9 Twin Cities bars and restaurants with crackling fireplaces

Get nice and toasty this Valentine's Day at these charming spots.

February 13, 2020 at 6:38PM
The lobby of the Hewing Hotel was a cozy place to curl up with a book Sunday afternoon. Matt Sharkey-Smith, center, lives in the neighborhood, but was relaxing with his wife and dog and a book in the lobby Sunday afternoon. ] JEFF WHEELER • jeff.wheeler@startribune.com The new Hewing Hotel in Minneapolis' North Loop is already popular with locals who want to experience their home town like a tourist. Sunday afternoon, February 12, 2017 was perhaps typical, with many locals enjoying the lo
The lobby of the Hewing Hotel is a cozy place to curl up with a book. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Need to defrost your frozen heart this wintry Valentine's Day? While frigid temps might make Netflix and chill sound tempting, all hope for romance doesn't have to be lost to hibernation. These Twin Cities restaurants and bars charm with their roaring fireplaces, the perfect backdrop to a cozy canoodle.

Have a favorite fireplace we missed? Tell us in the comments.

W.A. Frost & Co.

This place sure knows how to do the seasons. Its meandering back patio is a special summer spot for happy hours that stretch on into the night. In winter, the 1889 building's multiple fireplaces bring the beguiling historic interior alive.
374 Selby Av., St. Paul, 651-224-5715, wafrost.com

Wilde Cafe & Spirits

Armchairs? Check. Candles? Check. The gentle glow of flames dancing behind an arch of cast iron? Check. This riverside restaurant and cafe has all the makings of a very Victorian love story, including cocktails with names that nod to namesake author Oscar Wilde, and — why not? -- "The Golden Girls."
65 SE. Main St., Mpls., 612-331-4544, wildecafe.com

Hell's Kitchen
You devil, you. The underground ode to Minnesota cuisine, music and an over-the-top Bloody Mary bar knows how to dress up for a special occasion, in part by firing up its stone furnace. This weekend, it'll have a kissing booth, too.
80 S. 9th St., Mpls., 612-332-4700, hellskitcheninc.com

Cov

The restaurant's white hearth is double-sided and planted into the center of the restaurant for maximum effect. When it's roaring, it's easy to forget that your romantic seaside dinner is on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, not Martha's Vineyard.
700 E. Lake St., Wayzata, 952-473-5253, covwayzata.com

In Bloom
Does it count when the fireplace is also doing the cooking? Keg & Case Market's centerpiece restaurant is all embers — you'll go home smelling like campfire — thanks to the aphrodisiacal menu of meats and vegetables fired up on an extended hearth.
928 W. 7th St., St. Paul, 651-237-9630, inbloomstp.com

Hewing Hotel Lobby

You don't have to be a guest to enjoy the handsome hangout spot at the North Loop's hot hotel — though you might want to be. Grab a Hewing Old Fashioned from the bar at Tullibee, settle into a leather sofa by the hearth, and see where the night takes you.
300 Washington Av. N., Mpls., 651-468-0400, hewinghotel.com

St. Paul Hotel Lobby
An entirely different vibe from the Hewing, this hotel lobby is classic as can be. Nestle into a tufted armchair by the grand fireplace, underneath chandeliers dripping with crystals, and sip on a Judy Garland martini while you contemplate checking in.
350 Market St., St. Paul, 651-228-3804, stpaulhotel.com

Punch Bowl Social

The sprawling eatertainment complex has a sneaky little hideaway in plain sight. The so-called "Holiday Lodge" may be flanked by Ping-Pong tables, but the fireplace, leather chairs and faux-book wallpaper create a whimsical respite to the game-night party.
1691 Park Pl. Blvd., St. Louis Park, 763-400-3865, punchbowl social.com
Kieran's Irish Pub
This downtown favorite — romantic in that dark wood, Irish pub sort of way — has got a showstopper of a fireplace smack dab in the middle of one of the booth-lined dining rooms (complete with JFK portrait on top, that hunk). You know you've found The One when you can share a plate of braised cabbage.
85 N. 6th St., Mpls., 612-339-4499, kierans.com

Sitting by the copper-topped fireplace, From left, Donarae Peterson, Heidi Geimer and Bob Peterson, one of the coziests places in the dining rooms at W.A. Frost, 374 Selby Av., St. Paul, The three found it a perfect place for a dinner after sending daughter/grandaughter, Hannah Geimer, not pictured, off to France to study for a 7 months. Exeutive chef, Russell Klein, talks about the food with the family.
Sitting by the copper-topped fireplace at W.A. Frost. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Wilde Cafe
Wilde Cafe (Hannah Sayle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Punch Bowl Social ] GLEN STUBBE • glen.stubbe@startribune.com Friday February 17, 2017 Punch Bowl Social, a new Denver-based eatertainery chain, has landed at the Shops at West End in St. Louis park, with a Southern diner-inspired menu. Restaurant review. Please arrive before the lunch rush and shoot food: Pimiento cheese, black eyed pea hummus, knockoff burger, bologna sandwich, chicken and waffles, chips and dip. From bar: shrub and punch. ORG XMIT: MIN1702171819290327
Punch Bowl Social (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The lunch rush at Cov restaurant.
The lunch rush at Cov restaurant. (Marci Schmitt — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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about the writer

Sharyn Jackson

Reporter

Sharyn Jackson is a features reporter covering the Twin Cities' vibrant food and drink scene.

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