Very cool environment. Very romantic for valentines drinks and apps. Small dark and intimate with…read morefriendly service. Bartender was very helpful in choosing nonalcoholic drinks! We will be back again.

A hidden gem for the area. I actually am hesitant to give them a five star just to keep the place…read moreavailable for us. Great cocktails and atmosphere. In the basement of the wine bar so your party has options. Great owner and staff too.

Tucked away in the most unsuspecting spot, this is one of the hidden gems of Stillwater!…read more Plenty of street parking available outside or paid lot access across the street, sneak into the door and travel down to a whole underground speakeasy! The bartenders and servers keep the theme front and center in this prohibition-era spot! Plenty of comfy couches and seating arrangements to support small to medium groups! Cocktail menu has the classics and inventive new takes! Haven't had a bad drink from this spot in many a visit! Can't wait to see what they mix up next!

On a beautiful day, we decided to make a stop for cocktails at The Velveteen. Upon arriving, we…read moreentered the door and descended dimly lit stairs, then passed through a stone hallway to reach the entrance. The wait at the table was longer than we anticipated but luckily for us, there were some bar seats available. The bartender at the moment was Cameron. He gave us the rundown on the food and drinks and made several recommendations. We started off the evening with the Don Corlone. It was very tasty and also an Andorran Martini. Both drinks were delightful and were semi-sweet but not too sweet. The mixture of the Don Corlione had a perfect blend of citrus and sweetness. We then ordered the pastry puff poppers and they were amazing. The sauce complemented the pastry puffs and the filling left you wanting more. To finish the night we ordered tiramisu, cheesecake, and some bubbles. Thank you Cameron for the amazing service and experience we hope to be back again soon.

We love this semi-hidden gem of a bar & restaurant. Many folks still haven't discovered it…read more They offer fabulous, well priced cocktails & great bar service. They also offer a seasonal menu/kitchen known as the Fiddlehead that should not be underestimated. Check out their website or facebook page for details re: hours & menu options. Last night we tried both the Bahn Mi Salad & Spring Roll Salad and both were fantastic!

Great cocktails, cool vibes, and a fantastic kitchen. Kitchen is a third party that works out of…read morethe location and seemingly has a fresh menu weekly. We got a deconstructed candied Korean bbq bowl, and it was amazing. Highly recommend.

It's a dive bar. The three booths are nicer than what you'd find at a typical dive bar but let's…read morenot kid ourselves. The 5-star reviews describing this place as a cocktail lounge or having met interesting people must be locals having a laugh at those of us who were looking for something unique in WBL. This is not it. It was loud, full of drunk people shouting at each other, and too busy for the single poor bartender trying to keep everyone served. They had a decent bar for mixed drinks but only serve Heggie's pizza for food. They only take cash--unless you're a regular (then they'll take your plastic). So bring cash, get one drink, and then run down the street to somewhere with a better menu and your choice of whiskeys.

You never know what kind of fun stories and fun people you will meet. Great servers. Fun, retro…read morevibe and did I mention you'll have fun stories at the end of the night. Love it here!

A fun stop on our drive home from the north. The space is dark, with an outer space theme. It also…read moreappears there is an enclosed patio, but it wasn't open the day we were there. There are some monthly specials, along with an extensive list of regular rotation cocktails. There is also a note, if you can dream it, they will try to make it. We had some BOGOs to use, so we tried a few different things. Hubs was a little disappointed that there was a drink with goat cheese that was sold out. It sounded so unique and interesting though! I had the Rover, a lemon raspberry gin fizz-like drink and the Peeps special. Both were light tasting, the Rover was delicious. Hubs tried the Gaia's Garden special, not my fave, but he enjoyed it. Worth the hour-ish drive from the cities or if you're up in the Collegeville area.

Welcome to the first stop of my Distillery Passport series! Obbink was an unexpected surprised…read morelocated in a somewhat industrial spot of St. Joseph. With family living near by I thought this would be a great location to begin my journey. As you pull up the spot looks quaint with a metal barn exterior and a large yard and tented patio. Walking in it felt very industrial chic, with wood and black metal interior design. The bartender was absolutely fabulous, we had great conversation and she was able to help my brother and I select a few cocktails that we could be interested based on our preferred pallets. The distillery has a main cocktail menu along with a seasonal menu with approximately 6-8 specialty drinks. My first choice 2.5/5 Rover Club - consisting of gin, egg white, raspberry, and lemon. The initial taste was nice, however the sweet of the raspberry and the sour of the lemon almost seemed to neutralize the drink leaving me wanting a bit more flavor. My brother's first selection 3.5/5 Golden Hands - consisting of whiskey, egg yolk, cinnamon, and lemon. I'm not a huge cinnamon fan like he is, however this had a nice consistency and could make a great drink for those looking for something outside of the box. My second choice 4.5/5 Aurora Haze - consisting of Aurora gin, grapefruit, and lemon. Their "grapefruit martini". This cocktail was right up my alley! The drink was slightly Tarte with a sweeter finish and the presentation was beautiful! I am a sucker for purple gins. Would most definitely return for this cocktail. My brother's second selection 4/5 French Toast - ingredients unknown. It was very creamy with a nice touch of cinnamon. It gave me the impression of drinking the leftover milk in your Cinnamon Toast Crunch bowl. This cocktail was my brother's favorite of the night. Overall this was a nice experience! Even though my first drink wasn't particularly my cup of tea, my last cocktail made me feel better about their selections! My brother also really enjoy his two cocktails. If you're looking for a new cocktail spot to try out, visit Obbink's!

My aunties and I went to check out this speakeasy bar that was down the street from the restaurant…read more It's kind of tricky to get in, enter through the building, walk past the bar towards the back and go downstairs. There should be a portrait on the left wall which opens to another room. That room is a decoy, a nonfunctioning bathroom. There's a black door to enter to the secret bar. Beautiful bar and cozy seating. The service was amazing, my server was preparing a cocktail with a smoke bubble gun and we were curious about it. She brought it over to show us. Fun cocktails and there is also food on the menu, but we were full from dinner. Definitely recommend if you're in the area.

Drinks were good but service was SLOW! 30 mins or so to take an order. More disorganized than…read moreanything else. More experienced server felt bad and tried to make it up with a discount. However when the bill arrived there was no discount and she wasn't around. Too bad, cool place.

Place has a super sexy vibe and low lighting. The perfect darkness level…read more Music the majority of the evening was a ghetto rap- should have been something cool and jazzy. A real mismatch for me but popular with the locals. Acoustics not great- not enough insulation to absorb the noise. Cocktails delicious- really great! Brandon the bartender described them perfectly. Loved the comfy bar stools. Hooks under the bar but a little too spaced out. Could use more. But glad they were there even if the one closest was in the way I started with the Tapaculo which was like a banana smoky Negroni Next was the Calluna which was like a lychee martini. Highly recommend!!

Great atmosphere. Dimly lit with comfortable seating and bar. One the bars that are open later on a…read moreweekday. We had a few different drinks while there. All of them were solid. It's a little pricey but considering the later hours and atmosphere it can be forgiven. Definitely has its own unique vibe. Great date spot. The plants could use help.

To be honest, I would not have expected to find such a delightful distillery in a very plain box…read morelike building in the middle of Brainerd. But oh what a great spot to stop with friends. Like wineries in the Midwest, I'm also very cautious about distilleries. Just because you can make Jenn or bourbon doesn't mean that you should. Not the case for this place. We tried an assortment of cocktails. I ordered one variation of a Manhattan and really enjoyed it. This place is punching above its weight. Highly recommend stopping in.

Let me say that this place has only gotten better as it has aged. This is perhaps my favorite…read moreplace in the Brainerd Lakes Area. I recently had a really nice Boulevardier. They have increased their wine products and gotten more creative with their menu, AND they are great at making up new drinks not on the menu. What has not changed is Bill and the great staff's excitement for their product and service. You need to go here.

I have been here a few time before and definitely thought I had already written a review, but I…read moreguess not. I have been here two times in the last week and lemme tell ya.. this is quite the spot. I do suggest making a reservation because everytime I go here it is popping! What a vibey place, the lights aren't too bright, it gives a hip, fun, light energy and is not too pretentious but has INCREDIBLE FOOD AND DRINKS. Right now, one of their specials is whitefish toast.. if you enjoy fish at all, you need this. The fish is light and fresh, they put fresh dill on top and it is placed on top of some toasted sourdough bread perfectly. The fish is flavorful, a lil earthy and I feel as if there are capers or olives in in the fish mixture, whatever it is is fire! The burrata, beets, and citrus is a nice lovely, fresh, light app, the burrata is perfection with the beets and fresh, juicy citrus, drizzled with some oil and random pieces of garlic mixed in, YUM. I suggest ordering bread on the side with this one! The wings here are a staple and always delish. Crispy, hot, and coated perfectly in a light sweet chili sauce.. they hit the spot everytime. The housemade ranch is a perfect dipper. The other day I tried the chorizo and scallops... oh my goodness gracious.. it was a lil spicy and creamy with the bean puree and the scallops were buttery, light and divine! 10 outta 10 would do again. Finally, got the goat cheesecake, gluten free ginger snap crust with poached pears. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I want this now and in every lifetime! The cheesecake was light, yet decadent, deep, creamy with a light, unassuming flavor. The crust was delicious and the poached pears added that perfect fruit component. I got Liam as my server both times, he was helpful, attentive, had good suggestions when asked questions and didn't interrupt at all, amazing! This is the spot for any occasion!

LOVE! Beautiful space, kind staff, incredible cocktails!…read more Came to Emerald Lounge for the first time with a friend for a cocktail before dinner. Parking was easy enough to find on the street. We weren't able to find a reservation online, but had no problem walking in on a Saturday evening. We were able to grab a standing spot at the bar. The host asked us a bit later if we'd like to sit down at some bar seats that opened up, which was very kind! I ordered the martini du jour and am obsessed. If you like martinis, this is the spot for sure! Looking forward to retuning!

Seen on social media that they had a SpongeBob pop-up theme going on. We originally planned to stop…read moreby on a Sunday but realized they are open Tue-Sat. Our second attempt we went on a Saturday right when they opened. We were greeted at the door and were told we can pick where we want to sit. It was decorated really cute for the theme everywhere, they had couches, more regular dining tables, barrel tables and bar seating. We opted for a barrel table. The menu for food and drinks were all changed to be named after SB related references which was really fun. We ordered a few drinks, mocktails and food. The food is more so bar food, bites. We ordered pickle roll up's, chicken lettuce wraps, onion rings and they were all very basic and imo not worth it for the prices. I'd prefer to eat some where before and then come here for drinks. The drinks were decent. A lot of them had bitters, which I'm not a fan of at all but I know it's very common at cocktail bars. I did find a few without and went with those. One was called campfire song song. It was like a s'mores espresso martini which I loved. Our waitress was really nice, attentive and in tune with the theme. I loved her enthusiasm. Overall it was really cute and I can tell beyond the theme it's a cute place to grab drinks with friends. I'd for sure come back for other themes or just to just out the normal vibe.

We tried this local spot to celebrate a birthday. This was the perfect spot for a couple of drinks…read moreand apps with good conversation. You wouldn't believe this cozy lounge was nestled in this strip mall in Otsego. We chose a few different drinks - a few signature cocktails, a flight from the specials menu, and a glass of Prosecco. The names were clever, the drinks were unique, and the staff was knowledgeable. The Parmesan Truffle Fries were crispy, meaty, and the jalapeño sauce gave them a nice kick. The Cowboy Corn Poppers (not pictured) were crunchy on the outside while creamy and flavorful on the inside. This was the perfect way to end the night with friends. We will definitely be coming back.