us, we became devoured by our neighboring table's conversation (which was rather entertaining, so I can't really complain TOO much). My SO had the T-bone steak with mashed potatoes, I had the fettucine alfredo primavera with shrimp. The steak, for one, was cooked to perfection and the woodfire flavor was amazing. The fettucine was also fantastic - excellent sauce and the shrimp were BIG. The portions were perfect - not to much, not to little. We each had a glass of Vigonier and shared the chocolate lava cake (their special for the evening). We were shocked when the bill came and it was only $90! We've spent more $$ DT Mpls on food I could consider sub-par to the Downtowner. The service was also wonderful - our waitress was obviously very busy, but she somehow remained very attentive! Overall, I would definitely recommend this establishment! Wonderful little gem on W 7th in St. Paul - who knew!

• Pros: Great service, affordable, wonderful ambience, excellent food
• Cons: [tiny con] Tables a little close together in some areas

12/26/07

The only star here was the flat bread...

by downtownersucks

Subpar mussels, the broth was flavorless and the mussels weren't cooked properly. One look at the pasta and I knew it was extremely poor. The sauce was cheese-colored water, tasteless and soupy. I sent it back immediately and got a pizza, that came made with such low-quality ingredients - bad meat, bar-grade mozzarella - it was unbelievable. Completely overpriced, with apparently exorbitant prices for bad food. My friend's chicken breast was decent, wood-cooked and juicy, and the service was great, but it's just a den of bland Midwestern food.

• Pros: Service
• Cons: Poopy food

08/01/07

Disappointing Service; average food

by jilliams

There were four of us for an early dinner on a moderately busy Sunday evening (there were numerous empty tables). The prices generally were what can be expected from the location and style of eatery, but the food overall was average. Two of our party ordered pizzas, which were pretty good. Two others ordered Persian fire-roasted items (chicken and hen), which were ok, but nothing special for the price. I?ve certainly had much better kabob-style entrees elsewhere (Holy Land, Jerusalem?s, Mediterranean Cruise Cafe, etc). But the biggest disappointment was the service, which was some of the poorest we?ve ever experienced. Our waiter barely made eye contact most of the evening. During his rare inquiries into our well-being, he was literally turning around to go elsewhere as he finished his question. When presenting my friend with our wine, he poured her glass and stared at her for about two seconds, before he asked in a rude manner ?Well are you going to try it?? ? very embarrassing for her. Our water glasses were never refilled during our nearly two hours there. Our check took an abnormally long time ? the table next to us had come in after us, eaten after us, yet got their check and were able to leave a good 10 minutes before us. Our waiter wasn?t even subtly rude, I would say he very nearly ?snubbed? us altogether. Normally, our tip is well over 20% - I can remember only once in the past few years where we left less than 20%, but his service earned him a paltry 10% - a sum he hardly deserved. I speculate that this service is the exception rather than the rule at this establishment, but I know I won?t be testing this theory again any time soon.

• Pros: Ambience, location
• Cons: Poor Service, average food

03/30/07

Great decor

by mswka

My husband and I went to the Downtowner Woodfire Grill for breakfast recently. My first visit there and we intend to go back. The interior is cozy and inviting with a touch of contemporary sophistication. The service is good and our breakfasts were very good (He had the cajun and I the strawberry, cream cheese-stuffed toast, we shared a side of delicious bacon).

09/06/06

food and sevice good, food not

by twcm

I made reservations for four (even though it was a Tuesday night) because we had enjoyed the restaurant so much on our first occasion. Too bad. The service was friendly and helpful, the ambiance was relaxing, but the food was just a disappointment. No flavor, the pizza was soggy, both steaks undercooked (not a problem for me but my girlfriend is training herself away from well done to medium and couldn't eat the middle at all). The half priced wine was great, but overall, still too expensive for food that was not enjoyable. Last note, it also bothered me that even though the reservation was in my name, the host/manager only referred to my boyfriend and would not make any eye-contact with me at all. It was just disappointing.

• Pros: comfortable, supporting st. paul
• Cons: too expensive for quality of food

Quick, impressive fare, a prime location and gorgeous digs make this a great St. Paul stop.

by Contributor

In Short
Patrons often gasp when they enter, taken aback by such a rich-looking restaurant on West Seventh Street. They flock to dark-wood tables by the huge, stone, double-sided fireplace and the deep booths furnished in pricey fabrics. Locals and those heading to the Xcel come for chicken-and-mushroom pizza, plus steaks and grouper on seasoned mashed potatoes. Regulars rave about the Cajun breakfast, heaped with hash browns, eggs, hollandaise sauce and tons of andouille sausage.

01/03/06

Not what we thought it would be

by njpblue

Quick and very nice service, but the food was a disappointment.

Maybe they are trying to hard? Over cooked, over flavored. The food looked good, but for the price was not something I would go back for again.

• Pros: service, ambiance
• Cons: food, price