Photos by Jason DeRusha
It’s been a po’boy shop, a burger bar, private event space, pop-up bar called Balloon Emporium—the team behind Mr. Paul’s Supper Club on the Minneapolis/Edina border have tried a lot of different things in the 20-seat back room. Bring on the clowns and circuses, because Carnival Bar feels right.
We were invited to sample through the drinks and food at this Thursday-Friday-Saturday-only situation, with an entrance in the plaza/alley behind the Nolan Mains complex. Carnival is not just the name of this place—the silly, the whimsy—it’s infused in every cocktail on the menu (created by bar director Nick Kosevich). I mean, there’s a drink called Giggle Water. It’s a highly botanical vodka soda, with sakura blossom, cherry bark vanilla bitters, citrus bubbles, and cotton candy which you can add to sweeten the drink to your taste.
Mr. Paul’s co-owner Tommy Begnaud said they decided to close the po’boy shop at The Market at Malcolm Yards, and decided to refocus their efforts in Edina on nighttime only. Being open during the day was expensive, he told me, and there’s not a ton of foot traffic in that part of Nolan Mains around lunchtime.
You may see a giant infusion contraption that looks like an hourglass on top of the bar—it’s the backbone of the botanical Old Fashioned. They’re running a rotating American whiskey blend through a tea of seasonal botanicals. You’ll see plenty of dry ice and theater here, but all in service of creating awesome drinks. Is it worth $20? Is any drink? I say yes, it is much better than many of the $16/$18 Old Fashioneds around town and it comes with a show.
I loved the Voodoo Daiquiri ($15) which is made with a blend of rums, including an exclusive rum from New Orleans made just for Mr. Paul’s, along with a lemongrass syrup.
There’s a really nice Manhattan-style drink (Smoked a la Louisiane – $18) with Bénédictine and cypress providing interesting depth.
“We have had such great success with the ‘Backdoor Burger Bar’ on the weekends and the vibe and energy that it created, we felt it was best to really lean into that and create something new and exciting, but keeping that approachable and moody vibe that the ‘Burger Bar’ had,” Begnaud told me. They’ll still be running burger features during the weekend—I really liked the standard $14 cheeseburger. “We added a few fun bites to go along with Nick’s crazy fun cocktails,” said Begnaud.
I recommend both the veggie crudite with green goddess and the homemade chips with truffled onion dip ($8). You’re going to want the pimento cheese bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers ($13) and I loved the white bean on toast: a tartine with giant beans, chevre and watercress.
“We do a ton of private events at the restaurant, from business dinners and birthday parties to grooms dinners and sales meetings, and we felt like having something a bit ‘classier’ back there gave us an opportunity to accommodate more of what groups were looking for,” Begnaud explained. Make sure you check Carnival Bar’s Instagram before you visit to make sure the space hasn’t been rented out.
Carnival Bar at Mr. Paul’s Supper Club, Thursday-Saturday 4 p.m.-close
3917 Market St., Edina, mrpaulssupperclub.com
