Restaurants in Stillwater

Charlie's Restaurant & Charlie’s Irish Pub and Water Street Inn, which was originally built in the late 19th century as the Lumber Exchange Building, aims to preserve the legacy of the area's industrial pioneers with its faithful restoration of the building's Victorian architecture and artwork. Intricately carved wooden trim and filigree wallpaper run throughout the 41 rooms, and the lobby's original tin ceiling reflects glints of lamplight after being covered in layers of plaster for decades.

In the on-site Irish Pub, barkeeps set pint glasses onto a handcrafted wooden bar that once stood as the counter in the building's original post office. The elaborate dining room hosts breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus with a full list of award-winning, international wines. High ceilings and ornate dining sets in the banquet room add a dash of elegance to wedding dinners. A patio with views of the river makes an inspiring stage for traditional wedding activities such as bobbing for cake.

The youngest of nine children, Luna Rossa’s owner and chef, Raffaele Virgillo, grew up at his mother’s side, studying her every move as she cooked in the kitchen of their small cottage in southern Italy. Emigrating to the United States in the 1970s, Virgillo put the culinary skills and magical Italian incantations he learned from his mother to use here in the States. He settled in the Twin Cities, where he cooked his way through four restaurants before opening the original Buona Sera, and eventually, Luna Rossa. There, he works alongside his daughter, Anna, son-in-law, Jesse, and grandson, Vinny, serving a menu of Italian-inspired cuisine within a rustic eatery near Stillwater’s historic limestone caves.

The hibachi and sushi chefs at Murasaki Steakhouse and Sushi Bar concoct specialty rolls, tempura, and hibachi-style dishes such as the calamari steak dinner. While enjoying teppanyaki with groups of friends or new acquaintances made while trapped inside a speeding bus, diners can drink sake martinis and cocktails such as the Lotus Blossom, a mix of cold sake, lychee, and lime juice with a sugar-coated rim. Murasaki Steakhouse is only open during dinner hours.

Brothers Brent and Brian Pilrain pay homage to the prevalence of the Roman Empire in Europe during its heyday by combining Italian fare with cuisines from France and Germany, using ingredients and premium meats including certified Sterling Silver beef hand-selected by chef Brian himself. Inside the kitchen he gets to work by firing pizzas in the wood-burning brick oven and baking tender beef wellington. Mirroring the chef, the dining area's mural depicts a stone carving of cooks flipping disks of pizza dough in front of fiery ovens, and the nearby bartenders pour glasses of red and white wine, and pass out cold bottles of craft and imported beers. Adjacent to the dining area stands a dark timber archway, which opens to a European deli's glass display cases stocked with Boar's Head–brand gourmet meats and cheeses, lobster cannelloni, and hand-tossed calzones.

After modeling their first eatery, ROMA Restaurant, after the Roman Empire, Chef Brent Pilrain and his family opted to try something new, setting their sights on a colonial American theme. So when the family was greeted with the opportunity to open up a new kitchen in Liberty Village, the birth of Patriots Tavern seemed like kismet. Today, Chef Pilrain keeps up the colonial theme in both cuisine and décor, churning out a menu of New England–inspired fare and wood-oven-fired pizzas within a whitewashed mansion. Rich mahogany and stone details create a warm yet spacious interior dabbled with American flags and historical knickknacks, such as lanterns and George Washington’s original set of wooden press-on nails.

Though the particulars of Duke's pizza recipe remain shrouded in secrecy, its resulting flavors—thin, crispy crust, sweet sauce, and obscure toppings such as bacon bits and chicken Alfredo—are practically public domain. Seated among crimson walls and wood paneling, guests dig into pies as the kitchen churns out a well-rounded menu of pub favorites, from burgers and hand-cut fries to classic breakfast fare such as omelets and gravy-soaked biscuits. An extensive lunch buffet lines the walls amid the glow of flat-screen TVs, allowing patrons to imagine that sports commentators are narrating the scoops of soup and pasta when they breathlessly exclaim, "Commercial break!"