An Eater’s Guide to the Twin Cities

Cheese-stuffed burgers, basement speakeasies, and aromatic bowls of pho — these are just some of the highlights of the Twin Cities’ restaurant and bar scene. This is the homeland of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, where wild rice grows on the lakes, and where new generations have introduced lefse, sambusas, heirloom corn tortillas, cherry-smoked barbecue, Hmong sausage, soul rolls, and fragrant injera platters. This is a guide for navigating the Cities’ vibrant, ever-evolving food scene.

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The Mill City or the Saintly City — which to choose? (St. Paul’s original name was actually “Pig’s Eye” — monikers have vastly improved.)

Minneapolis is a little edgier: This is the heart of the Cities’ music scene, where Prince performed legendary shows at First Avenue. There are stars of equal measure in Minneapolis’s restaurant world: Full-service Indigenous restaurant Owamni won the national, highly competitive James Beard Award for best new restaurant in 2022. Owamni serves a decolonized menu (think venison tartare and seaweed sorbet instead of beef, milk, flour, and white sugar) near St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River — or, in the Dakota language, Owámniyomni, a sacred site of peace and well-being.

East Lake Street offers an array of Mexican restaurants and panaderias, plus two popular indoor markets with plenty of restaurants and cafes: Mercado Central and Midtown Global Market. Lake Street was the center of the social uprisings of 2020, which began in Minneapolis and sparked nationwide protests for racial justice after the murder of George Floyd. That summer, many people at all levels of the restaurant industry helped assemble a vast network of mutual aid and community protection. At the same time, many family- and immigrant-owned restaurants were damaged in the fires. These businesses continue to recover today, and many chefs, entrepreneurs, and service workers are among the voices still calling for change.

Minneapolis’s Northeast neighborhood is a historically industrial area that’s long been home to many immigrant communities: Central Avenue is one of the Cities’ best food corridors, and dive bars in this neighborhood abound. The downtown area has upscale options, like Spoon and Stable, Bar la Grassa, and Kado no Mise, with the North Loop in particular being a hotspot for dining. North Minneapolis has local favorites like Wendy’s House of Soul, the Get Down Coffee Co., and Sammy’s Avenue Eatery, and south Minneapolis has a wealth of neighborhood restaurants and bars, with many of the city’s most beloved spots on Eat Street, a historic stretch of Nicollet Avenue, and in Uptown and the Kingfield neighborhood.

St. Paul has a more lowkey, slower-paced feel, but no shortage of standout restaurants. Frogtown has many Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, and Laotian restaurants and bakeries, like Cheng Heng, which serves stellar kor koo noodle soup and flaky scallion cakes, and iPho by Saigon. (University Avenue is also one of the Cities’ main hotspots for pho.) St. Paul is also known for its classic, unpretentious bars, plus standout restaurants nestled on assuming neighborhood streets. A few standout spots in the capital city include Moscow on the Hill, which serves a house horseradish vodka; Mancini’s, a beloved, timeworn supper club; and Meritage, a classic French brasserie.

Despite each city’s idiosyncrasies, Minneapolis and St. Paul are really part of one big metropolis. Across both cities, there’s a wealth of East African restaurants to explore, from beef tibs and honey wine at Bole to injera combo platters at Demera Restaurant on University Avenue. Breweries (and now, more than ever, distilleries) bottling some essence of Minnesota — like black spruce peat, or blueberries — are abundant. The Cities have one of the nation’s most unique culinary scenes in Hmong cuisine: Hmong Village and Hmongtown Marketplace in St. Paul are bustling markets and food halls, and chefs Diane Moua and Yia Vang have both recently opened landmark Hmong and Hmong American restaurants in Minneapolis. Soul food has a special place here, from classic spots like Mama Sheila’s gilded buffet, to pop-up successes like chef Gerard Klass and Brittney Alise Klass’s Soul Bowl, to Trio, where chef Louis Hunter serves vegan fare.

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Hottest restaurants: Among the Twin Cities’ hottest new restaurants are Vinai, a much-anticipated Hmong restaurant from chef Yia Vang serving flame-grilled whole chicken, crab fat fried rice, and aromatic braised beef stews; Lynette, a bistro-like new neighborhood restaurant dishing up ravioli du Dauphine and ribeye with duck fat fries; and PinkU, a new omakase experience at a local food hall from chef John Sugimura. Over in the North Minneapolis, Tap In is the lush, earth-themed new restaurant in a former Lowry Avenue gas station; in Minneapolis’s Seward neighborhood, Darling is serving a uniquely Midwestern brunch that pays homage to a longtime neighborhood favorite. Black Duck Spirits & Hearth, the new permanent restaurant from chef and food truck owner Jason Sawicki, is serving wood-fired fare “from the hearth” in Northeast Minneapolis.

Essential Restaurants: The Twin Cities’ essentials list includes 38 restaurants throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul — but if you have to narrow it down, start with a steaming bowl of pho or a banh mi for lunch at Quang Restaurant on Nicollet Avenue, a cornerstone of Minneapolis’s Eat Street, or grab tacos at St. Paul’s El Burrito Mercado. For dinner, make a reservation (well in advance) at enduring Spoon and Stable in the North Loop; James Beard-winning Indigenous restaurant Owamni; or Northeast favorite Hai Hai, where you can eat pork belly and shrimp banh xeo from Beard-nominated chef Christina Nguyen. Grab barbecue at Animales; a sandwich at Marty’s Deli; a plate of rich beef tibs and injera at Bole Ethiopian Cuisine; or try piquillo peppers and Basque cheesecake at Petite León. For dessert, there are few better combos that the Swedish egg coffee and rustic apple pie at Myriel. For a stellar tasting menu, check out Demi, Travail Kitchen and Amusements, or Tenant.

Iconic dive bars: Northeast Minneapolis, one of the Twin Cities’ historic industrial centers, is a tapestry of great dive bars. Wear that old flannel with the elbows patched up — likely nowhere else in the U.S. will you meet a bar-going crowd so determinedly casual. Moose Bar & Grill is a neon-lit spot on Monroe Street with artichoke-and-bacon-stuffed potato skins, but don’t miss the meat raffles, bingo, and pull tabs. Grumpy’s has an old-fashioned jukebox and a range of draft pours, and is a favorite haunt of local musicians. The Terminal hosts weekly comedy nights on Thursdays, and Vegas Lounge — which, upping the ante for all local dives, has wood paneling on the ceiling — does karaoke seven nights a week. Over in St. Paul, the West Seventh neighborhood is another great spot for dive bars. Try the pizza and $3 rail drinks at Skinner’s happy hour, or go for White Castle brunch and cribbage at the Spot Bar.

Cocktails: Maybe an IPA garnished with a pickle spear isn’t your thing. Pivot from dive bars to the hottest new spots in the cocktail scene, or perhaps one of the enduring, essential bars of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Little Tijuana, a groovy local favorite on Eat Street, offers a slushy machine and vinyls on rotation; Meteor, which is especially popular among service industry folks, was a recent James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Bar; and Spoon and Stable’s Jessi Pollak, who infuses the restaurant’s cocktail menu with a warm sophistication, was named America’s best bartender of 2022. Over in St. Paul, slip into Estelle’s snug cocktail bar for yuzu-infused sangria or grab a seat at Herbst’s U-shaped bar for cocktails in five flavor themes: mineral, bitter, funky, earthy, and seasonal. Elsewhere, Emerald Lounge in St. Paul offers a cozy, elegant ambiance; Juche serves makgeolli, an effervescent Korean rice wine that’s hard to find in the Midwest, let alone the Twin Cities.

Burgers: The Juicy Lucy — a hefty beef patty stuffed with molten cheese, served with a variety of buns and toppings — is one of the Twin Cities’ most iconic dishes. The burger likely originated at Matt’s Bar (a legendary Cedar Avenue dive) in 1954, when — as legend has it — a customer requested two hamburger patties with a slice of cheese between them. Matt’s calls its burger the “Jucy Lucy,” with no “i”: New takes like the Groveland Tap’s Cajun Lucy and Blue Door Pub’s blue cheese “Blucy” have since proliferated. The Cities also have a wealth of smash burgers: Try the thin and cheesy diner-style burger at Parlour, or seek out the Station No. 6 food truck.

East African cuisine: The Cities have a big East African community, which is reflected in the restaurant scene. There’s a wealth of Ethipiopian restaurants around Minneapolis and St. Paul: Head to Erta Ale for kifto (a traditional tartare dish that’s marinated in mitmita and spiced butter) and beef tibs; find chuko (an Oromo specialty made with roasted barley flour, ample butter, and spices) and traditional coffee ceremonies at Yadot Ethiopian Restaurant; or stop by Lulu Ethiovegan Cuisine for an entirely vegan spread. Mama Safia’s dishes up stellar Somali fare on Lake Street, serving sambusas, curried goat dishes, and spaghetti with tilapia; or slip into Hamdi Coffee in Karmel Mall for a steaming cup of Somali shaah (spiced tea).

Pho: After the end of the Vietnam War, thousands of Vietnamese refugees resettled in Minnesota. As a result, the Twin Cities are home to many Vietnamese restaurants, and thus, an abundance of fragrant bowls of pho. There are two main hot spots for pho in the Cities: Eat Street on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis, and Frogtown in St. Paul. Minneapolis’s Quang serves a classic, balanced pho tai, and Lotus Restaurant serves a variation it calls “pho stew,” made with potatoes and carrots. Over in St. Paul, iPho by Saigon offers massive portions laced with spices like cloves and star anise, and Pho Ca Dao is a cash-only restaurant that serves just two things: pho and egg rolls.

Hmong cuisine: The Twin Cities is home to a thriving Hmong community. Between 1961 and 1973, overlapping the Vietnam War years, the Hmong — who historically, lived nomadically in the mountainous regions of northern Laos, Thailand, Burma (present-day Myanmar), Cambodia, China, and Vietnam — were recruited as part of a covert, anti-communist CIA operation, now known as the Secret War in Laos. After the war ended, Hmong soldiers and their families who had aided the CIA were persecuted by the victorious Pathet Lao — many, after escaping across the Mekong River to Thai refugee camps, eventually resettled in Minnesota. Now, the Twin Cities is a center of Hmong cuisine — visit Hmongtown Village Shopping Center in St. Paul for papaya salad, koj thiab ntiv (Hmong chicken with herbs), and crazy steak with wasabi sauce and pepper paste from Santi’s.

Local chef Yia Vang, whose restaurant Union Hmong Kitchen is an homage to Hmong home cooking, was recently named a finalist for the James Beard award for best chef, Midwest. Head over to Graze food hall in the North Loop to try his Hmong sausage patties, barbecue pork, and Hilltribe grilled chicken. Vang’s much-anticipated restaurant Vinai is in the works as he runs rotating pop-ups on Lake Street. One of the Cities’ most-anticipated openings is an upcoming restaurant by lauded pastry chef Diane Moua, who plans to pair traditional Hmong homestyle cooking with modern dishes and pastries infused with Southeast Asian flavors.

Breakfast and brunch: The Twin Cities have a wealth of reliable breakfast standbys: iconic greasy spoons like Our Kitchen, Ideal Diner, and Al’s Breakfast (the latter home to the best diner pancakes in the metro), Columbia and American breakfast fare at Maria’s Cafe, Cuban ropa vieja at Victor’s, and bagels at Asa’s Bakery and Rise Bagel. Get dim sum at bustling Mandarin Kitchen in Bloomington, or stop by one of the Twin Cities’ plentiful bakeries for a flaky croissant. For brunch, head to Hell’s Kitchen for lemon ricotta pancakes and walleye hash; Stepchld for Ethiopian birria tacos and pork belly with coconut rice; or Reverie for vegan French toast topped with a dollop of coconut-lime creme fraiche.

Katie Cannon/Eater Twin Cities

Coffee shops: Nearly every neighborhood in the Twin Cities has an excellent coffee spot. Try the Turkish coffee (and tahini babka) from pastry chef Shawn McKenzie at Café Cerés in Linden Hills, or a cup made with coriander bitters and Hawaiian sea salt at Five Watt Coffee on Nicollet Avenue. Grab a sweet potato latte from Black-owned coffee shop The Get Down Coffee Co. in the Camden neighborhood. In St. Paul, cozy up in Claddagh Coffee’s red-brick coffee bar, or grab a to-go cup from Nina’s Coffee Cafe and wander the streets of the historic Cathedral Hill neighborhood. Two exciting new coffee debuts in south Minneapolis include Sunbean Coffee and Caphìn Mpls Vietnamese Coffee.

Ice cream: Even in a minus-17-degree windchill, ice cream is a year-round affair in the Twin Cities. Sebastian Joe’s is perhaps the most quintessential Minnesota shop. Its Nicollet Avenue Pothole flavor — a chocolate-and-caramel homage to the freeze-thaw cycles of the Midwest — is a favorite. Bebe Zito is the most exciting newcomer on the ice cream scene in recent years: it’s known for gutsy add-ins like caramelized Fruity Pebbles, Vietnamese coffee, and wedding cake. Milkjam’s vegan chocolate is richer than the deepest, black-gold layers of the earth’s crust, and Grand Ole Creamery serves waffle cones at a whiplash rate on summer nights. Conny’s Creamy Cone is an excellent spot for chili dogs and soft-serve nostalgia.

Pizza: Young Joni might be the North Star of the Twin Cities’ pizza scene: Favorites on James Beard-winner Ann Kim’s menu are the Umami Mama with cremini, shiitake, and portobello mushrooms, and La Pariesienne, with prosciutto and brown butter. (Kim also runs Pizzeria Lola and Hello Pizza, more casual spots.) Elsewhere around the Cities, try Detroit-style pizza at Wrecktangle or Mario’s, Buenos Aires-style pizza (with an irresistible, slightly sweet dough) at Boludo, and New York-style pizza at Slice, the Black-owned pizzeria that’s steadily expanding around the metro. There’s something to be said for dive bar pizza in the Twin Cities, too: Try the so-weird-it’s-good Rueben pizza at Skinner’s Pub in St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood.

Beer: Taprooms in the Twin Cities abound. Check out these essential spots: Bauhaus Brew Labs, which serves balanced IPAs and German-style lagers; Modist, which claims 18,000 square feet in the North Loop; and Fair State Brewing in Northeast, Minnesota’s first brewing cooperative. Lift Bridge Brewing Company out in Stillwater — a historic logging town on the St. Croix River — is a great stop for a day trip away from the metro. Sociable Ciderwerks is a popular option for house-brewed ciders — in the winter, the crew brings in hoses and fashions a skating rink out of the parking lot.

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Eat Street: On the north end of Nicollet Avenue, Eat Street is one of Minneapolis’s culinary hot spots. Pimento Kitchen and Rum Bar has some of the Cities’ best Jamaican food: Get a bowl with braised oxtail and plantains or go for the curried veggies — either way, add at least two of the house-made sauces. Lu’s Sandwiches has infamous banh mi, and Quang, a family-owned local legend, serves a fragrant, balanced bowl of pho. Marhaba Grill has a bountiful Mediterranean buffet, with plenty of desserts like baklava and basbousa.

East Lake Street: Running through the heart of Minneapolis’s Phillips, Powderhorn, and Longfellow neighborhoods, East Lake street is home to a wealth of Mexican restaurants and panaderias. Mercado Central is a great place to start: Explore this indoor market of 35 businesses and indulge in fresh-made tacos, tamales, empanadas, and aguas frescas (or an orange and beet smoothie at La Reyna de los Jugos). Tortilleria La Perla, which sells wholesale to businesses across the state, has a restaurant here. Stop into a panaderia for a snack after lunch — grab conchas or orejas from San Miguel. Further east, find crispy birria tacos at Taqueria Las Cuatro Milpas — or, get a margarita made with lavender syrup and creme de violette at Sonora Grill, and then head next door to El Norteño, a woman-owned restaurant. Central Lake Street is also home to Midtown Global Market, which has an array of local restaurants.

Uptown: Minneapolis’s Uptown and Lyn-Lake neighborhoods maintain a slightly tattered, scrappy cool. The intersection of Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street is a public transportation-friendly part of town that’s packed with restaurants. Check out LynLake Brewery for beer, rooftop views, and “Oakie Style” double-patty onion burgers. World Street Kitchen is one of the Twin Cities’ greatest food truck-to-restaurant success stories: Go for the Hanoi fish yum yum bowl, and stay for dessert (Milkjam Creamery is just next door). Nearby Nightingale has extensive wine, beer, and cocktail offerings. Isles Bun and Coffee is known for its braids of cinnamon brioche topped with cream cheese frosting, aka “puppy dog tails.” Grab some and wander down to the 32nd Street beach at Bde Maka Ska to eat them by the water.

North Loop: Minneapolis’ popular North Loop neighborhood is home to a number of upscale dining destinations, like Gavin Kaysen’s Spoon and Stable (and now, also, Demi); Italian and Japanese fusion restaurant Sanjusan; Kado no Mise, which serves the Cities’ finest omakase; and Bar La Grasa, which serves a mean lobster-and-scrambled eggs bruschetta. Argentinian steakhouse Porzana, by chef Danny del Prado, and French brasserie Maison Margaux, by chef David Fhima, are ambitious new opens in the neighborhood. Other more casual gems abound — like Graze Provisions and Libations, home to Soul Bowl, Union Hmong Kitchen, Wrecktangle, and more. Find some of the city’s best bagels at Rise, plus a selection of cream cheeses and spreads, from scallion and salted maple to strawberry preserves.

Kingfield/Fulton: Nicollet Avenue’s southern stretch is dotted with fantastic restaurants like Hola Arepa, one of the pioneers of the Twin Cities’ food truck community, which offers a cozy year-round patio for outdoor dining in all seasons. Petite León, the work of James Beard-nominated chef Jorge Guzmán, is an intimate neighborhood cafe with a Yucatán Peninsula-influenced menu, an exceptional burger, and creative, citrus-forward cocktails. Nighthawks has some great takes on diner food and often hosts live music on the patio.

Linden Hills: This quiet, residential pocket of Minneapolis is surprisingly restaurant-dense. It’s home to James Beard Award 2020 finalist Steven Brown’s Tilia, and two restaurants from chef Danny del Prado’s elegant trio: Rosalia, which serves wood-fired pizzas, and Martina, with more elevated dishes like bavette with potato churros and seared scallops. The Harriet Brasserie has a lovely patio where you can follow a glass of white wine with a slice of tres leches cake — or grab a ham sandwich from France 44 Cheese Shop and head to the Lake Harriet Bandshell for live music and a picnic on the weekend.

Northeast: “Nordeast,” as longtime residents might call it, is one of Minneapolis’s former industrial centers, historically an area that’s been home to many immigrant communities. Central Avenue is one of Minneapolis’s best food corridors: Get a $3 slice of pie at the Ideal Diner, a colossal burrito at El Taco Riendo, or a tender seco de pollo at Ecuadorian restaurant Chimborazo. Northeast has an array of more upscale restaurants: Hai Hai, by James Beard-nominated chef Christina Nguyen, and Young Joni, by James Beard-winner chef Ann Kim, are both favorites. Anchor Fish and Chips has arguably the best fish and chips in the Twin Cities, and Aster Cafe has jazz music and dancing on Sunday afternoons. There’s a whole barbecue scene in the area, too — check out Animales when it’s open for the season. Don’t miss the Mexican breakfast and lunch options at both Maya Cuisine and Vivir.

Lowertown: Long a hub for artists of the Midwest — and home to a new minor league baseball stadium for the St. Paul Saints — Lowertown, though it’s been hit by recent closures, has historically been hot spot for restaurants in St. Paul. Saint Dinette has one of the Cities’ most revered burgers: two chunky patties with American cheese and a side of delicate pickle slices. Grab a Somali steak sandwich at Afro Deli; or snag a seat at the distinctly Parisian crescent bar at Meritage for a glass of champagne and fruits de mer.

Cathedral Hill: St. Paul’s Cathedral Hill neighborhood is in the shadow of the city’s Roman Catholic cathedral. The area is filled with charming, historic red-brick buildings and stately homes — its main food corridor runs along Selby Avenue. Revival is a popular spot for fried chicken — or swing in a hammock on the breezy patio at the Gnome Craft Pub. Wee Claddagh is a charming spot for coffee, and J. Selby’s serves creative vegan takes on fast food, like dairy-free shakes and crunch wraps filled with a taco-seasoned Beyond blend, peppers, and onions. W.A. Frost has a lovely patio, and serves classic entrees like braised pork shoulder and New York strip.

West Seventh: Extending out of downtown St. Paul, the West Seventh area has long been known for neighborhood bars and restaurants. In recent years, new shops, restaurants, and craft breweries have opened alongside some of these classic spots — but the dive bars, those old stalwarts, remain. Brake Bread and Mojo Monkey Doughnuts serve early-morning treats, and Café Astoria is a go-to for coffee in a cozy room. West Seventh is also home to Keg and Case, a market and food hall with many options, from mac and cheese to Jamaican fare.

Frogtown: This neighborhood has a marvelous array of restaurants along University Avenue. The Green Line light rail runs down University Avenue, making this a super-accessible spot for a meal. Bangkok Thai Deli and Supermarket serves a gigantic bowl of pork boat noodles, and Cheng Heng is known for its red curry tom yum soup, chive cakes, and red bean rice donuts. Trung Nam French Bakery serves equally good banh mi and croissants, and Hoa Bien has creative takes on desserts, like a banh flan with Vietnamese coffee. Hot Grainz is a go-to for Thai street food that “pushes the boundaries of the Twin Cities Thai foodscape.”

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