By the end of July, most of us in Minneapolis have started doing the math. The Minnesota State Fair opens Aug. 27 and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 7 — close enough to start thinking about cheese curds, far enough away to be a little unbearable about it.

There is a shortcut, and it does not involve a shuttle bus. Inside the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion at 100 East 22nd Street, the Pillsbury Club serves a menu that reads like a midway with considerably better lighting — and a carved oak ceiling overhead instead of a tent.

The fair-food shortlist, served under a hand-carved ceiling

The Club’s kitchen leans into approachable American food done properly, and a few items on the current dining menu are unapologetic love letters to the Great Minnesota Get-Together:

• Great Northern Cheese Curds — garlic cheese curds with jalapeño ranch and marinara ($16)
• State Fair Pretzel Bites — baked pretzel bites on a stick with gouda cheese dip ($17)
• Midway Funnel Cake Fries — funnel cake fries with powdered sugar ($15)
• Lake Street Nachos — tortilla chips with seasonal toppings, sour cream and salsa ($17)

If you want something with a knife and fork involved, the Pillsbury Club Smashburger and the Royal Smashburger are both $22, the crispy chicken sandwich is $19, and Southern-style chicken strips run $16. Menus and prices change, so check the dining page before you plan the whole evening around funnel cake.

And to be clear: none of this is a replacement for the fair. Nothing replaces the fair. The 2026 new foods list alone — pickle pie, a Hmong corndog, corn ribs on a bed of pork rinds — is worth the trip to Falcon Heights. This is just what you do in the four weeks before.

What’s behind the bar

The bar keeps the theme honest. Grain Belt Premium and Surly Furious IPA pour from the taps — both brewed in Minneapolis, both entirely at home next to a basket of curds. There are wines by the glass (sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, chardonnay, rosé, prosecco), a full gin, vodka and rum list, and a row of Minnesota-made THC seltzers for anyone skipping alcohol.

It is a genuinely handsome room to drink in: dark paneling, vintage photographs, glassware stacked on the bar top, one neon sign glowing in the corner. If a speakeasy-style evening is what you’re after, we wrote more about that in where to find a speakeasy-style night out in Minneapolis.

A dining room built for exactly this

The mansion’s dining room was designed for Gilded Age entertaining, and it still looks the part — oak panels, a gilded coffered ceiling, tall leaded-glass windows throwing light across the floor. There is something very Minnesotan about eating pretzel bites off a stick in a room like that, and we’re fully in favor of it.

If the house itself is what pulls you in, our History Journal goes deep on the family, the architecture and the carved details you’ll be sitting under.

Turn dinner into a whole evening

Food is rarely the only thing happening here. The Club’s experiences and tours page lists psychic readings and paranormal ghost hunts on site, plus the full slate of Minneapolis Trolley Tours that depart from the mansion — the Candlelight Ghost Tour, the Murder Mystery, the True Crime tour, the Gilded Age Mansion Tour and a straightforward sightseeing run.

Bringing a group? The Emerald Suite is a private second-floor club room that accommodates up to 10 guests, built for gathering before or after a mansion tour.

A few things to know before you come

• Reservations are required. The Pillsbury Club is a private, members-style club, open to guests with a valid reservation for a tour, dining experience or event.
• Arrive 30–45 minutes early. Some of the best moments happen before your reservation starts — wandering the rooms, browsing the market of Minnesota-made goods, artwork and gifts.
• Parking is complimentary. There’s a designated guest lot directly across the street, plus free street parking where posted. Rideshare drops at the front entrance, and Metro Transit routes serve Whittier.
• Outside food and drink aren’t permitted inside the Club, and the property is smoke- and vape-free. Full details are on the plan your visit page.

Make a day of it in Whittier

The Club sits in Whittier, which means the Minneapolis Institute of Art is a short walk away and general admission there is free. Pair an afternoon in the galleries with an early dinner here and you’ve built a very good Minneapolis day for very little money. There’s more in our guide to things to do in Whittier.

Coming in from out of town for fair week? 300 Clifton is a historic mansion bed & breakfast over in Loring Park, and Oakland’s on 9th has furnished studio apartments downtown if you need more than a couple of nights.

Come get your curds early

The fair will be here soon enough, and we’ll see you there. In the meantime, there’s a mansion on 22nd Street with a gouda dip and a funnel cake situation, and a table with your name on it.

Make a reservation at the Pillsbury Club →

Keep reading: Where can you have a haunted dinner in Minneapolis? Inside Witching Hours, the Club’s nightly adults-only dining experience.