Restaurants in Saint Paul

Drawing on their love of tequila and Latin street fare, Ryan Burnet and Tim Rooney founded their first Barrio restaurant in 2008. The duo aimed to create a space where chefs pair gourmet Mexican small plates and entrees crafted from organic and local ingredients with more than 150 tequilas. By spring of 2010, Tim and Ryan were running two Barrio locations and the Barrio Taco Truck, which distributes its gourmet grub to summer festival attendees and adrenaline-addicted snowmen.

In fall 2010, Ryan and Tom opened Cocina del Barrio, or "Kitchen of the Neighborhood," which builds upon its sister restaurants' success with a new slate of large plates, salads, and ceviches. Its dining room is adorned in bull-themed artwork and accommodates guests for brunches, lunches, and dinner. A cozier event space comes equipped with a flat-panel television and iPod connection and treats up to 18 visitors with a custom menu of Barrio favorites.

The clatter of chopsticks and the clinking of silverware sounds throughout the dining room at D. Fong's, where diners can dig into finely crafted dishes cooked Cantonese and Szechuan-style. Owner David Fong, Jr. draws on family recipes and techniques learned while working in the kitchens of his father's Bloomington eatery, David Fong's Restaurant, which has been a local institution since 1958. D. Fong's also provides catering for corporate events, graduation parties, or the city-wide celebrations held whenever someone beats the final boss of Tekken 3.

Since the end of the 20th century, patrons have regularly flocked to Mango Bar & Grill, formerly Conga Latin Bistro, to dine on Nuevo Latino cuisine and dance the night away. The multilevel venue houses three main areas decorated with various themed design elements, including murals of colorful congas, conga-shaped floor patterns, and massive congas that stand well over 6 feet tall. While munching on unique combinations of Latin flavors in the bar-equipped dining area, patrons may gaze deeply into the eyes of a stranger or upon one of many 60-inch plasma TVs. Home to a dance floor and booming sound system, Mango Bar & Grill's downstairs lounge hosts nightly dance sessions fueled by salsa, merengue, bachata, reggaetón, and cumbia music.

Inside a restaurant whose vibrant purple awnings help diners spot it from afar, cooks concoct 75 different dishes derived from the "roof of the world." Artwork-laden walls surround the tables and cushioned chairs in the dining area, where patrons enjoy home-cooked items ranging from Tibetan-style dumplings made with lean chopped beef to batter-fried sesame chicken. The restaurant's separate bar area provides patrons with a place where they can grab a drink, watch TV, and practice thumb-wrestling moves with others.

A five-minute drive from downtown, Uptown’s public spaces entice visitors with bike paths, sculpture gardens, and locals blasting impressions of Björk's pet swan over a megaphone. Nearby, rented canoes crisscross Lake Calhoun’s calm waters, and restaurants serve eclectic cuisines from fresh seafood to Japanese cuisine on outdoor patios. Visitors to Uptown can feast on American fare at restaurants such as Primebar, which serves up sandwiches, steak, and seafood with largely local brews; The Herkimer Pub & Brewery in Lyn-Lake, known for its small batches of craft beer; and the Uptown Cafeteria, offering trendy contemporary meals. Evenings out at Bar Louie tempt guests with martinis, margaritas, and other cocktails accompanied by pub food, and Chino Latino delights palettes with dishes small and large, spicy and explosive. Wayward mermaids dining at Stella's Fish Cafe & Prestige Oyster Bar can enjoy a feast fit for the sea with raw, grilled, and baked items, or step on shore and visit moto-i in Lyn-Lake to sample the food you’d find on Japanese streets.

Cooks at Pita Plus Sandwich Grill wake up early every morning to grill steak, roast turkey, slice fresh hand-selected vegetables, and boil stockpots to prep for the day. Drawing on family recipes and classic sauces from the former Jimmy’s Lemon Tree restaurants, the cooks slice roasted, unprocessed gyros and stack cranberry-turkey sandwiches with swiss cheese, house-made berry spread, and bacon just like they would in their secret kitchens.