For my last Twin Cities fine dining report of 2023, I have for you another dinner at Restaurant Alma, our favourite high-end restaurant in Minnesota. We ate there on two previous occasions this year (in the fall and in the spring). And, of course, back in February I did a pop-up Indian dinner with them in the Cafe Alma space. I mention this last to remind you that while I was already on record well before that with my high opinion of the restaurant, at this point I am obviously a “friend of the house”. As far as I can make out, we’re not treated any differently now than we were before but you should feel free to make whatever adjustment you see fit to account for possible bias in my estimation of our meals there. For, yes, it’s true: I am about to give you the details of another excellent dinner.

The missus and I had reservations for 7 pm this past Saturday. Our table was not ready when we arrived. We sat at a table in the cafe space till it got ready, sipping the welcome Prosecco that usually arrives at the table. Once the table was ready we went in to find a very busy dining room, and it stayed that way through our meal: the dining room was full, the bar was full, and even the private dining area was packed to the gills. And for good reason: the current winter menu is rather good.

As always, it’s a set menu at $95/head. You get a menu when you sit down but it’s for reference only. There are no choices to be made: you get everything on it. Well, there is a choice of drinks to be made. The missus got their Cider 75 cocktail (featuring apple brandy, Cognac, pineapple amaro, allspice and Keepsake cider) and I got the La Opuntia (mezcal, tamarind, Cynar, mole bitters, jalapeño). She loved her cocktail and I thought mine was dynamite. So armed, we were prepared for the procession of food.

It began with the usual duo of marinated olives and spiced almonds. As we nibbled on them the rest of the antipasti course arrived. The Hearth Breads and butter were excellent as usual but so was pretty much everything else: from the cranberry-black pepper compote-topped Bent River Camembert (from Alemar Cheese) to the decadent Heirloom Squash Sformato (with mascarpone, smoked blue cheese and toasted hazelnut) to the tiny, perfectly-executed Chicken Croquettes (topped with garlic toum). As good a start as any we’ve had there in a while.

The first course featured two items: a luxurious Celery Root Soup with black truffle etc.; and Grilled Alma Sourdough (topped with) Roasted Mushrooms (plus prosciutto and parsnip). The soup was just great (you can watch the inevitable pour-over here if you’re so inclined). The mushrooms were also excellent but having just eaten a lot of the Hearth breads we felt a bit carbed out. Oh yes, I got a glass of red wine (a garnacha) before this course.

Luckily, the main course that followed was not carb-laden at all. There were three components to the course: Gently Cooked Arctic Char (with melted leeks, brown butter and turnip puree); Pan Roasted New York Strip (with smoked cauliflower, quince chutney and parmesan frico); and Crispy Brussels Sprouts (with horseradish creme fraiche, avocado and lemon vinaigrette). At the risk of monotony, all were excellent. Fish, and especially Arctic char, is always a highlight at Alma and this was just perfectly cooked; and the pairing with the sweet melted leeks and the earthy turnip puree was thoughtfully composed. And I would say the same of the meat plate: the steak itself was very good but the interplay with the tart-sweet quince chutney and the textural contrasts (and savoury-umami pops) of the cauliflower and frico elevated it to a higher level still. The sprouts were also done just right—if I had to quibble it would be that the avocado component seemed a little superfluous. That quibble aside, we did also very much appreciate how well each of these three dishes was composed internally and in concert with each other.

And I am pleased to say that dessert was no let-down either. In fact, it may well have been the highlight of the entire meal: a rather lovely Honeycrisp Clafoutis (with spiced brandy creme, caramelized pecans and rosemary-candied cranberry). As with so many of the other dishes, a lovely mix of flavours (sweet, acid, savoury) and textures.

For a look at the menu and what we ate, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down for thoughts on service, to see how much it all cost, and to see what’s left to come on the blog from the Twin Cities food scene before the end of the year.

Service was as pleasant and professional as always (never obtrusive, always present when needed). I’ve said before that we feel that on the food front there is no other restaurant in the Twin Cities that can match Alma’s thoughtful, complex and precise cooking that always hits both on that register and as elevated comfort food. And it’s also true, I think, that the comfortable vibe of the restaurant’s service is unmatched in the Cities as well. They were very busy on a Saturday night but at no point did anything feel hectic; at no point did anything feel like theatre. What it felt like was genuine hospitality. Pair that with excellent food and it’s hard to see how anyone can keep Alma out of the very top tier of the Twin Cities fine dining scene—well, unless you take them for granted, I suppose, or unless you’re chasing a scene. (Speaking of which, there’s a lot of noise made about the “cocktail programs” at a number of the Twin Cities’ fancy restaurants; but Alma’s bar just keeps quietly knocking it out of the park.)

Cost? With drinks, tax and automatically added 21% wellness surcharge, the total came to just over $318, or $159/head. Not cheap by any means, but there’s nowhere else I’d rather go to spend that money in the Twin Cities.

Okay, just one more Twin Cities restaurant report to come. You’ll never guess which restaurant it will be from. Before that, however, I’ll have another report from New York and at least one more from Dublin. And more reviews of whiskies from Campbeltown.