Stewart's Replaces 128 Cafe

Chef Max Thompson has given the St. Paul restaurant a new name, menu, and a facelift

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Kimchi Tostada with Bloody Mary

Photo by TJ Turner


The garden-level digs at 128 Cleveland Avenue in St. Paul are filled with great food memories, but a new name, menu, and facelift have readied the restaurant for its next era. Chef Max Thompson purchased the business as 128 Cafe a few years ago and made a few tweaks before deciding it was ready for a more substantial reboot. The menu at Stewart’s draws inspiration from across the globe, and every meal should start with the addictive Korean chili flake fries with miso aioli (other dishes range from pot roast to tostadas). There’s now more parking (thank goodness) and a top-shelf bar program. Although it’s new, in many ways the more casual Stewart’s—you would never have seen Karate Kid playing on a TV above the bar at the original 128—feels like a timeless hangout that the neighborhood has been waiting for lo these many years.

128 Cleveland Ave. N., St. Paul, 651-645-4128, stewartsminnesota.com