Birch's Lowertown Tap Room Rel House Piano Lounge

Have been wanting to come here to try out the infamous burger. Found street parking and found our own table although it's set up like a tap room so you can order and sit at the bar as well. They gave us samples of a few beers to try on tap. They were pretty good, but no cider options and I'm not a big beer fan. We ordered a basket of fries to share as the burgers don't come with anything. The fries were thin, hot, and crispy and enough for 3 of us to share, but would have wanted another basket if we had more people. The burger was definitely fantastic with awesome flavors, but $14 seems steep for a burger that doesn't come with anything besides the burger and toppings. We had good service and would come back if I'm around the area again.

Our favorite restaurant for both food and beer in the entire twin cities is Birch 's on the Lake in Wayzata. Needless to say, we were really excited to hear they were opening a place in St. Paul that was 30 minutes closer. Unfortunately, the only thing about our experience we really enjoyed at the Lowertown location was the beer. We went on a Friday night at 6pm with our two kids. It wasn 't busy at all. We walked in and looked for a wait to be seated or seat yourself sign. There was no sign. While we were awkwardly standing there, several employees saw us and just walked by. Once we seated ourself, we realized they have indoor Hammerschlagen. Normally this game is outdoors and is super fun. It is a bad idea indoors on a beam floor right next to the seating area. Every pound of the hammer by the guy behind us was super loud and shook our whole table. It was so distracting we couldn 't even think. Next we ordered beer. They were out of the ones we wanted. Then we looked at the food menu and realized it is really small and really expensive. We didn 't understand why it wasn 't similar to the other location. We wanted to try the meatball pizza. The waitress told us they were out of the meatball pizza. We ordered a burger, pepperoni pizza, and tacos. All three were mediocre and way too salty. The beers were great, the service was ok. The atmosphere was strange. Not the same as Birch 's on the Lake. Much more hipster. I 'm really hoping they improve dramatically in the coming weeks. I really want to like this place.

I tried the new Birch 's Lowertown tap-room at $3-beer happy hours on Saturday after it was recommended by the Star-Tribune in the Burger Friday column; in my pseudonymous persona I found it mediocre at best. One could hardly avoid the oppressive array of televisions screens showing sports extravaganzas, which were everywhere within eyeshot. There was a nice full-length bank of windows letting in plenty of natural light, which was the only genuinely humane thing to be encountered in the place. I had a couple of overpriced and underwhelming appetizers 1) Japanese fried chicken with dipping sauce on a bed of shredded cabbage $11) and 2) two quite small soft-shelled pulled-pork tacos with avocado and cilantro $9). A neighboring couple had the praised $14 burger no lettuce or tomato; no fries) and told me it was tasty. There are various seating arrangements in the new informal style ranging from Oktoberfest benches to high stools to cozy nooks, tables, and regular chairs. The chicken was tough and the intended crispy battering was overcooked, dry and limp; the seeming lemon sauce was nonspecific and the skimpy cabbage hardly distinguished. The pork was not bad but the avocado was slightly gooey. The service was only fair; the ambiance noisy some kind of obnoxious German beer-hall game being played by customers wielding large hammers and banging on a tree stump from time-to-time). The barkeeper-recommended pale ale beer I had was thin and anemic. It did have a slight head of foam, which I usually do not see anywhere in St. Paul.

The burger at Birches is fantastic, and the matchstick fries are quite tasty as well. We also enjoyed the fried Brussels sprouts, which were thoroughly crispy! My wife really liked the hazy IPA, and if you're a fan of malty dark beers like me, I'd recommend trying the Munich Dunkel. I also had a coffee golden ale that was pretty good. Our server was excellent; when the fries came out a bit undercooked, she quickly took them back and brought them back perfectly done. If you find yourself in Lowertown St. Paul and craving a beer and a burger, I highly recommend Birches!

I had a fantastic first experience at this new restaurant! We tried the potatoes, cauliflower, and the beef heart pastrami sandwich, and everything was outstanding. The sandwich was incredibly tender, bursting with flavor, and had a delightful kick to it. The chilled cauliflower was a surprising touch—perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious! Their IPA was refreshingly good, and they even serve an old-fashioned on tap. I'm not an expert in that drink, but my husband said it was excellent. The service was very attentive as well. I can't wait to return!