Beyond the everyday lists for sandwiches and pizza, these are the destination restaurants. Some have James Beard medals on the wall. Some have been chef-driven neighborhood rooms for two decades. Some are brand new and already worth the table. Reservations recommended.
Sean Sherman’s pre-colonial-Indigenous restaurant on the Mississippi at Owámniyomni (Saint Anthony Falls). A menu built without colonial ingredients (no wheat, dairy, sugar, beef, or pork) that has earned national attention and the 2022 James Beard Best New Restaurant award. One of the most important restaurant openings in recent American history happened here.
Isaac Becker’s small chef-driven restaurant has been one of the most-loved rooms in the metro since 2005. The foie gras meatballs are a permanent menu fixture. The burger has its own following. Late-night service makes it the move after a show. Often called "where chefs eat."
Isaac Becker’s sibling restaurant to 112, focused on hand-rolled pasta and Italian small plates. The soft egg and lobster bruschetta is the order. The half-priced bruschetta board at happy hour has built a separate fanbase. One of the most consistent rooms in the city.
Gavin Kaysen’s North Loop flagship in a converted horse stable. French-leaning American food with a serious tasting-menu option, and a happy hour at the bar that turns the room into one of the metro’s best deals from 4 to 5:30. The dining room is a special-occasion staple.
Gavin Kaysen’s 20-seat tasting-menu restaurant. A multi-course experience that has earned national attention since opening. Reservations are released monthly and disappear quickly. The most ambitious dining experience in the metro.
A New American kitchen and libation house in the Whittier neighborhood at the south end of Eat Street. Burgers, sandwiches, and entrees with serious craft cocktails and a thoughtful wine list. The room feels like it has been there longer than it has, in the best way.
Daniel del Prado’s Kingfield restaurant doing modern Latin with serious technique. The brunch program is widely regarded as one of the best in the city. The dinner menu reaches across the Americas with a coherent point of view.
A small St. Paul restaurant on Selby Avenue from chef Rikki Giambruno that has earned a serious following for handmade pasta, careful seafood, and a wine program that is one of the best in either city. Reservations book out weeks ahead.
Isaac Becker’s steakhouse in a converted Lyn-Lake mortuary, with a downstairs pizza-and-pasta room called Pizza Bar. Two restaurants in one building, both genuinely worth the visit. The downstairs is more casual; the upstairs is the steakhouse.
Daniel del Prado’s Linden Hills restaurant blending Italian pasta technique with Argentinian wood-fire cooking. The pastas are the headline but the wood-grilled meats are equally serious. The room is small and the bar is the move for walk-ins.