Restaurants in White Bear Lake, MN

For a food lover like me, having great restaurants close to home is both a blessing and a curse.

In addition to places to shop, craft, enjoy the arts, and play, the White Bear Lake also is making its mark with a selection of independently owned eating and drinking establishments made up of everything from trendy fair to comfort food in a range of prices and settings. You'll find vegan fair, classic bakeries, memorable sandwich and pizza spots, sushi and more. Breweries, wineries and cocktail lounges are also popping up.

Here are a few places I recommend in the White Bear area. These are spots my family and friends return to often, as well as newer places we recently visited that we are looking forward to becoming regulars at, too.

DOWNTOWN WHITE BEAR LAKE RESTAURANTS

Brickhouse Food & Drink is the newest addition to downtown White Bear that I have tried. I like the atmosphere. The "modern midwestern" food offers a chef's twist on some of your favorite burgers, mac 'n cheese and ribs. I recommend the brussel sprouts.  

Cobblestone Cafe, with an outdoor patio, fills comfort food cravings with a menu of soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers. Malts and milkshakes are also popular. You may also be familiar with the home-style fare and American comfort food at Key’s Cafe & Bakery.

The Manitou Grill and Event Center, prominently located near Hwy 61 and 4th, is also a spot with a varied menu that ranges from pub fare to more formal entrees. The menu includes Scotch eggs, burgers, pastas, steak, seafood and more. 

For more contemporary eats, Washington Square Bar & Grill packs in a crowd for its laid-back vibe where crowds cozy up to wood-burning fireplaces during cold-weather months, and then grab a seat on the always bustling patio in spring and summer to enjoy a seasonal variety of beer and menu items that step outside of the "bar food" box.

Anchor Coffee House, serving up coffee and pastries is the "daytime cover" for Margaux's Table. Only open on Friday and Saturday nights, Margaux’s Table is possibly the hottest dinner reservation in downtown. Chef Margaret Doran serves well-executed dishes at this cozy farm-to-table spot with just a few tables. The cash-only foodie restaurant requires you to bring your own bottle of wine, so plan ahead.

For casual fare, our favorite stop has long been Eat @ Banning and 5th for its amazing sandwich creations. The Banning beef sandwich, with rare roast beef and bread from a local bakery, is popular. In addition to sandwiches and from-scratch soups, sides and desserts also make up the menu and are just as reliable.

Vegans got another option in White Bear in 2019! PLNT BSD, offering Vegan smoothie bowls and kombucha started at their cart in rotating locations around Downtown White Bear Lake and now has a permanent location.

RESTAURANTS OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN WHITE BEAR LAKE 

As you venture outside of the main downtown area the list of amazing food options continues to grow.

West of 61 near downtown to long-running Ingredients Cafe, one of the early restaurants that put White Bear Lake on the map as a dining destination for it's contemporary dishes that continue to be as inventive and well executed as the day the restaurant first opened.  From the same family, the newer Burger Bar just around the corner has a short menu of burgers, fries and beer.  If a true Chicago deep-dish pizza is what you're craving, Pizzeria Pezzo serves up this specialty pizza as well as thin crust coal-fired pizzas and sandwiches.

North of downtown White Bear Lake is Rudy’s Redeye Grill featuring Rudy's Rooftop in the summer. Attached to the hotel and event center, it’s a dependable place to grab a beer, wine or specialty cocktail as well as dine on a large menu ranging from casual to fancy fare. The Caprese salad, New Orleans shrimp, Angus medallions and the meatloaf — are dishes I highly recommended.

If you are looking for restaurants with lake views, head South of White Bear Lake’s main downtown area. There are several eateries to choose from, including sit-down, full service hot spots Acqua for memorable Italian and MIZU Japanese for well-sourced, melt-in-your mouth sushi and other Asian fare. For a cold beer, Reubens and appetizers with a view, check out the VFW!

During the warm-weather months, Admiral D’s Waterfront Tavern is especially popular for its dockside patio and laid-back vibe as well as for its salads, sandwiches, burgers and tacos. The seasonal Tally’s Dockside and C.G. Hook’s BBQ is also a draw for those wanting to take in lake vistas.

The casual Meet Market is a place to get craft sandwiches and burgers. I get the Gyro every time. 

A little farther south you will find Cabin 61. This place serves some of the best bar-style comfort food! From the Jalapeno Grilled Cheese to Tater Tots Hotdish and the Friday night fish fry, this food is a great way to end a long day.

Looking for Tacos? Try Casa Lupita on 96.

DESSERT in WHITE BEAR LAKE

When it’s time for dessert, the longstanding institution Grandma’s Bakery in the heart of downtown is known for its wide range of baked goods — cookies, cakes, pastries, breads, you name it. Also downtown, Vegan East, a vegan bakery that opened a year ago to lines outside the door, already has a metrowide following. The menu that includes cookies, bars, cakes, muffins, cinnamon rolls and “cheesecakes” went over so well and the demand so high that a second location recently opened in Minneapolis. In the summer, the famous ice cream walk-up spot Cup and Cone usually has a line down the block.

DRINKS in WHITE BEAR LAKE

White Bear Lake has embraced drink trends with places such as Big Wood Brewery and The Alchemist cocktail lounge housed in the same building downtown. There’s also an option for wine lovers, but you have to head just outside White Bear Lake to the nearby city of Dellwood, where you’ll find Seven Vines Vineyard.

WHITE BEAR LAKE RESTAURANT DIRECTORY

• Admiral D’s Waterfront Tavern, 4424 Lake Ave.; the-admiralwbl.com
• Acqua, 4453 Lake Ave. S.; 651-407-7317; acqua-restaurants.com/white-bear-lake
• The Alchemist, 2222 Fourth St.; 651-261-6662; thealchemistwbl.com
• The Anchor Coffee House, 4742 Washington Square; 651-724-3719; coffeebarmn.com
• Big Wood Brewery, 2222 Fourth St.; 612-360-2986; bigwoodbrewery.com
• Brickhouse Food & Drink, 4746 Washington Square; 651-528-6958; BrickHouseMN.com
• Burger Bar, 2125 Fourth St.; 651-352-2165; burgerbarwbl.com
• Cabin 61, 4150 Hoffman Rd, www.Cabin61.com
• Cobblestone Cafe, 4760 Washington Square; 651-429-6793; facebook.com/Cobblestone-Cafe-102219766487660/
• Cup and Cone, 2126 Fourth St.; 651-426-1498; cupandconewbl.com
• Eat @ Banning and 5th, 2202 Fifth St.; 651-653-1225; eatwhitebear.com
• Grandma’s Bakery, 2184 Fourth St.; 651-762-2900; grandmasbakery.com
• Ingredients Cafe & Take Away, 4725 U.S. 61; 651-426-6611; ingredientscafe.com
• Keys Cafe & Bakery, 2208 Fourth St.; 651-426-2885; keyscafe.com/restaurants/white-bear-lake-mn
• Manitou Grill & Event Center, 2171 Fourth St.; 651-426-2300; manitougrill.com
• Margaux’s Table, 4742 Washington Square; 651-387-7903; margauxstablewbl.com
• Meet Market, 1971 Whitaker St.; 651-407-2607; meetmarketmn.com
• MIZU Japanese, 4475 Lake Ave. S. 651-653-4888; mizuwbl.com
• Pizzeria Pezzo, 2143 Fourth St.; 651-788-7844; pizzeriapezzo.com
• PLNT BSD- Plant Based Bowls; plntbsdbowls.com
• Rudy’s Redeye Grill, 4940 U.S. 61; 651-653-6718; rudysredeye.com
• Seven Vines Vineyard, 101 Minnesota 96, Dellwood; 651-478-6300; 7vinesvineyard.com
• Tally’s Dockside and C.G. Hook’s BBQ, 4441 Lake Ave. S.; 651-429-2633; tallysdockside.com
• Vegan East, 2179 Fourth St.; 651-653-3822; veganeast.com
• Washington Square Bar & Grill, 4736 Washington Square; 651-407-7162; washingtonsquareonline.net

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