Restaurants & dining in Cloquet, Minnesota
Part of the Cloquet neighborhood guide. Back to the full guide.
For a city of 12,500, Cloquet eats well, and it has one restaurant with genuine regional fame.
Gordy's Hi-Hat at 415 Sunnyside Drive opened in 1960 under Gordy and Marilyn Lundquist and is still independently run by the family, serving hand-pattied burgers, hand-battered Alaskan fish, homemade onion rings, and fresh-blended malts. It has been featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, it draws people off I-35 all summer, and its seasonal opening day is an actual event in Carlton County. If you eat one meal in Cloquet, eat it here.
Beyond Gordy's, the downtown and highway corridors carry a real spread. The Jack at 1016 Cloquet Avenue is among the area's best-reviewed sit-down rooms. Pedro's Grill and Cantina at 7 8th Street covers Mexican. Carmen's Bar & Restaurant on Prospect Avenue West is the longtime local bar and dining room. Heather's Cafe at 1304 Cloquet Avenue serves breakfast all day and is the closest thing the city has to a morning gathering place. Sammy's Pizza is at 305 Sunnyside Drive, part of the Duluth family operation that has been making the region's distinctive thin-crust since 1958. Streetcar Kitchen & Pub is worth the ten minutes southwest to Carlton, though note that it is a Carlton business despite frequently being listed under Cloquet.
What Cloquet does not have is a craft brewery scene or fine dining, and its restaurant hours skew early and seasonal in the way small northern Minnesota towns do. For range, Duluth's Canal Park and Lincoln Park craft district are 25 minutes northeast. Black Bear Casino Resort at the I-35 junction also carries restaurants and an event venue.
Opened in 1960 by Gordy and Marilyn Lundquist and still run by the family at 415 Sunnyside Drive, serving hand-pattied burgers, hand-battered Alaskan fish, homemade onion rings, and fresh malts. Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and the most famous restaurant in Carlton County. Seasonal.
One of Cloquet's better-regarded sit-down rooms, at 1016 Cloquet Avenue downtown.
Cloquet's Mexican restaurant at 7 8th Street, and a regular local destination.
The Cloquet location at 305 Sunnyside Drive, part of the Duluth pizza family that has been making the region's thin-crust since 1958.
Burgers, salads, and craft beer in Carlton, about 10 minutes southwest of Cloquet. Note that it is in Carlton rather than Cloquet, though regional listings often file it under Cloquet.
Downtown cafe at 1304 Cloquet Avenue serving breakfast all day plus lunch, the city's default morning spot.
Longtime Cloquet bar and restaurant at 1410 Prospect Avenue West.
Hours and menus change, confirm with each business.
Restaurants & dining next door
Ten minutes east, a rural community with a small school district and noticeably higher prices for the same commute.
CarltonTen minutes south at the Jay Cooke gateway, the county seat and its own ISD 93 district, which absorbed the former city of Thomson in 2015.
ProctorFifteen minutes northeast up I-35, a railroad town with a small district and a shorter Duluth commute.
Fond du LacDuluth's far western neighborhood on the St. Louis River, the closest Duluth address to Cloquet.
Gary-New DuluthWest Duluth on the river corridor, similar prices and similar working-town character with ISD 709 schools.