The Tap has started to grow on me over the years. No, I'm still not too likely to go out of my way to stop in, but for a neighborhood pub they're doing things pretty well.
The draught beer list remains fairly sizable and they've been doing an admirable job filling said tap lines with a number of local and regional craft beers (they also always have one cask conditioned ale). They also have wine, but don't bring your sommelier friend lest you be made to look a fool. Also, there's no hard stuff (i.e., liquor) to be found here due to this part of St. Paul's yearning to relive parts of prohibition.
Food remains standard bar fare with the typical Minnesota twists; burgers with cheese stuffed inside, wings, curds, fried fish, etc. While nothing is exceptional, it's fine for what it is, though the turkey burger or fish tacos are typically what end up in front of me.
Overall, it's a good neighborhood bar, which explains why it's usually quite busy.
I frequent the Groveland Tap pretty often because I live pretty close by and it offers a great neighborhood atmosphere... great place to watch a game, grab a quick bite, or just grab a beer with friends.
Service can be spotty at times, depending on when you go (they stay pretty busy and seem often understaffed), but is never terrible or so bad it's note-worthy. They don't offer liquor, but have a great beer list featuring something for most everybody and a lot of local brews as well.
As far as the food goes, it's actually pretty average overall. I would describe it as slightly above-average bar food, with a few peculiar menu items sprinkled in such as perogies, welsh rarebit, or poutine. That said, the wings here are actually very good. I get the dry-rub cajun style almost every time I come. If you are looking for a Juicy Lucy, the offering here is average at best. Head to Matt's Bar or 5-8 in Minneapolis or Shamrock's or The Nook in St. Paul. Between them, those are the best Juicy Lucy burgers in the cities in my opinion.
All said and done, the Groveland tap offers friendly service, a great neighborhood atmosphere, and a great beer list. Come for wings and a beer with friends or family and you won't be disappointed.
So I was in the Twin Cities area for the first time..I had to experience the Juicy Lucy. We had a blizzard the day before, and this was my last day in town..the roads coming from the office I was at in suburbs weren't the best but it was sure worth it!
We actually tried two other places a bit more well known for the burger...but both had HUGE lines and long waits. So we came to the Groveland Tap. I am very glad chance landed us here.
Not only was the Juicy Lucy awesome (I got the one with pepperjack mmm). They also had a really good beer menu. To top it off they have the best cheese curds I have ever had. The bar has a really nice warm and cozy feel...it was especially nice on the cold winter day we came.
I used to like this place.
They've changed their menu in the last couple years.
Our waitress was nice, but she was working the whole back room by herself, so service was slow. Â Food took about 45 minutes.
Large selection of beers on tap.
The portion sizes were super small, I had to go home and make some toast.
I was disappointed.
Cajun Lucy, $7.50
w/ Onion Rings Basket, $2.50
w/ tomatoes, $0.25
Juicy Lucy, $7.50
w/ Tots Basket, $4.00
w/ lettuce, $0.25
w/ tomatoes, $0.25
Seriously... This bar is going to charge me a quarter for each slice of tomatoes and half leaf of lettuce?!
Ok ok, perspective. Yes, it's 25 cents. I can live. But if you're going to be adding a quarter per burger staple and charging an extra buck-fifty for a tots basket (compared to other baskets listed on menu), I would like to know before you punch in that order.
All of this would have been forgiven if the food tasted good. It didn't. The Lucys were dry and disappointing. And none of the sides were tasty enough to make up for it.
2 stars for good beer selection and easy parking.
This was my local haunt for years...... It gets pretty busy with neighborhood families, and nights cater to the chill local college crowds.... BUT It is well worth it for a quick bite or 2-5 beers! Â The beer list is pretty extensive, prices fair, and the food is upper-level bar food. Â I come back every time i'm in the area.
Review Source:The Groveland Tap is a quaint little neighborhood place for burgers and a beer. (They serve only beer and wine - no liquor). I had a guacamole burger - unique and very delicious. I really liked that the hamburger buns were not as large as other burger places so the hamburger was really the highlighted flavor experience. We met up with friends on a Friday after work - we called ahead and had a table reserved for 12 so we were able to be seated right away. The place was very busy - it appeared to be a mix of neighborhood families and Macalaster College students. The Groveland Tap was a happy, vibrant place with lots of energy. If you are in the area, it's certainly worth a stop.
Review Source:Yes, I have experienced better. Come here for drinks and NOT the nibbles. The food here is definitely nothing special. Fries are terrible. Â You can get much better quality burgers and sandwiches for the same price at SO many other local bars.
They do have a decent amount GOOD of beer on tap. I wouldn't mind coming here again for a drink, but will never go out of my way to return for a meal. If it wasn't for the great service and easy parking I'd give this place two stars.
What's that!? Easy parking? Best lunch ever? Reasonable prices? What's going on here?
Groveland Tap is the place people.
There is a public parking lot right on the corner near the restaurant which is nice in -5 degree weather.
At my first look of the menu, I was pleased to see a variety of different food with creative ingredients. Pretzel chili dog, Tempeh and some yummy sounding salads.
I ordered the Chicken Burger with roasted apple, smoked Gouda, basil mayo and it was amazing! Â One of those, "I'm full, but I can't stop myself!" amazing.
My husband ordered the spicey wings and loved them.
Since I was so pleasantly surprised, I will be back.
After a long winter stroll around Hidden Falls on the Mississippi on a blisteringly cold day, my wife, best friend, and I were rather hungry. After a short drive northeast, we walked into Groveland Tap.
I love all the taps used as an art piece on the walls. It made me wish I'd bought the box of them I found at an estate sale last fall. Oh well. Our waitress informed us of the happy hour specials, which run almost all day. You can't beat $2.50 Summits, and $3-$4 for everything else. We ordered some nachos to snack on while we decided on lunch. They were not very good, my only complaint. However, the guacamole burger I ordered was quite good and everyone else liked their meals. The waitress was exceptionally friendly, even as my buddy brazenly hit on her throughout the meal. I'm sure we'll be back.
After a hike at Hidden Falls and consulting my trusty Yelp App, Groveland seemed like a solid lunch option. Â It did not disappoint.
11:30a-5p happy hour every day, really who can't beat that? Â I love too that the happy hour beers are $2.50 Summits, delicious and fresh from down the street and not just EPA, ANY Summit along with half price apps (beer snacks, cute!). Â They had a great variety too: Unchained Series, Seasonals, etc. Â Burgers and sandwiches were good and it was nice to have an option of ala carte or with fries just in case you were full from all those beer snacks.
The last time I went here prompted needing to write them a good review. They were packed. Every table taken, wall to wall people packed (some charity event was going on). They managed to snag us a table and despite how clearly busy they were, we got our drinks and food very quickly. The pretzel appetizer is absolutely amazing. I had enjoyed the sweet potato tator tots, and the pierogis with horseradish dipping sauce, but after eating those pretzels with aged cheddar melted on top, nothing compared.
Lots of beer to chose from on tap, always good. They do have a pool table, but no dart board, not as good. But get those pretzels and you won't care what else they do or don't have.
Late Night Happy Hour 10 pm - close. $2-$3 tap beers. Â 1/2 off appetizers. Well, what are you still doing reading this, go!
This has become the weekly late night happy hour hang out with the fellas. They have a great beer selection and it's really cheap. Some amazing apps that are half off, must try the wings and curds (won't be disappointed). The place is pretty decent in size but as the late night happy hour begins so does the crowd (which is usually the college kids from the nearby schools). The back area is usually packed and don't even think you are getting to sit at the bar, not going to happen, unless you are really lucky or just by yourself. They have a few arcade machines in the back as well as a pool table and plenty of tvs all throughout the place. They have great friendly servers who are most of the time quick with bringing back your orders.
Oh the Tap!
This place is sort of the local watering hole. I can't say that the food is amazing or that the beer selection is out of this world, but it's pretty good. People go here because there are not a ton of bars in the vicinity, and because it's sort of a neighborhood constant. I would suggest going if you live in the area because it's a great place to meet your neighbors and make new friends. I wouldn't recommend coming here to check it out if you don't live around here though.
If you do come, be sure to come during the all-day happy hour (from 11am to something like 5 or 6pm), where most beers are $2.50. That's the best. You'll find a lot of college students studying here then!
I have had a sort of off and on relationship with the Groveland Tap. Â I think it was largely because I really didn't understand how it was supposed to work. Â I thought of the Tap as just another bar. Â I thought it should be more like O'Gara's, teaming with humorously drunken college kids or the Happy Gnome with its pretentious food and giant beer menu. Â However, I think I finely found out how this relationship is supposed to work. Â It all starts with the late night beer and wings run.
The thing is that the Groveland Tap has probably the best happy hour deal in St. Paul in my opinion. Â From 10:00 on everyday you can enjoy half off apps and really cheap beer. Â The quality is largely there too. Â I will enjoy a Summit Saga or a Surly Furious with their Cajun wings and some Cheese Curds. Â They have a large chalk board full of beer specials encoded in various symbols and those are genuine Wisconsin cheese curds too. Â They are the kind that will squeak in your teeth when you eat them out of the fridge.
So to summarize, next time you just need some wings and beer think Groveland Tap. Â You will not be let down.
We stopped by the Groveland Tap last night for dinner after a day spent walking Grand Ave for Grand Old Day. We were lucky to snag one of the few tables outside.
Groveland Tap has a similar menu to Longfellow Grill and Highland Grill. They have lots of great burger options and sandwiches. I decided to order the fish burger and we got the Welsh Rarebit and sweet potato tots for apps.
I thought the fish burger was really tasty. It was moist and had a tartar sauce topping. I've never had a fish burger before, but I think I would order this again. I was tempted to order their turkey burger (I think they have the same one on the menu at Longfellow), but decided on the fish after my sister recommended it.
I would probably skip the Welsh Rarebit next time. It was OK, but nothing special. It's slices of pretzel bread topped with a strange, melted cheddar. I was pretty hungry, so pretty much anything tasted great at the start of the meal.
The sweet potato tots are awesome. They are perfectly crunchy and served with a chipotle sauce. Fantastic!
Lots of brews on tap and they make a good burger. Â Sweet Potato Tots are a nice change of pace from traditional fries....served up with the Chipotle Pesto Aioli (yum). Â I like that they offer up some other nontraditional appetizer options (AKA: Â Beer Snacks) such as Mac-n-Cheese Balls.
I see how this place could become your local hangout...it's got that kind of vibe!
The food here is marginal, but the beer selection is decent. They attempt to make a juicy lucy and a cajun lucy both of which are fairly inadequate. The problem is that when one is making a juicy lucy they must becareful that they don't cook it too long because the cheese inside melts, becomes molten hot and actually begins to cook the meat from the inside. After pulling it off of the grill the cheese will continue to cook the meat and in this case continue to overcook the meat. Every time I have gone to this bar, and I go quite often due to the proximity of it I have been disappointed with their food.
That being said, if you are a fan of Big Buck Hunter, pool or darts while quaffing a few tall ones this is a nice local place to go.
The beer selection here goes to 11.
The food aspires to greatness, but runs out of steam about 9 (on the Nigel Tufnel scale).
Mojo Rising IPA - mmm so hoppy, so tasty.
Our appetizer Welsh Rarebit - Â was pretzel bread with cheddar melted cheese melt. The cheese was nice, I liked the pretzel outside of the bread but the inside was bland and a bit cold.
My Philly sandwich was not bad. Creamy horseradish was a nice touch. It could have been a few bites larger.
My wife had the fish burger. It was unique. Overall she liked it. She got a small portion of O-rings as a side.
The servers were pleasant and professional, but they had too many tables. No refill offer on either pop or beer (kind of unusual for a bar).
Overall, this is a great place to come for a pint or two (...or ???)
I first starting going to this place during college after having spent a period hosting at one of their sister sites. I love all of their locations and this one in particular will always be one of my favorites. It was my neighborhood bar where you could always find a cozy booth and a great pint.
Recently, when I was home for the holidays I went back to my ol' stompin' grounds to get my fix of their juicy lucy and cheese curds. Wish we had this in LA!
Pros & Grows...
Pros:
Two words: JUICY LUCY... need I say more?
okay... yes two more words: CHEESE CURDS
one more word: POUTINE
great local beer selection
friendly service
cozy booths (with photo hunt!)
in the back there are typical MN bar games (pool, darts, Big Buck Hunter)
Grows:
Service was a bit slow
Conclusion...
LOVE this place and wish I could transport myself there right now.
I'm probably a little bias on this review because I love the Blue Plate Restaurant
Co and Groveland Tap is a block from my house. Â This joint is a fun atmosphere with many, many, beer options and the neighborhood feel of buying your friends a beer for later redemption. Â The front of the joint is a sit down restaurant, the middle is the bar, and the rear of the space is typically filled with college students. Â
The next time you're at Groveland Tap be sure to buy me a beer! Â It's Bryan with a y and the last name starts with an E. Â Thanks!!!
There is something encouraging when a bar or a restaurant has their menu on a chalkboard. I find this to be a good sign because that means, their options rotate so frequently that it would be silly to present your options in any other way. The Groveland Tap presents their exhaustive beer list on a GIANT chalkboard (one in the back and one in the front of the house). If you want to sit down and have a beer in comparative quiet, sit in the front. If you are ready to rub elbows with locals, go to the back to enjoy some pool, Buck Hunter or any of the myriad of other games.
The Juicy Lucy's are good (though I won't enter THAT debate right now), and the appetizers in general are pretty stellar for bar food.
They have a late night happy hour, as well as trivia once a week. It's a great neighborhood bar, and it almost makes me want to move back to St. Paul...almost.
The Groveland Tap is a beer enthusiast dream come true. Â They also serve some damn good food! Â We stopped in on a lazy Sunday afternoon after reading about the beer selection and the Cajun Lucy. Â Both were well worth the drive. Â
The place is kinda dive-y but in a good way. Â There is a front room and a back room. Â We were seated in the back with the pool table, a couple other bar games, and several big-screen TVs. The beer menu is exhaustive. Â Everyone should be able to find something they like on tap.
We sampled a couple appetizers to so our beer had something to wash down before embarking on the Groveland's interpretation of the Juicy Lucy. Â Being a fan of all things spicy, I was there for the Cajun Lucy in particular. Â The burger was fantastic! Â Well cooked, spicy, and drippy molten cheese in the center. Â The consistency was very similar to the Lucy's at Matt's bar. Â My only complaint is that the burger was a little on the small side. Â I could probably have eaten another one. Â So order two if you are hungry, or enjoy a couple appetizers--you will not be disappointed!
The service was adequate. Â The place was well packed during our visit and our waitress was doing the best job she could. Â They would have befitted from an additional server.
All things considered, we had a thoroughly enjoyable experience and plan on coming back the next time we are in the area.
The Groveland Tap is the quintissential neighborhood bar. It's located on a busy-ish but residential street and draws a great combination of locals, college students and visitors.
By far, the star of the show is the beer selection, which is updated and kept on chalkboards posted throughout the restaurant. I would say that there are generally about 40 beers on tap at any given time, a nice selection of seasonals and a really good broad selection of all kinds of IPAs, porters, etc. All beer is super fresh when you get it, and it's pretty easy to drink a few more than you intended because you are enjoying yourself so much.
The food is bar food. You shouldn't really expect any more. They make decent burgers and OK sandwiches. They have an all you can eat fish fry on Fridays that is OK (though for some reason you don't get more fries on the second basket... just more fish. Whaddup with that???). We actually really like the apps and sometimes just order those. The cheesecurds to me are the rockstar of the apps menu -- they're in some kind of really light tempura batter and come out super crispy and awesome. The first time we went there we ordered a second batch because we were so blown away. We also like the Welsh Rarebit (pretzel bread with melted aged cheddar on top) and the wings are OK. Fried pickles are great.
If you're looking for a deal, they host two happy hours... one leading up to dinner time and one starting around 10 p.m. Certain apps are half price and beer is discoutned, too. Most glasses are hust $3 during happy hour.
Friendly service, courteous people. All in all a really good neighborhood bar!
Tip: there's additional parking in the back off of Fairview if you can't find a street spot.
Groveland Tap is within walking distance of my house. I love having this little gem in the neighborhood. The burgers are good, the service is good, the beer selection is excellent.
It's great for lunch, dinner and take out. It's not fine dining, but it's a great little neighborhood joint.
This is my neighborhood bar and me and my husbands favorite place to get burgers and beer. Its nice and dark inside like a real bar should be, but its also totally family friendly. Can be crowded at dinner time so its good to call ahead if you can. Good beer selection. Pool table and old school arcade games.
They also have new apps!
Mac and cheese balls = good
Fried Pickles = great
Cheese curds = seriously the best curds I have had outside of the Fair and the Ellsworth Cheese Curd Festival.
Yummmmm...
Back in the day your 3.2 bars could stay open an hour later on Sunday than your full liquor establishments. This sixty minute span, termed "Animal Hour," was often spent at the old Groveland Tap.
I don't know if Animal Hour is still a factor in the New Millennium, but I can tell you that the Groveland Tap is still the college bar, so beer (a very solid selection), burgers, cheese curds and beer are the order of the day. Oddly enough, the spinach salad is actually quite good. Try the beer. Go College!
I live VERY close to the Tap, so I visit often. I usually try to come with a smaller group (4-6 people) when I come here because the space is a little cramped to handle large groups.
If you come for dinner, I would avoid the tacos, but the turkey dinner is actually pretty good! Of course, the beers are reasonably priced - which is the main reason you come!
This place ripped me off! I used my credit card to pay for a dinner for two. $38 tab plus a $5 tip I added. That should be $43, which is what I tallied up and signed on the receipt.
In today's credit card bill I found they charged me $48. They padded the tab an extra five bucks.
So here's MY tips:
1. PAY CASH.
2. COUNT YOUR CHANGE
3. PUT YOUR WALLET IN YOUR FRONT POCKET
4. WATCH YOUR PURSE
Second time at the GT and the second disappointment. Â They claim the Juicy Lucy's are molten hot. Â I have had two and both were lukewarm at best. Â Couldn't tell if there was cheese in either burger. Â I tried the Jalapeno Juicy Lucy, it was plainly obvious that the jalapenos were straight from the can, as they were still dripping with brine. Â We got a basket of fries, there was enough salt left at the bottom for another entire basket. Â The food is just not worth it.
The service was not great. Â Our hostess told us about the specials. Â turns out, the daily specials are printed on the back of the menu, not so "special". Â To me, a special is something that is new and different that the restaurant is trying out to see if it belongs on the menu. Â At the GT, the "specials" are right there on the menu, along with everything else, and have been there for who knows how many years.
The beer selection is great, especially for a neighborhood place, but the food is poor and the service is weak. Â There are a lot of other places I will go to before I return to the GT.
2 for Happy Hour, 2 with dirty plates.
Stopped in to the Groveland Tap for a quick beer and HH snack. Service from the get go was sub-par. I noticed most of the other servers, excluding ours, were walking around as though they were strolling through the park, not working to make tips.
The lolly-gagging about was not was tipped me off to not return there -it was the dirty booth we were in and the dirty and wet plates we were given to eat our appetizers, which were replaced upon the gross look on my face.
I attempted to order a beer, which was discontinued, but it was still on the board. Each had a HH appetizer, which was not bad, but not great. We got what we paid for. For 1 domestic bottle, 1 rather flat DC, and 3 appetizers it was $16. Like I said, we got what we paid for.
The Groveland Tap seems to be a local bar, striving to be something else. I prefer the other restaurants in the 'local chain' if you will.
I will not go back - no reason to.
I totally wanted some delicious fish fry and the tap easily achieved that. Â We got there a little before 7 on Friday and had a wait (as expected) but it was only 20-25 minutes and not to bad. Â However, the bar area is skinny and was crowded so there isn't really a good place to wait without feeling like you're sitting on top of the already eating patrons. Â Maybe that helps with the table turnover though.
The fish was fantastic - huge pieces of perfectly cooked whitefish that was tender and flaky inside with a tasty batter fried to a good crispiness without excessive grease. Â Dan noted that you only get one basket of fries, which I totally don't understand from an economic standpoint, but it didn't matter because they were nothing special and I didn't finish the ones I got. Â Instead I just ate more fish! Â They actually brought us a big basket for our second round - at least 4 more pieces big pieces and a couple little chunks for the two of us, and despite our noblest effort we couldn't even finish them all. Â They were good enough that I tried pretty hard and ended up with a little fish baby in my tummy.
i've been here before for other things and find the burgers and other dishes quite tasty - I'm a fan of the mini-chain the owners have going (Longfellow, HIghland, Edina grill etc). Â The beer list is good and domestic stuff is reasonably priced. Â They have some Belgians, but those are less reasonably priced - $8 for about 8 oz of Delirium Tremens is a little high.
First of all, are we really going to start insulting women for gaining weight after popping out kids? Get over it. Oh yeah, and making fun of fat people isn't cool, Drew. You try having a kid. With your attitude, you'll be lucky to get the chance to knock anyone up.
On to the review of the Groveland Tap. I really really needed a double Johnny Walker Red on the rocks, but I had to settle for a Summit, since they only have beer and wine. That's ok. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but at 10pm happy hour starts so the beers went down to not even $3.
They have cheese curds on the menu and the staff was friendly.
Drawbacks: They have TV everywhere. Annoying.
They don't play music but have one of those cheesy digital jukeboxes that blares. The pool table is too close to the tables so pool cues were always going into my face.
But I will be back to try the food. Oh yes. I hear it is quite amazing.
One of my favorite places in St Paul to go for a beer and burger. Â The staff are friendly ... all the customers are relaxed ... their beer selection is great. Â
I have it on good authority that other items on the menu are also very good ... but I can never resist grabbing a hamburger here. Â Every now and then I try ordering the Turkey Dinner (I think it's served only on Wednesdays) but they're always out by the time I've ordered it. Â
BTW Jenny -- it's hard to go to any St Paul bar/restaurant and shout "Three Cheers for Cheney" without getting an adverse reaction -- even from us who didn't graduate from Macalester. Â Of course, I've always thought most of the students there were Tommies (grin).
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