Karyn Tomlinson’s Myriel — a name that nods to Les Miserables — is at once rustic and refined. The a la carte menu isn’t available online because it changes often, but expect dishes like duck giblet jus over seared heirloom blue corn porridge and stewed wheat and radish greens in a French sorrel cream. Tomlinson also makes a famous crust: If apple pie appears on the menu, order it without hesitation, and pair dessert with a Scandinavian egg coffee. Myriel’s interior, all European silhouettes and shades of cream and sand, is stunning.

Chef Jason Hansen’s Estelle pairs breezy Spanish and Portuguese dishes like patatas bravas, shrimp al ajillo, and beet escabeche with comforting Italian pastas, anchoring St. Paul’s Mac Groveland neighborhood with its dreamy date-night atmosphere. The pasteis de nata, a classic Portuguese egg tart, is a flawless sweet note at the end of the meal. Slip into the cozy adjoining bar for an herbaceous nightcap (think charred rosemary vodka, plum honey shrub, etc.).

Chef On Khumchaya’s enduring University Avenue restaurant, On’s Kitchen, serves some of the finest Thai food in the metro, dishing up peppery larb, stuffed chicken wings, and decadently fatty nam thok kor moo yang (pork neck with lemongrass, mint, and scallions), among other dishes. The silky tom kha soup is a soul-restoring choice for long winter evenings — On’s is also one of the best places to order whole steamed tilapia, prepared simply but skillfully with fragrant broth, lime, and rice.

Tucked into a petite stone building on University Avenue in St. Paul, Cheng Heng is a mainstay of the Frogtown neighborhood’s food corridor. Cambodian restaurants are relatively few and far between in the Cities’ robust Southeast Asian restaurant scene, and owners Kunrath and Kevin Lam, who have won a slate of awards from local newspapers and magazines, take up the mantle well. Try the kor koo noodle soup, brewed a fiery red in Cheng Heng’s kitchen, or the machu angkor, made with winter squash, pineapple, and lotus stems. Save room for the thuck kaw chuew (beans nestled under sweetened condensed milk and crushed ice).

First founded in 1911 by Michael Cossetta — an immigrant from Calabria, Italy who put down roots in St. Paul’s Upper Levee, the one-time heart of the city’s Italian community — Cossetta has grown into a multi-story pizzeria, pasticceria, restaurant, and tavern. Grab a slice of fresh, trattoria-style pizza, a densely layered lasagna al forno, or an order of arancini at the cafe; the pasticceria, modeled with Old World Italian flair, doles out tiramisu, chocolate-dipped cannoli, and scratch-made gelato from long glass pastry cases.

Meritage, tucked into an elegant, glass-paned storefront in downtown St. Paul, is one of the Cities’ most romantic dining destinations. More than anywhere else, it successfully emulates a Parisian dining ambiance. Sample oysters at the crescent bar; sip a glass of champagne infused with an absinthe-soaked sugar cube. Chef Russell Klein’s menu, which changes often, always features a seasonal preparation of Au Bon Canard foie gras. The cherry-glazed Magret duck breast is worth the $46 price tag.

Owners Maria and Tomas Silva, originally of Aguascalientes, Mexico, opened St. Paul’s El Burrito Mercado as an 800-square-foot market in 1979. In ’95, they moved to Cesar Chavez Street and renovated the historic, 13,000-square-foot Henly’s Furniture building, which today includes a restaurant and cantina. The tender molcajete Mexicano, birria tacos, tamale platters, and fresh ceviche — not to mention the remarkable deli and bakery, stocked with everything from barbacoa to fluffy conchas — make El Burrito Mercado an essential St. Paul restaurant.

Juche, the intimate Eastside Korean lounge from chef Chris Her and Eve and Eddie Wu, serves some of the Cities’ finest Korean fare. Expect dishes like a bulgogi-marinated burger; kimchi jjigae, awash with anchovy stock and bacon fat; Peterson Farms galbi (short ribs); and “mac n’ chi,” which pairs creamy mac and cheese with zippy butter-fried kimchi. Juche also serves cocktails made with makgeolli, an effervescent Korean rice wine, and a broad menu of soju cocktails. Even better, it’s open until midnight, Thursday through Monday.

Sunstreet, one of the Cities’ finest bakeries, is an essential dining spot for all three meals of the day. Chef Solveig Tofte’s practiced hands spin wheat into sourdough pancakes, nutty croissants and baklava rolls, fragrant rye bread cut for sandwiches, and finely glazed doughnuts (served Wednesdays only) — on Thursdays, neighbors gather for pizza nights. The flaky, buttery biscuit sandwiches are a favorite here; keep an eye on social media for seasonal specials like kulich, hot cross buns, and kolacky.

Broders’ Pasta Bar, a jewel in the Broder family’s collection of Minneapolis restaurants (which includes Broders’ Cucina Italiana and Terzo) is worthy of a Lady and the Tramp pasta moment. Try the classics — like the spaghetti carbonara, the bolognese, or the gnocchi pomodoro. (A simple eggless pasta with tomatoes and olive oil is available for vegans.) Broder’s is elegant but not overly formal — the wooden wrap-around bar is a great place to share a cozy dinner.

Chef Danny del Prado is one of the Twin Cities’ most celebrated chefs, and his Linden Hills restaurant Martina is an elegant platform for his Argentinian and Italian cuisine. (Sister restaurants include Rosalia, Colita, and as of summer 2022, Macanda.) The well-designed (and well-lit) dining room is a dream of lighting and composition. Expect dishes like potato churros, which balance a soft, creamy interior with craggy, crispy fried edges; pork chops with rutabaga puree; or parillada for two, made with bavette, sweetbreads, chorizo, and bone marrow.

Chef Facundo DeFraia learned the secrets of Argentinian cuisine in his grandmother’s Buenos Aires kitchen, and after a stint on the west coast, he landed in Minneapolis, where he helped his friend Danny del Prado open Martina. In 2018, DeFraia struck out on his own and opened Boludo in south Minneapolis. The tiny Nicollet Avenue restaurant, styled with black and white tile and Argentinian mementos affixed on the walls, really does feel like a pizza and empanada shop straight from the avenues of Buenos Aires. The menu is succinct: DeFraia’s empanadas are crispy and densely flavorful, and the chewy pizza crust has a touch of sweetness that makes a dreamy complement to the tangy tomato sauce.

Located on a bustling corner in Minneapolis’s Powderhorn neighborhood, Reverie Cafe and Bar is one of the Twin Cities’ most-loved vegan restaurants. The entire menu is plant-based, built around familiar dishes with fine dining flourishes. Mojo smoked Brussels sprouts with sweet horseradish crema make for a great starter. As far as entrees go, the crispy cauliflower tacos and kimchi BLT (made with tempura tempeh bacon) are highlights. Reverie’s dark chocolate beignets are almost the size of baseballs — they come hot, dusted in sugar, and suffering nothing from the lack of butter. The backyard patio is a favorite spot for dining at all times of the year.

Mercado Central, a bustling marketplace of more than 30 vendors, is a pillar of East Lake Street. Founded by Juan Linares, Ramon Leon, Sal Miranda, the market opened in 1997 as a model for grassroots community economic development — nearly three decades later, it’s home to some of the Cities’ longest-standing Mexican and Central American businesses. Find fiery pozole from La Perla Tortilleria or pillowy, fragrant tamales from La Loma; head to Cocina San Marcos for gorditas and crispy corn empanadas or Maria’s Restaurant for a juicy al pastor torta. Wander around the market for even more excellent eats.

Chef Safia Munye called for justice for George Floyd after her restaurant burned down during the unrest of summer 2020 — with the help of a community fundraising campaign, she reopened it at a new Lake Street location. Here, Munye dishes up the same flavor-packed Somali cuisine she always has: beef sambusas; tender lamb and goat stew; chicken suqaar with ugali (a pillowy cornmeal dish served on the side) or beef with canjeero (fermented, crepe-like Somali pancakes). Italian influences appear in the form of lightly sauced pasta with fish; fresh juices are served at the counter.

One of the cornerstone restaurants of Nicollet Avenue’s Eat Street corridor, Quang was founded by matriarch chef Lung Tran 30 years ago. The original Quang was a four-table bakery across the street from the present location, where Tran and her five kids sold Vietnamese pastries and food. The restaurant grew in popularity as news of Tran’s fragrant, hearty dishes traveled by word of mouth. Three decades later, the current restaurant is run by her children, and it’s now a go-to for enormous bowls of pho — aromatic and balanced, the beef sliced into delicate sheets — classic stir fry and noodle dishes like pad thai, and banh mi with red roast pork and pate. Quang’s space is casual and bustling on any weekend evening.

Chef Ann Ahmed’s Gai Noi is a perfect foil to its sister restaurant, Khâluna, one of Eater’s best new restaurants of 2022 — where Khâluna is poised and enchanting, suited for long sit-down meals, Gai Noi plays it a little fast and fun, whisking crispy basil chicken wings, steaming bowls of khao poon gai, and panang spaghetti to tables. Ahmed has said her biggest inspiration for Gai Noi was the Lao city Luang Prabang: There are three kinds of larb, the national dish of Laos, on the menu, as well as shaved Luang Prabang-style papaya salad, mok paa (whitefish steamed in banana leaves), and four kinds of jeow, the spicy, salsa-like Lao dipping sauce.

Chef Yia Vang first started Union Hmong Kitchen as a roving pop-up around the Twin Cities. When he began cooking and serving foods from Hmong culture made with the fine dining skills he had gained working in area kitchens, Hmong food wasn’t a familiar cuisine in the Twin Cities restaurant world. Years later, his pop-up Union Hmong Kitchen is now a permanent restaurant in the North Loop’s Graze food hall, and Vang was a 2022 James Beard finalist for best chef Midwest. The menu standouts at UHK are the Zoo Siab meals — which means “happy meals” in the Hmong language — made with proteins like chile-glazed pork shoulder and Hmong sausage, all served with purple sticky rice, pickled veggies, and sides like chilled khao sen noodles. Vang’s much-anticipated restaurant, Vinai, is on the horizon.

Chef Gavin Kaysen worked as an executive chef for Daniel Boulud before leaving New York for Minneapolis, his hometown, in 2014. His list of restaurants — Bellecour Bakery; Demi, with its intimate tasting menu; opulent Mara at the Four Seasons Hotel — is long, but there’s something essential and enduring about Spoon and Stable. The menu changes often, keeping pace with Midwest seasonality, but still manages to feel timeless. Expect dishes like bison tartare with harissa aioli, cappelletti with morels and patty pan squash, and a delicate strawberry and sorrel mille-feuille.

Al’s Breakfast is the Twin Cities’ greatest old-school breakfast diner. As Dinkytown’s dining scene has shifted throughout the decades, Al’s 10-foot-wide storefront has barely changed since 1950. Grab a seat at one of the 14 bar stools for an iconic American breakfast: a salami scramble, poached eggs over corned beef hash, or blueberry-walnut pancakes with pure Minnesota maple syrup. Al’s opens at 6 a.m. most days, but plan to wait a while for a seat during the breakfast rush.

First opened in 1999, Restaurant Alma has a longstanding reputation as one of Minneapolis’s finest restaurants. Chef Alex Roberts’ prix fixe menu changes regularly, but expect elegant — though never ostentatious — dishes like buckwheat parmesan crepes, New York strip in a smoked wild mushroom jus, and strawberry rhubarb parfaits with creme fraiche ice cream. The restaurant has an extensive wine list and is known for its accommodating vegetarian menu. Dim and intimate, it’s far and away one of the Cities’ most romantic restaurants.

All Saints, opened by local industry veterans Kim Tong and chef Denny Leaf-Smith, has been serving subtly exquisite vegetable-focused fare since 2021, when it brought a spark of new life to the former Bardo space on Hennepin Avenue. This isn’t vegan fine dining, in the way of 11 Madison Park — there’s meat on the menu, like duck confit with bitter greens — but vegetables are coaxed into the spotlight. Charred cabbage gets a white anchovy salsa verde; salt and pepper mushrooms are served with a bright scallion dip. All Saints has a rock-solid cocktail program, too, featuring strawberry spritzes, citrusy Negronis, and more.

Chef Kamal Mohamed’s Northeast restaurant StepChld feels like a West Village hangout, with its snug, narrow dining room and slyly inventive menu. This food is delightfully “off-kilter,” as Mohamed puts it — sweet potatoes are whipped and fried into cayenne-dusted fritters; pork belly levels up alongside a silky coconut rice; chicken wings come dusted in berbere spice and fenugreek. The mimita-spiced burger is especially popular, but the lavender nori shrimp, fermented in chile butter sauce that’s sopped up with sourdough, is an even better bet. StepChld also has one of the Cities’ best selections of orange wine.

Chef John Wipfli’s Animales serves exceptional barbecue out of a seasonal food truck at Bauhaus Brew Labs in Northeast Minneapolis. These ribs don’t come slathered in sweet sauce — they’re dry-rubbed, a bark of crushed peppercorns and salt stealing nothing from the meat’s oak-smoked flavor. The menu changes often, adding dishes like pork shoulder congee bowls, beef cheek banh mi, and hot beef sandwiches to the mix. Get there early, as Animales often sells out.

Chefs Gustavo and Kate Romero’s Mexican menu preserves and celebrates heirloom corn varieties — which have suffered in recent decades due to hybridization and industrial tortilla production — at Oro. As tasty as the Romero’s dishes are for takeout, they shine in a plated, dine-in format. Duck confit comes swathed in rich mole and crema with cured onion; lechon prensado, a suckling pig terrine, is crowned with bright kumquat salsa. On Oro’s menu, masa takes a number of unique forms: chochoyotes (potato-requeson dumplings), tetelas (triangular nixtamal cakes), and tlayudas (large, crunchy tortillas) alongside tacos, sopes, and tamales.

In 2017, James Beard–nominated chef Christina Nguyen and co-owner Birk Grudem expertly transformed a divey neighborhood strip club into a lush Southeast Asian restaurant. Hai Hai’s deep teal walls, ferns, and paper lanterns make the space hum with tropical charm, even in the dead of winter. The cocktails are excellent — think lychee slushies and espresso martinis with Vietnamese coffee and coconut — and the menu features dishes like delicate water fern cakes, beef larb lettuce wraps, and a tender Balinese chicken thigh with macerated kale and bean sprout salad. Nguyen won the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef, Midwest.

Minneapolis sandwich shop Marty’s Deli operated as a roving pop-up and delivery service for two years before it set up shop in Northeast Minneapolis. Owner Martha Polacek kept many staples on the menu: her chicken salad sandwich; a BLT with Peterson Craftsman bacon; a salami, prosciutto, and fennel slaw combo, all on fresh-baked focaccia. (The roasted cauliflower vegan sandwich stuck around, too.) But she’s made waves with a hash brown-stacked breakfast sandwich and blink-and-you’ll miss them specials. Grab a tub of pimento cheese and a hunk of warm focaccia to take home.

Located in cozy, bright storefront on Central Avenue, Chimborazo is a neighborhood institution. Serving Ecuadorean and Andean fare all day, seven days a week, it’s an ideal spot for anything from breakfast to late-night snacks. Don’t miss the patacones con queso — fried green plantains stuffed with cheese and served with an intensely herbed aji crillo — or the exceptionally tender seco de pollo.