Martina — Restaurant in Minneapolis

I was hopeful that Argentinian cuisine had finally come to Minnesota, those hopes were dashed.

The food: The quality of everything was superb, it was in cooking we ran into some issues. Chipa is served before you even order! If you aren't familiar this is an Argentine version of a cheesy bread similar to the brazilian Pao di Queijo at places like Fogo de Chão. Of course the Argentine version is better ;-) Table Bread - was good, but tasted a bit burnt on the outside, it seemed like they were going for a crunch and missed the mark a bit. Grilled Beef Tongue was amazing. It is one of the hot appetizers and worth it. Its 4 pieces of grilled bread with a little mayo and some very thinly sliced grilled pieces of beef tongue. Potato Churros - mashed potatoes that are deep fried, overall I would have rather had french fries since these felt extra greasy, but they weren't bad. Grilled Octopus with Bone Marrow - This was not overcooked, it was not chewy and gummy, but it was burnt on the outside to the point that the smaller bits were just charcoal. The bone marrow was a bit undercooked and since it wasn't split open was not seasoned at all. Niman Ranch prime flat iron - this is where my disappointment grew. I asked for my steak medium well and was told it was not a problem. What I got was a medium rare steak that was completely burnt on the outside. I believe that they were going for a 'char' but my mouth was a mixture of delicious steak and charcoal. The chimichurri that accompanied it was exceptional and cut the taste of carbon but I personally prefer to taste meat instead of having to douse it in sauce to make it edible. Its odd, because the steak was of great quality and delicious, and yet also quite terrible.

Service: The service was attentive without being overbearing, our water glasses were filled very frequently and they filled the bread basket without us having to ask, but checked that we wanted it first. I did have to ask for my drink a few times before they remembered to bring it (we were dining at 5 on a sunday, not very busy)

Atmosphere: This place has a very cool and trendy vive with high ceilings, exposed beams, and limes that are shaved into patterns. Nothing about the decor really says anything outside of 'I'm a cool new trendy place in uptown' to me but it was pretty.

THIS IS NOT AN ARGENTINE RESTAURANT: Did I see some elements of Argentine influence, sure, but I also saw more italian and new american and a few others. I am from Argentina, and while the Chef at Martina is as well and I'm sure he knows way more about food then me I have to protest the label. While there are puerro empanadas on the menu, and I'm going to guess that puerro is a regional thing, there were no beef ones which is the quintessential empanada in Argentina. In fact, for an Argentine restaurant beef is not a main part of the menu here not to mention the fact that no self respecting argentine would not know how to cook a steak medium well. If you need further proof look at the menu again, there is no spanish but English and Italian. So yes, the chef is argentine and his influence shows through but that's a big leap to calling this an argentine restaurant. If you read this whole thing, I should also add that my dinner companions agreed with me and they don't have the bias I...

We’ve been to Martina one other time many years ago. Our initial experience was wonderful and we decided to return. We’re so glad we did. We dined at Martina on a bustling Saturday night. We arrived early for our reservation but were immediately seated. We were shown a table for two between two other couples but were accommodated our request to sit at a two top by the window which was next to the original table we were shown. Brandon was our server and he was knowledgeable, fun, and attentive. His recommendations were spot on from beginning to end. We each had a specialty cocktail - The Last Borough and Martina Old Fashioned. Both drinks were perfectly balanced. Because we were celebrating, Brandon had a complimentary order of the potato churros brought to our table to start. I’ll be dreaming of those potato churros which should be a stand of their own at the MN State Fair. Crispy, salty perfection on the outside and creamy, melt-in-your-mouth mashed potatoes on the inside. Skip the ketchup and just enjoy dunking them in the spicy mayo. Our order of the hamachi crude arrived next. While it was still good, and paired well with our cocktails, the hamachi was completely lost in the dish. The fresh serrano overwhelmed the fish. The passion fruit habanero sauce was a lovely balance of sweet and spicy so the serrano felt like an unnecessary addition. Still tasty but a miss with the absence of the hamachi. We were then served our mains which were the octopus and scallops. Both were cooked to perfection - the charred corn and chanterelle mushrooms were delicious yet did not overwhelm the scallops and allowed them to be the star of the plate while the fingerling potatoes, squid ink mayo and olives mixed nicely with the octopus. There was a hidden smokiness to the octopus that added a great depth of flavor to the dish. Finally we had the panqueque for dessert. The panqueque was warm and soft yet still held its structure. The bananas, caramel sauce, crushed and burnt caramel with the whipped cream reminded me of bananas foster. It was a great way to end our meal. Brandon recommended all of our dishes and the wine pairings for our entrees. He knocked it out of the park. Brandon was delightful and he and the entire Martina team were great. The restaurant is much larger than initial appearances and there are patio options as well. It was difficult to hear one another at times though I’m not complaining. It’s wonderful to see a local restaurant bursting at the seams on a Saturday night. Next time, we won’t wait so...

Update May 6: I had the pleasure of joining some close friends visiting town for dinner at Martina tonight, and was treated to a flawless meal that wowed everybody. Upgraded to five stars.

This one missed the mark for us on Valentine’s Day; nothing egregious so I will probably return but it’s not gonna be too high on my list.

Our apps were fine. My dining partner liked his empanadas, though I found them unremarkable. Better chimichurri than usual though, points on that. Spicy Tuna Taradito was a very high quality cut of fish, which is noted and appreciated, but otherwise pretty unremarkable.

For entrees…. Uff da. Two very different plates. My pork chop was great. Perfectly cooked, nice flavor from pomegranate mostarda. Nice dish, though putting it on a dark wooden plate didn’t seem to do it justice. Dining partner’s potato gnocchi? Trainwreck. Did the sauce have vinegar added to it? This dish was way too acidic to the point it tasted like ketchup and tatertots. It was passable at first with the Parmesan on top but after he ate past that rich layer it was just really unbalanced and unappealing.

Our dessert was fine. It was a hazelnut torte. It had nothing wrong with it. I also probably won’t remember eating it tomorrow, though I’d certainly order it again.

I did enjoy the Last Borough cocktail I got. I probably enjoyed the Bonapera even more despite my waiter’s wincing when I ordered it (it is herbaceous and paired very nicely with the pork). Yerba Mate is a unique flavor and it’s not for everyone, but I really liked it. I wish he hadn’t taken it away when I still had a sip or two left.

Service left something to be desired, besides the fact I felt like my server was judging me the entire time. He somehow forgot we ordered our torte despite getting our dessert drink orders right. So I’m not sure how that happened other than a noisy restaurant and a single syllable dish. He didn’t charge us for this which I appreciated.

So overall, it was fine but at this price point my expectations are pretty high and this one fell a bit short. One standout dish, a couple okay to good dishes, but one really bad one. Good cocktails, and competent but not remarkable service. I won’t hesitate to give them another chance to knock my socks off, but I also won’t be...