Permanently Closed - Sanctuary

They closed Jan 1,2020. Please remove them from your list.

Amazing food. Great service. A special evening.

Solid little spot. It didn’t blow me away and was more expensive for a dinner for 2 than some of the big names like Young Joni but would try again.

Sanctuary clearly isn’t interested in catering to families. They have no kids menu options and over sell adult portions. Even items on the menu (eg fries) are difficult to order and expensive once they accommodate. This was a special holiday dinner and theater occasion for us and we made the best of it. But the duck was cold and the service made us feel guilty for having children (ages 9, 11, and 15). Not worth the prices charged, sadly.

It was our first experience at Sanctuary. Our server, Natalie, did a super job.

The chef’s tasting menu was amazing! Good wine selection. Excellent service.

great place for a date, great food and very unique restaurant!

The ambiance, service, wine, and food were exemplary.
The duck is amazing!!

Sanctuary is a cute place. Our server was nice. The drinks were good. Unfortunately, the steak was very poor quality. Hard to give more stars when the centerpiece of the dish was tough and grisly.

We often travel from Boston to Minnesota in early December. One of our regular stops has been dining at Sanctuary prior to attending the Guthrie. We tried a few other restaurants in the area but always return to Sanctuary. The atmosphere allows for engaging conversation, the food is always excellent with just enough innovation to set it apart. The service is attentive without hovering and very helpful to members of our party with allergies. We have always walked over to the Guthrie feeling very good about our dining experience.

Sanctuary has become my restaurant of choice for "dinner and a show" evenings. The owner has always been our host and is quite pleasant and makes sure every one gets out for their event in a timely manner. the dining area is atmospherically warm, exceptionally clean, and conducive to conversation even with a full house. Staff has been friendly and attentive but not invasive. The rotating menu has never disappointed and, as I like to eat around a menu, I've always had something new to try. I have noticed, there is always a vegetarian option in the entrees as well.

This was our second time visiting this restaurant. The first time, my husband walked in to make a reservation for a special occasion and the owner and staff went above and beyond to make it a special and memorable evening, in a good way. This time we brought friends and were super disappointed. The server was very slow in taking our order and attending to our table, not actually taking our order until nearly 40 min after being seated. At the end of our dinner, he had the audacity to come tell us that another party had arrived early and they would appreciate our table, not to rush us, offering us free drinks to move to the bar, despite our table only ordering 2 drinks amongst 4 people from 5:45-8:30. Yes, his slow service made our dinner take that long! We honestly all looked at each other like, is this dude serious? He’s the reason we are late in getting out of there, the other party was early, and he was absolutely rushing us. The food is not good enough to overshadow the service, and I don’t think you should have to tell them it’s a special night to get decent service. We live in the neighborhood and will pick somewhere else from now on.

Another outstanding evening at Sanctuary with Michael and his crew. Excellent meal with attention to detail. Highly recommend for a holiday outing.

We went with the chef's tasting menu. One of us had the cocktails and the other the wine to match. The entire experience was delicious and fun! The staff went out of their way to be friendly and also made sure that we had plenty of time to get to our concert nearby It has been a while since we've eaten here, but we love it. We had a great time and will be back soon!

One of the best in the Twin Cities!

Thanks so much for a wonderful dinner. I really enjoyed the shrimp appetizer. My friend enjoyed her steak.

4th time eating at Sanctuary. Had business in Stillwater and evening performance at Guthrie Theatre. Waiter was very attentive. Delicious celery root soup arrived not quite hot enough. The waiter replaced with fresh correct temp soup and comped the soup on our bill. Sanctuary reminds me of intimate side street restaurants we’ve enjoyed in Paris.

Excellent celery bisque and dick breast!

Cozy and friendly. The menu is very creative and impressive.

The food was delicious. They rotate their menu every 90 days or so to keep things fresh, I had the lamb t-bone chops and my fiance had the halibut, both entrees were perfect, and the sides were original flavors that complemented our meat. I would go back again next week to try something new on the menu, the food is the highlight and well priced.

It did seem to take awhile for us to get our food, however we split a salad and had a bottle of wine before dinner so that was OK. It's not as "hip" as some other trendy restaurants in Minneapolis but there is a reason this place has been in business for so long and that is because of the wonderful meals to have here.

Celebrating a scholarship event

We had a very friendly server, but we needed to ask for our side dish of asparagus, which arrived half way through our meal so we left 3/4 of it untouched. We ordered a chocolate dessert with high expectations, but it just simply wasn't very tasty. We were hoping for a better experience than we had.

The entire experience was low key and perfect in just about every way. Our waiter and his team were attentive. Simple menu. Food was incredibly crafted to order and each bite made you sink deeper into your seat with delight.

Incredible service. Food was very good. Will return and have already recommended to our friends.

Very nice cozy restaurant with very good food and access. Parking is available right outside the door at a very modest rate. A short 2 block walk to the Guthrie makes this a perfect place for a before the show dinner.

Food was good but bordered on being overly complicated. But I would go back, for sure. Close to Guthrie.

I think one of the toughest things to do in a restaurant is to be consistent. My wife and I have been big fans of Sanctuary for several years now, and they have been consistently amazing.

Food: Braised pork shank with white cheddar grits in an amazing broth, perfectly done lamb chops in a bright but accessible chimichurri sauce.

Service: Warm, attentive, but not hovering.

Atmosphere: exposed timbers/stone, intimate cozy

You should go... now

Fabulous food, and service. A great place to dine pre Guthrie. Warm and inviting. Pay close attention to the length of the play when parking for the entire evening as my guest received a hefty ticket!

Very nice welcome from the Maitre D at the door. I really recommend the Laphroaig cocktail I think it was Trevors choice. Shared a shrimp appetizer and a lovely salad with avocado. Enjoyed the duck breast and the fish. Plenty of time to then stroll over to the Guthrie to see a play.

Excited to find a high quality restaurant with the owner present. Can’t wait to go back

Love having dinner at Sanctuary before Guthrie shows. The food is always exceptional and Michael always makes us feel welcome!

Never disappoints

The restaurant was empty. We were a party of 7 people. We were probably 60% of the entire restaurant that evening. The waitress made multiple mistakes on the drink orders. 6 people ordered steak. 4 of the steaks were cold when delivered to the table. One person ordered halibut. The halibut was so salty it was not eaten.

We had tickets for the Guthrie.

Special and delicious first time experience - we loved Sanctuary and will definitely be back! The presentation of the food was thoughtful and beautiful. Our server Jessica was knowledgeable and helpful, taking the time to provide details about each entree. Foodies will love this place!

Fantastic dining experience. Excellent service, delicious food, nice wine list without destroying the pocketbook. Only my second time being here and can't wait to come back.

This is a "gem" in downtown Mpls. It is reminiscent of small quaint restaurants you would find in New York. Food and cocktails were outstanding....as was the service!

Attentive and efficient service. Server very knowledgable about food and wine. Made recommendations. Delicious, pleasingly presented food. Ambience was bistro like without all the noise. Conversations were heard but didn’t bounce off the walls. Only 2nd visit to this restaurant but treated like a regular.

We’ve typically go to Santuary a couple times per month, yet no longer. They ran out of soup, service was slow and a starter appetizer had to be sent back because it was over cooked. Other tables had similar issues and the table of four behind us had their entrees comped. An unfortunate situation that could have been avoided by letting us know the situation when we sat down - they did tell a customer that came in and sat next to us.

Service was very, very slow. Blamed cooking staff. Ordered house special. Took over 2 hours to be erred.