For our first meal on the North Shore and during our stay in Grand Marais, we decided to visit…read moreAngry Trout Cafe. It seemed like a completely chef driven restaurant with items on the menu displaying some creativity and with many of their ingredients locally sourced. We settled in on a Monday evening, right after a thunderstorm had passed the region. Since the outdoor dining area was closed, the wait was probably longer than normal. For our party of 2, we were quoted 35 minutes.
Our wait ended up being 1 hour. Right when we were called up, a family of 4 was quoted a 1 hour wait, and this was 30 minutes before they closed! There's no way the staff aren't pissed off at having to stay hours after close due to management inefficiency. At some point, restaurants need to turn away guests.
This is the first restaurant I've ever visited where 20% of the displayed menu price goes towards tips and isn't retained by the house. This is the reason the prices seem so high - no additional tips are expected.
Herring Fritters (Complementary, normally $17.50) - We ordered the wild rice fritters but were brought these instead. I was confused about the texture and taste. The server confirmed our order had been incorrect. To their credit, they comped this dish, then brought out the correct fritters. These fried fish balls are interesting, almost similar in texture to a Chinese fishball, but less homogeneous and bouncy. Inside is a dense batter mix of thyme, peppers, onions, and small chunks of really tender fish. (4/5)
Fried Wild Rice Fritters ($17.50) - These are totally different from the fish fritters. They are lighter inside, more like fried yeast dough donuts, chewier and studded with peas, shiitake mushroom, and some snappy broken wild rice. (5/5)
Lake Trout Chowder, Bowl ($14.50) - This is a thinner chowder that isn't particularly creamy or rich. The flavor is nice, with plenty of herbal and umami elements. There are lots of potato, carrot and celery chunks, not to mention a huge number of fish chunks all around. It's all very fresh, so there are no sign of fishy off flavors that I've experienced with other fish chowders. The bowl is served with two pieces of baguette, sliced on a large bias. They have clearly been sitting around in a high humidity environment given how leathery they are. (4/5)
Grilled Whitefish Dinner ($39) - Angry Trout prepares their fish perfectly - it's one of the best fillets I've ever eaten. And yet it's so simple - a couple of minutes spent grilling, giving a magnificent charred flavor, yet leaving the fish flawlessly tender and flaky. There's a depth of flavor here beyond just the typical salt, pepper, and butter. It's like they liberally apply an herbal glaze on top that saturates the fish.
It comes with some simply grilled asparagus, a side salad, and then a scoopful of wild rice. I believe the rice is high quality, probably hand picked and parched. It isn't as curly as some of the cultivated varieties I've eaten, but still gives the pleasing bouncy and springy snap. The flavor is clean and I especially love the hazelnuts on top for an extra nutty crunch. (5/5)
This fish at Angry Trout Cafe was easily one of the best meals I had on my entire trip. With that being said, there's something seriously wrong with this restaurant in service, management, and ethics.
I already mentioned the issues with wait times above. In terms of service, every single table around me got at least one thing wrong. One table asked for hot water, the server brought over cold water. Another table asked for bowls of chowder for every person at the table, the server inexplicably brought over lentil soup for one person. The server then forgot the bread for the chowder for another table. The last table complained about the chowder not having anything in it - it was all broth!
Once I received the check I was flabbergasted by the credit card fee tacked onto the bill. This is not noted anywhere on the menu or inside the restaurant. This seems to be against Minnesota law, in particular statute 325G.051. To add insult to injury, I was able to pay in cash to avoid the surprise fee, but then I got stiffed a nickel on the change. It's only a nickel, but it's really the culmination of all these things that really makes my blood boil.
Due to the initial wait and the error prone and extremely slow service, we were here for a total of 2.5 hours. When we finally left, it was an hour after they closed.
Angry Trout Cafe seems like it's run by a chef who knows how to prepare a great dish, and is a great cook/trainer of cooks, but is a complete disaster on the management and business side. I have no idea how a business can be operated like this. I'm honestly surprised this place has been open for two decades. It would have gone out of business quickly in my market.
Bathrooms - Two all gender rooms
Food: [4.5/5]
Service: [--]
Other: [--]
Final Rating: 1/5