Fine Dining/Luxury

I love the world of fine dining—where the food quality, beverage program, and service are all extremely tight, but culinary ambition is valued more than the trappings of elegance. In luxury dining, preparations may be simpler, and the menu rarely changes—but I still expect wondrous ingredients, superb execution, the finest wines, perfect service, elegant stemware and china, and all the other trappings that define luxury.  —A. Z.

20.21
Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-253-3410
The restaurant opened last year, serving Wolfgang Puck’s signature Cal-Asian cuisine, luxuriously plated and in decadent portions. Chef Scott Irestone maintains strict standards in the kitchen. The bar features killer versions of classic tropical cocktails. The well-trained staff makes any visit to 20.21 special.
Best Bets Hamachi tartare, pineapple-glazed quail, Peking–style roast duck.
Prime Time The real scene here is at lunch, when you can rub elbows with the art world’s heaviest hitters.
Pssst Brunch is still undiscovered—an all-you-can-eat, cooked-to-order array of sumptuous pastries, rösti potatoes, eggs Benedict, omelets, and house-cured salmon.
But If there are two in your party and you want to sample more than one dish, dinner can be very spendy indeed, due to the expensive family-sized portions.

Café Lurçat
1624 Harmon Pl., Mpls., 612-486-5500
Lurçat keeps getting better and better. This restaurant makes everything from scratch, even its teeny pickled vegetables, and it takes food provenance very seriously: Last year all its corn came from one organic grower in southern Minnesota. Lurçat’s famous side dishes deliver, the wine list is world class, the service professional, the tabletop and glassware make eating a pleasure, and the willowy décor fits the setting on the edge of Loring Park.
Best Bets Shellfish platter; braised veal shoulder with crimini mushrooms; bone-in rib eye for two with béarnaise sauce.
Prime Time If you want a window seat, book early. Weekends are jammed, but luckily the entire menu is available in the bar.
Pssst The whole roasted foie gras, no longer on the menu, is always available if you ask.
But The little chairs with the high sides are chic, but can anyone but Richard D’Amico fit into them?

Cosmos
Graves 601 Hotel, 601 1st Ave. N., Mpls., 612-312-1834
Cosmos, in the überchic Graves, offers as elegant a dining experience as you can find in the Twin Cities. With a budget that only a luxury hotel can afford, the setting is dramatic—imported wood, designer chairs, custom tableware. The bar/lounge is modern and dramatically lit, the beverage program first class, service nearly flawless, and the output of Seth Bixby Daugherty’s kitchen is superb.
Best Bets Grilled Maine lobster with truffled foie gras and lobster jus; confit of Alaskan halibut on cauliflower risotto; red wine–braised veal cheeks; chocolate globe.
Prime Time Cosmos burns brightest whenever the hotel plays host to the plethora of celebrities who make it their home away from home in Minneapolis.
Pssst Lunch, brunch, and breakfast are still undiscovered, with rock-bottom pricing on top-drawer ingredients.
But Block E.

D’Amico Cucina
100 N. 6th St, Mpls., 612-338-2401
This Minneapolis institution has produced some of the best chefs in the Midwest. The kitchen is in John Occhiato’s hands these days, and the food has never been better. He cooks in a rootsy, Italian style and his beautifully presented food tastes even better than it looks. Leah Henderson’s desserts are stunning, and the service and wine list have earned well-deserved national attention.
Best Bets Cauliflower risotto with black truffle; seared foie gras with duck confit and frisée salad; lobster gnocchi; ricotta ravioli with brown butter.
Prime Time The hoi polloi loves to hang out here before and after Timberwolves games.
Pssst The private dining room boasts the coolest antique table in town.
But The dining room could use a style makeover sooner rather than later.

Five
2917 Bryant Ave. S., Mpls, 612-827-5555
Stewart and Heidi Woodman have turned the old 5th Precinct house in LynLake into a temple of modern and accessible haute cuisine. Downstairs is a lounge and bar, upstairs is a comfy bistro serving some decidedly upscale French-inspired fare. Next to it is a small dining room that offers three-, five-, seven-, and eleven-course tasting menus. The room is romantic, dominated by a row of curved booths, and the vibe is way more upscale than in the bistro. The wine list is one of the best in the region, and when Woodman is hot, he’s on everyone’s short list for the local fine-dining genius award.
Best Bets Beef tournedos with truffle panade in lobster–red wine sauce; apple-glazed pork belly; hazelnut-truffle scallop tartare.
Prime Time The Five Dining Room is open Thursday to Saturday only.
Pssst Homemade candies and minidoughnuts come with coffee, but that’s no reason not to spring for the perfectly spherical, chocolate-filled beignet.
But The limited hours are a drag.

Heartland
1806 St. Clair Ave., St Paul, 651-699-3536
Chef-owner Lenny Russo has taken the idea of regional Midwestern cookery to exalted heights here with menus dictated by what his legions of committed purveyors bring to his kitchen every day. With a warm, inviting, and elegant little room, two tasting menus, an à la carte menu that’s available every night, and a wine list that’s deep in all styles,  Heartland has plenty of choices for discriminating palates. Every piece of charcuterie, every cookie, dinner roll, and conserve, is made in-house.
Best Bets House-cured duck-breast prosciutto; Midwestern cassoulet of goat, lamb, rabbit, and pork; Pink Lady apple galette with a cider reduction
Prime Time Weekends are perpetually booked—and even weeknights in the restaurant and new wine bar have finally taken off.
Pssst The wine bar serves seven days a week, and is open later on Fridays and Saturdays than the restaurant.
But The quiet neighborhood locale screams out for a more casual version of Heartland down the street.

I Nonni
981 Sibley Memorial Hwy., Lilydale, 651-905-1080
Out in the wilds of Lilydale, the Marchionda family has created the best Italian restaurant in the Twin Cities, complete with a full-service Italian deli up front, a wine shop to the side, and a dining room out back. The kitchen is under the expert direction of Roman expat Filipp Caffari, who creates his own salumi, turns pasta by hand, and cooks with an Italian’s eye for fresh, seasonal, simple fare.
Best Bets Calamari with Sicilian sea salt; sautéed striped bass with tomato, fennel, and white wine; osso buco Milanese.
Prime Time I Nonni is always packed, but now it’s open for lunch.
Pssst The wine shop has one of the deepest Italian selections in the country.
But For gosh sakes, why Lilydale?

La Belle Vie
510 Groveland Ave., Mpls., 612-874-6440
Local food god Tim McKee and partner Josh Thoma have reopened their flagship restaurant to rave reviews. The most luxurious dining experience in town is here, from the oversized tables, chairs, and wine glasses to the undersized versions of classic dishes that McKee miniaturizes to stunning effect for his tasting menus. Pastry chef
Adrienne Odom hits new heights as well, and so will your AmEx bill after indulging in an eight-course tasting menu and wine. But dining in what is arguably the best restaurant in Minnesota is worth every penny.
Best Bets Lobster and pumpkin cappelleti with black truffles; grilled lamb rib eye with fallen porcini mushroom–soufflé; fritto misto with watercress and garlic.
Prime Time Tables are the toughest in town these days, but the lounge is comfy and you can eat like a king without ever setting foot in the more formal dining room.
Pssst The wine list is second to none, with many rare and hard-to-find offerings at very soft prices.
But We miss the easy country feeling of the Stillwater storefront.

Morton’s
555 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., 612-673-9700
Yes, it’s a chain, but quality is quality. No one does steaks better than Morton’s . . . or creamed spinach, or steak sandwiches, or smoked salmon, or, of course, the addictive Morton’s salad. The service is so good that oftentimes I think Mort’s training program should be mandatory for all local restaurant managers and servers. The wine list is perfectly suited to the menu, and while it’s easy to hemorrhage money at Mort’s, the quality justifies it.
Best Bets Porterhouse for two, crab cakes, Lyonnaise potatoes.
Prime Time Dinner time’s the right time at Mort’s, but the power lunch scene is one of the best in town.
Pssst Ask for the baked potato caddy  and liberally sprinkle your Morton’s salad with freshly crisped bacon. Eat, swoon, repeat.
But Let’s face it, there’s only so much you can do with a basement.

The Oceanaire Seafood Room
Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1300 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., 612-333-2277
Seafood restaurants are to this decade what steak houses were to the go-go nineties, and there is no better seafood house in town than Oceanaire. Manager Steve Uhl presides over one of the best-run 300-seat dining rooms in the country. The seafood is as pristine as you’ll find anywhere, the beverage program ideally suited for fish and shellfish, and Oceanaire has single-handedly restored my faith in the oft-disparaged relish tray.
Best Bets Grilled tuna with mushrooms and red wine sauce; freshly shucked oysters; crab cakes.
Prime Time The liveliest room in town night in and night out.
Sitting in front on a Friday night is a real treat.
Pssst Mark your calendar and head to Oceanaire the first week of the halibut run, the wild salmon season, and the soft-shell crab opener. There’s no place in town to get them any fresher.
But Three hundred seats are still 300 seats, and at times the kitchen loses the nuanced edge you expect at these prices.
Honorable Mention Bayport Cookery, Manny’s Steak House, Vincent.