20.21

Last night we dropped in for snacks. I’m ashamed to admit that this was the first time I’d been to 20.21 for anything other than dessert.
We ordered from the bar menu, so this review will be limited to that. It was good enough that I intend to return for a full dinner eventually.
The space is elegant and minimalist, as one would expect from a restaurant in a modern art museum. Views of Loring Park and the basilica are spectacular. The scene has more than a whiff of pretentiousness, which is fine with me. I don’t go out for dinner at an art museum downtown expecting Perkin’s.
The wine list was somewhat shallow, with a steep mark-​up. I opted for a sidecar instead (a bargain at $ 7), since it seemed too much to ask of any wine to play with the half-​dozen small plates we were ordering. My companion had a $ 12 glass of Duck Pond Pinot Noir, which proved to be a solid presence on the list.
For food, we ordered:
–Udon noodle stir fry. Undistinguished, in need of something to make them stand out. As they came, they were a bowl of lightly salted starch.
–Spicy tuna tartare cones. Outstanding. They were a nod to temaki — a spicy tuna hand roll — but with a wrapper that retained its crunch.
–Chicken dumplings. More than adequate, but they didn’t grab the attention.
–Korean beef short ribs. The kimchi was extremely tame, but that’s not a complaint. Beef was succulent, galbi-​style.
–Miso-​glazed black cod. Buttery, melt-​in-​your-​mouth black cod. I don’t care that this dish has been in heavy rotation for a dozen years, it makes me melt every time.
–Crystal dumplings. The Chinese mustard flavor was as subtle as a baseball bat to the head. I was unimpressed by the lack of balance.
Desserts are accomplished. We had a couple of kinds of chocolate. One was a sculpted riff on Spoon Bridge, the other a chocolate truffle cake.
Service is fluent and unobtrusive. Adam S. is very good at what he does. We asked for plates to be delivered as they were completed. A variety of servers brought them, all explaining what we were getting. I like this.
We’ll definitely be back. 20.21 will never be my go-​to neighborhood bar, with their prices, but an indulgence.

The food here is actually really some of the best in the city. It is unfortunate that I hate going here. Why?
1. The service here is a consistently a colossal disaster. I just never understand why. I’ve been here mostly on slower, quieter nights where there seems to be plenty of people working, they just are NOT communicating, attentive, or filled with common sense.
2. The food is way over priced. Isn’t a museum for the public?
I especially enjoy the Asian-​inspired dishes here, some of the best in the city, too bad I won’t be back.
Walker~ Please get this place better managed and serviced, and more affordable. If you did I would come again and again!

I love Asian food and am spoiled to live in Seattle — home to amazing Japanese, Thai, Chinese, and other Asian food. To me this tasted like overpriced mall Asian food. The amount of oil used in each dish was overwhelming. The ambiance is great as is the service, but the food is sub par.
I had two dishes. First I had the tofu bento box. The tofu had been fried much earlier and then put into a heavy sauce. It was actually ok but the fried outside had become soft, so for the calories — I want some crunch. The green bean tempura was quite nice and the coconut rice was pleasant. The miso soup was sub par.
The second dish was a rice noodle dish with an overwhelmingly dark sauce that was at least half straight oil. It literally tasted like a mall buffet serving. I forced down 2 bites and then asked for it to go out of politeness.
Maybe the meat dishes are better but I doubt it. The small kitchen area which is essentially the size of a bar limits them to what they can actually do. Based on the space, a lot of the dishes were obviously not fresh and the woks were kept fully oiled for these oily creations.
Wolfgang Puck is certainly one of the more disappointing celebrity chefs. He has a couple noteworthy places in Vegas, but this does not belong with them. This one is about the quality of his airport chain with over twice the price.

AMAZING meal. it’s a pity the staff soured our experience.
when we arrived, the hostess told us there would be a wait for our reserved table. we decided to wait & have a drink at the otherwise empty bar, and the bartender took her time getting our order. as soon as she placed our drinks in front of us, a waiter came over to inform us our table was ready. «we JUST got our drinks — could we take a sip first?» my dad jokingly asked. the waiter sighed, said, «okay .» then rolled his eyes and walked away.
once we were seated, they were constantly forgetting whether our water was sparkling or tap. i might not have cared, had it not been for the fact that the waiter or busboy would simply pour tap water or sparkling water into the half-​full glass, without first confirming with us.
the house appeared to be divided between only two waiters, forcing them to run around and neglect most of their tables. really poor managing.
it’s too bad; the plates were fantastic. it’s wolfgang puck, after all. the seafood was light, fresh, and full of flavor. i just wish the staff’s poor attitude & service hadn’t left us with such a bad taste in our mouths.

My bf and I went there for a special occasion… and there the story begins…
We ordered a few different dishes including appetizers, entrée and drinks…
It had been at least 15 minutes that they decided to give us our drinks… and there we waited another 20 min and the appetizers still had not come… We were sitting there and wondering why that could have happened as that was not a busy day at all…
Finally, after a total of about an hour, our entrée finally came, however, was not hot on the surface… and we sat there, looked at each other, took a few bites and could tell that the food has been sitting out for quite some time…
We were not satisfied AT ALL, we lost the entire appetite and mood and also the servers were not serving us well at all, kept spilling water and food…
So we decided to talk to the manager about our dissatisfaction and are only willing to pay for the «hot» appetizer as we barely even touched the entrée…
After this discussion with the manager, which she told us that what we were experiencing is not a usual scenario and was willing to recommend and offer us new dishes and hope that we can give 20.21 1 more chance…
So my bf and I agreed and the food that they offered was pretty good, however, as an Asian fusion restaurant, I would think that it is a little too Asian, didn’t taste much any other elements in their food…
However, I really appreciate the way they handle problems and their attitudes

Fantastic view of the street and Loring Park and Bascilica on a rainy evening. These are givens: friendly service, high prices, rich food and maybe not edgily innovative as far as fusion goes.
Having said that, my cocktail was spicy good — I got a Bloody Mary. There were four of us and we shared all our dishes: steamed scallop and shrimp dumplings, wok-​seared potatoes, stir fry veggies, tandoori arctic char, and Hunan glazed eggplant. The arctic char is tough to share between more than 2 people.
All the items were fresh, tasty, satisfying. If you’re watching the budget, sharing small plates and sides is a good idea rather than ordering individual entrees.
I’d love to go back… have to find a way like other reviewers who did not have to pay for their meals!

Happy Hour @ 20.21. Great service, bartender was very friendly and prompt.
I had the 3 course happy hour special for $ 20.21 along with a $ 5 happy hour martini.
1^st course: Tuna Tartar in Sesame Miso Cones
2^nd course: Korean Beef Shortribs
3^rd course: Mixed Berry Frangipane
Martini: Andyes Kandye
Everything was delicious. My favorite course was the Korean Beef Shortribs, it was succulent and flavorful. The Mixed Berry Frangipane was quite good as well. The Miso Cones looked interesting, were spicy, but a little light for me. It was the first course and I was hungry, too hungry to enjoy them. The Andyes Kandy martini was minty chocolate flavored and quite good.
For a semi-​cheap date, I recommend hitting this place on a Thursday night for Happy Hour (5:30−7:30PM) then checking out the Walker for free. Watch out for the beers, they are $ 7 per bottle at any time.

I was a very lucky girl last night. P’s company had their holiday dinner at 20.21. They did a 3 course tasting menu with 3 items in each course. I started with the 20.21 cosmo… yummy. I am a sucker for limoncello (wish I could get cream limoncello here but alas only in Italy). It was a perfect blend and a great way to start the evening.
1^st course — tuna cones, pork and wonton soup & a beet salad. I am allergic to mayo so instead of the tuna cone the chef made a nigiri style dish for me. It was outrageous. The tuna was tender. The soup was rich and just a nice amount. The beet salad I could have had more. But I do love a good beet.
2^nd course — Potstickers, korean short ribs & tandoori artic char. This course was the least memorable for me. The short ribs were tough. The artic char was overpowered by the curry style finishing on it.
3^rd course — beef tenderloin, duck lo mein & shanghai lobster. The beef was cooked perfectly. But the rock star was the lobster … I could have taken a swim in it. I have a feeling I will be craving it.
Dessert was the famous cherry on a spoon tribute and carrot cake. Both were ok. The best part was the sorbet served with the carrot cake. It was an carrot ginger sorbet. Unique and refreshing (yes I am already thinking of how I can make it in my ice cream maker).
I did turn to P and asked if we could come again. He said ok. :-)

Good, but not great. My overall impression with this restaurant is that if you like highly seasoned foods, laden with sauces and marinades, you’ll like this. We were there Thursday evening at 8:30 and there was a lively crowd present. Our server was very attentive and brought drinks quickly. My «Hemingway» ($ 12) was made with grapefruit, fresh squeezed limes and Absolut. It was a nice refreshing drink, that caught up with me awhile later!
We started with the Korean short ribs as an appetizer. I can’t say that I’d have them again. Nothing spectacular, just pieces of highly seasoned beef. I had the halibut as an entrée, which was delicious and served with a curry sauce that had a tinge of coconut. However, at $ 34, I thought it was overpriced. My husband had the miso-​glazed black cod, which he felt was really good.
For dessert, we had the Spoon and Cherry, which was an edible chocolate box filled with chocolate mousse and accompanied by sour cherries. Yum! It was almost too beautiful to eat!
This is a convenient place to eat if you’re at the Walker Art Center and if you’re lucky enough to get a window table, the views of Minneapolis are spectacular. The kitchen is open to the dining area so there is a fair amount of noise. The smells from the food permeate the dining area, so if you have a sensitivity to spice, you may want to go elsewhere.

One of the best restaurants if not THE BEST restaurant in minnepolis. I’m craving the chinese chicken salad as i’m writing this now. I haven’t had anything on the menu that doesn’t make my mouth water just thinking about! It’s all that good…
I do have one request… PLEASE BRING BACK THE LYCHEE MARTINI!
But seriously, this place is so fun. The view is great. The restaurant is posh and the service is unreal! I’ve never had a bad experience here. I love this place!

The best part of 20.21, I think, are the drinks. This place serves easily some of the best cocktails I’ve ever had. Their «citrus cooler» ($ 12) is a mellow, smooth, subtly pink-​and-​white concoction that doesn’t taste like alcohol at all. Nor is it overly sweet (if anything, it’s almost tart, like a citrus drink should be). It’s so balanced (and strong) that I found myself a bit tipsy after only four or five sips, and I’m no lightweight. My friend got a «Bellini» ($ 12) which was made with mango purée and looked like a mimosa; it was rich and just barely tart and bubbly, with a sweet aftertaste. Wonderful stuff.
Red Dragon makes strong, huge drinks for roughly the same price as 20.21, but the stuff at the Dragon will give you a headache the next day. At 20.21, it’s smooth sailing in a much classier environment, for about the same price.
Food-​wise there isn’t too much of interest at 20.21 for vegans, but the kitchen can usually whip up some relatively flavorful stir-​fry dish upon request. Otherwise, the menu is pretty meat-​heavy and the vegetarian dishes use eggs. How come no tofu or seitan or interesting mockmeats, 20.21?
Prices are high. Entrees are in the $ 15 – 20 range, but their side dishes are only $ 9. This sounds like a lot for a side-​dish, but the seasonal stir-​fry we got was a large portion and could have easily constituted a meal for one.
The décor is swanky and the service is friendly. If you sit outside it’s fairly pleasant and not too much traffic noise will disturb you; the view, however, is not very good. Come to 20.21 for drinks before or after seeing the gallery; this is also a great date spot and gives The Guthrie’s lounges a run for their money.

3* for food
2* for Rude service
Had the Flavors of Spain dessert, which was pretty good; inventive and tasty.
However.
The restaurant only had 2 tables filled on the night i was there (around 8p on a Wednesday night) and they refused to sit us at any of the tables; instead we had to sit at the bar.
I completely understand if the restaurant was filled; but seriously.
there were only 2 tables being used; it doesn’t hurt to have someone sit at the dining table where they can really enjoy their meal; and perhaps join you for a proper dinner in the future.
Now, i don’t think i want to frequent a place who doesn’t appreciate their clients– however small of a meal it was (and really, dessert was $ 15 so it wasn’t exactly CHEAP)

Went for lunch. May deserve four stars, but downgraded for a few issues.
As my wife noted, «This seems so 1991.» It’s Asian fusion. This was big news in the 90s. Less so now.
Never heard of miso glazed black cod? Surprised by «Chinese chicken salad» in lettuce cups? In that case, you’ll find the menu innovative. Otherwise, it seems somewhat uninspired.
I mean, the food was good. Arctic char was steamed and served with Asian veggies. Char had the skin on, which is pretty nasty for a steamed salmonoid. But it was really tasty with the skin off.
Heirloom tomato salad was nice. My wife’s iconic miso cod was also very tasty, if not overly rich.
Calamari salad was served in a deep fried wonton bowl. Taco Bell did that first, folks. So does Chi-​Chis.
So I can’t really bitch about the food that much. But at $ 60 per person for lunch (appetizer, mains, dessert, one drink each), I did expect more innovation.
And people, when you go out to eat in a nice restaurant, leave the baseball caps, «Pink» hot pants, and cargo shorts at home. Please.

Wolfgang Puck’s 20×21 at the Walker Art Center is celebrating the return of the newly-​painted iconic cherry sculpture with a three-​course tasting menu featuring cherry-​inspired dishes. The special tasting menu is $ 20.21 and available in the dining room during lunch and the bar and lounge area during dinner.
The sample menu includes a first course of spring pea soup with mint and a chili oil «cherry» and a second course of mock duck lomein with sweet cherry hoisin and pink cabbage. Dessert options include the sculpture replica spoon cube & cherry dessert with chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream or a cherry panna cotta with cherry sorbet and fruit compote. Several mixed drinks are featured including a cherry soda, a Maraschino champagne cocktail and a gin cherry blossom for $ 6 to $ 7.
This is one of my favorite Minneapolis restaurants as they always have several inspired and beautifully presented vegan and vegetarian options on the ever-​changing menu and the dining room offers great views of downtown through floor-​to-​ceiling windows. The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is perfect for a pre– or post-​meal stroll.
For more information:

I’ve been here twice… both times I never had to pay. HAH! First time was for lunch and the food was pretty good. Nothing really stood out and I maybe would have expected a little more for the price, but high marks for presentation.
Yes, it is expensive and maybe even a bit pretentious, but it’s a Wolfgang Puck restaurant at the Walker. If you go, it’s mainly for the presentation, ambiance and experience. You have to try it once just to know what it’s like.

Yuck. I don’t claim to be a gourmand, but this food was really quite bad. Let me back up. It’s family style ordering, so for our party of 5, we ordered 4 entrees to share. We started with a beet appetizer which was quite good. Then they brought out our entrees. Awful. I don’t eat fish, but the other ladies at the table who do eat fish were a bit grossed out by the crispy, crusty, whole fish (head and tail intact) that was brought out. The guys didn’t seem to mind. The lamb chops were not good. The chicken was dark, fatty meat on the bone. Really not good.
The service, however, was quite good. The ambience is a little sterile, the chairs, if you’re a petite person, hard to manage, they slope backwards so I had to perch on the end to feel like an adult at the table, rather then a kid at the big-​person table.
Of course, the view is excellent!

The Asian fusion food was excellent but I thought that our waiter
was not interested in answering questions about the menu. He
acted bored and said it was a «given». However, the service was good and the waiter brought us an extra hors d’œuvre.
I was impressed with the presentation and the freshness of the
food. The spices in the sauces were delicious.

My husband and I went here for an elegant lunch. It was a week-​day, but business was brisk. The room alone is worth the trip. It’s one of a handful of TC restaurants where the atmosphere and beauty of the room are as memorable as the food. Being in the new wing of the Walker, the space is perfectly designed– open and dramatic and yet small enough to feel cozy and without many of the horrible acoustic problems of cavernous spaces. The windows open out onto spectacular views of downtown. Best not to be seated too near one if you have vertigo, because you will quickly realize that the whole room is cantilevered out over Hennepin Ave. The tables, chairs, flatware and china are all reproductions of museum quality items. Design within Reach must have made a killing when this place opened.
The service was prompt and polite, but not in your face. Just right, I thought.
We ordered from the bar and drinks were some of the best I’ve had locally. Granted I had my usual champagne cocktail which any idiot can make, but the key to this drink is always the bubbly which was top notch, natch. My husband got a martini that had a delicate little sprig of artfully carved cucumber in it. It was gorgeous, and the gin was something I’ve never had before – Hendricks I think, and you can bet I’ll be picking up a bottle soon.
I ordered from the tasting menu which is such newbie mistake in most restaurants. But this one was reasonably well put together in terms of selection, pairing, price and pace. I didn’t feel like I was being vaulted along to finish my meal in time to keep up with my dining companion, who just ordered off the menu. Part of the reason for this was the portions, which were diminutive. Seriously, Solera, which serves tappas, gives bigger portions. It was all very tasty and good for the waistline.
I started off with a goat cheese, beet salad, something I’ve had many times, but here was pleasantly surprised to find the beets where a golden variety, presented like little amber jewels in a fluffy bed of watercress. My husband ordered a deep fried quail which was like someone took a shrink ray to KFC. It was tasty but being a big strapping lad he inhaled it in about 12 seconds and started looking hungrily at my tiny little cutlets of cantonese duck. The duck was fantastic, perfectly tender without being greasy with a crispy skin that was subtly sweet. I’ve decided the secret to eating duck is to go someplace where they don’t give you very much of it. I’ve attempted to soldier through enough half and whole ducks to know that less is definitely more. Even the rice and green beans were nicely done and well presented.
We were well able to put away a couple of mini deserts. A poached fruit thingy and a little pastry that was sort of like a very fancy muffin top. With coffee, dessert, drinks and tip, the whole bill came in well under a hundred bucks which is pricey for lunch, but not bad for a special occasion date.
2021 is going to be my «go to» restaurant when I’m dieting. I’m serious. As much as I love the once a year gorging on heavy foods at Vincent, it is nice to know I can get dressed up, have a swanky meal out in the city without having to spend the next eight hours on my Nordic Track.

This restaurant goes down in history as one of the best I have EVER been to. I briefly skimmed some of the other reviews and nobody mentioned that this restaurant just happens to be in the Walker Art Center, one of the finest art institutions in the world, which makes it even that much cooler! You could head over, especially now since they have their Frida Kahlo tour exhibition there (take the multimedia tour, it’s awesome!), then finish your day/​evening at the museum with a tasty treat at this gem of a restaurant.
Everything I got I loved. We started with the tuna sashimi appetizer. We decided not to do anything family style as we were both more than happy with our own entrees of choice; I went with the Green Thai Curry Seafood dish while my counterpart settled on the Cod. I can only speak on my experience and this curry Thai dish was absolutely orgasmic. I mean, phenomenal. It had a little kick to it but nothing that sent me straight to the bathroom or sweating profusely. They have a great wine selection as well and the coffee was just as fabulous as everything else.
It’s pricey so pick a special occasion to come here but please, COME HERE! They have a varied menu so if you’re a meat eater, great, and if you prefer your veggie dishes, well there are those as well. Something for everyone! AND, an amazing art collection to go along with it. I’m in love.

The service at 20.21 might be what I like most. It’s not overbearing but the servers are attentive and intuitive. I do wish they would stop instructing me to order family style though. I do what I want! Sometimes that means sharing and sometimes that means eating my whole miso-​glazed fishes alone. I appreciate that the WP thing is family-​style food, but let’s not be pushy about it.
Best not miss brunch on Sunday if someone else is around to take you — get reservations. Really lovely food and something about Sunday mornings is perfect for gazing out those windows with a happy mouthful.
Desserts are divine. And the wine list is small but accomplished (and in places overpriced). Eat outside if weather permits — great for a snack and a drink after work.
If you go for lunch, be prepared for a dining room full of children, power-​lunchers, and the glorious crows of groups of older ladies when they’ve reached their second round of martinis. Fascinating.