Sweet Pea’s Public House

Service here has taken a downturn in the past couple months. Typically, I go here after hockey games with a large group, and while the food is good and the bar ambience is good (and the tvs are GREAT), service has been terrible. While the waitress took our order correctly, it took about two hours for our food to arrive despite there being all of three other people in the bar at all. During the wait, while our waters got refilled, beers never did. There was no explanation offered for the long food wait. Checks, too, when they came too forever to get run, and there were no pens offered to sign. A small thing, but seriously, no pens.

Cute restaurant/​bar on Snelling. Compared to the other bars around it, I would definitely recommend this one if you’re going for nice ambiance. Haven’t had the food, but the service was awesome, drinks were made well, and the place had that old but cozy feel to it. Probably wouldn’t seek it out unless I was right in the area but it’s definitely a good pick.

I love this place — it’s a huge improvement over Gobe’s (the older, darker, danker, your-​feet-​stick-​to-​the-​floor type of bar). The ambiance is amazing — beautiful lamps, wood panels, warm environment, etc. They have a huge variety of beer and cider. Their food menu is really large — almost too large for a bar. Overall the food is meh, but I’m honestly not going to a bar for the food. The customer service is amazing — really attentive bar servers and wait staff. Love this neighborhood bar!

Great new find in St. Paul!
1. Service reflects the name of the place
2. The home made tots are bomb
3. I will definitely be back.
When I was there they were setting up for live music… Wish I coulda stayed and checked it out!

Gave this place another try because it is just too close to my home not to. The bartenders are awesome first of all. Waitresses are amazingly attentive. The Summit Burger is to die for and I would put ut up there with any burger from The Nook or Blue Door Pub. I will definitely be back weekly.

The Tots are killer, and the GM Will… Makes the night worth it.
Seriously good PB and Bacon Lucy as well.

I have to write a new review and remove a star because my last two experiences here have been terrible. My daughter and I came here Friday for dinner. She ordered the chicken tacos, as there was no mention of how spicy they are. She’s 8 and couldn’t even eat them. I took a bite and couldn’t blame her. The server didn’t do a thing– just offered sour cream to help cool it. At least put on the menu that they’re spicy (like you did with the pork tacos), especially in Minnesota, and especially to a kid. If you’re thinking, «should’ve had her order off the kid menu»… No– kids menus suuuuuuck.
We then came here yesterday for lunch and service was absolutely terrible and so were the boring salads. It was pouring rain and we thought it would be a good spot to people watch and have a couple beers over lunch. My friend asked if the chicken tacos could be made less spicy and the server looked at her like she had three eyes and said, «no. It’s too hard.» The server came over maybe twice to ask us if we needed anything and didn’t even bother to ask if we wanted another beer. She was rude, blasé, and was apparently too busy waiting on the two other tables to bother with ours. My husband had a Rueben that was very good. Everything else was bland.
Our experiences here have always been pretty good, so I’m really disappointed. So long, friendliest pub in St. Paul.

Driven past this place a few times, but never went in — when the space housed Goby’s we’d been there a few times over the years, but never regulars. Seemed like every time we passed the new incarnation it was like that Muse song. Oh, what’s it called? Ah! Dead Inside.
But they have a $ 6 burger on Mondays all day, and since I’d royally fucked up the grilled taco chicken that was plan A, we remembered the $ 6 burger. What the hell, why not?
First impressions are always important, and from the get go, this place was not welcoming. It was drizzly outside, but at least there was an atmosphere. Inside, it was just dull and lifeless. The handful of patrons seemed bored too. TVs everywhere playing sports (Sweet Peas does not give off any kind of Sports Bar vibe whatsoever), but no kind of excitement to be found.
The bartender was pretty anonymous, not what I’d call chatty, not what I’d call interested, not what I’d call customer service oriented. For a place whose tagline is «The Friendliest Place in St Paul» they certainly didn’t even come close. But maybe it’s just Monday nights that they appear blasé and bland — in which case, maybe they should rebrand with «Sometimes The Friendliest Place in st Paul». Or maybe they just have a keen ear for irony.
But the real reason I’m writing a negative review goes back to the Monday special. $ 6 burger and fries, remember? Well, we ordered two burgers off the menu (they were okay, but I’ve had way better), chewed, swallowed, asked for the tab. Saw the burgers listed as $ 10 and were all like, WTH?! The bored bartender told us that the cheap burgers were just the plain burger, «Like what they have,» he said, pointing past us to a couple of guys against the wall. Ok, so, we look at the menu. Couldn’t see anything about an alternative cheap burger. Looked at the happy hour list, and sure enough there’s the $ 6 burger and fries all day Monday, but it doesn’t say it’s anything different than the five or six choices on the menu. But what sticks in my craw here is the bartender. We were in on a Monday, after 7pm, we order two burgers. Not a peep about «What you ordered doesn’t qualify for the deal», or even a smarmy, «You sure you want THOSE burgers?» Nope, nothing until we’ve paid the bill and it would be too late to regurgitate. The friendliest place in St Paul didn’t even bother to ask us if we wanted the menu burger or the anonymous cheap burger, and that’s it in a nutshell.
So we won’t be back. We won’t be back because you just didn’t try to make us want to come back. You took our money and in return gave us a reason to write a negative review. Not exactly a fair trade, but writing this makes me feel a little better.

My most recent trip was never going back again bad. Service was slow and forgetful. Food had be be sent back because it was cold, items were forgotten and our server was far more interested in talking to other customers who clearly were her friends than she was in serving customers. I had the chili and it tasted like the Hormell kind you get out of the can. One of my kids head cold french fries while the other one had hot ones. Even the beer tasted wrong and that by itself is a cardinal sin. I’ve been here enough to be declared the Duke. But this is my last check in.

Thanks for making good on your word Joe, we look forward trying Sweet Peas again!

I want to like this place because it’s close to home but there’s not one healthy thing on the menu!!! A good vegetable dish would be nice!

I’ve changed my mind about Sweet Pea’s. The first time we went – not too long after it opened – we were very disappointed. We decided to give the place another try since its in the neighborhood and we wanted it to succeed. Now its quickly becoming one of our favorite places… even joined Sweet Pea’s frequent dining club (or whatever its called.) The tacos are great… in fact, that’s often what we order they’re so good. And there is a very good beer selection. The service is much better too compared to our first visit. Try the homemade hush puppies/​tater tots!
I have to admit, though, I’m too chicken to try the Brussels Sprouts again.
Great job Sweet Pea’s!

Made our first trip today. I liked the atmosphere. It felt warm and cozy on this cold wet winter day. We were warmly welcomed and the service was great.
We ordered a Cubano, a cheese burger and a peanut butter and bacon juicy Lucy. The cheese burger was good. The Cubano was good, but not on the traditional bun, the juicy Lucy was good, except the peanut butter was on top rather than in the middle. The fries are nothing special.
We ordered the stuffed dill pickles. The first plate arrived cold in the middle. They were graciously whisked away by our waitress and replaced with a steaming hot plate of deliciousness. We all loved them.
There was nothing extraordinary about the place. I think they need to find a signature dish that isn’t a juicy Lucy. Given the parking and location, there has to be something special that will keep people coming back. They haven’t found it yet. They are too similar to several other very popular restaurants in the neighborhood.

I’ve driven by this place many times, but never had a reason to stop in until a friend suggested it for dinner one night. What a cozy place!
The food was delicious. The menu was a mixture of fancy-​ish pub foods, but my picky husband liked his burger, so you know it’s good. The service was great! We had a big group and never had one issue. Drinks were refilled, food arrived on time, all with a great demeanor.
Definitely a place I will take out of town guests as well as on my regular dining out rotation.

I live two blocks from here and was excited to get a new restaurant in our neighborhood. Since it’s so close, we’ve probably eaten here 6 times.
I’m a vegetarian, so I order the veggie burger each time I come, since its the only vegetarian entrée on the menu. The burger is better than the one at Plums next door, but it’s rather dull compared to the ones at the St. Clair Broiler down the street. But, I was there last week and I think it was better than the other times, so maybe they are tweaking the recipe.
I think their French fries are pretty good and their beer selection is good enough for me. Also, the wait staff is friendly and the place is cozy. I have tried a few of the appetizers and so far haven’t found anything that exciting, which they should be since they are pretty expensive.
I’ll still go there, but hope they continue to improve the menu.
Update 1÷24÷16
I talked to their chef last summer and their veggie burger is vegan, but their buns have lard or beef tallow in them, so not even vegetarian, so I don’t eat here anymore.

When I saw that they did their corned beef in house, that’s when I decided to get a reuben. It’s served in an odd way, in thirds rather than decent slices of bread. It has tender chunks of corned beef. It’s actually one of the best as far as flavor goes. Fries that come with aren’t bad either. The service was friendly but invisible at times, and we got there at 11. We sat in the back, which is a nice spot, some useable space just bare. You could even put in a small bathroom, instead of going downstairs. I’m surprised that law is grandfathered in for new owners. I was here before and had the fishfry which was pretty good. Lots of families come here on Friday night. An obvious division of bar in front, with a nice sunny window, and dark in back. The jukebox plays entire albums.

A nice welcoming neighborhood place with good beer and great food!!! Nope. Keep dreaming!
Homemade tater tots are a favorite of mine but these were poorly executed. Too big so the outside was burnt and the inside wasn’t done. Easy fix.
I had a poor attempt at a Juicy Lucy. Lacked flavor, I had the «spicy» juicy and I couldn’t pull out any spice.
I don’t understand why they would ever think to put a juicy Lucy on the menu. They are surround by some of the best burger spots in the cities!
The majority of the guest sitting at the bar looked unimpressed. I recognized a few other St Paul industry folks that night, none of who were blown away.
Sweet Peas just dose not have the recipe for success.
On the bright side lets hope they did some minor renovations to the building so that the next restaurant can start up with relative ease!
Cheers!

Great beer selection! The food on the other hand… questionable. The food at The Crooked Pint Ale is great, and that’s why I’m surprised the food here isn’t.
I’m hoping as time goes on they’ll modify their menu. Their tots came out burnt (both times I’ve visited), and they are basically big balls of sodium. Their lucy’s are terrible (there are heavy Jucy Lucy hitters within miles of the place don’t come here for ‘em). Curds taste like they came out of a box in the freezer and were microwaved. The buffalo wings are great though! The skin crispy, and the meat juicy.
I really want this place to succeed. I’ll give it some time for them to work out their menu kinks, and will return.

This place is horrible bad food bad service & an awkward atmosphere. I’ll never return & hope it doesn’t last long

I want this place to succeed. I really do. This neighborhood needs more of these kinds of places.
Good beer selection. But the food we ordered was not good. «Home/​hand made» tater tots we overcooked and lacked flavor. Very salty. Beer cheese pretzel was plain, straight forward, ordinary. Honest effort made on the cheese itself, though it was luke warm. Chicken pot pie was strangely put together. A breaded hat of sorts placed on a skillet of bland chicken pot pie filling stuff. Took a couple bites and sent it back.
Overall, the bland, canned, luke warm food that lack of any notable or memorable flavor was a let down. Would love to see them create some simple pub kitchen food that’s not from a can.
Willing to go again if I can get a recommendation on what to order that would be fresh, uniquely tasty or memorable.