Tater tot hotdish is shown with other dishes at Smorgie’s, a new affordable comfort food restaurant across from the Xcel Energy Center, on Feb. 20, 2024. The restaurant is open till 1 a.m. daily. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
Do you still remember the word that knocked you out of your elementary school spelling bee?
I sure do. Curse you, “smorgasbord!”
I love what the word refers to, of course — a full buffet table, or, more generally, a wide variety of something — and, after my onstage embarrassment, I’ll never spell it incorrectly ever again.
But I think I would’ve had more luck back then if I could’ve just spelled Smorgie’s, the name of a new comfort-food restaurant downtown by the Xcel Energy Center.
Unlike its longer namesake, Smorgie’s won’t hurt your 5th-grade ego — nor your present-day wallet.
Every item on the menu, from drinks to apps to entrees, is less than $15. And it rocks.
Beer and wine options average out at about $7 a pop and cocktails run $8–$12, with a great two-for-one deal on rail drinks, house wines and tap beers during daily happy hour. The raspberry island iced tea ($12), a tart twist on the classic long island, is particularly good, quite large and plenty strong.
A variety of dishes including onion rings, tater tot hotdish, chili mac, and a “church basement bar” are shown Feb. 20, 2024, at Smorgie’s. The restaurant, which serves affordable comfort food, recently opened on West 7th Street. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
The food menu leans heavily into classic up-north potluck staples, from sloppy joes to Swedish meatballs. I’ll be back to try the double smashburger and fried chicken sandwiches soon, but for my first visit, it only felt fair to start with a classic: Tater tot hotdish ($12).
A layer of broiled cheese on top just tickled me, and the actual hotdish under the tots had the exact ultra-savory cream-of-mushroom-soup quality I was looking for. Not too salty, either. I know some moms who might say Smorgie’s hotdish is skimpy on veggies, but who eats tater tot hotdish for the veggies?
The chili mac ($11), aka a layer of beef and bean chili topped with a layer of macaroni and cheese, wasn’t too bad, either. They used shredded rather than ground beef, which made for a good textural pairing with the noodles.
I probably wouldn’t eat a bowl of the chili alone — it was surprisingly thick and had a slight tinny flavor, which I imagine was due either to an overlong cook time or too much tomato paste, or both — but it was well-spiced and beefy, for sure.
The portion sizes initially struck me as a bit smaller than what other similar restaurants might offer, but the food is heavy, after all. You’ll leave satiated but not weighed down, nor will you have to lug a to-go box of leftovers to the concert or Wild game. (Plus, many restaurants’ portion sizes are too big, anyway!)
Appetizers range from State Fair (pickle fries; mini corn dogs) to, well, a bit less State Fair (smoked salmon dip). The house Smorgie’s sauce, which comes with the onion rings ($8) and the pickle fries and tops the burger, too, is quite tasty. Took me by surprise.
And for $4, you can end the night with a “church basement bar” in caramel apple streusel, raspberry streusel, pecan caramel or peanut butter cup varieties. They’re big, too: I didn’t have a tape measure with me, but I’d estimate my delightful apple pastry was about three tater tots by three tater tots, the long way.
The space itself, on the ground floor of the new Courtyard by Marriott, was initially built for a spring break-themed restaurant from the owner of the nearby Apostle Supper Club. That project didn’t pan out.
Now, as Smorgie’s, the decor is fun and trendy and completely incongruent. A smorgasbord of vibes, I suppose you could say. In one corner: floral wallpaper; tables with rope-swing benches for seats. In another area: soft pink plaid wallpaper; a red vinyl couch; vintage-esque frames and mirrors. Why not? There are regular booths and high tops, too.
Smorgie’s is not revelatory. It’s probably not going to be the best you’ve ever had. Plenty of other spots in St. Paul are taking care of boundary-pushing, and they’re doing so quite creatively.
The exterior of Smorgie’s, in the Courtyard by Marriot across from the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
No, Smorgie’s is an ideal across-from-the-X restaurant. They’re here to fill you up with food and beverages that make you happy and don’t cost too much — till 1 a.m. every single day.
On a recent visit, for example, the total bill for drinks, an appetizer, a pair of entrees and dessert: $64.39. (Which, I think, is the cost of one cocktail over at the X.)
Part of how they achieve this, I suspect, is by reducing staff. Diners seat themselves, and ordering is automated via QR code. At about 6:45 p.m. during that weeknight visit, there appeared to be one employee working the floor: bartending, running orders, bussing tables. She looked a bit stressed. I would be, too.
So still tip well, please — lest you have a smorgasbord (part of speech: noun; language of origin: Swedish) of bad karma come your way.
Smorgie’s
Where: 127 W. 7th Street, across from the Xcel Energy Center.
Hours: Open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily.
Contact: smorgiesbar.com
Prices: Appetizers/snacks range from $8–$10; mains (salads, sandwiches, comfort food dishes) run $8–$14, with most costing $10, $11 or $12 apiece. Desserts are $4; drinks range from $6 to $12.
Reservations: Not accepted; walk-ins only.
Good to know: You can submit your own favorite comfort food recipe to the restaurant — and if they like it, they’ll feature it on the menu for a month.
Small Bites are first glances — not intended as definitive reviews — of new or changed restaurants.
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