Borough — Restaurant in Minneapolis

(Updated review) I came here three times. The first two times (one in 2019 and one in November 2022) there were some substantial issues with the service. The second time was particularly bad which was a pity since the food (they have a new chef) was very very good but the poor experience with the service was so bad that spoiled the whole experience. I posted a review here and also sent a message to the restaurant providing the details of what happen. I was particularly impressed by the fact that the manager contacted me directly, apologized, and encouraged me to go back and so, yesterday I did.

Given the above premise, not surprisingly, this time the service was impeccable (hence the 4 stars). What really matters though was that I could truly enjoy the food. Indeed, food-wise, I believe this is one of the best restaurants in Minneapolis. Just to give some idea (since everybody has their own taste), among the restaurants I have tried so far in the Twin Cities, Sanjusan is one of my favorite due to their peculiar menu. Another is Martina due to the atmosphere, well prepared food, and great service. In that respect, I believe Borough stands out for the ``daring'' and consistently well executed menu as well as the atmosphere. The good execution is particularly relevant here as it doesn't matter if you come on a Monday night when nobody is around, or on a Saturday night, the food is always spot on.

I can see many other reviews complaining about the ratio between price and portions. Well, it is true that the portions are not big but, effectively, one should take into account the fact that each of the dishes served here require quite a few preparations, the materials used are of pretty good quality, and the level of the execution is high (btw, if one is looking for substantial portions of more traditional food, maybe Eatery 112 may be a better choice). The items on their menus are not the kind of dishes you serve ``large scale'' and, for the Twin cities, paying at most $33 (that is the cost of the most expensive item on yesterday's menu) is absolutely reasonable. The same entrees in a bigger city would go for at least $40. A more detailed list of various items I have tried and their peculiarities is provided at the end of this review.

That said, I think the food is the strongest point of this restaurant and I would surely recommend as one of he top places to go in the Twin Cities for the culinary experience. Since the service is a little bit of a gambling, for business meals or special occasions, I would suggest to overly emphasize that at the time of reservation in order to mitigate the chances of potential issues.

-------Some details on specific items I have tried and that stood out for me.

-the duck-fat shortbread; beautifully crumbly yet very light. Possibly one of the best short breads I have ever had, especially texture-wise (and I lived in Britain 4 years!) -The chicken live mousse eclair; it is a

banh-mi style'' choux bun, very very light. I found the pickled vegetables on top a rather smart choice to smooth out the

irony'' after-taste of the chicken liver. -The smoked carrots; the smokiness comes through vigorously and they come with a bone marrow foam. For those who are not used to eat bone marrow, it may be worth pointing out that, being in a foam, the flavor of it is really mild. Indeed, being from North Italy, I truly love bone marrow and I would have not minded an even stronger flavor of it coming through. -The octupus was by far my favorite dish here; what truly impressed me was the fact that it was it was uniformly broiled outside and soft inside. The lime, peanut and the cream of root vegetables really gave a perfect balance of flavors. -Pear cake, possibly one of the best desserts I had lately. Again great textures of the crumble. While it is not indicated on the menu, I believe the pears on top of the cake may have been poached with a little vinegar which was quite clever, as it mitigated the sweetness and gave...

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A friend and I were in town to do the Red White and Boom half marathon. We were in search of a restaurant to dine and came across Borough. The ambience is nice and they are into the whole "food infusion" of placing things together to get unique flavors. I looked over the limited menu and we decided to stay, even though food infusion is not either of our thing.

The first thing we ordered was the beet soup with all the infusion pieces to it. It was a ¾ cup of soup. The next thing I ordered was the asparagus that stated an egg on it. It stated in the disclaimer at the bottom of the menu regarding eating raw eggs and meat. The asparagus dish came out and had a very runny sunny-side up egg, where the whites were running a little clear around the yolk. I told the waiter that I just couldn't eat this dish with an egg prepared like this and he basically defended the chef and the dish and I finally had to be firm with the waiter and tell him to take it back and make sure the egg was completely cook with only a runny yolk inside. This set a tone for me that the waiter thought better than I did about my consummation of under cook food and I am the one eating it, NOT HIM!!!

Finally I received my entrée, which listed on the menu as a "chicken breast" and it was just two small slices of chicken breast, not a full breast and for the price I expected a full breast. My friend ordered the trout and received a full portion of trout. The menu doesn't convey portion sizes well or actually what you are receiving at all!!!

I grew-up with valuing my hard earned money and I felt for what you receive in quality and quantity of food and what you pay, do not match up. Seriously after we left the restaurant, we stopped somewhere else for appetizers. If you want fanfare and be part of "the place to go" group, have at it. I expect more for my amount of money.

The party of 8 beside us had one round of drinks and the first course and left. I overheard one of them say, let's go somewhere else and the rest agreed. Unless Borough steps-up with giving people portions and value for their money, I guarantee they will not be around in a year when they have run their course. Borough will not be having continuous repeat customers, especially for men with appetites.

I gave a three star for the most part service (other than the arguing waiter), ambiance and cleanliness. The restaurant was a little noisy inside and this could be adjusted by more padded...

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I wish I could give this restaurant 5 stars… but I can’t.

A small group of us went to dinner here last night and were treated so rudely, specifically one of my friends.

Most of the staff were friendly except unfortunately our waiter set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Noah H. (waiter) needs additional training on how to communicate to customers. He asked our table if anyone had allergies, one of our friends mentioned she was pregnant. His response was… so not an allergy… she said: well it does mean I have dietary restriction. She was giving him the heads up that she might need to modify her meal because she is pregnant. Why try to correct her… instead just say “okay, I will make a note of that.”

An item on her Lobster Spaghetti had something she can’t eat being pregnant and she asked if it could be removed. Instead of just saying yes, he tried to explain that she can have it and when she said no again… he finally agreed to remove it and then talked down to her and asked if she could have the lobster….

A lot of the issue was his tone as well. He was not attempting to be funny… he was being rude. Towards the end he may have realized it and started calling us all friends… but no… doesn’t begin to make up for how rude he was. A friendly apology would have gone a long way instead.

We were all so uncomfortable all evening. We were so close to leaving. He was trying to arrogantly “correct” my pregnant friend… when in fact she was correct… and she also has the right to request an item to be removed from her dish… pregnant or not… without being talked down to.

It takes a lot for me to write a negative review, especially about an individual. But his service needs some polishing. I truly just hope Noah H can be retrained on how to appropriately handle dietary restrictions. We don’t talk down, correct, and basically shame someone for what they can and can’t eat… regardless of their situation.

As you saw, I still gave them 3 stars. That is because the food was excellent! We had a wonderful meal! Delicious steak!!! I would recommend their food to anyone, I would just recommend a different server.

Also, one of my friends paid cash… and still got charged the 3% credit card fee… they add it on prior to knowing your payment method. (That’s sneaky and wrong…...

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