Tenant Restaurant — Restaurant in Minneapolis

In an episode I watched in a recent binge of Anthony Bourdain's "Part's Unknown," the titular chef states that he doesn't think chefs are artists. Clearly, Bourdain hasn't been to Tenant, the hot new restaurant that has foodies screaming for more.

Tucked away in the old Piccolo spot in the Kingfield neighborhood of South Minneapolis, Tenant is my new favorite restaurant and it might just be the best dining experience you'll have this year.

When you first walk into the small restaurant, you might notice the clean, white walls with the occasional empty vintage frame. You'll see just how small, homey, and cozy the restaurant is, with only a few tables lit by candlelight and then a bar in front of the kitchen that seats about seven or eight people. You might notice the record player spinning staff and guest selected vinyl, ranging from Jay-Z to David Bowie to Michael Jackson, providing a fun and unique feel to the evening. You might notice the amazing smells wafting from the kitchen area. Or maybe before you even get to any of that, you'll be greeted by a member of the Tenant staff, introducing themselves and thanking you for dining with them this evening. Not only are they checking your name to make sure you're on their reservation list (which you will need, by the way), they make you feel welcome and at home. They shake your hand as if you've arrived for a fun evening at a private dinner party at someone's home instead of for a meal at a restaurant.

As you're guided to your table, you'll notice that there are no servers, at least in the traditional sense. Instead, Tenant is a team. You might be served by one of the main cooks. The chef running the grill might refill your water. No matter who comes to your table, you're greeted with kindness and a friendly conversation, as if you're longtime friends. And they're always super knowledgeable of the menu and your meal's ingredients. This creates a unique dining experience as you can't help but feel that you're an integral part of the evening-- Guests of honor, almost. It's easily one of the best customer service experiences you'll have.

Tenant offers up one option: a casual tasting menu of six courses that reflect the ingredients and cuisine of the season. This means you're always going to be dealing with the freshest ingredients. It also means their menu will change throughout the year (so while my photos are amazing, the dishes I got will be different than the dishes you'll get in a month). Each group of diners you arrived with is on the same schedule (adding to the importance of a reservation). This makes it easy for Team Tenant to stay organized and bring out the same courses to all the diners all at once.

Honestly, I could spend time going over how every detail of each course was perfect, from the fresh herbs to the perfect homemade pasta to the sauces that graced my plate to the rich and subtle flavors that danced across my taste buds. But I'll leave all that for you to discover. In a nutshell, the food was simple, yet out of the highest-quality, perfectly plated, and out of this world delicious. It's an art. It is an art to bring you a coursed-meal that could easily be $100 somewhere else for only $60. It is an art to be this good and yet not be pretentious and fancy. It is an art to bring you foods you know and love, like ravioli, but make it refreshing and new by placing a quail egg and lamb sausage inside. Each member of the staff is an artist.

OK, so there's more than one option if you include the drinks (there's a wine pairing you can add to your meal, as well as a small selection of beer and cocktails).

By the end of the night, you feel like you're part of the Tenant team. Your private conversations will spread to others around you or members of the staff, and soon you're one big group dining together. You'll be asked what record they should play next, and rest assured, they have something for everyone. A fine dining experience indeed. Even though their menu and ingredients will change often, I hope that Tenant sticks around and...

I really wanted this place to be good. Minneapolis is lacking entry level fine diners like this place. I was very excited to try but very disappointed. First, ambience was horrible. Really loud dance music which doesn’t fit the theme of the restaurant at all. Cheap utensils and plates. Blue cleaning rag for your napkins :/ I am wondering how they differentiate cleaning towels and napkins if they are exactly same ones. Putting utensils directly on the shared counter. Filling water bottle from the dishwashing sink right in front of the customers. Old windows on the wall as decors but that doesn’t match at all from everything else except the name of the restaurant.

Second, food. Their 2 plates were pasta out of 6 plates course. Ravioli and spaghetti back to back. I guess the chef loves pasta. Unfortunately, my meatball on the spaghetti was not cooked at all. I tried my wife’s to see if it was intentionally rare or mistake and it was 100% lack of skill since her meatball was cooked. If you are serving 6 course meal, there should be a story. It felt like I got whatever food they had in the pantry. 2 out of 6 plates were good. 4 were honestly below average.

Service- Servers were very nice but they bring food at the same time for everyone. Not sure what is the point of having a limited table number if you don’t care about individual’s experience. We also mentioned that we like white wine and they still bring red wine for pairing. So not sure what was the point about asking my preference if they have a set menu. If felt like a normal restaurant increases charges by defining them as a fine diner but not doing much efforts.

Overall, it was very chaotic and a lot of things they do seemed like there was not much thoughts behind of them. It is not how fine diner is defined. $70 is a really reasonable price and I think this restaurant have a lot of potential but they have to do better. The head chef needs to think about the way he/she runs the restaurant if they want to keep this path. Please, at least don’t fill the tap water from the dish washing sink while you are doing dishes. An extra hose with filter for the waterline is less than $70 which is cheaper than your one person’s meal and can be easily installed in one day.

Reply to the owner It seems like you are not open to the feedback and I think that is why your restaurant is so chaotic. I went to a culinary school and I managed multiple restaurants in my life. So I am just being very honest about what I experienced. Vintage and collectible items don’t mean much if the customer don’t see the value from them. Often customers just want simple, clean plates and heavy utensils that make them feel nicer to hold. I suggest you think about what I said in the review. Google search brings your restaurant when you look for a fine dining in Minneapolis. Once again, it is often more about what the general public receive. Also you mentioned on your website that your goal is providing a refined dining experience. I believe this means fine dining in culinary world. Wish you...

**update-The owner has taken the time to reply to my review and attempt to diminish the value of my honest review. By stating it’s a ramble that does not make sense , instead of being a professional and running a business they have shown themselves to be childish . As an owner you need to be prepared for criticism and grow from it instead of trying to minimize the customer . No where in your response did you offer a redo or a refund so by that fact alone I can tell you don’t take criticism well and aren’t a true professional.my review is honest and true your food lacked flavor and was boring . If you can’t handle that you should find something else to do.

I wanted to enjoy a night out and delicious food . I read reviews and had the highest hopes for this place . The wait staff were great and super friendly . Unfortunately the food left a lot to be desired. The portions were normal for the caliber the restaurant portrays itself it at but the food was not . It lacked flavor and overall dimension. For those still reading , I am more than accustomed to high end dining and don’t have any issue paying for an experience but this place had no unique vibe other than only seating 20 people and being booked for months . The hype did not meet the expectations and the food did not quarterback the experience either . The seafood was not fresh and I’m a firm believer I should not smell the fish before I get it . If I’m paying for 6 courses that I don’t select I should be at least be in awe of some part of the meal which I wasn’t . Sorry would not recommend to anyone . I couldn’t even tell my parents where I went for the shear embarrassment of...