We've stopped many times at the Trails but this was our first stop to eat at Skol Tavern. Our server was friendly and our food came pretty promptly. They do offer breakfast and carry beer. We had omelets and they were well done. The hashbrowns could have been browned longer but I do like mine extra crispy. You definitely get some of the Viking atmosphere with the dark wood, high ceilings, and huge fireplace. We didn't try Ragnor's Grill tho, Food was reasonably priced. It's a solid stop when traveling between Minneapolis and Des Moines. read more

Skol Tavern is conveniently located inside a large travel center with lots of souvenir opportunities & a chance to fill up on fuel once you're done with your meal. My review is based on 3 separate visits to & from Minnesota. My wife & I are both Scandinavian so of course we loved the Viking/Nordic theme with tall ceilings & a large Fireplace. We have ordered the Skol classic Breakfast/ Brisket Melt w Mac & Cheese & multiple times the Breakfast Tot - Chos ( Heaping plate of tots covered w Gravy, Cheese & Eggs ) Everything has always been very good & served quite quickly. My only complaint is that you have to go get your own refreshments & when done eating you have to go stand in line at the cash register to pay your bill. But other than that we very much enjoyed all 3 visits to the Skol Tavern & we will absolutely return again. read more

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First time at Skol. But many times at the shopping center. Everything looked so appetizing and delicious. Not to mention the giant pancake. Everything was so tempting, and Bea was very professional and made us feel right at home. Until next time. read more

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The food is amazing! My family came here because we were craving smoked meats and they did not disappoint! You can't go wrong with getting anything with gravy or their spicy coleslaw, and I am usually not a fan of coleslaw. read more

Skol Tavern - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

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The Cuban was remarkable. The chicken tender sandwich was great too. Many choices for sides and we picked baked beans and cheesy hash browns. Both were a good choice. The service in the bar area was fast, attentive, and nice. We recommend this spot in you are in Albert Lea or passing through. read more

this is my second time here. driving from iowa to Wisconsin. my mom and I both had salads. it's a mix of iceberg and spinach. I'd prefer just iceberg, but it was good. I had the mandarin chicken and mom had the chef salad. both had lots of meat. service was good. take a few minutes to look around the gift shop right outside. the rotisserie chicken looked great. read more

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Dropping my review from 5 stars a few years ago to 2 stars...I think they changed the meatloaf recipe....I used to love it but now I find it actually about inedible...Also, I had to pay $11 for this piece of meatloaf that I couldn't even eat...It was actually gross tasting....I had no idea the thing weighed a pound...The corn is also terrible...It's defintley the canned variety and it's awful lol....the only good things about my meal were the sweet butter for the cornbread..But, not the cornbread as it was cold and blah lol....And the cheesy potatoes were good as well.. So I ended up paying $19 for a meatloaf dinner that I couldn't even finish..Yuck. read more

Skol Tavern - Couldn't finish my meal...Meatloaf was gross and the corn was a bad canned variety..$19 for a meal that I didn't like. - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

Stopped by to use the restroom and was hooked by the smell from the kitchen. We decided to stay for lunch. I had the Krakenberg sandwich and it was pretty good. My wife had the smothered southern chicken sandwich and it was amazing. The service was good and they were quick. Menu was huge, took awhile to decide. Didn't have any drinks because we were driving, maybe next time. Definitely going back. read more

Skol Tavern - Smothered Southern Chicken Sandwich - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

We have stopped here several times, typically after a long day/night of driving. While it's not fine cuisine, it usually hits the spot and is a nice place to stretch your legs and eat a little something. This last stop, I needed just a little something that wasn't fried. I was happy to find brussel sprouts on the menu. They weren't bad. If they would have been served a little hotter, they might have been really good. Husband had a burger and fries which he thought was pretty good as well. As other have said, you sit, look at the menu, then go to the host stand to order. I'm sure this helps with staffing so it wasn't a problem. The food is then brought out to you. The ladies delivering the food were so nice and friendly. I also liked that I could get a glass of wine with dinner due to the bar next door (I was not driving :-). read more

Skol Tavern - a bowl of brussels sprouts - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

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Its was not a bad place. Only drawback was loud drunk truck drivers. Other than that it was nice little place.

I have been trying for a while now to lose weight and am happy to say that I'm 40-50lbs less than I was this time last year! That said, today I am wishing that I had a bigger stomach! We started our day with breakfast here at SKOL Tavern and Grill. Dad and I both had the Apple Orchard French Toast and OMG! That French toast alone is something out of viking legends, but pigs dream about growing up to become the bacon and sausage on my plate this morning! Breakfast was so good this morning that we had to come back tonight for dinner and take a spin at the smorgasbord that is "Ragnar's Table!" Beef Brisket, Smoked Sausage & Meatloaf, OH MY! There was also pulled pork, roast chicken, ribs, rib tips and Italian beef to be had, but alas... only so much room on the tray or in our bellies! Sides of candied carrots, corn, cheesy hash and mashed potatoes & gravy were only a few of the tantalizing options to accompany the various entrée choices. The full bar and cocktail menu brings it all home with several tasty selections of beer and booze! And to make everything just a little more fun, unique and enjoyable, the ambience makes it feel as if you really are eating and drinking in a Viking Hall right out of the fjord! read more

Good food with a wide variety on the menu. Service was good. Ambiance was fun with all the Viking decor read more

Skol Tavern - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

We got great table service. I got a breakfast at 2PM and my better half got a scrumptious salad with ripe avocado and grilled chicken. The dressing was delicious, a ginger vinaigrette. The Yelp Check In special is expired. No free coffee with breakfast any longer. My server made it all good when I explained that I needed my glasses to see the fine print, and I hadn't realized that the offer had expired. read more

First time here ,nice sports bar/ restaurant at the petro. Probably one of the nicest truck stop restaurants/ bar I've been to. Just had a bowl of chili which was very good. Service was great and beer was cold. They had a few craft beers on tap and it's the 1st sports bar at a truck stop I've seen with a patio! In all great place and will definitely stop here again when I roll through. read more

Skol Tavern - Chili - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

Stopped by here on a trip from South Dakota to Wisconsin on Sunday, 11/24/2024 as we were staying in the Holiday Inn next door. Had hoped for a nice sports bar atmosphere to have a few beers, watch the Minnesota-Chicago football game, and have something to eat. As Green Bay fans enroute to Wisconsin we had Packer t-shirts on. Upon entering the place and walking up to the bar the first patron we interacted with (the one with the fading homemade neck tattoo who had clearly been at the bar since right after church that morning) greeted us by slurring, "We don't like losers in here." Other patrons quickly chimed in with , "Losers, losers." It was clear that if you aren't a local you are not at ALL welcome in this place, unless of course you are a group of truck drivers from the truck stop next door who, perhaps because of hearing loss after too many miles in the big rigs, felt compelled to carry on their conversations at somewhere around the 90-100 decibel level. Even the bartender commented on how incredibly loud they were as they carried on not their conversation but rather, their shouting match for around two hours. The only positive of all of this was that Donna the bartender was kind and friendly. Having had enough of the shouting truckers and the rude locals we moved to the next room to have dinner at their buffet (still part of Skol). Once again we were met with disturbing, rude, and quite futile attempts at humor with remarks from the buffet attendant such as, "We normally don't serve losers here." We ate there nevertheless, as we were tired, hungry, and close to the hotel. Sat in a quiet corner to avoid any further interaction with employees and patrons, only to find my wife sick an hour after having the buffet roast beef. As I said, we're from South Dakota. We're very easy-going, and normally enjoy exploring local taverns and restaurants on our travels, talking with folks, etc., but this was a TERRIBLE experience. Oh, and being from South Dakota our governor is Kristi Noem. Minnesota's is Tim Walz. I'm open at any time to discuss losers versus winners. read more

Good food, reasonable prices. A surprising find--don't be put off by the truck stop appearance.

Fun stop over when on a road trip! Delicious burgers, great drinks & a fun waitstaff.

I was goin to be generous and give this place 2 or three stars but after getting slammed on Google for expressing my opinion and being insulted for doing so, I give It one star only because I can't go negative. I had not been here in quite awhile and things have changed.. the restaurant is now semi-self serve. My problem with the system is, it's confusing... some items you sit down and order, some items you stand at the counter and ordet... you get your own drinks. Ok, fine, explain it a lil better. The food is okay at best, not NEARLY worth the price charged. Based on this, would I have tried it again? Maybe, but I would have tried something different, hoping for a better result. The disdain I have for this establishment comes from the fact that they had the AUDACITY to insult and ridicule me for expressing my opinion. In my opinion it shows no class and the unwillingness to listen to criticism. I wish these folks well, I hope they succeed, but they will do so without my patronage. read more

The food is delicious and the atmosphere makes you forget you're in a truck stop. Lmfao The hot sauce is delicious Af and I'd recommend it along with literally everything else. The water cup is carrying this review because that's just how I do things. Something about the 'cool cup' being paired with delicious brisket just makes the meal! Would highly recommend this place! read more

Skol Tavern - Steak and shrimp in the back Water cup in the front - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

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Not to be confused with the School Tavern, which provides alcohol to 12 year olds. Only the Scandinavians have to sit through 24 hours of Darkness for months every year, so only they would come up with the idea of a 24 hour Tavern serving unhealthy food and hearty big mugs of beer. At a truck stop no less. So when you're driving across country you can get completely wasted. That's so Scandi! Scandilous, you might say. Named after what I believe to be a Scandinavian beer of some sort and located at the really busy truck stop (Petro) on the east side of Interstate 35 in Albert Lea about an hour south of the Mini Apples suburbs in Mini Soda. It's friendly and welcoming and it's not too cheap but they have snacks and food and alcohol and alcohol and alcohol and did I mention that they serve hearty portions of alcohol. The truck stop has a bunch of other awesome stuff as well so honestly all in all this has to be one of my favourite truck stops in the whole world. read more

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BEER. WHISKEY. SMOKED MEAT. Mere, mortal, what else could thoust desire? Come forth and present thyself for the reckoning. Canst thou imbibe the nectar or the gods and get thy grub on with fall off the bone ribs and savory meatloaf? Those found unworthy will not feast with the warriors in Valhalla. read more

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Upscale Iron Skillet, food was not so good, but the bar was great Drinks. Not impressed at all

This has gone down hill big time. They have a self service beverage bar. And the food is served at the counter where they charged for everything. Needless to say the quality is very poor. McDonald's would be a better choice read more

Miserable. Over cooked steak, canned mushrooms undercooked onions. That sad looking medium well steak in the picture was supposed to be medium rare. That plus two sides and two drinks was over $40. Never again. read more

Skol Tavern - A 25$ medium rare steak - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

We made the mistake of choosing Skol for dinner the other evening. Having had a good dining experience several times in the past, I should have realized that something was wrong when I saw that there was no longer a buffet. Instead, there was a sad cafeteria-style counter serving a few tired options. Not even a shadow of their previously offered buffet. Not impressed with the sad excuse for a cafeteria line, we opted to order from the very limited A La Carte menu. The food was okay but expensive. Short staffed and not very clean. We won't be coming back. read more

My 3 friend's had blood marys in the bar. Each agreed very good blood mary. My eggs were under cooked. Order next step up so you get the egg cooked the way you like them. I ordered Over-medium and they still had runny whites in them. Bacon was good French toast was good. (I always wish places carried real maple syrup. Here was none.) read more

Ordered 2 sides, 1/4 pork and soda but they charged me for 1lb of meat and soda $20.87 are you serious? Please stay away from this place with horrible customer service. read more

Skol Tavern - Overpriced 20.87 - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

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Went here on my work trip. It was open seating so I sat at the bar. The bartender was attentive and polite. Ordered a steak and ordered a side. The brussel sprouts were pretty good and the steak was cooked well. Seems a little expensive, all in all but a decent meal. read more

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Wonderful bar with great food, large beer and liquor selection. Hotel next door, a great place for a road warrior to stop for the night. Large c-store with many unusual gifts also. read more

This place is in a truck stop, as truck driver and the end of the day, we look for service, by far the worst service ever, I had to seat myself grab my own drink then get up go Oder my food , I'm sorry but I normally tip really good , I even tip the shower cleaning crew but this time I so disappointed the food tasted shity cause I had such bad taste in my mouth , what's worst is that there was so many employees just lounging around doing nothing some where even on their phones I'm like nope read more

This place deserves Negative stars. Came ordered stake midium well and mashed potatoes. They had No toasts, they bring me steak which is rare and burned on both sides. read more

Skol Tavern - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

I am old and this place was one of the 5 worst dining experiences of my life. Nothing was particularly bad but the prices were high and the overall atmosphere was not that of a tavern but more like a cheap, new truck stop (no offense to truckers intended) Peter Taillie; Greensboro MD read more

Stopped here for lunch, they have great ribs and broasted chicken. Will definitly be back next time we pass through.

Stopped in out of necessity (out-of-pocket driving hours). I really like the whole truck stop but this tavern i really love! Strong beers on tap, and big servings for good prices! Korrissa is a great server/bartender and puts up with a lot of b.s. from drunk truckers. I'm a trucker, but there was one guy that DEFINITELY should've been escorted out the door. Great food, too. I had the 1/4 white meat boasted chicken with fries. They're a little lax on the state-mandated mask laws, which I am in 200% support of, but just get a table away from people. If you can ignore all the right-wing rhetoric I recommend! read more

I'm sorry, staff was friendly but the food was not! I would recommend you move on. The bbq buffet looked unappealing, so I ordered off the menu. Shrimp was good, green beans were canned gross! read more

Great bar in a truck stop. Cool staff. I like to go where the locals go, and this is one of them.

This is a quaint little bar! The staff was very nice and very attentive! We tried some fried pickles with our drinks and although the portion was small, they were very good and the garlic parmesan ranch dip was delicious! We also tried the nachos with chicken. Delicious, especially if you ask for the Mango Habanero BBQ sauce to drizzle over them. Oh my DELICIOUSNESS! We also had the GIANT pretzel, served with the same garlic parmesan ranch as the pickles and a beer cheese dip. The beer cheese dip went weird so it we didn't eat much of that...but we did use hunks of pretzel to mop up our nacho shrapnels and more of that mango habanero bbq sauce. Ya...this is a great place! read more

Skol Tavern - When they say GIANT PRETZEL, it's not jokes! - Bars Near Me - Albert Lea, Minnesota

Love this place, beer as cold as the X's heart!!! Good food and friendly faces !!!! Nice to see every now and then!!! We work hard, play harder!!!! Drivers need a place to decompress!!!!!! read more

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This place is a nice little restaurant inside of a rest area. They serve mainly burgers and traditional American food. The food is good, however you do have to serve yourself. The staff are jolly and make it feel like a family restaurant. read more

I was really disappointed in this establishment. After stopping at the truck for years we decided to try the Skol Tavern. When we entered the dining area there was only one other table with people waiting for their order. Our family group ordered separately but within 10 mins of each other. After 45 mins and watching diners that came in after us, get their orders within 20 mins, I cannot say that I would eat here again. read more