After a vain attempt of going to Hell’s Kitchen brunch last year without a reservation, I was finally able to make it there for dinner to celebrate my friend, Mikayla’s Birthday, with some amazing ladies!

Service:

I usually end a hack by talking about service, but in this case I think the service is a big part of what makes Hell’s Kitchen, Hell’s Kitchen. The vibe here is a mixture between the artsy kids in High School you wanted to be friends with and the pretentious lifestyle snob. For example, the host didn’t appear as if he even had the time of day for me to point me in the direction of where my friends were seated, but our waitress had an infectiously upbeat vibe, and the bussers were completely on their game.

I’ve noticed a trend lately at a lot of these restaurants about overattentive bussers. There’s nothing more uncomfortable for me than when you take one sip out of your water and they’re already there “filling” it, but in this case they were unobtrusive and still cleared our plates away in a timely fashion, which is extremely important when you have a large table that needs room for all the side salads, soups, and appetizers.

As I said before, we were out celebrating our friend’s birthday so it was really fun that not only did they put her name on the special place card on our table, but when Mikayla jokingly mentioned to our waitress that she wanted a candle, our waitress actually brought her dinner out with a candle melted to the plate haha.

Atmosphere:

The vibe plays a huge factor into the atmosphere. You feel like you’re eating at a fancier place than you are, because of the extra layer of pretense, but when celebrating a special event like a Birthday that’s a welcome thing!

The fact that Hell’s Kitchen is located in a lower level of a downtown Minneapolis building and utilizes a lot of ambient lighting almost even gives it a prohibition vibe, which is pretty fun.

Drinks:

I had the Lucifer’s Lemonade: made with Spiced Blackberry Jack Daniels, Basil Lemonade, and Ginger Beer…no idea how they got that name since Blackberry Jack Daniels sounds more like heaven than hell to me, but I guess it fit the vibe 😉

As expected, it was a little potent, but beyond delicious. I definitely recommend it.

I taste tested a few of the other cocktails as well; Tequila Mockingbird and Foxy Devil. Both good. They also have a variety of Minnesota Beers on their menu, which is always a great addition! Drink local!

Food:

Minnesota Walleye Fish & Chips. Parmesan-coated, cold-water walleye fillets with house-made lemon-scallion tartar sauce, served with a lemon wedge and French fries. I did not substitute for the sweet potato fries, but after trying some from one of the other girls, I deeply regretted that decision.

The homemade tartar sauce was good with a fun mix of spice and the walleye was cooked perfectly. Not too greasy or fatty.

Unfortunately, they were out of Bison at the time, otherwise that would have been my first choice, because I’ve heard amazing things about it.

Overall, Hell’s Kitchen was a great way to start the night, minus the fact that on the ride over my uber driver decided it was a good idea to watch his snapchat stories instead of the road….but Uber is another post for another day

Hell’s Kitchen Minneapolis
80 South 9th Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
Monday – Friday: 6:30AM – 11PM
Saturday – Sunday: 7:30AM – 11PM