Where to Grab Lunch in St. Paul

Cecil's Deli

More than 70 years after it first opened, the Twin Cities’ oldest Jewish deli is still serving hearty matzo ball soup, potato latkes with applesauce and sour cream, an array of popular hot sandwiches, and other hearty lunches. Try the Sasha, made with hot brisket pastrami and the “bird sauce” the deli has been making in-house for 40 years.

Highland Grill

Local Blue Plate Restaurant Group is known for serving reliable, comforting fare on the daily. The Highland Park Grill on Cleveland Avenue is the ideal spot to indulge in breakfast all day: French toast topped with jammy blueberry compote makes a perfectly reasonable lunch. Other midday standbys include sandwiches, burgers, mac and cheese, steak with perogies, and more.

Mario’s

Mario’s, stationed on a a quiet block of Cleveland Avenue, serves killer sandwiches (called heroes here, in East Coast-style). Stuffed with mortadella, salami, soppressata, and much, much more, they’re elevated to new heights by chef Evan Vranian’s house-baked sesame seed loaves. The square, loosely Detroit-style pizzas are another great bet for lunch, and the fried zeppole Oreo doughnuts are reason enough to stop by.

Mim’s Cafe

Mahmoud Shahin’s Mim’s Cafe, a staple of the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus, dishes up kufta kabobs, fragrant falafel platters, and shawarma with rice for budget-friendly prices, ranging from about $10 to $16 depending on size. (Sides like baba ghanoush and tabouli range from $2 to $6.) Order an extra container of the creamy, garlicky tahini, and note that Mim’s is closed on Sundays.

Hot Hands Pie and Biscuits

It’s all in the crust at Hot Hands: Swing through for a quick lunch of biscuits and gravy, a maple fried chicken sandwich with honey butter, or a classic chicken pot pie. No meal is complete without a sweet bite: Go for a slice of pie, or a milkshake.

Nashville Coop — St. Paul

Pop into Nashville Coop for an easy, grab-and-go lunch of Nashville-style hot chicken, served in strips, sandwich, or Texas toast form. Heat is densely packed into this chicken’s breading, but the level of spice is customizable. Add mac and cheese, coleslaw, and fries on the side.

West Indies Soul Food

Chef Sharon Richards-Noel’s dishes are born of her roots in Trinidad and Tobago. Dishes like jerk chicken, oxtail stew, and vegan curry make for a hearty, flavor-packed midday meal. Be sure and grab a couple of bottles of chef’s specialty sauces, and note that West Indies is closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Maverick’s Real Roast Beef

Maverick’s serves up comfort on a bun: roasted beef, slow-cooked and sliced thin. Don’t skip the pulled pork, or go old-school with an open-faced sandwich featuring your meat of choice, slathered on two thick scoops of mashed potatoes and gravy, served on toast. Pile on the toppings from the seemingly mile-long free condiment bar — take your pick of pickles, onions, peppers, and more.

Brasa Rotisserie

It’s hard to beat Brasa’s casual, comforting, reliably stellar menu of Southern-inflected fare, like gluten-free fried catfish served with a creamy, mustardy dipping sauce; rotisserie chicken; rice and beans; plantains; candied yams; and more. If you’re lunching with a group, order family-style — otherwise, Brasa’s customizable bowls and plates are built for solo dining.

iPho by Saigon

Slip into this popular Frogtown pho restaurant, which offers every kind of meat combo imaginable, from a seafood medley to brisket and flank steak. This broth runs a little on the sweet side and is laced with anise and cloves.

Slice Brothers Pizza

Adam Kado and Hosie Thurmond’s new(ish) University Avenue location of Slice Brothers Pizza slings New York-style slices for $5 and under, making it one of the most budget-friendly lunch spots in town. A classic cheese slice is just $3.99; supreme, chicken bacon, dill pickle ranch, and other specialties are $4.99 — these are big slices, and very foldable.

The High Hat

True, the High Hat is more brunch-focused than lunch-focused — but if you’re dining in the earlier part of the afternoon (the restaurant is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily), it’s a stellar option for huevos divorciados, blue corn pancakes with plantains and coconut whip, and Andouille sausage hash.

Mandalay Kitchen

Mandalay Kitchen weaves together Burmese, Thai, and Karen cuisines, throwing in a chapli Juicy Lucy for good measure. During the lunch hour, come for tea leaf salad, Bangkok-style boat noodles, crispy samosas, and steaming bowls of mohinga (a peppery catfish chowder, the unofficial Burmese national dish).

Cossetta

First founded in 1911, Cossetta has grown into a multi-story pizzeria, pasticceria, restaurant, and tavern. For an easy mid-day meal, rab a slice of fresh, trattoria-style pizza; a densely layered lasagna al forno; or an order of arancini at the cafe. Lunch is not complete without a stop in the pasticceria, which doles out tiramisu, chocolate-dipped cannoli, and scratch-made gelato.

Afro Deli

Abdirahman Kahin’s St. Paul staple, Afro Deli, offers easy lunchtime dining, dishing up yassa chicken, flavor-packed beef sambusas, and bursting-at-the-seams Somali steak sandwiches, all at fairly budget-friendly prices (most meals are around $10 or $11). Save room for a slice of baklava or tres leches cake, and note that Afro Deli is closed on Sundays.