Minneapolis, Minnesota Restaurants

Restaurants

Minneapolis has a budding restaurant scene with great places opened up by award-winning chefs. These are some of the restaurants you should try if you're in the area.

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Spoon and Stable (American): James Beard award winner Chef and Owner Gavin Kaysen has a winner with very good food and service. They don't normally offer tasting menus but I was offered one and I opted for a seven course meal with a wine pairing. It was the best meal I had anywhere in Minneapolis. Yelp: 4.5 Stars (Last visit: June 2016)

Bar La Grassa (Italian): Good food, good service. My 2nd favorite restaurant in Minneapolis aside from Spoon and Stable. Popular restaurant favorites are the crispy insalata (okay), soft eggs and lobster (good), calaramata with raw tuna, pappardelle with veal ragu, gnocchi with cauliflower and orange, and the pasta negra with sea urchin chili, mussels, and tomato (very good). Yelp: 4.5 Stars (Last visit: June 2016)

Saffron Restaurant & Lounge (Middle Eastern, Spanish, Greek): Good food, decent service. The specialty here is the lamb tajine which has a bit more of a soupy consistency than traditional tajines. The Sauteed Parisian gnocchi was also fairly good. We would have wanted to try the shredded phyllo and sweet cheese pie but had the rhubarb fennel custard (very good) instead due to time constraints. Yelp: 4.5 Stars (Last visit: June 2016)

112 Eatery (American): Okay food, good service. This restaurant's specialties are the 112 steak tartare, sea scallops w/ oyster mushrooms, duck breast w/ red miso & shiitakes, and the lamb ribs. The sea scallops were good but the sticky sweetbreads and the lamb ribs were too salty while the duck breast was overcooked and bland. Yelp: 4.5 Stars (June 2016)

The Bachelor Farmer (Scandinavian, Modern American): Locally sourced Nordic-inspired dishes by 2016 James Beard winner for best chef in the midwest, Paul Berglund. Despite the credentials, The Bachelor Farmer was surprisingly disappointing having received one underwhelming dish after another. The service was not much better. Try this place anyway after having eaten at the other restaurants above. The German / Austrian wines here may be a better value than their other offerings (the Zweigelt was quite good). Yelp: 4 Stars (June 2016)

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The Kenwood (American): Good food, decent service. The huevos rancheros for brunch and the Kenwood burger for lunch are this restaurant's specialties. The house made granola with Greek yogurt was also good for breakfast. Yelp: 4.5 Stars (June 2016)

Hell's Kitchen (American): Good Burgers, good service. They also make their own hot sauce and peanut butter. Yelp: 4 Stars (Last visit: June 2016)

Places Left To Try

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Borough Minneapolis (American): Yelp: 4 Stars

Haute Dish (American): Yelp: 4 Stars

Murray's (Steakhouse): Yelp: 4 Stars

Restaurant Alma (American): Yelp: 4.5 Stars

Burch Steak and Pizza Bar (Steakhouse): Yelp: 4 Stars

Piccolo (Modern American): Yelp: 4.5 Stars

Corner Table (American): Yelp: 4 Stars

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The Rabbit Hole (Korean, Asian Fusion): Yelp: 4 Stars

Zen Box Izakaya (Ramen): Yelp: 4 Stars

Brasa Rotisserie (Southern, Caribbean): Yelp: 4.5 Stars

Hola Arepa (Latin American): Yelp: 4.5 Stars

Lucia's Restaurant (American): Yelp: 4 Stars