Spoonriver

Will not return! Been here multiple times, last night (April 1, 2014) with the intent to use a Living Social voucher. The restaurant did not honor my voucher's promotional value, which states ""Enjoy by April 1, 2014."" This language includes, does not exclude April 1. The restaurant's response: That's Living Social's fault; their contract requires honoring the voucher only through March 31. Interesting: A promotion to bring in customers is denied, not on clear language to the customer, but on a secret contract. Moreover, if you are trying to bring in customers, is this the battle you choose? Is one day that big of a deal? Is Spoonriver's profit that much more important than satisfying customers with an enjoyable dining experience? This decision certainly reveals this restaurant's mixed-up priorities. more

On a recent trip to Minneapolis for a family wedding we had a few hours to kill and ended up at the Mill... more

On a recent trip to Minneapolis for a family wedding we had a few hours to kill and ended up at the Mill City Farmers Market looking for fresh appl... more

Had an order of the Thai Curry ($16): Tofu, rice, and vegetables. Food was delicious, staff was knowledgeable, and the ambiance was chic. more

I just had an extremely disappointing experience at Spoonriver, which shouldn't shock me, because my previous meal there was terrible. When I entered, nobody greeted me, and when I was finally approached, the hostess was cold and brusque, and reluctantly seated me outside. The waitress was inattentive: I had to ask repeatedly for condiments and waited an inordinately long amount of time to get them. I also asked repeatedly for water and never got a refill. It was during the lunch hour and not at all busy. For the prices, the service should be much much better. (I paid $14 for a sub-par veggie burger that came with skimpy sides.) The waitress also took my plate away before I had finished! I suggest going to Ecopolitan for a much more delicious vegan/vegetarian experience. (Or any of the other terrific restaurants downtown.) What a disappointment. more

My daughter got married this weekend at the Mill City Museum (great venue!). Our out of town guests stayed at Aloft (very nice!) and we wanted to have a day-after-the-wedding-brunch nearby. We chose Spoonriver for its proximity, initially, and are very happy we did! We thought about 25 people would show up, but many more did, descending on the little restaurant like an invading army. The staff were gracious and unflappable and arranged for everyone to be seated in short order, outdoors and at every available table indoors. The service was great, the staff very friendly and attentive, the food excellent! I had the scrambled eggs with chives and chevre and it was delicious, with fresh grapes and huge blackberries on the side...they certainly didn't skimp on the chevre! I spread much of it, melted and delicious, on marbled bread slices. Separate checks were no problem, either. We had a lovely end to a lovely weekend at Spoonriver! You should go! Pros: great food, very accomodating Cons: small more

My daughter got married this weekend at the Mill City Museum (great venue!). Our out of town guests stayed at Aloft (very nice!) and we wanted to have a day-after-the-wedding-brunch nearby. We chose Spoonriver for its proximity, initially, and are very happy we did! We thought about 25 people would show up, but many more did, descending on the little restaurant like an invading army. The staff were gracious and unflappable and arranged for everyone to be seated in short order, outdoors and at every available table indoors. The service was great, the staff very friendly and attentive, the food excellent! I had the scrambled eggs with chives and chevre and it was delicious, with fresh grapes and huge blackberries on the side...they certainly didn't skimp on the chevre! I spread much of it, melted and delicious, on marbled bread slices. Separate checks were no problem, either. We had a lovely end to a lovely weekend at Spoonriver! You should go! Pros: great food, very accomodating Cons: small more

The friendly staff made us very welcome in this relaxing environment. All three of us enjoyed our food, and we will definitely revisit. The Tofu Scramble was flavored well, with the vegetables cooked perfectly. Pros: Great environment Cons: Weren't any more

The friendly staff made us very welcome in this relaxing environment. All three of us enjoyed our food, and we will definitely revisit. The Tofu Scramble was flavored well, with the vegetables cooked perfectly. Pros: Great environment Cons: Weren't any more

For all the press they get you'd think they knew how to cook. The waiter picked his nose in fron of us and wiped it on his apron. The owner tried to schmooze us, yet when we told her of our distaste for bland watery food took umbrage with the commentary. For what is supposed to be an upscale place I find it to be little more than a dump full of flakes who pick their noses or act like passive aggressive wimps. We left booger boy a napkin for a tip. Pros: absolutley nothing Cons: They lie more

For all the press they get you'd think they knew how to cook. The waiter picked his nose in fron of us and wiped it on his apron. The owner tried to schmooze us, yet when we told her of our distaste for bland watery food took umbrage with the commentary. For what is supposed to be an upscale place I find it to be little more than a dump full of flakes who pick their noses or act like passive aggressive wimps. We left booger boy a napkin for a tip. Pros: absolutley nothing Cons: They lie more

I had brunch at Spoonriver a few weeks ago, and I have eaten there 2 or 3 other times. Most recently, I ordered the delicious scrambled eggs, which were mixed with chevre and topped with truffle oil. My friend, however, ordered the tofu scramble, and as soon as the server set it down, I could smell the ginger and spices steaming up from it. I happened to read the last comment about this dish, and I couldn't disagree more. Although I only had a few bites, I found the dish to be tasty and well-seasoned. A lot of restaurants have a token tofu dish for vegetarians, but this one was artfully prepared unlike the tasteless, oily preparations I've had elsewhere. Other than the fact that it was a bit warm in the dining room, I can't think of any other issues with my meal. I would definitely return there for brunch after the market. Pros: Vegetarian Brunch Items Cons: Warm dining room more

I had brunch at Spoonriver a few weeks ago, and I have eaten there 2 or 3 other times. Most recently, I ordered the delicious scrambled eggs, which were mixed with chevre and topped with truffle oil. My friend, however, ordered the tofu scramble, and as soon as the server set it down, I could smell the ginger and spices steaming up from it. I happened to read the last comment about this dish, and I couldn't disagree more. Although I only had a few bites, I found the dish to be tasty and well-seasoned. A lot of restaurants have a token tofu dish for vegetarians, but this one was artfully prepared unlike the tasteless, oily preparations I've had elsewhere. Other than the fact that it was a bit warm in the dining room, I can't think of any other issues with my meal. I would definitely return there for brunch after the market. Pros: Vegetarian Brunch Items Cons: Warm dining room more

I was so excited to go to this restaurant, I have heard it's sister restaurant Cafe Brenda is great from a number of people, so when my family was going to the Guthrie yesterday I thought this would be a perfect restaurant to try out. We're vegetarians and were sure we'd have no problem finding food on the menu. That part was true, but we had no idea just how disgusting the food would be. First off, the wait staff took forever. And seemed to think that it was a great imposition to bring my son a straw for his glass of milk. The food took about 45 minutes to serve, and mine was inedible. I received the Ginger-tofu scramble breakfast meal, and it was truly the worst food I've had in years. I spoke with the manager who seemed surprised as it was her FAVORITE meal on the menu. The food tasted as if it were ran cid. My son had granola, yogurt and fresh fruit. The honeydew was hard and not ripe at all. The cherries were overly ripe. The other meal was fine, but extremely over priced. I was quite ill last night, with stomach cramps, and a headache that arrived shortly after I ate and has just started to resolve now. I very rarely get sick from food, and have no known allergies. I would strongly caution against going to this restaurant. The price is exorbitant, and the quality of the food is poor. If you want to go to a nice vegetarian friendly restaurant, I recommend French Meadow. I will never return to Spoonriver. Pros: The menu is pretty. They have cloth napkins. Nice windows. Cons: The food is vile. Absolutely disgusting, and pricey. more

I was so excited to go to this restaurant, I have heard it's sister restaurant Cafe Brenda is great from a number of people, so when my family was going to the Guthrie yesterday I thought this would be a perfect restaurant to try out. We're vegetarians and were sure we'd have no problem finding food on the menu. That part was true, but we had no idea just how disgusting the food would be. First off, the wait staff took forever. And seemed to think that it was a great imposition to bring my son a straw for his glass of milk. The food took about 45 minutes to serve, and mine was inedible. I received the Ginger-tofu scramble breakfast meal, and it was truly the worst food I've had in years. I spoke with the manager who seemed surprised as it was her FAVORITE meal on the menu. The food tasted as if it were ran cid. My son had granola, yogurt and fresh fruit. The honeydew was hard and not ripe at all. The cherries were overly ripe. The other meal was fine, but extremely over priced. I was quite ill last night, with stomach cramps, and a headache that arrived shortly after I ate and has just started to resolve now. I very rarely get sick from food, and have no known allergies. I would strongly caution against going to this restaurant. The price is exorbitant, and the quality of the food is poor. If you want to go to a nice vegetarian friendly restaurant, I recommend French Meadow. I will never return to Spoonriver. Pros: The menu is pretty. They have cloth napkins. Nice windows. Cons: The food is vile. Absolutely disgusting, and pricey. more

My husband and I went to Spoonriver this week ahead of a Guthrie show. The hostesses (there appeared to be 3 of them) took a couple of minutes to decide where to seat us (even though both the inside and outside tables were 1/2 empty). Once we were seated, a very attentive staff member brought us water and shortly thereafter a few slices of bread. I want to call out that this young woman (very slight, with large, round glasses) was quite attentive throughout the meal. Our water glasses were never even close to empty and she bussed everything with great timing. What stunned us was our server. She did have a around 4 tables in our area (which isn't a lot and she couldn't have been terribly busy with indoor tables since there were only 4-5 tables seated in total inside). It took well over 10 minutes for our two drinks to arrive (one beer that was served with around 2"" of foam head, one mojito that was excellent). Our spiced olives took another 10 minutes after ordering to arrive (20 minutes to get a little bowl of olives and 2 pieces of toast?!?). Almost immediately after we finished the olives, our dishes arrived. I had the shrimp noodle salad ($19 for 4 shrimp and a relatively small portion of noodles with fresh cabbage, great mint and that was about it). My husband had the Spoonburger, which was advertised as lamb but was primarily rice and other fillers with just a hint of lamb (oh, and he subbed a salad for $2 and it was around 2 pieces of Bibb lettuce with very little else). We had to hail down our server to bring us our tab, even though our plates had been removed around 5 minutes earlier. Horrible, horrible service from the server. Mediocre food that is expensive for what you get. Pros: Location next to Guthrie, patio seating, interesting drinks Cons: Service, value for the food more

My husband and I went to Spoonriver this week ahead of a Guthrie show. The hostesses (there appeared to be 3 of them) took a couple of minutes to decide where to seat us (even though both the inside and outside tables were 1/2 empty). Once we were seated, a very attentive staff member brought us water and shortly thereafter a few slices of bread. I want to call out that this young woman (very slight, with large, round glasses) was quite attentive throughout the meal. Our water glasses were never even close to empty and she bussed everything with great timing. What stunned us was our server. She did have a around 4 tables in our area (which isn't a lot and she couldn't have been terribly busy with indoor tables since there were only 4-5 tables seated in total inside). It took well over 10 minutes for our two drinks to arrive (one beer that was served with around 2" of foam head, one mojito that was excellent). Our spiced olives took another 10 minutes after ordering to arrive (20 minutes to get a little bowl of olives and 2 pieces of toast?!?). Almost immediately after we finished the olives, our dishes arrived. I had the shrimp noodle salad ($19 for 4 shrimp and a relatively small portion of noodles with fresh cabbage, great mint and that was about it). My husband had the Spoonburger, which was advertised as lamb but was primarily rice and other fillers with just a hint of lamb (oh, and he subbed a salad for $2 and it was around 2 pieces of Bibb lettuce with very little else). We had to hail down our server to bring us our tab, even though our plates had been removed around 5 minutes earlier. Horrible, horrible service from the server. Mediocre food that is expensive for what you get. Pros: Location next to Guthrie, patio seating, interesting drinks Cons: Service, value for the food more

I wasn’t overly impressed with this restaurant. It’s really a very pretty restaurant and the food... more

I wasn’t overly impressed with this restaurant. It’s really a very pretty restaurant and the food isn’t bad, but it’s not wonderful, either. It’s ... more

Recently, my husband and I had a wonderful dinner at Spoonriver- not only was the food interesting and inventive, the service was fabulous (despite what other reviews have said). Granted, it was a less crowded Sunday evening, our server was very attentive, knowledgeable about the menu and forthcoming with great suggestions. Our entrees (the pork tenderloin, and an udon noodle with poached salmon special) and desserts (chocolate coconut mousse, and a fig stuffed puff pastry with fruit compote and cardamum yogurt) were great. The ""spoon dips"" appetizer was a bit blah and the wine list is a little disappointing but other than that, it's a lovely place that I would certainly recommend. Pros: great food, good service Cons: wine list more