Estelles Eatery & Pub

Pork bites are famous but the tacos are awesome. Great atmosphere great people. Great selection of beers, From Bush Light to IPA’s

Foodies, take note.
A restauranteur with connections to one of the Twin Cities best dining establishments (Travail) has opened shop in tiny Harmony, Minnesota.
The place is Estelle’s Eatery & Bar. Go there.
The items on the menu have ordinary names with extraordinary tastes.
We started with the pork nuggets. Yikes. Moist, flavorful pork in light, fried batter with wonderful asian accents.
My wife gets the «house» salad (elsewhere, maybe iceberg lettuce and bits of onion).
Not here.
Mixed greens. Roasted beets, peppers, and onions. Blue Cheese. Candied pecans. Homemade toasted pumpernickel croutons. Vinaigrette.
There was so much Unilocaling about the mushroom swiss burger, I tried that. A large moist, cheesy-​mushroom, dripping, beef-​busting delight.
Normally, we don’t do dessert, but fate had other plans when the server said that the day’s special was bread pudding (my wife’s gustatory achilles heel).
I still don’t know how they mixed the tastes of strawberries, white chocolate, hot fudge, thick doughy bread, and ice cream — but we went face down in it anyway.
Waddled out to the car afterwards with big grins.
Harmony. Who knew?

Amazing food! Staff is great. We are so lucky to be so close to this fantastic food. The pasta and pork nuggets are a must. Mike got the beef short ribs last evening and was the best he’s ever had. He was in love with the steam veggies and the extra crunch from the calarabi set them apart from anything he has had.
The mushroom and Swiss was so good I ate the entire burger and I never do. Can’t say enough about this place. Great atmosphere.

Sometimes when «big name» chefs leave the «big city» and go to a rural area, they get lazy because there is a lack of competition. I’ve gone three times since they have opened and can say Matt has not become lazy in his cooking and presentation.
The times I’ve gone, I had the Wings, Mushroom Burger, Bacon Burger, Pork Bites, and Steak Tacos. The taste and presentation and taste are superb. I’m a burger lover and Estelle’s rivals some of the best in the Twin Cities at 3 to 4 dollars cheaper. This past weekend, I had the steak tacos, the meat was amazing, however was not a fan of the whole taco. However, they were still good and way better than anything you can find within 50 miles. I was also disappointed the wings were not on the lunch menu!
I went with the in-​laws from Caledonia area and they were thoroughly impressed with the food. They ordered dessert, which was quickly consumed. Although I did not partake in the dessert, it was refreshing to see the effort that went into the presentation of the bread pudding. It was something you’d see in the Twin Cities vs dessert in SE Minnesota is generally served in a styrofoam plate covered in saran wrap.
If you are in the area of SE Minnesota or Northern Iowa, it is a must stop to go a little out of the way to eat. You’d have to go to Rochester (maybe La Crosse) for anything comparable and all the items would probably be $ 1 – 5 more expensive than Estelle’s.

I cannot rave about this place enough! If this place was closer to home id be a frequent flyer, tasteful décor, food reasonably priced, and a very friendly chef/​server. All three of my party got the special and it was an out of this world pot roast sandwich. While I didn’t mind the music playing, I’m not sure if it’s be to everyone’s taste.

Ate here for the first time today. Marvelous! Husband had a mushroom Swiss burger which was «Seasoned to perfection and cooked perfectly. And real swiss». I had the soup of the day, a sweet potato base with beans and ham, which was amazing. Not too spicy for this low spice tolerant gal. Also had the slider of the day, tasty chicken topped with BBQ sauce, cheddar and bacon. We will definitely be back.

Heard about this new place, ordered squash soup, delivered to me cold, when I asked to have it warmed up I got attitude, they gave me a new bowl of luke warm soup, didn’t matter, WAY to salty and could hardly choke it down. Was so thirsty by the time I left and wasn’t offered any thing to drink, Don’t think I will be back any time soon. Staff wasn’t the friendliest ;(

This place is excellent! While in Harmony, I went in for dinner twice. The first night, I had a mushroom and Swiss burger. Very good — very salty esp. if you dip in the au jus they provide — but delicious. Second visit — the chef/​owner waited on me and I ordered what he recommended: the soup of the day (potato and leek), a side of maple bacon Brussel sprouts, and the shrimp fettuccine. Everything was tasty — the soup was delivered with some presentational flair, with the bisque poured tableside over charred scallions and potatoes in the bowl. The sprouts were a perfect balance of sweet and savory. The homemade fettuccine was also excellent — the sauce was made from a homemade seafood stock, + red peppers, and a touch of cream. Simple, but well-​executed. The macaroon for dessert was phenom — and I don’t consider myself to be a macaroon fan. To sum things up: If you go to Harmony, eat here. I’m sad I won’t get to experience the Saturday brunch, because I hear their Bloody Mary’s (made with a homemade mix by the chef’s wife) are fantastic.

Was in town for New Years so we decided to check out this restaurant, did the 5-​course dinner menu with wine pairings for New Years and it was top notch. Impressed with each course and the value. Estelle’s is on par with any top restaurant in the cities. Would strongly recommend!

Absolutely wonderful! The ambiance is warm and inviting. I had the squash soup which was very flavorful. The presentation was incredible! A true treasure in Houston County. Wish they were in CA!

Great Food and Beer. I’ve had the opportunity to eat both breakfast and dinner there and both meals were wonderful. Staff is great and the restaurant has a big city feel for being in a small town. Would recommend to anyone.

Start with the pork nuggets or have the full order with a side.
They are delicious! We had a nice quality lunch for very reasonable price.
A must stop after the Niagra Cave tour!

Info for the food biz curious: Estelles is owned & operated by Matt Brown — with relation to Travail and other ventures. Google for more info and the backstory, there’s a nice article on
.
Info for the rest of us: We spent the wknd in a nearby town and had the idea to stop down here quick for Sunday lunch before heading back home. Harmony is typical small town MN with a grain elevator, post office, bar and antique shops on a main street directly off of 52.
The atmosphere is something similar to what I’d expect a S. Mpls neighborhood spot to be. Trendy, yet very casual and comfortable. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the menu as molecular gastronomy x tiny town likely isn’t a recipe for financial longevity. I was met with a happy medium which I hope works well as a bit of a destination restaurant as well as a spot for regulars. Fairly standard menu items with a few splashes of sophistication.
The lunch menu had a variety of apps, salads and sandwiches. There was a pasta special, sandwich special and soup special. I went with the sandwich special (Cuban), the soup to share (squash) and she got the grilled chicken sandwich by recommendation. Meanwhile, I was enjoying one of the better White Russians I’ve had in recent memory. Her Bloody was spicy and good.
There’s one decent sized TV above the bar showing football which was on the speakers as well. A steady, slow stream of people came in and maintained the space to be about a quarter to a third full.
We were served our soup which was immediately met with — oh — here’s the presentation side of the meal. It started with a dry bowl of croutons, bacon and cotton candy. Then the soup was poured over the top to melt the cotton candy. Pretty… and I laughed to myself as I thought about an old timer from the country being served this. Regardless, the soup was excellent. Sweet and salty and filling.
The sandwiches were nicely sized and looked great, excellent fresh chips on the side. My Cuban was good, but needed more cheesiness, more spice, more mustard, just more kick. Her chicken sandwich was excellent, very simple but very good.
I’d be very interested in trying their dinner menu if I ever find myself in the area again.

Great food and craft beers on tap! Try the pork nugget appetizer — dad liked them so much he wished they had them as an entrée!

We went for lunch, got there when they opened at 11. Salad was excellent, philly sandwich was too salty and gristly to eat, and the loud rock music and clanging of the ice buckets at the bar (pouring and chopping) jangled our nerves. (Shouldn’t this be done before guests arrive?) No one asked how our food was despite leaving the sandwich uneaten. We couldn’t wait to leave. Too bad, because we are locals and Intrepid Traveler used to be our favorite restaurant. We will try dinner sometime and see if the atmosphere is more relaxing and soothing and the food better, but if not, we won’t be back. We wish them the best and hope the younger, drinking set will enjoy their loud rock music and wide array of bar items.

The worst food I have ever been served in a restaurant. The hamburger was dry, overcooked, and tasteless and I do not know what they did to some potatoes to get the salty mess they called french fries a mass of limp vegetable product coated with salt and god knows what else). The items on the menu all looked unappealing. It is a place run by amateurs that can only survive in a hick town like Harmony. I did have an Irish great-​aunt who could do amazing things to destroy food and this is almost as bad her food. We always ate before we went to visit Aunt Mary. The Midwest deserves it’s reputation for bad food and very provincial people

Awesome atmosphere, great service, and delicious food! We loved every appetizer and entrée we tried on the menu! Good beer and wine list too!

Absolutely wonderful ! Well worth the drive from rochester steak tacos were very flavorful sun dried pasta was delicious small cute place got try the pork nuggets were amazing

We were so impressed by our lunch at Estelle’s! We stopped there on our way back from the Niagara Cave tour. We started with the pork nuggets — they were crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and coated with a deliciously sticky sweet and savory sauce; served with pickles and turmeric onions (just as flavorful!). I had the kale salad with chicken and was very impressed — the chicken was very well seasoned and juicy and the kale salad dressed with a light, not-​too-​vinegary dressing. My friends had the veggie pasta (loved) and tried several of the burgers (all of which looked yum). The prices were quite reasonable, the service friendly and efficient, and the ambiance casual and trendy. Highly recommend!