The Happy Gnome

I can only comment on the atmosphere, not the food

Décor: Quite a large space! They have an awesome patio (casual and open), inside restaurant (a bit more formal and dimly lit/dark), bar area (along with booths and bartop tables/stools). Good choice of places to sit in.

Service: Fine.

Drink Menu: I do think they have an impressive list of drafts. The bf was complaining that they didn't' have the best selection of IPA's though. All I wanted was a cider, so the choices other than the usual Crispin were greatly welcomed.

Overall: I would love to come back for their food, but I found their restaurant great for a place to catch up with a friend!

No longer will I confuse The Happy Gnome and The Muddy Pig (general Adjective Creature restaurant in St. Paul).

There is a large parking lot and plenty of free street parking.  We sat outside on The Happy Gnome's spacious back patio - complete with music and outdoor string lights.  A relaxed and fun setting.  Our waitress was knowledgeable and friendly.

I ordered the Game Burger (sans bun) which was both bison and elk ground into a patty . It was seasoned just perfectly and paired well with the blue cheese sauteed onions on top (yum).  There was a lingonberry aioli on the side.  The fries were crisp and salty - just right.  

My friend conveniently forgot his wallet! With tax and tip it was close to $40 for two burgers - no booze.  So that's a bit pricey.  Definitely would go back, but with more of an understanding that the pricepoint is a bit higher (especially if you want any of their delicious cheese plates or a beer from their extensive beer list).

I come to St. Paul about twice a year and I am really picky about the restaurants I choose so I can appreciate my "foodie nights" I have while in town.  I wasn't so happy with this one.  I was thrilled to come here and take my friends who are locals after reading about this restaurant and checking out reviews.  We were quite disappointed, not so much about the food, but the service and atmosphere.  We were place at a table in their back room which was empty, so it kind of made us feel no one was there and was away from the vibrant atmosphere by the bar.  Bummer..... second, our server was unnecessarily rude to us.  I asked her for suggestion on beer and she replies "well I'm quite the beer connoisseur, so I may not be able to help"... I guess she was such a beer snob, she was too good to suggest a few to me.  Then when she finally did, she seemed to be quite annoyed to be bothered with this silly task of actually selling an item to her customer.  Needless to say she was the same with food, and when I expressed the Brussels sprouts were a little garlicky for my taste, she shrugged her shoulders and took my dish away that I was STILL eating!  I wanted to change atmospheres so we left, and most likely will not return based on the service.  I do have to say their game burger was quite good, but couldn't finish since my server took my plate after my complaint about the sprouts!! It was a little pricey- $18 burger with sprouts for the amount of food I got mixed with the bad service.