Erik the Red

I had bought a Groupon for Erik the Red, thinking it would be a good excuse to try a newish place, since the location is out of the way for us. I had read a Heavy Table review awhile back and thought the Nordic BBQ concept sounded interesting.

I had the brisket with burnt Brussel sprouts as my side. The Brussel sprouts were pretty good. They were a crisp and a tad salty, but probably the best item on my plate. The brisket was OK, it really needed the sauce to give it flavor as it did not have much otherwise. No smoke flavor to speak of either.

John had the brisket with root fries, which were potatoes, carrots and parsnip fries. They may have had potential, but they were cold. Not even a little warm, freezing cold. The server never asked how the food was, so no opportunity to share that fact with him. Oh well.

Two BBQ sauces were available to top the meats. The white sauce had horseradish and garlic flavor and was quite good. The red sauce was a traditional tomato based sauce.

While the food was just OK, I think this restaurant may have potential as a good spot to visit before or after events at US Bank Stadium. The service was OK, a bit more than a little slow at times. Overall, I would not go out of my way to go back though. There are quite a few better places for BBQ in the city.


Erik the Red
601 Chicago Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: (612) 249-5999
https://www.eriktheredbar.com/