Origami

30 N First St
Minneapolis, MN 55401
612-333-8430

12305 Wayzata Blvd
Minnetonka, MN
952-746-3398
http://www.origamirestaurant.com/

Category: Japanese

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 8
Service: 7
Ambience: 8

Recommendation: Excellent! Origami is our favorite Japanese restaurant in the Cities.

The downtown location is located in a 100+ year old building in the Warehouse District. Its one of the few buildings that survived Minneapolis' urban/freeway construction boom. There are a few seats upstairs that face the street, which are very nice, good view and private. The restaurant itself has a very NYC vibe to it. For suburbanites, there is a location in the Ridgedale mall as well. They have one of the best sake selections in town and a good martini selection.

You cannot go wrong when ordering Sushi here…the servers are also very knowledgeable and eager to provide recommendations. Our favorites are, Dynamite Maki (Yellow Tail with garlic chili paste, leaf lettuce, Kaiware, & cucumber), Spider Roll (Soft shell crab, Burdock, cucumber and Kaiware), Spicy Tuna Maki (Tuna with chili oil, Japanese mayonnaise, Burdock, avocado, leaf lettuce, & Kaiware), and Sari Roll. Kaiware is a radish sprout with a spicy radish flavor. For lunch, the Bento box is a good option. This is a traditional Japanese lunch box that offers a combination of items…you can get the Sashimi, Beef, or Chicken Bento. All boxes come with miso soup, salad, shrimp tempura and tako sansai (octopus salad which is slightly chewy with a sweet vinegar dressing). We don't care much for the non-Sushi dishes.

$$$. Seating is first come, first served. The downtown location only takes reservations for parties of 10 or more. Be prepared to wait for a seat but you can also sit at their bar while waiting for a table. You can make reservations online for the Ridgedale location.