Restaurants
With thousands of restaurants in the metropolitan area, the Twin Cities boast one of the most diverse and tastiest dining scenes in the country. Once considered the land of the smorgasbord or simple meat-and-potato fare, the Twin Cities today offer a vast array of culinary choices.
The chapter has been organized alphabetically by cuisine, followed by listings for sweets and treats and coffeehouses and teashops. In general each cuisine section is divided into regions: Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the suburbs north, south, east, and west. Also listed for most restaurants are which meals are served, days of the week the restaurant is open, and reservation policies. If the listing does not say otherwise, you can assume that the restaurant accepts all major credit cards. These policies frequently change, so call the restaurant if you have any questions. Both St. Paul and Minneapolis ban smoking in all restaurants and bars.
1. Acadia Cafe
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 874-8702
Address: 329 Cedar Ave. South
Description: Despite its prime location in the heart of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, for years this space seemed cursed: A string of restaurants opened and closed until the Acadia took residence after rising rents forced it out of its longtime home at Franklin and Nicollet. It’s now a hopping spot with a well-curated beer selection and a solid live music calendar. Besides booze and coffee, Acadia makes fresh soups, sandwiches, store-made bread, yogurt parfaits, and homemade Belgian waffles with fruit and whipped cream that are worth waking up early for. Worth noting is that the Acadia’s one of the surprisingly few local establishments with both beer and Wi-Fi.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Address: 413 14th Ave. SE
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Address: 125 Main St. SE
4. Bad Waitress
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 872-7575
Address: 2 East 26th St.
Description: The menus at the Bad Waitress make clear that its name is both a tribute to the stereotype of the surly diner plate-tosser and to the Michael Jackson sense of the word “bad.” Both senses are completely ironic, because there isn’t even traditional table service at the Bad Waitress: You place your order at the counter and it’s simply brought out to you. For a late-night diner with a swank retro atmosphere and a great selection of microbrews, the Bad Waitress isn’t nearly as crowded as you’d expect. The high style is the best reason to patronize the Bad Waitress, but the food is pretty decent too—and as you’d expect at an establishment run by the same people who own the Spyhouse Coffee Shop, the coffee is exceptional.
5. Bank
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 656-3255
Address: 88 South 6th St.
Description: BANK, inside the new Westin Minneapolis, serves up modern American food in a gorgeous art deco seating area (the restaurant space once housed the Farmers and Mechanics Bank). Chef Todd Stein’s menu is nontraditional yet familiar, including such things as wild duck, steamed mussels, steaks, and leg of lamb. The restaurant is open for not only lunch and dinner, but also breakfast, and a morning stop at BANK is worth it. Omelets, frittatas, lobster Benedict, and French toast are some of the items you are likely to see on the menu. Be prepared to spend a little more for breakfast than you might be used to, as most of BANK’s breakfasts rise above $10. BANK is open daily for all three meals
6. The Brothers Deli
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 341-8007
Address: 50 South Sixth St. (skyway level)
Description: The Brothers Deli offers authentic New York–style deli fare in downtown Minneapolis. This small deli, located on a busy second-floor skyway route, serves mouthwatering delicacies composed of only the best breads, meats, toppings, and condiments. The deli has cold sandwiches, grilled sandwiches, all-vegetable sandwiches, kosher sandwiches, and even grilled-cheese sandwiches, all at pretty cheap prices for downtown Minneapolis. The deli also serves breakfast, including some very inexpensive scrambles. The deli is open weekdays for breakfast and lunch.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Address: 810 West Lake St.
8. The Bulldog
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 872-8893
Address: 2549 Lyndale Ave. South
Description: Each of the three Bulldog locations is about beer—and, secondarily, the food that goes best with beer. Each Bulldog has a smashing selection of domestic and international brews on tap, with quite a few more stowed in the cooler. (Belgian fans especially should take note.) The food options center on hot dogs and burgers, but what hot dogs and burgers! Dogs are available in several styles, with special offers featuring pairs of hot dogs and pints for either couples or hungry singles. Snacks are also taken seriously at the Bulldog: In a town that loves its tater tots, the Bulldog’s are among the best.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Address: 2916 Hennepin Ave. South
10. Corner Table
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 823-0011
Address: 4257 Nicollet Ave.
Description: “Food-driven, not chef-driven” is the philosophy of this restaurant, which is at the forefront of the strong local movement to make dining out both delicious and environmentally responsible. Chef Scott Pampuch is one of the most respected cooks in Minnesota, and he’s created a contemporary American menu with an Italian flair, heavy on grass-fed meats and sustainably harvested fish. For starters, try the “nosh plate” sampler; don’t think that just because it’s a fancy restaurant you ought to avoid the savory burger; and be sure to save room for a slice of one of Corner Table’s amazing cakes.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Address: 2610 Lyndale Ave. South
12. Hard Times Cafe
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 341-9261
Address: 1821 Cedar Ave. South
Description: The Hard Times isn’t named to be cute, like the Bad Waitress, or like the national Hard Times Cafe chain (with which this gritty spot has absolutely nothing to do)—most of the regular patrons of the Hard Times have had and/or are having some genuinely hard times. The cafe is cooperatively run, and a decidedly DIY spirit dominates: you place your order, they call your name, you grab your order, you bus your own dishes. It’s no greasy spoon—the breakfast-heavy menu offers many tasty options—but don’t wear your fancy pants. The tables and the patrons are both apt to wobble, but the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood is fierce in its devotion to this very local institution.
13. Hell’S Kitchen
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 332-4700
Address: 89 South Ninth St.
Description: This breakfast, brunch (on weekends), and lunch spot features wonderfully inventive dishes such as eggs Benedict with bison flank steak and tangerine jalapeño hollandaise sauce, wild-rice porridge, and walleye hash. Despite higher prices than most other breakfast places in the Twin Cities, Hell’s Kitchen serves food that is a cut above the rest. Be sure to order some toast with the restaurant’s justly lauded custom-made peanut butter. Duluth-bound breakfasters can drop by Hell’s Kitchen’s second outlet (310 Lake Ave. South; 218-727-1620) in Canal Park a couple of blocks from the Duluth Lift Bridge.
14. Jax Café
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 789-7297
Address: 1928 University Ave. NE
Description: Jax has been a strange combination of kitsch and elegance since it opened in 1933 (right after Prohibition ended), with a long wooden bar accented by a stained-glass window depicting the seven dwarfs, and a trout stream in back. The menu includes shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, gigantic aged steaks, lobster, lamb chops, and salmon. In spring and summer request a place on the outside patio. Jax is open daily for lunch and dinner.
15. Joe’S Garage
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (612) 904-1163
Address: 1610 Harmon Place
Description: Joe’s integrates the culinary flavors of the world with traditional American fare, including several interesting takes on the burger. The menu includes the Greek lamb burger, a Mediterranean spin on a traditional burger, with feta, black olive pesto, tomato, and spinach. Other offerings include the spicy Asian pork burger and the classic beef burger. Pasta and risotto are also prominently featured on the menu. Joe’s is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, and for brunch and dinner Sunday. In warm weather you can enjoy the rooftop deck with a view of Loring Park.