Gorgeous space with amazing food and excellent service. Highly recommend checking this place out if you're in or near the twin cities.
Parisa P.
Just ok food. I went by myself on a Friday without a reservation. Inside seating at the bar would have been an hour; I could get a table on the patio immediately (it was chilly out and no heaters.) The view was lovely, and the server was friendly. She gave me recommendations and explained the restaurant's concept. I ordered the corn chowder since it was cold out. It was nice; the little dumpling was tasty. But otherwise, relatively unmemorable. Then I had the elk taco. It was tasty and messy, though, again, nothing to write home about. Last, I had the stuffed green tomatoes. The 2 tomatoes had beans and wild rice inside and what was described as chimichurri sauce on top. I didn't taste any chimichurri-ness at all. The dish was too sour and otherwise tasteless. Would definitely skip this one. The service charge (13% for "health insurance for the full-time staff") plus the expected regular tip (18-20%) add around 33% to the bill, which added on to the already expensive menu items easily made this dining experience not worth it.
JP L.
A really good coincidence to come to Minneapolis for work and have the chance to try a place that was high on my bucket list of North America places to dine at. We will get to the food, that on its own deserves a visit, but takes a place to history and the philosophy of this restaurant, created as a full-service Indigenous restaurants that cooks only with decolonized ingredients - an amazing concept, a delicious experience, but above all a reminder these are occupied lands, with a year of abuse and destruction. As such, incredibly humbling to dine here, and an essential history lesson. The setting is beautiful, overlooking the Mississippi, and the food worth all the hype, and also a lesson on how creative and tasty you can be without wheat flour, cane sugar, or dairy, as examples of staples we constantly use and feel we couldn't live without. Started with the corn chowder, delicious with hints of honey. Then had the elk taco, the highlight of the meal, followed by the very good tartare as well. Finished with the squash custard, prepared with bison fat caramel, and also excellent. Multiple beverage pairings but I highly recommend the different teas.
Jiansen W.
AMBIANCE Owamni, a modern Indigenous restaurant located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has a cozy, contemporary, warm atmosphere with neat views of the Mississippi River and adjacent 3rd Ave/Central Ave and stone arch bridges. SERVICE Attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable - staff appear happy and proud to be here. FOOD (WETU * SPRING MENU) OWAMNI's decolonized menu (no wheat, flour, dairy, refined sugar = GF) is known for innovating traditional Native American cuisine with modern culinary techniques, seasonal flavors, and a heavy reliance on corn, sunflower and sumac. TO SHARE WAKSÍKA THANKA SMOKED BISON (tender): * Bison Reduction (savory) with pungent leek sprouts (garlicky) PLANT * WATHÓTHO 5/5 SWEET POTATO: * Maple Chili Crisp (subtlety spicy and smoky) 3/5 MUSTARD GREENS (overcooked): * Caramelized Onion (missing) * Crispy Garlic (umami) GAME * THADO 5/5 (Venison) TARTARE: * Berry Leather * Pickled Blueberry (whole and sweet) * Cured Duck Egg (shaved) * Mushroom (mixed in tartare) 4.5/5 CRICKETS (smoky) + POPCORN: * Candied Seeds (sweet) with a tart sumac dust on popcorn 5/5 ELK (savory) TACO: * Sweet Potato (purée) * Wojapi (sweet berry purée) * blue corn tortilla DESSERTSWEET 5/5 SKUYA: Duck Fat Caramel (sweet, rich)
Thang T.
Very beautiful restaurant interior and concept, with a mission statement that left a good lasting impression. However, despite these positive aspects, I found the actual food to be adequate at best. The ingredients themselves seemed to shine through quite well but the overall flavor was mostly dependent on what the server tells you what to expect. Based on the other reviews the other seasonal menus seem to be worth a try, but for me personally I would wait until the Spring season is over to give it another shot.
Erica R.
After discovering Owamni by The Sioux Chef while researching things to try, I legit put reminders on my calendar and iPhone for when reservations would open up... because there was no way I was going to miss trying this restaurant. In the "About" section of their website, Owamni highlights they were created "for the purposes of job creation (featuring a majority Native staff), moving more Indigenous products developed by Native food producers, and showcasing true North American Indigenous foods and culture. (...) acquired by nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) in September 2023, paving the way for more hands-on training opportunities, guest chefs, Indigenous food R&D, and producer spotlights." What's not to love about this?! I was able to secure my reservation and then experience Owamni during my recent Minneapolis visit... and can I tell you? It is truly not to be missed. One of my most favorite meals I've had, for sure. I arrived at Owamni a couple minutes early, but only had to wait a very short time before being seated. The size of the restaurant allows for most every table to have a view of the Hennepin Avenue Bridge and Mississippi River - lovely. I started my order with one of their non-alcoholic cocktails, the Gaagaagiwagandag - Juniper cocktail made with blackberries and cranberries (which was DELICIOUS) and a bowl of the bison + walnut soup (with tepary beans and nixtamal). The soup had a delicious kick of spice as well, which was a wonderful surprise. For my main order, I tried a corn taco (with corn jam, corn fritters, and sumac popcorn) and an elk taco (with sweet potato and wojapi). Each order includes one individual taco. I also ordered the oysters (half dozen) that was served with a blackberry mignonette. I'll be honest... I'm not a huge fan of sweet potatoes (my tastebuds seem to be very sensitive to the sweetness) and I wasn't sure how I would feel about the elk taco, but I wanted to try it because sweet potatoes are typically considered such a staple of indigenous food. And can I tell you? I was delightfully surprised that the sweet potato flavor wasn't overly sweet to me at all - it was a great balance to the elk and other ingredients in the taco. The corn taco though... the corn taco. *drools* The corn jam was delectable and added great flavor, the sumac popcorn added just the right texture, and the corn fritters were *chef's kiss*. When it came time for dessert, I needed a bit of time to digest first. I asked the server if I could get dessert to go, and she confirmed it wouldn't be an issue. I opted for the sweet potato donut with candied seeds and maple vanilla. After a couple minutes, my server brought out a little box with my dessert. Owamni is an experience, and their mission is one of great importance. The food was exceptional in both preparation and taste. I wish I had been able to dine at Owamni more than once on my recent visit, honestly (I just didn't have the time). But if I'm ever back in Minneapolis? I am 100% planning to return. Thank you to the folks at Owamni for such a wonderful dining experience all around.
Kathy K.
This is my third time at Owamni. The first two times I went to Owamni, the food was excellent. The bison tacos were so tender and the ratio of sauce to the meat was perfect. The elk balls were also delicious with the spicy, sweet red sauce underneath and the slight crunch from the scallions. The service was great too. Our servers were very friendly and attentive. FOOD: This time, food consistency and quality went downhill. The bison taco was disappointing. Meat was overcooked and dry, and there was barely any of the green sauce underneath, compared to last time. It tasted like a subpar street taco. The elk balls looked more like oblong shapes instead of the perfectly shaped balls that I had gotten the first time I went to Owamni. The flavoring was a little bit off - tasted underseasoned, but that might be because they were so stingy with the red sauce and the sweet puree under the elk balls. It tasted so dry without that sauce, and it was hard to swallow the meat. So unenjoyable. There was no scallion garnish either, even though it was on there the first time. Shortly after we received our food, we also saw another table getting elk balls with the garnish. Did the chef just forget to put the scallion garnish on ours, or is he doing it on every other dish? Very inconsistent plating. The elk balls taste a lot better with the crunch and flavor of the scallion garnish. I included photos of the bison tacos and elk balls from this visit and the previous visits, so that you can see the difference in quality. SERVICE: Additionally, the service this time was terrible. Our server took a very long time to come to our table, because she was chatting with an older couple behind the bar. The older couple was already being helped by the bartender, so I don't know why she decided to jump in there unnecessarily. When she came over to our table, she just stared at us blankly for a solid 5 seconds before asking if we were ready to order. We put in our order, and she left. Halfway through our meal, I had finished my hot tea, and I wanted a hot water refill so I looked around the restaurant for our server. She was behind the bar again and when I tried to make eye contact with her, she would just look away and ignore me. When she was making her way to other tables behind us, I also tried to make eye contact again, and she quickly scurried away and never checked up on us. Luckily, I was able to get to her stop at our table after staring at her and loudly saying "excuse me" and asking her for a refill for our hot teas. Guess what? She refilled the teas, and the water was lukewarm. Not hot at all. Is a hot water refill a difficult request to fulfill? The last two times I went to Owami, I didn't even have to ask the servers to refill my tea. They just came over to my table and asked me if I wanted a refill. I was pleasantly surprised that they were so attentive, and guess what? The water they poured was HOT. Not lukewarm. There were only three times that she checked up on us - 1) to the take our order 2) to refill the tea after I finally managed to get her attention 3) to give us our checks. She was not particularly friendly either, and she even seemed annoyed when I asked if we could have a hot water refill for our teas. I only asked her for one refill. It's not like I hounded her multiple times for it, so I don't understand why she was so annoyed and decided to give me lukewarm water. All in all, service was 1/5 this time. Food was 2/5. The only reason the overall rating is 3/5 is that the last two times I visited Owamni, the food was absolutely delicious. My boyfriend, who booked the reservation, left detailed feedback for Owamni regarding this visit, so I hope they actually took the time to read it since he never received any response from them. Our reservation was for April 24th at 5:15 pm, just in case whoever at Owamni reads this needs to refer back to it. I will not recommend Owamni to anyone again or return to the restaurant due to the inconsistent food quality and inconsistent service.
Andrew M.
Outstanding. Location and view is gorgeous. 3 of us on a work trip waited about 25min on a Wednesday at about 630pm and then took our place at the "bar." Not close to the overall BEST food I've ever eaten, but easily the most INTERESTING meal I've ever had. The 3 of us shared everything and covered the whole menu of small plates plus the stuffed green tomatoes. The standouts were the venison tartare, squash dessert, elk tacos, and duck pupusa...but really, everything was excellent.
Logan G.
Absolutely fantastic experience. The food wasn't totally for me, as I'm a little picky about what I eat, but there was a Bison Meatloaf that was killer. The service was extremely kind and really helped us out a lot to understand the menu and the experience overall. The place was beautiful and we loved sharing the experience together.
Carlos R.
they are liars , I don't recommend to anyone . I went there for Uber inspection with 2024 new car that had 200 miles on it , and they told me I must buy 4 new tires , and left and I went to Honda dealer and got my inspection done in few mins without buying any tires . I don't recommend it to no one .
If you are looking for great food at a classy place near the Stonebridge and Mill City, I recommend this place. I am glad I read recommendations on Reddit about this place. It is one of the places that is very unique in all regards: * It is indigenous managed, curated, and inspired * The food is awesome and tapas size * Remember that this place has a 13% service charge on top of tax and tip I had a few dishes and each one was great. The bartender, Tad, was patient with my questions. I gave it a 4 since I ha a reaction to the very delicious sweet potato tapa that has chili pepper sauce. It really did a number on my tummy.
Halden N.
AMAZING. It was hard to get a reservation, but so worth it. The food was not only tasty, but it made us all feel good. 6 of us went for my husbands birthday and all of us commented that while we ate A LOT we didn't feel like it the day after.
Ken
Unfortunately I can't leave a review about the food, but I can say something about the customer service. For context, I have celiac disease and eating out is challenging as I cannot consume gluten. My wife and I traveled to Minneapolis for three days for an event. When searching for restaurants my wife discovered Owamni. I was very excited about their menu is gluten-free. I checked for their website for reservations and it indicated to call during business hours to inquire. I placed a call shortly after they opened at 11:00 am. I was told their were no more dinner reservations available for that evening but they accept walk ins in the bar area. I asked about walk ins and was told if we arrive before 6:00 we should be fine and at most would need to wait 15-20 minutes. Not wanting to miss out, we arrived at 5:00. Upon arrival we noticed no one was waiting. We informed the hostess that we did not have a reservation. She and her colleague hesitated for several seconds and stated they could not seat us in the bar (walk in) section until 7:30! Two and a half hours! I informed them that I had called earlier and was told to be there before 6:00. They stated they had a lot of walk ins. This may be true, even though not a single person was waiting in the lobby or outside. We had an engagement at 7:45 so could not wait, so I turned to my wife to discuss alternate plans. At this moment the hostess says, "have a nice day". No acknowledgement of the misinformation I was given earlier, or attempt to offer a solution. I don't expect them to seat us if they don't have a table, but the attitude and customer service was the worst I have ever had at a restaurant. So we had to leave and quickly fine another gluten free dining option. As we are walking out the door the hostess once again says, "have a nice day." The insensitivity to our situation was unbelievable. Clearly we were not having a "nice day" at this point! How about something like this, 'I'm sorry we could not accommodate you this evening, but I hope .you will come back and dine with us in the future.' For comparison, we quickly pivoted and headed over to a restaurant called Chloe by Vincent. The hostess there greeted us with a big smile and friendly greeting. We informed here that we did not have a reservation. I could see they were busy and she studied her computer for a few seconds. She then said, "we will make it work." How accommodating, but more importantly, what a great attitude and example of customer service. My recommendation, head to Chloe by Vincent if you are a celiac and find yourself in Minneapolis.
Arelis D.
The best tasting bison and elk tacos are here! We also tried the corn tacos, sweet potato, corn chowder, and tepary bean dip was outstanding. The sweet potato donuts and sweet tamales were fantastic as well. We had a lovely meal and will return. The thoughtfulness to return to indigenous foods is beautiful. We tried as many items on the menu as 4 people could eat and everyone loved the sharable selections from plant, game to sweet. A delicious spring menu. The location was perfect along the river. We had a change in server, the first was excellent the second was just ok. We are big on service and believe that service enhances the meal. Wish we had kept our first server. Not sure what happened to cause the change. The purpose of this restaurant is so important and the chef is phenomenal. It would add to the experience if the servers could give a little more context about the dishes or more description on the menu. The corn chowder is described as sharable so I would also recommend small spoons and little bowls. Recommendations only to elevate the experience because It's a fantastic restaurant and I can hardly wait to return.
Randi A.
great food and excellent customer service, will definitely be back if we're in Indianapolis again!
Gorgeous space with amazing food and excellent service. Highly recommend checking this place out if you're in or near the twin cities.
Just ok food. I went by myself on a Friday without a reservation. Inside seating at the bar would have been an hour; I could get a table on the patio immediately (it was chilly out and no heaters.) The view was lovely, and the server was friendly. She gave me recommendations and explained the restaurant's concept. I ordered the corn chowder since it was cold out. It was nice; the little dumpling was tasty. But otherwise, relatively unmemorable. Then I had the elk taco. It was tasty and messy, though, again, nothing to write home about. Last, I had the stuffed green tomatoes. The 2 tomatoes had beans and wild rice inside and what was described as chimichurri sauce on top. I didn't taste any chimichurri-ness at all. The dish was too sour and otherwise tasteless. Would definitely skip this one. The service charge (13% for "health insurance for the full-time staff") plus the expected regular tip (18-20%) add around 33% to the bill, which added on to the already expensive menu items easily made this dining experience not worth it.
A really good coincidence to come to Minneapolis for work and have the chance to try a place that was high on my bucket list of North America places to dine at. We will get to the food, that on its own deserves a visit, but takes a place to history and the philosophy of this restaurant, created as a full-service Indigenous restaurants that cooks only with decolonized ingredients - an amazing concept, a delicious experience, but above all a reminder these are occupied lands, with a year of abuse and destruction. As such, incredibly humbling to dine here, and an essential history lesson. The setting is beautiful, overlooking the Mississippi, and the food worth all the hype, and also a lesson on how creative and tasty you can be without wheat flour, cane sugar, or dairy, as examples of staples we constantly use and feel we couldn't live without. Started with the corn chowder, delicious with hints of honey. Then had the elk taco, the highlight of the meal, followed by the very good tartare as well. Finished with the squash custard, prepared with bison fat caramel, and also excellent. Multiple beverage pairings but I highly recommend the different teas.
AMBIANCE Owamni, a modern Indigenous restaurant located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has a cozy, contemporary, warm atmosphere with neat views of the Mississippi River and adjacent 3rd Ave/Central Ave and stone arch bridges. SERVICE Attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable - staff appear happy and proud to be here. FOOD (WETU * SPRING MENU) OWAMNI's decolonized menu (no wheat, flour, dairy, refined sugar = GF) is known for innovating traditional Native American cuisine with modern culinary techniques, seasonal flavors, and a heavy reliance on corn, sunflower and sumac. TO SHARE WAKSÍKA THANKA SMOKED BISON (tender): * Bison Reduction (savory) with pungent leek sprouts (garlicky) PLANT * WATHÓTHO 5/5 SWEET POTATO: * Maple Chili Crisp (subtlety spicy and smoky) 3/5 MUSTARD GREENS (overcooked): * Caramelized Onion (missing) * Crispy Garlic (umami) GAME * THADO 5/5 (Venison) TARTARE: * Berry Leather * Pickled Blueberry (whole and sweet) * Cured Duck Egg (shaved) * Mushroom (mixed in tartare) 4.5/5 CRICKETS (smoky) + POPCORN: * Candied Seeds (sweet) with a tart sumac dust on popcorn 5/5 ELK (savory) TACO: * Sweet Potato (purée) * Wojapi (sweet berry purée) * blue corn tortilla DESSERTSWEET 5/5 SKUYA: Duck Fat Caramel (sweet, rich)
Very beautiful restaurant interior and concept, with a mission statement that left a good lasting impression. However, despite these positive aspects, I found the actual food to be adequate at best. The ingredients themselves seemed to shine through quite well but the overall flavor was mostly dependent on what the server tells you what to expect. Based on the other reviews the other seasonal menus seem to be worth a try, but for me personally I would wait until the Spring season is over to give it another shot.
After discovering Owamni by The Sioux Chef while researching things to try, I legit put reminders on my calendar and iPhone for when reservations would open up... because there was no way I was going to miss trying this restaurant. In the "About" section of their website, Owamni highlights they were created "for the purposes of job creation (featuring a majority Native staff), moving more Indigenous products developed by Native food producers, and showcasing true North American Indigenous foods and culture. (...) acquired by nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) in September 2023, paving the way for more hands-on training opportunities, guest chefs, Indigenous food R&D, and producer spotlights." What's not to love about this?! I was able to secure my reservation and then experience Owamni during my recent Minneapolis visit... and can I tell you? It is truly not to be missed. One of my most favorite meals I've had, for sure. I arrived at Owamni a couple minutes early, but only had to wait a very short time before being seated. The size of the restaurant allows for most every table to have a view of the Hennepin Avenue Bridge and Mississippi River - lovely. I started my order with one of their non-alcoholic cocktails, the Gaagaagiwagandag - Juniper cocktail made with blackberries and cranberries (which was DELICIOUS) and a bowl of the bison + walnut soup (with tepary beans and nixtamal). The soup had a delicious kick of spice as well, which was a wonderful surprise. For my main order, I tried a corn taco (with corn jam, corn fritters, and sumac popcorn) and an elk taco (with sweet potato and wojapi). Each order includes one individual taco. I also ordered the oysters (half dozen) that was served with a blackberry mignonette. I'll be honest... I'm not a huge fan of sweet potatoes (my tastebuds seem to be very sensitive to the sweetness) and I wasn't sure how I would feel about the elk taco, but I wanted to try it because sweet potatoes are typically considered such a staple of indigenous food. And can I tell you? I was delightfully surprised that the sweet potato flavor wasn't overly sweet to me at all - it was a great balance to the elk and other ingredients in the taco. The corn taco though... the corn taco. *drools* The corn jam was delectable and added great flavor, the sumac popcorn added just the right texture, and the corn fritters were *chef's kiss*. When it came time for dessert, I needed a bit of time to digest first. I asked the server if I could get dessert to go, and she confirmed it wouldn't be an issue. I opted for the sweet potato donut with candied seeds and maple vanilla. After a couple minutes, my server brought out a little box with my dessert. Owamni is an experience, and their mission is one of great importance. The food was exceptional in both preparation and taste. I wish I had been able to dine at Owamni more than once on my recent visit, honestly (I just didn't have the time). But if I'm ever back in Minneapolis? I am 100% planning to return. Thank you to the folks at Owamni for such a wonderful dining experience all around.
This is my third time at Owamni. The first two times I went to Owamni, the food was excellent. The bison tacos were so tender and the ratio of sauce to the meat was perfect. The elk balls were also delicious with the spicy, sweet red sauce underneath and the slight crunch from the scallions. The service was great too. Our servers were very friendly and attentive. FOOD: This time, food consistency and quality went downhill. The bison taco was disappointing. Meat was overcooked and dry, and there was barely any of the green sauce underneath, compared to last time. It tasted like a subpar street taco. The elk balls looked more like oblong shapes instead of the perfectly shaped balls that I had gotten the first time I went to Owamni. The flavoring was a little bit off - tasted underseasoned, but that might be because they were so stingy with the red sauce and the sweet puree under the elk balls. It tasted so dry without that sauce, and it was hard to swallow the meat. So unenjoyable. There was no scallion garnish either, even though it was on there the first time. Shortly after we received our food, we also saw another table getting elk balls with the garnish. Did the chef just forget to put the scallion garnish on ours, or is he doing it on every other dish? Very inconsistent plating. The elk balls taste a lot better with the crunch and flavor of the scallion garnish. I included photos of the bison tacos and elk balls from this visit and the previous visits, so that you can see the difference in quality. SERVICE: Additionally, the service this time was terrible. Our server took a very long time to come to our table, because she was chatting with an older couple behind the bar. The older couple was already being helped by the bartender, so I don't know why she decided to jump in there unnecessarily. When she came over to our table, she just stared at us blankly for a solid 5 seconds before asking if we were ready to order. We put in our order, and she left. Halfway through our meal, I had finished my hot tea, and I wanted a hot water refill so I looked around the restaurant for our server. She was behind the bar again and when I tried to make eye contact with her, she would just look away and ignore me. When she was making her way to other tables behind us, I also tried to make eye contact again, and she quickly scurried away and never checked up on us. Luckily, I was able to get to her stop at our table after staring at her and loudly saying "excuse me" and asking her for a refill for our hot teas. Guess what? She refilled the teas, and the water was lukewarm. Not hot at all. Is a hot water refill a difficult request to fulfill? The last two times I went to Owami, I didn't even have to ask the servers to refill my tea. They just came over to my table and asked me if I wanted a refill. I was pleasantly surprised that they were so attentive, and guess what? The water they poured was HOT. Not lukewarm. There were only three times that she checked up on us - 1) to the take our order 2) to refill the tea after I finally managed to get her attention 3) to give us our checks. She was not particularly friendly either, and she even seemed annoyed when I asked if we could have a hot water refill for our teas. I only asked her for one refill. It's not like I hounded her multiple times for it, so I don't understand why she was so annoyed and decided to give me lukewarm water. All in all, service was 1/5 this time. Food was 2/5. The only reason the overall rating is 3/5 is that the last two times I visited Owamni, the food was absolutely delicious. My boyfriend, who booked the reservation, left detailed feedback for Owamni regarding this visit, so I hope they actually took the time to read it since he never received any response from them. Our reservation was for April 24th at 5:15 pm, just in case whoever at Owamni reads this needs to refer back to it. I will not recommend Owamni to anyone again or return to the restaurant due to the inconsistent food quality and inconsistent service.
Outstanding. Location and view is gorgeous. 3 of us on a work trip waited about 25min on a Wednesday at about 630pm and then took our place at the "bar." Not close to the overall BEST food I've ever eaten, but easily the most INTERESTING meal I've ever had. The 3 of us shared everything and covered the whole menu of small plates plus the stuffed green tomatoes. The standouts were the venison tartare, squash dessert, elk tacos, and duck pupusa...but really, everything was excellent.
Absolutely fantastic experience. The food wasn't totally for me, as I'm a little picky about what I eat, but there was a Bison Meatloaf that was killer. The service was extremely kind and really helped us out a lot to understand the menu and the experience overall. The place was beautiful and we loved sharing the experience together.
they are liars , I don't recommend to anyone . I went there for Uber inspection with 2024 new car that had 200 miles on it , and they told me I must buy 4 new tires , and left and I went to Honda dealer and got my inspection done in few mins without buying any tires . I don't recommend it to no one .
Restaurantji Recommends
If you are looking for great food at a classy place near the Stonebridge and Mill City, I recommend this place. I am glad I read recommendations on Reddit about this place. It is one of the places that is very unique in all regards: * It is indigenous managed, curated, and inspired * The food is awesome and tapas size * Remember that this place has a 13% service charge on top of tax and tip I had a few dishes and each one was great. The bartender, Tad, was patient with my questions. I gave it a 4 since I ha a reaction to the very delicious sweet potato tapa that has chili pepper sauce. It really did a number on my tummy.
AMAZING. It was hard to get a reservation, but so worth it. The food was not only tasty, but it made us all feel good. 6 of us went for my husbands birthday and all of us commented that while we ate A LOT we didn't feel like it the day after.
Unfortunately I can't leave a review about the food, but I can say something about the customer service. For context, I have celiac disease and eating out is challenging as I cannot consume gluten. My wife and I traveled to Minneapolis for three days for an event. When searching for restaurants my wife discovered Owamni. I was very excited about their menu is gluten-free. I checked for their website for reservations and it indicated to call during business hours to inquire. I placed a call shortly after they opened at 11:00 am. I was told their were no more dinner reservations available for that evening but they accept walk ins in the bar area. I asked about walk ins and was told if we arrive before 6:00 we should be fine and at most would need to wait 15-20 minutes. Not wanting to miss out, we arrived at 5:00. Upon arrival we noticed no one was waiting. We informed the hostess that we did not have a reservation. She and her colleague hesitated for several seconds and stated they could not seat us in the bar (walk in) section until 7:30! Two and a half hours! I informed them that I had called earlier and was told to be there before 6:00. They stated they had a lot of walk ins. This may be true, even though not a single person was waiting in the lobby or outside. We had an engagement at 7:45 so could not wait, so I turned to my wife to discuss alternate plans. At this moment the hostess says, "have a nice day". No acknowledgement of the misinformation I was given earlier, or attempt to offer a solution. I don't expect them to seat us if they don't have a table, but the attitude and customer service was the worst I have ever had at a restaurant. So we had to leave and quickly fine another gluten free dining option. As we are walking out the door the hostess once again says, "have a nice day." The insensitivity to our situation was unbelievable. Clearly we were not having a "nice day" at this point! How about something like this, 'I'm sorry we could not accommodate you this evening, but I hope .you will come back and dine with us in the future.' For comparison, we quickly pivoted and headed over to a restaurant called Chloe by Vincent. The hostess there greeted us with a big smile and friendly greeting. We informed here that we did not have a reservation. I could see they were busy and she studied her computer for a few seconds. She then said, "we will make it work." How accommodating, but more importantly, what a great attitude and example of customer service. My recommendation, head to Chloe by Vincent if you are a celiac and find yourself in Minneapolis.
The best tasting bison and elk tacos are here! We also tried the corn tacos, sweet potato, corn chowder, and tepary bean dip was outstanding. The sweet potato donuts and sweet tamales were fantastic as well. We had a lovely meal and will return. The thoughtfulness to return to indigenous foods is beautiful. We tried as many items on the menu as 4 people could eat and everyone loved the sharable selections from plant, game to sweet. A delicious spring menu. The location was perfect along the river. We had a change in server, the first was excellent the second was just ok. We are big on service and believe that service enhances the meal. Wish we had kept our first server. Not sure what happened to cause the change. The purpose of this restaurant is so important and the chef is phenomenal. It would add to the experience if the servers could give a little more context about the dishes or more description on the menu. The corn chowder is described as sharable so I would also recommend small spoons and little bowls. Recommendations only to elevate the experience because It's a fantastic restaurant and I can hardly wait to return.
great food and excellent customer service, will definitely be back if we're in Indianapolis again!