The Best French Food in Minneapolis
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The best French food in Minneapolis, according to the experts: AAA, the James Beard Awards, and Esquire have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Bûcheron comes out on top.
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Spoon and Stable and Meritage hold the next two places. Eater and the James Beard Awards show up on more of this list than any other guide.
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Rank 1. Bûcheron
French
The menu cites lumberjacks as inspiration, which sounds like a joke until the food arrives smelling of juniper and pickled elderberries. This is a French American neighborhood restaurant on Nicollet, where the chef works a distinctly Upper Midwestern palate, finding fall vegetables worthy of a special occasion without making the room feel like one. It won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant and landed on the New York Times Restaurant List. The pommes dauphine are, regulars will tell you, really just very good Tater Tots.
The awards
- AAA AAA: Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2025 · Winner · Best New Restaurant
- Esquire Esquire: Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- AAA Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Winner · Best New Restaurant
- Esquire Martini · The Best Martinis in America
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Rank 2. Spoon and Stable
Modern French
The building was a working stable once, and the vaulted ceilings and warm brick still carry that memory into what is now one of Minneapolis's most celebrated dinner destinations. Chef Gavin Kaysen runs a Midwestern French kitchen where the seasonal sourcing is taken seriously without being announced at you. A 2025 James Beard Outstanding Restaurant semifinalist, it draws a dressed-up but not stiff crowd happy to linger over heritage grain pasta and a very good cocktail.
The awards
- AAA AAA: Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- Eater Eater: The Best New Restaurants in America
- AAA Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 3. Meritage
Bistro
The awards
- Minnesota Monthly Minnesota Monthly: Top 75 Restaurants
- Eater Eater: 38 Best Restaurants in Minneapolis and St. Paul
- Eater Eater: St. Paul’s Best Bars
- Minnesota Monthly Top 75 Restaurants
- Eater 38 Best Restaurants in Minneapolis and St. Paul
- Eater St. Paul’s Best Bars
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Rank 4. Marc Heu Patisserie Paris
French Patisserie
The awards
- Eater 38 Best Restaurants in Minneapolis and St. Paul
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Marc Heu