This is a fantastic restaurant with very tasty coffee. It is super convenient to order at your table and pay right there. They bring it to you. It is bright and beautiful inside, a great place to work, meet a friend, or hang out! They even have a few free parking spaces in back. I highly recommend Alma! read more

In a city brimming with urban hipsterness, places like Alma Cafe aren't hard to find. This joint finds itself sitting between the boundary of a budget friendly college neighborhood and the Northeast of the Twin Cities re-branding its culinary image. Slightly more than a stone's throw from Stone Arch with valet parking the establishment cannot be faulted for convenience of location. The ambiance is crowded but hip, tall tables too small and booths stiff and wooden. Seating is available at the bar if your girth promises not to hinder moving patrons and other parts. The coffee's good, often more acidic than earthy. A couple of brews on tap so beverages aplenty. They have only a handful of brunch cocktails, but they are good. The food menu is however very limited with a few salads, burgers and plates being the options. The vibe here is either a working or a liquid lunch. I've had the burgers mostly and have had varying experiences from very good to mediocre. For the portion sizes, some dishes seem a tad overpriced but seem decent when pitched against the sister restaurant's rate card. The service overall is polite but not necessarily prompt. On busy brunch days (which is most weekends) expect to wait for your orders. Overall I'd say this is a good place for a meal or coffee where eating a full meal is not necessarily a priority but a relaxed setting, fancy drinks and a well lit ambiance are. read more

Restaurant review This is my absolute favorite restaurant in Minnesota. Finally discovered a couple years and have dined atleast a dozen times. We always do the three course with the wine pairing. What really elevates this experience is sitting at the bar - especially with JAMES. He makes this above and beyond... I believe he curates the wine list and pairings. Travels to the vineyards and hand picks the wines. He tells amazing stories of the wines backgrounds and why they're the perfect pairing for the dish. LOVE Our latest visit resulted in this vote for best dishes per course: chilled corn soup - soft cooked egg in mushroom broth - then a tie with duck and scallops read more

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Alma is the perfect place for a late lunch when you sheepishly don't want brunch hour to end, since their breakfast egg sandwiches are always available! Their egg sandwiches are cooked to perfection - I highly recommend the Corner Store sandwich with additional sriracha packs. The egg was fluffy, the bacon was crisp with its rendered fat adhering to the soft bread, and the melted cheese really brought everything together. To accompany the sandwich, I also ordered the crispy smashed potatoes, which are so flavorful (a bit on the salty side so I couldn't have too much), and somehow crisp yet fluffy at the same time. The atmosphere of the cafe is sophisticated yet welcoming with its contemporary decor. I only wish I lived closer so I could eat there more often! read more

Delicious. Some kind of cabbage slaw, a beet salad, smashed potatoes... other folks at my table were disappointed in the Bahn Mi (bread was wrong type). But we all agreed the salads & potatoes were worth another visit. read more

I could not be luckier to live a few blocks from cafe Alma. I have eaten here about a dozen times. The food is incredible. The chefs and bartenders are clearly passionate about their work and see it as an art. When they make drinks it often looks like they are doing a science experiment. I watched them infuse a liquor with strawberry and herbs in a tall test tube type thing. See my picture! Food: So much to say about their food! I love their brunch menu - the fried egg sandwich with crispy potatoes and the classic breakfast are my go-tos. Their lunch menu was super fresh and flavorful when I tried it - but they switch up their menu often. Drinks: I don't think you can go wrong with their cocktails. Because I often go for brunch, I usually order their bloody Mary and Carrot Mimosa. Their brewed coffee is also stellar. Vibe: Modern rustic. My wife and I love eating at the bar or outside on the sidewalk tables. read more

Alma - Cafes Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

This is a fantastic place we found on vacation in Minneapolis area and highly recommend. If they have takeout during this crazy covid DO IT! Let's all keep them in business!! I cannot wait for this to end so we can make our normal annual trip back and pay them a visit again. Scrumptious duck fat potatoes were great and all the other cuisine we tried was tremendously good, right down to the beautiful cocktails. read more

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This was a great place to grab to go or sit and enjoy an afternoon brunch. Breakfast served all day. Charming little cafe is much more casual fare and service. I ordered the seasonal coffee special, a brown butter and lemon latte. I never would thought lemon would pair well in a coffee, but it was well balanced and gentle flavors melded well together. I ordered the corner shop breakfast sandwich, with bacon, cheese and scrambled eggs on a toasted roll. It was alright. Bacon was a little over done in my opinion, the eggs were what looked like, cut into a square. With the other menu items available I would probably order different next time just wasn't feeling adventurous (filled that with my beverage choice). The menu featured many vegan options as well and the bakery was filled with many gluten free options. Tried the gluten free orange almond financier, it was delicious, the cake was dense, yet light and bright flavor from the orange icing and sugared almonds. I loved all the little shop items, condiments that were from items like rhubarb BBQ sauce and duck fat, dressing, pimento cheese, etc from a refrigerated section. Also sweet brass spoons, bowls, dried flowers, towels, gift shop type items as well. We took our order to go and walked down to the bridge over the river to enjoy the beautiful fall day. read more

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Paid $20 for a latte and a breakfast sandwich and the sandwich was soggy and underwhelming. The drink was just ok. Definitely not worth the price or the 30 minute wait after mobile ordering. read more

Over all very disappointed. The food was cold and very poorly prepared. my Niece & I ordered several items and they all came at different times. I am going to request a refund! Will not return. read more

Like others have mentioned, the food was all really good, however none of the dishes were amazing or super memorable - the service was fine but also felt nonchalant and perfunctory. For the price, the whole experience is really just...tepid. I'm not opposed to spending a lot of money for a meal, and I think Alma probably has had amazing menus in the past, I've just had better meals for less with more attentive service...this was nothing super memorable. Maybe I'll try it again in a few years. read more

With regards to Alma Cafe it is with pleasure that I share my thoughts about my meal on Sunday, April 7th. I have been to this quaint space once before for brunch. It was lovely. Now I return with 3 friends to celebrate a very big birthday in my family. I was delighted that I could make a reservation. It is a sign of respect and hospitality when you can make a time to truly engage with your guests and make them feel as though they are in a private dining room at the most luxurious of cafes. I can't wait to go back !! read more

Wonderful experience at Alma! Excellent service and amazing food quality and presentation! Absolutely loved the casual atmosphere, all of the high quality you would expect with none of the pretense. read more

Brunch, brunch, brunch it up! Over Halloween weekend we headed to Cafe Alma around noon for brunch after a morning drive four-hour morning drive to the Cities. There was a good crowd but we were able to snag four seats along the bar. I started with the Daily Punch - a concoction of bourbon, ginger beer, cider, rum, blackstrap bitters, and vermouth. Despite the super boozy description, it was extremely well balanced and a good sipping accompaniment to my meal. I had a really hard time deciding what to get, but my travel bud and I both had our eye on the same two dishes so we went halvzies. On the sweet side was the french toast special, and for savory we chose the spicy turkey burger with an upgrade to the crispy smashed potatoes our friend raved about. I started with the french toast which was one gigantic slice of bread sliced in half, topped with candied pecans, strawberries, creme anglaise, and served with real maple syrup. The mix of soft bread and candied pecans was perfect, and half was the perfect portion with how rich it was. The turkey burger was spicy as promised; I'm glad they didn't shy away to please more tender palates. It's also probably the best turkey burger I've ever had. Turkey burgers, at least in my experience, often end up being dry and chewy. This was juicy but cooked through and with a texture you'd expect from a non-poultry burger. The star of the show was our upgraded potatoes. Super crispy exterior with a creamy interior and seasoned perfectly. I had originally considered going the route of a lemon currant scone and crispy potatoes, and I think I'll definitely go that way with a return visit. Aside from the food, we had the best bartender/server. He was friendly, funny, answered all our questions about different drinks we saw being made, and even went the extra step of mixing us a mini cocktail to sample and giving us all micro carrots after I exclaimed "those are so cute" when I noticed one as garnish. Extra points for his vintage (and I hope unironic) Mickey Mouse watch. Glad this is in my best friend's new neighborhood! read more

Cafe Alma is a wonderful gem in Minneapolis. Great for a date night, business dinner, meal with a friend. There is a more formal restaurant on one side and a cafe on the other; the cafe is a restaurant that has some smaller portions for a more affordable price. Server and hostess were friendly and knew the menu well. Decor and atmosphere were tasteful. Easy to converse with a friend as it wasn't noisy, which was really nice. The food was excellent. Half bread, main, and dessert came to about $24, which is pretty reasonable. I look forward to going back! read more

This restaurant was a perfect setting for a birthday dinner. It was quiet, the food was delicious & our server was knowledgeable about the menu & wine pairings. Great place for a special occasion. The owner came to our table to make sure we were enjoying the yummy food! Housemade Pesto Fusili brings me back to Italy & the best pesto. Spicy Smoked Pork Ribs was a generous portion (bonus-lunch the next day!) of tender ribs with a bit of a kick. Turmeric Roasted Mahi Mahi was delicious as well. read more

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it was our first time dining at Alma restaurant. The food was over the top Amazing... Perfectly prepared. The endive salad and duck confit were simply amazing! The wine pairings.. perfect!! We will be back!! Wow!! Service was great too. Thank you Esther !! read more

If there is a place where you want a truly phenomenal dining experience and you are trying new places, go to Restaurant Alma. It is a wee bit pricey if you get more than just entrees, but completely worth it if you want to treat yourself. The website makes it look like it is an extremely upscale, fine dining restaurant. I was surprised to enter and see that it is more casual than that. Think less La Belle Vie and more Meritage. Now about the food. It was one of the best meals I have had and I still think about some of those perfect bites. I went with my family and we split a selection of first and second course dishes, and each got an entree. The two dishes that were favorites at the table were the lemon orzo pasta and the potato in crisp pastry. The potato crisp pastry was phenomenal. What I really liked about the dish was the salad with whitefish. Mmmmm... As for entrees, I got the trout with potatoes two ways and a black truffle dressing. The trout was pan roasted with the skin left on and cooked to beautiful crispiness. It was accompanied by a potato puree on the bottom and crispy freshly fried potato chips on top. The best part of the dish was the rich black truffle sauce. Heavenly. It was not too heavy, just perfectly dressing the fish. But no biggie. My parents both got the chicken, which was a VERY generous portion. Very tender, just fell off the bone. My sister and her hubby got the duck, which was seasoned perfectly and accompanied with a duck confit and chard crepe. Great way to balance the savory duck. For dessert, I got the salted caramel cake. As mentioned in other posts, it was delightful. The salty, sweet combination with the moist texture of the cake was perfect. Top this with the light crunch of the caramel on the outside? Perfection. It was a great meal. Service was good, the atmosphere was great, and the food superb. read more

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Fellow foodies, you really need to come here. The food is high quality and very tasty. Check out the pictures I've posted. The menu changes frequently so you'll never run out of options. The atmosphere of the restaurant is very welcoming with a trendy twist. It pairs a casual, family-run restaurant feel with a very sophisticated menu. The menu is presented as a three course prix-fixe for $50, which includes an appetizer, pasta/grain course, and an entree. However, you can order a la carte as well with the apps going for $13, pasta/grains going for $15, and entrees for $27. You do get a larger portion of the entree if you order a la carte. But be sure to save room for their decadent desserts or a cheese plate at the end. If you enjoy wine, Alma offers an $18 wine flight of three generous 1/2 glass pours. They select the wines for you by pairing with your specific meal choices. I found their selections to be perfect. Bottom line: go to Alma and do so frequently so you don't miss on the ever-changing menu items. read more

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Great looking place with great food. The part that is lacking is customer service. Walking in the sign indicates you need to wait to be seated, after having waited, we asked someone at counter who said to grab any table. We proceeded to back of restaurants and chose a table near a BIG beautiful window flooding the room with light. There are no physical menus available so we scanned the wrong code, entered a name and email and then got access to the menu. While looking over an excellent menu a rude employee told us we had to move because they were closing that section because they were not busy enough to keep it open, there were only a few open tables and we were shuttles to a room next door with much less natural light, as the person attempted to close off the bright and beautiful room we were in and closed the shutters that were allowing a little bit of natural light into room we were in. Our friend arrived, but because of passing a phone around to read the menu and order we didn't get a chance to converse as well as each person at table had to spend time staring at a phone independently of each other. We placed our order, and each item was brought out about 2-3 minutes apart, so it was about 20 minutes before everyone had something to eat. After starting to eat we noticed multiple items had not been delivered to table at which point one of us had to go up and ask for those items. The food is awesome so they have a terrific kitchen staff, the service sucked, but maybe it's just that one employee. Worth a try. read more

Just far enough from Dinkytown. Just far enough. Is it a hotel, a restaurant or a cafe? Well.........I'm not quite sure, but what I do know is that when you walk into the vestibule and ask where to get a burger (only on thursdays), the hosts will direct you to the cafe. We walked right in and sat at the bar. Super comfy stools with a low back. The copper topped bar looks cool and felt great to lean on. The entire cafe had contemporary industrial look and feel. Exposed ducts and sprinklers. It's a large room with some tables, booths and a big center bar. The bartender immediately set out glasses and asked it we want our water sparkling or still? They have a great selection of cocktails. Last time I was here I had a few including an old fashioned and a Manhattan. Tonight my wife got the bartenders Signiture special which was a blueberry, ginger, oolong tea infused rum mixed with bitters, lemon and watermelon juice. It was girly but super good. The wife LOVED it. They have a cool little rotating selection of local taps and cans/bottles. I grabbed a dreamyard and combed the apps. We've had the crispy smashed potatoes that are served with a black truffle aioli. They were excellently crunchy, crispy and salty with a fluffy center. Small bite sized chunks of pure potato glory. The burger is served with these little nuggets so we decided on the hummus for an app. It's made in house and served warm with house made pita. The hummus was smooth, bright and full of citrus and mint. Super good and not to heavy. Now, I've had the hominy brisket and a few other main dishes that were all amazing, but it was Thursday and I came here for the burger. The burger is not on the menu so I can't tell you exactly what it's composed of, but I know it was not a 'large' burger (think saint dinette size). There were two thin patties, that bursted with flavor that ground chuck alone could not produce. Both patties were smothered in cheesy sauce stuff that was like a Gouda and american combo. It was delicious. Then there were the house made spicy bread-n-butter mini pickles. OMG. They completed the burger. No ketchup, no mustard. Just all this fantastic melty, crunchy, salty, sweet and (just a lil) spicy combo of flavors and textures put in between a wonderful brioche bun. I'm not sure where this burger sits with local burger peeps, but it's a top 5 any day of the week and the #1 burger in the cities only served on Thursday's. Service was excellent, ambiance was dark and cozy- again, excellent and the food has never disappointed. Cafe Alma has continued to exceed my expectations every visit. The only downside is that the pics I took will never do the food justice. read more

Alma - Thursday burger. - Cafes Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

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We enjoyed brunch on the cafe side of Alma. We made a reservation and were seated immediately. Seemed pretty busy so I would recommend getting a reservation. Loved the ambiance, it was bright and fun. The waitress was kind and knew her stuff. The food was tasty but a tad light on portion sizes depending on what you got. I had the soft scrambled eggs and garlic toast which was super delicious just a lot less of a portion than I was expecting. My friends had the sandwiches which were also great and substantial. read more

Alma - Inside - Cafes Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Alma is a reliable hit and always in the rotation of places to grab coffee and pastries. The rotating variety of sweet and savory pastries are delicious, the cappuccinos are perfectly poured, and the staff are super friendly. Best on nice days to grab and walk/stand outside as seating for coffee & pastries inside is a little limited. Bonus: Alma is perfectly located for mid-walk treat from Stone Arch Bridge, St. Anthony Main, and downtown. read more

Impeccable interiors design, great service, and delightful food. First * Parmesan Flan roasted delicata squash, bagna cauda, basil. Middle * Whey-Cooked Polenta red chile braised pork belly, rapini, caramelized garlic. Main * Duck Two Ways porcini bread pudding, worcestershire glazed beets, spinach. Desserts * Indonesian Vanilla Cheesecake Mousse pizzelle, brownie crumb, luxardo cherries *Caramel Coffee Pot Du Creme white sesame brittle, black sesame meringue, creme fraiche ice cream read more

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Alma is an expensive and upscale tasting menu restaurant in Minneapolis. Dinner after tax and tip for two with a single Old Fashioned came to $176. Ouch! But what do you get for such an exorbitant fee? Wow, so much. Three courses with four seasonal options for each selection. Every course we sampled was fantastic including the corn soup with generous prawns, quail, and duck two ways. Even the bread, which our fantastic server replenished us with generously, was of extremely high quality with delectable spreads. Overall a fantastic experience. Strong points of Alma: service, quality of food, environment, drink selection Areas for improvement: portions, price read more

We dinned at its next door, Restaurant Alma...I assume it is a fine dining concept when compared to the more casual dinning at Cafe Alma. It was a "One Michelin Star" (at least) experience. We came in a group of 4, the decor, the service and the food are all perfect. We really enjoyed our experiences with Alma. I had the Octopus Tarine and King Crab Rice Grits for starters, Duck breast & confit for entree and the cream puff as dessert. Very single dish is right on point, you can taste out the high quality of the food itself, the great cooking skills of the kitchen. Did my research of Chief Chef Alex here, he's been running Alma for more then 18 years and keep everything in elegancy & consistency. He also won the title of Best Chef of Mid-West Region by James Beard Foundation in 2010. No wonder Alma is No.1 or at least the top choices fine dinning spot in MPLS. I would def come back if visiting in the future. read more

Alma - Cafes Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

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First time here. Place was pretty busy for a Saturday brunch. We made a reservation but heard that they only took reservation this weekend since it is Easter weekend. Atmosphere is cozy and modern. Service was good, waiter was attentive but not overly so. Our coffee would get constantly refilled - which is great. Menu is on the smaller side but price is very reasonable. We had: Chai tea $4.50 - not the best chai. A little watered down, not sweet enough, would not have it again Chocolate croissant $4- not bad, skin is flaky, better than patisserie 46 chocolate croissant for sure Savory tartlette $3.50 - pretty good, airy, good flavor While mushroom toast $13 - pretty good dish but serving size is a little small for $13 Quiche $10 - not bad, comes in a pie shaped slice Lamb burger $14- was medium rare, a little gamy for my friend's taste. read more

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Alma is amazing. Potato churros are bomb. The drinks are well made and the atmosphere is 10/10. I hope more restaurants copy what there people are doing read more

$400 dinner for two? The reality is it was worth 1/2 of that Investment. If the extra $200 is meaningless to you, then by all means...enjoy.

This adorable place is a favorite pre-performance stop before concerts at both Northrop and downtown. Our first visit was to​​ the main restaurant, not the cafe. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to do the three course Prix Fixe menu and wine pairing. I will remedy that in the near future. This is wonderful for a romantic date, and equally perfect for dinner with the girls. I could comfortably eat solo here and not feel the least bit awkward. The staff is professional, warm and friendly, but not too formal. We were comped on a starter, for no reason other than gracious service. The menu changes constantly, and with creativity and originality. On my first visit, I had a poblano dusted fish that was out of this world. My second visit was at the cafe with three girlfriends and it was just as incredible. We stuck to our server's suggestions for the wine list, and split several starters and entrees. The housemade ricotta with honey on baguette slices was warm and fresh and soooo good. We also loved the fried cauliflower. The drinking chips were not a favorite, kind of weird textured potatoes. Our favorite main course far and away was the lamb burger. The miso salmon was great, rigatoni delicious. Even though our dishes weren't necessarily meant for sharing, staff was accommodating and gracious. One of my friends lives in Chicago and is a frequent visitor to the Twin Cities. She swears that we're par with the Windy City when it comes to food and I think it's places like Alma that put us there. read more

We went to Cafe Alma during restaurant week and were very impressed! There is a fancy restaurant side and a cafe side. This review is particularly for the cafe side but we ordered from the restaurant menu. The service was great, drinks were unique and tasty, and the food was amazing. The saffron rice as a starter was delicious and would be a great vegetarian/vegan option. I got the salmon for dinner and my friends got the spicy turkey burger and the Thursday feature of the double cheeseburger which were both awesome. They come with chunks of potatoes on the side that are delicious as well. For dessert I got the coconut tapioca pudding which was on point and my friend got the chocolate brownie dessert which he said was also really good. I look forward to going back and trying more menu items! read more

Alma - Sangria and a super unique mimosa! - Cafes Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Some of the best food on the U of M campus no doubt. Definitely a "take your parents" here type of place. It can be kinda spendy, but as with every place, it can be reasonably priced based on what you get. And you definitely get your money's worth. Every meal I've had is high quality food and high quality service. REALLY good pastries available at the front (and their chai is really good too). Brunch goes till...2pm I think? And then dinner starts later. Haven't been for dinner yet, but planning on doing that soon! Highly suggest going if you want a good breakfast/brunch/lunch destination! read more

Got the egg bake and carrot mimosa-perfect amount of food and very well presented in a cute and quaint space read more

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Visiting Minneapolis, this was our first dining experience at Alma and is was fabulous!!! The menu was slightly different from what was posted on their website but everything we had was so delicious and I can't say enough good things about the service! Our waitress was Jackie O, she was seriously the best ever and so attentive. We will definitely be back next time we visit :) read more

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Alas, we had two more people in my party than the cutoff for the restaurant, so I wasn't able to test out the amazing tasting menu that I've been hearing about. We were able to set up a reservation in the cafe though, which the hostess assured us would be a unique experience of its own. Upon arriving, I had to circle around the area a few times to find parking. If you plan on going to Alma, definitely make sure that you plan for additional time to find parking, especially before peak dining times. There is valet service, but it looked like even they had filled up their limited amount of spaces. It's a very popular place! My friends and I arrived about 10-15 minutes before our reservation time. Unfortunately, the restaurant was running a bit behind and we were awkwardly stationed at the front after our reservation time passed waiting for our table to clear. The hostess was very apologetic, but we completely understood that they couldn't really do much about it. By the time we were seated, they immediately brought over several appetizers on the house- an extremely nice gesture for the wait. The food, without question, was amazing. The cafe environment, although not what we initially planned for, was very intimate. We were seated toward the back with a great view of the kitchen staff preparing the meals. Service was friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. The cafe certainly lived up to all my expectations. And even though there were some hiccups, staff were very accommodating and went above and beyond to ensure we still had an enjoyable experience. read more

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Alma used to be my absolute favorite in Minneapolis. Hands down. I was disappointed when I came to visit my used-to-be favorite restaurant for the first time after its renovation. To sum up my experience, food was average. You can find better food in the twin cities, and the service was very mediocre. I made a reservation for 4 on a Sunday night. Our reservation time was 8:30pm. We ended up showing up 10 minutes before the reservation time, and the hosts told us we will be seated "in a few seconds". We were told to sit in the cafe area and order a drink while we wait. Please note, the restaurant and the cafe share the same hosts. However, the cafe doors are always open, whereas, the restaurant doors are shut. It gives you a feeling of having to be invited in. We checked with the hosts at around 8:35, and the hosts told us we would be seated "momentarily" and asked us to keep waiting. I was starting to get impatient so I gave my Anderson Cooper eye roll at 8:42 and the hosts finally went into the restaurant to check. He came back to tell us that it would be approximately 4 more minutes. Please note that there were two sets of people that arrived after us and they were seated at a reasonable time. We were brought into the restaurant at around 8:50 and noted there were a bar area at the restaurant. However, we were not offered to sit inside the restaurant bar to wait? We also noted that there were a couple open 4-people tables, but instead of letting us in, they chose to keep us waiting until after our reservation time. We ordered our food and our server seemed to be very nervous. However, she did recommend two drinks that our party enjoyed. The food was average. They tried to incorporate unusual ingredients to bring new dining experience. However, the food was not executed the way that it should be. I was expecting an experience that would surprise my tastebuds, but My tastebuds were definitely underwhelmed. We finished our meal in 1 hour and 15 minutes (which was shorter than the normal meal time of 2-3 hours according to my past experience). We then ordered one dessert and one cheese board. Our server was nowhere to be found after we ordered our dessert so we had to check with another server in regards to the progress of our dessert and cheese plate. The other server stated the Kitchen hadn't start our order yet, so we requested to cancel the order after waiting for 30 minutes. I was very disappointed with Alma this last time I was there and would not be returning in the near future due to my experience that day. read more

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It keep saying it's open and when I get there the closes sign is up! If you are going to close early out of the blue you should changed the open status on your online status accordingly. read more

I remember eating at Alma for the first time while attending culinary school 9 years ago. It was absolutely amazing! I still have sketches of the plated food I got that night. Fast forward to tonight -- In town for an FDA training course and I took some co-workers there based off my previous experiences. Sad to report that it was severely underwhelming for all involved. From the greeting to the seating, and to the actual service and food itself. We all did the tasting menu (restaurant side). My first course was the corn/prawn soup. It was the best food of the night, but the "broth" was lukewarm at best. Second course was quail; I verified the cook temp of the course prior to order. I was told "medium", perfect! However it came out well done, charred and some of the meat was crispy. The salad that accompanied it was wilted and bruised. Looked liked they just plopped it all on the plate. Co-worker got the same and they looked like vastly different items. My third course was the duck two ways. Cooked to absolute perfection. However, it was so salty I could hardly swallow without taking a sip of water to wash it down. As a non-smoker my sensitivity to salt is higher than the average industry persons. Why didn't I send anything back you're probably asking, well the wait staff rarely made an appearance once the food had be dropped off and we were already pushing it for time. Wine pairings were ordered. The wine always trailed the food by a few minutes. Server never brought the bottle for us to look at. It was a weird experience and maybe Alma just doesn't do that. I will probably give them one more try in the future as I'm often in town for business, but if they don't redeem themselves then I will no longer recommend them, nor will I be back. Alma, please bring your standards back to what we all have come to know. read more

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This is now one of my new favorite foodie restaurants in Mpls! I came with a friend on a foodie weekend from Denver and we were delighted by the snowstorm that kept everyone away. Typically we wouldn't have been able to get a reservation for a peak time with two days notice but since the roads were seemingly vag and our hotel was only two miles away, they got us in no issue! We did the three course tasting menu, a steal! And I added on the wine pairing. Total it wad only just over $100 for me, which is a great deal considering the wine and food quality and the service. They were also able to accommodate my gluten-free request without batting an eye lash! I had the hamachi crudo to start, light and flavorful - and a fun dish to eat. My friend had the duck pate bruschetta, beautiful and full of flavor! Next, I had the octopus tempura pho which had the most lovely, fragrant broth (I learned it was the kaffir lime that did it!) I don't remember what my friend had as I was so focused on my pho. We then each had the duck two-ways entree and it was cooked perfectly as duck should be. Once we had cleaned house on the dinner, we weren't sure we had room (or time, we were heading to show) for dessert but they sounded amazing! On my next trip here, I'll be back! P.S. I would've taken pictures but I left my phone in the car, which was lovely as I then spent dinner the way it should be, focused on my friend and my food. read more

Maybe this was not my thing.... I think I am too A.D.D. To have a 3 hour dinner here. Wasn't expecting that. I'm not a slow eater and this was our first visit so I am not sure if this is the way it's supposed to be but there was 45 minutes between each course brought out each of which were mediocre at best and everything was cold. I've been to course dinners and typically there is not that much time between courses. If this was a 7 course dinner... we would have put in a full workday.... First, we were sat on the "terrace" which is basically a fancy name for an cantilevered structure over something else that you have to walk up a narrow stairwell to get too. The ceiling is low and it's dark up there and the carpet is even dark.... navy? And excuse me but why is there carpet? The entire place is gorgeous except for this space which is probably why it's so dark. We were sat in the back corner table in the utter darkness and under the Mitsubishi wall temperature control unit. Yes.... that is the start of our experience. We started off with a few cocktails and the only option is prix fix dinner where you choose your starter, middle and entree. When you look online they have an ala cart menu but that's really not an option. I had the bok choy fritters and my husband had Tuna poke. I should have had the poke. The fritters weren't really fritters. It was battered and deep fried bok choy leaves. Me and my husband both agreed it wasn't great... didnt eat it. 2nd course he got the black something.... it was eggplant w a sausage and it was good. I got the lemon orzo.... big strike out for me again. It was drenched in a heavy butter creame and had fish scales in it. I hate fish skin. It also had rabbit meat in it that was ice cold. Weird. I didn't eat that one either. Last course husband had lamb and I had scallops. Scallops were fine. Cold but edible. There wasn't a lot of flavor to them. Sea salt and pepper and the sauce was bland. We forewent dessert as we were ready to leave after 3 hours and the air thing blowing cold air on us for 3 hours. Check was $250. For $250 there's better options. The service was really good! Just disappointing on a food level since we made reservations 6 weeks prior and were really looking forward to it. There's better food in the city at this price that is served hot and isn't a 3 hour experience. read more

Alma - Lamb - Cafes Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

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