Kim went above and beyond for us!

Service was excruciatingly slow and it wasn’t busy. The menu is very limited and the entrees were very mediocre. I’m not sure what this restaurant wants to be. I thought it was supposed to be somewhat upscale but the staff attire makes it seem like a cafe. There was nothing special about the food and overall it was a disappointing experience. I would never return.

Our service was good. Friendly. The food? Meh. Lacked any sense of deep flavor. Surprisingly boring.

Service so slow that I'm uncertain if this was a resturant or a performance piece ment to test patience or give the participant a new perspective on time; give yourself 2 hours if you are coming here before a show at the Walker (90 minutes for salad and entree will be very tight). Food is not exceptional. Ordered the lentil salad (minimal flavor) and the pork (schnitzel style...very schnitzel...). Unexceptional beer list and lots of inexpensive wine for $10/glass. The open concept dining area with its proximity to the hallway makes the resturant feel like a museum cafeteria than a resturant. They did comp our entrees, but I would have prefered for them to get things correct and pay for an average meal. If you're looking for a place to go before a show at the Walker, it's close to both the pay parking lot and the theater.

Well the meal was fine. The waitress was attentive, but her language was something. I'm not sure there is a word to describe it. She kept using the word forward, i.e. this or that cocktail was booze forward, things like that. It seemed that she was trying to be 'au Courant' for no reason. Having said that, the food was good as was the cocktails and wine. It wasn't very noisy, which is a treat. Last time I was there, the service was awful and I was reluctant to come back, but my friend said she wanted to go there. So we did; I'm glad.

Esker Grove has a wonderful brunch with many unique and thoughtful options that go far beyond bacon and eggs. In particular, they have a number of good vegetarian options, such as the King Oyster Mushroom with bok choy and a soft cooked egg. Notably, they are one of the few restaurants to not have a buffet for Easter, which is a huge plus!

It was Easter..I reserved a table by the window. Our guests arrived before us. They were seated in the middle of the room..open table by the window. Obviously the receptionist didn’t look at our reservation. Food was delicious. Luke warm but good. Not worth the effort to ask them to heat it up. It was Easter Sunday. It was fine...I had hoped for better.

The semolina porridge was amazing. The service was great

Great food, service and view of the Sculpture Garden!

This was a wonderful dining experience. The food and drinks were delicious.

We went for brunch last Sunday, it was our first time at Esker Grove and we were happy with our meal.
The dishes we had were prepared to perfection and very tasty. The ambience over looking the sculpture garden was nice.
I highly recommend the restaurant for breakfast, lunch or brunch.

Between the 4 of us we are almost the whole menu and everything was fantastic. We originally had a reservation for a table but decided to dine at the bar as we were there well before our reservation time. The staff was great and gave great recommendations.

love this local spot! like tables near the window overlooking the sculpture garden - nice view and less noisy. always creative and delicious dishes - especially liked the sorrel with gjetost and grapefruit and the salmon. service was attentive without too much contact, provided spot on recommendations, timed dishes in line with our pace, and made sharing dishes very easy. highly recommend for dinner with friends from out of town as well as fun time with local neighbors.

Came for a birthday brunch last August and was disappointed. However, had a friend in town and the weather was great for a walk through the sculpture garden, so I gave it another try.

So. Glad. That. I. Did.

This time around, I got the semolina porridge and my friend got the croque madame. Both were a superb blend of flavors, and we finished off with a pastry each (orange glazed old-fashioned donut for me, apple turnover with ice cream and bourbon caramel sauce for them).

Spyhouse coffee, great views of the garden--Highly recommend.

Very pretty, airy space inside walker art center with lots of good people watching. Great food, too!

One of the best, eclectic restaurants in the Twin Cities - specially suited when one needs a relaxing environment to unwind. Fabulous service (perhaps the best in town), great cocktails and excellent food.

Delicious food....no amazing food. The Croque Madam was to die for. I sampled my friend's semolina porridge and I was also drooling. The menu is not extensive, but the items on it masterful. We went there for brunch so I am not sure about other meals. My husband is picky about food and costs and I will take him there.

Thoroughly enjoyed a dinner at Esker Grove. The food was outstanding--endive salad, short rib, duck, sorbet trio. The tables are spaced far enough apart to talk without hearing/being heard by neighbors. But, there is also a communal table for those who might prefer that. Will definitely go back often.

Atop each drink, the thinly sliced vegetables were reminiscent of butterflies' wings, and like the dishes, were nearly too perfect to consume. The hesitation was fittingly short-lived, and the unique recipes were delicious.

Great place and excellent service. Nice place to have a good dinner and cocktails before a show at the Walker Art Center

We went for brunch a few weeks ago and LOVED it so decided to book a table for dinner with friends. We found the service excellent, the space beautiful, and the food? Meh. It was fine but not great. A couple of concerning elements - like serving an unopened mussel and very overcooked baby octopus. We'd go back but for the bar/cocktail menu or brunch, dinner service was overpriced and underwhelming. We were really disappointed, again, we loved brunch and the cocktail scene is awesome. The best element of dinner was the butter that came with the bread.

WE STOPPED IN FOR DRINKS AND A SNACK. THE TUNA/AVOCADO SMALL PLATE WAS DELICIOUS, THE FRIED FISH SANDWICH WAS OK. DRINKS WERE YUMMY.
WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR INTERESTING VEGETABLE AND/OR SEAFOOD SMALL PLATES.

One of the best restaurants in Minneapolis. I braved a snowstorm to keep my reservation, and it was absolutely worth it!

Esker Grove has great food and a really inviting, beautiful environment. It's perfect for breakfast or lunch before touring the Walker.

except that the dishes took too long to be served an excellent qualilty

Only complaint is we were disappointed that we had a 7 pm reservation but didn't
get seated until 7:50, but we did enjoy the larger table and view, and our
waiter was friendly and excellent. It was Valentine's Day, so understood. The manager, John, even came over to apologize and made
up for our delay. (A great gesture). So now we would love to return.

We love this place. The food is delicious and inventive, but not too fussy. The service is great, except we were a little disappointed that the server didn't know that our favorite blood orange sorbet also had fennel in it. We would have ordered more if we had known.

Waiter was slow for us in particular and didn't apply my Walker discount after assuring me he would. Food was excellent.

Wonderful setting, rich and delicious food, festive but calming.

Our dining experience was amazing. Even the bread had us asking, “how can bread be this good?!” Salsify with gjethost for a starter, rich and delicious - don’t miss it. The mids are more substantial than we expected, polenta was the star there. The golden beet entree was simply out of this world, their succulent little Dr. Seuss hats ruled the table. Roman gnocchi was so good, I had to ask the server if they were made by angels in heaven? Lastly, our crepe cake was the stuff of fantasy and reminded me of lefse in a good way. We were big fans of Auriga and Piccolo, but Esker Grove could be our new favorite. (Cocktails deserve their own review!)

Lovely dinner after film. The food was excellent, and beautifully presented. Will return for dinner again.

While visiting Minneapolis for the Super Bowl, we dined at Esker Grove. Great brunch and cocktails. Service was excellent, too.

Wonderful experience, a slight hiccup with service was immediately resolved without even having to mention it—the sign of a truly professional kitchen and staff. Looking forward to coming back for lunch some time—the famous burger is calling our name.

Wonderful! Great style and selections! Unexpected brunch option, wasn't busy at all!

Sadly, nowhere near what we've come to expect from Piccolo. Not bad, ok, just not exciting

Inventive cuisine, great flavors! Convienent access to Walker Art Center shows and events although the food is sufficient reason to make a reservation.

Every dish was creative and fabulous. The wait staff are so professional, and the bartender makes wonderful drinks.

Had the winter dinner. Wonderful meal and wonderful wine pairings

Wonderful evening. Recommend to anyone.

Third time eating here-love it! The food is amazing! Great for a date night-Thursday night walk through the galleries and then sit down for amazing food!