A Below-Street Comfort Food Stop in Downtown Fargo

A flight of stairs beneath Robert’s Alley leads down to one of downtown Fargo’s more unusual dining rooms: a restaurant and bar with the look of an old industrial workspace and the menu of a serious comfort-food kitchen. The boiler-room mood is deliberate, with blue-collar and steam-punk-inflected details giving the below-street space a little more character than the usual downtown bar-and-grill setup.

It is an atmospheric place to settle in rather than rush through. The room can be calm enough for conversation on quieter visits, while brunch and dinner crowds naturally bring more hum. There is bar seating for a solo meal or drink, plus tables and comfortable chairs for dates, family dinners and a night out with friends.

The recurring order here is the Scotch egg, a useful introduction to the kitchen’s general approach: familiar food, made a little more interesting and delivered in a substantial portion. The eggs arrive crisp outside, lightly seasoned, and accompanied by sauce rather than left to stand on their own.

Spicy maple aioli is a particularly good match, bringing sweet heat and enough personality to work across the plate. The Scotch eggs show up at both dinner and brunch, so they are not confined to one narrow window of the menu.

They also make sense for a table that wants to share before moving on to bigger plates. A first visit can easily begin here, with a drink from the bar and a few minutes spent taking in the machinery-minded surroundings.

The main menu stays firmly in the comfort-food lane, but it does not stop at burgers and meatloaf. Chicken pot pie gets a less conventional presentation while keeping its home-style, filling character, and the restaurant’s knoephla soup offers a potato-based bowl with a distinctly Upper Midwest ring to it.

Meatloaf comes in a large serving with rich, peppery gravy. It also appears in a meatloaf melt, which is a fine indication that the kitchen is not shy about turning a classic dinner into a sandwich.

The Gouda macaroni and cheese is topped with tender short rib, making it less of a side dish and more of a full commitment. Steak bites bring another pepper-forward option, with two sauces on the plate so diners can change the flavor from bite to bite.

The State Fair Burger goes directly for fair-food familiarity with bacon and cheese curds. Full sandwiches are notably generous, and a grilled cheese with soup provides a simpler, cooler-weather-style alternative to the heavier entrées.

There is range beyond the meat-and-potatoes center of the menu. Red pepper ravioli, shrimp pasta and other pasta choices keep a mixed table from having to order the same sort of dish.

Brunch gives the restaurant another reason to make the trip downstairs. Along with Scotch eggs, the menu includes chicken and waffles, breakfast tacos, breakfast casserole and French toast, with a Bloody Mary bar adding a lingering-weekend option at the bar.

The RumChata French toast has a cinnamon-bun-like character, making it a natural choice for someone who wants brunch to veer toward dessert. Blueberry coffee cake is another sweet item worth keeping in mind for lunch or brunch.

The breakfast casserole takes the opposite approach: hearty, certainly, but not a single indistinct baked mass. Its ingredients retain their individual character, which makes the dish feel more considered than the average casserole plate.

French toast has shown up in more than one special form here, including an Angel Food French Toast dessert prepared for a birthday celebration. That bit of menu flexibility suits a restaurant where comfort food is treated as something to have fun with.

The drink list is broad enough to support the food rather than merely accompany it. Tap beer has a strong presence, alongside cocktails, wine and other choices, so a table can move from a crisp beer with a burger to a cocktail with brunch without much trouble.

Cocktails are a notable reason to sit at the bar, where the service has a personable, conversational quality. Staff members are comfortable explaining unfamiliar dishes and helping guests find their way around the menu, a welcome trait when Scotch eggs and knoephla soup share space with burgers and pasta.

A happy hour with selected drink specials has been offered Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. Schedules and specials can change, so it is worth confirming the current details before planning around it.

The below-street setting is central to the restaurant’s appeal, but entry requires going down stairs. That is an important practical point for anyone who needs step-free access.

Downtown parking can take a little patience. Nearby options have included paid lots and free street parking, though finding a space is not always easy in the area.

The children’s menu includes familiar choices such as chicken nuggets, helping the otherwise grown-up bar-and-comfort-food setting work for a family meal. Gluten-free options may be limited, particularly because some menu items use breading, so diners with dietary restrictions should check directly about current choices.