Best Restaurants with a Fireplace in Albert Lea

The Northern Starlight Express Experience was such so fun and entertaining! It provides a fun, holiday ambience, along with some extremely high quality small bites and cocktails! Although I wouldn’t recommend coming extremely hungry, we left very satisfied and would highly recommend!

First time experience with the Thanksgiving buffet at Redstone and it did not disappoint. We were joined by our brother and SIL who had asked that we arrive an hour early to enjoy a beverage at the bar. We discovered that the actual buffet was arranged on either side of the bar and so a drink at the bar wasn't an option. Fortunately, the restaurant was able to accommodate us early for dinner. We didn't care for the first table they were giving us in another room. Found the room to be a bit sterile and cold. Requested a booth and were moved quickly into the other room. Lovely view and always enjoy the ambience. I'm not much for a traditional Thanksgiving meal and this buffet had something for everyone. The food was awesome as usual and it was all you could eat! We were able to order drinks from the server and also yummy as usual. Our server, Sidney, was wonderful! When you aren't able to attend a family gathering, this was the perfect alternative. A big THANK YOU to the restaurant staff for giving up their holiday to allow others to enjoy it.

Excellent except their martinis are unbelievably small

The food was very good - much better than expected. Well presented and nicely prepared. I especially liked the Eggs Benedict made with shaved ham, as opposed to a think ham slice. I felt like it was more digestable, enjoyable, and even flavorful. The Avocado Toast was also very good, with radish and cucumber slices mixed in. My wife enjoyed it very much. The staff were all very friendly, helpful, and nice. Really enjoyed the brunch, overall. Great neighborhood gem.

My husband and I met friends for happy hour Monday, November 11 - Veteran's Day. It was a preplanned event so didn't think anything of the fact that it was Veteran's Day.. I'm a veteran along with one other at our table. For veterans, everything but liquor was on the house. I honestly had no idea. We all shared the Thai chili sausage and pineapple flatbread, chicken artichoke flatbread and wings. My husband thinks the wings are THE best. Our server was Elizabeth, who was awesome. We were finished by 6:00 pm and the place was PACKED. We frequent Porter Creek as our go to spot to meet friends. They have a great happy hour menu and the food NEVER disappoints. Thank you to Porter Creek for your generosity for Veteran's Day.