1881 Eating House

Yummm! Ordered salads, a burger, and the butternut squash ravioli. 🤌 A lot of food. The cider mocktail was a bit disappointing, tasted a lit like giner beer and lemon juice and not much else. Ordered the Lake Elmo speciality dessert and it wasnt our favorite, but it was fun to try.

Saw that 1881 Eating House unveiled some new happy hour menu items and I wanted to check it out! Happy Hour is from a generous 2-6PM. Since Barrio left Lowertown, I've wanted to find a place that has tacos. They serve these tacos as apart of their happy hour menu, which are stacked HIGH with fresh ingredients. They include jalapeños in them, which offers a nice kick, but pairs well with the pickled red onions and crema sauce. Definitely a delightful eat I'll come back for. I also enjoyed the sangria, which is $8 on the happy hour menu, but they also have other kinds of drinks discounted, including a Pyres Raspberry Sour that I'd love to try.I was less a fan of the fries, but I can't quite place why. They're served with a mornay sauce, and I think I might just not be a fan of it. It doesn't have a strong flavor or taste. But with so many items on the menu, I think there TONS of reasons to come back here. The atmosphere and space is gorgeous, with plenty of tables and seats. Service was sweet and attentive but it did take them a while to get back to me here and there. An added bonus? If you eat here and keep your receipt, you can get 10% off at Storyline Books, which is right within the building.

I live in the area and was hoping 1881 might be a new go-to spot, but based on my experience last night I won’t be returning any time soon. Service was extremely slow and every employee we interacted with except for our bartender seemed miserable. One server was already closing down the patio at 7:45pm, like they were nonverbally pushing us all out. At one point, a man who appeared to be a back-of-house team member was running food out to the patio, and mumbling something about not knowing where the waitress went. The $28 we spent on the charcuterie board would’ve been better spent at Target getting all the same exact ingredients - and about 4x the servings. Both mine and my date’s ahi tuna steaks in our main dishes were overcooked. Lastly, I ordered both the red and white sangrias, and they may have been the worst sangrias I’ve ever had. My date and I couldn’t figure out if the wine was super cheap, if the fruit wasn’t ripe, or both. Either way, both were nearly spilling out of my tiny plastic cup, filled to the brim with ice. Not impressive at $12/drink. 1881’s location and concept is great - I think they just need some better staff and a little more love given to their dishes.

I do actually like this place. The food is good, the people are excellent. But the house Manhattan. The house manhattan. It has become a flavorless, vibeless, soulless extraction of money. It is now half the size, a hundredth of the flavor and comes with...(foam?). For the price, I expect and roch, flavorful and balanced cocktail. A classic. There is a bitterness approaching sadness, and it is NOT the bartenders fault. It is the bar program and the lack of joy. The two luxardo cherries were appreciated, but I'd greatly appreciate some whiskey in my drink as well. The pictured coupe is maybe 5oz, with 2.53oz of beverage at best. $35 for two of what's pictured, before tip.

My husband & I came here for our anniversary & we had the most amazing time. For starters, it’s such a cute ambiance inside of the Union Depot & being able to enjoy the building itself while eating dinner. We shared the crab cakes as an appetizer & I would say it was without a doubt the best crab cakes I have ever had. For dinner I got the butternut squash ravioli & my husband got the 10 oz rib eye. Both of our dinners were outstanding! For dessert we got the French silk & the carrot cake which we probably didn’t need two desserts but wow were they both incredible. Lastly, our waitress Corrie was just a delight. She was so friendly & nice & really made our evening memorable. We can’t wait to come back & can’t recommend it enough!

Six of us recently spent a fantastic Happy Hour at 1881. We were warmly greeted by multiple members of the staff. And the quality of service was consistently excellent for our entire time at 1881. We had a great table in the fabulous St. Paul Depot setting. The layout of the restaurant is very cool and the acoustics allowed for easy conversations. We sampled most of the Happy Hour specials and they were all delicious. While we all had our personal favorites, the Sunny Sliders and the Wings were high on everyone’s list. Portion sizes were generous and priced fairly. They had a great variety of beverages which were both creative and delicious. This was not our first time here, but this visit motivated our entire group to come back here more often. Parking options include some street spots and plenty of indoor spaces that allow direct, indoor access to the St. Paul Depot.

Have been here twice in two weekends because of how good it is. The service is wonderful, there's an expansive liquor selection, and we haven't met a dish that wasn't amazing. Can't wait to keep coming back!

Came for dinner when there was a whole prom and art fair going on, but absolutely LOVED it. Classy atmosphere, delicious fish n chips & mocktails, and wonderful server—Corrine!! Could not be happier. Portion size was also enough for two not-so-hungry ladies to share!