Joan's In the Park

I've gone to Joan's three times in my life so far. It's a staple go-to for celebrations and special occasions. They are fixed menu place, run by a family, and the restaurant is cozy and beautiful. They celebrate *with* you genuinely which is not common any longer at restaurants. They have a great wine list, and offer to pair with your menu if you'd like. The service is so personable, I recommend this place to everyone. I want everyone in MN to know about Joan's, but also not so I can still get reservations! Love this place.The plating is clean and creative, but even better than it looks, the meals all taste amazing in unique combos that are so fun to eat. Pictures from JAN 2020

It's always, ALWAYS a joy to dine at Joan's in the Park. Excellent service, a peaceful environment, and amazing food and beverages combine to make this hidden gem a Minnesota must-try.I am lucky enough that I get taken here at least once a year, and this time, it was for a wonderful Boxing Day dinner.Joan's in the Park has a four-course prix fixe menu that begins with a bread course. All options are excellent: warm, savory, and comforting. Whatever you choose, you won't be disappointed. I had the Viennese pastry this time: rosemary and cured black olive made for an absolutely lovely treat.For my second course, I ordered the charred beets. These were a real treat and plated absolutely beautifully. (Side note: they have the prettiest dishes and glasses here.) Each of the individual elements, from the beets to the olive caramel (yes!) to the creamy custard to the bright greens to the apple, was delicious on its own, but combined? Wow. Salty, savory, sweet, bright, and earthy came together into something entirely new.For the third course, I tried the toasted farro, which was comfort in a bowl. The basil pistou was bright. The farro was chewy and satisfying. The mushrooms and cheese imparted umami. It was cozy, like coming into the warming house after sledding until you can't feel your toes.Today's menu didn't have a vegetarian main, so I was able to get a large portion of the pappardelle, aaaand I am kind of obsessed. Fennel, sunchoke, and lemon butter play beautiful together and make a dish that is substantial without being heavy. It was a perfect pasta dish.Dessert was what I always get: the brown butter pudding. This is a bucket list dessert. It is just delicious. Creamy, sweet without being too sweet, and just a hint of savory from the brown butter and a sprinkle of salt. Have this sometime in your life. As usual, super service and excellent beverage options, including creative and delicious mocktails. My meat-eating companions RAVED about the pork, and one of them ordered the poached shrimp for dessert.

Wow, just wow. Best meal of the year, from all four of us. The poached shrimp, cavatelli with lobster, the duck breast with wild rice.There being four of us, we were able to sample pretty much the entire four course fixe prix menu. Doll and I dine out quite often, this was the best of the year. Each dish elicited moans from all of us, the flavors were spot on.Got to thank both Joan & Susan personally, and told them the same thing, best meal of the year for all of us. It was a little pricy but, you are served perfection, in each dish.

Everything was absolutely perfect. Went here for my birthday with my husband two years ago and I still think about this place!! The service is top notch and the food matches! The feel and "vibe" is upscale but not stuffy! Love love love it !!

Excellent! I thought it would be a good dinner but wasn't expecting it to be this good. Every dish was absolutely delicious. The filet mignon was cooked just right, and the service was perfect. Such a wonderful Valentine's Day date.

My husband and I visited Joan's in the Park for our 5-year wedding anniversary. It was a perfect, upscale spot for a celebration.The wait staff was prompt, kind and thorough in answering our questions about the menu. Because we were celebrating our anniversary, they gave us complimentary champagne and a printed photo, which I thought was a very special touch.In terms of the food, it was probably some of the best food we've ever had. It's on the spendy side but because it was for our anniversary and the flavors were INCREDIBLE, it was totally worth every penny. My husband got the wine pairing which was so fun to taste with the various plates we ordered.In terms of parking, it was street parking. I didn't see a lot or space beside their building, but the street parking was no problem. Overall great experience and I would highly recommend Joan's in the Park to all my friends and family.

My last review was in 2016. We come to Joan's often to celebrate birthdays and our anniversary. Dining at Joan's is like coming home to a wonderful family. Each member of the staff treats us like we are very special. Each course of the 4 courses is so amazing. We love the choices on the set menu. We don't eat meat and we had plenty of other, fantastic items to choose. We find ourselves talking about what we ate for days after. Susan, the chef, is so creative and her dishes are exquisite. We have been to many Michelin star restaurants and Joan's is comparable!

It was our first time dining here. We knew it was a 4 course type experience with just a few selections for each course. The venue is very small with limited seating both inside and outside. So reservations are a must. The bar is also very small with only 4 chairs. The building is nice, the inside is quaint and cozy, with nice decor and dining tables/chairs. The outside is completely covered but the tables and chairs are patio style so a little hard to sit-up and eat close to table. Now the cocktails and food. We started off with the French-45 & 43 cocktail/mock tails. They were very good, but obviously the mock tails are a bit too sugary. The first course was the bread and eclairs. I thought their version of the eclair with a thin sliced ham on top was really good. Very sweet and salty. The next course we had the beef tartare and shrimp dish. Both were fantastic. The next course we had the hominy and quinoa dishes, again both were great. I think the quinoa was better, more flavor and of course lobster. The final course we had the filet mignon and the vegetarian dishes. The Filet was one of the best we've had in some time. The vegetarian dish was tasty, and the dried beet chips added a nice crunch. We finished with dessert, the caramel pudding and chocolate cake. Both were great. I'd give the food 5 stars for quality and presentation.The service was very good, everyone was polite and on top of things. We didn't have to wait long for drinks or each course. They knew the menu and I would give the service very high ratings.Lastly, the price. The 4 courses were $85 ea. We had 4 cocktails and 2 mock tails and the 2 desserts, and the bill was $280 plus a tip. That is my only reason to put this at 4 overall stars vs. 5. But that is StPaul/Mpls. The cost to go out to dinner at a nice place will always be around $300 for two people. That is very hard to justify. So if you can afford it, it's worth it!

Had a lovely quiet evening on the patio at Joan's. This restaurant has the air of a long standing staple like the Lex or other similar high class establishments. Seemed like there were a lot of older regulars dining early in the evening. The food was a-okay. The quantity of each item was sufficient and we didn't leave overly full. Glad I got the chance to try Joan's, it has been on the list for a while!

If you haven't tried this place, go now!!! We went on our anniversary yesterday and we couldn't believe the care and attention to detail. Our table was decorated with cute confetti and they offered us some champagne. We don't drink so they subbed in a mocktail which was delicious!! Food came in a timely manner, the presentation and taste was perfect!! We can't wait to come back. We've been thinking about it since we left!!!