MPSGuide
The Best Restaurants In Minneapolis
photo credit: Isabel Subtil
There’s an oft-repeated joke that Minnesota has four seasons: June, July, August, and winter. Whether you take that as an exaggeration, hard truth, or warning, it helps explain the dining culture of Minneapolis. In the winter, eating out makes the cold, dark days actually bearable, and during warmer months, patios pop up so we can fully appreciate sunny days. Minneapolis’s pride and joy might be the juicy lucy, a cheese-stuffed burger served all over town, and it’s a good idea to try an aquavit-based cocktail now that the city has become an unofficial capital of the dill-forward spirit.
When it comes to brunch spots and restaurants in nearby St. Paul, we’ve got you covered, too.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Scott Streble
The Midwest might conjure visions of dairy, beef, and wheat stalks, but one of its best restaurants is all about ditching those products and instead, using things indigenous to North America. Think dishes like tender bison tacos and spreadable squash custard during a nice Sunday night dinner. The corn taco is a perfect example of Owamni’s vision: it’s a delicious balance of sweet and savory thanks to the Minnesotan sweetcorn, with some popcorn thrown in for extra texture. A last-minute dinner reservation for the dining room is hard to come by, but you can try grabbing a seat on the first-come, first-served patio. You’ll get an excellent view of the Mississippi River and Owámniyomni (St. Anthony Falls), a spot that has spiritual significance for the Dakota and Anishinaabe people.
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With wicker chairs, an abundance of natural light, and a covered patio lined with potted palms, a meal at Khaluna feels like you’ve stepped off Lyndale Ave. into a minimalist island retreat for the kind of people who are somehow always traveling. The decor’s light color palette is just as colorful as most of the dishes, like the tropical fruit salad and multi-hued rainbow rice. Be sure to try the sakoo, pillowy, mushroom-stuffed dumplings made from tapioca pearls, and the bucatini talay that gets a nice kick from thai basil and tom yum ragout. Cocktails are equally good and tropical—drinks are sweetened with palm syrup, and the non-alcoholic options like sparkling teas made with coconut water could be served at a fancy spa.
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Here are three reasons Spoon and Stable is great for romantic dinners: soft lighting that’s better than a beauty filter, a floor-to-ceiling glass wine cellar, and lovebirds sharing giant cones of (literal) cotton candy lovebirds. The seasonal menu includes housemade pastas and entrees like dry-aged duck breasts, and the desserts are all really good, too. You'll find elegantly-plated riffs on the classics, like a chocolate budino served with sourdough shortbread cookies and smooth crème fraîche. If you can’t get a dinner reservation on a busy weekend or you’re in the mood for something more casual, check out the adjacent lounge, where you can order the full dinner menu and seating is first come, first served.
The extraordinary heirloom masa is the backbone of Oro’s menu, with ground corn kernels doing the heavy work in everything from chips and tacos to tamales and pastries. Order the carnitas taco for perfectly crisped bits of pork paired with a creamy avocado salsa. Anything with mole is also a must, especially the duck enmoladas that get a slight bittersweet taste from dark chocolate in the sauce. The simple dining room is decorated with paintings by local Mexican American artists that match the vibrant hues of the corn, and don’t miss taking selfies with the bathroom’s museum-worthy swirling mural. Friends waiting back at the table won’t mind because they’ll be busy spooning bits of leftover mole into their mouth.
Dinner at Alma reminds us of a fancy Thanksgiving supper without any family drama. The prix-fixe meals go hard on using local produce and start with a spread of antipasti and light bites like chickpea griddle cakes, prawns, and pear-topped endive salads. Then, you’ll get family-style mains such as gnocchi with lobster and duck flavored with smoky poblano peppers and fresh paprika. The recommended wine pairings are definitely worth it, but you also can’t go wrong with the refreshing, aquavit-based dill martini. It’s a nice meal that feels special and probably won't be interrupted by that chaotic cousin who brought their pet ferret to dinner.
photo credit: Matt Lien
Hai Hai is a leafy respite from the snow during winter and the perfect place to sit on the patio for a casual lunch when it’s warmer. There are bright blue chairs, teal walls, and what feels like a constant stream of friends having lively, dramatic catch-up sessions. Start with an order of salt and pepper fried tofu and then try the Hanoi sticky rice topped with glistening bits of ground pork and chinese sausage. If your tongue tingles from all the heat, the rum-spiked slushie or the refreshing papaya-citrus-basil Tour Bus Tales are great for a cool down. Stick around for dessert and get the che with refreshing fruit and jellies or the vietnamese coffee tiramisu for something richer.
photo credit: Emily J. Davis
Tenant only has 20 seats and a minimal, whitewashed interior, but your focus and attention should be on the food anyway. The ever-changing, six-course tasting menu takes a homey dish like cheese-stuffed pasta and elevates it with a filling of funky, locally-crafted Camembert-style cheese. Since chefs double as servers, the ingredients and preparation of each menu item are explained with the same level of detail as a hardcore comic fan describing the latest Marvel movie. You’ll definitely need a reservation—try for the spot at the counter that faces the open kitchen—and just know they fill up months in advance. Get there early so you can stop by Tenant’s adjacent bar space, which is simply called “Next Door” and serves classic cocktails and light snacks like chicken liver pate.
Instead of hitting up Young Joni’s main dining room, look for the red light in the alley, settle into the sofa, and order one of their creative-but-still-fantastic pizzas. Their options include the Perfect Pickle Pie, a so-weird-it’s-good version of the Minnesota State Fair specialty, and the flavor-packed Umami Mama topped with three kinds of mushrooms, cheese, and a dash of soy and sesame. A reel-to-reel tape deck behind the bar makes this speakeasy feel a bit like a 1970s basement that serves drinks as wacky as the pies. We like the Sazerac with chicory and coffee, but there are also well-balanced non-alcoholic cocktails, like the Arnie Palmer made from turmeric-ginger tea and passionfruit honey.
photo credit: Petite Leon
Petite León wears a lot of hats—it’s laid-back enough to be a comfortable neighborhood hangout, but it will impress a date thanks to the fancier flourishes like leather banquettes and a sepia-tone-glowing chandelier. The chef grew up in the Yucatán, so the food draws from that region while blending flavors from around the world that work well together: like steak frites with chipotle butter or clam cream sauce linguine that packs a punch from sambal matah, a spicy Balinese condiment. You’ll see similar themes on the cocktail menu, including an oaxacan Old Fashioned made with mezcal and chocolate bitters.
photo credit: Lauren Cutshall
This is where to eat a quick bite of excellent Hmong cuisine like salted pork belly and Kua Txob pepper sauce at a counter inside the Graze Provisions & Libations food hall. The build-your-own meals include a choice of protein and a side—get the well-spiced sausage and the chilled khao sen rice noodles—plus purple sticky rice and pickled vegetables. Smaller groups should split the whole fish grilled in banana leaves, but know there’s also The Mini Feast option where you can try the entire menu. If the weather’s nice, head upstairs to nab a spot on the rooftop patio.
photo credit: Moonlit Road
The juicy lucy is a beloved Minneapolis specialty, and a heated local controversy: both Matt’s Bar and the 5-8 Club each claim to have invented the cheese-stuffed burger. Although the real answer may be lost to history, Matt’s Bar gets our vote for the nostalgia: they’re still serving them decades later in a narrow, memorabilia-lined space that hasn’t changed all that much since the restaurant opened in the 1950s. Just be careful with your first bite because the molten cheese has burned many a tongue. This spot only accepts cash and local checks—and insists on the spelling "Jucy Lucy"—but there’s an ATM on-site.
photo credit: Isabel Subtil
Dario’s pastel pink chairs and green cushion booths are so aesthetically pleasing you might worry it's one of those spots where the food doesn’t live up. But it absolutely does—they take pasta seriously, even if your casual date night is all giggles while splitting small plates. Our heart belongs to the doppio ravioli, filled with separate pockets of sunchoke and ricotta before being drizzled with honey. The cocktail menu leans into bitter spirits, but drinks are still balanced, especially the Bad Apple mixed from brandy, vermouth, and amaro. When it comes to dessert, the affogato with a generous scoop of thick vanilla ice cream and a sharp shot of espresso is worth losing a little sleep over.
Parlour has one of the best burgers in town, made up of two perfectly charred smashed patties formed from ground sirloin, ribeye, and brisket. It goes great paired with their signature Old Fashioned (there’s even a decent non-alcoholic version), which amps up the meat’s smokiness. If you’re just snacking, order the popcorn seasoned with bacon, togarashi, and pineapple, plus the tiki-inspired Chill Pill cocktail that tastes like an alcoholic creamsicle. Grab drinks here before a night out in the North Loop or come by for a bite after a Twins game at Target Field.
Kick back, sip on a shochu highball, and snack on some karaage with housemade gochu sauce at Zen Box Izakaya. Although it’s within walking distance of downtown’s sports and music venues, dinner here feels like you’re settling in at your favorite neighborhood diner, especially since there’s usually a seat or two at the bar for walk-ins. Order the tonkotsu ramen so you can slurp down the umami broth and pieces of tender pork. Then wrap things up with the spongy green tea tiramisu made from matcha-soaked ladyfingers.
photo credit: Eliesa Johnson
A morning at Martina is the breath of fresh air you’ll want after the longest week ever at work. While waiting for your order of the crispy potato churros, take a deep breath in the restaurant’s relaxing, simple space with its pop of palm trees—the minimalist feel is a nice break from the kaleidoscope that was your Google Calendar the past couple of days. Then, you can move on to steak and eggs with chimichurri, a breakfasty green carbonara, or the almond flour pancakes drizzled with maple syrup. Their cocktails are good and refreshing, particularly the tangy Citras drink made with gin, honey, chamomile, and absinthe.
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Pimento Jamaican Kitchen’s atmosphere is always sort of buzzing, which is what you’d expect from a place that has an adjacent bar chock-full of Jamaican rums and dancehall music on Friday nights. Their counter-service menu lets you build a meal, but the move is the braised oxtail with the Kingston Kick sauce if you just need to feel something during the Minneapolis winter. Or, you can settle for the MN Nice sauce if you’re wanting a medium-heat level hot condiment that won’t require milk to cool things down. When it’s nice out, pick a table closer to the front windows which are actually a garage door that opens up onto Nicollet Avenue and lets a fresh breeze in.
photo credit: John Abernathy
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Manny’s Steakhouse has white tablecloths and a cart rolling hunks of meat around the dining room, where Fortune 500 execs close big deals and couples celebrate twentieth wedding anniversaries. On paper, the $132 50-ounce bludgeon of beef (this is the literal name of the cut) sounds like a lot of money to spend on just one piece of meat, but it’s nicely tender, big enough to share, and gets carved tableside. The $65 filet-cut baseball steak is another good option if you want the same dry-aged flavor but something smaller. Sides are sized to split with the table—try the crispy french fried onions and creamy mashed potatoes topped with generous chunks of bacon. End the grand meal with the brownie so huge you might need to use your steak knife.
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There are a lot of bungalows all over Minneapolis, and this Longfellow spot looks like an HGTV-ified version with built-in bookcases and a patterned blue wallpaper that could’ve been ripped out of a fable anthology. TBC’s three-course, prix-fixe menu changes frequently, but always includes pasta like beet-and-gorgonzola-stuffed tortellini along with hearty meat, seafood, and vegetarian dishes such as flank steak alongside rice porridge. Stop by on Wednesdays for a more casual burger-centric menu or Sunday for $2 kids meals and pasta specials like pork sausage bucatini topped with pistachios, black pepper, and parmesan.
photo credit: Rachel Nadeau
For a speedy and satisfying lunch, stop by this local mini-chain for rice bowls, sandwiches, and gyros. Their Cedar-Riverside spot might feel like a fast food joint with brightly painted walls and quick service, but the McChicken has nothing on the tender yassa chicken marinated overnight in a secret spice blend. That’s always good to order, along with the Somali sweet spiced tea and their vegetable-filled samosa punched up thanks to some homemade chutney hot sauce.
Al’s is a true old-school Minneapolis gem. This 14-seat diner has been open since 1950 and is beloved by generations of students from the nearby University of Minnesota. We’ve been told it’s the narrowest restaurant in the city—although we haven't visited with our rulers yet—and some regulars even still buy meals with prepaid tabs, tracked via the stacks of yellow booklets behind the counter. The walls are decorated with vintage photos and money from around the world, adding to the museum/diner feel of the place. Be sure to try the plate-sized blueberry pancakes served with Minnesota maple syrup and the “fancy scrambled eggs” loaded with cream and butter. Yes, there will be a wait, but tables turn over quickly.
The line at Marty’s will probably be out the door, but don’t let that discourage you: service is efficient and the enormous sandwiches really are that good. It’s the typical options of cold cuts and delicious add-ons like whipped feta, but the real magic comes from the fresh focaccia that has just the right sprinkle of rosemary and sea salt. In the morning, opt for the garlic aioli-spiked egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, and later, go with the Seward. The curry-pickled beets, fennel pesto, and roasted cauliflower pack so much flavor together you’ll be back in line soon.
Vines dangling from the ceiling and a colorful mural of Nina Simone and Erykah Badu to your left. No, you’re not chilling at your stylish friend’s North Loop loft, you’re eating brunch at Stepchld. Their menu has dishes that pull flavors from a variety of countries, like birria tacos seasoned with an Ethiopian berbere spice blend, and pork belly and ginger coconut rice upgraded with kimchi and gochujang aioli. The fried brussels sprouts flavored with apricot and curry are so good they’ll win over people who haven’t eaten anything green in the past decade, and the Cooper Burger is anything but basic, thanks to a sauce made with capsaicin-packed mitmita. For a sweet ending, split the crepe-style, einkorn flour ricotta blueberry pancakes.
photo credit: Emily Davis
With two locations and nearly 200 flavors, Sebastian Joe’s has become a Minneapolis dessert icon. Get one of the signature scoops that are always, like raspberry chocolate chip, Pavorotti (vanilla ice cream with caramel, bananas, and chocolate chips), or Nicollet Avenue Pothole (chocolate ice cream loaded with caramel, Heath chunks, fudge, and sea salt). The homemade waffle cones dipped in chocolate and sprinkles are a genius way to enjoy both confections. Summertime is great for sitting on the patio and watching kids climb on the tortoise statue, but winter means ordering the affogato and warming up by their fireplace.
Head to this dessert-focused cafe after dinner in the North Loop. The unique treats are worth the long line, even if you have to squeeze into a space at the bar. Some favorites include the rhubarb and custard ice cream pie, Rocher mousse with hazelnut chocolate cake, and the plant-based chocolate sorbet sundae. Get a brookie to enjoy later, and pair your treats with a glass of bubbly or the Carajillo cocktail made with Spanish liqueur and espresso for a post-dinner caffeine bump.
photo credit: Bebe Zito Ice Cream
Don’t go to Bebe Zito and expect to order just a scoop of vanilla and be done with it. This wacky ice cream shop uses ingredients like caramelized Fruity Pebbles and gochujang-flavored brownie pieces, serving them all with color-changing spoons. Some options are inspired by the owner’s Brazilian heritage, like Romeu e Julieta, a cream cheese custard swirled with guava. Others reference nostalgic memories, such as the cereal-heavy Breakfast Club. If you can’t decide, try a bunch by ordering the ice cream flight. The pint-sized storefront also serves tasty burgers cooked in the food truck parked in the alley.
