Howard's Bar
Restaurant · Stillwater ·
Hand-trimmed ribeyes, fresh pasta lasagna, and trout dip.
Hand-trimmed ribeyes, fresh pasta lasagna, and trout dip.
"Local Minnesota musician Caroline Smith and her partner, chef Adam To (formerly of LA restaurant Trois Mec) bought Whitey’s Bar on Main Street, renaming it Howard’s. They’ve stayed true to Whitey’s cozy, hometown bar vibes, and introduced a stellar brunch and dinner menu with highlights like a prime rib Benedict, meatloaf, and lasagna made with fresh pasta sheets. Alongside wine, beer, and soda, there’s fresh squeezed juice behind the bar." - Eater Staff
"After buying the longtime Whitey's and quietly operating it for months, the owners reopened the space this month as Howard's Bar, a comfy Stillwater hangout and restaurant named after their Staffordshire terrier mix. It's first and foremost a bar — serving beer, wine and rail drinks and even featuring a pull-tab station in the back corner — but it also offers quality meals alongside bar standards: a classic cheeseburger, gooey cheese curds, a full sandwich menu and nostalgic items like a bacon-and-ketchup-topped meatloaf. The menu expands into supper-club territory with lasagna made from fresh pasta sheets, house-trimmed rib-eyes with loaded baked potatoes, and smoked trout dip with a toasted baguette. Adam To, who cooks five days a week and brings experience from both Midwestern kitchens and a focused, high-end stint in Los Angeles, aims for organized, small-batch prep and familiar, comforting food rather than brigade-style intensity. The space leans into '70s basement vibes with wood paneling, neon signs, paintings and posters, and taxidermied deer and cow heads for a warm, cozy, slightly messy Minnesota dive feel; a red neon sign reading “I remember when it was John’s Bar” nods to the place's history. Many staffers are holdovers from Whitey's, the dog Howard makes regular cameo appearances, and the owners live above the bar while raising their son, hoping to serve the people of Stillwater through winter and beyond." - Eater
"Local Minnesota musician Caroline Smith and her partner, chef Adam To (formerly of LA restaurant Trois Mec) bought Whitey’s Bar on Main Street, renaming it Howard’s. They’ve stayed true to Whitey’s cozy, hometown bar vibes, and introduced a stellar menu with highlights like hand-trimmed ribeyes, meatloaf, and lasagna made with fresh pasta sheets. As always, juice is pressed fresh behind the bar." - Justine Jones, Eater Staff
"The Howard’s menu will feature American saloon-style classics, says To, like wings, a Cobb salad, steelhead trout dip with the fish smoked in-house, and a local Peterson Craftsman Meats burger. He’ll be rolling fresh pasta sheets for a sweet Italian sausage and ricotta lasagna, and trimming whole ribeyes in-house, which he’ll serve with loaded baked potatoes au jus. There’ll be no cocktail menu — Howard’s will have a rail bar, with beers on tap. And, of course, pull tabs. 'It’s very Minnesota,' says To. 'We really want it to feel really comfortable and small-town.' They’ll be sourcing ingredients locally, but keeping prices affordable and the vibe understated and unpretentious. 'What’s cool about it is we’re calling it Howard’s Bar — it’s not Howard’s Bar and Eatery. It’s like, boom, you get great food, and really great specials.'" - Justine Jones
"Local Minnesota musician Caroline Smith and her partner, chef Adam To (formerly of LA restaurant Trois Mec) bought Whitey’s Bar on Main Street, renaming it Howard’s. They’ve stayed true to Whitey’s cozy, hometown bar vibes, and introduced a stellar menu with highlights like hand-trimmed ribeyes, meatloaf, and lasagna made with fresh pasta sheets. As always, juice is pressed fresh behind the bar." - Justine Jones
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