The 10 Best Farm to Table Restaurants in Minneapolis & St. Paul | Discover The Cities (2024)

In many ways, the Minneapolis-St. Paul food scene helped bring farm to table to the map in the Midwest. We were ‘locavores’ before anyone even knew why that was a thing.

While we didn’t invent the concept, Minnesota-based restaurateurs have been showcasing local ingredients on their menus for decades.

In part, it’s because not only do we have a dining community that demands it, but we also have a rich history of sustainable agriculture to support it. Minneapolis and St. Paul are fortunate to have high-quality farmers, ranchers, and produce vendors in the region who continue to build relationships with restaurant owners. These partnerships ensure that Twin Cities diners like us have fantastic menu options, while these rural businesses have a dependable economic vibrancy.

Here’s the best of what that famous Minneapolis-St. Paul farm to table has to offer:

Map of the Best Farm to Table Restaurants in the Twin Cities

Best Farm to Table in Minneapolis

Birchwood Café

It’s best to start our farm to table list with the original Twin Cities farm to table restaurant. For more than 25 years, Birchwood Café on has brought handcrafted, locally sourced dishes to the community.

They’ve built a national presence as a local food movement leader for being one of the first restaurants to offer award-winning food while still sourcing from area farmers. And they continue to be innovators in the restaurant industry, using social media and crowdsourcing to support their “Good Real Food” mission. If you want to know and taste the history of farm to table in Minnesota, start at Birchwood!

• Address: 3311 East 25th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55406
• Website: Birchwood Cafe

Spoon and Stable

Although their repeated James Beard Awards and national recognition are likely why Spoon and Stable has become a household name in the Twin Cities dining scene, it’s celebrity chef Gavin Kaysen’s locally sourced dishes that keep the tables packed.

The menu here frequently changes, focusing on Midwest classics, local culture, and seasonal fare. Add an exquisitely prepared dish from award-winning executive pastry chef Diane Moua to round out the dining experience. Reservations are tough, usually booked out months in advance. But if you’re lucky, you might find a walk-up spot at the bar where the menu rivals the dining room.

• Address: 211 N 1st St, Minneapolis, MN 55401
• Website: Spoon and Stable

Cedar + Stone Urban Table

We understand you might not expect Mall of America to jump out as a farm to table hot spot. But hidden in the JW Marriot hotel (among the fast-food chains and theme park mall dining) Cedar + Stone Urban Table has chartered to the front of the Twin Cities dining scene. Promising “a fusion of culinary cultures” brought together by farmers located within 200 miles of the restaurant, the menus here are robust and thoughtful. Cedar + Stone partners include Wescott Orchards in Elgin, MN, Forest Farms Mushrooms in St. Joseph, MN, and Bushel Boy vegetable growers in Owatonna, MN.

• Address: 2141 Lindau Lane, Minneapolis, MN 55425
• Website: Cedar + Stone Urban Table

The Copper Hen Cakery & Kitchen

Come to The Copper Hen for all-things wonderful. Mason jars. Chalkboard hand-lettering. Farm to table pastries. Wedding cakes. Made-from-scratch French American dishes.

All.

Things.

Wonderful.

Their local partners’ list is long, including Hope Creamery butter, Peterson Farms grass-fed beef, Wild Acres poultry, BARE local honey, and more. They’re well-known for having the best gluten-free cupcake in town and a burger that’s second to none.

• Address: 2515 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55404
• Website: The Copper Hen Kitchen

Wise Acre Eatery

What if the farm to table concept meant the restaurant and the farm were one and the same? That’s the case at Wise Acre Eatery, where they grow the ingredients themselves on a farm about 45 minutes outside the Metro. Their business model is simple – we grow it, and then we cook it. The result is a one farm to one dining room operation that’s been around for more than a decade. The brunch at Wise Acre is especially well-known among locals, as are the burgers and soups.

If you love the food options, consider bringing them home to your own kitchen! Wise Acre has a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program with monthly shares of farm-fresh veggies, meats, and eggs.

• Address: 5401 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55419
• Website: Wise Acre Eatery

Best Farm to Table in St. Paul

Tongue in Cheek

For the best in locally sourced, farm to table in St. Paul, it’s best to head to Tongue in Cheek on the Eastside. We’ve already shared our love for their laid-back cocktails, their prix-fixe menu perfection, and for their well-rounded vegan and vegetarian menu in our full Tongue in Cheek review. If you didn’t take our advice the first time, now’s your chance to make it right. Make a reservation and see for yourself why Tongue in Cheek continues to be one of the Metro’s hottest spots.

• Address: 989 Payne Ave, St Paul, MN 55130
• Website: Tongue in Cheek

Brasa

Sometimes you just need a little Southern comfort food. BBQ, cornbread, and spicy side dishes. You know, the good stuff.

Enter Brasa, offering the best of Midwestern ingredients prepared in dishes we’ve come to know and love from the South. With locations in North East, at 46^th and Bryant in Minneapolis, and on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue, everyone in the Metro can find Brasa’s terrific take-out and dine-in menu. The slow-roasted meats here are nearly 100% locally sourced, and side dishes come from small farms in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

• Locations:
  • 777 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
  • 600 E. Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55414
  • 812 W. 46^th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55419
• Website: Brasa Premium Rotisserie

Holman’s Table

Modern, sophisticated, and local to the core. Those are the three best ways to describe Holman’s Table located at Holman Field at the Downtown St. Paul Airport.

Inspired by legendary local pilot Charles W. “Speed” Holman’s incredible feat of taking 1,433 consecutive loops over the St. Paul Airport, this restaurant sits right on the airfield. Not only can you watch the small airplanes take off and land from your table, but you can also enjoy some of the Twin Cities best farm to table dishes. The menu here frequently changes, with new flavors and cocktails to celebrate local ingredients and the seasons.

• Address: 644 Bayfield St, St Paul, MN 55107
• Website: Holman’s Table

The Buttered Tin

We’ve previously highlighted The Buttered Tin as one of the best breakfasts in the Twin Cities, and we’ll gladly do it again. Not only is The Buttered Tin the best brunch in Lowertown St. Paul, but the menu is also full of seasonal and farm-to-table ingredients, including eggs from Sparboe Farms in Wayzata, bacon and ham from Fisher Family Farms, and greens from Midwest Salad Company in Waseca.

Don’t forget to try the award-winning pastries, cakes, and biscuits at your next visit. They’re made with butter from Hope Creamery in Hope, Minnesota.

• Address: 237 7th St E, St Paul, MN 55101
• Website: The Buttered Tin

Margaux’s Table

Although Margaux’s Table and Farm Store is technically not in St. Paul, any list of Twin Cities farm-to-table restaurants just wouldn’t feel the same without it. Since 2015, owner Margaret Doran has been bringing together local vendors and the East Metro dinner scene. The menu changes monthly, but always with the promise to be full of seasonal, organic, and delicious choices.

• Address: 4742 Washington Square, White Bear Lake, MN
• Website: Margaux’s Table and Farm Store