Star Bar & Bistro — Restaurant in Minneapolis

I was staying in Minneapolis for a week and decided to treat myself to a stay at the hotel indigo. I got in late and checked out the star bar since it was still offering the late night menu. I'm used to hotel bars and restaurants being perhaps a bit overpriced, but to my surprise and delight the star bar has the decency to be some of, no joke, the best food I've ever had. The smashburger is a must try, even the beef patty itself was delicious plus the excellent toppings- that garlic aioli is to die for- and amazing fries. I don't even usually care that much about the flavor of beef on its own but I still could tell it was really high quality and perfectly cooked. The fries were so delicious- light and crispy without being dry or getting stodgy as they cooled- I got them on their own as the parm frites another night. The chicken sandwich is a simple item made elevated by how well it was cooked and dressed. The coleslaw balances out the heaviness of the hearty chunk of chicken. It was so good that even when I had the leftover second half for lunch the next day, without even bothering to heat it up in the hotel lobby microwave, it was still nice. I only had the breakfast once, when I treated myself to the french toast. It was a bit intimidating coming out to the table being made of thick slices of baguette, but turns out baguette is the ideal french toast bread! The texture was literally perfect, not mushy, not too firm. The whipped cream was decadent and even the berry garnishes were a needed pop of freshness in a rich dish. Not to even mention the drinks. I love that they have a mocktail menu, especially since I personally like to space cocktails with non alcoholic drinks to pace myself and stay hydrated. I also had a sore throat most of my trip in the aftermath of a cleared up cold, and I survived off the blueberry bliss mocktail. The gin and jam cocktail was in season during my trip, and I'm so glad it was- its absolutely delicious. They make the blueberry compote used in it fresh and it absolutely shows. What really makes this place above and beyond, though, is the service. Every night I was there, I chatted away with whoever was serving me, be it in the bar or when I was in the bistro for breakfast. Every single server, bar tender, and I believe a supervisor or manager who was there a couple times, was amazing. Super friendly, super on top of service. I wish I'd caught names so I can shout them all out, but even if I had I'm really bad at remembering when they're given. So let me just give my personal blanket appreciation to the entire staff- you're all stellar, and you all made my first visit to Minneapolis so wonderful, I can't wait to be back.

Tried to write an essay of a review before this and it might've gotten eaten, so if it somehow got through by mistake and there's two reviews from...

Lovely date spot with tasty cocktails and delicious food, we went on a quieter evening, so the service was prompt and the manager is an old friend of my evening's company, so we had a nice moment to catch up a bit. The shrimp cakes had a bunch of fun cominations you could make with the accompaniments and the tartare was very savory, with a wonderfully dark egg yolk and light mustard. The lobster spaghetti definitely had more lobster in it than I was expecting, so that was a delightful suprise. I can't really comment in the steak, because I only got a small, tasty bite, which speaks to the quality on its own.

The deserts however! Wonderful!!

The toffee cake was delicious, sweet without being overwhelming, and you could taste the spices in it. The orange crembrule, I could order 4 and be content with a northern lights cocktail (mix well, unless you want your drink to have a gradient of tart to sweet) for dinner. The orange flavor was prominent and not as sweet as some, so it went really well with my tart drink. If you order or can convince your date to get the both of them, you should ABSOLUTELY try the cake and the crembrule in the same bite, it was fantastic. The orange brought out some more of the spices but also kind of acted like a frosting, so, if you like them individually, defiently try...

Late review but we came here at the end of February for a friends birthday as part of their winter Restaurant Week!

Drinks and food were incredible, but service was a bit slow. We got seated for our reservation but were not given menus. When she came back to take our orders, she had to go get us menus and only brought back drink menus… and so on. But she did seem very busy and we were chatting anyways, so was not too bothered! We just wanted to be cognizant of our time at the table since it seemed busy.

Table all got different things but I ordered: Shrimp Cake - 5⭐️ - wow so good! Loved that the exterior was still crunchy & crisp. Very flavorful on the inside! Lobster Spaghetti - 5⭐️ - really good BUT only had 3 small pieces of lobster and a lot of other veggies! Still very good though! Quite a big portion too. Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake - 5⭐️ - great way to end the meal but it’s a big piece of dessert! We were already so stuffed that we couldn’t fully enjoy the dessert without being too full!

This was my first time at Star Bar & Bistro, so I am not sure what their regular menu is like but I’ll definitely like...