ie Italian Eatery

My husband and I decided to try I.E. About a month ago, super last minute, no reservations at 7:30 on a Saturday night. We were expecting to wait for a bit but there was one table left next to a fairly large party. They gave us full warning that it might be tight but we were more excited to be able to eat right away and we went for it.
It was a bit tight and I was bumped into a couple times but nothing out of the ordinary at a packed restaurant on Saturday.
We ordered the Burrata with prosciutto for an appetizer. So creamy and good! We wolfed it down pretty quickly and they brought us more bread without asking. My husband ordered a large portion of the Bucatini and I ordered a small portion of the mushroom cappelletti both were fantastic and perfect portion to fill you up without being uncomfortable.
Because we had been seated at a tighter table we were surprised with a complimentary dessert (we went with cheesecake, yum!), gift card and apology from the manager. We were very impressed by their customer service and their attention to us. Especially when it was something we hadn’t thought twice about. We will be going back again and again.

My husband and I ate here for an impromptu date night and we loved everything. The ambiance is great and the patio is even better. The bar opens up to the patio which was nice on a warm night. I would recommend for two, a family, or girls night out. You must get the tiramisu!

Wonderful place, fantastic food, good non-​alcoholic drink options My only gripe was the noise level.

THE BEST TIRAMISU IVE EVER HAD IT WAS AN OTHERWORLDLY EXPERIENCE.
The mushroom cappelletti was good. Super flavorful, had a slightly undercooked feel, but was good.
Ive never had gnocchi before this but I liked it.

Tried ie for the first time this week to a mixed review.
1) Our server was delightful and informative.
2) I ordered the Root Salad and was brought the Heart of Palm Salad. It looked and was good, so we did not mention it.
3) Polenta with grilled bread was delicious.
4) I had the Ravioli and my friend had the Mushroom Cappelletti. Both of them were hard, quite undercooked, so we sent them back (I never do that, but it was very unpleasant to crunch your pasta!). Our server was very understanding about it, and the manager brought us free drinks and was very apologetic.
5) The second try was much better, though still a little less soft than I prefer. Loved the tangerine oil!
6) Our server also brought us some complementary gelato, and it was delicious!
Overall, I ate many delicious things (some by chance), and the service was great. I’d be willing to try again, but I would not call this restaurant a sure thing.

Had reservations, had to wait 10 minutes anyways.
Standing in the entryway we saw mice scurrying back and forth a couple of inches from the entrance.
Our party of 4 was seated at a large table for 12, so, we got stuck sharing a table with 8 other people, who were also not very happy about being stuck sharing a large table with strangers.
It was loud and hard to talk, the music they were playing made it worse.
Had the mushroom cappelletti, which tasted okay, but, it was a tiny portion of food for a very high price.
It was essentially $ 2 bite (9 small pieces of cappelletti for $ 18). Waitstaff worked hard and was knowledgeable.

Ugh… I wanted to love i.e. Italian Eatery, but I was sadly disappointed! My experience was very inconsistent and sadly not as amazing as I had hoped.
The Good:
1. Reservations were pretty easy to make, even on a Saturday night.
2. The atmosphere is inviting: large tables and booths, good lighting, etc…
3. Mushroom cappelletti — ³⁄₅ people at our table got this and they had no leftovers.
4. Nuovo — I love the idea of a smaller, new cocktail! The cocktail on my visit was slightly sweet, but reminded me of spring!
The Not So Good:
1. I ordered an aperol spritz, my go-​to at every Italian restaurant — and it came as an aperol soda (no prosecco) so I had to send it back.
2. Seafood: Both the mussels and octopus were not cooked appropriately. I had my first mussel and it tasted great, but the next 2 I had were very undercooked and slimy! I don’t know why I went for a 3^rd, because I almost gagged on the 2^nd. After my 2 disappointing mussels, I just ate the bread and yummy lemon-​garlic sauce instead of trying any more mussels. While the mussels were undercooked, the octopus was overcooked. The fregula was delicious, so again, I stayed away from the seafood and stuck to the other components of the dish.
3. Pan-​fried artichoke ravioli — I couldn’t taste the artichoke or truffle oil in this dish. Instead, it just tasted like fried ricotta ravioli. Not bad, just very boring in my opinion.
4. Bucatini — I usually love sausage, but I’ve never had such a bland sausage. I couldn’t taste the fennel at all. The dish was very greasy and not very flavorful (I had to add salt, which is uncommon for me). I didn’t finish my pasta and didn’t even eat my leftovers (for the first time ever?!).
I hope i.e. Italian Eatery is still experiencing growing pains and is more consistent in the future. I liked the atmosphere; unfortunately, the food just did not live up to my expectations.

For us in the burbs this is a destination restaurant but worth the trip. This is a neighborhood we haven’t been to. One we will go back to for sure in the summer with the Grand Old Creamery across the street and the popcorn store around the corner. What more could you need. It looks like IE is going to have great outdoor seating.
Because I had too much to drink the night before I needed something non alcoholic. I tried the HONEY GINGER-​LAVENDER SHRUB Medicinal drinking vinegar infused with honey, ginger, lavender. It was awesome and when they bottle it let me know! We shared the chopped salad. Very different but so good. We had the short ribs. I wasn’t in love with this dish. It was too fatty for me. Then we had the bucatini. This was delish! I was disappointed with the CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL TORTE Whip cream, toasted pistachio, sea salt. My husband said it tasted like a passover brownie. It wasn’t that bad. I can’t wait to go back and try a different pasta sit outside and try an alcoholic drink!

I’ve been to ie twice now, and have really enjoyed both experiences. As a Bar La Grassa superfan, this new restaurant is definitely up my alley. You probably won’t need a reservation unless you’re going on a weekend right at dinner time, so this is perfect for my last minute Italian cravings.
My boyfriend and I really love their prosciutto, burrata, and fig compote app– it is so delicious on their grilled bread that it’s almost embarrassing how quickly it disappears. We tried the yam ravioli on our first visit and weren’t that excited– they tasted more like wontons and needed some sort of sauce or dip to give them some more flavor!
I have loved both of the pastas I’ve ordered, the mushroom cappelletti and lamb ragu fettuccine. My boyfriend has been a bit less lucky– his bucatini was dry the first time, and then the pappardelle with beef cheeks did not have enough unique flavors.
Service was prompt both times, and we enjoyed sampling their housemade limoncello! I much preferred the younger one, though, which was a bit disappointing. All the other cocktails we tried were good but not great. We will definitely be keeping ie in the dinner rotation!

Given the volume of Italian restaurants opening in the Cities as of late, as well as the fairly generic name of Italian Eatery, it would be easy to see how this neighborhood restaurant could fly under the radar. With that said, given the number of seats occupied on each visit, obviously the word is out, and deservedly so.
Having knocked out a good portion of the dinner menu I have very few quibbles and a number of items I’ll be coming back for. Falling into the latter category are the mushroom cappelletti, anything involving meatballs, the dried proscuitto, mussels and tomato soup. From a libations standpoint, IE has a number of affordable Italian wine choices, a good craft beer selection, some great homemade limoncello and my favorite version of an Old Fashioned in this zip code.
Finally, the owners did a great job converting this space into a cozy and well-​appointed restaurant and service has always been great across the board. Since IE is only a short walk from my front door, I suspect I’ll be occupying a seat at their bar pretty frequently.

I didn’t intend on writing an update so soon… but I just gotta.
To the point, food & service were quite good before and continue to improve, culminating with a perfect night recently. Our server Mo went above and beyond in quite every way for us. I’ve never had such thoughtful service from our amazing server (Mo, we love you) and the floor manager.
Also, the pasta made me cry. The baked garganelli or the cavatelli. There are no bad choices.

As soon as I saw a new Italian joint was opening near me, I had to go ASAP. I made a reservation for a weeknight because you never know, but it seemed there were just a few open spots, so you can probably easily walk in and get a filling, tasty meal.
They have a decent-​looking cocktail list, but I was having pasta so I wanted some wine. The wine list is pretty good and the staff is knowledgeable about what they have. They have a full bar, both beer and wine, and a barista making coffees and teas, so you can get pretty much anything you want here. My friend ordered a hot toddy (not on the menu) which the server had never heard of, but she asked the bartender and, of course, they could make it. The server was delighted that such a drink existed, so hopefully we’ve improved her life marginally for these cold winter nights.
The pan-​fried yam ravioli to start is stupidly delicious. I’d have two orders of those and call it dinner, to be honest.
They offer two different sizes for the pastas: half or full portions. I love having the option, which I haven’t seen at any other Italian joints in town. I had the spaghetti carbonara, which was also stupidly delicious. The full portion was just enough to be a filling meal without having to roll myself out of the place, which is also pleasant.
Literally every table around us ordered the tiramisu for dessert, so, after watching three orders of it sail by, I had to have it. It was so much larger than I expected, so make sure you have at least one other person to share it with. It was very good, and I see why all the other tables ordered it.
As a side note for those that would be interested: the bar is positioned so you can get a pretty good view of half of the dining area, so shimmy on up with a book to fake read and get your people watching on!
I’m looking forward to a return trip!

This place is awesome — so happy it opened right down the street from our house!
2 years ago we moved away from another Italian restaurant that was only a few blocks away — and so this is definitely filling the void!
We tried a little bit of everything and there was nothing that wasn’t amazing. They even had some really, really good NA mocktails for me while everyone else guzzled wine and drinks.
The space is quite a contrast to the previous carbone’s in the spot, they did a heck of a job on the overhaul — it was beautiful.
Highly recommend!

Tried this hip new Italian spot after becoming aware of them from a food blog. I was happy that you can make reservations (via there web site) so we snagged a table for two on a Friday night. I was glad we had reservations because walk ins were being told 2 hours when we got there around 6:15.
This place was busy with all the tables filled as well as their parking lot. Service is very friendly and efficient and our server did a nice job helping us with the menu-​it was hard to choose as there we so many delicious sounding items.
We started with the 600 day aged prosciutto which was served with 5 toasted slices of bread, fig preserves and ricotta (although usually this has buratta but they were out). Despite the substitution this was SO DELICIOUS with the soft creamy cheese and fig. The serving ($ 15) could easily serve 4 and was almost a meal by itself for the two of us (along with our wine). This is reason alone for a return visit.
They have about a dozen pastas on the menu and each is available in two sizes. We tried the gnocchi (light pillows swimming in butter and Parmesan cheese) and the bucatini which had a thin tomato sauce, fennel sausage and other goodies. Both were quite good.
We even had a chance to speak with one of the husband/​wife owners. Vanessa stopped by our table once to greet us and later to see how we liked the food. It was great to have a short conversation with her and definitely added to the appeal of the place.
Recommended.

When looking for a place to enjoy an early NYE dinner. and I mean early right at 4pm. I came across IE in Unilocal!as a hot and new spot to try. After discussing we let Tyler M. make the decision and here we come ie!
Very accommodating, we originally were supposed to have a table of 8, but due to last minute cancellations we were down to 5. The staff was very helpful and quick to switch up our spot and put us at a smaller booth.
Our server was very helpful, they had a few dishes made special for NYE and Enrique was a great salesman because 4 out of the 5 of us ordered the lobster risotto for our entrée and the ribeye for the 5^th.
You know how we foodies do, we decided to order a variety of appetizers (which means every dish almost) and some sides and of course pastas to share as well.
Enrique was a little concerned with how much food we ordered but we assured him, no worries we were hungry and would be okay.
And of course we had to sample the variety of cocktails as well. they have a pretty good wine and beer list, but their cocktails were what attracted me.
I ordered an Arbusto which was made with bourbon, honey and had a pretty lavender shrub as garnish. Great flavor to this drink if you like something lighter in flavor.
I also tried my husband’s Cedar, which is made with bourbon infused with charred cedar and bitters. Very good and strong and tasted just like an old fashioned (one of my faves).
Appetizers:
600 day dried prosciutto and imported burrata — came with winter mostarda and grilled bread. Great flavor to the prosciutto and burrata, unfortunately the bread was quite charred which made it pretty bitter.
Goat milk ricotta — came with really charred grilled bread again, the cheese had a good texture, really smooth and the sweetness you’d expect from a ricotta
Charred octopus — probably the best appetizer we ordered. The octopus was charred but not overpowering like the grilled bread in the two previous apps. cooked really well and the flavor was really good. It came with fregola (had to look it up, its a pasta, looks like couscous), pistachios and lemon aioli sauce.
Grilled Mussels — in butter yum!!! and came with grilled bread again (this time not so charred).
Salad:
Shaved root salad — variety of root veggies with blood orange and a citrus vinaigrette. Loved the textures in the veggies, really crisp and fresh and just the right amount of citrus flavor. Very refreshing and it kind of acted like a palette cleanser for me before the main courses came out
Entrees:
Lobster Risotto NYE special — Lobster was cooked really well but unfortunately the risotto was really salty :(. I was so excited too! I could taste the salt and it lingered until the next day. if you remember 4 out of the 5 of us ordered it and everyone agreed it was salty, I ended up just finishing my lobster tail. (Thank goodness we ordered everything else or I would have not been full)
Ribeye — had a taste of my husband’s ribeye, the meat was cooked really well, did not care for what it came with (forget what it was) even though it was cooked in bone marrow
Scallop crudo — had so much promise! I like the idea of using blood orange as the citrus component versus lemon, but I don’t think it was executed 100%. I felt it needed more citrus and a touch more salt. The scallops weren’t evenly sliced so there were some pieces that were super thick versus others, just a little too thick in my opinion for a crudo. Nice touch with the red chili pepper on top to help add a kick to it.
Pastas:
Mushroom Capelletti — love my mushrooms! Had a lot of that in the flavor of the pasta. be warned eat it quick, do not save it because it does get cold fast and the taste is not as good if it gets too cold
Cavatelli — really liked the pasta and the sauce, really nice flavor to it. I could probably just eat this dish by itself and it would fill me up.
Sides:
Roasted Garnet Yams — pretty tasty, nothing special to note it tasted like yams :)
Polenta — mixed with fonduta, really creamy, a little more soupy than what I am used to but had great flavor to it still. My husband loved this dish!
Desserts:
Chocolate olive oil torte — Yum! great presentation, came out in more of a flattened shape with whipped cream and pistachios to top it off. A little too sweet for me, but the others in my party liked it.
Pear Crostata — my favorite dessert of the night! crostata was crispy and pear was awesome and not too sweet for me, warm and yum I am drooling just writing about it.
And finally…
Tiramisu– this was a close 2^nd to the crostata. it was moist, and a whole lot of goodness in every bite!
Overall, the meal was decent. company was great :) I really give it up to Enrique, he’s a good salesman, but some of the dishes didn’t deliver. I just can’t get over the saltiness of the risotto. Luckily, it’s not on their regular menu. Our bill ended up being over $ 400, definitely not worth the total we paid. Gave an extra star for Enrique and staff

ie took all my money on NYE. I left 2015 full as heow, but now I’m poor.
I had an early dinner with some friends to close out the year. By early, I mean 4pm. Yep, we are some old folks.
The restaurant is really cute. It looks huge with two sides for seating. It’s modern, dimly lit, and had a teeny bit of a farmhouse vibe in my opinion. They just need some insulation for their windows. I was cold as f$&! seated against the window.
Our server, Enrique, was fabulous. He was so friendly, and had some good recommendations.
For drinks get the Palumbo or Cedar. The Cedar is strong, reminds me a bit like an old fashion. It’ll relax you real quick, and knock you out if you have another.
They had a special menu for NYE. We ordered just about the whole damn menu. All appetizers, there were five available, except for the meatballs. Come on, we all know meatballs sound boring.
600 day dried prosciutto and burrata — The burrata was so creamy it made the dish. Damn good. That bread tho, ish was burnt. All I tasted was char. It overpowered the delicate flavors of the mustard and cheese.
Goat milk ricotta — Pretty good, but same burnt bread. I could live without it, but I wouldn’t turn some down.
Charred octopus — Get this. It’s very tender. Favorite appetizer.
Mussels — Meh, more burnt bread
Shaved root salad — Really good fresh mix of vegetables. The orange helped brighten the flavors up.
Roasted yams — Meh.
Polenta — No thanks. I’m a fan of polenta, but theirs was too much like baby goop.
Scallop crudo — So much potential. This was a special item so it probably won’t show up again, but this dish needed acidity badly.
Lobster risotto — The lobster was great, but small. The risotto sucked. It was salty, I didn’t eat any of it aside from a spoon full to try. For $ 27, it felt like a rip off.
Cavatelli — Great. I ate most of this since my risotto tasted like canned crap.
Mushroom cappelletti — Okay.
For dessert, all of them of course. Pear crostata, tiramisu, and chocolate olive oil torte. Pear crostata was good, but that tiramisu was one of the best I’ve had. Chocolate torte was a disappointment.
I’d give this place a 3.5. The prices are HIGH for the portion sizes, and the food was hit or miss. There wasn’t anything I would go running back for, well maybe the tiramisu and burrata, but it was a good meal to end the year with.

Like others have noted, we’re happy to have another good Italian place so close to where we live in South Mpls. Overall… being probably picky, I’d give this new restaurant a 4.25 star rating.
Service — was very good. Forgot our server’s name, but she was sweet and helpful with the menu (as to be expected). Also the hosts were very friendly upon arrival too.
Wine — I was impressed with their wine list. Lots of great offerings from the Piedmont region (my preferred), and I think I even saw one or two from Alto Adige.
We split the chop salad for starters. I’d say it’s a medium-​sized salad, certainly enough for two to split. It was good, but IMO not great. The dressing was too tangy-​acidic.
No bread on the table (didn’t ask) — but when our server initially greeted us, she left a small dish of paprika-​spiced small, crispy garbanzo beans. (Kinda odd.)
Entrees — Husband ordered the large portion of the Mushroom Cappelletti. I ordered the small portion of the Spaghetti Carbonara (also our server’s favorite dish).
Mushroom Cappelletti — the large portion was significantly smaller than my small portion of the Carbonara. Asked server to confirm, and she said that it was correct — due to the size of the cappelletti. Still tho, his dish was less «filling» than mine. Husband said it would have been better if there was chicken in the dish.
Spaghetti Carbonara — good, not great. The sauce seemed a bit too thick, and not as creamy as other carbonaras. The overall savory flavoring tasted kinda like ramen. (kinda interesting.) The small portion was still too much for me, and I gave probably half of it to my husband to finish up.
Coffee — This was the BEST part for me. They serve Spyhouse coffee as their drip coffee. Very stoked for that. And I believe our server said that they are the first restaurant in Mpls to offer Spyhouse. And the great team at Spyhouse spent some time there training all the staff on how to prepare coffee.
Ambiance — Loved the décor. Upscale, dimly lit, rustic-​cool… but not too over the top. For me, very comfortable.

IE is right around the corner from our house and my fiancé and I have now been there for dinner and brunch. Both were excellent. Service was great both times but exceptionally good for brunch. Our waiters name was Ryan and he was very good to us. He went above and beyond for us and made us feel at home. Ryan is a great guy and I hope he is your server.
Dinner was good. Quick service, fun and very social ambience. My favorite was the charred octopus starter but we also loved the mushroom tortellini. We also had the yam ravioli starter and it was great. Lots of saffron
Brunch was started off by an amazing Bloody Mary! Ryan explained to us how the mix was made by hand and that it was very special. The bloody did not disappoint. My fiancée said it was her favorite bloody of recent times. The bibidop bowl was out of this world for breakfast. Crispy risotto, poached egg, slow cooked porketta, capers, giordinara, and lots of goodness in a bowl. Must have
can’t wait to go again and try more

So totally *stoked* to have this new eatery in our neighborhood. The space itself was tastefully renovated. There’s a good vibe. I love the punny name and logo, «ie».
On our first visit (because I am picturing many in the future), we tried the octopus appetizer, shaved root vegetable salad, Brussel sprouts, 3 half-​sized pastas, and of course, the tiramisu. My favorite was the mushroom capelletti. Holy cats that was memorable. I hope the menu won’t totally change seasonally because I really loved that mushroom dish and am salivating just thinking about it. The fennel sausage was perfectly executed in the bucatini and carbonara hit that classic note without being mundane. I liked the al dente texture of the pasta in the carbonara but my husband was wishing it were cooked a little longer. I think time will prove my opinion is the correct one.
The shaved root vegetable salad was bright without being too acidic, earthy without feeling heavy. I love love loved the salad.
I’ve got to give props to the innovative drink menu. Try the «Age Before Beauty»! The tiramisu which is made fresh daily was properly cocoa-​y, coffee-​y, and yummy-​y. It was rich and could easily be shared among 4. We managed to handle it just the 2 of us though.
Owners Vanessa and Eric spent a good deal of time chatting with us and were lovely and gracious. We felt inspired by their vision, energy, and execution of such a warm and beautiful space to gather and sup’ together.
They are still working out a couple of opening «kinks» (I got the «butt» of the lettuce in my salad and we were of the minority opinion on the octopus) hence the 4-​stars. Otherwise, it’s a 5 for us!
We can’t wait to go back.

My wife and I decided to check out the new Cedar Ave spot. We made a reservation and showed up early to grab a drink at the bar. Solid beer selection and a good cocktail list, the Spicy Calabrian is a excellent choice for tequila lovers.
After a short wait we were seated. For starters we had the charred octopus and the chop salad (definitely big enough for two). The octopus had great texture and the chop salad was light and flavorful; with hardboiled eggs and a delicious salami.
The main course provided heft to the meal. We tried the cavatelli bolognese and the baked garganelli with boar meatballs. Both had unique flavors and the garganelli would be great for someone trying to step out of their comfort zone without straying too far.
Finally, we ended with the zeppoli for dessert. It’s basically fluffy deep fried donut holes with maple and chocolate dipping sauces. Must have. So good that I got greedy with the last bite and dribbled some chocolate sauce down my shirt. Quickly, a server appeared with Shout wipes to help my cause.
IE — Italian Eatery is a great edition to South Minneapolis and we will definitely be making many repeat appearances to try new items and fall back on soon-​to-​become old favorites.