Alary’s Bar, the downtown St. Paul tavern that has been a local mainstay since 1949, is leaning into a full-service restaurant model with a veteran chef steering a menu built on walleye and Chicago-style classics. The shift nudges the longtime game-day hangout into full dinner territory, where fish dinners and hearty sandwich standards can chase weekday crowds as well as sports fans. It is one of the biggest menu overhauls the 77-year-old spot has announced in recent memory.
As reported by the Twin Cities Business Journal, the refreshed concept is being billed as “Alary’s Kitchen + Bar,” and ownership has brought on an executive chef to debut the new lineup. The paper also notes a “meet the newsroom” event scheduled for May 28. According to the Business Journal, the plan is to keep the sports-friendly vibe intact while layering in more formal entrees aimed at downtown workers, visitors and event crowds.
Menu mixes walleye and Chicago favorites
The bar’s own ordering pages already spotlight walleye as a featured entrée and tease a handful of Chicago-style items, including a Chicago beef egg roll and a Chicago hot dog, suggesting the new chef will expand those into a full dinner menu. The restaurant’s online menus list a “Walleye Dinner” alongside sandwiches and shareables, signaling that many dishes are likely to be available both for dine-in and to-go.
On its website, Alary’s bills itself as “Legendary Since 1949,” underscoring its long run downtown. Several of the refreshed items already appear on the ordering platform run by Toast, giving curious regulars a preview of what is hitting plates.
Walleye is a local staple
Walleye is a fixture of Minnesota cooking, the sort of fish that feels as common on local menus as ketchup on the table. The species was formally designated the state’s official fish in 1965 and frequently shows up on fish-fry and supper-club lineups across Minnesota. That local affection helps explain why a downtown tavern would center a new dinner program on the fish. The Minnesota Secretary of State lists the walleye as the state’s official fish.
What it means for downtown dining
For downtown diners and eventgoers, Alary’s extra kitchen muscle could mean another steady dinner option near the riverfront and the city’s big venues. The bar advertises validated evening parking, shuttle service to many downtown events and a large patio, perks that pair neatly with a dinner program timed around game nights and concerts. Visit Saint Paul highlights the bar’s long presence in the downtown scene…