SouthTown Pourhouse Brings Big Comfort Food to South Fargo

A plate of bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers with raspberry dipping sauce tells you plenty about SouthTown Pourhouse. This is comfort food with a little bar-food mischief: crisp, rich, spicy, sweet, and well suited to a table that has ordered a few things to pass around.

The South Fargo spot combines a restaurant, full bar and casual casino setting, but food has a substantial presence here. You can come in for a drink and stay near the bar, or settle into a table for pizza, pasta, sandwiches and a proper dinner with family or friends.

Several TVs carry local games, slot machines add a bit of activity around the room, and the overall mood shifts with the crowd. At quieter times it can be easy to hold a conversation; on a busier game-day-style visit, it has more of the lively neighborhood-bar buzz people expect.

SouthTown Pourhouse makes sense when no one in the group is in the mood for the same thing. Pizza, burgers, pastas, sandwiches and melts all have a place on the menu, so a table can move from a casual snack to a full dinner without changing addresses.

Pizza is a recurring choice here, especially for a group that would rather share than commit to separate entrées. It also fits naturally beside drinks and a game on TV, without turning the evening into a formal sit-down affair.

The burgers and pastas are known as fresh, flavorful options, giving the menu more range than the usual one-note bar lineup. Sandwiches and melts cover the in-between territory: filling enough for dinner, uncomplicated enough for a quick stop.

The appetizer list provides a good reason not to rush into the main course. Cheese curds are a familiar crowd-pleaser, and walleye fingers bring a distinctly Upper Midwest note to the table.

The homemade jalapeño poppers deserve their own mention. Wrapped in bacon and served crisp with raspberry sauce, they put heat, smoke and sweetness on the same plate. They are not shy food, and that is very much the point.

Philly egg rolls offer another handheld, passable option for the table. Buffalo mac has also been a favorite for group diners, an especially fitting order when the goal is unabashedly hearty food rather than restraint.

For a lighter turn, the chicken cranberry bacon salad stands out among the entrée choices. The combination gives the menu a break from all the cheese, fried appetizers and bread-heavy comfort food without abandoning the flavors that make a bar-and-restaurant meal satisfying.

That range is useful for a family meal or a gathering of friends with different appetites. One person can be after a burger, another can go for pasta, and someone else can order a salad without the group having to negotiate the restaurant choice for twenty minutes.

The full bar can handle a wide range of drink orders, and the place works just as well for a single drink as for dinner. A rail or bar-side seat keeps you close to the action while still allowing you to order from the restaurant menu.

That flexibility gives SouthTown Pourhouse a useful neighborhood rhythm. It can be a stop after work, a place to catch a local game, a meal before the evening gets too late, or a relaxed dinner where drinks are simply one piece of the table.

Large groups have found room here, including a last-minute party of 10. The broad menu helps, but so does the general setup: some diners can watch the game, some can focus on food, and no one has to pretend that a burger, a salad and a drink are wildly incompatible plans.

Service is known for being friendly, attentive and quick, with servers and bartenders both carrying the easygoing tone of the place. SouthTown Pourhouse has the familiar feel of a restaurant people return to regularly rather than a destination that requires an occasion.

A dedicated lot provides plenty of free parking, a welcome convenience for an easy dinner stop or a larger gathering. Inside, seating can range from restaurant tables to bar-side and rail seating, with the casino and sports-TV elements nearby rather than separated into an entirely different experience.

The kitchen is known to stay open later than some restaurants, making the Pourhouse a useful possibility when dinner has slipped later than planned. Current hours are worth checking before a late stop, particularly if food rather than drinks is the main objective.