Petite León — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Updated review: Regretfully, this is our last visit. The cocktails and the dry rub wings (these were on special) were the only enjoyable things our party of 5 got. The one thing we came back for, our server forgot to ring in, but we didn’t bother mentioning it as we were already so disappointed in everything that had hit the table. She asked if we had a preference in the order things came out, which we genuinely didn’t, and she told us she put it in “as everything was done” and asked if that was okay. Well, we trusted the server in her suggestion and said yes. Everything came out all at once and we did not have a large enough table for it. Unfortunately, the server did not come back to check on us until we had our plates stacked. We were looking at the menu beforehand, and looking forward to dessert, I was excited to try the cheesecake, but after our flavorless dinner we didn’t really have much faith in the sweets. We were so excited to bring our family here for their first visit and we left feeling really sad and disappointed in our entire experience. There’s a chance we might swing by for cocktails, as they are so delicious, but the idea of ordering dinner here again is sadly lost.

I was really excited to try this joint. Some really great things, some things were alright. The service was fantastic and the vibe is calm and cozy- which I really enjoyed.

Food review: Piquillo Peppers- absolutely delightful. Wish we would have gotten 2 orders- they were that good. Contemplated getting another round for dessert even. Market Oysters- loved the pineapple hot sauce they served with them. The best type of heat, wanted to bring some home. Salmon Rillette- it was good, but I wouldn't get it again. There was an element missing and really missing the smoke flavor for my taste. Roasted Beets- so incredibly underwhelming. We were really looking forward to see how beets and pilpelchuma come together. The lack of flavor was a huge disappointment. Caesar Salad- I found this classic salad to be fabulous. The dressing was perfectly executed, excellently dressed with a blanket of goods on top. Will absolutely be back for this again, and the peppers of course. The Burger- definitely not my favorite. I think we may have came on a bad night. I kept biting into burnt onions, which was all I could taste. The burger itself was super dry. Love the pickles and bun! Frites- I mean seriously... other restaurants need to take note on how to serve a proper side of aioli, because here they do it right! You get a massive side of it and I was living for it.

Will be back no doubt! Hopefully for the Wedge...

This was a rather underwhelming dining experience from beginning to end. The drinks, although creative in titles and ingredients, were overpriced for the quantity received. The appetizers were hit or miss. The frites were prepared perfectly and the accompanying turmeric aioli was tasty too. But the bison/steak tartare was on the opposite side of the scale. What we received was about 90% brioche bread, 5% cheese, and 5% tartare. I would highly recommend skipping that item.

The main entrees were also hit or miss. The lamb was extremely fatty and about 30-ish percent was inedible because of that. The chicken was seasoned well and paired with a very tasty sauce, but they meat was slightly tough. The ricotta gnudi was tasty! But was drastically and ghastly overpriced. At $24 you literally only receive 4 pieces of this pasta "entrée".

For dessert, we shared the pan con chocolate and the tarte de queso. The chocolate was a standard sweet dish. The cheesecake was a more tart version of the dish. When mixed together, it provided a really good balance and mixing of flavor profiles.

Overall, the service was mediocre; the pricing was much too high for the quality/quantity of food; the atmosphere was nothing special; and although there are some national praise/reviews for this establishment.... There are much better choices in and around town to enjoy instead of here.

*UPDATE In reposnse to the owner's response - "Response from the owner Daniel, thanks for stopping by, hope you have better experiences around town. Your "review" really does nothing to help our business or better the experience we could have given you, next time try reaching our directly to address your "issues" so that maybe we can actually have a chance to address your concerns. thanks"

I have attempted several phone calls this morning to discuss the experience in more depth with them, but have not been able to get ahold of anyone so far.

We DID talk to our server about the menu items and issues we had experienced and were met with complete indifference by her. We were told that the bread used for the tartare would be changed out for something different at some point in the future. We were told that the fatty/inedible portion of the lamb entrée was more or less normal and there was nothing to be done about it. I am not sure how much more we could have done at the time in the restaurant, but I would be happy to discuss this further with the management/owners of the restaurant....feel free to reach out...

With a relatively small menu, this establishment eliminates the potential concern of not knowing what to select. I was actually able to order a whole bunch of dishes under their dinner menu, which was great because I got to try a little bit of everything, but it also showed how much their portion was relatively small for the price, which would be a minus, at least for the entrées.

Out of all the dishes I have tried, I will strongly recommend the beets, the piquillo peppers, the brick chicken, and the two desserts: Arroz con Leche and Tarta de Queso. The beets conquered the controversial earthy flavor by incorporating whipped feta, serrano peppers, and red wine vinaigrette. The piquillo peppers, by using goat cheese along with the peppers, achieved a new pleasant flavor profile. The brick chicken was both crunchy and juicy with the duck fat pan sauce, with the only caveat being that $29 for just half a chicken with no sides on the plate was a bit too much. And for the desserts, I don't have any additional comments other than that they had both flavor and texture.

The cheeseburger was good in terms of quantity and price and definitely could serve as a solid option for many, but it wasn't something that one can't find elsewhere. Everything else I would say is solid as well, just not spectacular, but I still would recommend them to whoever is craving for, for example, fish or pasta or cheese.

I know that this establishment has more items on the brunch menu and it seems like its brunch dishes may be some of the highlights, so I would love to return for...