Axel’s Restaurants

Came here for all you can eat crab, it was our 15 th wedding anniversary.
It was disgusting! Complained and gave us a free piece of cake! Never going here again! And we live in Chanhassen Mn

We ate here on Sunday for Valentine’s Day and did the brunch. We did the package where our table had rose pedals, a vase with roses and we each got a glass of champagne. We also did mimosas with our brunch. The food was amazing and the staff was super nice. We definitely had a great time and I was really happy with everything. I would definitely recommend Axels to anyone.

After tonight’s bad dining experience it will be a very long time before we return. Poor food quality, lousy service. Server didn’t even serve our food, saw her again when she brought the check.
$ 50 bone in ribeye, $ 15 burger, $ 13 chicken sandwiches… please! Axel’s needs a serious wake up call. No longer a good value.
Burgers and chicken served on seriously plain, grocery store buns. Hello. I’ve had better grilled chicken at fast food restaurants.
Chanhassen needs a good restaurant.
Axel’s is in seriously bad shape.

YUCK! If we could give this place 0 stars we would. Just spent $ 130.00 on a meal that was served cold (twice as we returned them and were then served cold food yet again) and the food was delivered piece meal. We were not able to eat as a couple. We had to actually ASK for a portion of our meal, it seemingly was not ordered via the kitchen.
The waitress was the worst that we have ever experienced. She botched our order EVERY step of the way. Her response «I’ve only been here for a month!» When is that an acceptable response to a guest?
We have made it 10 years between our visits to Axels due to a negative dining experience (you heard it-​women, we NEVER forget) and it will be at least another 15 years before we would ever dine here again (both my husband and BIL’s exact words)
Food quality at Chilis is FAR superior to this place, best just dine at any low end American duve than ths $$ place
SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY AND DINE ELSEWHERE!

Came in for a birthday party. I had the prime rib, very good. Service was a bit slow, but overall a good experience. Its a little fancier then I like but its nice to get out of town and try someplace new.

Again disappointed. Poor service slow food and not cooked properly!

Service was slow when I arrived but this worked to my advantage as I decided to wait to order until happy hour to begin at nine. Ordered Summit EPA tall and Mussels. Very Good and with the wait.

Based on 3 different visits, I would give Axel’s 3.5 stars. I will definitely go back next time I am in town.
Overall, my experiences were good: food, service, atmosphere. One visit was by myself (ate at the bar), one in a large work team dinner, and the third time was with a couple of work colleagues.
Food: I enjoyed what I’ve had here, and it appears the menu changes over time. My first visit I had the french dip sandwich, which was one of the best I’ve ever had. Made with prime rib and topped with sautéed peppers and onions… very good. Second visit I had a pork chop special which was also good, and most recent visit I had the spicy chicken penne. Portions plenty enough for me; I couldn’t even finish the penne.
Service: Servers were attentive but not «in your face», although one server did seem a little rough around the edges. Not what I would expect in a restaurant trying to give off a casual classy vibe.
Atmosphere: I like the atmosphere. Kind of an understated «mountain lodge» elegance. Not bright, but a little dark and subdued. Reminds me of nice restaurants from the 1960’s. But I realize this is very much a matter of personal taste, and some people may not like this type of place.
Price: I’ve seen some people find Axel’s pricey. For the type of restaurant, the prices are right in line with what I would expect. The food could be just a bit better for the price, but for sure my meals were all good.

The place should first start with better signage so you don’t go past it — as U-​turns are not easy on this strip of the road.
The server we had wasn’t having a good day I don’t think and her attitude clearly showed that — I’ve had better service at a McDonald’s!
Food was served fairly quickly and tasted ok, but for what you pay for anything here — not so good. The locals may think this is a great place, but I’ve had so much better that I could only hand out 2 stars!

We made reservations for a Saturday evening at 6:00 and the parking lot was packed. We found a spot and wandered in (party of 5) and were surprised to see it relatively slow.
White fabric tablecloths, high prices… odd service. I ordered a glass of wine, not carded. My boyfriend ordered an old fashioned, carded. My that-​day-​just-​turned-​21 year old sister asked for a couple drink recommendations. Our server said she’d have to ask the bartender… odd. My sister specified she liked rum and tequila and prefers sweet drinks. 5 minutes later she came back with a drink — Lisa didn’t get any say in it, just was delivered one. Luckily she liked it. We asked her what drink he’d made and she said «dunno» — just not white tablecloth service so far. We weren’t alerted that it was happy hour until she came over and said we have 1 minute left to order a HH priced app — well that would have been a nice place to START. We ordered the crab cakes.
We were surprised when a tiny plate with TWO crab cakes came out. They seemed to have just been warmed up as they fell apart just by looking at them. Between 5 of us we each got one bite — she really should have alerted us to the portion size.
Entrees ordered were the coconut shrimp, bleu cheese steak medallions, halibut, chicken marsala and the spicy penne pasta. I wasn’t eating meat and noted that there was not a single vegetarian dinner option, not even pasta — only salad. I ordered the blackened chicken pasta sans meat and it really was just a cream sauce at that point… not their fault on that particular dish, but more options would have been nice. Oh well, I knew where I was. Mom really enjoyed her halibut, but I thought that the sauce was overwhelmingly sweet. Joe noted that his marsala was drowning in sauce as well. The steak was cooked perfectly, and the coconut shrimp were huge.
For such a fancy establishment, I also thought that the plating could use a lot of help. Sauce overload, half of it splashed on the sides of the plate. Portions were all off between seafood and meat.
Our service picked up a notch as the meal went on, but she was quite obviously sick as she sniffled and hacked between sentences — ew, take the night off.
It was an enjoyable meal with enjoyable company — but not somewhere I find on par with their prices.

Axel’s is the epitomizes a certain word for me, and it’s an interesting word to associate and define a restaurant by:
FAKE
Axel’s offer you the faux experience of fine dining, when in actuality it’s over-​priced, unoriginal, and serves a great demographic of American’s: One’s who don’t know or care what it is, as long as it’s expensive and seems fancy, it must be fancy!
I had a soup to start, as I was famished and knew that would come out quick. I don’t even remember what it is because I spit it out.
Axel’s doesn’t really have an identity to me. It’s just this bland, «are we a steakhouse» mess of a restaurant. One of my main driving factors in this assessment is the price. It is extremely expensive and does not offer any kind originality (you can get the same dishes at Wildfire, but at least they know who they are and they are who they say they are). Chanhassen is barren of good places to eat — and having Axel’s take up this space infuriates me. Unfortunately the residents and clientele are quiet midwestern folk who just don’t know better, and will continue to shovel Axel’s flavorless and poorly cooked food into their ignorant mouths.
If you wan’t a GREAT prime rib, go across the street to Brindisi’s and have there’s. Twice as good, half the price. If you’re going out for a steak, try Jake O’Connor’s, or Hazzellewood, or even Wildfire if that’s what you’re into (I personally don’t patron national chains whatsoever).

Great experience. One of the coolest interiors I’ve been in awhile. Great items on the menu. I would of liked to see more range, but still good. The lunch trio is the way to go for lunch. The soup and crab cake was excellent coming out with pristine presentation on a long plate. Has to be one of the best, if not the best options in the area. The old school flavor of this place is definitely something to experience.

There’s is Axel’s and there is Bonfire. This location is, Axel’s. I believe it is corporate owned. The Corporate stores are supposed to be better ! The Corporate stores need a menu makeover ! There is no way I would pay full price for any of their appetizers ! I don’t even think any of their apps. are worth it at half price ! The menu is overpriced and very limited !
I think it is ironic that the menu, and the food can be so good at Bonfire in Eagan, but they service is so BAD !
The service is so good at Axel’s in Chanhassen and Mendota Heights, yet they food is bad !
The Mendota location stinks when you walk in ! I mean, It smells bad !
I really wanted to like these places. One of them is really close to where we live. Too bad…

My pasta was way over cooked to the point it was mush. However I did not complain to the waiter so he did not have a chance to correct it.
My wife had the steak medium but it came without any pink in it. Wouldn’t you think a steak house would know how to cook a steak? That one we did have them redo and the did a nice job the second time. That steak was very good.
Devore– outdated and not inviting to the younger generation.
Overall — it was just ok and nothing about it would make me go back.
Sorry Axel’s but you blew it.

What a joke of a steakhouse. The portions are generous but it hardly makes up for the poor quality, terrible presentation and uninspired menu. The crab cakes were unrecognizable and tasted nothing like crab. My whole meal was cold and my green beans were shriveled up, sad little things. We were there at 7 on a Friday which should be their A game. What a disappointment. Either save your money and cook a better meal at home or go to Capital Grille for a few bucks more and have a really awesome meal.

I live in Chanhassen. I want to like this place. But wow it is just so average. the food, the service, the menu. all sub par.
This would be great if they changed it over to Bonfire menu which is part of the same ownership group. -
For this same type of menu you can drive to Eden Prairie and eat at Wildfire with better food, service and décor.

Went to dinner last evening with my grandmother had Jordan as our server. He was beyond professional and very nice to stand there and listen to her talk for a while. Extremely great service, the general manager (Jules?) also walked by and stopped at our table to talk to us which was very pleasing when I come from a restaurant industry worker myself it’s nice to see other companies reaching out to their customers and clientele as well! Our food was amazing per usual!

I want to like this place as the town is being taken by Outbacks but I just can’t. Service was poor and the food was flavorless. wilted salad, no bread offered, and cold entrees. It’s too bad. A burger and a sirloin entrée was $ 79. Terrible.

My husband and I went to Axel’s last night for our Valentine’s Day dinner. The atmosphere is classy/​up-​scale meets rustic/​woodsy. I loved the decore, antler chandeliers, nice table settings, and «Valentine’s Day ice sculpture». It was fun being able to dress up and not feel like we «over did it».
Our server was friendly and attentive, considering it was an abnormally busy evening.
The menu is excellent. Most entrees are at least $ 19 and up, which for people who don’t do fine dining very often is a splurge for us. But the quality of the food didn’t disappoint. The entrees come with bread, soup or salad, and a side of your choir of potato (loaded, fries, etc). So you definitely get your fill with plenty to take home for later. :)
Overall, great dining experience. Will be back.

I go to the Bonfire in St. Paul ALL the time and I was so happy to see they had a sister bar right by the dinner theater. We arrived early and was able to just walk across to the bar and enjoy a few pre-​show cocktails… prior to the box office opening. We had an absolutely wonderful time… met some wonderful ladies having a good time on a Saturday night and also our lady bartender was very accommodating and went out of her way to make us a top-​notch Cosm and gave us the very best fishbowl glasses they had… which they don’t bust out for just anybody… LOVED HER…