Josefina — Restaurant in Wayzata

I was incredibly excited to try Josefina, my first dine-in restaurant experience in over a year, and it didn’t disappoint! It was an amazing experience start to finish!

The ambience: Bright, lively, with friendly staff. We were seated (group of 6) at a large table by a bright window, and greeted immediately by our friendly server. He was attentive without being intrusive, and helped to guide our food choices/quantity well.

The food: Our server helped to divide our food choices into several courses, and we all had an incredibly difficult time choosing our favorite dishes from each course. Each one was mind-blowing, and I can’t wait to head back to try more. A quick overview of our favorites:

Bigeye tuna and striped bass crudo: Both were delectable bites bursting with flavor. We argued for a while as a table which one was better, and ultimately couldn’t come to a conclusion so it must be personal preference. My recommendation – get them both. Burrata crostino: amazingly well-seasoned, the mint was amazing, I would order again in a heartbeat. Wood-fired beets: Do NOT skip these!!! A favorite dish for almost all of us, these were perfectly cooked and the “potato crumble” was amazing. I will be ordering these with every meal as long as they are on the menu. Roman gnocchi : This was another dish that blew us all away. The texture of the gnocchi was incredible – I could have eaten only this and left happy. Ricotta ravioli: The saffron, ricotta and honey all blended harmoniously to again create a dish that we couldn’t stop eating/raving about – as the dish was passed around a second time we all tried to grab the last bites before it was gone. Rigatoni diavolo: The may have been my favorite pasta dish (although I was out-voted by the rest of the table, who voted the ravioli as #1). I thought the lobster was cooked perfectly, and the sauce was incredibly flavorful. I could eat this every day. Crispy brussel sprouts AND cauliflower escabeche: GET BOTH OF THESE!!!!!! I think these two sides were my favorite dishes overall. Halibut: Perfectly cooked. Incredibly flavorful. Another favorite for me. How many favorites am I allowed to have? Pizzas: Perfect chew to the crust, the family favorite was the prosciutto (partly because of the amazing pickled onions!) The vongole was also so delicious that the server thought that it wasn’t delivered to the table (we ate it that fast!)

I hope to head back soon, and would love to see brunch offered...

It's hard for me to grasp that this is the same team that created Martina, Colita, etc. It just seems poorly executed. You have the beautiful space of the former Bellecour, the culinary genius of Daniel Del Prado & the wealth of a healthy restaurant empire at your disposal. What could go wrong? The first thing I noticed at Josefina was the waitstaff. Besides the majority of waiters being high school students there didn't seem to be any leadership. I didn't see anyone directing personnel. There was no professionalism. This led to large wait times and aimlessness from many who easily could have been servicing patrons or clearing tables. The hands-off experience my party was given was quite odd. Empty dishes on the table for half an hour increments, utensils and share plates being taken away and not being resupplied (after stating we'd prefer to keep them, or be given fresh sets), an obvious water shortage in Wayzata considering how often we were given new containers and getting dishes we never ordered placed in front of us, were just a few of the things we experienced. The food was also not what I was expecting. If you look at everything else created by DDP, even his early work at other restaurants it's unique and borderline groundbreaking. To me considering this is the most simple of ventures I'm not sure how an only Italian menu could flop so hard. Most dishes we had just seemed uninspired and bland. With the exception of the pork chop, which considering his prowess at cooking meats this wasn't very surprising. I wouldn't recommend a single dish beyond that. The price point of this menu is extremely high. I'm not saying I mind spending that much on meals, I'm saying for what you're getting (quality, portion & flavor) it's not worth it. In my opinion it feels like a rushed venture. The people of Wayzata probably needed something somewhat fancy to fill the void of Bellecour closing and they figured why not. Heck they even left the inside almost identical besides the pizza oven so that the patrons wouldn't be scared of something new. If this is a take on Roman Italian dishes I'd prefer to stick with his other four restaurants because nothing here impressed me in terms of Italian cuisine. Should you come...

Josefina, we had our confirmed reservation yesterday. We were going to celebrate a big birthday with family . When we arrived around 19:00 we found your door closed, lights out. You did not leave us a message, no communication whatsoever. It would be nice to notify us but you did NOTHING !This is NOT the way to treat your costumers! Huge disappointment!!! Update: 3 days later restaurant responded , we shall see what happens next. My update to my experience at Josefina yesterday 6/19/22 It was a great evening with my family. I need to admit Josefina and its team completely impressed me. Starting from the moment we entered to the time we left the restaurant. Josefina has a very unique floor plan : there are like three different locations to sit and enjoy your dinner. There is a patio with a retractable roof and the patio heaters if needed. The patio is very nice. The menu has many different varieties from pasta to seafood like oysters,scallops etc. We had a few different drinks: Fiore, Waka Waka, La Cosa Carina. Waka was great , La Cosa was just too sweet. My appetizer was Crab and Asparagus. The presentation was good but it was too salty for my taste and very little crab meat. The seared scallops were the best I ever had with cannellini, smoked pancetta and peas…an absolutely phenomenal dish full of flavors.We tried two different pizzas, they were good and simple. Wine we had was called Giunco…very smooth , perfect for the scallops. Amy, our waitress was phenomenal...so helpful and so knowledgeable...thank you Amy. I would have to stay there for a week to try everything ...The food,the vibe was great, we will be back. I would recommend making an appointment, weekends are very busy.I just wish your closing hours would be later.The restrooms were clean and nicely decorated. Thank you team at Josefina ,...