76. Trieste Cafe
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 333-4658
Address: 10 South Fifth St.
Description: Trieste Cafe is an international eatery with flair. The menu includes hot hoagies, subs, gyros, hummus, falafels, spanakopita, salads, and more. The Trieste Cafe occupies a small, cramped space on the ground floor of the historic Lumber Exchange building and is open from breakfast until 6 p.m. on weekdays.
77. Azia
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 813-1200
Address: 2550 Nicollet Ave.
Description: Vietnamese immigrant Thom Pham is one of the Twin Cities’ most visible restaurateurs, and Azia is his (quite successful) experiment in creating a restaurant that’s both a social hub and a culinary adventure. The cuisine is an eclectic mix of elements from across Southeast Asia, with distinctly Minnesotan elements (for example, walleye) thrown in wherever he sees fit. The restaurant’s prime Eat Street location and stylish vibe guarantee a lot of traffic, and Pham fans the flames with DJs seven nights a week. While some are more grudging in their support than others, just about everyone agrees that Azia serves its purpose with flair.
78. Ginger Hop
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 746-0305
Address: 201 East Hennepin Ave.
Description: The new restaurant Ginger Hop is all atmosphere, say some locals, but it’s a hell of an atmosphere: Held over from Times Café, the previous restaurant in its near-Northeast space, Ginger Hop’s ambiguously regal charm lies somewhere between Casablanca and Julius Caesar. The Pan-Asian menu is nothing special, but it will satisfy your craving for curry while you sip your IPA. Watch for downstairs cocktail bar Honey, an up-and-coming night spot.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Address: 1750 Hennepin Ave.
80. Cafe Lurcat
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 486-5500
Address: 1624 Harmon Place
Description: Cafe Lurcat, just north of Loring Park in the fabulous space once occupied by the legendary Loring Cafe, features what the restaurant describes as regional New American cuisine. What that means in practice is fresh ingredients in dishes including such things as sea bass, pot roast, lamb shank, and oysters on the half shell. Vegetables and side dishes, including roasted cauliflower, butternut squash, and potato puree, are ordered separately. The desserts are heavenly. Cafe Lurcat is open daily for dinner.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Address: 4300 East Lake St.
82. Restaurant Alma
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 379-4909
Address: 528 University Ave. SE
Description: Chef Alex Roberts, a veteran of such restaurant kitchens as New York City’s Bouley and Union Square Cafe, serves up incredible New American–style dishes emphasizing seasonal, local ingredients. The menu changes often but may feature such delights as salmon tartare, beef-ricotta ravioli, and braised lamb with spicy lamb sausage. Don’t leave without having dessert; whatever you choose, you won’t be disappointed. Reservations are highly recommended, especially on weekends. Restaurant Alma is open for dinner daily.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Address: 750 South Second St.
84. Anchor Fish & Chips
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 676-1300
Address: 302 13th Ave. NE
Description: The Anchor dropped in northeast Minneapolis in 2009, to over-the-top ecstatic reviews. It remains to be seen whether the crowds are there to stay or they’ll fade with the buzz, but for now expect to wait for a table—and to be well fed once you score one. The Anchor serves true British-style fish and chips, with a solid selection of beers to enjoy before and after your deliciously greasy meal.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Address: 610 First Ave. North (Graves 601 Hotel)
86. Oceanaire Seafood Room
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 333-2277
Address: 1300 Nicollet Mall (Hyatt Regency
Description: The fish here is all fresh, flown in daily from both coasts, and, depending on the catch of the day, the restaurant serves meals like black bass in black butter; a zesty cioppino boasting an immense catch of mussels, clams, shrimp, and fish; yellowfin tuna with wild mushrooms and rich red-wine sauce; Chilean sea bass; and a fantastic oyster bar. The menu changes daily, according to what’s available, and the fish fresh on any given day are identified at the top of the menu. The Oceanaire is open for dinner daily.
87. Sea Change
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 225-6499
Address: 818 South Second St.
Description: When Cue, the Guthrie Theater’s initial attempt at hosting a destination restaurant in its riverfront home, fumbled, the Guthrie called on understudy Tim McKee to work his magic. McKee’s vision: a seafood restaurant that emphasizes creative cuisine and sustainable practices. You can’t taste the sustainability, but the food is smashing: The scallops and shrimp at Sea Change have more flavor in every bite than the average restaurant offering has in an entire meal. During the summer outdoor seating offers a fantastic view of the Stone Arch Bridge and St. Anthony Falls.
88. Seafood Palace Chinese Restaurant
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 874-7721
Address: 2523 Nicollet Ave. South
Description: The Seafood Palace Chinese’s menu begins with extremely reasonable lunch specials, then moves on to the dinner specialties, which include shrimp, scallops, mussels, lobster, and crab as well as traditional Chinese favorites like fried crispy duck, sweet-and-sour pork, and vegetarian dishes such as bean curd with brown sauce and mushrooms with Chinese cabbage. The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner.
89. Sea Salt Eatery
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 721-8990
Address: 4825 Minnehaha Ave.
Description: This casual restaurant, located in a park pavilion right next to Minnehaha Falls, serves up cheap and tasty seafood. Specialties include several types of fish tacos, po’boys, and oysters, the latter broiled, fried, raw, or served up as part of an Oil Pan, along with shrimp and libations. You order at the counter and the food is brought to your table, either inside the small restaurant or on the patio under the shade of the park’s tree canopy. The Sea Salt Eatery can be packed on weekend evenings; get there early, eat lunch instead of dinner, eat during the week, or bring a thick book. Open daily.
90. Stella’S Fish Café
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 824-8862
Address: 1402 West Lake St.
Description: Stella’s is right in the middle of the strike zone for Uptown partiers, but there usually aren’t people peeing on the indoor stairs of the multistory restaurant—that only happens on New Year’s. Stella’s offers one of the Twin Cities’ biggest seafood menus, emphasizing the luxurious end of the continuum with oysters and lobster galore. The restaurant is also notable for what its proprietors justifiably plug as “the city’s most spectacular rooftop deck.” It’s no wonder frighteningly tanned cougars flock to that deck: Sipping one of Stella’s stellar mint juleps on a summer evening while watching the sun set over Minneapolis is an experience that can make anyone feel young again.