Bradstreet Crafthouse

Comments:

By Kimberly Bayerl on February 13, 2009 at 4:30 pm:

My friend and I love to try new places around downtown Minneapolis as much as possible. He sent me the Star Tribune article on Bradstreet Crafthouse. The article intrigued me as much as him so we decided to go that very night. It sounded like an experience in itself and the entertainment and drinks were explained in the article as impeccable. We were very enthusiastic to go see what Bradstreet Crafthouse was all about ourselves. He, his partner and I arrived around 6pm. There were no bar stools, so we sat at one of the tables in the bar area. The ambiance was warm and quite lovely at first glance. Our waitress approached us and explained some of the specialty drinks after we asked what she'd suggest. All three of us like Vodka and in looking at the selection under Vodka, there were only 3 to choose from. So they decided to order two out of the three offered because we were told that one was a bit sweet. That's when I decided to just order my favorite drink, a Belvedere Dirty Martini straight up. Within seconds I felt as if I was scolded as she explained to me they don't offer Belvedere and that they don't believe that olives should have ever been mixed with liquor. It felt as if I was asking for a glass of Mad Dog. So, my friend changed his order so that I could get the Vodka drink he originally ordered. She told us that these "special" drinks take longer to make, but I never knew just how long. until I went to Bradstreet Crafthouse! They were NOT busy and there was clearly seating available around us. After about 15 minutes we finally received our first round of drinks. I had to laugh inside as she sat the drinks on the table because they were miniscule, but I was still making an attempt to keep my spirits up. We ordered some food and as soon as the food got there, my friend ordered another drink right away because the first round took so long.smart man. We finished eating and so his partner and I ordered another drink. We both received our drinks after about 10 minutes. I ordered a Vodka Tonic..never knew that was such a "special" drink, but who was I to complain when my friend sat drink-less and had ordered at least 25-30 minutes prior to us ordering. I wanted to explode and the ambiance suddenly turned pitch black at that moment. I was done, I wanted to speak with anyone that would listen. We talked to our waitress and she said they are running behind. Running behind??? Not acceptable when it takes that long to receive one drink. I don't care if they have round ice cubes, oblong ice cubes, freshly squeezed fruit or bartenders on the ceiling doing tricks.if it takes that long- there's a real issue. Unless they get it together- they will fail. Finally, the bartender that was so highly talked about in the article came in for 5-10 minutes, trick-less and left again. So what was suppose to be a night of dancing ice cubes and a talented bartender ended up to be bartenders reading drink recipes off cards and taking a minimum of 10 minutes to make each drink. We left and ventured next door to Bellanotte and all three of us order a Belvedere Dirty Martini's straight up. I cannot explain just how invigorating the first sip tasted. Best part of all? We didn't have to wait 15 minutes to receive a drink, they didn't mock us or give us a seminar on how olives should never be mixed with liquor. Instead, they made us 3 drinks within minutes, smiled and thanked us. Bradstreet Crafthouse should learn from their neighbors next door. You don't always need different shapes of ice cubes and tricks behind a bar. (which we saw none by the way) Sometimes all it takes is a good drink, a smile and for someone to say thanks. The rest of the experience is left to us. In the good company of both my friends that evening, the night may have had a S-L-O-W start..and I'm talking slow- but the pace was picked up the moment we left Bradstreet Crafthouse.

By Tobin on February 17, 2009 at 6:08 am:

I think this place is the best. Sure you have to wait 20 minutes for a drink, but if you want a Cracktini, you will wait. Unless of course you are a Princess.

By Cariann on February 19, 2009 at 9:38 am:

I too like to try out new restaurants and because I had been to Cosmos before I decided that Bradstreet might be worth checking out. We arrived later in the evening, 8 ish and were promptly asked where we would like to sit. And odd question I thought, but it was soon explained to me that there are a few places to sit... all with a different experience. My date and I decided on the lounge area. It's a velvet curtained off area in the back that is quite loungy. I'm told that they plan to have a different type of music back there too. We were immediately greeted and walked through the menu. It was also explained to us that they do not have flavored vodkas and the like as it is much like flavored coffees. I can understand that. We were a bit overwhelmed at the sheer size of the menu, but asked for suggestions. Immediately we knew this was a place for us. Everything that was suggested was amazing. We even asked about the baseball sized ice cubes and got the manager to come over to explain it to us. (Tony, nice guy!) With everything we ordered we got explanations as to how everything works together like the black sesame ice cream with the dark chocolate cake, good and interesting separate, but amazing together... how everything is made on site, like all of the bitters in little eye drop bottles behind the bar to the ketchup... and even how if we wanted our drinks to "come faster" we could order more then one at a time. I guess Kim didn't get that memo. All in all our night was awesome and I have been back a few times and will continue to do so. I'm sorry for the long review, but I wanted to make sure that there was an even representation. I would recommend this place to anyone who is not a TGIFriday's kind of person.

By Alison on February 25, 2009 at 2:41 pm:

I would recommend trying this place however my review is not encouraging. The service is slow and the food is ok at best. The bar has a nice atmosphere and is worth checking out. I will probably return for one more try. In this economy I would encourage the management to train their staff to be more efficient and improve on the food. There are just too many places to go in Mpls that are far better. Hopefully because it is still new, Bradstreet has time to continue to improve.

By Jane on February 28, 2009 at 8:30 pm:

Being a fairly new transplant to the TC, mu husband and I are doing our best to eat our way through the plethora of fine dining available, and Bradstreets was definitely one of the best. We sat at the Chef's Table and the 3 of us (our daughter was visiting, and we celebrated her 21st there) sampled pretty much everything on the small plate menu. The sliders, lamb ribs and lime fizzy dessert were particularly good! Service was excellent and friendly, the wait for the drinks was okay, (because it was explained to us) and $3 glasses of wine? Does it get any better? But the real secret to their success is Vinnie, the food and beverage manager. Super friendly, gave us all kinds of great tips about MN, and just an all around good guy. Definitely on the "we'll go back to" list.

By 21A Gourmet on February 19, 2009 at 9:38 am:

We also read the Star Tribune articles on Bradstreet Crafthouse and checked it out last weekend. It was lovely and we had excellent service. The cocktails were sensational -- perfectly balanced combinations of delicious and unusual ingredients. The food (all small plates) wasn't quite on the same level, but we would definitely go back. The polenta fries were great and space is cozy and romantic.

By msmpls on March 6, 2009 at 8:13 pm:

The Bradstreet is a great addition to the Mpls bar scene. I've been there half a dozen times and have always had great experiences and friendly service. I can see how it's upsetting to some people that they can't order their cranberry vodka or appletini, but the Bradstreet has chosen to stock their bar with some incredible rare liquors and liqueurs rather than those terrible flavored vodkas. I can respect that. You have to go there with an open mind and be ready to get educated on different drinks, bitters, techniques, etc. Don't shoot the messenger because they won't let you mix vodka with olives or because they tell you that real martinis are made with gin (they didn't make the drink list or stock the bar)...just try something out of the norm and you'll probably love it. You wouldn't go to an italian restaurant and expect to order sushi just like you wouldn't come to the Bradstreet to order a cocktail you can get at any bar. I've been lucky enough to sit at the bar every time I've come there and I think that adds to the experience and makes for a shorter wait. Avoid the Bradstreet on the weekends if you don't want a long wait, but IMHO quality is something worth waiting for.

By CTYankee on March 6, 2009 at 8:13 pm:

We were very disappointed. Big fan of Chef Trojahn so we made a reservation a week in advance. Stood for five minutes at the hostess stand before someone noticed us and then didn't even get an actual table-we were taken to the "lounge" area and sat at cushions with a tiny little table between our legs. Drinks were excellent but service was ridiculously slow. We had to ask a passing server for water TWICE and our server did not even notice when our drinks were empty. The food, while delicious, came in such tiny portions that after eating the Restaurant Week menu we had to ask for a bread basket so that we didn't walk out hungrier than we came. Woke up with a neck cramp from hunching over the tiny little tables. Return for drinks only.

By princess on March 9, 2009 at 1:13 pm:

I normally wouldn't write about a place in a city I don't live in, but the situation was fairly disappointing I feel I have to.. I was in town from Chicago visting a friend and she told me about Bradstreet, the bartenders are from the same place as the Violet Hour in Chicago, which I love, so I had to check it out. Sadly, while the drinks were stellar (but tiny), everything else was quite disappointing. The first thing I noticed was the cheap atmosphere, it looked like a dungeon decorated with the leftover items from a Target's bizarre department. is Minneapolis really this lame when it comes to design, I thought? (and the funny thing is I guess the place is name for an interior designer!) Then there was the long time waits for service, food, drinks, etc. and, while I am always in the mood for a bargain (this place states that one of its great qualities is everything under $10) the portion and sizes are laughable. You have to order at least four 10-dollar apps to even taste the fairly bland food concoctions . Good thing I won't be back in Minneapolis anytime soon, so I don't get roped into vising the Target dungeon again.I'll be happiest at the Violet Hour.

By Katy on March 12, 2009 at 12:10 pm:

I tried Bradstreet last night with friends and while there are more positives than negatives, the negatives were BIG. I expected the 15-20 minute wait for drinks and that's fine, good things are worth the wait and the drinks were very, very good. I did not expect the service to be soooooooooooo slow otherwise. It literally took us 45 minutes to pay our tab. After dropping the check (which had 2 cocktails we didn't drink on it so we needed it adjusted) we didn't see our server for 10-15 minutes, then when she reappeared and we showed her the mistake, it was another 10-15 minutes before she returned with the corrected tab. Then she leaves and, yes, another 10-15 minutes before she returned to pick up or money and then, you guessed it...10-15 minutes before she came back with our change. That's just wrong. The 20% automatic gratuity is odd-for Minneapolis at least. We were only 4. I've never seen that. I tip 20%, but to have it added automatically is a bit presumptuous and a little insulting. Not cool. Beyond that, I love Bradstreet. The cocktails are marvelous, the atmosphere great. I love that you can make a reservation at a bar. I love there is a new place for grown-ups in Minneapolis to go out for drinks and a bite to eat and not be packed, nuts to butts with youngsters. Hopefully they'll crack a whip and get the service moving with a little more sense of urgency. I'll wait for drink...but not a check, not water.

By Cocktail Tease on May 28, 2009 at 6:35 am:

I finally got around to trying this place out, based on several good reviews I'd read. The drinks were well-crafted and excellent. I had no issue with the wait, although the bar was nearly empty, I can't imagine how long it would've taken with more people there. The food was good, not great. But what really disappointed me at the end --- note that they didn't mention this at the beginning, before two of us ordered 100 buck of food and cocktails --- was that they announced as they handed us the tab that they'd already added the "tip" automaticaly. Sorry, that's not a "tip," if it's forced onto your bill without your consent. Worse yet, when I opened it up, they'd added a mandatory 20%. To me, 20% presumes you've provided top-notch service. Okay, in this case, this one night, they did. I would've paid 20% or more on my own, no question. But wow, how presumptuous and arrogant to not only add an automatic tip, but to set it above the generally accepted norm like that. Bottom line, yup, it's a good spot for a drink, but I would never go back to a place with that kind of institutional attitude towards its customers. Nice try, but I'll pass.