Howard's Bar

Highly recommend. We just love Howard’s!! The cheese curds are incredible, and the food and drinks never fail us. Service is kind and welcoming. The atmosphere is cool. This is a spot we’ll always go back to and really appreciate having in Stillwater :)

Boyfriend and I are from Rochester and had a little date night in Stillwater this past weekend and fell in LOVEEEEE with the drinks, the food, the atmosphere, and our service was great as well. He had the lasagna dinner which was full of distinct layers of cheese, meat, and noodles! AND FULL OF FLAVOR. I had the Reuben with fries and it was the best Reuben I’ve had for a dine in restaurant that wasn’t made in our home. Everything was hot and delicious. Let alone fairly priced!!!! Will be back again and will bring others! Thanks for a memorable meal!

The best hamburger and fries. It really is. Bartender was fun and nice older bar feel.

We had 2 double cheeseburgers and a Florentino omelet. All were cooked to perfection including properly cooked hash browns. 2 long islands were scratch made and tasted great. Our waitress, Felicia was awesome. She was very efficient and had a really good smile, makes asking or ordering so much nicer.

As someone who’s had to be GF for the last 15 years, I’m perpetually prepared to be underwhelmed by any GF bread at a restaurant, hamburger buns being the worst. They’re usually dried out, lifeless, and I end up removing them. Well not only was my burger fantastic, but I kept the whole bun on that accompanied it. Haven’t had a burger experience that delicious in years. We’ll be back!

Happened upon this location walking through town. Did not know what to expect. Found the absolute best cheese curds I have ever had!!! The prime rib was incredibly tender (wish there was some sort of seasoning applied). Fast and friendly service a true plus.

Saturday brunch was so good. I had fresh squeezed OJ and split eggs benedict and corned beef hash with my sister. Loved them both.

Favorite bar in Stillwater, hands down! Such a happy and fun place to be, with the best food. The burger is top-notch, fries are perfect, the crab salad BLT is next-level. The staff is the cherry on top.

Ambiance of A Dive Bar with Class - Best Food - Chef is well known for his ability - Top Shelf Spirits & Beer - cold and fast - Staff Rocks - owner is an international rock star - Patrons - keep stories coming with a smile - Location - You will see when ya go What else does one need .... - Oh yeah... pull tabs. See ya there

This place is the perfect small town bar. We went for an early dinner and the place was pretty quiet. The mellow mood was great. Our waitress was lovely and got us what we asked for quickly. And the food was fantastic!!! The burgers are great and the tater tots are to die for. I would avoid the fries because they were very oily and had a bad aftertaste. But make sure to get the cheese curds for an appetizer because the dill pickle ranch was amazing! Overall I highly recommend this adorable bar and make sure to check out the bathrooms (they rule).

Great music, cold drinks and a fun atmosphere. Definitely a place to stop in and be. Appreciate the local feel and conversation. The service was on point. We were greeted, waters brought to the table and car bombs promptly delivered. Also took our pictures and gave us a bag for our to go. Wish we found this earlier in the day so we could have stayed longer.

We drive from St. Paul consistently for this gem. The staff is lovely and the food is amazing; you can't miss the trout dip, the lasagna, the crab BLT, or the prime rib if it's on the menu. And though cheese curds are something you'll find on many menus in the area, Howard's are hands-down the best.

Very delicious Rib eye dinner for $29.00, There special tonight was actually a prime rib dinner for $32.00 but this caught my attention more. Done to perfection, not much fat SUPER flavorful! The asparagus was crunchy and delicious too and the loaded baked potato was filled with cheese goodness and bacon. They brought horsey sauce and au jus out too with the steak which was a nice touch even though we didn't order the prime rib. Heard the new owner was a Michelin star chef before he bought this place. Made a good choice eating here, general bar looking place.

As a Stillwater resident and industry worker I'm very present in the downtown scene. There are very few places I choose to call home and Howard's is one. The food is ridiculously good and consistent. The ownership is fantastic and from tip to tail the staff is the best in town. Summer people/ Some aren't. If you're visiting Stillwater and want to go where the locals go... This is it.

This record for Howard's bar has inherited all the reviews and photos from its predecessor, Whitey's, so keep that in mind when considering-- few of these reviews and none of the photos are from the current ownership. Unfortunately I failed to take new photos (d'oh!!) to help refresh the page, but the new owners of Howard's have brought some serious chops (the chef has worked at a Michelin star restaurant) to revitalize the menu and overall food quality while still maintaining many of the beloved features of Whitey's. We tried the curds to start and they were fabulous! Excellent batter and they were served piping hot and melty. They come with a dill pickle ranch that even my pickle-hating husband enjoyed. For entrees we had the lasagna and the walleye poboy. The poboy was crispy and came with tasty sauce/toppings. The one disappointment was the lasagna-- it could have been served hotter and meltier, and was a bit heavy on the ricotta. Despite that, we felt this place was closer to 5 stars than 4 and want to come back to sample more of the menu. This is a dive bar atmosphere but it was pretty clean, and service was fast and pleasant. I will definitely come back to Howard's the next time I'm in Stillwater!

Fun, comfortable joint in an adorable little midwestern town! Laid back, "dive bar" atmosphere, but great food and very friendly service! My 8 yo Mac n cheese aficionado was very impressed with the homemade Mac n cheese and my husband said it was the best burger he's ever had! Will definitely be back soon!

This is a great classic dive-bar in downtown Stillwater. It used to be called Whitey's. Since the change in owner, the menu has been updated. The look and feel though of the space remains. The brunch menu is very typical, but done well. I tried the Denver Omelette with smoked ham. The ham and veggies were cut consistently and cooked well. I liked how the peppers still had some crunch. The eggs were cage-free. The home fries were fried very well, and had a nice seasoning. We live in Stillwater and this spot will be on our brunch rotation.

We were excited to check out Howard's since Whiteys closed. We went to celebrate my mom in laws bday...laid back style. The restaurant at this time was quite busy and happened to be during one of the twins playoff games. I'm gluten free and didn't see many gfree options. I opted for the rib eye with asparagus and a baked potato. It was just alright but wish the food wasn't all squished on a sort of medium sized plate. Everyone else enjoyed their meal...I'd stop in again for a drink and check out the bar area.

Unfortunately, our lunch was Very Disappointing. Overcooked food Greasy French fries

Prime rib was a hit! Asparagus was crisp, potato had cheese, bacon and sour cream on it. The beef was tender and cooked medium rare (skewing more to the rare side). My friend asked for medium (hard to do) and he got a more medium rare piece so I suggest you really emphasize the medium part if you like it that way. (A crime in my book though!) it was busy but we got our food fairly quickly . We were even there for HH prices so even better! My daughter had the chicken wild rice soup and ate the whole bowl. Server was friendly. For $26 a plate it was really reasonable and delicious! Id go again.

had the Howard's Burger and fresh cut fries for lunch, fantastic! Friendly staff and great service.

just ok and not worth the prices. no care from cooks or owner. one order was their prime rib Philly that was describbed from the terrible waitress as very good with almost rear meat. not even close. we had to send it back from being so over cooked it crumbled, and hardly any meat. the owner just stood behind the bar with no care of the return. fries were absolutely disgusting. the walleye sandwich looked great but was very bland with no sauce or any topping of anything, just the fish and a piece of very wilted lettuce. we overall expected better for the $20 per sandwich. Nowadays with the high wages and high prices, their is no excuse for not giving a crap. It's a place for a drink, which is maybe all they want.

Now skimpy sandwiches and smaller portions. Something has changed. Same great service.

Always great food and service!! Nowhere as noisy as Brian's!! Morgan makes GREAT Long Island Teas as well!!!

My friend and I went to Stillwater for a little getaway. I had read about Howard's in the Tribune and Eater Twin Cities so it was our first stop. It has a divey kinda vibe, which we loved. We ordered a beer and chatted with the bartender, Rayna. We tried the smoked trout dip and it was delicious! Next day we came back for dinner, and had the Lasagna. It was so freaking good...great flavor and texture. The noodles were perfection, the sauce was heaven. The following day we popped in for lunch. We had sandwiches. I had a Patty Melt, and it was great...the sauce and other extras elevated the sandwich to a place much better than average! The service was so good here, we were lucky to get Rayna every time. She gave us great advice on places to go on our visit, and was our unofficial ambassador to Stillwater. She gave a recommendation for dinner and even made reservations for us. Above and beyond for sure. I would definitely recommend Howard's. Food and service are exceptional.

excellent food, grilled walleye or meatloaf with al dente asparagus and hard not to finish mashed potatoes. great vibe, good drinks, terrific service and a handsome wood bar to lean on! Executive chef now owns this bar and he must be in the kitchen!

Meh food. Not a very exciting breakfast menu. Sirloin steak was tough, biscuits and gravy were not very tasty. I'd skip this place.

Historic building, fun staff, great food at a reasonable price. I love the chili and the fresh squeezed grapefruit cocktails.