Restaurants & dining in Knife River, Minnesota
Part of the Knife River neighborhood guide. Back to the full guide.
Knife River has one food business that matters and it has mattered for over a century.
Russ Kendall's Smoke House at 149 Scenic Drive has been curing fish here since W.T. Kendall opened it in 1908. It sells smoked salmon and lake trout over the counter, on a paper tray with crackers, to be eaten standing up or in the car looking at the lake. It is not a restaurant and has never tried to be one, which is precisely why it has outlasted almost everything else on this shore.
Beyond that, the community carries a handful of seasonal shops and food stops along Scenic 61 that turn over more than a guide can usefully track.
The real dining is in both directions and neither is far. Ten minutes southwest, the New Scenic Cafe remains the region's destination restaurant and is worth planning around. Twelve minutes northeast in Two Harbors: Betty's Pies at 1633 Highway 61, a fixed point of Minnesota summer since Betty added pies to her father's fish shack in 1958; the Vanilla Bean at 812 7th Avenue for breakfast; Louise's Place at 19 Waterfront Drive; and Castle Danger Brewery at 17 7th Street, now the fourth-largest brewery in Minnesota, with a patio over the lake.
Note the seasonality. Several businesses along this shore run reduced hours or close entirely outside the summer and fall season, and February offers a far shorter list than July.
The smokehouse at 149 Scenic Drive that has been curing fish in Knife River since W.T. Kendall opened it in 1908, best known for smoked salmon and lake trout sold over the counter with crackers and a paper tray.
The region's destination restaurant, about ten minutes southwest on Scenic 61 toward Duluth.
The North Shore pie institution at 1633 Highway 61, about 12 minutes northeast toward Two Harbors.
Two Harbors' main sit-down breakfast, at 812 7th Avenue, going since 1998.
The North Shore brewery at 17 7th Street in Two Harbors, about 12 minutes northeast, now the fourth-largest brewery in Minnesota.
Cafe at 19 Waterfront Drive in Two Harbors, the nearest sit-down coffee and lunch.
Hours and menus change, confirm with each business.
Restaurants & dining next door
Twelve minutes northeast, the North Shore's last full-service town and the school and hospital for this community.
North Shore (Duluth)Southwest along Scenic 61 toward Duluth's Brighton Beach, the same shoreline with a Duluth address.
LakesideDuluth's east-side family neighborhood, about 20 minutes southwest, with a walkable business block.
Silver BayForty minutes northeast, the other Lake County town, in the same school district at much lower prices.
Lester ParkThe east end of Duluth on the way in, with trail access and a full city behind it.