Where is the Best Group Dining in Minneapolis, Minnesota?
If you’re in the mood to stuff your face with piles and piles of not particularly great food, Buca is your place. It’s loud, fun (if you like loud) and always busy. The food is, well, average. Grocery store deli counter average. Shopping mall food court average. They should hand out pheasant feathers as you leave average. We started with a Caesar salad. Not an anchovy or a hint of egg or garlic to be found. Just a bowl of lettuce tossed with a bland, commercial dressing and covered with some sort of parmesan-like cheese. If you can’t get a Caesar right, things aren’t looking good for the rest of the meal. The Bruschetta was a greasy, uninteresting mess, and the first of the dishes to arrive with Buca’s signature shredded basil garnish (I’m fairly certain this is created using one of those crosscut paper shredders you can buy at most office supplies). The Caprese was horrible, but it’s wintertime so we knew what we were getting into. It’s my suspicion Buca’s summer Caprese i
For anyone that thinks they are going to get an extraordinary gourmet Italian meal, of course they will be disappointed. That’s not what Buca is. It’s Southern IMMIGRANT Italian cuisine. Made from what these people could afford and/or find upon arrival to the states. Is it bland? Sometimes, yes, but rarely. But then again, immigrants had…tomatoes, and garlic. This is coming from someone whose close friends grew up like this. That’s how it was, and Buca does an EXCELLENT job of replicating Frank Sinatra’s parents’ living room on the walls. As for the ambiance, it’s SUPPOSED to be loud. These families were big and it was crowded and there was alot of food. Do your homework, please.Pros + great food, fun servers, inexpensiveCons – may have to wait
First let me start off by saying my first and only visit was okay, however, the food was pricier than expected and 6 of us dined at a long booth with only two pots, which not only made it uncomfortable to dine (when you have to constantly reach across the person next to you to get your food), but we wanted to order 3 separate couple’s dinners (Big Night Out), and while we were charge for three, keep in mind, we only had two pots. I’m not sure that what we got was what we should have got had we had three fondue pots. The food was pretty decent, however, I didn’t really get enough (constantly getting up and reaching across was a bit of an ordeal) and decided it might be nice to try again with a smaller group (2-4 people).I attempted to make a reservation on a Monday for a Saturday evening dinner on Open Table, and was able to get a reservation for 7:30 for 4 reserved online, no problem. When I called Thursday to confirm (a coworker had alerted me to the inaccuracies of Open Table an
Ring Mountain Cremery Cafe is a wonderful place to hang out with friends and family. They have live music weekly and lots of seating. They have a cozy little corner with squishy chairs and boardgames for people who want to be up close and personal with the musicians, and they have booths tucked back on the other side of the room for those who would rather converse and see the music from a distance. They also have some seating outdoors.Ring Mountain has TONS of ice cream and gelato flavors, all of which you can taste if you want to! The service is phenomenal, as well. They have a top notch team of workers who are friendly, cheerful, excited, and helpful. Even though it’s quite busy at times, the line runs smoothly and the workers are extremely patient if you need to ask questions and taste flavors before making your decision. Besides doing their work well, they’re nice and fun and easy to talk with! As a server myself, be friendly to them because they’re a GREAT bunch of people!The
Sadly brunch was ruined by an obnoxiously loud jazz trio. We could not hear each other talk and left with headaches! We went to Tryg’s for brunch, not a concert. We will not return on a Sunday. Service was much improved this time around, however, and the food is decent. (A good rule of thumb seems to be: If you see guys bartending, leave. If the ladies are working behind the bar, stay. They are better at what they do.)Pros + Parking, MenuCons – Loud Live Music Sundays, Inconsistent Service
