Magnolias Restaurant

Old school type cooking. Everything was delicious! I got the soup n sandwich combo, dang it was perfect! The fish was seasoned PERFECTLY! the Buffalo chicken sandwich was also good. Service was EXCELLENT! Can't wait to go back for breakfast. I would highly recommend this place as the prices were decent too.

We were greeted by friendly staff and got seats immediately. The French toast was AMAZING. Served with a generous side of bacon made a delicious breakfast. My husband got the western breakfast. It was a solid-delicious breakfast choice for him. The atmosphere was that of a real family restaurant. We will definitely be going back.

This place is perfect when you want breakfast! The service is always great. The weekend Steak breakfast special is my go to, but the choices on the menu are fun to explore. They also offer weekday breakfast specials. Portions are heavy and I like that. My new fave spot that I’ve been missing out on my whole life.

What a gem of Saint Paul’s east side. I’m so glad this place made it through the pandemic. Enjoyed a big helping of pancakes with real whipped butter and a delicious, simple blueberry syrup. I can’t decide if I like regular or blueberry syrup better. The service is humble, direct and attentive. This is exactly what you want and expect in a local restaurant. There’s an edgy attitude, and I like it. We enjoyed our meal and I look forward to coming back. Portions are generous and restaurant is clean, tidy and cozy.

The best French toast I have ever had *in my life*. Wow! They serve it with cinnamon butter! The bread was perfection, super soft but had a crunch on top, soaked through all the way through. Warm syrup! My husband had the Lumberjack breakfast and he was equally impressed!! When we come back to Minneapolis, we are absolutely coming here for breakfast. Such friendly service too! What a great place!

Clean, reasonably priced, fast and friendly service. Good size menu. Homestyle cooking. Specials I've tried and recommend: Beef stroganoff and Liver and onions dinners.

Grew up in the east side my whole life and finally stopped in got a bite. Looking forward to more meals. Great service and friendly staff.

Everything was alright. It seems like a basic diner. Most of the food is bland and some of it tasted extremely processed. The fish was freshly caught and fried. The seating is outdated and was uncomfortable for the handicapped or overweight in our group. In response to owner, I mean that is pretty much what I said. A 3 star literally means "It's okay." No one is blaming you for picking a small space for your restaurant, it's just important for some people to know that they may be uncomfortable or in pain before they decide to come there. It's mainly the gravy and soup pictured that tasted processed. Made from scratch can mean a lot of things, but even if it was made from mostly fresh ingredients, those two things didn't taste very good to us. If you hear this from multiple patrons maybe you can know what to tweak. Good fish though!

In the mood for homemade comfort food!?! Delicious, generous portions! Exceptional, friendly service! Cozy, comfortable ambiance! Best wait staff, bar-none! Reasonable prices!

"Waitress, my breakfast has disappeared." first experience, from a while ago. This is my second breakfast. Extensive menu, good food. Best food? No. Mostly, it's canned. In this case, the oil in the canned hash had soured a bit. Not enough for this mid-westerner to carp about. That doesn't happen if you make it from scratch. However, for the price these days, it's pretty reasonable. Also, I appreciate the ambience. Quiet. Very much 60s. You could almost see somebody famous walking in, and people would just nod. It's the neighborhood.

About 3 years ago (approx winter 2018/9) magnolia was sold with the original owner stipulating the menu must continue as it is- - flavor quality etc. It is VERY close/ same owner (#2) today. Walleye was my go to #1. It is very good and very close hence the 4 rating. Their FRESH roasted TURKEY entre is to DIE FOR !!!! Genuine slow cooked overnight, melts off the bone, JUICY sheer HEAVEN!!!! Served with HOME-made-from-scratch fresh mashed potatoes, perfect stuffing, thick gravy from the yummy drippings, and incredible fresh cranberry sauce - - has a gentle tang. All the food is fresh cooked from scratch. Remember this is home grown St. Paul local non- fancy/ gourmet natural comfort food that ALL the EXTREMELY loyal neighborhood locals have adored for three generations. This food has lots of genuine butter, quality ingredients and made from the heart. Their fried chicken is SHEAR heaven. The ranch and blue cheese dressing should be bottled and sold - - a #12. Really. Breakfast served all day and all a number 5- - a great light supper. He has had to raise his prices $2-$3 from those of the original owner. HURRY in October for this month's special - - - the roasted Turkey FULL dinner with a free piece of PIE. ( banana cream/ lemon meringue/ chocolate banana cream the best!) Enjoy!

Very rude server. Came in with my 10 year old nephew who asked for absolutely no gravy and she said are you sure? He said yes. We waited for a long time while others who were sat after us got served. She brought out his food with gravy all over absolutely everything and said is this okay. He is 10 and so I said no and she plainly said I'm asking him not you. We have been waiting for another half hour. She is super rude and mean. I will never be back here.

4.5 stars (biased breakfast food lover here) This little cute corner stop is such a gem. I felt so cozy and at home while sitting and catching up with a co-worker. I ordered the Lumberjack Breakfast: Hashbrown topped with two sausage patties and two fried eggs smothered in sausage gravy (no cheese) with two slices of wheat toast. And my co-worker ordered the Country friend Steak and Eggs. Service was wonderful and the food was throughly enjoyed. We left with a happy stomach. They have a parking lot in the back of the restaurant or you can park in the neighborhood. If you're lucky, you might be able to get street parking right in front of the building. Would highly recommend and yes, I would come back!

Cute restaurant with old charm neighborhood restaurant with wonderful staff and fantastic food that will not break the bank.

All I have to say is wow! This food was so amazing. Like a Classic Diner from when I was a kid in the 80's. Our waitress was amazing and did not smother us with too much service but also did not leave us abandoned. It was a fine balance of being aware and providing excellent service. I did not include photos but I had the T-Bone Steak and Eggs 'Breakfast Special' and it was soo tender and juicy and well seasoned. Thank you Magnolias. Definite 5 stars!

It's been 38 years since I last ate at Magnolia's. I grew up blocks away. I can hardly believe it still exists, and I don't think much has changed. This is an East Side staple - where locals eat often and the waitress knows their names and their orders as soon as they walk in. She'll call you "dear" whether she knows you or not. You'll hear the locals talking about their cares. My family used to come here for their Prime Rib special. For nostalgia sake I returned, this time for breakfast. I had the Eye Opener - two slices of French Toast, scrambled eggs, and sausage patties. It was spot on, precisely what you're looking for in a breakfast and the French Toast was, as they say, the best in town. I loved the cinnamon topping. Thanks for the delicious breakfast and the memories.

As a classic diner goes, I was thoroughly surprised. Upon entering it, I thought, "ain't no way any instagrammers are gonna be here." But after I ate the French toast, I felt an obligation to let the social media warriors know about this place so they could rave about it! Again, comparing this to other classic diners, this was excellent. The menu states that you'd have a hard time finding better French toast and I think I'd have to agree. You could probably find better at a more expensive, very artisan restaurant, but I'd be surprised. Very thick too! Filled me up! The BLT and the wild rice soup were also excellent from getting to sample my wife's meal. Overall, expect a better than average diner meal with a small, very close quarters restaurant. Would for sure go back. Service was solid and very much to be expected. The food did get prepared quickly even with the several, and I mean several, orders to go that were flying out of this place! Give it a shot!

It's always good tasting, service is fabulous, gives you that older dining experience.

Great little spot that serves up familiar favorites and a reasonable price. Service is friendly and expedient. The food came out fast and hot. I can't get enough of a good Denver anything so I loved their variation with a hashbrown base, cheese, eggs of your choice, and the Denver items on top. Small gripe would be the toast; it would go a long way to serve a local bakery's yummy bread versus the basic sandwich white bread. Overall we like the quaint atmosphere and would go back again.

Went to get a chicken parmigiana and when I got home I noticed the noodles were dry and had barely any sauce on it, called in just to get told "it looked fine" sorry! Won't be returning and I do not recommend anyone going there, service and the whole place has gone done hill as of lately

Do you like diner food? Then you'll love Magnolias. They have a large batch of regulars, don't be shocked if they are too full of bodies to seat you. Not my fave place, but they are absolutely consistent. Their servers are attentive, and keep your coffee full. Looking for a greasy breakfast to cure what ails you? This is the place. I've heard great things about their fish fry, so will be back in the spring.

Good food of the southern type. Biscuits and gravy, sausage ect. Very good and the waitress is entertaining. They banter back and forth with you, I'm accustomed to this behavior and actually prefer it, we don't have to be so serious. They make suggestions if you do not like the standard fare. I will be back, and maybe I can give you all a better idea of their menu. Or you can just try it American Breakfastyourself. It reminds me of restaurants from back in the day, very comfortable and homey.

After a long 12 hr shift at work, I wanted to eat a nice hot breakfast. I immediately thought of Denny's and IHOPS but decided to try Magnolias Restaurant. I arrived with no wait and sat myself. Waitress came over quickly and asked what I wanted to drink. I order a tall glass of their OJ. The OJ is actually really good... refreshing! Anyhow, I order the Lumberjack Breakfast platter. It's super loaded... very good choice if you're super hungry. Cones with hash browns, two eggs, two sausage patties and smothered over gravy! Yum!!!! Go try them and stop reading my post!!!

Stopped here over the weekend for the first time after seeing the rave reviews, and was not disappointed! I walked in during a heavy downpour, and was immediately blanketed by a very cozy ambiance; walking into Magnolia's is almost like stepping through a time portal to a simpler time thirty years ago. I was greeted warmly and waited a minute before getting seated, and promptly served. I wasn't super hungry so just tried the basic breakfast with two scrambled eggs (perfect), hash-browns (perfectly crispy cooked), and the rye toast (excellent). I especially liked that the jams brought to the table included a "natural" kind (which didn't include high fructose corn syrup-which a human being shouldn't ever consume). Everything was cooked perfectly, especially the hash-browns, which no diner seems to get right (usually under-cooked). The service was prompt and super friendly, and had a familial atmosphere. Definitely will be back!

Conveniently located little diner with friendly and attentive staff that really make the experience memorable. Jess was fantastic! They have a wide variety of menu items and portions are large enough to share. Blueberry pancakes were DELICIOUS and loaded with fresh blueberries! We will be back as we love to support the local businesses!

Pretty much my favorite pick for "family restaurant" on the East Side. Really have never had a bad experience here. Service is friendly, food is fresh and delicious, and you can tell they care about quality. Definitely recommend.

Tonight we ordered a chicken dinner to go. Everything was fresh and delicious. Magnolia's does a great job with takeout orders; everything was packaged perfectly and the service is always perfect. The main entrees are always perfect and tasty/ home cooked flavorful, but the main reason I think of Magnolia's is their pie. Yes, it's the last thing you eat but it's the first thing I think of. We never leave without at least taking pie with us. They serve the best banana cream pie I've ever had!

I came to Magnolias for Brunch with some colleagues one day. It was my first time in this part of town, so I wasn't sure what to expect. When I first walked in I was reminded of a few low-key Wisconsin hangouts that I had frequented in my past. It was small, busy and the locals seemed to all know each other. Got a very friendly feel about the whole place! Now, on to the food! My first impression was WOW when all of our plates arrived. Our skilled server managed to handle 4 large plates all at once, as she swiftly placed them in front of us. We got all kinds of breakfast / brunch food. I ordered coffee and it was hot and fresh. Everyone got some variation of breakfast - pancakes, eggs, sausages, bacon, biscuits and gravy! Oh my. I had the Rancher breakfast with a side of biscuits and gravy. It comes with Eggs and Steak. The sirloin steak was cooked perfectly, and I got my eggs scrambled and they weren't runny. Always a plus! For my hashbrowns, I ordered them with cheddar cheese, and they arrived hot and greasy, just the way hashbrowns should be. It was delicious! I like how they have homemade cakes and pies for dessert, but we didn't partake of that, being too full from our brunch. They have weekly specials which looked great. A few friendly locals sat around, chatting. The servers / waitstaff and cooks knew the locals and you could tell it was one of those neighborhood joints! Cozy. Warm. Inviting. Amazing food, cute interior. I'd definitely be back for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

First time trying Magnolias & I enjoyed every bite of my meal! Really great customer service & great quality of food as well.

We have been going to 'Maggie's' for years, and it kills me to write a bad review for them. The food is almost always wonderful, the service good, and yet my husband, the original East-Sider says he'll never go back. Last week, we thought we had a new exceptional waitress.....until we got to the cash register. Our bill was $28.08. We gave her $50.00 and 8 cents. Simple math, $22 in change. Instead she hands him a few fives and a fistful of ones. He saw something was off, and sure enough she short-changed him. (we left a very good tip) The next day he called to talk to the manager, and she was very rude to him, it just had to be an honest mistake, blablabla. But the kicker was when she said she 'supposed she could scrape up a few ones' to make up the difference. What kind of manager talks to a customer like that. That's when he decided to leave 30 years of custom behind.

Kept seeing their Ad on Facebook...and got a hunger for Fried Chicken. Easy to order. 30 minute pick up time. Was ready and waiting when I arrived. Friendly waitress. Was somewhat disappointed she didn't have a mask on. Price was good. Got the 8 piece meal. Food was good. Not outstanding but I like my food hot and fresh. Takeout does not equate that!!! Not their fault! I will return and eat in next time. Hot and fresh!

My boyfriend and I came here on a Sunday afternoon and they were pretty busy. Luckily someone just left so we were able to get seated right away. Our waitress was great! She was nice, informative, and attentive to our requests. We both had the chicken wild rice soup and it was delicious! It was thick, creamy, and came in decent serving size. His sandwich was also very good. We were impressed at how great the food and service was. Definitely coming back to try more things on the menu.

Love this place! The food is delicious! The restaurant is small, so if you don't like being in close proximity of people you might want to get your food to go. The waitstaff are nice, but seem overworked. Tip them well! Price is reasonable! 4 stars given mainly for food!

The best breakfast joint ever! Came here a few times and never once was disappointed. The French toasts are the best! So fluffy!!

Wanted to have a nice meal but couldn't..We Sat for 15 mins & no server came to us. We were told our sever never came she just kept walking past us, so finally we just got up & left & as we were leaving the server said by..wowwww never been treated like that

Popular spot for a Sunday afternoon. They had a waitlist when we arrived. They called my partner and I at 12:45p. Once seated it took about 10 minutes to get a menu. We did not get our food until 1:30p (45mins after we were seated). Food is mediocre. There seemed to be no sense of urgency. We asked for one to-go box and it took our server 5mins. The server came back and apologized she took so long because she had a large to-go order for a family with kids... I really wanted to support a local restaurant but next time I will opt for Ihop instead.

My family and I found this place by random while we were in the area and after eating here I would have to say that we were very glad with our choice to eat here. We were greeted as soon as we walked in and we sat ourselves. Our server got us our drinks right away and as soon as we were ready to order she was there to take it. We started out with wild rice soup and she recommended the coleslaw, which was really amazing, cold creamy and crispy. The dressing tasted amazing. I got the char broiled chicken salad and my mom and sister split the big fish sandwich. The salad was over flowing out if the bowl and the fish sandwich was so big you could barely fit it in your mouth. The salad had freshly grilled chicken that tasted like it came straight off the grill and the fish sandwich was fresh and hot and crispy. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for friendly fast service with fresh made to oeder food at a reasonable price.

Magnolias is a Saint Paul staple! Classic diner food cooked fresh and made delicious! The portions are huge and the the prices are great! I have tried a few things on their menu from their biscuits and gravy to their fish sandwich! Their pies are yummy too!

I just ate the best blueberry pancakes that I have ever had in my life, Very very busy place, We obviously are late to the party. The staff were well informed and seemed to care about the success of the business

At this time of pandemic and social unrest, I have seen restaurants all over go the extra mile to provide exemplary service as a way of thanking customers for their support. In the case of Magnolias, I am in disbelief of today's events. I called in a pick up order and got a 30 minute wait time. Fine and reasonable. I headed over only to learn that the person who took my phone call never submitted my order. How does this happen? I can understand possibly an Internet order getting missed, but an actual phone call with another human? The counter staff asked if I wanted to wait another half hour. Absolutely not! There are plenty of other deserving businesses that will actually cook the food after I call an order in.

Went for a visit. My mother in law worked here for 38 years prior to passing away two years ago. Went with a group of nine people. It was around 745 and we ordered within about 20 minutes. I will tell you the things that you need to try for sure are the fried chicken and soups. I went with the beef and barley soup. Wife had the cream of chicken and wild rice. The soups are awesome, stick to your ribs good. I decided to try the fish fry dinner. 3 pieces of cod and fries, delicious, the cod was flaky and the batter was just right. The other members ordered fried chicken which seemed to be very good according to them. Service was a little slow but in the end it all balanced out. This is a great downtown little hole in the wall with a large selection of food at a reasonable price. Give it a shot.

I've been coming here for years with my family and the food here never disappoints. Their chicken wild rice soup is my go to soup everytime. Love the staff and cooks in the back. Best family restaurant in east St. Paul

as usual I go into a restaurant hoping to have a good experience and I sort of did .The waitress Jess tried so hard for me to have that experience I ordered a cheeseburger and medium rare and he got it wrong both times so Jess took it off my check thanks Jess for making me enjoy half a meal

If a local greasy spoon is what you desire, this is it. Really good home style cooking. I had a western omelette that was stuffed full with tasty filling. My son had pancakes which look amazing. No frills, very friendly and homey. Surrounded by locals catching up over coffee. Really good experience!

Pretty freakin' awesome. You want coffee? Here's your own little pot of it. Glutton. Breakfast all day = ultimate win in my book. The menu is super varied and kinda huge! Breakfast, fried chicken, spaghetti and meatballs...seriously, "extensive" is a bit of an understatement. They also offer weekly specials, such as Swedish meatballs or stroganoff. I love both of those things. My roast beef hash could have used a bit more salt, but the hash browns, perfectly cooked over-easy eggs, and AWESOMELY HUGE CHOCOLATE MUFFIN (yes all caps) more than made up for that. Not super greasy either! I like it when I don't get sick from greasy spoon diner-type food. A huge plus too is that they offer Hormel corned beef hash, and for those "in the know", that stuff is golden. So if you happen to be in east side StP, stop by Magnolias. Another example of a St. Paul gem.

Sunday Breakfast: My friend and I had breakfast at Magnolias on a late Sunday AM. I love supporting locally owned restaurants. I recall coming to this place when I was a young girl. My mom loved the open-faced turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. Any who, back to my breakfast. My friend had steak and eggs, which he enjoyed. I had pancakes and coffee. There was nothing extraordinary about our meals but we were both satisfied. The service was pretty good too. I would definitely return to Magnolias if I'm in the area. I'd recommend checking this place out if you're looking for a simple breakfast in the St. Paul area. (My friend echos this recommendation) Perhaps next time I will try the blueberry pancakes. Yay for locally owned restaurants!!

This place is like a small town restaurant that was accented by light pastels and fake plants. If you lived in a small town at one point in your life, you know what I'm talking about. Their food is made from scratch and tastes like small family cooking. I had their fried chicken dinner. It was all very good, but their highlight for me was the coleslaw. I would buy this stuff all by itself for BBQs and such at home. It was so tasty. The ambiance is quaint and the people are nice. Prices are pretty comparable to other places like this. A nice touch of small town living in Eastside St. Paul.

Strike one: canned orange juice. I still had hope, so I ordered the American Breakfast with blueberry pancakes. Now, did I order blueberry syrup or blueberry water? Because I definitely got some clear water substance with a tint of purple and no flavor that just made my pancake soggy. Good news, the pancake was filled with blueberries- sour ones. I ordered my eggs scrambled and you could see the grease glistening off them. Not flavorful, but definitely overfilled with oil. The sausage just tasted weird?? Bacon wasn't crispy and was limp and just fat. I asked for whipped cream and it tasted like the frosting on cheap cakes at the grocery store. Overall, i have no idea why this place is busy or has high ratings. We also had the turkey gravy sandwich, had to pay extra for the cranberry sauce that was disgusting. Coming back? Hell no, bye.

American diner with a friendly, personable staff. Great for groups. The breakfast is the most important meal of the day. There is a deal menu for each part of the day as well as specials and items of the day. The eating space is comfortable and the flavors compliment each other. Nice portions you can take some to go. Good in Minnesota. Not something you'd slap your momma for. Very casual, classic meals.

Enclosed is a photo of the daily special list. If you can't find something on here then maybe the six page menu will be more helpful. We found it infuriating since it just made the choices harder. The Fried Chicken is slap-to-momma good as is the Walleye. Hell, even the Chef Salad is huge and loaded with goodies. Steak was ehh but I never would have ordered that over comfort food anyway. Homemade pie to finish it off. (Included in the dinner special of grilled pork chops that I had) Even the waitress had just the right amount of sass. Be prepared to wait in line for the Friday Fish Fry- my only surprise is that there isn't a line every night. Come hungry.

Best. Breakfast. Food. In. Saint. Paul. I usually don't like Breakfast Food but since theirs is so good. Highly Recommend.

I dine at this restaurant for the first time today. It was really good I had the French Dip combo with clam chowder really good. I would highly recommend .

I've been here for breakfast every Saturday for about 3 months. It's diner style food. This isn't a fancy place. Comparing this restaurant to the chains like Ihop, Perkins, Baker's square, and Dennys.. this is my pick. I appreciate the quality and freshness in addition to some well seasoned items like the chicken and rice soup. Yes not everything is well seasoned, most likely due to the nature of Minnesota residents. I find the people here are a little afraid of more than salt and pepper. I am a ranch lover and their ranch tastes homemade. It goes great on everything. This place is always busy and parking is on the street. There is only one bathroom. So people.. come get the food, eat it, and then go home to relax and go to the loo!

I really wanted to love this restaurant! Let me start by saying our waitress was very friendly. The food was not good with the exception of the French toast (which I thought was delicious). I had the rancher breakfast and my son had the eye opener. Both of our eggs were over cooked. My son ordered his over easy and I ordered mine over medium. They were both very close to over hard. My son enjoyed his pancakes and said they were pretty good. My breakfast also came with home fries that were slightly under done and without seasoning. It also came with a 6 oz sirloin steak which I ordered medium rare. The first time they cooked it it was almost well done so I sent it back and asked for a new one. After I was done eating they finally brought out another steak, which was also over cooked but not quite as much as the first one and I didn't have time to send it back again. It was also without flavor. Our breakfast left me sad and a little nauseous all day. I did not try any of their lunch or dinner food so I'm not sure how that is but if I do ever decide to try it again I will probably stick with the French toast.

This is the greatest place to eat with your family the people that work there a friendly and so welcoming my children and I go there at least twice a week or order pick up.

Stopped here this morning around 10am. Seated ourselves and was greeted shortly with a great attitude and smile. Both the wife and I had coffee, it was just perfect. I had the American breakfast? With the biscuit and gravy. The American breakfast came with hashbrowns, choice of sausage or bacon and two eggs plus a side of your fiber. The amount of food here is a little over the average size breakfast which is good. All of the items on my plate was cooked to perfection. This was my first time here ever since being an eastsider for many years and I was missing out! No more Perkins for me! This place is definitely worth a visit.

Quick friendly service. Price is very good and decent. Food is so delicious and big portions. Normally I like to add some extra seasoning or something to my plate but the food is perfect the way it is. Size of restaurant is small but cozy. Everyone from staff to customers are all friendly. Definitely going back for more. New favorite restaurant. I agree with the great reviews here about this restaurant.

I went to magnolia restaurant this morning, and order country fried steak, French toast. The food was good. My order came in about 13 minutes, nice a pack up, to go order. The staff was nice.