A bowl of knoephla soup is a fine way to get acquainted with Kroll’s. Buttery, brothy and filling, it has the comforting heft diners want on a cool North Dakota day, along with the local character that separates this Fargo stop from an ordinary burger-and-shake counter.
The room supplies the rest of the introduction. Kroll’s has the deliberately nostalgic look of a classic American diner, with booths and counter seating arranged in a setting often compared to a movie set or a Happy Days-era hangout. It is bright, familiar territory for anyone who still has a soft spot for a laminated menu, a roomy booth and a milkshake served as a proper event.
The food moves easily between American diner standards and German-influenced regional specialties. You can order a bacon cheeseburger, settle in with breakfast, or take the more distinctly North Dakota route with fleischkuechle, cabbage rolls and that memorable knoephla soup.
A diner menu with a North Dakota accent
Knoephla soup is one of the dishes people come seeking rather than merely noticing on the menu. It is the sort of soup that can stand in for a meal, rich enough to be satisfying on its own but also easy to pair with a sandwich, burger or one of the bigger breakfast plates.
Fleischkuechle gives the menu another regional calling card. It appears in dinner orders and even has a breakfast version, a particularly direct example of how Kroll’s lets local comfort food wander happily into diner territory.
Cabbage rolls round out the German-style side of the menu. The cabbage roll dinner comes with mashed potatoes and corn, making it a full plate rather than a small nod to regional cooking.
Kuchen belongs on the sweeter end of the local repertoire. Rhubarb kuchen is among the offerings, and it can make sense as a dessert, a morning treat or a little something to share before the main plates arrive.
Breakfast has no interest in being modest
Breakfast at Kroll’s is built for people who like choices and are not alarmed by a plate with some acreage. Omelets, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage and other diner staples all have a place here, with enough combinations to keep repeat visits from becoming repetitive.
The three-meat omelet is a good illustration of the kitchen’s generous approach. It can arrive loaded with ham, sausage and bacon, plus mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. Pancakes commonly come alongside omelet orders, so a breakfast that begins as an omelet can become a fairly serious undertaking.
Then there is the chicken-fried-steak omelet, a cheerful hybrid that could only make sense on a menu committed to abundance. Kroll’s Bowl is another substantial option when a standard two-egg plate sounds a little too restrained.
Sides are not treated as an afterthought. Breakfast plates can be expanded with bacon or sausage, and the bacon serving is notably substantial. Biscuits and gravy are available for anyone who sees breakfast as a chance to add one more comfort-food lane to the table.
Burgers, dinner plates and a broad middle ground
The American diner side remains firmly represented. Bacon cheeseburgers and other burgers are recurring favorites, useful when one person at the table is eyeing knoephla soup and another simply wants a dependable burger with all the familiar satisfaction that implies.
This is a broad menu, not a narrowly themed one. Omelets, breakfast plates, soups, burgers, shakes and hearty dinners give mixed groups plenty of directions to go, and table specials add another layer of possibility beyond the main menu.
Portions tend to favor the hungry, the prepared and the person willing to bring home a second meal. Large omelets come with substantial sides, and many plates provide more food than a quick lunch requires. It is a pleasant old-school trait: the food arrives looking like dinner, not a sample.
Save room for the shake
A large milkshake is one of the classic Kroll’s orders, and it fits the setting perfectly. The shakes are flavorful and generously sized, a natural companion to fries and a burger but also substantial enough to make a simple dessert stop feel worthwhile.
For a more old-fashioned soda-fountain choice, the menu also includes an ice cream soda. Along with the shakes and fruit-based baked sweets such as kuchen, it gives the meal a finish more playful than the usual slice-of-pie routine.
Booths for a crowd and counter seats for one
The layout makes Kroll’s easy to use in several different ways. Counter or bar-area seats suit a solo diner or traveler looking for a quick perch, while booths make a comfortable landing place for couples, families and groups working their way through a wide menu.
Larger parties have been accommodated here, including a group of nine, and service is generally friendly, attentive and quick-moving. Staff members are also prepared to talk about the restaurant and its background, which adds a welcome conversational note without making a meal feel overly formal.
Conversation is usually manageable in the dining room, though the volume naturally shifts with the crowd. At busier times, the diner can have a wait; quieter off-peak visits can be much more relaxed.
A practical Fargo stop
Kroll’s works neatly into a Fargo visit because it can be a full meal, a breakfast stop or a shake-and-kuchen detour. Families, business travelers and people passing through town all find an easy fit in its familiar booth-and-counter format.
Free parking is available in a lot with ample space. Reservations are not required for at least some visits, though the possibility of a peak-time wait makes the diner’s pace worth keeping in mind.
Outdoor patio or terrace seating has also been available. For most people, though, the classic move is still an indoor booth, a large order on the table and enough leftovers to make tomorrow’s lunch an unexpectedly good one.