Local restaurants downtown St. Cloud

Jules’ Bistro

On Wednesday, I ventured to downtown St. Cloud to visit a place that I had only seen, never been to.

Its facade was a little intimidating and walking in you have to seat yourself. After I got over the panic of picking your own seat, I was greeted by a waitress who brought me a water and a menu. After looking at the menu, I decided to get a turkey bacon ranch wrap with a side of kettle chips served with a pickle spear (a little weird, but appreciated). Almost everything on the list was $9.50, so I’d say that’s a pretty decent price for simple, good food. After ordering I had a solid 20 minutes to observe my surroundings and I realized that there was a lot of work put into the decor and vibe of this place. On the walls there were paintings and other art works by local artists available for sale. The lights were kind of dim with a kind of uptight mood from the dark wall color and the heavy chairs and tables. Once I got my wrap I was nervous at first, but guys, this was absolutely amazing. It was cold and texturally perfect, with a homemade ranch dressing inside. So overall, I would say for sure check this super cute bistro out! 

Sawatdee

In Downtown St. Cloud, there are countless options for food, but possibly the most unique is Sawatdee.

This restaurant serves authentic Thai food in a prime location downtown. The atmosphere inside was very homey and comforting as well as composed and authentic. The service was warm and friendly, but the menu was a bit confusing only because I am totally not well versed in Thai food. However, I figured that the fresh spring rolls (pictured) were a pretty safe and well-known dish that I felt comfortable trying. It was an experience I’ve never had before honestly. The rice paper wrapper was sticky and weird, but good, the white parts inside that I thought was rice was actually rice noodles which was really surprising, and they were a super weird texture. The vegetables inside were really good and fresh I think they were carrots, cabbage, cilantro, and maybe one other herb that I couldn’t put my finger on, but it worked really well together. The chicken pieces and the shrimps were really good and it all pairs super well. The peanut sauce, I don’t know what was all in it, but it was really good and pulled the whole spring roll together. Overall my experience was really good, and I’d recommend everyone to try it.

Dolsie’s Lunchbox Grille

Newest to downtown St. Cloud is Dolsie’s Lunchbox Grille.

This quaint restaurant downtown is the newest of our three places to eat. I ordered online to avoid sitting in a busy restaurant by myself, which was super fast and convenient and ready in 20 minutes. I ordered the most basic burger possible and a popover for a total of $10.74. Now, this may have been much better had I eaten it as soon as I picked it up, but I didn’t and I drove with it in my passenger seat for the 15 minute drive back to school. Once I got to my destination, I opened the box, and it looked like it did in the picture, a bit messy but not the worst ever. I also got a popover (not pictured) because I thought that was pretty brave and cool for them to have. The popover was fist-sized and served with a cinnamon honey butter mixture that saved the whole thing. The popover and burger alike were pretty bland and basic, nothing too special. All in all, I may just say save your money.