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. Â We sat outside on The Happy Gnome's spacious back patio - complete with music and outdoor string lights. Â A relaxed and fun setting. Â 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). Â There was a lingonberry aioli on the side. Â The fries were crisp and salty - just right. Â
My friend conveniently forgot his wallet! With tax and tip it was close to $40 for two burgers - no booze. Â So that's a bit pricey. Â 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. Â I wasn't so happy with this one. Â I was thrilled to come here and take my friends who are locals after reading about this restaurant and checking out reviews. Â We were quite disappointed, not so much about the food, but the service and atmosphere. Â 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. Â Bummer..... second, our server was unnecessarily rude to us. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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! Â I wanted to change atmospheres so we left, and most likely will not return based on the service. Â 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.
Review Source:O.M.G where have I been all these years, this place is awesome. We came here with a group of us and we had the best time ever. We came here on the day they released their Odell Double Pilsner, there were about five beer. I had four different beer: Odell Double Pilsner, Odell Tree Shaker Imperial Peach IPA, Odell Myrcenary DIPA, and Odell st Lupullin Extra Pale Ale. They were tasty! It was my first time trying many beer at once. Usually I just get Miller Lite with olives, I know...lame.
Their beer list is crazy huge. Their food is kinda pricey. But I will def come here again with a group of friends and just to have a great time.
Free parking and enjoy the nice neighborhood :)
this is where I take friends to explain what new American cuisine is. The Gnome's fantastic beer selection, dynamic menu, and beautiful patio make it a wholeheartedly enjoyable dining experience. This is one of the few restaurants where everything on the menu appeals to me. Thankfully, the small plates option encourages sharing and experimentation - I almost always end up trying something new. The Happy Gnome fulfills my penchant for adventurous eating, and I know I'll keep coming back.
Review Source:This place is most definitely going to be a new favorite. I went here with a large group for a birthday, and despite our large obnoxious group, the service was excellent! Our server was helpful, friendly, and never seemed stressed.
I had the duck burger, which is a seasonal menu option (tough they mentioned making it a permanent menu fixture due to the popularity. If you are a burger fan, this one is a must!! One of the best burgers I've ever had. Also, the beer selection is fabulous, and they have an absolutely gorgeous patio!
I've probably been to this place a hundred times over the past 15 years. Â It is pretentious beyond belief. Â They actually have dinners here that cost $40+. Â That's insane. Â If I wanted a nice dinner, this is absolutely the last place on earth I would even consider. Â On the positive side, it's a great atmosphere inside and out and a great beer menu. Â I often come here and have a few drinks and then go somewhere good for food. Â The menu is like a farce of how phony a place can be. Â But it's always packed and I think it fits a great niche in St. Paul for people who really love to pay the maximum possible because they assume that equals high quality.
Review Source:Judging this place solely on their poutine, because I'm a poutine snob and I can.
While the portion size was quite large (as was my appetite late at night), I had no desire to finish it, even after sharing.
The good: The fries, pork belly and bacon were tasty
The bad: I prefer when the cheese curds are still whole. Also, where is this gravy you speak of? My entire dish was rather dry.
My friends enjoyed their food and I did taste some delicious pizza and heard rave reviews of the lobster mac and cheese. Ok, so I'd probably give the poutine two stars, but I think this place deserves more. I'll choose differently if I return.
The night started off on the wrong foot. I called to let them know I was running a bit late and the guy who I spoke to said he would hold our table. yay! We got there 15 minutes past our original reservation time and the table was not held so we had to wait an additional 20 minutes for a table. Awesome.
We ordered the agnolotti to start. The noodles were not cooked all the way through. I really didn't mind much since the sauce was so fantastic. After the starter I got the caesar, which I recommend if you are an anchovy fan - which I am. My date got the hericot vert salad which was sub par. We split the vegetable pizza which was okay. The sauce lacked flavor and the pizza itself was served lukewarm. Service was good. Beer choices were exciting. We'll come back but we'll likely just sit in the bar and enjoy the beer and whiskey selection.
Some people love this place. I don't. I call this pub "The Crappy Gnome" because it has basically zero menu options for someone who is vegetarian and gluten-free like me. Drink menu is subpar. Wait staff is pretty nice. It's always so crowded in here which I can't understand. The patio is nice in the Spring/Summer/Fall. Â I think some Happy Gnome patrons must have pissed off the neighboring Curling Club next door because they seem to have partitioned off the parking lot to make it much smaller for Happy Gnome folks and parking has gotten quite bad here.
Review Source:I immediately felt at home walking into the Happy Gnome. Perhaps it was the growing crowd of people decked in their work finery (we got there around 6p on a Thursday) or the fact that there were many many beers on tap (oh happy day). Whatever it was, I knew immediately that I was in for a fun evening.
The beer list alone should make this gastropub one of the happiest places on earth. The adult Disneyland of St. Paul. We were there on a release night (where they release a new brew or two from a specific brewery - often local), so we were able to taste the newest Fulton beers for a discounted price. We also ordered a few "table beers" that we all shared to sample.
The food was decent, but a bit overpriced. I would rather spend my money on trying more beers. But I wouldn't mind another pretzel. That was the perfect pairing. Thanks for thinking of it, Germans!
I love the Happy Gnome so much! Â Their awesomeness doesn't stop at 76 craft beers on tap. The Sunday Bloody Mary bar is easily the most expansive spread (with house made mixes!) I've ever seen. Their food is consistently incredible--whether it's the steak tartare, cheese selections or poutine, it's always top notch. And the duck burger?! Out of this world! When we're in the Twin Cities, it's not a matter of IF we're going to the Happy Gnome, it's WHEN.
Review Source:I hadn't been to the Gnome in a long time, but I came with my almost-cousins-in-law for a big goodbye party for my almost-sister-in-law. It was actually supposed to be a happy hour outing, but then we got there and found out they don't technically have a happy hour. Sad face, but we got over it.
I grabbed a pint of Indeed's Stir Crazy Ale (smooth and wintry and delightful) and a big, fat pile of poutine. It was freezing cold outside and I can't think of a better warmer. We also tried the dry rubbed wings (very good) and the beet salad with citrus, goat cheese and walnut vinaigrette. Between that and the poutine, it was plenty of food for three of us to split. And back to the poutine. It's an epic three-hog poutine, with sausage gravy, bacon and pork belly atop French fries. Oh, and fresh cheese curds all melty on the top.
The service was excellent and especially patient with our large party of indecisive drink orderers. The beer list is just too long and beautiful to decide quickly. What's great about it is that they include more detailed descriptions of each beer, so you can make a more informed decision without having to bother the staff about the DOZENS of taps available. Our server was also thoughtful enough to ask us how we'd like our bill split at the end---much appreciated.
We were in the dining room because that's the only place they could fit 10 of us, but the bar space is distinct (and busy) and they have a party room upstairs for private events.
I don't come to this gastropub often enough, but it's one of those always-appropriate places for any occasion, from your mom's birthday to a first date to a night out with the (well-behaved) kids. We even brought a (VERY well-behaved) baby.
Other highlights from other trips: Bloody Mary bar, the egg sandwich at brunch, the tree-shaded PATIO (one of the best in St. Paul for sure).
Fantastic beer selection! I can't say enough about how good the beer list is. My first pour had a bit too much foam, but the beer was great nonetheless. My second beer was basically a porter that had been aged in pinot noir barrels (I wish I could remember the name), and it was interestingly fantastic!
The reason I did not give 5 stars was the aforementioned less than perfect pour and an overbearing waiter. We were also told we could only get 1 taste pour per table. We had already had 2 rounds, so we clearly were not trying to get free drinks and this really annoyed me. There's no reason to limit (within reason) the amount of tasting pours when a table is drinking and having a good time.
Also, did not order food, but the menu looked unique and well thought out.
Excellent beer selection and it rotates. Â The beer menu has informative descriptions of the goods on tap.
I had corned beef and cabbage here on St. Patrick's day and was very impressed with their interpretation. Â The rest of the food is upscale as well.
The restaurant area is reserved for people having dinner and there is usually room available. Â I took a customer there and we were easily able to hold a conversation.
Really enjoyed an early dinner here on a Saturday night. The place was packed and managed to grab two seats at the bar. Best beer list I have seen in the twin cities, and have a decent enough wine and cocktail list as well. The food was great - however service was a little spotty. The game burger was heavenly; I tried a bite and wish it were my order! We split the lobster mac and cheese; it was different than I expected; there was more asparagus than lobster, but I love my mac and cheese just the same. I also ordered up the mussels - they were fine. Loved the atmosphere at the happy gnome, absolutely a stop back is in order when bopping over the river!
Review Source:This is a great  spot in St. Paul. I love the inventive menu and great beer selection.  We shared a flight of beers - great way to try a variety and not fill up on beer. Â
We ordered the wings, the charcuterie plate and a selection of cheese. Â The wings were only okay. Â The charcuterie plate was gorgeous and flavorful and well presented. Â We had to bring our server back to remind us of what was on it. Â The cheese presentation was nice and well balanced. Â
The service was sporadic. Â It was busy - but it was hard to find her to get water and and have plates cleared. Â The server was nice, just not around much. Â
It was very loud, my friend and I had to shout. Â Way to loud for a nice dinner or good conversation.
The beers were great. Â We made one bad choice (the Dragon's Milk) and one truly magnificent choice - the Lucid Dortmunder Gold.
Parking is a nightmare and with the snow the streets are very narrow. Â I saw one accident while waiting there. Â But easy access on the #21.
All in all a great spot. Â Creative menu. Amazing beer. Good atmosphere. Â Too loud.
Give it a try though - especially if you like beer!
5 stars for beer selection and atmosphere. 3 stars for food. I was a little disappointed in the menu....I liked what I ordered but the selection was a little lacking. I guess sometimes when I'm at a bar, I just want bar food and not all the fancy stuff they have here.
I usually just come for drinks and the selection here is the best. I'm always impressed with how much the servers know about the beer, especially since it's a rotating selection. It's still one of my favorite neighborhood spots in my parents 'hood.
PS ~ no happy hour at the Gnome....even a minimal deal would be nice.
Went here for the first time this weekend, and it was a great experience. I absolutely love the craft selections, if only I could recall the drinks I had... However, what I did remember was that the duck burger was delicious!!! A great place to refer to a friend who is new to the area or just looking for a trendy chill place to eat and drink.
Anyway, If you're planning to go friday/saturday, be sure to make reservations if you want a table, otherwise you will most likely end up at the bar. I made reservations the day of attending The Happy Gnome through opentable for a friday night without any hassle.
We go here occasionally with some friends of ours who live nearby. Â The beer list is pretty fantastic and the food is pretty good too. Â However, their prices are pretty extreme. Â The beer isn't too bad, but it's more than some of the other good beer bars nearby. Â The food is also pretty pricy, we've eaten there a couple of times, and it always seems pretty high for the quality of the result. Â It's still pretty pretty good. Â The service is always excellent and you pay a premium for a staff that REALLY knows their beers. Â Also, the sheer selection of beer is pretty epic.
At any rate, I'm sure we will be back.
This place is fun, has a great beer selection - scratch that - incredible beer selection and some tasty food choices.
The layout is a little awkward inside but I like their big booths by the windows.
The neighborhood is lovely as well.
Had their dry rub chicken wings which were good but really just love the classic down and dirty buffalo wing.
Their pasta was tasty but could have had a little more nuance than sauce.
The crowd seemed amicable and well heeled but not snobbish.
Doesn't blow my doors off food wise but I am a fan and will happily return.
Oh, Happy Gnome, how happy I am to have found you! Â Since relocating to the Twin Cities, I've been on the hunt for a truly great beer bar. Â I've tried many and been disappointed by either the quality of beers on tap (200 beers on tap is great, but when most of them are some incarnation of Budweiser, I'm not impressed), the variety of beers on tap, or the availability of beers on tap (don't list your selection of great beer and then every time I try to order one be OUT). Â The Happy Gnome is guilty of none of these things. Â They have an amazing variety of craft brew and even better, an excellent staff who is knowledgeable about the available beer and can perfectly direct you to exactly what you're craving.
To be honest, they had me at the beer selection, alone. Â But then we tried the food. Â We've never had a full on dinner here, just ordered various bar snacks. Â Some highlights were the quail wings, poutine, and pretzels. Â It's clearly elevated bar fare that might not be everyone's cup of tea. Â If you are an adventurous eater who loves great flavor, this place is for you! Â I'm hoping to be hungry enough one day to try the duck burger: word on the street is that it's amazing.
It was very un-remarkable. Â I saw some of the reviews and wasn't going to make reservations but then I saw the pictures of the food and decided to go. Â I was a little embarrassed because we brought our friends who were a little shocked at the 38 dollar entrees at a pub. Â We tried 3 of the 4 salads and while our wedge salad was good, our friends salads were VERY small. Â They were really the only interesting food we got, the rest was just pricey pub food. Â Completely un-remarkable. Â My chicken sandwich was pretty good but average nothing that you would need to go back for. Â My husband had the game burger which he liked but nothing special, the pizzas were average and our fries were cooked at too low of a temp or something, they were overcooked and soggy like they had absorbed a lot of oil. It wasn't horrible but I wouldn't go back. Â
I also was struggling that we had reservations for 5:15pm but our plans were running a bit late and we called to see if we could move them to 6 and they would not allow us to so we had to leave our summit brewery tour and not taste the rest of the beers. Â Now, I could understand this but they had open tables the whole time we were there so I wasn't very pleased about that.
Also, there is no way to be at the bar without being in the way and there is no way to get in and out of the restaurant without trying to wedge through the bar crowd and they aren't happy about it. It's just not anything I would try again or go back for.
If You're HAPPY and You GNOME it...
Did you clap your hands or stomp your feet twice? With some 76 different craft style beers and some of the most unique foods to enjoy, I would have to agree that the Happy Gnome is definitely "one of a 100 places you must have a beer at before you die", a rather amazing and worthy list to be added to.
My wife and I (who by the way come up with the title of this blog) have been to the Happy Gnome a few times to enjoy their craft beer options because trying something new and unique is so much better than always drinking water beer, a.k.a Mich. Golden Light, Coors Light, etc. the Happy Gnome is also the place that introduced me to my favorite beer of all-time, Curious Traveler Shandy by The Traveler Brewing Co. (formally, The House of Shandy Brewing Co.). So we've enjoyed the wide selection of craft beers, which by the way is ever changing and evolving, but never had the food and we've heard a lot of great things about the food.
Unique, different, mysterious and unusual are all adjectives that can describe food and it's exactly what my wife and I love the most about the culinary world. For this reason, you'll be hard pressed to find us dining at a national chain store and instead finding a local, family owned restaurant serving up some of the best, freshest and locally made food you can find, but the key is..... something different! At the Happy Gnome, that's exactly what you're getting and man was it good. This trip was with the in-laws before a Gopher's hockey game and I'm sure glad they chose this place.
We started the evening with of course some adult beverages and we also ordered a Canadian favorite, Poutine. What is Poutine, well my friends, it's something delicious and different! Start with the Gnomes hand cut on a daily basis fries and add some cheese curds and sausage gravy... Some damn good food! Those hand cut fries by the way... Some of the best in the Twin Cities hands down! On to the meals and it was burgers for the entire table.
My wife and her sister went with a traditional Angus Cheeseburger which was pretty good with Braised Short Ribs and Garlic Aioli to top it off. Our brother in-law went with one of the burgers I was trying to decided and I'm excited to go back to try it - the Game Burger. Doesn't the name just make it sound delicious? The Game Burger was a blend of bison, elk, blue cheese-onions and lingonberry aioli... And that my food loving friends sounds mouth water and why I'm excited to head back to try it!
My burger is where my adjectives listed early come into play and why I love food so much. At the Happy Gnome you will find the Duck Burger! A blend of duck, goat cheese, bacon, wild rice and cherry aioli. Absolutely insane flavors and one of the best if not the best burgers I've ever had. Who makes a burger out of duck anyways???? The Happy Gnome sure wasn't scared to try it and I'm glad they had the guts to try it! Again, remember those hand cut fries, that are cut fresh daily? Are you catching on to my madness yet? What I'm saying is more places need to do this because it's the best way to enjoy french fries!
So if you're HAPPY and you GNOME it and your face will surely show it (not sure how it won't after this deliciousness I just described), than head down to the Happy Gnome in the historic Cathedral Hill area of St. Paul and try some unique and awesome food as well as some of  the nations and Minnesota's very own top craft beers.
GnomeTastic!! A co-worker recommended this place while i was in town and I'll have to pass along some of me treasures for it. The brew list was huge but was well organized to not overwhelm a person. After introducing myself to the Clown Double Brown and a housemade pretzel, I indulged in a flight of 5. I tried to walk through the menu going from light to dark but failed in a few places. A great way to introduce yourself to some new flavors! The menu had also just changed, just a 2 day old fledgling and it has many stars to be born on it. From the wild boar pate' with quail egg, steak tartare and the game burger I was in foodie heaven. A side of lobster mac n cheese was a true star although I'd go a light lighter on the asparagus.
So, if you're in the area and feeling a bit Frodo or Bilbo and want to slid into a happy pub, put this place at the top of your list and enjoy the journey.
The place isn't fancy, but it's a warm St. Paul atmosphere in a nice, old building meant for a bar/restaurant. The tap beer selection with over 70 craft brews is good enough to raise anybody's eyebrows with interest. Â The food is really good, and there is a beer to match, but they also serve good wine and coctails.
I've been there twice having a burger the first time, and a large dish of mussels & chorizo the second time. The burger was certainly better than most, but I have to head back for the mussels & chorizo again very soon. The broth was so good I had to order extra bread to dip, but I also sipped plenty using the shells. They do some higher-end steaks, poultry, and seafood as well. This is not typical bar food from around the corner.
Even if you don't know a lot about beer, they break their list down into styles with descriptions for those who are interested in trying something different or for experts wanting to make an informed choice to know which should go with the food they order.
The Happy Gnome is certainly worth a trip for people who like a good beer or drink to go with some savory food. I would be surprised if anyone left disappointed.
They have a million beers (deciding is a feat in itself!) and it's a nice place to come if you're able to find a place to sit! I came here a couple weeks ago and it was extremely awkward - no where to sit and no real p-lace to stand either without being in the middle of the room. Needless to say, we left after about a minute.
I gave it another shot this weekend and I'm glad I did! My friend and I did our share of standing around until a super friendly couple called us over from across the room to give us their seats :) I got a pumpkin beer, which was good, and the Manchego cheese plate. The cheese was extremely over-priced ($9 for 3 squares of cheese, some pistachios, more bread than I could ever eat and 3 raspberries) but delicious never-the-less. The crowd on a Saturday night was decent and it seemed to thin out around 11pm - this isn't a late bar by any means. I'll definitely be back if I'm in the mood for a beer or able to spring for some delicious, quality food.
I've had good luck with parking, they have a pretty good size lot at the restaurant but it's always about 95% full when I've arrived. I'm not sure about the street parking.
Happy Gnome is one of those places in the neighborhood that I've always wanted to try but always seems so dang busy. But we went on a Monday night and found the dining room pleasantly half-empty.
Beer selection is solid and a lot of fun. This would be a fabulous place to sit and leisurely sample some beers and eat some good food. Dinner-wise we had an excellent time. It's a very "foodie's foodie" kind of place. So expect a little bit of froo-froo and a little bit of price to go with it. But still totally worth checking out every now and again.
If I had to do it again, I really might just consider ordering meats and cheeses (charcuterie style) and just forgoing all actual entrees. We ordered one meat and one cheese (the one with truffles in it) and were delighted with the presentation, accompaniments, etc. I loved the balsamic and hazelnuts with the cheese. Honestly, I'd be pretty dang happy with a couple of cheeses, a couple of meats, a big pile of bread and a few good beers.
The one criticism is that the timing was lacking a little. We took our time with our charcuterie but the wait staff and kitchen didn't seem to notice. Our entrees arrived when we were still working, and the net result was about six plates being squished onto a two-top table, and us rushing through the end of the cheese and meat so that our entrees didn't get too cold. I wish they'd timed the meal better, especially given that it was not all that busy. Sill, high marks. A really nice place if you can catch it on a slow night.
I have no complaints about the Gnome. I do have three favorite things:
1. The patio
2. The beer list
3. The tater tots
First - the patio. There always seems to be room for us anytime we end up there, and the space is small enough to still have a cozy feeling. it's set off the street a bit and shaded by large trees, so it's incredibly relaxing.
Two- the beer list. Truly something for everyone. They have everything from your basic local craft beers to the exotic European beers you can't pronounce. The prices are fair- no great happy hour here, but they are totally fair and worth the quality.
Finally- the tater tots. The food overall is great, but the tots are HUGE. You get three in each order, but they are almost like oversized croquettes more than anything. i highly recommend these as a starter.In fact, you could easily make a meal out of splitting some apps with friends, or having your own salad and appetizer dinner.
Summer and Winter- the Gnome is cozy, delicious, and a really fun place. After reading some of the other reviews, I am excited to keep going back!
I had the wild game poutine and rabbit lentil soup. It was divine, but a very rich combo. The poutine should really stand alone and is definitely more suited for someone who can really take their dairy.
The sour beer was really, really good and they offer samples of whatever brew you'd like to try before purchasing. My friend had a seafood pasta which was also extremely delicious. Some of the better food I've had in a "bar" and I find it to be worth the cash.
If someone was visiting St. Paul for the first time and asked me "What is the one place I could go for some casual food and drinks that characterizes St. Paul the best?" The Happy Gnome would be very high my list of recommendations.
With it's HUGE beer selection, great food and pleasant staff the Happy Gnome could be greatly more pretentious than it actually is. It has the best of many different worlds too. Quiet fine dinning? Check. Fun and comfortable patio? Check. Quick beer and burgers at the bar? Double check. It's a very versatile place!
I have a number of friends that live west of the cities and lament that they cannot frequent this place as much as they'd like to so if you happen to be in the area... make sure you stop in. An excellent establishment to go for a date, have some beers with the guys/gals or take your folks out to meet the person you had a date with here previously but are now considering marrying because you had such a great time while at one of St. Paul's best restaurants.
Last Friday I visited The Happy Gnome for a second time, and I left feeling like one happy "gnirl"! Â It was a gorgeous night and we sat on the patio. Â Their beer selection is vast and they are great at recommending one that you would like. Â I loved the atmosphere, dimly lit for nice ambience and not too loud so you can have a good conversation (I believe I am getting old if this is important to me to mention, but hey!)
We started with a cheese plate of their most popular selections and it was delicious. Â We ordered the corn risotto, scallops, and the game burger for the main course and all were very pleased with their selections. Â Everything was fresh and hot. Â I would highly recommend the Gnome if you like great beer and fare with a twist. Â I will definitely be stopping by again soon!
Great charcuterie!
I love salty cured meats, and I found a new place to get it: The Happy Gnome.
The Happy Gnome is located on Selby in Saint Paul and has been serving the area for several years. I have been to The Happy Gnome several times but this was only the second time I tried the food. The majority of the time, I go to The Happy Gnome I'm headed there for their enormous beer and whiskey lists. I think it's safe to say that is the major draw of The Happy Gnome. They have won the City Pages  award for "Best Beer List" several times. With 76 craft beers on tap and countless bottles their beer list will suit even the pickiest beer snob.
I didn't know that some beers have vintages like wines until I saw it on Happy Gnome's beer list!
They also have an extensive whiskey list. This was a big draw for me, and my local blogger buddy, when we had lunch their last Saturday. We are both big whiskey drinkers. If fact, we were meeting to discuss starting a drinking man's blog, so it was funny that we both drank beer.
Locally, when someone mentions The Happy Gnome people think about those beer and whiskey lists, but they should also think about the food. The chef at The Happy Gnome has done a great job of creating dishes that set them apart from other local establishments. There is an emphasis on game across the menu, from wild boar croquettes and duck pizza to game hen. These deeper richer flavors make great pairings with their small batch beers and rare whiskeys.
The menu looked tasty and interesting from top to bottom, but I was intrigued by the charcuterie plate. One of my favorite meals is antipasti. I love eating small plates of cured meats, cheeses, olives and the like, so a wood block filled with salty cured meat was right up my alley.
The block came out with 7, count them 7, different selections of meat: salted beef, duck breast, pork tasso, wobble ham, forcemeat, chicken gizzards, and rabbit rillette. A few of these items I had never had before, but I will be having them again. They were delicious!
The chicken gizzards were curred perfectly: meaty but not greasy at all. Not sure what wobble ham is but it tasted like a smokier, spicier version of what you have on Easter. The forcemeat tasted like grade A bologna covered in butter, so creamy and perfect on the bread they provided.
I think my favorite might have been the rabbit rillette. I came out in a small mason jar and looked like a shredded chicken salad. It had the same consistence buy the flavor was much bolder and earthier. Really good on the house-made crackers they served it with.
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with the charcuterie, and will be back soon for another helping.
I definitely recommend The Happy Gnome, but I caution you to understand that this in not a simple neighborhood bar.
Unfairly, The Happy Gnome has a reputation of being a little pricey. This is not true if you look at the quality of the food and drinks served at The Happy Gnome. Unfortunately, I think people compare it to other bars in the area like Sweeney's, The Muddy Pig, and Fabulous Fern's. There is nothing wrong with these establishments, but they are bars serving bar food. The Happy Gnome is a gastropub and the quality of their food is on a higher level than these other places. So, thusly, you should pay a bit more.
So next time you are in area and are looking for a little more than a High Life and a platter of nachos I recommend you try The Happy Gnome. Try at least one of the house-made meats, I promise you will not be disappointed!
Sometimes I'm real happy about going to the Gnome. Â This is because the beer selection is fantastic. Â Come for the beer. Â Enjoy the beer. Â WOOO!! BEER!!!!
Sometimes I feel crappy about coming to the Gnome. Â This is because the rest of the experience, even with BEER, does not measure up. Â The menu is full of items that are just plain odd, likely the result of a chef who is trying too hard, e.g. the duck confit bruschetta and/or the "meat pizza" with peaches. Â The burgers are tasty, but they better be at $13/per. Â Entree prices are completely over the top for what is far from a fine dining experience ($42 ribeye, I'm looking at you).
The BEER list draws in the crowds, so the place gets busy. Â It's often difficult to find a seat in the bar. Â Bartenders are friendly but are often so slammed that it takes a long time to get served.
Happy Gnome? Â Crappy Gnome? Â We will accept both answers as correct.
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