The Lowbrow

Perfect restaurant for any occasion. The Lowbrow is our neighborhood favorite with great food, a casual atmosphere, and local charm.
The fries are thin-​cut and delicious, my husband swears by their homemade BBQ sauce, and we both agree that all of the burgers we’ve tried are excellent. While I haven’t tried it yet, their fish sticks look to be the under dog winner of the menu and will be my next order when I go.
The only reason I’m deducting a star is that both their nacho and taco options were a bit bland and not worth the trip. And as a lover of both items that was a bit disappointing.

Casual, friendly, approachable … mimosas served with a Starburst on top. These are some of my favorite things about The Lowbrow.
No matter who I’m hanging with or when, I know we can hit up The Lowbrow for food we’ll all agree on. I think brunch here is particularly bomb, with items like the tofu tacos, bacon pancakes, and their super interesting /​super awesome take on mimosas.
I’m also a big fan of their chili, guac, nachos, AND their deviled eggs … which is saying something, because I’m a deviled egg critic! The Lowbrow does them just right with a tangy, creamy filling. I was angry that my husband made me give him half of a half of one of mine. Get your own, brah.
The one low point of The Lowbrow is that I’ve had mixed service here. It’s sometimes slow or hard to get acknowledged at your table … but luckily, this is not a place you will mind lingering.

Crazy busy on Tuesday date night — no waiting space therefore everyone in line is crammed by the door, very unfortunately for those seated near the front during the winter months. The atmosphere is casual neighborhood joint, total Minneapolis vibe and by that I mean I heard Portland mentioned 5 times while I was there, also they were playing the Portlandia theme song.
I sat at the bar, ordered a burger medium well done, it was more rare so it was oddly mushy but took the health risk by eating it anyway. The fries were good, seasoned well and made me want more. My friend and I left thinking «okay but a different place next dinner date.»
Based on my food experience and the atmosphere I’d rather head to Pat’s Tap for more my vibe and food selection but if you live in the neighborhood and have a family and kids this is probably your spot. I’d try it again for brunch.

Very good food and it was served pretty fast. Had my first ever bloody with sake wine and it was delicious.

The food and service is always good here. The burgers are great, the breakfasts are even better! Grab a seat at the bar and check out all the old baseball cards.

Delicious, thoughtful food made with great ingredients. Super casual and easy. Great beer list. I take out-​of-​towners here for lunch to show off my hood and it’s always a hit. Also, magically family-​friendly and hipster-​friendly all in one small spot, which is really rare and speaks to the cool atmosphere, great service and overall yumminess. Yay Lowbrow!

My mum and I came here for breakfast. The prices were decent, staff was friendly, and food was good. Need I say more?
Plus, I noticed they have Happy Hour 2−5pm and 9-​close Tuesday through Friday (literally took a photo of the sign at my table) with HALF-​PRICED NACHOS. Nachos… Need I say more?
On the other side of the sign it said that on Mondays they donate 10% of your bill to charity. Philanthropy… Need I say more?
As a newbie to the city I thought all of this was delightful and sweet and I will certainly be coming back for more.

Not bad at all! Real casual, friendly and attentive staff. Food was good, beer was cold and frothy. It was busy, but that’s not really a bad sign. Everyone was taken care of and the prices were certainly reasonable.
I would go back again.

Won’t be back after our experience here. My girlfriend and I went for a late lunch, looking to try a new spot. We should have turned around as we walked and a sever pushed through us without saying a word to get outside, she seemed annoyed. It seemed like we shouldn’t have been standing there but there was a wait to be seated sign. We waited, the resturant was practically empty, and another sever told us to sit anywhere. During the rest of the meal other customers walked in waited and were told the same thing.? Maybe take the sign down and not confuse people.
Our sever was the same one that pushed through us, however she didn’t provide bad table service, all didn’t acknowledge she ran into us.
The beer list was underwhelming, Lonely Blond was the most interesting beer.
The food was forgettable. The burger was bland and looked like it was packed too hard and cooked on a college dorm hot plate. The middle was mushy.
Far better places to go, we won’t be returning. This place is trying to cater to hipster vegans only I guess.

What a wonderful neighborhood restaurant. I’ve been here on a Thursday and a Friday night, and I highly recommend making reservations especially if you have a big group. This place gets packed, and for good reason. First off, the Lowbrow is located in the foodtastic Kingfield neighborhood. Foodtastic? Eh, doesn’t really roll off the tongue, but whatevs. Anyway, it might be a little hard to find parking in the backlot, but just look around for street parking. Secondly, the staff is super friendly and efficient. And, most importantly, the food rocks. Of course.
Drinks: I’ve tried both their red sangria and the Hummingbird, and I liked both but the Hummingbird in particular. It’s refreshing and not too sweet.
Entrees: The pesto melt with turkey is bonkers good. I looooove pesto and would like to have it on tap if I could, and Lowbrow’s pesto is the herby, nutty, brilliant pesto I would like to have on said tap. I’ve also tried the highbrow burger, which has melted brie, caramelized onions, greens, and garlic aioli. How can that not be good? They nailed the medium-​rare on the burger, and overall it is just a damn delicious burger. Also, the shoestring fries are crispy, hot bites of joy.
Dessert: One of the rare times when I am far more excited to come back for the desserts than the entrees. Specifically, the peanut butter cake Oh man, it is YUMMY. If you like peanut butter, then get your butt right over here and try this cake while (if) it’s available. It is the perfect amount of sweet, salty peanut butteriness and moist cakiness. As this Buzzfeed generation would say — you need this in your life right now.

I Unilocaled BACON PANCAKES and came up with this place. Sometimes a girl needs bacon pancakes.
Pancakes were legit. Perfect. The egg was cooked perfectly as well. It was about 9:30 am so there was no wait. Friendly fast service. Lots of coffee refills promptly. Everyone else’s food looked great. I will come back for the burgers.

Love love love. Pancakes are light and airy and melt in your mouth. It’s such a cute, cozy place and service is great. Brunch is a must go time.

This is a great local south Minneapolis spot! Love the friendly atmosphere. Love the bright colors all over the restaurant. I think the raspberry pancakes are the best pancakes in the world. (Try them without syrup first, they’re that good) the jalapeño hash is also great from the breakfast menu!
I like dinner a little less than breakfast, but it’s still very good! Can’t really go wrong with one of the burgers. Local beer on tap. Price is right.

Two words… Fish Tacos!
Apart from those who don’t have tastebuds, the fish tacos at The Lowbrow are second to non. The service is quick and friendly, the atmosphere is good (but definitely sit outside) and the one thing you need to order every time you go… Fish Tacos!
We came here for a work lunch one day and no one was that hungry but our finance guy had been raving about the fish tacos. Needless to say, they did not disappoint.
We’ll be back!
Oh and I guess anyone who «can’t handle» gluten might need to check and see if these are «safe».

This is my favorite burger joint in the Cities. All of the burgers are delicious, they’re always made perfectly to my order, and they’re the perfect amount of food that you can almost always eat with a little no-​overloaded-​sauce-​ruining-​your-​white-​shirt dignity.
The fries are also my favorite in the Cities, but can be subbed for a simple salad (that some days can be a little heavy on the balsamic, tbh).
They have a good wine and beer selection, though I usually go with their red sangria, which is a tall glass of tasty.
The prices won’t break your bank, as the most expensive one is the Highbrow with fries or a salad (my personal favorite) at a shocking $ 10.
The décor is cute, the service has always been on point in all the years I’ve been going here, and the take-​out service is just as friendly and helpful as the dine-​in. There’s street parking in the neighborhood, and a sneaky lot in back that is super, super small.
It’s always busy, so plan to either wait or to avoid the rush by going slightly off-​hours.

The Lowbrow is exactly what I love about a neighborhood restaurant… feels comfortable and welcoming, unpretentious, and serves great food.
A recent dinner illustrated the diversity of people who enjoy the spot. Parents with kids. Parents without their kids. Seniors. Young tattooed folks. The occasional hipster. People dressed up for first dates. I personally enjoy a location that can draw a crowd that’s not made up of all the same people at the same tables.
We tried to be good the last time we went. We ordered a burger with the mixed greens instead of fries… but our burger was The Highbrow Burger which means it was slathered in Brie, carmelized onions and garlic aioli, so the salad didn’t really save our arteries.
But oh, this burger. Juicy, cooked medium to our liking, hot, and while I never would have thought of Brie for a burger, it works. It’s got some high-​falutin’ toppings but it’s not overcomplicated; you can still taste the grass-​fed beef and appreciate the flavors without feeling like they’re competing with each other.
We had the chocolate stout cake for dessert. It was decent. To be fair, I don’t go crazy over a cake, but I love frosting. The cake itself seemed a little dry but we were also there pretty late on a weeknight. My boyfriend loved it!
Looking forward to trying brunch here one of these days.

Don’t let the 3 star score fool you — I definitely recommend the Lowbrow. It is a solid neighborhood joint with a nice selection of appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, and the like. It just doesn’t stand out or have that wow factor, whether it’s the food, beer/​wine, service, or atmosphere. It’s good, but not great, which is probably a product of all the other great options in the area that set the standard rather high.
We visited on a Monday night and were able to snag a table after only a brief wait, or we could have sat down at the bar right away. For a place the size of the Lowbrow, the tap list is adequate (I think they had 4 or 5 beers), and they have a decent size list of bottles/​cans in addition to that. However, the beer I ordered, an IPA of some sort, came served in what was at most a 12oz glass (yet I was charged a 16 or 20oz price). I’ve never seen a premium beer served in such a small glass (unless it was a high gravity beer at 8%+ ABV, which this was not). Hmm.
I had the Lowbrow burger with cheddar and bacon, while the lady had the turkey burger (with gluten free bun, which is a bonus — this place is rather gluten free friendly). We both had fries as the side. The burger was very good but a bit overcooked (I asked for it medium, it came out medium well to well done), and the bacon on top was quite tasty. I’ve just had so many excellent to amazing burgers in this town that I can’t say this one was remarkable, keeping with the theme of good but not great. The girlfriend really liked her turkey burger but didn’t think it was amazing. The fries? Good, but not great, but they did come in a fairly generous portion (which is important).
One of my biggest pet peeves is when servers pull a disappearing act at the end when you’re waiting to pay. Our server agreed to give us our tab and then ignored us for a solid 10 minutes. I was about to get up and track him down when we finally got our bill.
This was close to 4 stars, especially considering the gluten-​free friendly factor. I liked it, but the Lowbrow can do more to impress.

A small neighborhood spot at 42^nd and Nicollet with reasonable prices serving burgers, sandwiches and craft beers. We stopped in on a Sunday evening and the place was busy. They told us it would be 30 minutes for a table for 4 but it ended up only being about 10 which was great because it was starting to sprinkle a bit outside.
We sat at a high table and started with some chips and creamy, flavorful guac. The chips were thick and crunchy and came also with a nice salsa. For dinner, I ordered the fish fingers while others in the group chose the pulled pork sandwich and burgers. The burgers were thick and juicy and the pulled pork a very ample portion. My fish fingers were served over thin, crispy fries and were the fingers were flakey, crispy from panko coating and not at all greasy. A big improvement on a traditional fish and chips.
For beverages they have a variety of craft beer, some lower end wines and a few cocktails. I tried the red sangria which was served in a tall glass and was cool and refreshing.
Recommended.

Don’t let the name lead you to any assumptions. The Lowbrow is a name only, as their food is anything but ‘lowbrow’!
We had brunch at 11:00 am on a Saturday. I was worried about a wait, and rightfully so, as we seemed to just barely skip the worst of it– 15 minutes for four of us, but as folks continued to trickle in I realized we got very lucky! The Takeaway: Expect a bit of a wait if you intend to sit at a table, especially during busy times.
A strong cup of coffee, a great slice of their daily, flavor-​changing coffee cake (we had raspberry blueberry. It was fantastic! The whole table WILL try to steal a bite!), and onto the brunch entrees!
I had raspberry pancakes. No frills. Good ‘olé pancakes with raspberries baked in and on top with some powdered sugar. Wait. Did I say no frills? I may not have meant that. Lowbrow serves their pancakes with 100% REAL MINNESOTA maple syrup. Pancakes are good alone, but better with the real deal on top.
The Chorizo Breakfast Tacos come 2 to an order, and boy were they good. Lowbrow makes their own Guac’, and it is delicious. Bonus Points: Corn Tortillas. Rounds out the Southwestern feel of this awesome savory breakfast item.
Other favorites were the Truck Stop Sandwich, egg cooked to a deliciously runny over medium/​easy. The BLT was good, and very «BLT» like.
The atmosphere is lively and fun, with a family friendly vibe.
Only gripe? The prices seemed a little steep, but after it was all said and done each person averaged about $ 13 – 15 with a coffee and brunch entrée. I am sure it’d be more if liquor were involved, but do not let that deter you from checking out this great little spot. You’ll be glad you did!

I’m not exactly sure how this place ended up on my list for breakfast. I had never heard of it and thought I hit most of South Minneapolis through the summer. Maybe I heard the whispers of «bacon pancakes» in my sleep and I somehow found it? Either way, swung by here Sunday morning for some brunch to give it a go.
Newsflash, get here early. We got there a little after 9am when they opened, and the place was starting to fill up. By 9.30, you’re waiting. Parking is going to be street side. Service was fantastic throughout, even when I was a dope and kicked the table spilling my coffee a bit (pretty sure the table insulted me and needed the kick), our server was there to refill and get me some extra napkins for myself but also cleaned up the spill. Loved the décor in there too. The mural on the wall was really fun to look at and talk about while we waited.
And oh yeah, standard serving — no number and wait stuff. Hurray!
I opted for the salmon scramble with a bacon cake and salad instead of taters. The woman opted for the classic with bacon, herb taters and a stack of chocolate chip-​banana cakes. Was a bit hesitant to get the salmon scramble given the chives mention in the description, but, decided I’d risk breakfast and my breath to try it. And oh yeah, cakes come standard with real maple syrup. Team high five!
Food came out pretty quick, about 8 – 10 minutes.
Salmon scramble — a-​fucking-​mazing. Not a word, but it flies here. The chives were not too prominent at all, and provided a great back flavor. Smokiness of the salmon was the dominant flavor and that was just amazing. Very nice cooling cream flavor from the cream cheese that was lightly added and gooed up in the dish, while the eggs were still fluffy scrambled and just perfect. I said it before in another review with pink fish scrambles, they’re tough to pull off, but, if you got it, they’re out of this world good… and this was far and away out of this world good.
Then, as I dig into the bacon cake I hear the unmistakeable tone of The Price Is Right losing horn play through my head. The cake itself was a solid and had great flavor, but, scant amounts of bacon, and the texture of the really crisp bacon was just not right. Disappointed? You can bet your nuts I was.
However, I look across the table and notice I’ve got a lot of chocolate chip-​banana pancakes to eat and these are some tasty little things. Great sweetness, the buttermilk-​chocolate-​banana combo is just right, and the texture of the cakes are amazing. After breaking the stick on the one timer with the bacon cakes, this one is hammered home top shelf. That’s a hockey reference for those wondering what the hell I was just talking about.
Bacon in the classic was amazing. Thick cut, chewy, well cured with a little sweetness and great salt. Herb fried taters were really good too. Crunchy edges to the potatoes were just perfect and the toast was amazing. One of the better slices of toast I’ve had a restaurant that really helped shovel the eggs in.
Overall a solid breakfast, despite the one letdown. If you’re in South Minneapolis, check it out.