We stopped at Carl's Corner on Sunday evening in Essig - between Sleepy Eye and New Ulm. It is a little hard to see from highway 14 due to the Lakes Gas building but I'm glad we turned around after missing the turn. Inside is old school wood panelling, a long bar, and a good sized dining area. The staff was super friendly and we were seated quickly despite the dinner rush. We all ordered the Fried Chicken which was apparently named best in Minnesota a few years ago by WCCO. Between us we got fries,, baked potato, and 2 different kinds of coleslaw for sides. Everything was delicious and the chicken was perfectly crispy. If you're in New Ulm this is definitely worth the short drive over. Note that they only take cash or checks but they do have an ATM on-site. read more

Carl's Corner - Half chicken - Soul Food Near Me - Essig, Minnesota

A nice option for good chicken and burgers. I have not tried much more than that. But what I have tried is superior to many similar locations. read more

Quaint place with great food and service. We have stopped a couple of times now and all of the food was good and priced just right.

We went during covid and ate in our car so take the review with a grain of salt. People in the area rave about the pizza and chicken, but that wasn't our experience. The pizza toppings were good, but the crust was so thin it was nearly impossible to pick up and completely impossible to hold to take a bite. We were shoving whole pieces in our mouths so it wasn't an enjoyable experience. The chicken was an improvement and was very crispy and fairly tasty, but was not the best in the state as many claim. It's worth checking out for the chicken and who knows maybe we will stop again for a pie. read more

Cash only. They have a ATM. Limited menu during lunch Cute small town restaurant. Our server was really nice. I got the cheeseburger l. I added onions and lettuce. It was okay. I loved the fries though. I would recommend you get the 1919 Root beer. It was only $1. read more

Carl's Corner - Cheeseburger, fries, root beer - Soul Food Near Me - Essig, Minnesota

Boasted Chicken and pizza are the best. There were 11 of us after an afternoon at Schell's Brewery . Fast friendly service.

They have the best pizza around. Carl's Corner is a hidden gem. Quick drive from New Ulm and well worth it for a family get together, date night or just to get some good food! read more

My kids and I ate here because of a recommendation. I was told that the chicken was excellent. The recommendation was correct. The service was fast and friendly and the food was soooooo good. They also have 1919 root beer on tap for$1.00 a mug! I would definitely recommend the chicken. I heard the pizza was amazing too. One thing to note, they only take cash or check. There's an ATM on site. read more

Carl's Corner - Chicken dinner and 1919 root beer on tap! Delicious! - Soul Food Near Me - Essig, Minnesota

Vacationing with great friends in Mankato who took us here after visiting New Ulm and Schell's Brewery. Outstanding idea! We all devoured our dinners of Carl's fried chicken. Oh, soooo good. Plus, $1 root beers! Our server was most friendly and the place was perfect small town cool. read more

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Every time I go home to visit my family, Carl's Corner is a must. I can never decide between the chicken dinner or the pizza! The pizza is amazing also!! And the salad bar (I'm not sure why) is even amazing! read more

Good chicken, good selection of beer, good prices. Busy for good reasons, this establishment is located conveniently between the towns of Sleepy Eye and New Ulm in a small place known as Essig and graciously located in beautiful downtown. There is some history here, many years ago Essig was only known as Siding Number One, and when it was finally a town, its first postmaster was named Essig, and that's what the town is now called. read more

Made reservations for 6pm (requested a booth but got a table) because we heard it's a 20 non wait normally without reservations. Waitress got us a pitcher of beer, but after waiting 30 minutes and watching 3 other tables have their food order taken that came in after us with no reservations we felt it was completely unacceptable to be ignored and decided to leave. So we asked how much for the beer because we decided to leave after having reservations and watching 3 the other tables after us get service first. They actually let us pay for the $3.50 and never apologized. I gave them $4! I know the food is good but someplace has gotten to big and forgotten customer service! read more

Just moved here from California and heard about this place. We read the 2 reviews and decided to give it a try. Let's just start by saying the service was average at best. Not very friendly. The salad bar can't even be called that! It's the worst one I've seen in my life! We ordered the chicken dinner cause we heard the great reviews. It was cooked good but had no flavor! The side was their version of "loaded tater tots" which included tater tots with a slice of American Kraft single melted over the top! Wtf! I wont be going back there that's for sure. read more

This is a restaurant in need of some serious updating. Service from the waitress was adequate and the food was average. I was skipped over twice when I was in line to pay my bill. Take cash, write a bad check or use the expensive ATM because plastic is not accepted. Not the overall experience that would take me back. read more

My wife and I have been on the road for the last week. Tired of the same horrible places to get food. When we can we like to find small town restaurants like this to stop at. We had the broasted chicken, baked potato and root beer. Everything was fantastic. Great price, friendly employees. It is on my list of places to stop by when I'm passing through. read more

Some of the best fried chicken in Minnesota. Great little outta the way bar/ pub with burgers, pizza and crazy good fried chicken.

Carl's was rated one of the best restaurants in Minnesota so we had to stop on our latest "road trip". The lunch special was pork chops with wedge potatoes for about $6 and they were great. Not over done, tasty and filling. It's on our list to stop again..... read more

Great chicken and my kids love the spaghetti here. The salad bar is lousy. Very friendly staff, but service can be slow. They don't take credit cards and do a poor job of stating this. Bring along a check or cash. Previous review stating that the chicken was flavorless was just plain clueless and I suspect trolling. read more

Best fried chicken I have had in a long time! The 1919 Rootbeer was amazing and at $1.00 per mug, a great value as well.

Excellent fried chicken -salad bar could be beefed up a little but all in all a great dining experience.

We visited after hearing about how good the fried chicken is. Had heard it's "the best in MN". We arrived at 3:30pm and quickly learned that they don't serve any food before 5:00. We decided to have a beer or two and wait. The atmosphere was very average MN bar. Lots of tables and a pool table in the back. The tap beers are 8oz. pours, but only $1.25. We enjoyed the locally brewed Schell's Firebrick ale. You could also get a mini pitcher of beer for $3.00. It equaled about 4 of the single beers. While we waited(only people in the place). We observed the bartender regularly answering the phone to take table reservations. Plan ahead or wait for a table. At about 4:45, the place started filling up. After the long wait til 5:00, we were able to order our dinners. The chicken dinner came with salad bar, potato and toast. The salad bar was kind of weak. Only a few options, shredded iceberg lettuce, out of the box potato salad and coleslaw, pickles, etc.. Once the chicken dinners arrived, it was a whole different story. It was fried golden brown and piping hot. The first couple bites proved that the chicken was everything we had heard. Delicious. The half dinner was around $9.00. Someone in our party also tried their pizza. Having never heard of celery on pizza before, she ordered it without. It was reported as slightly above average of MN bar pizza. Good fresh toppings, nice size and nice price. Overall, we enjoyed our meal. Other than the great chicken dinner, it is pretty much the same as any other home town MN bar/ eatery. I would go again. read more