Visited with friends for the first time. I ordered café miel, which is my fav drink to order at…read morecoffee shops. We were in line to order, drinks took about 15 mins to come out-- it was crowded. The decor was nice and shop felt so lively. I enjoyed my cup of coffee, I started grabbing cafe miel everywhere I go and I can say this has been one of the best in mpls that I've had so far. I will say it was on the higher end, a 12oz with regular whole milk was a bit over $8 total. Parking wasn't too difficult, metered street parking. It's located in a very walkable area.

I've had some incredible seasonal drinks at Silver Fern over the last year! The latest one I loved:…read moreRaspberry Cheesecake Latte. It's truly a perfect drink! That cheesecake topping with raspberry syrup felt like dessert without being too sweet. It really complemented the latte. The team here is always nice and helpful and the place is usually bustling with energy. Really awesome cafe in Northeast Mpls!

Small, but mighty. Cozy, but not necessarily comfortable. Great wine, good food…read more The concept is great! A fabulous wine menu and knowledgeable staff. We wanted a recommendation and the wine picked for us was excellent. Went with the Plavac Milos. The food is honestly incredible! The carrots were my favorite. Someday I'll get enough courage to try the tinned fish. I wish seating was a little more comfortable for the whole "drink a bottle and stay awhile" vibe. It also can get pretty loud when it's busy in the tight quarters.

We came because of the concept -- music and wine at the forefront. Seemed like a nice spot for our…read moredate night. We pivoted to just a glass and a starter and went some place else after experiencing the place. Though there are 3 staff working the front area, we had to order at the counter. That really pulls us from our date setting. Also, deciding when to join the line to pay at the end? At one point I said, should I pause this story so you can pay or finish the story? Not the date vibe we were going for. It felt like the staff were watching us. The seating was uninviting -- add some pillows to the bench and the stools would be very unpleasant. The music was very loud coming from the front speakers and it felt like we had to talk loud to be heard (and so did the table a couple over from us, which we could hear every word). I'd love to write about the food (great) and wine (seems like a well curated selection) or even the music selection, but overall it was not worth the ambiance. To steal a line from another review (KS, spot on): "[Their] menu invites questions. It invites curiosity and conversation." -- not something you can have in a line at a counter. If we are supposed to order a bottle of wine and stay awhile, I want to feel like we are welcomed. Some warmth and table service would go a long way. We left and had the fantastic intimate dining experience and date night within walking distance.

On a last-minute work trip to Minneapolis, I asked all of my foodie friends where I absolutely had…read moreto make a reservation, and the answer was universal: Vinai. I was able to snag a solo spot at the bar/chef's counter about a week in advance for a 7 pm weekday slot, and I'm so glad I listened. I'd never had Hmong food before coming to Minneapolis. It's plentiful here, but it's quickly become clear to me why Vinai is the "it" spot for a nicer Hmong dinner. The menu is vast and broken down by size of dish, which makes it easy to mix and match. Since I was solo and wanted to try as many things as possible, I opted for several smaller things. Pro tip: sitting at the chef's counter unlocks an additional "secret menu" of daily specials you can only order if you're sitting there. These seem like the best part of the menu, and I'm so grateful my friends pushed me to book the chef's counter specifically. What I ordered: - Severine (gin, vodka, white vermouth, lime leaf): A martini riff with a Hmong twist. Really light but interesting. - Curry rice ball (garlic cream cheese and blue crab in a fried ball): Tasty but nothing that blew me away. I'd skip on a future visit. - Grilled shrimp (3 whole head-on grilled prawns topped with green mango and jicama salad, served with purple sticky rice): This was off the secret menu and was unreal. Light, herbal, fresh. Drool-worthy. - Shrimp-pork toast (prawn mixture on Texas toast with apricot chili): So tasty, punchy flavors. My waitress kindly let me get a half order because I was getting full but really wanted to try this AND the fried rice. - Crabby fried rice (generously topped fried rice with blue crab): Half of this became lunch for the next day. - White rabbit candy ice cream scoop topped with olive oil and sea salt: Perfect end to an indulgent, incredible meal. The food here is insanely flavorful, and it's such a fun vibe; even on a Tuesday night, it filled up pretty quickly! I cannot recommend sitting at the bar more: you get really great service, you get to watch the chefs cook, AND you unlock the secret menu. My waitress was a highlight of the night, super helpful with every ordering decision and even brought me a complimentary half order of the shrimp-pork toast when I was torn between two crowd favorites trying to pick my last item. Truly above and beyond. Genuinely hoping work sends me back to Minneapolis soon, if only to eat here again!

What a fantastic dining experience! My coworker and I were eager to try a good restaurant in the…read morearea while in town for work; even on a Tuesday night, they were fully booked for reservations - but we were immediately able to get a seat at the bar! The cocktails are fun and definitely use flavors inspired by the culture; I loved that our waiter (the bartender) really spent time with us to explain the menu and his recommendations. I particularly enjoyed the carpaccio - all the toppings were incredibly light, fresh, and flavor...and then pair that with the purple sticky rice...DIVINE. Then we also really enjoyed the catfish lettuce wraps; I'm not usually a catfish lover, but they were so lightly breaded and with the noodles, sauce, and pickled veggies, they were delicious. We tried one of their cold noodle salads, which wasn't my fav. I also tried one of their curry crab rice balls, which was delicious. Overall, I can see why this place is on so many "top restaurants of the twin cities" lists!

I needed to kill an hour while in the north loop and I wandered into Barcelona. It was fabulous. On…read morea nice sunny warm afternoon, I got a table against the huge windows to people watch and enjoy the MPLS skyline. It was happy hour and they had a nice Rioja available by the glass. I also got a happy hour tapas plate special of Patatas Bravas which were crispy potato bites sitting in a nice tomato salsa and topped with aioli. It was a perfect amount of food and wine. Service was excellent. I love the vibe. With exposed brick and ceiling, large picture windows and stone bar top, it was cozy and hip. I want to come back and try more tapas plates. So may good options to try.

Just wanted to provide an update that the GM reached out to me and invited my party back for dinner…read moreon the house. We were immediately welcomed with sparkling wine and the team went above and beyond to rectify our less than ideal previous meal there. Thanks to the Minneapolis Barcelona Wine Bar team for recognizing and correcting a previous service failure with a fabulous and fully recovered service WIN!

Came here after a group of us ate tons of sushi at Billy Sushi. We were given directions to walk…read morearound the corner, down the alley, and then the door on the left. I got the bootilicious cocktail. Very goo. Someone got the paper plane and it came with the cutest miniature origami bird! Atmosphere perfect in terms of lighting. Loved the decor. Music not my style but a friend at our table loved it. Highly recommend.

Love the night sky ambiance and speakeasy vibe. Staff are great. The drinks are fun and delicious,…read moreon the pricey side. Tried a shot with caviar bump served the right way, on a pearl spoon. Try it if you've been curious! The bites really surprised me! Had the best sushi, my fave in the TC, including the regular Billy Sushi which is now a close second. Melt in your mouth sushi, very well crafted and beautifully presented. Vegetable gyoza and popcorn shrimp tempura appetizers were mouth watering. Must try!

Our party of 11 celebrated our Granddaughter's graduation from the U of MN. We had great service,…read morethe atmosphere is awesome and the food was delicious!

We live nearby and high hopes since this used to be amazing pasta. It was so so and the service…read morekept coming to our table so often we couldn't even have a conversation. Don't ask how are the first bites three times! Rigatoni was good and the Caesar was good too but the meatball sauce was different than the pasta vodka sauce so my guest said that was a problem. Best dish was the olive tapenade appetizer and the bar was packed.

AMAZING! I visited on a Thursday around 6pm and sat at the bar with my friend. We ordered the Chefs…read moreChoice cocktail to start with which I highly recommend! It's a jalapeño and basil infused gin with Aperol, Cucumber Oleo and lemon-so good we ordered two each! To eat we ordered the Baked Reginette Bolognese and the Smoked Brisket Sandwich. Everything we ordered was absolutely delicious. The servicing sizes are pretty big so you are likely to have leftovers. The service was superb and we were never left waiting. Great place for happy hour or a bite to eat.

This is one of my go to spots in NE, primarily for their Beef Capriccio and the Old Fashioned. It…read moreis great every single time!! Always super friendly service and the art work gives you lots to look at. Love this cozy corner of NE Mpls

Stopped in to grab an early dinner with a friend without a reservation and we're fortunate enough…read moreto get a patio seat despite it being busy. This is one of my favorite spots and favorite burgers in the city. My friend and I shared the cheeseburger and the chicken sandwich and fries. I had not had the chicken sandwich before, but will definitely be ordering it again as it was delicious. The burger continues to be one of my favorite in the area. If you're not super hungry, you can definitely share the fries. It's a pretty decent size portion! Our server Donika was super bubbly and friendly and one of the best servers I've had in a while! She had great recommendations and was quick and attentive. The spot is great time of year, but especially in the summer when they have the doors open! The inside bar is also so cool. Somewhere I bring out-of-town guest again and again :)

Have been wanting to come here since they opened, but always forget about it behind the store…read more After seeing photos from a friend who stopped by, I decided to make a reservation and finally give the sidebar a try. The space is very nice. A little loud, but not so bad you can't have a conversation. I love the big windows along the side and being behind the storefront on the other side. For the food...fantastic. I saw arancini on the menu, which I can never say no to. These had a pea pesto, which was perfect for spring. I ended up getting the chicken sandwich for my dinner and had a couple fabulous cocktails. Since we stopped in for a birthday celebration, we were also treated to a delicious scoop of cake batter ice cream. Our server was delightful, very fast and incredibly friendly. He also had great suggestions for those who wanted a recommendation. All in all, would definitely come back to the Sidebar!