Noyes & Cutler on the park TODOTC.com To Do in the Twin Cities Restaurants Noyes & Cutler on the park Date: Jan 27, 2023 Park Square Court Building 229 6th St E St Paul, MN 55101 Phone: (651) 968-1050 www.noyescutler.com

 
Tonight we are at Noyes & Cutler across from Mears Park in St Paul. Always entertaining S Paul. Our server Valerie then Jennifer, we moved.
 
If there can be a worse first 45 minutes in all our reviews, I can't remember one. Oh, wait there was that time we showed up for reservations at 7 on Friday night and the entire place was taken over by a wedding party. BUT the owner did write a note on an envelope that next time we came, his treat. But DARE I digress.
 
These days we always opt for Valet Parking. And if we are going in either downtown it's a requirement for us. Noyes & Cutler HAS valet parking. Well actually they have SIGNS that say valet parking. In front of which I parked for literally TEN Minutes as E walked a block alone at night downtown St Paul in the dark. I prefer to walk with her.
 
So, after ten minutes I pulled forward a half a block and asked two young Troubadours where the Valet Parking was. One said you are here, we'll park it. As I walked away with my claim check the guy asked to be paid. He couldn't break a $20 so I guess I gave a $5 tip for outstanding service.
 
E asked at the table how I was going to prove I paid already, I agreed with her. Turned out not to be a problem.
 
I mentioned the parking situation to the matradee and she said they did not work for the restaurant. OK so THAT will never happen again.
 
As I walked from my truck to the entrance to Noyes & Cutler, alongside the incredibly lit Mears Park, I walked to the end of Noyes & Cutler only to see I should turn around the Entrance for the place I walked past earlier. Two signs… naw.. it's only 5 below, welcome to Minnesota. To save you in the future the entrance is in the Park Square Building I had walked past.
 
So I entered Noyes & Cutler, a nice old wood building with plenty of space between tables and a great view of Mears Park. And because we entered through Park Square and not the door to the street, which lacked a double door antechamber, the restaurant was warm and inviting. 
 
Well warm & inviting when it came to temperature. As far as sound… we were seated next to a table of eight who loved to laugh, stomp their feet and out talk each other. We nicely asked to be moved. Something we haven't don't for at least 5 years.
 
I then went to the restroom, nothing unusual but on the way back in a let an unescorted six year old back in the restaurant. It was "Me" I'll admit I was the one that left the Tasmanian Devil in the restaurant. At first I thought the kid belonged to the restaurant but after running around the restaurant and stomping everywhere he went he always came back to a booth that must have been his parents. I guess feeding him Mountain Dew and Skittles every time he went past our table did not help things.
At about forty-five minutes after our reservation time things started getting better. By then we had our new table, wines were being drank and things were back to your typical Friday night.
 
So onto the menu. The menu at Noyes & Cutler is exactly like all restaurant menus should be. It's simple on one piece of paper, menu on one side and drinks on the other. Their wine selection is very good. By the bottle you can get a $96 Domain Serene Wine founded by a Minnesota Couple in Williamette Valley Oregon. We were out there in July, a can't miss winery. And wines you can rarely find locally. Go to our July 2022 reviews to see pictures and more on the winery. They have a #1 Red & #1 White world rated wines in Wine Speculator. A drop-dead gorgeous wine estate with really nice people.
There are about a dozen red wines by the glass all under $15. E had a Paso Daou Cab and I had a luscious Sonoma Murphy Zin on the coldest night of the year when Zins should be drank next to a roaring fire. Good pours and good, not great wines.
The food portion of the menu had lots of nice options. For a salad we had a Fall salad for $14. We always split everything we eat, to save on our waistlines and our budget. Rarely is there any charge or hassle to do so. In this case we each had more salad then either one of us could eats. The Fall Gluten Free Salad was made of Arugula, diced squash, apples, Pepitas, pecans & Maple Vinaigrette for $14
Next, we had grilled bread which again was good for $2.
Then for a main course we had Beer Battered Walleye for $18, which was the best food we had for the night. If you like a good old Wisconsin or South Dakota Friday night fish fry like both of us grew up on you will love this Walleye.
Lastly, we ordered $24 Beef Stroganoff which proved again to us why we split everything. The beef Stroganoff was made with braised beef, house made egg noodles, cream, Mushrooms and crispy Garlic  for $24. Sadly. the second entrée we do on a rare occasion was too much food for us. The beef Stroganoff was good but better than half went to our award-winning dogs ate more of it then we did.
I have never ripped on a Matradee before but the issues we had all point to them. Who else's job is it to maintain order in a restaurant… maybe that nights manager I don't know. Wait once I did get upset with a Matradee two years ago in Wayzata in a new fancy restaurant that told us we were mistaken about having 8:30 reservations on Friday night. At which time E took out her phone and said do you NORMALLY TEXT people that don't have reservations? That was cleared up fast… keep those receipts even if they are electronic.
Is Noyes & Cutler great tell all your friends' restaurant? No, it isn't. It's a nice place with a nice view with average food. In the area it's the ONLY good Friday night sit down restaurant we have found. The next closest good restaurants would be Meritage we went to last week and Louis Cosetta both a mile plus away. And they are BOTH exceptional. Will we return? I don't see it. But there is nothing wrong with it.
So if you want to try some new place in the area give it a try.

Contact us Dennis@ToDoTC.com