Minervas Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Rapid City

Minerva's in Rapid City was an absolute lifesaver during my recent six-night stay for a conference! After long days, knowing I could count on Minerva's for a delicious meal and even better service was such a comfort. The food was consistently outstanding, but the team there truly made my dining experiences exceptional. I have to give an enormous amount of praise to Rainey, my incredible server. From my very first meal, she was so welcoming and attentive. What truly impressed me was that after just one order, Rainey remembered my beverage! It was such a thoughtful and personalized touch, especially when dining alone. Rainey is a ray of sunshine and made every meal feel like catching up with a friendly face. Honestly, she deserves a server-of-the-year award! Todd, the bartender, was also fantastic. Whether I was grabbing a quick drink at the bar or he was bringing it to my table, he was always friendly and made great recommendations. And while he might not have been front and center, Neil was clearly the masterful conductor ensuring everything behind the scenes ran flawlessly. The entire atmosphere at Minerva's was so welcoming and efficient. Being away from home for a conference can sometimes feel isolating, but the warmth and outstanding service I received at Minerva's, especially from the phenomenal Rainey, truly made a difference. It felt like a home away from home. If you're ever in Rapid City, you absolutely must visit Minerva's. The incredible food and the unparalleled service – Rainey, you are a star! – make it an absolute must-try. This place deserves more...

I went to Minerva's on a dinner date Saturday night, and dressed up for the fun of it. Parking wasn't an issue, but I also never fight for "close" spots. I've got two legs, I use them. We were seated immediately by the hostess, offered menus, and glasses of water. Seth was our server for this experience, and he was fantastic! Using his name "Meaning the appointed" as part of his spiel was the first major piece of awesome. Living in Rapid City for the past 3.5 years, it is really hard to find sweet tea, much less GOOD sweet tea, but my boyfriend and I asked anyways. As he left to get our order for Sweet Tea, he told us, "My brother's from Alabama - I got this!" That totally made our night. You just don't know how to do Sweet Tea unless you ARE from the South or East Coast, or know someone who has taught you how to do it right. Seth definitely did it right!! My boyfriend ordered one of the steaks while I got a Caprese Shrimp Cappellini. We each tried the other's dish, and I got a good giggle out of watching my boyfriend eat the LAST bite of steak. One of his favorite foods, he kept staring at it, mourning that it was his last bite. As full as we were, we still got the cheesecake with the strawberry compote, also a high recommendation from Seth. Yes, I filled out a comment card at the restaurant - yes, I would dearly love it if Minerva's got a government contract to clone a few more of Seth to be their service staff. Our next date to Minerva's will definitely have us requesting Seth if he's still there, and if we have to wait, it will...

Took a risk and dined there very briefly on Friday evening. We were told cooks, servers etc would be wearing masks and gloves. Also that the seating would be appropriately spaced apart. We arrived in masks and were seated. Server was wearing mask and gloves. But, we were NOT seated 6 feet apart from another group's table. We moved right to the other side of our booth to distance ourselves. We mentioned this to our server and he said "we are busy". Then as our meal was brought to us, another couple were seated right next to us...so close I could have touched their table. We promptly asked our server for a to-go box and the bill and left. The place was getting very busy and we were feeling very uncomfortable. We were shocked to see a salad bar open in the midst of a pandemic. This is not right. If you must offer a salad bar, have an employee serve the customer the required food from behind a closed off screen. Yes, you may have had a sign saying "please wear gloves" and provided disposable gloves, but the salad bar is open to passing crowds and nobody except one elderly woman put the gloves on. As we were leaving we witnessed a passing guest sneeze right in front of the salad bar. No wonder the US cannot make any gains with slowing the spread of this virus. People and businesses must take it seriously. We made the mistake of going to dine in after almost 5 months of avoiding it. Lesson learnt. Im just hoping neither of us get sick. The 2 stars are for the prompt service from the waitress to get us a box and our bill so we could get...