Bites Grill and Bar

Awesome service and the homemade desserts were unbelievable! I will be back next time I’m in town! The owners are really nice people I’m happy to have visited with them!

The menu just keeps getting better!
I enjoyed a delicious Caesar salad (yummy Rye croutons!), a tasty dinner roll, the Hungarian Mushroom Soup is outstanding. It’s impossible to pass it up…
They offered a white board menu of the month. Three members of our party made selections from the monthly specials.
I choice the Jack Daniels 6 oz. sirloin steak, with grilled onions and mushrooms. It had just enough spicy heat to it, to make it interesting. The sweetness of the sauce was prepared to perfection. I ordered it medium rare, and for my tastes, it was closer to «medium». But it was so tender, juicy and flavorful, it still earned its Five Star rating.
My husband is a serious fan of anything pasta. He ordered the blackened salmon over a cheesy pasta. The pasta was plentiful, the salmon on the petite side. There was not one complaint on the preparation. The salmon was simply — to be honest — cooked to P-​E-​R-​F-​E-​C-​T-​I-​O-​N! He shared a bite with me, and I have never had better.
Our hostess ordered a chicken cordon blue with about the largest roasted sweet potato I have ever seen. It looked outstanding. Our host chose a combo platter that was beyond generous. It had ribs, baked beans, and a smaller steak PLUS another meat item!
I cannot wait for our next opportunity to dine at Bites. It is simply terrific!

While visiting the area for the weekend, we ate at Bites last night and it was very good. We also went back for breakfast. Although we arrived during the normal dinner hour, they were already out of a few menu choices. My husband didn’t care for his lobster stuffed walleye, but he loved his Hungarian Mushroom soup. My prime rib was very good. The breakfast choices were very tasty. If we visit the area again, we will be sure to eat here.

This place probably has the worst service I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing. The waitress was incredibly rude. SHANEIL was so bad that I thought this was a joke. My wife found a waded up paper in her mushroom soup. When we told her she said «yeah» and then walked away. My wife asked if it was being taken care of and she responded with «since its actually part of your dinner, it’s pretty much impossible to take it off your bill» She then walked away again. She returned and said the best she could do was $ 2 off. My wife did not agree and asked to see the manager. Shaneil storms off and the manager Wendy returns. She seemed uninterested in the situation and ended the conversation with «I’ll take care of it.» Our food came, it was OK, shaneil didn’t come back to the table until our food was gone. Our drinks stayed empty the entire meal. in the end, the manager only removed $ 5 from our bill. I don’t really even care about the money. The fact that no one cared or ever even apologized is the reason we will never come back.

Their bites are creative, tasty, and not too pricey.
The food is great and I have been here 5+ times and never been disappointed. Their décor is north woods and very quite and casual.
The salads are excellent, the sandwiches are tasty, but my favorite dish here is the butter shrimp pasta. It is sooooo gooood! When we can’t make up our minds eating out up north, we usually go to Bites.
Side note: it is located right off of the Paul Bunyan Bike Trail, so ride your bike and make it an event!

Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s terrible. Presentation is overall lacking on the plates. Really, what Bites excels in is salads, burgers, sandwiches, and overall lunch type or light dinner fare. Pastas, seafood, and higher end style dinners are where they really fall short. But it’s not a high end restaurant, and is more expensive than high end restaurants for what you are given and how poorly it’s presented. For example, you could go to Ivens or Prairie Bay and get better quality seafood dishes with more food and better service for under $ 30. Ordered a seafood dish at bites for $ 32 and got one small lobster tail, 3 scallops, and 3 shrimp sparsely spaced on a plain white plate. Let the server know (respectfully) that it was disappointing and she just said «oh» and slinked away without saying anything else. It was cold and awkward. Moral of the story: come to bites for basic food. Drive to Breezy, crosslake, Nisswa, or Baxter for higher end food.

I agree with the other reviewers. The food is delicious! I had the walleye sandwich and cole slaw. The fish was very fresh and I loved the pecan coating. The cole slaw was delicious (all great cole slaw has celery seed in it!). My husband had the crab cakes, pot roast bites and fried bread pudding bites. All yummy! We went on a Friday mid-​afternoon and the dining room was about half full. The waitress greeted us and took our order promptly. The food was slow getting to the table… we didn’t order anything too complex so not sure why it took so long. The dining room could use a little more light. I appreciate that they did a little landscaping out back so you’re looking at something out the window. I was impressed that the owner came around to each table to make sure everybody was being taken care of (he must be paying attention to the previous reviews). Although this restaurant is a little off the beaten path, it is worth the drive. Great food!

Food = 5 stars; awesome.
Service = 1 star (I’d give 0 if possible) If we didn’t already know how good the food is, we’d have left after 10 minutes.
We went on the Saturday after July 4^th for lunch; it was a rainy day. We sat at a table in the bar and waited and waited… no acknowledge from anyone, although at least two waitresses walked through and the bartender was behind the bar. After 15 minutes I walked around the restaurant until I found menus. I stood at the bar to ask for service but was ignored by the bartender, who waited on other people who showed up after I did. (There were folks sitting at the bar, along with people who came from the dining room to get drinks.) Finally, I wrote out our order (cup of Hungarian mushroom soup, 2 walleye sandwiches, two waters) and handed it to the bartender. He seemed overwhelmed and said he’d give it to the kitchen.
After 15 minutes I went to ask about my soup. «You want it now???» Why, yes, I do. So it appeared. After another 30 minutes or so our sandwiches arrived. While we waited, we watched tables not being cleared (at least three by this time), and new groups coming into the bar and discovering they weren’t going to get much service, if any at all.
The food was amazing. I loved the soup, and walleye sandwiches were amazing as always. So the problem isn’t in the kitchen.
As we ate, a group of four stopped by our table, wistfully looking at our food, and said they were leaving after realizing what was (or was not) happening. They were in the area for a week, so we suggested they come back later in the week when they might not be so busy, since the food is so very good.
Before we finished, the bartender came over to talk to us. Turns out he just bought the restaurant a few weeks below as a retirement project. He had only worked behind the bar four times and believe me, it showed.
We said we realized they must be shorthanded; no, they had extra staff (???). Because of the rain more people came in than usual, and they didn’t realize they should have closed one of the dining rooms. If they had, they could have told folks, «It will be a 45 minute wait.» rather than seating them and letting them sit that long before anything really happened. So sad.
That night we ate at a place in St. Cloud, and the manager started talking to us about menu options, the design of the menu, etc. He wants new food items, so we told him to get to Bites Grill & Bar and copy their food. But he needs to go soon, since we’re not sure how long they’ll be in business.

Excellent food and great service sets this place apart from others in the area. Very nice atmosphere. The staff have been friendly and helpful every time I’ve stopped in for a «bite»! Love this place…

My hubby and I went for my post birthday dinner. They posted they were open on Facebook on my actual birthday but weren’t!
We decided to try it out anyway for dinner. We had been there for lunch a couple of months earlier. I had the meatloaf bites which had good flavor but were barely warm when they arrived. My husband enjoyed the sandwich he ordered.
Our dinner experience was fun. They have weekly whiteboard specials Thursday through Sunday. For a restaurant «in the woods», it’s pretty amazing the items on their menu! We started with the spinach arancini, rice balls. They were actually good! I was skeptical to order something Italian but it was actually good. My husband had the half chicken (he’s quite a chicken guy) and he loved it. I had the chicken whiteboard special that had a mushroom cream sauce. I had the mashed potatoes instead of the rice offered. Everything about our entrees were great minus the veggies! They actually used the baby carrots and cooked them to death! They were mushy and NOT flavorful at all. If they are trying to be a little more upscale, they need to evaluate the veggies with their entrees. I also would recommend a more extensive wine selection by the glass. It is limited but was okay.
Overall, our experience was good. I would rate it a 4.5 if the veggies were better.
Thanks Bites! I hope you continue to do well!

Tapas: are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine.
Bites: are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Minnesota cuisine.
You can order off the traditional menu but the magic is in the «Bites» or «Shareables» which are appetizers to pass and share with a Minnesota flare (walleye cakes, mini pot roasts, italian meatloaf bruschetta, buffalo chicken crisps, etc.)
If I am going out with 3 or more people this is hands down, no doubt, my #1 choice when dining in the Brainerd Lakes area. The food, menu, décor, and staff will make you come back for another bite.

It was tough for me to give a four star rating for 1 meal that was very good (purchased on a earlier visit) and one that was tasteless that this reviewer ordered. However we were a group of eight and seven of the group were extremely pleased just like I was the first time visiting this restaurant. Service was excellent, menu extensive, weekly special (Octoberfest german theme), minimal wine list and good prices. However the Seafood Stuffed Portabella mushroom was inedible due to what I think was freezer burnt crab and shrimp that come from a can. As a «Bite» appetizer (for one), on the German Menu was a pretzel, sausage and Muenster cheese Bite fired under the broiler for $ 2.95. Five (5) minature pretzels covered by a1/​8 inch slice of sausage topped with the cheese (nicely browned) each being the size of a nickle. Well live and learn.
Will I go back, yes I don’t feel my bad meal was the norm for «Bites»
Trust me on the Crab as being bad as the reviewer is from the Florida Keys and we trap our own!

We aren’t people who were expecting much, and we don’t have the highest standards, so please don’t overlook this review thinking that we were looking to criticize. As a family of four going out to dinner, we hope to be relatively pleased with our dining experience because we know it will likely be expensive.
We decided to order the signature bites. The tuna bites were just tuna, mayo and some olives on pita bread and the reuben bites were extremely tough and had grizzle. We ordered our meals and when I requested the pork brisket, I was asked «how would you like that cooked». Ah… well? When our meals came, my husband enjoyed his chicken and the walleye was pretty good, but the other meals were very disappointing.
The Cajun Pasta had shrimp, but it was popcorn shrimp. These were the smallest shrimp I think I’ve ever seen. Certainly not worth the price. My Pork Brisket tasted like it was frozen once, thawed and then served with spices on it to conceal that process. I am rarely so disappointed by a meal, so for me to stop eating it because a was a little worried to finish my whole meal, was very telling. Lastly, the fresh vegetable of the day was carrots. Just carrots. Carrots for everyone and a lot of them. More than any of us could eat.
We had fine service, but we could never recommend this restaurant to anyone.

Great restaurant we will be back again and again! Everything we had was excellent! We loved the menu it has a great variety of items and the prices are reasonable. We had the pork sandwich, patriot burger, chicken philly and a variety of bites. Our waitress Jody was super helpful and full of great information! We will be back for dinner on our next stop.

I’m always so happy when I find a little restaurant like this while traveling. It’s got a comfortable north-​woods vibe, with log beams and a fireplace, and a menu that is heavy on the standards necessary for a restaurant to survive outside the big city — ribeye, walleye, pot roast — but still is interesting.
We started with a crisp glass of sauvignon blanc, $ 3.95, then shared a couple of the tapas-​inspired «bites” for which the restaurant is named. No olives or octopus here, but the little $ 3 dishes were generous; we got four pulled-​pork tostadas topped by avocado and queso blanco. There are larger «sharables,” too, $ 8-​$ 9, including seafood-​stuffed portabella and walleye and wild-​rice cakes.
For an entrée, I had a fantastic penne pasta with tons of shiitake mushrooms in a ginger cream sauce and a huge hunk of grilled mahi-​mahi. It was so rich that even after I finished, and my husband ate some, I still had enough left over for two lunches.
For dessert, we split a caramel-​stuffed brownie with a dollop of whipped cream drizzled with caramel. My husband loved it; I thought it was just okay.
There’s a little bar, too, with a decent selection of beer on tap.
Bites is right on the Paul Bunyan State Trail on the south edge of Pine River, so it makes a good stop if you’re bicycling or snowmobiling. In fact, I think it’s probably the BEST restaurant along the trail — there’s a café, pizza place and coffeehouse in Nisswa, and a couple of other bar-​café type places, but nothing as nice as Bites.