Gopher Bar

I’ve been craving a Coney island from the Gopher Bar lately. Unfortunately, it is not in a convenient location near my home. Why are all of the best places so far away? Maybe it is for the best, so I don’t eat these things that are probably really bad for me so often! It is worth the drive over to St Paul though.

A couple years ago we stopped in at the Gopher Bar and had the Coney islands for the first time on St Patrick’s day. I thought maybe the fact that I had consumed several beverages prior to eating the Coney had clouded my judgment, but they were just as good on this visit as our first visit.

We each ordered a Coney Island and shared a side order of fries. I asked for my Coney without onions. John had the onions on his and he said they were very fresh and crunchy. There was a lot of chili under all of the freshly grated cheese. The griddled, toasted  buns are amazing. Very soft and buttery. The chili is not spicy, it seemed more like seasoned hamburger to me than chili, though everywhere makes chili differently. Actually, on their menu they refer to the chili as mustard meat sauce. That explains it I guess. The hot dog had a nice snap to it as well.

The service or ambiance is nothing notable, though it is fun to read all of the colorful and interesting quotes on the walls. The place is basically a dive bar, that happens to have decent Coney dogs. Nothing more nothing less. Nothing trendy around here. The bartender’s service was quick and efficient though. But it was not at all busy when we stopped in at 6pm on a Saturday evening, so we were in and out pretty quickly.  

The Gopher Bar really does have the best Coney Islands I have ever tasted. If you are ever in downtown St Paul I highly recommend you go and check it out for yourself.

Gopher Bar

241 7th St E  

St Paul, MN 55101
(651) 291-9638

http://www.gopherbar.com/