I heard this place gets swarmed so I booked a reservation about a month in advance--the only spot left on Saturday was 4:00 PM. No problem! We were able to park in the restaurant lot and there were a few people waiting outside when we arrived. This place is worth the hype! The atmosphere is so nice inside. Tons of cool decor, comfortable seating, moody lighting. It does get a little dark towards the back of the restaurant; luckily, my BF and I were seated near the large windows facing the street. I got the Margherita pizza--I have a bit of a Margherita pizza obsession and this was hands-down one of the best I've ever had. Perfect crust, perfect flavor, perfect amount of basil, and the olive oil was a really nice addition. My BF got the Tavern Pie and loved it as well. I also tried one of the cocktails, the Rickey, which is lemon, tarragon, plum, and vodka. The flavor was very delicate and complex--reminded me of how the air smells at a farmer's market stand. That said, for $15, I'd probably skip the drink if I'm ever lucky enough to be in Minneapolis again and head back. All this is to say: if you like pizza, go. It's so worth it!
Santina U.
Ok.... So admittedly I'm someone who likes their food to be more on the traditional side. So when I looked at this menu I was going to err on the side of caution and get the Old Reliable. I mean, the name says it all. DUH! But something was nagging at me. Try the Broccolini! But I was like, almonds on a pizza??? That's madness!! Eh, I can pick them off. So I ordered the broccolini and daaaaaang. It was amazing! I didn't even pick the almonds off! They added a crunch I surprisingly liked. And the pizzas came out super fast! I will definitely be back. Oh and if you can't get a reservation, show up and grab a seat at the bar. That's what we did.
Stephan S.
I couldnt find a recent review....so here you go. If you are wondering if Young Joni is worth the hype...the answer is heck yes! The pizza, the ambiance, the service, the drinks....all Fi-yah! I had to book my reservation a month out. Worth it! We were with o e other couple. We were seated on time. Food came out fast. Service was stellar. Not sure what else I could say. The pizza was truly unique and more importantly delicious! Go! Go now! The back bar was closed....we wanted to check it out....but maybe next time.
Jessica N.
The good: cool atmosphere, deliciously creative food and drinks, and my favorite little speakeasy in the back. I always take friends here when they visit the twin cities, and so far everyone has been impressed! Definitely worth a visit! The bad: I did have a pretty bad experience with the staff. I was hoping to take a small group there for my birthday, and a couple weeks ahead of time I called to ask if I needed a reservation on that specific date/general time. It happened to be a St. Patrick's Day weekday, so I wanted to be safe. I was assured that everyone could walk in - in fact, they would not take a reservation. When everyone arrived the hostess looked appalled and rolled her eyes at us, saying in a blatantly mocking/condescending tone that people there made reservations for that day MONTHS ahead of time. She could not believe we had the audacity to just walk in there. After talking this place up to my friends for ages, this was so embarrassing and disappointing. It was probably an honest mistake that the person on the phone made, so the day-of hostess could have at least pretended to be nice when she turned us away. Still giving it 4 stars because thankfully this just just an isolated incident.
Rai K.
Had a pleasant experience with the woodfired pizza here. I was excited to taste some asian flavors on pizza and it was great! :) My taste buds were pleasantly surprised. However, as a Korean, none of these were really all that "different" from regular Korean food flavors. The Korean BBQ pizza was definitely something new. But the kimchi and sweet potato? Tasted pretty basic and normal to me as a Korean from LA. Didn't really feel worth it. The restaurant seems to just cater to an audience that has never experienced these flavors with a hefty upcharge. Besides that, the food overall was delicious. I had a great time. The ambience was a 10/10 and the pizza dough was absolute perfection.
Scott S.
This is one of my new favorite restaurants in NE Minneapolis. I came here for a date night because I had a gift card, and I was blown away. The food was absolutely delicious. We split the pork spare ribs and the "My Sha-Roni" pizza on the recommendation of our server. The ribs were amazingly tender and fell right off the bone. The pizza was also very good. They have a lot of very unique choices on their menu but I'm glad we kept it simple with the my sha-roni. The dining room is beautiful. Reservations were tough to get unless you are booking far in advance, so we ended up sitting at the bar because it is first-come seating. It had a cool view of the pizza kitchen/oven. The service was a little disappointing. The bartender seemed like he was trying to rush us through the meal. We asked for a minute to look at the menu several times and each time he returned about 30 seconds later trying to take our order. Other than that, it was a great dinner and I will likely come back.
jeffsG9909ZX
We made a reservation for 4 people 6 weeks ago. We arrived on time and were shown to a noisy table next to the kitchen. We asked for one of three empty and quieter tables closer to the front. We were told they were "reserved". An hour later, one of the three was still empty. Hmm - I thought we had reserved a table too. Huh? The "wellness surcharge" of 22% was highlighted as not a tip but there was no place on the bill for a tip. This place like others doing the same approach seem to be disguising the real menu prices - seems disingenuous to me. Food was good, our server was good but the table incident and then the hokus pokus with the bill was very off-putting. Maybe too successful to be thoughtful? We won't be back any time soon.......
Alexandra M.
Young Joni is a MUST STOP when in Minneapolis. Such good pizza and the cutest atmosphere. Don't forget to check out the sneakiest back bar that they also have. I am gluten free and even the gluten free pizza is so good. The staff is amazing and parking is usually pretty good around the area.
Craig L.
Excellent service and top quality Offer gluten free crust for there pizzas and awesome cocktails, food is top notch James Beard owner and one of the best restaurants around
Liz Z.
Absolutely incredible food. We had the La Parisienne Pizza and it was heavenly. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. We weren't super hungry so we only got the one but will definitely be back to try them all. Oh, and the bar spot behind the oven was super fun to see the action behind the scenes!
We did not have a reservation and when trying to get a booking online, there was no table left. However its not everyday we go to Minneapolis so we decided to try our luck anyway. We were told there would be an hour’s wait but we were willing to wait! It was a hot summer’s day and we weren’t budging! The ambiance looked amazing and the place was packed. But within about 15 mins or so, we were offered seating at the bar and we just went with it. We are so very glad we did. What we had ?Pineapple Nojito ?Eggplant, sichuan style eggplant, peanut, cilantro, tofu, chili crisp- so many flavors going on- spicy, sweet, warm- yum ?Spicy Lamb Sausage with tomato harissa sauce, pickled red onion, fresno chili, feta and mint: absolutely delicious. Its a good thing the place is far away from where I live otherwise you’d see me everyday ? ?Chicken Wings with salsa macha, cilantro and lime- the kick is awesome ? -officially the best wings I’ve ever had. ?Soft Serve Orange Creamsicle with sea salt & olive oil. If you’ve never tried soft serve with olive oil and sea salt you’re missing out on something amazing in life! Your taste buds experience the dish in a completely different way. We also got to sample some new drink they were working on. I tell you, the bar is the best seat in the house ? The food was absolutely amazing. It is an amazing eclectic mix of wood fire pizzas with an unexpected twist. The ambiance and the food is absolutely spot on. There are two big pizza ovens at the back where pizzas are being churned out nonstop. There were two lovely ladies serving at the bar. One was lovely Naddiya and I didn’t get the name of the other lady who was also friendly. We had a super time chatting with both of them and the service was absolutely fabulous. We were glad that we were at the bar instead of the tables! With a round trip of 164 miles from Rochester, granted it is a bit of a drive to the twin cities but its so worth it ? There is a 21% surcharge on the food not including gratuity. The service was so good that we still were happy to add gratuity on top of that.
Rachel W.
Young Joni was recommended by my stylist /friend at least a year ago. She said I would love it and she was not wrong. Made a reservation a month in advance, for our 21st wedding anniversary dinner. It is situated just a few blocks from the first place my husband and I lived in NE Mpls. So a trip down memory lane was convenient. We arrived 30 minutes early for our reservation and they were happy to seat us early. I loved the spacious entry area with an abundance of plants. The dining atmosphere is upscale casual with excellent attention paid to lighting that feels both cozy but bright enough to see your food. We started with cocktails. He had the Sling (lime, ginger, blueberry, mezcal) and I had the Ricky (lime, mint, koji, five-spice, vodka) My husband, loved the Sling so much he asked me to recreate it at home. We started with the PEI Mussels (vadouvan curry, fresno, fresh herbs, flatbread) which were so unbelievable typing this makes my mouth water. Before we had finished we already started talking about how we should come back for just mussels and white wine. I was struck by the recycled plates that were so familiar, yet I could not place them until the day after. I had them in my apartment in college - picked up at the goodwill I think. For our main we split the Chichory Cesar (castelfranco, radicchio, endive, frisée, egg,* croutons, parmigiano-reggiano) and the My Sha-Roni (house red sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, fennel sausage) accompanied by a Spritz (carrot, raspberry ferment, vermouth, aperitif) and a Glass of Pino Noir both food items were very tasty, and the Spritz was fantastic. The petite carrot garnish was adorable. Loved the photo strips posted along the way to the restroom a fun way to pay homage to the customer support. The service was excellent as you could tell straight away it is a team effort with everyone pitching in to clear empty plates or glasses - yet our server Jon was very available and prompt. Dinner was $147 including the 21% fair wage assessment that I appreciated not having to evaluate or decide how much was appropriate.
Jackie G.
We made a reservation about a month in advance and had high hopes for what to expect - we were not disappointed! We started by ordering the Korean Sweet potato's and were blown away - perfect combination of a little sweet, with a little spice and the crème fraiche just perfectly melts in. We ordered two pizzas - Umami Mama and La Parisienne. Both were deliciously and uniquely different. I personally enjoyed the Umami Mama a tad bit more - it had the perfect flavor especially in the crust with the parmigiano-Reggiano. The l Parisienne was a bit different than what I expected, but still was blown away by the flavor. We did order w a bit too much food for two people but nothing is wrong with leftovers. Overall, really enjoyed my experience and if you have not yet been to Young Joni, it is a must!
John H.
I had no idea this place gets booked up for the month so came when they opened around 4pm. Got seated at the bar and this placed got filled up very quickly. Awesome and very friendly and helpful service. The drinks taste exactly like how it's described on the menu and very well made. Got the korean BBQ and lamb pizza. Lamb pizza definitely had a kick so be aware! K BBQ pizza was really good but glad to have gotten the lamb to get a variety of flavors. I think is prefer the lamb actually just because of the spice. Oh and the cauliflower......dude.....have to have to get the cauliflower when you come here. I wish I lived so I can come back and try other things but it was a very good experience and I highly recommend!
Sofia A.
Oh my god the food here was so so amazing!! I even had to try their dessert even though I was way past my point of being full. Get: Cauliflower, Sweet and sticky ribs, chicken wings, tavern pizza I'll also add if you like kimchi then get it my sister liked it, I tried it for the first time and not for me. The smashed potatoes my family also liked but I could pass on those. Absolutely get the ice cream, they make it in house. I'd come back here for the service alone! Our waitress was so kind and bought a dessert for my sister since it was her birthday. Coming back for special occasions as well as date nights!
I heard this place gets swarmed so I booked a reservation about a month in advance--the only spot left on Saturday was 4:00 PM. No problem! We were able to park in the restaurant lot and there were a few people waiting outside when we arrived. This place is worth the hype! The atmosphere is so nice inside. Tons of cool decor, comfortable seating, moody lighting. It does get a little dark towards the back of the restaurant; luckily, my BF and I were seated near the large windows facing the street. I got the Margherita pizza--I have a bit of a Margherita pizza obsession and this was hands-down one of the best I've ever had. Perfect crust, perfect flavor, perfect amount of basil, and the olive oil was a really nice addition. My BF got the Tavern Pie and loved it as well. I also tried one of the cocktails, the Rickey, which is lemon, tarragon, plum, and vodka. The flavor was very delicate and complex--reminded me of how the air smells at a farmer's market stand. That said, for $15, I'd probably skip the drink if I'm ever lucky enough to be in Minneapolis again and head back. All this is to say: if you like pizza, go. It's so worth it!
Ok.... So admittedly I'm someone who likes their food to be more on the traditional side. So when I looked at this menu I was going to err on the side of caution and get the Old Reliable. I mean, the name says it all. DUH! But something was nagging at me. Try the Broccolini! But I was like, almonds on a pizza??? That's madness!! Eh, I can pick them off. So I ordered the broccolini and daaaaaang. It was amazing! I didn't even pick the almonds off! They added a crunch I surprisingly liked. And the pizzas came out super fast! I will definitely be back. Oh and if you can't get a reservation, show up and grab a seat at the bar. That's what we did.
I couldnt find a recent review....so here you go. If you are wondering if Young Joni is worth the hype...the answer is heck yes! The pizza, the ambiance, the service, the drinks....all Fi-yah! I had to book my reservation a month out. Worth it! We were with o e other couple. We were seated on time. Food came out fast. Service was stellar. Not sure what else I could say. The pizza was truly unique and more importantly delicious! Go! Go now! The back bar was closed....we wanted to check it out....but maybe next time.
The good: cool atmosphere, deliciously creative food and drinks, and my favorite little speakeasy in the back. I always take friends here when they visit the twin cities, and so far everyone has been impressed! Definitely worth a visit! The bad: I did have a pretty bad experience with the staff. I was hoping to take a small group there for my birthday, and a couple weeks ahead of time I called to ask if I needed a reservation on that specific date/general time. It happened to be a St. Patrick's Day weekday, so I wanted to be safe. I was assured that everyone could walk in - in fact, they would not take a reservation. When everyone arrived the hostess looked appalled and rolled her eyes at us, saying in a blatantly mocking/condescending tone that people there made reservations for that day MONTHS ahead of time. She could not believe we had the audacity to just walk in there. After talking this place up to my friends for ages, this was so embarrassing and disappointing. It was probably an honest mistake that the person on the phone made, so the day-of hostess could have at least pretended to be nice when she turned us away. Still giving it 4 stars because thankfully this just just an isolated incident.
Had a pleasant experience with the woodfired pizza here. I was excited to taste some asian flavors on pizza and it was great! :) My taste buds were pleasantly surprised. However, as a Korean, none of these were really all that "different" from regular Korean food flavors. The Korean BBQ pizza was definitely something new. But the kimchi and sweet potato? Tasted pretty basic and normal to me as a Korean from LA. Didn't really feel worth it. The restaurant seems to just cater to an audience that has never experienced these flavors with a hefty upcharge. Besides that, the food overall was delicious. I had a great time. The ambience was a 10/10 and the pizza dough was absolute perfection.
This is one of my new favorite restaurants in NE Minneapolis. I came here for a date night because I had a gift card, and I was blown away. The food was absolutely delicious. We split the pork spare ribs and the "My Sha-Roni" pizza on the recommendation of our server. The ribs were amazingly tender and fell right off the bone. The pizza was also very good. They have a lot of very unique choices on their menu but I'm glad we kept it simple with the my sha-roni. The dining room is beautiful. Reservations were tough to get unless you are booking far in advance, so we ended up sitting at the bar because it is first-come seating. It had a cool view of the pizza kitchen/oven. The service was a little disappointing. The bartender seemed like he was trying to rush us through the meal. We asked for a minute to look at the menu several times and each time he returned about 30 seconds later trying to take our order. Other than that, it was a great dinner and I will likely come back.
We made a reservation for 4 people 6 weeks ago. We arrived on time and were shown to a noisy table next to the kitchen. We asked for one of three empty and quieter tables closer to the front. We were told they were "reserved". An hour later, one of the three was still empty. Hmm - I thought we had reserved a table too. Huh? The "wellness surcharge" of 22% was highlighted as not a tip but there was no place on the bill for a tip. This place like others doing the same approach seem to be disguising the real menu prices - seems disingenuous to me. Food was good, our server was good but the table incident and then the hokus pokus with the bill was very off-putting. Maybe too successful to be thoughtful? We won't be back any time soon.......
Young Joni is a MUST STOP when in Minneapolis. Such good pizza and the cutest atmosphere. Don't forget to check out the sneakiest back bar that they also have. I am gluten free and even the gluten free pizza is so good. The staff is amazing and parking is usually pretty good around the area.
Excellent service and top quality Offer gluten free crust for there pizzas and awesome cocktails, food is top notch James Beard owner and one of the best restaurants around
Absolutely incredible food. We had the La Parisienne Pizza and it was heavenly. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. We weren't super hungry so we only got the one but will definitely be back to try them all. Oh, and the bar spot behind the oven was super fun to see the action behind the scenes!
Restaurantji Recommends
We did not have a reservation and when trying to get a booking online, there was no table left. However its not everyday we go to Minneapolis so we decided to try our luck anyway. We were told there would be an hour’s wait but we were willing to wait! It was a hot summer’s day and we weren’t budging! The ambiance looked amazing and the place was packed. But within about 15 mins or so, we were offered seating at the bar and we just went with it. We are so very glad we did. What we had ?Pineapple Nojito ?Eggplant, sichuan style eggplant, peanut, cilantro, tofu, chili crisp- so many flavors going on- spicy, sweet, warm- yum ?Spicy Lamb Sausage with tomato harissa sauce, pickled red onion, fresno chili, feta and mint: absolutely delicious. Its a good thing the place is far away from where I live otherwise you’d see me everyday ? ?Chicken Wings with salsa macha, cilantro and lime- the kick is awesome ? -officially the best wings I’ve ever had. ?Soft Serve Orange Creamsicle with sea salt & olive oil. If you’ve never tried soft serve with olive oil and sea salt you’re missing out on something amazing in life! Your taste buds experience the dish in a completely different way. We also got to sample some new drink they were working on. I tell you, the bar is the best seat in the house ? The food was absolutely amazing. It is an amazing eclectic mix of wood fire pizzas with an unexpected twist. The ambiance and the food is absolutely spot on. There are two big pizza ovens at the back where pizzas are being churned out nonstop. There were two lovely ladies serving at the bar. One was lovely Naddiya and I didn’t get the name of the other lady who was also friendly. We had a super time chatting with both of them and the service was absolutely fabulous. We were glad that we were at the bar instead of the tables! With a round trip of 164 miles from Rochester, granted it is a bit of a drive to the twin cities but its so worth it ? There is a 21% surcharge on the food not including gratuity. The service was so good that we still were happy to add gratuity on top of that.
Young Joni was recommended by my stylist /friend at least a year ago. She said I would love it and she was not wrong. Made a reservation a month in advance, for our 21st wedding anniversary dinner. It is situated just a few blocks from the first place my husband and I lived in NE Mpls. So a trip down memory lane was convenient. We arrived 30 minutes early for our reservation and they were happy to seat us early. I loved the spacious entry area with an abundance of plants. The dining atmosphere is upscale casual with excellent attention paid to lighting that feels both cozy but bright enough to see your food. We started with cocktails. He had the Sling (lime, ginger, blueberry, mezcal) and I had the Ricky (lime, mint, koji, five-spice, vodka) My husband, loved the Sling so much he asked me to recreate it at home. We started with the PEI Mussels (vadouvan curry, fresno, fresh herbs, flatbread) which were so unbelievable typing this makes my mouth water. Before we had finished we already started talking about how we should come back for just mussels and white wine. I was struck by the recycled plates that were so familiar, yet I could not place them until the day after. I had them in my apartment in college - picked up at the goodwill I think. For our main we split the Chichory Cesar (castelfranco, radicchio, endive, frisée, egg,* croutons, parmigiano-reggiano) and the My Sha-Roni (house red sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, fennel sausage) accompanied by a Spritz (carrot, raspberry ferment, vermouth, aperitif) and a Glass of Pino Noir both food items were very tasty, and the Spritz was fantastic. The petite carrot garnish was adorable. Loved the photo strips posted along the way to the restroom a fun way to pay homage to the customer support. The service was excellent as you could tell straight away it is a team effort with everyone pitching in to clear empty plates or glasses - yet our server Jon was very available and prompt. Dinner was $147 including the 21% fair wage assessment that I appreciated not having to evaluate or decide how much was appropriate.
We made a reservation about a month in advance and had high hopes for what to expect - we were not disappointed! We started by ordering the Korean Sweet potato's and were blown away - perfect combination of a little sweet, with a little spice and the crème fraiche just perfectly melts in. We ordered two pizzas - Umami Mama and La Parisienne. Both were deliciously and uniquely different. I personally enjoyed the Umami Mama a tad bit more - it had the perfect flavor especially in the crust with the parmigiano-Reggiano. The l Parisienne was a bit different than what I expected, but still was blown away by the flavor. We did order w a bit too much food for two people but nothing is wrong with leftovers. Overall, really enjoyed my experience and if you have not yet been to Young Joni, it is a must!
I had no idea this place gets booked up for the month so came when they opened around 4pm. Got seated at the bar and this placed got filled up very quickly. Awesome and very friendly and helpful service. The drinks taste exactly like how it's described on the menu and very well made. Got the korean BBQ and lamb pizza. Lamb pizza definitely had a kick so be aware! K BBQ pizza was really good but glad to have gotten the lamb to get a variety of flavors. I think is prefer the lamb actually just because of the spice. Oh and the cauliflower......dude.....have to have to get the cauliflower when you come here. I wish I lived so I can come back and try other things but it was a very good experience and I highly recommend!
Oh my god the food here was so so amazing!! I even had to try their dessert even though I was way past my point of being full. Get: Cauliflower, Sweet and sticky ribs, chicken wings, tavern pizza I'll also add if you like kimchi then get it my sister liked it, I tried it for the first time and not for me. The smashed potatoes my family also liked but I could pass on those. Absolutely get the ice cream, they make it in house. I'd come back here for the service alone! Our waitress was so kind and bought a dessert for my sister since it was her birthday. Coming back for special occasions as well as date nights!