Swany's Pub

Lord knows that I’ve had more than one interesting evening at Swany’s, mostly due to my friends, buuuuut this is a blog about the food so I will refrain from taking you down memory lane.

In case you haven’t heard, Swany’s has a fish fry every Friday during Lent.  Heck, Swany’s was even up for the coveted “Best Fish Fry in Minnesota” award.  Somehow a Wisconsin establishment ended up on the site….go figure, Wisconsin folk being envious of a Minnesota competition.

Business:  Swany’s Pub

Location: 221 Main St, Courtland, MN 56021

Atmosphere:  Swany’s is the classic, small town, one stop shop for great food and beverages.  Food and service are top notch.    

The wait staff and bartenders are among the hardest working people I have seen in any other pub, especially on fish fry nights.  What Swany’s lacks in space it more than makes up for with table tops.  I don't think they are breaking any fire codes but on Friday’s during Lent people are packed in like sardines.  It was like the wait staff were doing their own Tough Mudder, moving as fast as they can, around, over, and through obstacles, and are still pleasant!  The wait staff does their best to make sure that the customers get waited on in a timely matter.  You almost get the feeling that you are at a friend’s place rather than a bar.  

From the moment you step into the bar you will know that Beanie (the owner) is big time into hunting.  There are a number of mounted turkeys, deer, fish, and pictures from former racoon hunts.  The wildlife play off the stained and varnished wood paneling that reminds me of an “Up North” cabin.         

Food:  Even though I am a newly converted Lutheran and do not have to refrain from eating meat on Friday’s during Lent, I still order the All-You-Can-Eat Fish special.  The fish is wine battered instead of the normal beer batter.  Swany’s is the only place that I have seen wine battered fish.  I could not taste any wine in the batter, but the batter was still light, crispy, and most importantly, flavorful.  If I was a wine drinker (I know what you’re thinking, “Then the name of this blog would be called Weymann’s Minnesota Food and WINE Blog”).  As I cracked open a piece of fish, I was treated to a light and flaky white fish.  The fish was very moist on the inside with an AWESOME thick and crisp shell surrounding it.  

The fish special comes with your choice of side; french fries, baked potato, or baby reds.  I went with the baby reds.  After all, lots of places have fries and I wasn't feeling the baked potato option.  Other sides included are coleslaw and toast. The baby reds, coleslaw, and toast were good but let’s be real, I was there for the fish.  

Price: $$ out of $$$$

Rating: 5 out of 5 - Great food, great atmosphere, great company!