50 Best American Restaurants near Mendota Heights

“just we had a bad experience yesterday. my husband ordered the el pastor with corn tortillas the waitress comes back with our food and said they ran out of tortillas and they had to make some, and does he still want them of course he does after about 5 mins we stopped her and she says the cooks don't want to listen to her. so about 8 mins later she comes back with 3 tore up looking tortillas. we go to pay the bill mind you I left a 6 dollar tip even tho she took ten mins to greet us and ask if we needed drinks. my bill was 51.52 I gave her a60.00 she asked if I needed change. I said yes she then pulls a paper and try to subtract 51.52 from 60.00 she gave me 4 dollars back I was already home when I counted the change she gave me back“

“We were here for dinner over the weekend and everything about this place was phenomenal we tried multiple things off of the to share or not portion of the menu and loved every bit of it. The whole grilled fish our waitress mentioned rotates depending on what is available fresh and it was cooked to Perfection and probably our favorite thing all weekend. The cocktail menu is unique and everything that we had the opportunity to try was delicious I highly recommend doing the cocktail flight to anybody who doesn't have a favorite spirit. Staff was incredibly friendly and knew what they were talking about if you had questions. To those looking at going here reservations are a must!!!! Great atmosphere as well“

“We had a fantastic date night at Joan’s! Highly recommend! The food was incredible. Perfect pacing, portions, wine pairings, and the flavors have you closing your eyes to experience each bite. One of the best meals we have ever had. Our server was thoughtful and friendly. Great dining atmosphere. We will be back!“

“The Jucy Lucy really is what it's cracked up to be. It's a little small, if you're a big eater, order two. The whole basket of fries was enough for 3 hungry people but I left a bit hungry still. The food takes a while (Jucy Lucys take longer than normal burgers) so I chose not to order a second due to the wait. The fries are very close to what you would get at McDonalds - in a good way.

Honestly, I kind of love the vibe of the place. They won't seat you until everyone in your party is there, which makes sense since it is such a small establishment. As long as you know this ahead of time it isn't an issue, but when it's sub-zero outside be sure to find a warm place to wait if you don't have everyone with you. Don't make the mistake we made by sitting in the booth near the door. Even with the second interior door it gets cold sitting there in the winter.

Overall this is one that anyone who loves burgers has to try at least once. Parking is a bit of a nightmare, but it's worth it.“

“Myself and four friends were in Minneapolis for a few days on a visit from Ireland and had breakfast here a few times. Food was delicious. Great choice on the menu. Service was brilliant. Staff friendly and efficient.“

“So good! Excellent customer service and the food is to die for! 100% recommend this restaurant to all my friends and family!“

“We celebrated with dinner at the Lexington and it was a perfect spot to try! Our waitress, Grace, was phenomenal and so attentive to us. She helped us celebrate with a surprise photo and ice cream sweet:) She went above to help our experience be wonderful! We loved the valet option and enjoyed our first time at the Lexington! 🥰“

“food was amazing, I reccomend the prime rib dip. drink were perfectly proportionate. bartenders jackson and jake went above and beyond, drink never went empty and my food came before my girl does.“

“Classic diner comfort with a modern update on the menu. Lots of great cocktail and beer options, but not so many that it’s not kid friendly. Have been here twice now, and both times food and service has been excellent.“

“Five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — and honestly, I’d give it six if the people-watching counted as a side dish. Baldamar in Roseville just gets it. The ambiance? Beautiful. The service? Beautiful. The food? Consistently hits the spot every single time. It’s one of those places where you know exactly what you’re going to get—and it never disappoints. Now let’s talk about the real hidden gem: the weekday lunch crowd. If I were single and in the market for a finance daddy… this would be my hunting ground 😂. We’re talking tables full of businessmen, power lunches, suits everywhere—it’s like a live-action LinkedIn feed, and I’m here for it. Dinner is a whole different vibe. I’ve only been once, but wow, low lighting, a little moody, very date-night energy. Whether it’s a first date or you’ve been together forever, it just works. It’s cozy, a little sexy, and feels intentional without trying too hard. Service is always on point, you’ll even catch the manager making rounds, which says a lot. And the food? My go-to is the lobster roll (don’t overthink it, just order it). Also… prepare yourself for the desserts. When they say “to share,” they mean with your entire table… and possibly the table next to you. These things are massive. Cocktails are another win. I’m loyal to the Godfather,Scotch whiskey with amaretto, and I get it up instead of on ice. Smooth, strong, and exactly what I want every time. Bottom line: whether you’re there for lunch, a date, or just some elite-level people-watching, Baldamar delivers.“

“came to eat dinner with friends. it was a 10/10, it was a wonderful experience. the staff was friendly and the food was delicious.“

“Excellent food! Great wine!♥️“

“These folks have known how to do fine dining for decades. One of my favorites growing up and now I take my own kids.“

“Best food ever. A place to come if you want inspired, ever changing, non pretentious, and genuinely incredibly impressive breakfast and lunch!“

“Super fun vibe, FANTASTIC people/staff, great food and fun times.“

“My boyfriend and my kids along with the dog came here. We made reservations for the covered outdoor area and showed up a couple minutes early and they were still able to seat us right away which was excellent. It was surprisingly a really nice area as this was our first time visiting the restaurant before we went over to the falls. Everyone enjoyed their food and the portions were large. Our waiter was very attentive, they treated our dog well and the dog menu is super cute!!!The only odd thing from the whole experience was I asked for a tequila and sparkling water and she asked if I meant a skinny margarita??? Idk how that correlates at all I thought it was funny though. Either way I would definitely come back with our dog it was a nice relaxing atmosphere to enjoy dinner with family and a few drinks.“

“The best breakfast and coffee in town..“

“awesome food, service and atmosphere. thanks for making our lunch awesome Sara.“

“Always a fabulous meal - thank you!!“

“If anyone would like a good restaurant to eat at I would suggest going to the North Pole restaurant in Newport Minnesota. The staff are nice and when you ask them for something they will get it for you right away.“

“Excellent service! Abbi W was our server and she made the dinner so much better! Good food doesn’t matter without good service. We will definitely be back and ask for Abbi!“

“I love this place. The menu is broad and everything so far has been delicious. The atmosphere is chill. I will keep coming back.“

“Just tried for the first time staff was friendly. Food was decent would return back.“

“The bartenders and whole staff are very welcoming! Food is always perfect. Love the spice!“

“Mona does not disappoint and please take her recommendations on the Vanilla Blonde Ale, this woman is enjoying to watch and made my entire morning considering it started off with a canceled flight and a delayed flight after that, lol - if you’re having flight issues please schedule your drinking consultations with Mona; oh and the food is also exceptional as well!!! - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“

“Dark Horse came highly recommended from the MSP Burgers Facebook page. The burger and fries were great. The only gripe is the service was very slow when we first arrived, but I understand they were busy and our waiter had his hands full. I have seen tons of reviews on MSP Burgers and no complaints about service, so it was likely an anomaly. I definitely recommend the Dark Horse burger and the pizza also looks amazing.“

“Wow! We just had breakfast at the Uptowner; this place is our new favorite for many reasons! Everything we ordered: pancakes, omelets, eggs benne and hash browns were some of the best we’ve ever had served to us. Our server was also so genuinely kind and attentive! We hope to make it back soon… I have my eye on that Ruben.“

“Food is always great and the service is super friendly. Big menu for a diner so there is something for everyone. My husband loves the hand crafted malts and I go for the homemade soups. Breakfast is unbeatable!“

“Always enjoy coming to this neighborhood spot to enjoy fantastic food and drinks and relax“

“I miss your sandwiches and wraps so much. I hope you're doing well through this.“

“Amazing food, good service, lovely patio“

“Cannot recommend this place enough. From the welcoming and warm staff to the amazing food and drinks- this place made our entire night. We will absolutely be coming back during our next trip to Minneapolis!“

“New menu coming in March!“

“great food! wonderful friendly service, loved the atmosphere and clean restrooms are a definite plus!“

“I wanted to take a moment to shout out an amazing restuarant located in minneapolis called Nolos Kitchen & Bar! As most of you know by now my girls and I had planned to fly out to california for my bachelorette party and winded up with a cancelled flight first thing in the morning at 4am thanks to microsoft. after we arrived to the airport and stood in line for 4 hours we were told that the next flight wasn’t available for another 24hours at 6 am the next day. We decided to go get breakfast while we figured out our next move and what we were supposed to do for the next 24 hours. We arrived to Nolos in pretty low spirits but that was quickly turned around when we met our waitress. Not only was the food PHENOMENAL, but they went as far as to make us my favorite cocktail (which wasn’t even on the menu!) As we sat and enjoyed our breakfast we talked about where we should go/what we should do/ and about how tired we were because we were only running on a couple of hours of sleep. We were at the point of even contemplating piling back into the car to take a nap when our sweetheart of a waitress approached us and informed us that they had a basement bar that didn’t open until 5 pm that night. She proceeded to tell us that since the basement bar didn’t open till later the owner offered us their full basement as a safe haven for the day for us to get some sleep/ hang out in until we were ready for our next move. The basement had a lounge room for all my girls to pile in and get a few hours of sleep as well as whenever we wanted a drink or snack we could go right up stairs and order as needed. AS WELL as it was fully stocked with arcade games and a photo booth to keep us occupied.Ontop of everything they even covered 50% of our food and drink tabs😭 Nolo’s genuinely saved us that day- and i could never be more thankful that we walked into that restaurant that morning. We were met with nothing but kindess and generosity. If you want to go somewhere with kind people , AMAZING food, fun cocktails , and overall an amazing atmosphere I would HIGHLY reccomend Nolos Kitchen & Bar in minneapolis. I promise you won’t be dissapointed ! Thank you NOLO's Kitchen staff for going above and beyond !!!!“

“Friendly staff. Fast service. Food was very good. I recently moved to Saint Paul and will definitely return to this establishment. 😁“

“They always have delicious food. Sloppy hot dago, chef salad, and daily specials are always my favorites.“

“The best breakfast and coffee in town..“

“Lost my comment. Try again. On May 19th a group of family members went to the Bloomington Culvers. We were celebrating my grandsons grade school concert. I was unable to go up front to order and my son asked if someone could help me. Jose (spelling) I believe was the night manager. He came back to my table and took my order. He was so gracious and kind. I so appreciated his help. I didn't have the right walker and it would have been difficult without help to go up front. I can't thank him enough. It is so nice to go to a restaurant and know everyone is so friendly and willing to make your experience a good one. Thank you Don and Misty for such a wonderful crew. Now if you only had your fried chicken back on the menu, my favorite. See you soon“

“Everything is always awesome here! Highly recommend!“

“Cocktails were excellent, especially the Old Fashioned - smokiness was present and very well balanced without being too sweet. Arancini was fantastic, top 3 I’ve ever had. Pork chop was a bit overcooked but the burger and bucatini were top notch. Carrot cake was divine, perfect balance of flavor and not overly sweet.“

“Had brunch recently ~ was visiting from out of town, and local friends suggested Hazel's as a "can't miss" location to visit... the atmosphere & food were amazing, bested only by the service ~ Kinsey was absolutely amazing! A total 5 🌟 experience!!!“

“Food was amazing servers was great and management was very friendly! Will definitely be back“

“The food is absolutely amazing! This is our go to place for a delicious breakfast! Everything is so delicious and servings are huge! Staff is always so friendly and very accommodating. Service is always top notch!“

“Tried this place for the 1st time and really liked the food. The service wasn't great, although the server was very nice. We went when it wasn't busy during lunch time on a Sunday. It took a long time for the server to come to our table. And a very long time for our drinks (a tap beer and a soda) to arrive (which the server didn't bring out). It took a very long time for her to come back to our table to take our order. She only came back once to check on us (again-took a long time to bring refills). Food was great (we ordered a club sandwich and a chicken wrap). Fries were warm, bordering cold, as was the chicken - which I attribute to the slow service. We will try again - hopefully the slow service was just an off day.“

“This our first time in MN for appointments at Mayo Clinic. The staff were so welcoming and the food was delicious. 😋“

“I got the Bison Back Ribs served over polenta with a gastrique (that was a new one to me). Surprising to me, the polenta and gastrique stole the spotlight. I also got to try my friend's Ribeye Bolognese. It was hard to say which was better“

“The staff are incredible and the food is outstanding I've never had anything like it, not to mention the bar is so gorgeous I could look at it forever. My husband and I have been here three times and we will be back again, soon I hope! This is the perfect spot wether you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary, or just want to try incredible food some place new! I will be back soon with my mom just because I think it's so magical everyone must experience it. Bûcheron is a must!“

“The staff are the highlight, great bartenders and great drinks!“