40 of the Best Minneapolis Restaurants (2024)

By Brian Fanelli

Minneapolis restaurants serve everything from the country's best Somali cuisine toclassic diner fare to authentic birria tacos. Here are 40 local favorites worth checking out whether you're a life-long Minnesotan or visiting from out of town.

1. Afro Deli

   Afro Deli

   Afro Deli is what happens when fast casual dining meetsAfrican,Mediterranean and American fusion. With a menu that ranges from Somali-Italian fusion (the best-selling Chicken Fantastic) to classic Mediterranean gyro and hummus platters, and American standbys like cheeseburgers and steak sandwiches, Afro Deli is a lot like Minneapolis — diverse, delicious and totally unique.

2. Al's Breakfast

   Al's Breakfast

   Some restaurants try to be everything to everyone, but not Al's.Since opening in 1950, Al's Breakfast has earned itsreputation as one of America's best classic diners byreliably serving up no-frills breakfast foods cooked to perfection. Arrive at the diner, reportedly the narrowest restaurant in Minneapolis, well before you're hungryand expect to wait a bit before landing a counter spot onone of 14 stools.

3. All Square

   All Square

   There are two types of people in the world: those who think an entire restaurant dedicated to grilled cheese sandwiches is the best thingthey've ever heard, and those who don't and are wrong. All Square delivers a variety of craft grilled cheese sandwiches, both sweet and savory types that range from a classic four-cheese varietyto best-selling jerk chicken and guava jam options. In addition to offering the best grilled cheese in town, All Square is also a nonprofit social enterprise that trains and employs formerly incarcerated individuals. Because, as they like to say, "those who have paid their debts to society are all square."

4. The Anchor Fish & Chips

   The Anchor Fish & Chips

   The best restaurants pick a lane and own it completely, and The Anchor hasn't used their blinkerin years. The star of the menu at this Irish pubis, unsurprisingly, the fish and chips.The Anchor uses battered and deep fried wild Alaskan codserved on a bed of thick, hand-cut chips. Elsewhere on the menu you'll also find shepherd's pie, meat andveggie pasties, curry chips and a handful of other pub staples. And, of course, plenty of Guinness.

5. Bar La Grassa

   Bar La Grassa

   Located in Minneapolis' North Loop, the ever-popular Bar La Grassa — an Italian restaurant with a James Beard Award-winning chef — is a pasta lover’s paradise. Menu items, designed to be shareable, include gnocchi with cauliflower and orange, soft eggs and lobster bruschetta, red wine spaghetti with pine nuts, and more. The open kitchen, sparkling chandeliers, tall ceilings and cozy seating make it an ideal spot for a special night out. Reservations are recommended, as it’s a popular spot with locals.

6. Boludo

   Boludo

   Another contender for smallest restaurant in Minneapolis, Boludomimics its environment bypackingan incredible amount of flavor into a compactpackage: its Argentinian empanadas. With a variety ofperfectly balanced fillings, theseflaky, savory pastries are the heart of Boludo but not its only achievement. The restaurantis also home to some of the best and most unique pizzas in Minnesota, which stand out from the crowd thanks to a salted crustand sweet sauce.

7. Brasa

   Brasa

   Having already flexed his fine dining skills atAlma, chef-owner Alex Roberts went the fast-casual route in 2007 with his "premium rotisserie" concept Brasa. Its well-composed bowls, Southern-ish sides, and perfectly cooked proteins are now served at three locations throughout the Twin Cities, including a Southwest Minneapolis spot that's a short walk from Lake Harriet.

   See Also

   The Best Restaurants in the Twin CitiesThe 24 Best Restaurants & Bars In Minneapolis 2024 - Minneapolis - The InfatuationWhere to Eat in the Twin Cities Right Now64 Best Restaurants in Minneapolis & St. Paul in 2024

8. Bull's Horn

   Bull's Horn

   The answer to a question nobody asked (but absolutely should've), Bull's Horn is what happens when an award-winning chef retires fromthe world of fine dining to open a dive bar. Sidle up to the counterfor a few cheap beers and mixed drinks, and once you're nicely buzzed, treat yourself to some of the world's best bar food. You'll recognize everything on the menu, from dill pickle fried chicken buckets to fried bologna sandwiches, but nothing really compares to the flavor of the dishes here.

9. Cardamom

   

   Cardamom

   Hot on the heels of Daniel Del Prado and Shawn McKenzie's two Mediterranean-tinged Café Cerés locations comes the pair's first proper restaurant concept — an immediate, sun-baked standout within theWalker Art Center. Perfect for a quick round of progressive drinks and small plates or a proper meal post-museum crawl, Cardamom excels at fresh eats Yotam Ottolenghi would appreciate. We're talking everything from Turkish eggs crowned with chili oil, labneh, potato crisps, herbs and lamb kebabs to a hefty slab of pork schnitzel kicked up a couple notches with cucumber, sesame, serrano peppers and both green and red zhug sauce.

10. Chimborazo

    

    Chimborazo

    Looking for flavors from the Andean highlands but not up for climbing a mountain? Thehumble-looking Chimborazo restaurant in northeast Minneapolis features impeccably cooked foods from Ecuador and the Andes that will taste intimately familiar to Ecuadorians and delicious to all. This delicious Minneapolis institution is open daily for brunch, lunch and dinner, and there's never a bad time to visit.

11. EaTo

    EaTo

    Paris Dining Clubfounder Jamie Malone helpeddevelop EaTo's crowd-pleasing menu during the final days of her former restaurantEastside,building upon the blistered pies of its popular Woodfire pop-up with house-made pasta and overstuffed sandwiches. The sprawling food hall spirit of New York's beloved Eataly complex also makes a cameo appearance via EaTo's tightly curated bottle shop, meat counter and market. It's as if the restaurant decided to cram the living, breathing set of Stanley Tucci'sSearching For Italyshow into one buzz-worthy downtown space.

12. Hamburguesas El Gordo

    Hamburguesas El Gordo

    With a name thattranslates to "fat burgers," you can move on to the next restaurant now if you're on anything close to resembling a diet. For everyone else,Hamburguesas El Gordo specializes in astyle of heavy-on-the-toppings,too-much-is-never-enough burgers,hot dogs and tacos more commonly served by street vendors innorthern Mexico. The restaurant's signature dish, theDel Gordo burger,is a testament to culinary maximalism: Toppedwith mozzarella and cheddar cheese, ham, bacon, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, avocado, peppers, ketchup and mustard, it's every bit as delicious as it is messy.

13. Football Pizza

    

    Football Pizza

    Named for its signature football-shaped oval pizzas, this combination pizzeria and Afghani restaurant/bakeryis a real Minneapolis gem. Football Pizzausesa traditional Afghan flatbread for the crusts, tops themwith fresh meats, cheese and vegetables, and includesa side of the restaurant's spicy, cilantro-based green sauce for dipping. Elsewhere on the menu, you'll also find delicious Middle Eastern staples like goat kourma, gyro, kabobs and baklava.

14. Hai Hai

    

    Hai Hai

    The Twin Cities has no shortage of incredible Southeast Asian food, but Hai Hai stands out for its focus onVietnamese street foodsandinventive co*cktail program. Chef Christina Nguyen includesa few common-to-American-restaurantdishes on the menu like spring rolls,beef larb and khao soi (all done to perfection), while dishes like the Vietnamese crepe with pork belly and shrimp taste like they were plucked right off the streets of Hanoi. For best results, grab a spot on the patio and aMekong Manhattan before placing your order.

15. Hard Times Cafe

    Hard Times Cafe

    The unofficial crust punk capital of Minnesota, Hard Times Cafe is a worker-owned cafe in Cedar-Riverside that specializes in tasty vegan and vegetarian dishes with a side order of bathroom graffiti. Located just steps away from the University of Minnesota campus, it's a common late-night study hangout for students as well.

16. Heather's

    Heather's

    Heather's is the rare restaurant that takes the somewhat cliched category of "new American cuisine" and turns it into something truly terrific. The menu is all fairly standard stuff — burgers, chicken sandwiches and pastas all feature prominently — but the ingredients are so fresh, the spices so balanced, and the overallexecution so finely tuned that you can't help but be amazed.

17. Himalayan

    Himalayan

    Himalayan is one of the best Indian restaurants in Minneapolis — and excellent Nepali and Tibetan cuisines round out the menu. Every option is phenomenal, but we always come back to the creamy Kathmandu curry and momos.

18. Hola Arepa

    Hola Arepa

    The signature dish atHola Arepais always crisp and sweet, with savory and rich fillings to keep all that cornmeal balanced, including slow-roasted pork, shredded beef, chimichurri-spiced chicken and a vegan-friendly riff on al pastor made with jackfruit. Much like its sister restaurant Hai Hai, the drinks are always incredibly creative and deceptively strong, reflecting the craft co*cktail roots of co-owner Birk Grudem.

19. Kramarczuk's Sausage Company

    Kramarczuk's Sausage Company

    You can't beat Kramarczuk'swhen it comes to Polish sausage.Open since the 1954, this authentic Eastern European grocery/deli/bakery/restaurant combo is your one-stop shop for scratch-made charcuterie, borshch, cabbage rolls, pierogi and basically everything else from The Old Country. Order your kielbasa with kraut and onions or "Cossack style," in a bun with melted cheese.

20. Lu's Sandwiches

    Lu's Sandwiches

    There's only one type of sandwich you can order at Lu's: the delicious Vietnamesebahn mi.Starting with a crisp French baguette and your choice of meat, tofu or mock duck, bahn mi sandwiches are topped with cilantro, cucumber, pickled carrots, jalapeños, onions, butter and pork pate. Abyproduct of the French colonization of Vietnam, bahn mi can be found basically everywhere in Minneapolis.ButLu's has simultaneously perfected the form and streamlined the ordering experience so that, miraculously, the best bahn mi in town is also the fastest one out of the kitchen.

    See Also

    Restaurants You Need to Check Out in Minneapolis | Meet Minneapolis

21. Matt's Bar & Grill

    

    Matt's Bar & Grill

    There's an ongoing debate aboutwhich restaurant first servedMinnesota's infamous Juicy Lucy, but there's no question that the "Jucy Lucy" you get at Matt's Bar is one of the most definitive versions. It's just asimple cheeseburger with the cheese stuffed inside the patty rather than served on top, though plenty of Minneapolis restaurants try to dress it up as something its not. The OG burger you'll get here is greasy, straightforward and far better than its fancied-up imitators.

22. Maya Cuisine

    Maya Cuisine

    Maya Cuisine serves up some of the best Mexican food in Minneapolis by focusing on the basics. You won't find any zanyflavor combos here, but if you're seeking well-balanced al pastor tacos, fresh corn tortillas, or a spicy bowl of pozole on a cold winter afternoon, there's no better place to find it than here.

23. Modern Times

    Modern Times

    Another tentpole of the Minneapolis punk scene, Modern Times is the best place in town to nurse your hangover and run into the band from last night's house show. It's also the rare restaurant where nearly every menu item can be ordered vegetarian, vegan or with organic meat — not to mention gluten-free. Open daily for breakfast and lunch.

24. Olive & Lamb

    Olive & Lamb

    To us, the ideal Mediterranean restaurant experience is a big group dinner where we order aheaping pile of kabobs, gyros and salads for the table, a few bottles of wine and slowly make our way through the meal over a few hours. To you, it might be agyro wrap andside of fries to-go. You'll find both at Olive & Lamb, a counter-service Mediterranean restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis that somehow nails the fast casual and sit-down experiences without compromising on either.

25. Owamni

    Owamni

    Located inside the Water Works Pavilion, a new site in Minneapolis’s Mill Ruins Park, Owamni is committed to revitalizing Native American cuisine. The restaurant partners with Indigenous food producers and its staff includes members of Anishinaabe, Mdewakanton Dakota, Navajo, Northern Cheyenne, Oglala Lakota and Wahpeton-Sisseton Dakota. It touts a “decolonized” dining experience with menu items that avoid wheat flour, dairy and cane sugar in favor of Indigenous ingredients, such as bison, wild rice, duck, fruits and vegetables. The restaurant has received numerous local and national accolades, and won Best New Restaurant at the James Beard Awards in 2022.

26. Pho 79

    Pho 79

    In South Minneapolis, there's a stretch ofNicollet Avenue we call Eat Street.It's a bustling strip ofrestaurants where you'll find every type of cuisine under the sun. The competition for Vietnamese food on Eat Street is fierce; Quang, Pho Tau Bay, Jasmine 26 and Pho Hoa are just a few of the other noteworthy spots you'll findwithin a few blocks. You truly can't go wrong with any of them — and if we're talking aboutvegan broth, Pho Tau Baytakes the cake — but there's just something about Pho 79 that we can't resist.

27. Pimento Jamaican Kitchen & Rum Bar

    Pimento Jamaican Kitchen & Rum Bar

    Pimento is what you getwhen a Jewish rapper and Jamaican business executive become neighbors and decide to open a restaurant together. One half of the restaurant specializes in counter-service Jamaican street and comfort foods — think Kingston-style jerkbowls with all the fixings included — and the other half is a rum bar where you can enjoy a drink, kick back and stay a while.

28. The Red Sea

    The Red Sea

    Since opening in 1990, The Red Sea has been a standby for delicious Ethiopian and Eritrean meals. The food is incredible, but what really sets The Red Sea apart is that it's also a night club. Where else can you start your night bysharing a massive platter of Ethiopian food withfriends, then seamlessly transition over to the bar to hit the dance floor?

29. Reverie Cafe & Bar

    Reverie Cafe & Bar

    Located just a block away from beautifulPowderhorn Park, Reverie serves some of the best bar food in town. The curbside burger is a cheesy thing of beauty, and the nachos are piled so high with toppings it always feels vaguely like you're getting away with something.It just so happens everything on the menu is 100% vegan, too. Dinner is available daily, with brunch served weekend mornings and afternoons.

30. Sammy's Avenue Eatery

    Sammy's Avenue Eatery

    Named for its owner andlong-time restaurateur, Sammy McDowell, this sunny little deli andcafe in North Minneapolisproves you don't need to reinvent the wheel to stand out. The menu consists of classic, familiarsoups; sandwiches and salads made withfresh ingredients; and a certain magic that elevates theminto truly great meals. Whether it's the thick and flavorful bread, Sammy's house-made special sauceor simply the care given to everything on the menu, Sammy's is sure to impress.

31. Soul Bowl

    Soul Bowl

    Housed on the second floor of the North Loop's hippest food hall (Graze Provisions), Soul Bowl describes itself as, "soul food reimagined for the urban millennial."The menu is stocked with soul food staples like mac and cheese (Return of the Mack andCheese), candied yams (D'angelo Candied Yams), cornbread and fried chicken (Fantasia Fried Chicken), available either as a build-your-own affairor as one of their signature bowls. Themenu also includeshandheld dishes like the A.A. Sandwich, which takes a cornbread bun and tops it withmac and cheese, collard greens and fried chicken.

32. Spoon and Stable

    Spoon and Stable

    Located inside a former horse stable in the North Loop, Spoon and Stable has a well-earned reputation as one ofMinnesota's most delicious and exciting finedining establishments.Run by James Beard-award winning chef Gavin Kaysen, the restaurant masterfully combines Midwestern ingredients with French techniques to produce meals that arefamiliar yet unique.

33. Taqueria las Cuatro Milpas

    Taqueria las Cuatro Milpas

    The stretch of East Lake Street between Hiawatha Avenueand I-35W is home to dozens of Mexican restaurants where you'll reliably find incredible tacos, burritos, pozole and other taqueria staples. But Taqueria las Cuatro Milpas is one of the only spots on the strip serving birria, a rich beef stew more commonly found in the north-central states of Mexico than the upper Midwest. A largesection of the menu is dedicated to the restaurant's varied birria stews, oryou canhavethe tender, shredded birriaon an order of tacos,a quesadilla or a torta.

34. Trio Plant-Based

    Trio Plant-Based

    Soul food is the name of the game at Trio Plant-Based,Minnesota's first Black-owned vegan restaurant. Cauliflower wings, BBQ jackfruit riblets, collards, mac and cheese, yams—it's all here, it's all delicious and it's all completely vegan. You'll also find a handful of plant-basedburgers on the menu, from classic cheeseburgers to pretzel-bun burgerspiled high with Buffalo mac and cheese.

35. Tullibee

    Tullibee

    Housed in the ground floor of the boutiqueHewing Hotel,Tullibee fully embodies the spirit of the trendy-but-not-unbearably-so North Loop neighborhood it calls home. Arotating, farm-to-table menu revolves around shareable fish and meat dishes that thriveon the razor's edge between familiar and daring. The restaurant even has its own in-house butchering program, and uses a wood-burning grill to cook each cut of meat to perfection over an open flame.

36. Uncle Franky's

    Uncle Franky's

    This tiny little building in Northeast Minneapolis has a surprisingly wide-ranging menu, but the star of the show at Uncle Franky's will always be its hot dogs. One of the few (only?) restaurants in Minneapolis to custom-make their own dogs, Uncle Franky's serves all-beef wieners that are a shining example of how a simple, familiarmeal can excel when done right. The all-natural casings are snappy, the poppy seed buns are firm (but not too firm), and the toppings are balanced. If you're feeling particularly hungry, order a double-dog (two dogs, one bun) and get ready for a nap.

37. Victor's 1959 Cafe

    Victor's 1959 Cafe

    With delicious Cuban dishes likemango pancakes, sweet plantain omelets and cafe con leche with house-made sugar paste, Victor's 1959 Cafe is one of the city's most popular brunch spots.You should expect to wait a bit before being seated,but if you're willing to brave the waitlistyour patience will be rewarded with one of the best tastingbrunches around.

38. Wendy's House of Soul

    Wendy's House of Soul

    While other restaurants in town are perfecting the art of the soul bowl, Wendy Puckett ismore interested in SOULROLLS:an unlikely fusion betweensoul food and egg rolls. Originally developed as a way for Wendy to trick her kids into eating more vegetables, these days SOULROLLS are thesignature dish at Wendy's House of Soul. The rolls come in nearly 20 different varieties, from the breakfast-themed 9 a.m. roll to the Jive Turkey roll, which is stuffed with turkey, cabbage, broccoli, carrots and fresh garlic. Or if you prefer something more traditional, Wendy's also serves up some of the city's best chicken and waffles, chicken wings and sides.

39. Young Joni

    Young Joni

    Having already established herself as one of the city's most celebrated pizza purveyors at her firsttwo restaurants, Pizzeria Lola and Hello Pizza, Ann Kim's third venture in Northeast Minneapolis feels likean extension and evolution of her formidable reputation. Like her other restaurants, Young Joni is a pizzeria at heart.But its elegant, open dining area andemphasis on bold small plates elevate this pizza joint into something that's not quite fine dining, but not terribly far off either.

40. Zen Box Izakaya

    Zen Box Izakaya

    These days you can find an incredible bowl of ramen in practically every corner of the city, but the tonkotsu ramen atZen Box Izakaya— the city's first dedicated ramen joint — is still nearly impossible to beat. Executive chef and owner John Ngstays mostly true to the Japanese process of cooking ramen broth, tweaking the traditionjust slightly byroasting the chicken and pork bones before tossing them in the pot to boil for 10-12 hours.The resulting broth is rich, fatty and creamy, with just a hint ofsmokiness: the perfect base for your noodles, egg, menma, kikurage and pork chashu.

More Minnesota Food & Drinks

Beyond these incredible restaurants in Minneapolis, Minnesota’s renowned chefs and vast array of dining destinationshave fueled its reputation as a foodie haven.Minnesota-based craft distilleries, breweries, wineries and cideries produce a host of uniquely flavorful beverages that are winning fans around the globe. Vegetarian and vegan restaurants reside in nearly every corner of the state. Trendy food halls allow you to taste your way acrossmultiple countries in a matter of minutes. No matter what kind of food you crave, you'll find it in Minnesota.