Food is decent but a bit overpriced for the portion sizes. I did like that a lot of the dishes had some unique flavors infused into them.
David Perez
I meet friends in this place from time to time! This is my favorite place to have a bite. I visit this place frequently. The meals are very good, the staff members are friendly and the charge is decent. I like being in this place for a tasty meal.
Carlos Figari
Great place. You know its fresh when the menu is small and still varied. Great location. Lunch hour parking is a pain but it's only two.blocks from the light rail.
Nita Bengtson
I had dinner here last week and the restaurant was perfect for a relaxing dinner made even better by the amazing food and the even more amazing server Sarah!
Connie D.
This is my second restaurant week visit to Octo and it probably won't be my last! The service was quick, but not super rushed. The food was fresh and delicious and I love the open concept set-up of the restaurant. However, where we were seated was a little cramped. My friend and I were seated at the end of one of those booth-table-chair two person set up and it was a pretty small space, considering I had my large winter jacket that I had to shove in between me and the wall and the next table of two was only a few feet away on my other side. I would definitely try to ask if there was a table with more space next time. Aside from that, our server was attentive and prompt. We decided to share a bottle of wine and chose the White Queen Chardonnay. The wine complimented the seafood nicely, but as it warmed up to room temperature towards the end of our meal, it became a little less likable. The Restaurant Week menu comes with the seafood tower, mussels with pasta, fried rice with shrimp, and a whole fish. The oysters, scallop crudo and salmon poke in the seafood tower was fresh and had me wanting like five more! The mussels with calamarata pasta was so flavorful! The pasta was buttery and topped with a coriander-mint pesto, which I very surprisingly loved! I would love to have this has an entree if Octo offered it! The fried rice with shrimp course was probably my least favorite. I didn't find anything especially appealing about this dish; it was fine, but not a lot to say about it. I remember it being dry and not really flavorful. The last course, the whole fish, was great! The outer coating was light and crispy, the sauce that came with it was had a buttery-squashy flavor. Very, unique- I've never had anything like it! I wished there was something else served with the fish like a grain of some sort, otherwise, the meal as a whole was great! The dishes were brought out one right after another, with the finished plate cleared right away. We were there for probably only an hour. This is located in Lowertown, so your parking options are metered street parking or a paid lot. Overall, the seafood is fresh, and definitely a great place for quality seafood in St. Paul!
Pat Walsh
great place and the forbidden rice is amazing!
David Claney
Really great balance of flavors. Super fresh, beautiful presentation and overall execution stand out in Twin Cities Market. Super impressed with vegetable preparations. Great job!
Claire L.
Love it here! The bartender and servers are always super friendly, the space is huge, and the rotating food is always good! I love coming here being able to buy fresh fish to take home while getting a bite for now and a drink. Matt the bartender is super helpful and patient with all of the questions.
meow yay
My husband and I had an excellent time here. The staff are tremendously hospitable and well trained. The food was fresh and delicious! We love the variety of seafood and how it was prepared. I personally loved the seaweed garnishes, I think they have a big impact to the freshness of the dish and they are delicious! We are really satisfied with our food and the pricing. The weekly special was reasonably priced and offer a great wide range of raw, cooked, and different culture cuisines.
Regina Buchanan
I love this place! I've been a few times now and every time I dine here I get exceptional service and lip-smacking delicious food. Today I sat at the bar for happy hour and did some studying. The bartender was very welcoming and friendly. Food came out quickly. Everything was prepared perfectly, especially the calamari! That green sauce is to die for!!!!! This is quickly becoming one of my go to spots in St. Paul.
Some of the best seafood around hands down. The oysters and lobster role are well prepared and delicious, and beer selection is above average. This is a premium seafood restaurant and prices reflect that, but all things considered, every meal here is going to be memorable and worth it if it's in the budget.
Chelsea Thai
Mix drinks were off. Waitress/Server was very rude and disrespectful! Food over priced for a small portion. Was charged for food that we never received! waited 2 hours for our food! Never returning back there again!!!!!
Kenneth Mapes
I told my friends about this place with my highest recommendations. I visit this restaurant often. I get very good feedback from my friends. The meals are fantastic and the crew is welcoming and cooperative. Every time we go to this place we pass a lovely evening. highly recommended.
Bonnie N.
I came to this restaurant when it first opened and loved everything I ordered. We came here to celebrate a birthday and was expecting the same great quality food and service. We had a party of 10 on a Wednesday night. It was a slow night for them as there were maybe 3 other tables. It was restaurant week and we had decided to order 4 special seafood for platters for two. We were very clear when ordering because one of our friends HATES seafood so she ordered steak. The seafood platters came out but the steak came out last..we had to ask 3 times for the steak. We felt horrible because our "seafood hating" friend was starving. When it finally came out the steak was Luke warm ... all of the dishes we had this night were the wrong temperature. My oysters and seafood dishes were warm and the hot foods - steak and whole fish were cool...the service through out the night was awful, the waitress was not attentive and was rude to our group. To make matters worst, the bill was rang up incorrectly and the waitress didn't own up to her mistakes. Our table was clearly upset, but the manager didn't try to do anything to make the situation better. Won't be coming back here.
Carissa E.
We were super excited to come here, we had heard so many great things about the food. I'll start off on a positivE note the food was REALLY good! The ceviche was underwhelming because of its size but was overwhelming with flavor! My hubs ordered the mussels and was really impressed with the amount of food and the aweSome flavors. I ordered the salmon - ugh it was so flavorful with the sauces and peppers, I was full but I didn't want to let any of it go to waste. The dessert was also very good, the butterscotch pie we devoured that in seconds. Food A++ - the service on the other hand was so strange! We arrived and no one was at the host stand so we awkwardly stood there for awhile then wandered in (it wasn't very busy) looked around .. then finally I saw 2-3 waitresses standing at the bar just hanging out chatting. Then we approached them aNd she sent us back to the front then a waiter came up while eating his food then sat us. They all were congregated by the bar chatting or on their phone so that was strange. But overall the food stole the show.
Food is decent but a bit overpriced for the portion sizes. I did like that a lot of the dishes had some unique flavors infused into them.
I meet friends in this place from time to time! This is my favorite place to have a bite. I visit this place frequently. The meals are very good, the staff members are friendly and the charge is decent. I like being in this place for a tasty meal.
Great place. You know its fresh when the menu is small and still varied. Great location. Lunch hour parking is a pain but it's only two.blocks from the light rail.
I had dinner here last week and the restaurant was perfect for a relaxing dinner made even better by the amazing food and the even more amazing server Sarah!
This is my second restaurant week visit to Octo and it probably won't be my last! The service was quick, but not super rushed. The food was fresh and delicious and I love the open concept set-up of the restaurant. However, where we were seated was a little cramped. My friend and I were seated at the end of one of those booth-table-chair two person set up and it was a pretty small space, considering I had my large winter jacket that I had to shove in between me and the wall and the next table of two was only a few feet away on my other side. I would definitely try to ask if there was a table with more space next time. Aside from that, our server was attentive and prompt. We decided to share a bottle of wine and chose the White Queen Chardonnay. The wine complimented the seafood nicely, but as it warmed up to room temperature towards the end of our meal, it became a little less likable. The Restaurant Week menu comes with the seafood tower, mussels with pasta, fried rice with shrimp, and a whole fish. The oysters, scallop crudo and salmon poke in the seafood tower was fresh and had me wanting like five more! The mussels with calamarata pasta was so flavorful! The pasta was buttery and topped with a coriander-mint pesto, which I very surprisingly loved! I would love to have this has an entree if Octo offered it! The fried rice with shrimp course was probably my least favorite. I didn't find anything especially appealing about this dish; it was fine, but not a lot to say about it. I remember it being dry and not really flavorful. The last course, the whole fish, was great! The outer coating was light and crispy, the sauce that came with it was had a buttery-squashy flavor. Very, unique- I've never had anything like it! I wished there was something else served with the fish like a grain of some sort, otherwise, the meal as a whole was great! The dishes were brought out one right after another, with the finished plate cleared right away. We were there for probably only an hour. This is located in Lowertown, so your parking options are metered street parking or a paid lot. Overall, the seafood is fresh, and definitely a great place for quality seafood in St. Paul!
great place and the forbidden rice is amazing!
Really great balance of flavors. Super fresh, beautiful presentation and overall execution stand out in Twin Cities Market. Super impressed with vegetable preparations. Great job!
Love it here! The bartender and servers are always super friendly, the space is huge, and the rotating food is always good! I love coming here being able to buy fresh fish to take home while getting a bite for now and a drink. Matt the bartender is super helpful and patient with all of the questions.
My husband and I had an excellent time here. The staff are tremendously hospitable and well trained. The food was fresh and delicious! We love the variety of seafood and how it was prepared. I personally loved the seaweed garnishes, I think they have a big impact to the freshness of the dish and they are delicious! We are really satisfied with our food and the pricing. The weekly special was reasonably priced and offer a great wide range of raw, cooked, and different culture cuisines.
I love this place! I've been a few times now and every time I dine here I get exceptional service and lip-smacking delicious food. Today I sat at the bar for happy hour and did some studying. The bartender was very welcoming and friendly. Food came out quickly. Everything was prepared perfectly, especially the calamari! That green sauce is to die for!!!!! This is quickly becoming one of my go to spots in St. Paul.
Restaurantji Recommends
Some of the best seafood around hands down. The oysters and lobster role are well prepared and delicious, and beer selection is above average. This is a premium seafood restaurant and prices reflect that, but all things considered, every meal here is going to be memorable and worth it if it's in the budget.
Mix drinks were off. Waitress/Server was very rude and disrespectful! Food over priced for a small portion. Was charged for food that we never received! waited 2 hours for our food! Never returning back there again!!!!!
I told my friends about this place with my highest recommendations. I visit this restaurant often. I get very good feedback from my friends. The meals are fantastic and the crew is welcoming and cooperative. Every time we go to this place we pass a lovely evening. highly recommended.
I came to this restaurant when it first opened and loved everything I ordered. We came here to celebrate a birthday and was expecting the same great quality food and service. We had a party of 10 on a Wednesday night. It was a slow night for them as there were maybe 3 other tables. It was restaurant week and we had decided to order 4 special seafood for platters for two. We were very clear when ordering because one of our friends HATES seafood so she ordered steak. The seafood platters came out but the steak came out last..we had to ask 3 times for the steak. We felt horrible because our "seafood hating" friend was starving. When it finally came out the steak was Luke warm ... all of the dishes we had this night were the wrong temperature. My oysters and seafood dishes were warm and the hot foods - steak and whole fish were cool...the service through out the night was awful, the waitress was not attentive and was rude to our group. To make matters worst, the bill was rang up incorrectly and the waitress didn't own up to her mistakes. Our table was clearly upset, but the manager didn't try to do anything to make the situation better. Won't be coming back here.
We were super excited to come here, we had heard so many great things about the food. I'll start off on a positivE note the food was REALLY good! The ceviche was underwhelming because of its size but was overwhelming with flavor! My hubs ordered the mussels and was really impressed with the amount of food and the aweSome flavors. I ordered the salmon - ugh it was so flavorful with the sauces and peppers, I was full but I didn't want to let any of it go to waste. The dessert was also very good, the butterscotch pie we devoured that in seconds. Food A++ - the service on the other hand was so strange! We arrived and no one was at the host stand so we awkwardly stood there for awhile then wandered in (it wasn't very busy) looked around .. then finally I saw 2-3 waitresses standing at the bar just hanging out chatting. Then we approached them aNd she sent us back to the front then a waiter came up while eating his food then sat us. They all were congregated by the bar chatting or on their phone so that was strange. But overall the food stole the show.