50 Best American Restaurants in Rochester

“Incredible experience at the chefs counter. Attentive service, warm hospitality + thoughtful food.“

“The oysters are absolutely primo and so was the bartender. Awesome food! Glad we did Rochester instead of Minneapolis tonight!“

“over the past 4 years we have traveled to Rochester for medical needs. when staying over we love eating at Canadian Honkers. the food is as excellent as the entire staff. well worth the experience!!“

“This place is AMAZING. First off the food and service are incredible. But what keeps my family going again and again is the fact that they are SO sweet about medical stuff (being right by Mayo that is HUGE). I can recall several examples of the staff being supportive towards my mom who has been living with end stage cancer for years now. We go EVERY appointment and surgery scheduled in Rochester. In fact - we are going tonight!“

“I rarely write reveiws BUT this CULVERS DESERVE A HUGE 5 STARS. YES FISH,COFFEE,CUSTARD WAS INCREDIABLE BUT THE REAL CHERRY ON THE ICING WAS THE AMAZING SERVICE. BEV your smile, going the extra mile in SERVICE MADE OUR DAY!!! THANKYOU SO SO MUCH.“

“I love this Red Cow location! Everyone you interact with is personable, helpful, and genuinely wants to make your experience enjoyable. New items on the menu are fantastic and drinks are always great. You can tell that this is a group of people who care about each other and their guests.“

“great ambiance, excellent service, impressive menu, delicious food“

“This is my favorite place to eat. Food is always amazing and the service is untouchable perfect place for dinner two or even a large group. It is also a wonderful place to go for a evening out for a couple cocktails“

“Mill Valley Kitchen in Rochester is a fantastic spot if you’re looking for a dining experience that feels both comfortable and refined. The service is consistently great—staff are attentive, friendly, and make you feel genuinely welcomed from the moment you walk in.

Oysters are always fresh and flavorful, and easily my favorite item on the menu.

Overall, it’s a place that delivers on both quality and experience, and I’d happily recommend it to anyone in the Rochester area.“

“Fast thinking with taking call in orders from your car ( the number was on their big sign) in the parking lot along with the drive through.“

“We recently photographed a holiday party at The Castle with Midwest LifeShots Photography and were genuinely impressed with how well the venue handles larger events. The capacity and layout are clearly designed for scale. Even with a full guest list, food service and detailed décor setups, the space never felt cramped or chaotic.

From a photographer’s perspective, that matters. There’s room to move, room to shoot wide and still plenty of opportunities for clean detail photos of food, décor and event design. Large events often expose a venue’s weak points and this space didn’t show any. Everything flowed smoothly which makes documenting an event efficient and enjoyable.

For anyone planning a holiday party, corporate event or large celebration in Rochester MN, The Castle is a strong option. As a Rochester-based photography team that works in event venues regularly, we appreciate spaces that are built to handle real events and make it easy to capture them well.“

“Very clean & great service.“

“Our plans for a late dinner and beers fell apart. One of our group called and asked if Newt's (South) could accommodate a group of our size that late on a Tuesday. We arrived to a waiting table with waters & popcorn. Our server, Layne, was quick taking our drink and food orders. The food was amazing, hot, and fast. Thank you for saving our "afters" tonight. We will be back!“

“Top notch bar. I consider this the home bar because if I want to watch a game and it's not playing one of the servers, bartenders or anyone else working they will put it on for anyone that asks.

Wheelchair accessibility: Standard size tables near the dart boards“

“I ordered food from here for the first time today through DoorDash. It was absolutely delicious! The proportions were also much more than I expected. I got the tuna sambusa. It was a little on the spicy side for my delicate pallet but very tasty. I also got the chicken naan quesadillas. They were the absolute best. Soft, meaty, and cheesy. Just what I wanted. All and all I would absolutely order from here again.“

“I loved the brisket hash. The waitress took the time to ask the cook about ingredients to accommodate my food allergies. She remembered my special requests. and they have gluten free toast. Highly reccomend!“

“It was a very late dinner. The kitchen was open and I explained I was starving. It took forever to get my food. It didn't arrive until I started asking about it. Everything tasted good except the green beans. They must have been previously frozen and really bad. Overall, my experience was good.“

“Excellent service. First time trying and they asked questions and made suggestions to be sure I got the best sandwich. Next visit I plan to try the Wings!“

“Pappy's is an old school restaurant and even includes a salad bar. The food is tasty and satisfying. It's a comfortable place to eat. I started my meal with a Tom and Jerry and from the first sip I was hooked! Delicious! Hubby and I shared a French Dip sandwich with onion rings. The beef was a little bit dry but the au jus helped with that. The roll it was on was perfect. The onion rings were outstanding! We love Pappy's!“

“We found this fabulous Green Bay Packers bar in Rochester, MN. The staff was attentive, pleasant, caring and fun. We had the best time and it felt like we were “almost “ at Lambeau Field with all the appropriate music and fun, the food was terrific, too! If you want a great experience during a Packer game or anything else, be sure to visit this friendly bar!“

“This is the only restaurant that I have worked at that I will ALWAYS come back to. For the atmosphere, live music, the incredible staff (no, not favoring because I worked here, totally different staff), the food is consistent and the drinks- chefs kiss (Ryan is FANTASTIC)! Something about coming here is like coming home, it's very cozy and intimate! A best kept secret of Rochester for sure! I must add that the staff are seemingly genuine and you can tell they enjoy their jobs- not like other restaurants where you get a fake nice.“

“Friendly staff. Great portions at reasonable prices. FOOD was GREAT.“

“1st time in and had a great experience!!! Sky took amazing care of us at the bar, giving tons of great recommendations of what not to miss out on!!! Fun atmosphere, great food and amazing service we would definitely recommend checking it out if you’re in the area!“

“Amazing service with tasty food! Everyone is so nice and welcoming and they have a large menu of all great food! I genuinely recommend eating here!“

“The patio could be the location for Lord of the Flies! I enjoyed the Onion Rings appetizer and Fish & Fries. The food was good but I had to cover the food with napkins because there were so many flies. I asked a server to turn up the ceiling fans to blow them away and was told that was the highest speed available. I guess that was the easiest answer because the fan was barely moving. They can do much better.“

“We had such a great time for my son's birthday. The staff were amazing.“

“Was there Saturday night to catch up with friends from out of state. Our server Katelyn (sorry if I spelt the name wrong) was absolutely fantastic!! She has the best personality & was always checking in to make sure we were all taken care of! Will definitely be back again soon! Also, the drinks and wings were great!!“

“The Mess hall Grill and Tavern is a great place to eat, drink and have some fun!! From bingo to horse racing. Bands Friday nights and Karaoke Saturday nights!! Fun times to be had by all! Great friendly staff !“

“The food is delicious and a must stop for anyone gluten free or celiac! They have a separate kitchen for gluten free! We got to try foods we haven't had in forever! You cant even tell the food is gluten free! it is the ONLY restaurant I have heard ask at the hostess- gluten free? to make sure you get the correct menu! over 1000 review on fb tells you it's a hit! It gets busy- make reservations- go early- worth the wait!!“

“hello my best friend and I were here and Amanda our waitress was amazing very sweet and she was very friendly and our food was amazing.... way to amanda.... ask for Amanda.....“

“Really good food with kind and friendly service“

“I stopped in here after googling places to eat. I have never been to Rochester, I didn’t know what was good and I wanted simple. After looking thru menus online, I found Brothers and saw they had reubens. I found a place to sit and was immediately met by my server. He was a nice kid and was helpful and courteous. I ordered the Reuben and also a bowl of soup. It wasn’t but 10 minutes later and I had my food. The only little complaint is I was served my soup with my sandwich. I would’ve preferred to have it first. But whatever, it’s not a big deal. My dishes were cleared by another gal because my server was working a big table. Which was nice of her, I thought. And it took a minute to get my check but not a big deal. Everything was very reasonably priced and it was delicious. I’d highly recommend this place to everyone.“

“adorable decor, clean and great waitress. Food was great and price was fair.“

“Amazing service with tasty food! Everyone is so nice and welcoming and they have a large menu of all great food! I genuinely recommend eating here!“

“Very tasty food selection and very nice people“

“I would highly recommend this restaurant.The food was great.Nicely priced clean restaurant n people were very friendly.Ya gotta try this place its 💯great place to eat .Ya gotta try it“

“Our lunch was delicious. We each had a cheeseburger and fries with a jalapeño bacon wonton appetizer. We placed our order outside the restaurant and went in and sat down. We had the place pretty much to ourselves. Lots of TVs. Okay music. We could watch our meal being prepared on a flat top in the kitchen. Everything came out quite quickly. The wonton appetizers were nice and crisp with a maple syrup and like a Freddy's frie sauce with them. ??The cheeseburgers were cooked to order (medium) and were nice and greasy as they should be fried on a flat top. The fries were good, too. It was a Monday at 1 pm. We would go there again.“

“Food was wonderful and the staff was great. Thank you very much!“

“We are staying at St. Mary's and I ordered the Hot Ham and cheese deluxe and kiddos cheeseburger with a side of two shakes!!! let me tell the food was simply amazing nice big portions and the shakes were just the right consistency and so tasty!!!! We did use door dash for the delivery!! A++++“

“Nestled inside the Hy-Vee Market, this very friendly and accomodating grill offers breakfast, lunch and dinner along with a selection of beverages. After a couple of visits, you feel like a regular when they greet you by name. Always a wonderful place for an awesome breakfast!“

“Great service and atmosphere. The candied bacon Lucy was quite possibly the best burger I’ve ever had. Please add it to your permanent menu!! The rest of my family agrees!“

“Love Rooster’s ❤️!! Both locations!! Their staff is friendly, knowledgeable and happy to be there! Family orientated during the day and main meal times. Then later at around 9/10pm the music is turned up, ppl are dancing, playing pool, darts, gambling, drinks are flowing ppl are just having a great time! They have a fun crew and they work together to provide the best, more efficient customer service as possible!! Stop in!! They are open every night until 1am 🙂“

“After 3 visits I am ready to comprehensively review. Variety of drinks exceptional. Food meets expectations. I am a fan of the overall vibe. But somehow someway every time I walk out of this place with a FAT bill that doesn’t sit right with me. It’s possible my financial expectations are out of date but it hurts. Due to incredible proximity to my domain I’m sure I’ll be back in a pinch“

“Food was wonderful and everone was so friendly!Shout out to all the wait staff who talked to me more than my date did! 😊“

“This girl Andrea was so fantastic OMG love. She matched my energy so perfectly, had some great laughs with her and my friend. She used my rewards app and go the price from 50-30 and omg such a life saver. She was so awsome definitely coming back even when it’s busy.“

“The food is good, the service has been great, and the price is good.“

“Crave Rochester is one our faves! Amazing service, awesome drinks, and the food is out of this world ♡“

“We tried the 2 boils for lobster fest.

The mariner's Boil was okay, i would not get it a second time as it came with less food than anticipated (less food than the sailor's Boil) and the tails where dry.

The sailor's Boil was really good, pleanty of food and great flavor!

I normally get the snowcrabs legs when coming here which have always been a great choice!“

“Wendy R is very professional, courteous, polite, very patient, great listener, excellent attitude with a smile 😃. She politely listens to our questions while maintaining eye contact with a warm smile 😃. Our drinks and food arrived hot and delicious 😋. Thank you for our refills and excellent customer service at billion percent 👏.“

“Walked into Denny's at an hour where bad decisions usually clock in for their shift. I was mentally prepared for full Waffle House at 3am energy. You know. Flying hashbrowns. A cook squaring up. Someone yelling “scattered, smothered, covered” like it’s a battle cry.
But this Denny’s? Completely different universe.
No chaos. No chair-throwing Olympics. Just a quiet but steady hum of forks, coffee refills, and polite nods. It felt less “late-night fight club” and more “we just got out of church and collectively decided to demolish breakfast.”
Nothing upscale. No chandeliers, no marble syrup dispensers. Just booths filled with families who looked spiritually fulfilled and physically ready to consume something the size of Noah’s Ark. 🥞🍳 Two by two, they came for pancakes and sausage.
Service was steady, food hit the spot, and the only thing getting flipped was the pancakes.
Not the 3am cage match I expected… but honestly? Sometimes you just need peaceful eggs.“