Icehouse — Restaurant in Minneapolis

I've been to Icehouse several times. I've had their dinner and brunch. They do not disappoint!

I came here because a friend recommended it. I didn't even know it existed because the restaurant blends in so well with the building. There is nothing flashy about it. I've walked down Nicollet plenty of times (because of my love of Quang's sandwiches) and have never noticed this restaurant.

I love the atmosphere, the environment is very relaxed on a weekday. The beautiful woodwork makes every Minnesotan fall in love. There is music here every night and the genre varies.

The first time I went here, I sat at the Chef's table because they were the only seats available on a Saturday night. I learned a lot while sitting there. If you're a foodie, this is the spot in the restaurant for you. A person can get a 5 course tasting for $25 or a 10 course tasting for $40. They also offer cocktail pairings for each course for $5 per drink. The cocktails that come with them are amazing. The bar tenders use liquors I've never heard or seen before. The have some great mixologists there. Their staff is very knowledgable on the food and beverage menu. They give great recommendations!

As I was sitting there, I had the opportunity to see all the food being prepared and coming out. It was such a delicious sight. I sat there for hours with my friend asking so many questions about the food and the preparations. Our bar tender, Steve; was so friendly, helpful and patient. I've never had such a great experience at a restaurant. He answered all my questions without hesitation or annoyance. My friend on the other hand, was getting annoyed by me, but hey, I'm a foodie, I was too intrigued by all the food I saw.

I later came back a few days later to have brunch with some friends since I was so interested in their bloody mary with a maple glazed bacon donut. The drink was ok, it was a little mild for me. I ate their brisket hash and the crispy pork biscuit. Both were good but it didn't compare to their dinner dishes.

I've done there 5 course tasting several times and their 10 course once. Their ten course is a lot of food! One has to be savagely hungry to eat all of it. By course #5 I wanted to stop but I went on :-) The 5 course tasting is the best deal out there. The portions are well sized and you get to try so many different dishes. You will not be hungry by the time the fifth course comes. The last course is dessert and it is always a full sized dessert! Yay! Why wouldn't a person try this if an entree costs the same as a 5 course dinner??? NOTE: This is only offered at the Chef's bar ** When you tell the bar tender you want the 5 or 10 course tasting, they ask for any dietary restrictions and they will cater to anyone on the spot without hesitation.

I brought my cousin here to have dinner. She is a gluten free vegetarian and she's never had a astounding experience at any restaurant. She eats the same salad and side dishes at every restaurant. I made a reservation a few weeks in advance and informed them of her dietary restrictions. Our five meal with cocktail pairings were phenomenal. My cousin cried at the end of her meal because she was so overwhelmed with happiness that a restaurant could cater to her. She is from Atlanta and would come back to MN just to eat here.

I would highly...

We had the worst dining (attempted) experience we've ever had last night at Ice House.

We had reservations for a large dinner party, celebrating two birthdays. We were reserved for the mezzanine from 7-7:45 for drinks and appetizers, then were supposed to be moved to a table in the back at 7:45 for our full dinner.

Six of us arrive right at 7, were shown to our seats upstairs, and left alone. We didn't receive menus right away, which wasn't a big deal, but then sat for the first ten minutes with no server in sight. From our viewpoint we could see other members of our party arrive, and the hosts would walk them around the restaurant without knowing where to seat them, and once they figured out where we were they would point the guest to our table, not lead them.

Finally we got two menus (now there are 10 of us there) and the female server left us again with no interaction.

By 7:20 a new male server came up to us to take our drink orders, and we asked if we could just move to our table at this point since we clearly wouldn't have time to finish a drink or even get an appetizers before our dinner table would be ready. The new server said he would go check to see if our table was ready (we could clearly see the table that was set and waiting for us from where we were sitting).

Finally he came back up at 7:30 and said the table wasn't ready for us (lie), but that he could take our drink orders. So first we attempted to order a bottle of wine for the two birthday girls, and due to them just having had their 25th birthdays their driver's licences were expired (which was unknown to them). The server rudely said he would not serve them, and proceeded to take several other drink orders. At this point most of the party had gone down to the bar for their drinks anyway.

7:50 twenty minutes go by, no more service, and we caught the server's attention and asked to be moved to our table (now past our reservation of 7:45).

By 8 we had gotten no more service, had not gotten a response to be moved to our table, and we had other plans for later in night and couldn't afford to stay there and not be served.

The entire experience was extremely unprofessional . We were quite excited for a special night out at what we expected would be a high-end restaurant, and were deeply disappointed by the disregard the employees have for customers. We told a manager what happened, and he said the table was ready for us all night, and we could have moved whenever we wanted to. He apologized for the employees and simultaneously defended their disrespect by saying it was a "misunderstanding."

Um, no. Rude servers that lie to customers about their tables being ready, that simply indicates bad management.

Sorry Icehouse, you upset a large group of people that will no longer swing in for after-work cocktails, and will certainly never make reservations for a large event...

I look forward to going back for another experience. Now, the menu looks like fine dining to me, as well the presentation, the melding of flavors, the skill on the canvas that is the plate, and even the dining room and it's layout - dictates to me fine dining; yet the website is so unassuming. It lets me know that at the core of things, there is solid character and substance - the layers of depth - you have to go in to see and experience that. Heck, I just went in for lunch, been meaning to go here for a while - golden beets have been calling to me, as well the jazz. No jazz at lunch, there may have been ambient music, I don't know - there was so much other wonderful delectable treats to be experienced there: the kitchen - sit at the bar there, wonderful, views from the booths - contemporary, exposed beams, just a beautiful, contemporary earthiness; a place I am sure to revel in the shadows of browns and maroons with a fine cocktail or sippin whiskey feeling the music. Yeah, I'm going back.

Food - I was challenged, and sat wondering about what is what and amazed how some of the strong flavors of the golden beets tasted separately at first, came together in a satiny softness that made me wonder, where did the flavors go? Another alchemist at the helm. Yeah, I'll be back. Brisket - now it wasn't perfect, I'd change a few things, but I like to appreciate things for what they are, as I know that I have much I've yet to learn about food...overall - impeccable, again, melding of flavors, stimulating curiosity, alchemy - it coming together in unforetold ways. Alright, not blowing smoke here, but getting off on a tangent. Dessert - foamed/aerated cheesecake, now I've had many years of training on cheesecake in NY, but I was open to it. Beautiful presentation, I'd have done it differently or would next time, but it's such a lovely presentation, as is, I'd just eat it differently- big spoon on the foam and taking it easier on the crust and fruit - the crust/fruit were just so pretty I wanted to gobble it all, that was wrong - for me. Yes, I highly recommend this place, I postulate the dinner will be even more profound, and if the food is a reflection of the music and the one video of JBuckley trio a reflection of the music...if I find a go-to cocktail there, I'm 'a be golden.

Right now, for the price, I'm thinking their dinner entrees are gonna be under priced for what they're serving up. Extremely reasonable lunch, I think prices are spot on. They could charge more if they were in a different part of town, I'm happy they choose to be affordable. Have I said I'll be...