Restaurants in Brainerd

In Brainerd and Baxter, the places this guide could confirm open are Black Bear Lodge & Saloon (daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., on Edgewood Drive in Baxter), Jack Pine Brewery on the same road, Rafferty's Pizza at the Westgate Mall, and Passport on Laurel Street in downtown Brainerd. On Gull Lake, Ernie's on Gull, Madden's Classic Grill and the restaurants at Cragun's are all on resort or lakeside properties, and Bar Harbor Supper Club is in Lake Shore. Big Axe Brewing in Nisswa has a full kitchen. As of November 2026, many resort outlets are closed for the season, so check hours before you drive out.

This guide is for anyone staying in the Brainerd Lakes area who wants to know where to eat and when places are open. It lists only businesses whose own website showed current hours or recent activity. For each one it gives the address, what the business says it serves, and its posted hours. It does not rank or review. For everything else to do in the area, see things to do in Brainerd.

Brainerd-area restaurants and taprooms compared

Hours are as posted by each business as of November 2026.

Baxter and Brainerd

Black Bear Lodge & Saloon

Black Bear Lodge & Saloon is at 14819 Edgewood Drive in Baxter (218-828-8400). It describes itself as an "authentic log restaurant" offering "casual, full service dining featuring Prime Rib, walleye, steaks, pasta, burgers and sandwiches," with a separate saloon. It says it is open daily year-round for lunch and dinner, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and takes reservations. Holiday closures posted on its site: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Jack Pine Brewery

Jack Pine Brewery has its taproom at 15593 Edgewood Drive in Baxter (218-270-8072). The brewery says it has "a wide selection of great beer on tap," with gluten-friendly and non-alcoholic options. It serves snacks rather than full meals, along with sodas and "a fully-stocked game shelf," and its outdoor patio is dog-friendly. Posted taproom hours run Monday to Thursday 3 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

Rafferty's Pizza

Rafferty's Pizza says its original location is in the Westgate Mall in Baxter, next to the Lakes 12 movie theater, and has been open for 40 years. The listed address is 14136 Baxter Drive (218-829-5804). It also handles delivery from this location. Rafferty's runs three other area shops, in Nisswa, Crosslake and Crosby.

Passport

Passport is a restaurant and caterer at 606 Laurel Street in historic downtown Brainerd (218-454-7243). It says it takes "inspiration from flavors, dishes, and traditions from across the globe," and its site names a featured country each month (Australia for November 2026, Ecuador for December). Posted hours are Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with brunch on Saturday and Sunday. It is closed Monday and Tuesday.

Gull Lake dining

Gull Lake's restaurants are mostly part of resorts. Several close or cut back hours after the summer season, so the hours below are a snapshot.

Ernie's on Gull

Ernie's on Gull is at 10424 Gull Point Road in East Gull Lake (218-829-3918). It serves lunch and dinner, with starters, small plates and entrées, seasonal beers on tap, wine and hand-crafted cocktails, according to its site. Boaters can tie up at its marina just steps from the patio, and it has an on-site gas pump. The restaurant traces its history to a camping and fishing resort Ernie Ritari started there in 1917. Its site says "Open Daily at 11:00 am" but gives no closing time and does not say whether that schedule holds through the winter, so call before an off-season visit. Patio seating is summer only.

Madden's on Gull Lake

Madden's is at 11266 Pine Beach Peninsula in Brainerd. As of November 2026, most of its restaurants (Fairways, Mission Point, the 19th Hole, Parfecto Pizza, the Lobby Cafe and the O'Madden Pub) are closed for the season. The Classic Grill is open Wednesday to Saturday, 4 to 8 p.m. (218-855-5921), and Madden's describes it as offering "a fresh, locally-inspired menu." Two holiday meals are posted:

• Thanksgiving buffet in the Wilson Bay Dining Room: $49 adults, $12 ages 4 to 12, free for ages 3 and under. Reservations at 218-829-2811.
• Brunch with Santa at Madden's Wilson Bay on Sunday, December 20, 2026, seatings at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.: $48 adults, $18 ages 3 to 16, free for ages 2 and under.

Cragun's Resort

Cragun's says it has five restaurants and bars on Gull Lake. The Legacy Grill, in the Legacy Courses clubhouse, serves "casual American cuisine from classic wings to savory steaks" and lists itself as "OPEN DAILY" (Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). The dining page does not say what season those hours cover. Irma's Kitchen serves scratch-made food, including pan-fried Minnesota walleye. The Lakehouse Bar + Kitchen is the resort's lakeside restaurant, and Grind on Gull is a coffee shop pouring Duluth Coffee Company coffee. Cragun's says to check its activity schedule for the other outlets' hours. Because the Legacy Grill sits at a golf clubhouse, confirm it is open before a late-fall or winter visit.

Supper club and Nisswa

Bar Harbor Supper Club

Bar Harbor is at 8164 Interlachen Road in Lake Shore (218-963-2568) and calls itself a "lakeside first class restaurant." Its menus page lists a dinner menu, a patio food and bar menu, a cocktail, wine and beer list, a whisky list and a kids menu. Posted hours are Thursday to Sunday from 4 p.m. to close. It takes reservations online.

Big Axe Brewing Co.

Big Axe Brewing is at 25435 Main Street in downtown Nisswa (218-961-2337). It opened on May 14, 2015, as a taproom and added a kitchen in 2017. The brewery says its kitchen serves "soups, salads, burgers, and sandwiches as well as Walleye and BBQ Wings, Brisket, and Chicken," and it also brews its own root beer and cream soda. Beer service runs Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Food service runs Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The patio is dog-friendly.

Check before you go

• Seasonal hours: resort restaurants on Gull Lake cut back after summer. Madden's lists most of its outlets as closed for the season.
• Holidays: Black Bear Lodge closes on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Madden's needs reservations for its Thanksgiving buffet and Santa brunch.
• Call ahead: Ernie's and Bar Harbor post opening times but not closing times, and Ernie's does not say whether its daily schedule runs all winter. Passport is closed Monday and Tuesday.
• Left out: this guide lists only places whose own websites showed current hours or recent activity. Other downtown Brainerd restaurants had no official website we could open, so they are not here. Prairie Bay in Baxter is also not listed, because no official site for it could be reached, and Roundhouse Brewery is not listed because its web address now leads to a placeholder page with no hours. Check those directly if you want them.

Related guides: Things to do in Brainerd · Crow Wing State Park · Things to do in Alexandria · Lakes country guides · Minnesota food and drink

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Sources

• Black Bear Lodge & Saloon, home page: https://www.blackbearlodgemn.com/
• Jack Pine Brewery, home page: https://www.jackpinebrewery.com/
• Rafferty's Pizza, Baxter Mall and Delivery: https://www.raffertyspizza.com/location/baxter-mall-and-delivery
• Rafferty's Pizza, home page: https://www.raffertyspizza.com/
• Passport Restaurant & Catering, home page: https://www.passportbrainerd.com/
• Ernie's on Gull, home page and contact page: https://www.erniesongull.com/ and https://www.erniesongull.com/contact/
• Madden's on Gull Lake, Dining: https://www.maddens.com/dining/
• Madden's on Gull Lake, home page (address): https://www.maddens.com/
• Cragun's Resort, Dining: https://www.craguns.com/dining/
• Bar Harbor Supper Club, home page and menus: https://www.barharborsupperclub.com/ and https://www.barharborsupperclub.com/menus/
• Big Axe Brewing Co., home page: https://www.bigaxebrewing.com/