Joe's Garage

04/30/09

Terrible service by manager

by battles12

The manager asked us to leave so he could turn over the table after we had several appetizers, dinner and drinks. We were there for 2.25 hours with a group of friends for a special night. Needless to say, we will not be returning. We are encouraging our friends to avoid this restaurant as well. Very disappointed.

• Pros: nice location
• Cons: manager does not know how to keep business

02/02/09

Don't bother

by tanianna

The food was bland, the environment dirty especially the bathrooms-ICK and the owner/snob JOE was just as rude as can be. It's amazing this place is still around with an attitude like that running the place. I won't be back. Better service at pizza hut

06/24/08

Nice outdoor dining, food just OK

by minneapolian

We went on a Saturday evening and thankfully had made a reservation, so were seated promptly. However, a friend of mine happened to be there who had not and waited for an hour to be seated. So, definitely make reservations.

I enjoyed the seating we had a view of both the Bascilica and Loring Park. the drinks were good as well. We had an appetizer of grilled shrimp which was also well prepared. However, neither my husband nor i enjoyed our dinners. I had the lamb meatballs and my husband had the walleye. Mine was dry and he said his lacked flavour, even though his came with chipotle sauce.

The service was fine, the wait staff was friendly and attentive. The restrooms definitely need to be improved, it was worse than what i would expect in a truck stop.

• Pros: nice environment
• Cons: not so great food

10/07/07

excellent location across loring park

by gte081h

the location is excellent, after a nice filling meal one can walk around the quaint loring park on a nice afternoon and take a nap on the lush greens, exactly what we did! :) the church bells in the background and the gorgeous view from their patio seating just did it for us.

the menu is eclectic with a good variety for vegetarians. we had the thai red curry risoto, which was so yummy! the falafel wrap was ok, i have had much better elsewhere. definitely want to go back and try the appetizers and the rooftop.

08/04/07

Casual American fare, sure to please

by fundies

I've never eaten anything at Joe's that I didn't like. My faves: french fries served with basil aioli; cream cheese egg rolls; teryaki chicken wings; mashed potatoes with brocolli, mock duck and spicy curry red pepper sauce; all the burgers; spicy red curry risotto. Daily soups are also often good. Service is sometimes a little too casual (spacey servers), but the bartenders are always awesome. Good happy hour deals on wine & apps. Roof top patio is one of the best places for summer evening drinks, and they recently added a late-night happy hour up there too!

• Pros: Everything on the menu is great; fun bar for bellying up
• Cons: Sometimes service can be a bit slow

06/15/07

Boring, Pretentious, Predictable, Unfriendly.

by forcedtoregister

Full of pretentious hipsters and uptight business-types who want to appear "in" with this awful crowd, Joe's Garage is nothing but an overpriced, low quality alternative to the Mission. The menu is ok, but the recently revamped items and additions are a little too "eclectic" for even my tastes, and I pretty much eat ANYTHING. The mac and cheese is dull and uninspired, definitely not Wisconsin-style, as the menu claims, and the "quesadilla" lacks in texture without making up for it in taste at all.

The bathrooms are disgusting on the bar side, and on the restaurant side there's nothing but a handwritten piece of paper to indicate the women's room... the women's room with a capacity of ONE!? What kind of bar has ONE women's room with no stalls?! And it's in the back of the restaurant in what seems to be a staff-only area... not very welcoming.

Cocktails - not bad, but again overpriced for the quality.

The wait staff is ok, timely but not altogether friendly... especially "Joe" (is that his real name?) the owner. A short, grey-haired man brought our food and treated our waitress terribly, then I overheard him talking about one of the cooks... not very professionally. I'm guessing that's where all the other service complaints I've been hearing of are coming from. He doesn't seem to care much about the staff, just what they do for him. In the case of that particular day, he simply spent all the time while not delivering food to tables bitching about something or another and inspecting/picking at food on plates ready to be delivered to tables. Gross.

Desserts are predictable and probably pre-made (I'm sure I've had that same cheesecake before, with the signature crust swirl in the bottom) and their appearance seems to range from near-disgusting to extravagant... I guess it depends on who's working or something.

I'd almost rather go to the View; if there weren't even more posers there.

My advice: if forced to go, smoke first.

• Pros: some of the service (by the waitress), low lighting, good view of downtown
• Cons: some of the service (by the owner), bad value, people bring kids there

05/22/07

Bad Birthday Party Experience

by dsmth

I had made reservations for 10 at Joe's Garage for my husband's birthday. Our waitress was the most "impersonable" person I have ever met, the service was terrible and then we were asked to "quiet down" on top of it. What happened to "Groups Welcome - Yes" . Should read on the website "Groups Welcome - Absolutely Not"!!!!! To top it off when asked to see the Manager his comment was, "Too bad, quiet down". Great Customer Service!!! The kind I would like to receive at EVERY restaurant we frequent!

Good job guys - keep up the BAD WORK!!!!! DEFINITELY NOT a restaurant I will recommend to friends and/ or relatives.

01/11/07

Avoid the risotto! (and the mac/cheese!)

by wokker

I dined at Joe's Garage recently with several friends. The Jambalaya Risotto was my entree choice. It was basically a Spanish Rice, and, for the price, I deeply regretted having ordered this item. The variety of rice used was most definitely not one recommended for a risotto, and appeared more like a typical medium to long grain white rice, had no substance or texture other than "soft". Scattered items of sausage / chicken / etc. A disappointing meal. The person next to me ordered macaroni and cheese. He described it as "devoid of flavor" and added copious amounts of salt to give it some taste. Generally, the food appeared to be not worthy of the reputation I'd heard of or read as typical of Joe's Garage. The Servers were great ... kept out water filled ... were attentive ... very good. The decor was fun ... parking wasn't. Would I go again? No, not for a meal. We did not order dessert, but saw some being delivered to nearby tables ... those looked good. Had a very fine Gin & Tonic from the bar.

Pull in for New American fare with an international twist and one of the best rooftop patios in town.

by Contributor

In Short
The windowed upper level is of this relaxed eatery makes a sunny lunch spot, while the low-lit main floor with a shiny metal bar is ideal for laid-back dinner or drinks with friends. Walls are hung with modern paintings from local artists. The kitchen sticks primarily to American staples with their own special twist. A small plate of lobster buns piled with fresh, generous chunks of meat pleases the hipsters of all ages who frequent the restaurant.

01/15/06

Better service at McDonald's

by sensibleshoes

On my last visitto Joe's, a fair amount of time passed before our server came over to take our order. When I asked what kind of sodas they had she sighed heavily, said she didn't know but that we could go inside and look at the counter since these were not listed on the menu. I asked her to bring whatever kind of soda they had. She came back and literally slammed it down on the table in front of me. I ordered the mashed potatoes with chicked and gravy, which arrived with no gravy. Although, I would like to like Joe's since the burgers are great and it's in our neighborhood, the only acceptable level of service I've ever received there was at the bar. I haven't been back since and I don't plan to go back ever again.

• Pros: burgers
• Cons: Terrible service