Website Concept Preview  ·  Opening Soon on Lake Pepin  ·  Menu & Details Subject to Change
MRMoon RiverGrille & Smokehouse
Smoked brisket and burnt ends at Moon River
Lake City · Minnesota · Lake Pepin

Moon Sunny

Grille & Smokehouse

A Texas smokehouse and a serious grille, re-grounded in Minnesota — brisket and burnt ends, grilled steaks and chops, Canadian walleye and house-smoked salmon, on the Lake Pepin waterfront.

Book a Table Reserve the Party Room
120+Seats
25 ftBar
101 ECenter Street
1900Historic Building
The Concept

Two proven formats,
one Minnesota menu

The menu blends the two halves of a format ownership knows well — then roots both of them right here, in the ingredients of the river and the North.

The Smokehouse

Low, slow & by the pound

Brisket, ribs, and burnt ends off a commercial rotisserie smoker — meats by the pound and whole to go, for the lake-weekend and family-gathering trade. Burnt ends on Mondays and Saturdays. Smoked prime rib on the weekend.

The Grille

Steaks, chops & a martini-led bar

Grilled steaks and chops, serious burgers, and a 25-foot bar built around a frozen Tito's tap — frozen vodka martinis and shots poured off a dedicated tap nobody else in the county has.

Minnesota on the Plate

Walleye, salmon & wild rice

Canadian walleye, house-smoked salmon, Ellsworth cheese curds, wild rice, Faribault blue cheese, and local farm bacon — the smokehouse, speaking Minnesotan.

Priced for This Market

A $14 lunch & $34 ribeye

Every price benchmarked against the restaurants Lake City and Red Wing already love. A weekday lunch special aimed squarely at the local workforce, and a weekend brunch built on smoker skillets.

Signature Draws

Reasons to come back every week

A weekly rhythm that gives regulars a standing excuse — and visitors a story to take home.

Brisket plate with burnt ends
Mondays & Saturdays

Burnt Ends & the Brisket Plate

Low-and-slow brisket, sliced thick with a dark bark — as a plate, by the pound, or folded into a sandwich.

$24 brisket plate
Signature ribeye steak
From the Grille

The Signature Ribeye

Grilled over open flame and rested properly — the steak that anchors the grille side of the menu.

$34 ribeye
Friday walleye fry
Every Friday

The Walleye Fry

Golden Canadian walleye, the way a Friday on Lake Pepin is supposed to taste.

$27 walleye
Weekday$14 Lunch Special

Built for the local workforce — in, fed, and back on the water.

Mon & SatBurnt Ends

When they're gone, they're gone.

FridayWalleye Fry

A Lake Pepin Friday tradition, from day one.

WeekendSmoker Brunch

Brunch with smoker skillets and whole cobblers.

The Moon River party room and bar
Private Events

The party room on Lake Pepin

Lake City has one event hall — you rent the whole thing or nothing. Moon River's private dining room is the room in between: rehearsals, company dinners, birthdays, and club nights, with the bar and the smoker working for your table only.

  • Private dining room seating 30+ guests
  • The 25-foot bar and frozen Tito's tap, martini-led program
  • Menus built on the smokehouse — brisket by the pound scales to any party
  • Buy-outs of the full room available
Reservations

Save your seat by the river

Book a table in a couple of taps — or let Sunny, our reservation agent, handle it for you right here.

Book a Table

Tables for two, or the whole crew. Book through OpenTable, or ask Sunny below and she'll take the reservation in about a minute.

Book on OpenTable

Reserve a Party Room

Thirty-plus seats, your own corner of the restaurant, and a menu built around the smoker. Tell Sunny the date and the occasion — she'll start the reservation.

Concept note: Moon River is not yet open — OpenTable booking and live reservations activate at opening. Sunny is running in preview mode below.

Visit

Downtown Lake City, on the river

Find Us

  • Address — 101 E Center Street, Lake City, MN 55041
  • The space — the former Blue Moon Cafe, a downtown corner the town has known as a restaurant for 50+ years
  • The setting — Lake Pepin and the Mississippi Sunny, the marina and yacht club a short walk away
  • Day trip — 45 minutes from Rochester, about 90 from the Twin Cities

Good to Know

  • Seating — 120+ guests, plus the 25-foot bar
  • Private dining — a dedicated room for 30+ guests
  • Hours — announced at opening; lunch, dinner, weekend brunch
  • Reservations — OpenTable and Sunny, our agent, at opening
Book with Sunny, our reservation agent