One of my very favorite places to eat. Always so good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Todd Snell
Looking for great food and wait staff. You’re going to love this place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Missy Voronyak
I was so impressed with the food and service! My friend and I had a lovely time. I don’t recall the name of our waitress but the receipt said AJ K. She was phenomenal - she was so positive, friendly and guided us on all our choices perfectly. She made a fun friend outing especially fun and special. 😍
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Linda Russo
Ordered takeout. Small pile of marginal eggplant Parmesan - $30+. No spaghetti, bread, salad. Had dinner there previously: crowded, noisy, mediocre fare. Italian is not hard. Do better.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad
Emily Wilson
Wonderful food, service & atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ella Tretyak
Josefina is already one of my favorite restaurants in MN. I’ve tried almost the whole menu and everything was great. But the reason for this review is the amazing kindness I experienced from their management. One time I was photographing a private event and the Josefina team noticed me standing alone. They always asked me if they could get me anything and ended up sitting me down and bringing me a pasta. They even went out of their way to bring me a dessert. When I told them this was one of kindest experiences I’ve had as a vendor.. they told me they just want to feed people good food. I think that says a lot about what they stay for.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Allie Borer
A-mazing food! Great service. Inventive, lovely, will be back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kimberly Yang
My boyfriend and I dined here on a Friday evening, and here's a little recap of our experience!
When you first walk into Josefina, you're greeted by an assortment of plants, green and cream rustic sort of colour palette, and warm lighting. Josefina's main hall particularly seemed to embody this casual but cozy environment - one that would arguably be a great contender for a romantic date night during the evening (or formal business meeting for the finance bros and girlies). My partner and I were seated towards the back of the restaurant in the patio section, which was a little less aesthetic and slightly more goofy looking of a space (some mismatched fans and cords running along the walls, the transparent plastic lining that mimicked a greenhouse, etc.). Not a bad place to be seated per say, but perhaps sit here during the day for more casual eatings instead of an evening 1-to-1 dinner.
Beyond the atmosphere itself, the service of josefina was really quite lovely. Kurt, our server of the evening, treated us kindly and was patient with us as we (though mainly me) struggled to figure out what to eat. In addition, all the food came out without much delay.
Onto the food: now this is where it gets more interesting. To begin, we ordered a variety of dishes. They were: oysters, steak tartare, rosemary and sea salt focaccia, rigatoni diavolo, and funghi pizza. Overall, each dish was scrumptious in their own right! The oysters were fresh and came paired with a refreshing vinegar-y sauce, horseradish, and lemon. The focaccia was both airy on the inside and also had a nice, crisp layer on the outside. It was, however, hyped up quite a bit, so to my surprise, was just pretty standard for focaccia (or maybe I’ve just been spoiled by lots of amazing focaccia makers around me). It would have been nice if the rosemary flavour was a bit stronger, but was overall still good! As for the steak tartare (which had a layer of hummus underneath and a bush of horseradish & capers on top), this was my first introduction to raw beef - and I personally loved it. My boyfriend yapped too much to me about how the hummus put it off; but guys, I love hummus so I had nothing to complain about. To me, it was a good extra, subtle flavour that also binded the raw meat together. In addition to a side of chips that acted as a spoon + extra sprinkle of crunch to the otherwise raw meaty squishy overall texture, I’m no longer off-put by tartare and may be inclined to get it in the future.
Finally: the pasta and the pizza. I love pasta, I love spice, I love sourness: and so this dish was a great combination of the two. The diavolo sauce had a slightly sour, tangy, but flavourful kick to it. With underlying notes of spiciness, no bite was ever boring. The funghi pizza (or as I like to call it the funky pizza for reasons you’ll see soon), following a similar pattern of flavours-that-pack-a-punch, was also unexpected taste-wise. The pizza consisted of super strong cheese flavour, pickled hot peppers sprinkled around, ever so slightly sweet candied lemon zest, onions, and mushrooms. Wow, this pizza was nuts. Lots of strong flavours on all ends, much of which was fun to eat in the beginning but later became just a bit too overwhelming by the end. I’d also say given it was framed as a mushroom pizza, the mushroom flavour was surprisingly subtle and a bit underwhelming. Nonetheless, a creative pizza that still tasted great otherwise.
Overall, Josefina was a really memorable experience! Definitely a bit on the pricier end for certain dishes (i.e. the pasta, the steak tartare), but still worth the trip for folks that want to have a casual Italian meal but elevated for when you eat out. From the warm atmosphere, the great service, to the creative food, I’d definitely recommend you stopping by if you can (8.75/10).
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jacob Ullom
Very nice restaurant with Italian inspired menu. We enjoyed the meatballs, focaccia and a few of the pastas. The duck angioletti was delicious! Great server that was attentive. Drinks can be expensive depending on what cocktail you order. The inside is very nice compared to the covered outside. Overall great experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marisa Elizabeth
All food was excellent! We tried a couple pastas, ricotta meatball app, salad and their house made gelato. Mark was fantastic and made great recommendations. We will be back!
I spend most mornings sipping a cup of coffee from Josefina and it’s always money well spent. The baristas are amazing, always friendly, giving advice about the newest seasonal beverages and including my 2 year old daughter in conversation. I particularly want to highlight Natalie, Maggie and Chloe- they make my day, often! ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Miguel Ramirez
Food is bland and overpriced. Great atmosphere though
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Bryce Conlan
Paid a first time visit this evening with a reservation. The food was exceptional, especially the “Agnolotti” duck confit pasta and the Banana bread dessert with olive oil gelato! Only disappointments were the roasted duck, it was a pretty small portion given the price ($38). It was tasty, but given the smaller portion and reasonably sized chunk of fat on one of the pieces my other guest was left still hungry. The first round of drinks that we got one of them was quite weak and full of ice (Could’ve just been subject to whoever poured them at the bar) because the second round was awesome!
Decor was very inviting and the service was exceptional. Very attentive, but not to the extent that it disrupts your conversation or time.
Will definitely come back, but be more selective on the drink menu most likely! being that I work from home and live in the area, I will probably come back to try the coffee and pastries in the morning as well
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Hannah Preston
Food was amazing, but the service was even better. Megan was our server tonight and we had an amazing experience from start to finish. She recommended the pistachio gelato and it was phenomenal!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Katya
Amazing food, service, and setting. Miss Megan is the best server, loved all of her recommendations and conversation!
One of my very favorite places to eat. Always so good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Looking for great food and wait staff. You’re going to love this place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was so impressed with the food and service! My friend and I had a lovely time. I don’t recall the name of our waitress but the receipt said AJ K. She was phenomenal - she was so positive, friendly and guided us on all our choices perfectly. She made a fun friend outing especially fun and special. 😍
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ordered takeout. Small pile of marginal eggplant Parmesan - $30+. No spaghetti, bread, salad. Had dinner there previously: crowded, noisy, mediocre fare. Italian is not hard. Do better.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad
Wonderful food, service & atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Josefina is already one of my favorite restaurants in MN. I’ve tried almost the whole menu and everything was great. But the reason for this review is the amazing kindness I experienced from their management. One time I was photographing a private event and the Josefina team noticed me standing alone. They always asked me if they could get me anything and ended up sitting me down and bringing me a pasta. They even went out of their way to bring me a dessert. When I told them this was one of kindest experiences I’ve had as a vendor.. they told me they just want to feed people good food. I think that says a lot about what they stay for.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A-mazing food! Great service. Inventive, lovely, will be back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My boyfriend and I dined here on a Friday evening, and here's a little recap of our experience!
When you first walk into Josefina, you're greeted by an assortment of plants, green and cream rustic sort of colour palette, and warm lighting. Josefina's main hall particularly seemed to embody this casual but cozy environment - one that would arguably be a great contender for a romantic date night during the evening (or formal business meeting for the finance bros and girlies). My partner and I were seated towards the back of the restaurant in the patio section, which was a little less aesthetic and slightly more goofy looking of a space (some mismatched fans and cords running along the walls, the transparent plastic lining that mimicked a greenhouse, etc.). Not a bad place to be seated per say, but perhaps sit here during the day for more casual eatings instead of an evening 1-to-1 dinner.
Beyond the atmosphere itself, the service of josefina was really quite lovely. Kurt, our server of the evening, treated us kindly and was patient with us as we (though mainly me) struggled to figure out what to eat. In addition, all the food came out without much delay.
Onto the food: now this is where it gets more interesting. To begin, we ordered a variety of dishes. They were: oysters, steak tartare, rosemary and sea salt focaccia, rigatoni diavolo, and funghi pizza. Overall, each dish was scrumptious in their own right! The oysters were fresh and came paired with a refreshing vinegar-y sauce, horseradish, and lemon. The focaccia was both airy on the inside and also had a nice, crisp layer on the outside. It was, however, hyped up quite a bit, so to my surprise, was just pretty standard for focaccia (or maybe I’ve just been spoiled by lots of amazing focaccia makers around me). It would have been nice if the rosemary flavour was a bit stronger, but was overall still good! As for the steak tartare (which had a layer of hummus underneath and a bush of horseradish & capers on top), this was my first introduction to raw beef - and I personally loved it. My boyfriend yapped too much to me about how the hummus put it off; but guys, I love hummus so I had nothing to complain about. To me, it was a good extra, subtle flavour that also binded the raw meat together. In addition to a side of chips that acted as a spoon + extra sprinkle of crunch to the otherwise raw meaty squishy overall texture, I’m no longer off-put by tartare and may be inclined to get it in the future.
Finally: the pasta and the pizza. I love pasta, I love spice, I love sourness: and so this dish was a great combination of the two. The diavolo sauce had a slightly sour, tangy, but flavourful kick to it. With underlying notes of spiciness, no bite was ever boring. The funghi pizza (or as I like to call it the funky pizza for reasons you’ll see soon), following a similar pattern of flavours-that-pack-a-punch, was also unexpected taste-wise. The pizza consisted of super strong cheese flavour, pickled hot peppers sprinkled around, ever so slightly sweet candied lemon zest, onions, and mushrooms. Wow, this pizza was nuts. Lots of strong flavours on all ends, much of which was fun to eat in the beginning but later became just a bit too overwhelming by the end. I’d also say given it was framed as a mushroom pizza, the mushroom flavour was surprisingly subtle and a bit underwhelming. Nonetheless, a creative pizza that still tasted great otherwise.
Overall, Josefina was a really memorable experience! Definitely a bit on the pricier end for certain dishes (i.e. the pasta, the steak tartare), but still worth the trip for folks that want to have a casual Italian meal but elevated for when you eat out. From the warm atmosphere, the great service, to the creative food, I’d definitely recommend you stopping by if you can (8.75/10).
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very nice restaurant with Italian inspired menu. We enjoyed the meatballs, focaccia and a few of the pastas. The duck angioletti was delicious! Great server that was attentive. Drinks can be expensive depending on what cocktail you order. The inside is very nice compared to the covered outside. Overall great experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
All food was excellent! We tried a couple pastas, ricotta meatball app, salad and their house made gelato. Mark was fantastic and made great recommendations. We will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I spend most mornings sipping a cup of coffee from Josefina and it’s always money well spent. The baristas are amazing, always friendly, giving advice about the newest seasonal beverages and including my 2 year old daughter in conversation. I particularly want to highlight Natalie, Maggie and Chloe- they make my day, often! ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food is bland and overpriced. Great atmosphere though
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Paid a first time visit this evening with a reservation. The food was exceptional, especially the “Agnolotti” duck confit pasta and the Banana bread dessert with olive oil gelato! Only disappointments were the roasted duck, it was a pretty small portion given the price ($38). It was tasty, but given the smaller portion and reasonably sized chunk of fat on one of the pieces my other guest was left still hungry. The first round of drinks that we got one of them was quite weak and full of ice (Could’ve just been subject to whoever poured them at the bar) because the second round was awesome!
Decor was very inviting and the service was exceptional. Very attentive, but not to the extent that it disrupts your conversation or time.
Will definitely come back, but be more selective on the drink menu most likely! being that I work from home and live in the area, I will probably come back to try the coffee and pastries in the morning as well
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Food was amazing, but the service was even better. Megan was our server tonight and we had an amazing experience from start to finish. She recommended the pistachio gelato and it was phenomenal!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing food, service, and setting. Miss Megan is the best server, loved all of her recommendations and conversation!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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