Young Joni - Minneapolis

Young Joni was recommended by my stylist /friend at least a year ago. She said I would love it and she was not wrong. Made a reservation a month in advance, for our 21st wedding anniversary dinner. It is situated just a few blocks from the first place my husband and I lived in NE Mpls. So a trip down memory lane was convenient. We arrived 30 minutes early for our reservation and they were happy to seat us early. I loved the spacious entry area with an abundance of plants. The dining atmosphere is upscale casual with excellent attention paid to lighting that feels both cozy but bright enough to see your food. We started with cocktails. He had the Sling (lime, ginger, blueberry, mezcal) and I had the Ricky (lime, mint, koji, five spice, vodka) My husband, loved the Sling so much he asked me to recreate it at home. We started with the PEI Mussels (vadouvan curry, fresno, fresh herbs, flatbread) which were so unbelievable typing this makes my mouth water. Before we had finished we already started talking about how we should come back for just mussels and white wine. I was struck by the recycled plates that were so familiar, yet I could not place them until the day after. I had them in my apartment in college picked up at the goodwill I think. For our main we split the Chichory Cesar (castelfranco, radicchio, endive, frisée, egg, croutons, parmigiano reggiano) and the My Sha Roni (house red sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, fennel sausage) accompanied by a Spritz (carrot, raspberry ferment, vermouth, aperitif) and a Glass of Pino Noir both food items were very tasty, and the Spritz was fantastic. The petite carrot garnish was adorable. Loved the photo strips posted along the way to the restroom a fun way to pay homage to the customer support. The service was excellent as you could tell straight away it is a team effort with everyone pitching in to clear empty plates or glasses yet our server Jon was very available and prompt. Dinner was $147 including the 21% fair wage assessment that I appreciated not having to evaluate or decide how much was appropriate.

I had no idea this place gets booked up for the month so came when they opened around 4pm. Got seated at the bar and this placed got filled up very quickly. Awesome and very friendly and helpful service. The drinks taste exactly like how it's described on the menu and very well made. Got the korean BBQ and lamb pizza. Lamb pizza definitely had a kick so be aware! K BBQ pizza was really good but glad to have gotten the lamb to get a variety of flavors. I think is prefer the lamb actually just because of the spice. Oh and the cauliflower......dude.....have to have to get the cauliflower when you come here. I wish I lived so I can come back and try other things but it was a very good experience and I highly recommend!

Oh my god the food here was so so amazing!! I even had to try their dessert even though I was way past my point of being full. Get: Cauliflower, Sweet and sticky ribs, chicken wings, tavern pizza I'll also add if you like kimchi then get it my sister liked it, I tried it for the first time and not for me. The smashed potatoes my family also liked but I could pass on those. Absolutely get the ice cream, they make it in house. I'd come back here for the service alone! Our waitress was so kind and bought a dessert for my sister since it was her birthday. Coming back for special occasions as well as date nights!

I heard this place gets swarmed so I booked a reservation about a month in advance--the only spot left on Saturday was 4:00 PM. No problem! We were able to park in the restaurant lot and there were a few people waiting outside when we arrived. This place is worth the hype! The atmosphere is so nice inside. Tons of cool decor, comfortable seating, moody lighting. It does get a little dark towards the back of the restaurant; luckily, my BF and I were seated near the large windows facing the street. I got the Margherita pizza--I have a bit of a Margherita pizza obsession and this was hands-down one of the best I've ever had. Perfect crust, perfect flavor, perfect amount of basil, and the olive oil was a really nice addition. My BF got the Tavern Pie and loved it as well. I also tried one of the cocktails, the Rickey, which is lemon, tarragon, plum, and vodka. The flavor was very delicate and complex--reminded me of how the air smells at a farmer's market stand. That said, for $15, I'd probably skip the drink if I'm ever lucky enough to be in Minneapolis again and head back. All this is to say: if you like pizza, go. It's so worth it!

Ok.... So admittedly I'm someone who likes their food to be more on the traditional side. So when I looked at this menu I was going to err on the side of caution and get the Old Reliable. I mean, the name says it all. DUH! But something was nagging at me. Try the Broccolini! But I was like, almonds on a pizza??? That's madness!! Eh, I can pick them off. So I ordered the broccolini and daaaaaang. It was amazing! I didn't even pick the almonds off! They added a crunch I surprisingly liked. And the pizzas came out super fast! I will definitely be back. Oh and if you can't get a reservation, show up and grab a seat at the bar. That's what we did.