Fhima's

The restaurant and lounge is closed and out of business. I will continue to type to make sure I use my minimum of 100 characters Pros: Looks nice Cons: The fact that it is closed more

Unfortunately, Fhima's is no longer open, so if you are looking for a bite in downtown Saint Paul, you'll be best off looking somewhere else. If you are interested in a menu from David Fhima, he is still the head chef at LoTo last time I checked, which is in lowertown St. P in the bottom of Galtier Plaza. Pros: Good food Cons: Closed... more

I've been to this restaurant a couple of times since it opened and was definately concerned this last year with all the bad media coverage Fhima's recieved as it has been one of my favorites...So, I stopped by for the first time in a while last Saturday and was pleasently surprised to see it fairly busy despite the bitter cold. My friend and I started with a drink at the bar, unsure if we were going to stay for dinner. We ordered two of their signature infused Martini - the Fantini - which is always good and chatted for a bit. While we were chatting the bartender mentioned that they had just made a change to their menu and offered to show us. We took a look and were interested in some of the new items so we decided to stay for dinner, The bartender arranged for a nice table by the window - a nice touch and we sat down to get started with our meal. On our servers reccomendation (she took us through the menu even though we had been there before but since it there were a number of new items we didn't mind) we started with the Wedge Salad (me) and a bowl of the Harira (my friend). The wedge sald was excellent with a nice combination of blue cheese and candied walnuts - definately my kind of thing. My friend thought the Harira was a little different from the soups he usually liked but found in interesting and I tasted abit and really liked the spices in it. For the main course I tried the new duck and my friend went with the Pesto Halibut. Now it was time for wine and unfortunately the list was a little thin - the server told me that they are changing the list - but we found a decent red at a good price that went well with our dinners. I loved the duck! Really cool presentation with a halved duck breast in some sort of plum sauce and a layered phyllo and duck pastry on the side. My Friend also enjoyed the Halibut - only complaint is that the menu is now ala carte and he missed the potatoes from the old halibut! Oh well! Glad to see Fhima's doing well again. Pros: Like the new menu; great bartenders Cons: heat had trouble keeping up with the cold more

A group of five of us dined here Friday 5 January. The entrees (bouillabaise, seafood risotto, chicken rigatoni, lamb tagine) were fine, although two other items overshadowed them: the addictive pita-like bread and a chicken leg appetizer (don't recall the name), both reaching the excellent category. A spinach salad was very good, with a dressing that I couldn't identify (or remember), but which I wish I could duplicate at home. Pros: Food Cons: Service (at least this time) more

Stopped in here just for drinks before meeting friends at a different place. We sat at the bar. The bartender did make some great drinks but the service was slow. Apparently they had a DJ coming in too, because he was setting up while we were drinking. The place still has it's ambience and some of the trendy crowd still seems to be there, but it's lost some of it's lustre. I don't know that this can be attributed just to Fhima's though. For a while there St. Paul was the scene when all the places clustered around Lawson were new. They drew some of the Minneapolis crowd away and some of the 9 to 5'ers stuck around to check out the new places, but I think on the whole for the trendy scene St. Paul is played out. It seems with the new bars and clubs opening, once again Minneapolis is the late night destination. Pros: Still the same Fhima's Cons: *STILL* the same Fhima's more

My husband and I both had our first experience at Fhima's this past Saturday for my birthday dinner. I was incredibly dissappointed with the service and the food. There was no hostess whenw e arrived so, after standing at the front for a minute or two, our actual waiter seated us. Our waiter, similar to the last review, came back 10-15 minutes after we ordered and asked us to repeat our order (we had no special requests so it should not have been confusing). They did not have the bottle of wine we ordered which was fine I guess - they brought us a decent substitute. The service was slow considering there were only 5 other tables occupied in the entire place (at 7:30 p.m.) And the food was mediocre - my husband's chicken and couscous dish and my seafood stew left something to be desired. At a different pricepoint the service and food may have been acceptable but for a dinner over $100 we would definitely take my business elsewhere. more

The only person who was polite to us was the Host. Our server was beyond rude. 30 minutes after we had order our entrees he came up to the table and asked what we had ordered. We repeated our orders and then he told me that they were out of the Salmon Wellington, which I had ordered. ""What else do you want? I can get it out very quick, I'll put it on the fly."" It seems to me that ""very quick"" would have been telling me that they were out of my dish before the half hour mark. He brought me a menu and left. 5 minutes later he returned and said that they actually did have the Salmon Wellington. 20 minutes after this, with empty wine glasses and our server nowhere to be found, our food finally comes out. I found it very odd that food orders that take almost an hour could be undercooked. I would have understood if they had been busy, but it was a Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m., there were 4 other tables in the restaurant. The worst part was that no one seemed to even care that this had happened. We weren't even offered so much as an apology from anyone in the restaurant. I was very disappointed with the food and the service and I will never go back. more

I have to admit that the last two times I visited Fhima's I found it to be stale and old,I gave it a try on Sat night ,it was amazing to see Mr Fhima in the kitchen work his magic the food was great ,service could have been better but the original feel of this St Paul gem is definetly back. more

First, a confession: I was once a habitue of this pretty little downtown gem. My husband and I took many out-of-town guests here to enjoy the fab decor, the outstanding wine list, and the delicious Moroccan-French cuisine. However, we hadn't made it back for a few years until last night... and, simply stated, the entire experience was cringe inducing. Clearly, the spark has been snuffed out. Due either to owner David Fhima's monetary problems or an achingly bad attempt to satisfy the palates of the lowest of all possible common denominators, the menu was tired, hackneyed, and about ten years past its prime. The wine room -- once so beautiful and awe-inspiring -- was decimated and desolate. And don't get me started on the service, particularly in light of its past glory of attentive and sophisticated staff. My heart breaks for what this once was, what it truly tried to become, and the dismal place into which it evolved. Pros: good location, easy parking Cons: menu, wine list, rude service more

I've not eaten a full meal at Fhima's, and had wanted to. After our experience this past Friday it's questinable if we'd ever go back. Pros: Swanky, cool setting... a menu that appears promising Cons: Horrid service, lies about ingredients. more

I probably don't even need to mention it, but this is a cool feeling restaurant. The vast majority of the staff is great, but I've had the occasional overly aloof server. I don't like over-attentive service so it has never been a problem for me. I love any of the tajines. Steak is great. Deserts are lovely. I almost hesitate to say it for fear of sounding down on St. Paul, but Fhimas elevates our quaint town while still respecting it. Pros: very sleek and cool, excellent flavors, wine more

Fhima's has been one of my favorite restaurants for the last 2 years I got a little tired of it and stopped going but after trying other restaurants in St Paul I realised why it is still the best the food ,menu and flavors are unique and well prepared service overral is great but needs improvement the decor still the HIPPEST in St paul. Pros: food, wine tlist, decor more

Since I do business in downtown St. Paul, I've had the unfortunate experience of dining at Fhima's 5 times in the past three months. It's getting worse every time, service has always been marginal, the food about average. Service has now degraded to ""who cares"". My worst experience was ordering spaghetti for lunch... came out cold. As in, they got the plate out of the fridge leftover from the night before cold... I spoke to the waiter, who merely grabbed the plate and departed. It came back a few minutes later incinerated... in the microwave it seemed. The past around the edge was now dry. I spoke to the help again and just said cancel my order. We finished our lunch and when I got the bill my lunch was still on the tab. LoTo, another Fhima effort downtown has been much better. Finger's crossed that it stays that way. Cons: terrible food, horendous service, It's still open more

Great food but marginal service. A reservation made 8 weeks in advance was lost, my wife's dish had glass in it, and the wait staff was clearly understaffed/overworked so the attention wasn't as prompt as it could have been. Pros: Good food, Valet parking Cons: Service more

Fhima's last night and had the worst service ever. 9 of us were seated by a very unfriendly person who never gave us a drink menu, in fact she never said hello, we sat for 15 min. finally we went and ask for the menu. we waited another 15 min. for someone to come over to take our order. we were in the restaurant 30 min. before anyone even talk to us. They were out of things, food was not cooked right, meals did not arrive at the table at the same time, we would ask for refills or new drinks and never got them. The waitress was not friendly and did not know the words I'm sorry. She never came back to ask us how our food was so I ate my overcooked lamb. The place was not busy. For a $550.00 dollar bill I expect more.Stay away. Pros: wine Cons: service, service, service more

A unique and eclectic menu combining Moroccan and French cuisine from an excellent lamb tajine to a great bouillabaise combining a decor and food to please the pre theatre and pre hockey crowd all in a trendy but elegant atmosphere. Pros: cuisine, service, wine list Cons: noise level more

I really love the interior of this place! Since it's very visible in downtown, my husband and I had passed by dozens of times & always assumed it was expensive (also due to the hype). However, the prices are pretty decent. The food is also decent- nothing to write home to Mom about, but not horrible. My husband tried the tuna, I believe (don't remember the name of the dish) and really disliked it. My main complaint is that the server did not bring our entrees out at the same time! There were only three of us and it was quite akward that one of us got our meal 10 minutes later than the others! On the plus side, we enjoyed the live salsa music during our late night meal. Pros: Interior, salsa, wine Cons: average food more

The best thing about this place has got to be the wine list. We almost didn't get to the food menu while we read through the pages of wine. Once we did order, the mussles and tapas were excellent. The lamb in the clay pot was wonderful as well. The services was prompt, friendly, and knowledgeable. It was a little loud because of the live music, but there were more open tables away from the bar. I will go again, but probably not during the music. Pros: Wine, Service Cons: Loud more

I have been hearing both positive and negitive feedback regarding the ""highly talked about"" fhimas so I decided to check it out for myself. I was there last weekend and was blown away. From the moment we walked in the door we were treated like royality. Our server was extremly knowledgeable and genuinely nice, not what most people are used to. We told our server we were not in any hurry and he let us take our time. At no point did we ever feel rushed to get out of there. The food was amazing, I was really impressed with the presentation of everything. I had a tjaine...AMAZING! The manager stopped by our table and talked with us for a short while and thanked us for coming in. Best of all we actually got a phone call a couple days later thanking us for coming in. WOW! Pros: service, atmosphere, menu Cons: a little loud more

Went to fhima's last night for happy. We sat on the patio, waiting for a server to bring us manus, water, something. Two servers came out, looked me directly in the eye, and walked back inside or proceeded to bus empty tables at a snail's pace. the only people who got any service were fhima's own servers, drinking after work. I'm a server too, and would never let that kind of ""service"" fly around me. I won't be back. Pros: cheap food, drinks Cons: terrible service, trashy scene more