# Restaurants in Minneapolis and area **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [February 21, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890 "2022-02-21T18:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/1 "2022-02-21T18:35:01Z")
We’re moving to MSP in May-ish. I would like some recommendations for local area restaurants. I know about Nook in St. Paul, but that’s about it. We eat pretty much all kinds of food, other than tofu. Fire away. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/2 "2022-02-21T19:09:00Z")
A mile-long section of Nicolette Ave, in Minneapolis south of downtown, is known as “Eat Street” — at least a dozen good restaurants, many of ethnic specialties, like Ghana or El Salvador or Malaysia. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/3 "2022-02-21T19:25:39Z")
My brother lives in the Twin Cities (couldn’t tell you offhand which one). For Christmas he usually asks for gift cards to area restaurants. Looks like the last two that I got him were for _Estelle_ and _Butcher and The Boar_. (ETA italicized because it’s hard to read with all the ands). ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/4 "2022-02-21T19:40:15Z")
A casual place in northern Minneapolis I really like when visiting there is the Marina Grill & Cafe at University & Lowery aves. Delicious Mediterranean food, and good variety. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/5 "2022-02-21T20:10:22Z")
Thanks. We’ll be living in the Lowry Hill area, but all are welcome. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/6 "2022-02-21T22:02:03Z")
Assuming they’re still there, I can think of three places right off the bat: The Village Wok, near where Washington and University meet (across from the U of M stadium), Al’s Breakfast in Dinkytown, and The Green Mill Italian restaurant, at various locations. Their deep-dish pizza is to die for! Another great pizza joint is The Leaning Tower of Pizza, in the Uptown district. The Black Forest is a German/European place south of Downtown on Nicolette. The last time I was in Minneapolis was January 2000. Back then, there was a great malt shop next to the Uptown cinema, right off Hennepin and Lake, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/7 "2022-02-22T19:25:00Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Lowry Hill I don’t have a ton of restaurant experiences in the Twin Cities but Lowry Hill looks to be not too far from a place called Hell’s Kitchen, which I enjoyed. You should also try and get a Juicy Lucy somewhere, which is a regional variety of hamburger with the cheese on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![Yogeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yogeekgirl/32/4129_2.png) [@Yogeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yogeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/8 "2022-02-22T19:54:03Z")
Lowry Hill, eh? I am not super familiar with that part of town, I am closer to Midtown/Lake and Cedar. In May there will be more food trucks around and some are all-season operations. If you like tacos, fajitas, tamales,etc. there are some really good mobile restaurants on Lake Street(East and West). Once you get here, double check your bucket list because many places have closed from Pandemic problems. (RIP Grandview Grill in St Paul and my beloved Geek Love Cafe). The Hi Lo Diner is still open and has a good patio, Parkway Pizza is awesome and Reverie(plant based comfort food) plus Modern Times Diner and Dumpling are all local faves for me. Lake Street is a good possibility for dining since they are trying to rebuild and welcome people back after all the fires and rioting. [Midtown Global Market](https://midtownglobalmarket.org/food) also houses many good kitchens. Okay, okay, I’m rooting for my own part of town, but I’m a sucker for some good coffee and tasty potatoes and grease. ---
**Author:** ![Yogeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yogeekgirl/32/4129_2.png) [@Yogeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yogeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/9 "2022-02-22T19:57:09Z")
PS: Juicy Lucy’s at Matts Bar- this is where Obama got lunch after his lakeside speech and letter reading. [https://www.mattsbar.com/](https://www.mattsbar.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Yosh99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ccd318/32.png) [@Yosh99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yosh99)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/10 "2022-02-22T20:15:36Z")
There are scores of good restaurants of all kinds in Mpls and Saint Paul. My advice would be to use Yelp to create a list of places to try. You can also use your restaurant list to explore different parts of the cities. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/11 "2022-02-22T20:28:54Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > You should also try and get a Juicy Lucy somewhere, which is a regional variety of hamburger with the cheese on the inside. That is on [Nook’s menu](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb3f58dcc1f816f9d231244/t/6179307489fa492c378f08d5/1635332213737/Nookmenu1022.pdf), along with many other tempting burgers, cheesesteaks, etc. Nook was also on DD&D. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/12 "2022-02-22T23:43:20Z")
The Walker Art Center has a recommended restaurant called Cardamom. You will be near the Wedge co-op which has some awesome foods, especially breads and cheeses. There’s also Sebastian Joe’s ice cream, a long time favorite. I haven’t eaten in the locale you will be moving to for a couple of years, but there are some excellent restaurants there. The Twin Cities has quite a good foodie vibe and [**Eater**](https://twincities.eater.com/maps/best-new-restaurants-minneapolis-saint-paul-heatmap) magazine is reliable for being up-to-date. Better than Yelp, IMO. I know the St. Paul side of things a bit better, but I think you should explore the neighborhood before you go further afield. That said, Broder’s Pasta Bar is a favorite, and the Sea Salt Eatery are definitely worth stepping out of the neighborhood for. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/13 "2022-02-22T23:50:55Z")
Oh, and one more bit. Although it is pronounced Nicolette locally, the spelling is Nicolet, if you are looking at street signs. Because Midwest, doncha know. And go to Revival for their southern style chicken. Be sure to leave your arteries at home. And watch it with the hot sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/14 "2022-02-23T01:02:06Z")
Lowry Hill puts you pretty centrally located to a lot of stuff. You’re close to Uptown which used to be a hotbed of a lot of good restaurants but between the riots followed by the pandemic and now ongoing crime problems is having rough times. Isles Bun & Coffee is close by to run out to in the mornings for some awesome sweet rolls. Sebastian Joe’s is also close by which has some great unique flavors of homemade ice cream. The warehouse district (north side of Target Field) has a lot of my favorites. Smack Shack, Red Rabbit, The Freehouse, Blacksheep Pizza, etc. If you venture out towards Bde Maka Ska (previously Lake Calhoun) I like Punch Pizza (local chain individual neapolitan style), Yum!, and Good Day Cafe over in Golden Valley. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-minneapolis-and-area/959890/15 "2022-02-23T03:01:43Z")
Years and years ago I went to Emily’s Lebanese Deli. I thought it was quite good.