Restaurant Alma

528 University Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-379-4909
http://www.restaurantalma.com/

Category: New American

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

Recommendation: Good. What started as a dining experience that could have ranked close to the top, ended with a little disappointment at the quality of entrees served by the kitchen.

Restaurant Alma presents an ever changing menu focusing on fresh, seasonal, and organic ingredients. Chef Alex Roberts and his team bring “New American” cuisine in an apt bistro-style setting. The restaurant itself has a very “loft” feel with exposed brick and high ceilings. Large windows bring in a nice amount of light and give this place an airy feel. The décor is minimalist and is complemented by modern, comfortable seating. The moment you walk in, the scents from the open kitchen awaken your senses.

The restaurant served two types of complimentary breads…a rosemary, olive oil with Asiago cheese (which was very good) and a fennel bread. The menu is small but very interesting. They have a selection of 4 options for each of the starter, middle, and entrée courses. The tasting menu allows you to pick a single selection from each of the courses for a fixed price of $42. We highly recommend getting the tasting menu for the best value..you essentially get the appetizer free. While the first two courses had vegetarian options, the third course didn’t. We had gone with some friends and got to try all 12 dishes on the menu.

Starter course: The Smoked Chicken & Watercress Salad as well as the Local Mixed Lettuce Salad was very good. The saltiness from the manchego and crunch from the pine nuts added great flavor to the latter salad. The Marinated Yellowtail Tuna was very good, but a little on the fishy side. The Wild Nettle Souffle was also interesting.

Middle course: The Braised Lamb and Sticky Rice was moist and tender, with just the right amount of rendang curry flavoring. Both the Farro (barley), Calamari, and Lobster Salad and the Heirloom Yellow Corn Grits were memorable. The Saffron Orechiette Pasta is not something we recommend because the saffron overpowered the rest of the ingredients.

Entrée: The experience started to go downhill with the entrees. The Local Grass Fed Beef Striploin was the best dish. The Wild King Salmon entrée was served lukewarm. Even after the kitchen re-heated it for us, we felt the dish lacked flavor. The Grilled Hawaiian Blue Marlin was very tough and rubbery on the top but the bottom was translucent (hadn’t been cooked). The orange flavor was too overpowering. We asked for the fish to be replaced with the Pork Loin, which was good but nothing special.

Dessert: To make it up to us for the entrees, the kitchen served us Strawberry Sorbet with a hint of balsamic vinegar and for dessert we had the Chocolate Ganache Cake and the Buckwheat Crepes, all of which left us satisfied.

The service was attentive at times but the time between courses led us to believe that the kitchen was unprepared to handle the crowd on the Sunday evening. This restaurant has the making to be one of the best in the Twin Cities, but at the prices they charge, they have a way to go before they can play in that league.

$$$$. Our bill for 2 people, including one glass of wine each was $145 (incl. tax and tip.)