FACES Mears Park

Had a groupon that we paid $ 69 for that said it was a $ 126 value… decided to use it on a Thursday night (as they limited the amounts of groupons used over the weekend) and made the required groupon reservation and gave them the number over the phone. Showed up Thursday night and the place was empty. There was nobody at the host stand and finally the bartender after looking at us wait for several minutes with nobody around came over to seat us. My wife told him we had a reservation, which obviously wasn’t needed, but was required for using the groupon. There were two other people in the restaurant when we sat down, but no other diners. We told our waitress we had a groupon and she said she thought it excluded any lamb dishes. As we looked over the menu, she came back and said the groupon excluded any lamb dishes, the filet, the halibut, and the sea bass. That was almost 40% of the entrees excluded and the groupon only listed t-​bone entrée as the only exclusion. When we said that was unacceptable, and asked to speak to someone else an older gentleman came over and he came over asking «I’m sorry, did you have a reservation with the groupon you are trying to use.» Absolutely we did… thanks for asking. The head chef then came over and when I showed him the groupon, and said it only showed one exclusion on it and listed the value of $ 126 (and what we wanted to order was less than that) he still wouldn’t budge and said his food costs were too high. It was ridiculous… we were trying to give an empty restaurant a try, but knew our dining experience would be subpar given their service and attitude. We decided to leave and get a refund from groupon and eat at the Handsome Hog, right across the corner, which was busy and the meal and service was enjoyable.
Note to FACES, if you want to limit your groupon terms, then put those additional limitations on them (in addition to the t-​bone and myriad of caveats of limited groupons taken each night) and LOWER the stated value. Even if we ordered what we wanted, we wouldn’t have been under the stated value of $ 126 (see breakdown below). It was really a bait and switch… I get it you weren’t going to make a windfall on a Groupon diner, but you would have put two butts in a VERY empty restaurant on a Thursday and you might have wowed us and enticed us come back another time without a Groupon.
What we wanted to order:
1 Appetizer = $ 15
2 Halibut entrees $ 35/​each = $ 70
2 glasses of wine $ 12/​each = $ 24
TOTAL VALUE = $ 109

My first impression of FACES is of a dying restaurant where too few care about doing better.
I had purchased a Living Social deal which required advance reservations by phone. When I called, Andrew said that all of my suggested dates were full. Then he finally agreed to a Thursday early evening reservation and made it seem like he was doing us a favor working us in. When we arrived only 1 table was occupied and when we left only 3 tables were.
Upon arrival we stood at the check-​in desk for 5 minutes until the bartender acknowledged us. Then a hostess finally appeared and sat us at one of the worst tables. Our waitress (Amy?) appeared after the bartender came over to take our drink orders. Everyone seemed confused about the Living Social deal we had purchased (and which expired in a few days). When they finally arrived at a decision we were told that lamb and steak dishes and appetizers were excluded. Way too controlling — why offer deals at all?
Luckily we wanted to try GRILLED PRIME RIB BORDELAISE and SPICY SEAFOOD TAGINE. Both were excellent but took a long time to arrive with an empty dining room.
Desserts were not the best. We tried Profiterole Diplomat and Mille Feuilles Sauvage. The Profiterole was okay but the hard chocolate /​caramel in the bottom was ineffective and should have been a sauce. The filling was mildly sweet. The Sauvage was awful. The chiboust (a custard mixed with egg whites) should have been sweeter but had an unpleasant sour aftertaste. It also had the rock hard chocolate on the bottom.
All of the miscues took away from the dining experience. Our waitress was wonderful but she was the only person who seemed to have any enthusiasm. There are too many other better choices.

Before you read MY rant, go and read all the reviews that FACES managed to hide in the «Would Not Recommend» section at the way bottom.
Walked in at 8:15pm on a Thursday night to an almost completely empty restaurant (with one other table and a few people at the bar with us). Somehow it still took a couple of minutes to get us seated (with reservation — arrived on time). Out waitress was superb and nice the whole night! Just wanted to throw that out there!
After we got seated, waitress asked if we had any promotions for the night, and that’s when things started spiraling downwards…
1) Apparently, the Groupon that we got didn’t have current up-​to-​date Terms and Conditions, so we had to suffer for it. We had already looked at the menus prior to making a reservation and made sure to read over the T&C. Shouldn’t have bothered with that because by the time they were done telling me what was off limits (NONE of their off limit items were mentioned in the T&C), we basically wanted to walk out since all our choices were those that were off limit. Btw– they still have the wrong T&C as of today (May 20, 2016). I bought it 2 and a half weeks ago.
2) The salmon salad (pictured) was GREAT though. Dressing was spectacular!
3) Why did the bread come out after the salad. Isn’t that supposed to be the first thing to come out, after water?
4) Main entrée: they did an amazing job at getting my steak PERFECTLY med. rare! Cannot stress how hard it is to find a place that can do that without undercooking the thing! The sauce on top was also amazing! But why the fries… Should have paired it with veggies instead or something.
5) At the end of our meal, we were presented with a bill… What? The groupon is supposed to pay for everything. Tax included (but not tip. MAKE SURE YOU TIP). But apparently they think tax isn’t included in the groupon and decided to charge us a little under $ 10 (nbd, but tax is indeed included in groupon purchase so that was just like a wtf). So $ 69 + $ 10 = $ 79. Our original price without groupon would have been $ 86… Wtf. This place is a rip off. Says you have $ 169 to spend there (one app, two entrees, one desert OR two alcoholic drinks) when purchasing a $ 69, but so many things are off limits.
Honestly, this would have been a better experience without the groupon (and apparently about the same price too). Would I go back? No. Because of how ridiculous their business tactics are. T&C’s are T&C’s. No if’s, and’s, or but’s.
Also, the Asian guy that works there is rude. Management– talk to him and ask him why he thinks he gets to be rude and roll his eyes at guests.

I went here for Happy Hour and I wished I would have gotten more food to try! Their HH specials are pretty good, but just know that you need to sit in the bar area for the HH specials to apply!
I had the fried chicken skewers, which came without skewers, so they were just chicken tenders, but they were absolutely delicious chicken tenders. The peanut sauce it comes with was also amazing!
French fries were good! The sauce it came with was OK, ketchup would have been better.
I want to go back and try their sliders and pizza.
I just ordered the rail drinks and they were good too!
Fast and friendly service! I loved our bartender! If you’re looking for a great HH place, definitely give this one a try!

Waited very long for the waiter to guide us. No server at the café area. The Napoleon looked beautiful, but it was as hard as rock. The fork cannot cut through it, and you need to destroy it in order to eat it.

Congealed cold Eggs & Wilted lettuce (see pictures) on the Niçoise lunch Salad for $ 16! Completely bland with a scant of dressing. Remarkable rip off! Avoid this place unless you want their $ 6 pizza. Had that last week. Not impressive but for $ 6 it was fine.

Location is nice and environment is fine. The service smacks of hipster disdain for non-​hipsters. The food is fine but when I ordered to pick up I was missing part of my order when I got back to my office. Fries where greasy and cold with no sauce which is why I ordered the fries. Sand which was fine. Overall the lunch was akin to a mid level deli. Much more expensive than it is worth.

The food here is really good! The ambiance is also amazing. I had the Montecristo that comes French toast style, and it was delicious. Definitely get it with the maple syrup. Their wine list is also unparalleled… amazing and several affordable options. On the other hand, I thought their cocktails were not all that well executed.
My friends had the seafood tagine and a scallop appetizer, both of which they loved. The scallops weren’t at all rubbery or overdone and the tagine presentation was awesome and it was nice and spicy.
We will definitely come back for the food and the atmosphere though! If you find yourself in downtown St. Paul and want to go to a nice place, this is it!

DO NOT EAT AT THIS RACIST ESTABLISHMENT lest you wish to receive poor customer service due to your appearance and want to throw away an incredibly disappointing meal. My boyfriend and I (both minorities) went for restaurant week and were only offered the bar or a high top table to sit at despite the fact that the restaurant was relatively empty (there were only three occupied tables). Although we were not dressed to the nines, we were presentable. I was even wearing a black dress, albeit with a long cardigan for a more casual look. We opted for the high top table because we weren’t allowed to sit at a regular table.
Choo, the bartender who was serving us, told us that restaurant week was only available to those who made reservations. I have partaken in restaurant week at many restaurants and that seemed particularly unusual to me. Being relegated to the bar area was already peculiar as it was. I made a reservation online and called the establishment (yes, while I was still sitting there) to confirm my reservation (per Choo’s instructions) and he ran over to the phone and again refused to serve me from the restaurant week menu.
I scoured the internet for an answer to my question, «do I really need a reservation to order from the restaurant menu?» and could not find anything that said a reservation was required. Choo noticed that I was on my phone for a while and nervously scurried to our table. After all of the time I wasted in an attempt to eat here, he finally acquiesced and gave us the restaurant week menu.
The bar was not busy — there were only two other patrons so the fact that it took an inordinate amount of time for him to come over to take our order and bring us our water made it apparent that he did not want to serve us — this was very uncomfortable for me. Was it because our collective appearance was not suitable to his taste? Was it because my African American boyfriend had an afro? Was it simply because he was black? Regardless, this behavior was unacceptable. We were paying customers — if we intend on paying, then why refuse us service?
I ordered moules frites and seafood tagine and my boyfriend ordered the lobster mac n’ cheese. Choo told me they did not have mussels for the moules frites but neglected to tell me that mussels were part of the tagine, so unbeknownst to me, I received tagine that was incomplete. It wouldn’t have been a problem had he told me, but I felt slighted (beyond how his behavior was already making me feel).
This was not our first time here. The food here has been excellent enough to warrant another visit. And after being treated poorly, I was really hoping the food could make up for it. But this was just disheartening. The lobster mac n’ cheese was tasteless and required a lot of salt to be able to tolerate. And I barely even touched the tagine. The seafood in it was dry and tasteless — I wasn’t even aware that crayfish and crab could get that dry. There was hardly any sauce because it had all burnt onto the pan (compare my photos to others and you’ll see what I mean). We didn’t want to bother the kitchen with remaking our meal because we were aware that they were likely preparing to close so we essentially just had French fries and a few bites of lobster mac for dinner.
I was hoping that maybe the dessert would be decent but I received mostly melted ice cream. It had the potential to be great had the tart not been swimming in a pool of liquid cream.
What was supposed to be a nice date turned out to be a really unpleasant evening and I don’t plan on coming back. I do fully intend on warning others so that they don’t have the misfortune of dealing with such adversity and discrimination. If they had responded to the email we sent detailing our experience, then I’d be less inclined to spread word of my experience because it would show that they valued their customers enough to rectify such an awful and completely unacceptable situation, but we never received a response.

I went to Faces Mears Park last week for lunch because I was craving seared tuna and they offer a tuna Niçoise.
I did not realize they were offering Restaurant Week specials before I arrived but that would have been too much food/​time during my lunch break so I declined.
When I arrived through the skyway it wasn’t clear where to check in and I didn’t see anyone working. After a minute I saw someone who looked like an employee and he gestured to the host stand. I went to the host stand and was told it would be a minute before I could be helped. It was clear they were understaffed that day.
Finally someone came up to me and said she had to clear a table for me to sit at. Several more minutes passed and I was sat, but then it took another couple of minutes for water. All told, I think it took 12 minutes for me to be sat and get water, and the restaurant was not on a wait, nor were all tables full.
As I ordered my lunch (yay, tuna!) another server walked by and told me the tuna had just been 86ed. Nooooo!
So I ordered the avocado BLT with fries and requested bearnaise on the side. Sandwich came out without Bearnaise so I asked for it again, plus a to go box. Server came out with food for others but took two more trips to get the bearnaise, at which point I was almost done with my food. And I had to request the to go box again.
My experience was just all around kind of meh on the service side… lunch took too long for a solo diner, I felt overlooked in favor of the larger tables, they were out of the one dish that drew me to them in the first place, the server didn’t know the correct Wi-​Fi password and didn’t offer to find out, etc.
Food was decent… sandwich was very thick which made it a little clumsy to eat but the bacon and avocado were good. I didn’t love the dressing on the bread.
I’d like to go back to try the Niçoise but I might need to make sure I’m not going during restaurant week.

Took a visit during Restaurant Week at lunch time. Was mildly disappointed. Food was good, but I expected it to be a lot better. The best thing was their ketchup, which felt lighter (thumbs up) than most other ketchup around.
I decided I couldn’t pass a judgement until I tried the dessert that came with the meal (part of the Restaurant Week special — they had two types of dessert to choose from). Because my other was with, we decided to get one of each. The triple layer chocolate torte was heavy and very dense. But whatever, no big deal. What tore my heart apart was when the crème brûlée was presented and the burnt part was essentially missing. The built-​up anticipation of hearing that first crack as I dug in for that first bite quickly scurried away. As it did, I could hear something inside me whispering, but screaming, «No, this is not crème brûlée.» I dug in anyway, and decided I’m not going to cry about it (well, I kind of am with this review, but… yeah).
So, Faces Mears Park broke my heart a bit today. And unfortunately, first impressions make quite the deal; therefore, I will not re-​visit.
I will say though that when I expressed my disappointment with my other, he said that his first time with his co-​workers was a lot better. So, I say try it out… your experience may be better.

Great food and ambiance! We had a lovely seat on the patio overlooking the park — very picturesque. Our server was great — very kind and knowledgable about the menu. The risotto and the lobster mac and cheese were both delicious. Overall a very pleasant dinner and a great romantic date night spot!

Hubby and I came back for another date night. Surprised it took us about a year to come back because the food is so good! But we just get stuck in our ways and hardly ever venture out to St. Paul.
Hubby got the steak au poivre which comes with thin, crunchy fries. Fries are super delicious! I believe the steak comes with a peppercorn sauce and it goes so well with the fries! Also got a side order of green beans that was ridiculously good as well.
I had the chilean sea bass and it seems like the sea bass is on their regular menu but there’s a different preparation daily. The sea bass had great flavor and it came with a cheesy mushroom polenta? type base. Very delicious and generous amounts of mushrooms.
On to dessert! Hubby got the chocolate german cake and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, all washed down with a cup of mocha. Hubby really seemed to enjoy the cake. I had to get the napoleon again! I got the napoleon here the last time about a year ago and it was so great that I still remember how much I enjoyed it. So obviously had to order it again! I know it’s a simple dessert but it was so good!!!
Okay, now only complaint. Lets talk woman’s bathroom. There’s 3 stalls, one was out of service and was clearly labelled, which was nice. This leaves 2 stalls open, and both stalls do not lock!!! What the heck? The first stall I went it, I would push the button to lock the door but it wouldn’t click into place. Whatever, not a big deal I went into the 2^nd stall and the lock button was jammed! So there I am sitting in this stall, which would normally be great since tons of leg room! However in this instance, not so great as I had to really work at keeping one hand stretched waaay out to hold the door in case someone decided to try and open my stall thinking it was empty. Definitely a hurried and frenetic experience in the bathroom.
Overall experience was very good though! Food was delicious and service was better than the last time we were here!

Faces = Feces!
This place is a total disappointment. I’ve had meals here many times over the years including recently and each time the quality of the food, service and pricing keeps getting worse. It has such potential but falls flat… On different occasions when I did kindly inquire about issues, I experienced attitude, lack of concern or unwillingness to improve the situation.
The positive reviews have to be family friends of the establishment because there is NO way that people who have such an amazing foodie city like MPLS/​STPL would score this place so well.

Been to Faces two times… Terrific experience both times. Intimate, wonderful food, and great service. We’ve had the fish «catch of the day» (different each time), risotto, and vegetable tagine… All wonderful, perfectly prepared and presented. Top-​notch wine list. Desserts were wonderful too. Not cheap, but very reasonably priced for the quality of food and overall experience. A real gem for dining in downtown St. Paul.

We visited right before we went to see the Christmas Train so we arrived early. Good thing we had time because the menu is thick but 90% wines. We ordered drinks and then tried to figure out what to eat. I settled on The Burger and soup. The tortilla soup was good but the tortilla strips were stale. The burger was supposed to be medium well but was more medium rare, unfortunately the service isn’t very fast and we had to get going so I ate it that way. It has two thick pieces of bacon and cheese. I couldn’t decide if it was juicy or greasy. The fries were limp and greasy. My wife did enjoy her sandwich. The men’s room was out of towels and had a quarter roll of toilet paper. The ladies said the doors in their bathroom had broken locks.
This is a nice location with a very nice atmosphere. Need to pay attention to details.

Elegance, warmth, charm — it has it all.
Faces is just a special place. The space is spectacular. Decorated in an urban chic vibe with lots of side rooms, dramatic spaces, lighting and views. When you walk in — check out the dessert case so you know what to order at the end of your wonderful meal. French pastries like Operas, Napoleons, Crème Brulee as well as cakes all made in house. If you walk past the kitchen take a look at all the bakers making bread and desserts as well as the chefs (including David Fhima) hard at work at the stoves.
We had a big party of 18 and we started in the side room specially set up for us for drinks and horsderves. Lovely service in the fine dining style. Then we sat at our table ordered off the menu and everything came out perfectly. David Fhima came out of the kitchen to say «hello» to everyone which was nice since there was another private party and a full restaurant that night.
Coffee and platters of desserts were served at the table to pass. What a memorable night. We will be back for a drink at the stylish bar or for an intimate dinner. This would be a great place for a celebration party.
They also have special menus for the game, show, holidays. Faces just has it all. Love that this place is in Downtown St. Paul.

I would give them zero stars. We were there for a work function and got ignored by the waitress, another waitress called some somalian coworkers n***ers, the bartender was HORRIBLE, unhappy and very unwelcoming, and the manager seemed not to care. We had a pre-​planned party of 40 – 50, and not one of us thought it was a good idea to come here… EVER. They need to hire some upbeat, attentive, non-​racist employees that know the service industry and how to actually work in a restaurant and be cordial and welcoming. Our manager even made a point to announce loudly how bad this experience was, and still nothing. You can bet all of us are going to tell everyone we know how bad our experience was.

Going to go right out and say it had a burger and fries from this place (takeout) and both were extremely cold. That can obviously be dealt with but the fries had no salt on them were burnt and the bacon on the burger was also burnt. The bun was soaked in some type of oil and it was soggy and to top it off I ordered a salad and got an actual head of lettuce! Going to post a photo of it in the top just so you can all see. Not worth the 35 $ I spent.

We did a Livingsocial 3 course meal deal. The meal was perfect and service was great.
This was our first time there and we will definitely be back!

Coming here and not getting a tagine is like going to the pool but not getting in. Ok bad analogy aside this place is great! I hear alot of hit and miss stories but I’ve been about four times and have always been impressed. My girlfriend loved her sea bass risotto as well but like I said, GET A TAGINE!

The chef came out to greet us that was a nice touch! Went there for birthday and they gave us free truffles. Food was a little pricey so it will be a special occasion place. I had seafood tagine, husband and mother-​in-​law had the risottos. Food was flavorful. The dessert we had– crème brulee and carrot cake was good.

I’ve gotten delivery from this place twice, using BiteSquad. It’s always a bit of a gamble ordering delivery, especially from a place like this whose food is probably meant for table service, but I say if you’re going to offer delivery, you’re fair game.
I’ve ordered from here twice, and I’d have to say I probably won’t again. I had the burger and fries on one visit, the croque monsieur on another, and ordered dessert each time as well. My overall impression is that everything is too much of what ever it’s supposed to be, flavorwise.
The burger was obviously cooked on a grill, but I don’t think it was a very clean one, because the meat flavor and texture was compromised by charcoal dust (or something like it). The fries were okay, and I don’t fault Faces for any deficit – fries aren’t really made for delivery.
The croque monsieur was basically a glorified grilled ham and cheese, and didn’t seem to have the bechamel that typically comes with one. Also, it was EXTREMELY salty. Probably the prosciutto-​type ham, but I’ve had prosciutto ham that wasn’t as salty as that. This actually gave me a bit of that burning sensation on the tongue that you get when something is excessively salty.
The desserts I got were all uniformly pretty to look at, but ridiculously, tooth-​ache sweet.
As I say, maybe the experience is different when you actually eat *in* the restaurant, or order one of the major entrees, and maybe I’ll do that sometime, but I don’t think I’ll order delivery again.

This place is really close to work, but I’ve never stopped in until today. I was drawn in because it was restaurant week, but my friend and I ordered off the regular menu instead.
First of all, the space is very pretty. Urban/​upscale looking. When I arrived at 11:15, the place was empty. I didn’t see anyone and was confused about whether they were open, but soon a server came over and sat me. My friend arrived shortly thereafter and made the same comments about it being so empty. It ended up being a good thing though, because I was on my lunch break and need to be quick.
I ordered the tuna nicoise salad and it was beautiful. I should have ordered with the dressing on the side like I usually do but I forgot and there was a little too much on it for me to finish all the greens. It was not a big salad but it was tasty. The asparagus and the tuna were great, however, it would have been nice to have more than just one asparagus spear. Overall a great dish and pretty healthy with the exception of the fried potato thingy on the side. My friend had a turkey sandwich and seemed to like it, although when he asked for ranch dressing for his fries, he was told they didn’t have any.
A guy camme out and grabbed our plates, and we chatted with him and he was the chef! Super nice guy, introduced himself and talked about how everything is all organic and local, which I liked. I’ll definitely be coming back here.

Our server greeted us while he was on the phone. My martini glass was covered in dust literally. I had to wipe it off with my napkin. When we entered, we were told that we had to have a reservation to sit at a table. There was only one seated table so clearly the reservation only system is working well. It was a very memorable experience for the wrong reasons.

The food is delicious here. For a recent weekend dinner, I had the chicken tagine, nicoise salad, flourless chocolate cake, assorted drinks. Generous portions (the tagine is enough for two), fresh vegetables, thoughtful presentation, authentic flavors. Wouldn’t hesitate returning with family if we were in the area, especially for lunch. The chocolate cake was just as good as ANY I have ever had and is worth the 5 extra spin classes I’m going to have to do this week to burn it off!
The service seemed untrained, which is why I am forced to give it no more than 3 stars. Our server was friendly in the way a casual barista is friendly – not in the knowledgable way you expect someone serving you a $ 30 entrée should be. He told us the special was, «Strip steak with… uh (fumble with his notes)…sauce…and potatoes… served on potatoes.» Really? Can’t pronounce the sauce? It was also slow. It seemed like it took forever for nearby tables to be cleaned after fellow diners left. Empty glasses and abandoned napkins just sat there littering our peripheral vision. Furthermore, some tables had white table cloths and others (like ours) did not. There didn’t seem to be consistency across the dining room.
The other thing I find awkward is the appetizer menu. The majority of the items are very expensive. It would be nice to have greater variety without breaking the bank so people are invited to be «upsold» as opposed to price shocked into sticking with just entrees. I’m not about to spend $ 48 for a charcuterie plate or even $ 24 for 2 scallops. The ambiance and quality of the service isn’t good enough to match those price points.

Went here on Saturday early evening. We asked to sit outside and the hostess said she needed to ask because she didn’t know if there was a server for outside. Thankfully Yobani said that he would take us and we were able to sit outside. We ordered a couple drinks and the chicken satay, grass-​fed burgers, and flatbread. Later we had the crème brûlée and triple chocolate mousse cake. Here’s the lowdown on the food
Chicken satay was super tender with great flavor. The amount was very very small even for happy hour.
Grass fed sliders were tasty and the best of the appetizers that we ordered.
The Firebird was pretty cheesy but I didn’t like crust on the flatbread itself.
The triple chocolate mousse cake had the potential to be awesome but it was dry and for nine bucks I expected more.
Crema brûlée was flamed table-​side with a hot iron which was really cool and the taste was very good.
However, the best part of the restaurant and experience was our server-​Yobani. He was attentive, friendly, funny and made the overall experience great! I probably would’ve only given it a three for food but because the service was so good I gave it four stars. Looking forward to trying something off the main dinner menu in the future.

Review # 1000. This is a hard one.
We were in the neighborhood to see the sparkling guys and gals who were headed to the prom. Our nephews invited us to come along with my parents. We thought after we were done watching the grand march we would head out for dinner. FACES was right around the corner and it was one of the only restaurants that had open reservations.
Made a reservation, then cancelled it and then we honored it. We didn’t think the grand march would last so long. We sent one from our party over to grab our table. He did and I guess was encouraged to wait outside my one of the wait staff. Okay…
We didn’t think we would make it so we cancelled, and then we were able to so we headed over and were seated right away by a lovely hostess/​manager? She was very nice and accommodating after all of our back and forth.
The space is charming and I bet even more charming when the park is all lit up.
Service was okay. Many had mentioned in other reviews I read that the service was hit and miss. I would have to agree. While our server was good, there were times when water refills and drink refills were overlooked. Not a huge biggie, just an observation.
Food:
I decided to order the skirt steak special: I absolutely love steak. Unfortunately this was more like gnawing on an old piece of leather. 4 pieces of old leather. Really well done and just not appealing. It came with hand cut fries which I love and am a bit of a fry snob. These were really over done almost too crispy– but some people like em that way.
My mom ordered the Monte Cristo which I have to agree with her. It just tasted odd and weird and more like fish. Perhaps we didn’t care for the sweet bread and gruyère together– it was just an odd tasting concoction.
Dad and J ordered the Thai Chicken salads. Tasted the local, free range chicken which was meh. Bland and boring.
Everything I tried was just super underwhelming.
Our server asked about my steak and I told him what I thought. He was nice enough to make it up. He delivered a chocolate éclair to go. Very nice touch and completely unnecessary. Unfortunately, that too, just missed the mark.
Nice atmosphere and décor. I just wish we would have walked away more satisfied for what we paid.
Menu seemed a bit limited.
Not a horrible experience, but not the best either and that’s hard to say because our server was personable and the hostess/​manager? was lovely.

I hopped on the light rail for a quick lunch with some friends at a restaurant across the street from Mears Park. It «Faces» Mears Park. Get it? The outdoor patio looked awesome, except it was too cold out, even though it was late April. Boo.
The inside of the establishment reminds me of Mission American Food in Downtown Minneapolis, kind of upscale but modern and inviting.
The menu isn’t huge, but it does have a big wine list, but this was a work day lunch, it was Diet Coke for me. I saw pulled chicken Monte Cristo! «Yes please!, with greens instead of the fries» My friends got the fries and said they were pretty good.
Our waiter had the whole dining room of about 25 patrons, but he was in fine form. Very professional, refilled my Coke whenever it got dry, and checked on us every 10 or so minutes. He was just awesome!
It was awesome having Mears Park outside of the main window, the day was at least sunny, so the people watching was fun when we weren’t catching up on old times.
The Monte Cristo came out after about 10 minutes and looked beautiful. It was like two big slices of French toast with lots of pulled chicken inside. The slices of French toast were amazing and very creamy, but I did wish the chicken had a little more flavor. The texture was perfect, but kind of bland, almost tasted like cream of chicken soup tastes like. Just there.
The service and fantastic ambiance raises this place from a 3 to a 4, but it should really be about a 3 ½. We split the check 3 ways and it was $ 18 after tip, so a little pricey for lunch, but not terrible.

We went there for Valentine’s Day and I must say that this place is a joke.
We arrived there 10 minutes before our reservation time, but did not get sat until 45 minutes AFTER our reservation. While waiting in their makeshift lobby, I heard all kinds of commotion coming from the kitchen, including a loud «What the fu*k!!!» from one of the cooks.
When we finally did get to the table, it took forever for the waitress to approach or acknowledge us. When we went to order, my girlfriend attempted to order the Moroccan Chicken, yes I say attempted because they were OUT of chicken?! How does a place run out of chicken, let alone on Valentine’s Day.
So she ended up ordering the filet, and I got the risotto. The food was tasty but the portions were pathetic. I believe my girlfriends filet was 3 ounces? My risotto was also very small and left me hungry after I finished (it only took me about 3 minutes to finish my meal, and it is not like I am a big guy/​eater).
I had one glass of wine, my girlfriend had two, we had dessert, and our tab was over $ 130!
If I had known I would be paying that, I would have taken her to one of the nice steakhouses in Minneapolis where at least I would know what kind of experience we were going to get.
The manager didn’t seem to know what the hell she was doing, because there was a line of people at the host podium and they were not being addressed at all. I recall standing there 40 minutes after our reservation to ask where our table was, only to see her mingling with people already at their tables.
I am normally not a tough critic because in college I was a waiter at Red Lobster for four years and I know what it is like, but this place was a complete joke and I will never be back. I will also not let any friends knowingly enter this restaurant.
Anyway, two stars, and that is because although tiny and terrible value, the food was tasty.

What an experience! Faces has one of the most unique and flavorful menus in the Cities! With Moroccan and French influences, they use grassfed, farm raised, free roam, local and sustainable ingredients in their kitchen which prepares their meals per dish, per person at time of ordering, no «pre-​prepared frozen“nonsense here — Try a Tagine, my favorite is the Spicy Seafood, sooo many delicious flavors, and I love some heat to my food :)
Their bakery/​desserts are incredible! The Napoleon is OUT of this world! Talk about authentic, fresh French desserts!
You cannot beat their Happy Hour and the patio during the summer is one of the most popular places to enjoy the sights in Mears Park.
An awesome restaurant, friendly staff, timely service. I highly recommend it :)

St Paul — WHY ISN’T THIS PLACE CRAMMED FULL ALL OF THE TIME!!!
Apologies for yelling, but holy cats — what a great restaurant. It’s a shame it was so slow the other night when I visited.
+ Awesome interior space — thick beams, textured glass, very cool bar area
+ Very friendly and approachable servers and bartenders — very knowledgeable
+ Relaxed, calming vibe to the place
+ Excellent selection of wines and cocktails; decent tap selection
+ Good happy hour specials
+ Ordered the salad with kale, salmon, chèvre, and asparagus — wow
+ Salmon was cooked perfectly — nice crust/​char on the outside, medium rare inside
+ Asparagus was huge and superbly al dente
+ Balsamic reduction was excellent
+ Received dressing on the side; sampled — nice rosemary flavor
I had a few brews, made small talk with the staff, and left feeling completely satisfied. I’ll be returning, for sure. What a great place.