The Restaurant

Noticed as we drove by tonight (8÷18÷2012) that they have changed the name and have new owners. Will try it out another time.

One of my favorite Rochester restaurants. I’ve been about three times now, and I love their food. It’s always very tasty, and they have some very talented chefs. They have the most incredible waitstaff too. Great wine menu as well. My only critique is that their (delicious, fantastic!) menu does not change very frequently — I love what they make, and to keep me coming back, I want to try something fresh. I highly recommend it.

The food is kind of hit or miss, in my opinion. We’ve been here 3 times. First time really liked it. I have to say the crab cake appetizer is really impressive for a Midwest crab cake, and it has been consistently excellent with every visit. I enjoyed the pasta on a previous visit, as well.
Of other things I’ve tried, the salad that comes with the blueberries and walnuts was quite disappointing. The dressing wasn’t tasty, and the chicken was so tough I had to saw at it. At that same visit my husband had a fish entrée that came with a side of wild rice that was extremely bland, and actually the fish itself wasn’t that great either. Shrimp bisque was not very good either. The prices are really high, especially for the salads. The only reason we ended up feeling OK about it was because we used the Unilocal coupon.
We like the atmosphere and the waitress who is typically working is extremely nice. The chef was coming out on our last visit and comping a bunch of things, desserts, giving people special tastes of things, etc., which I always think is great. He seemed to be saying that there had been some recent turnover in the kitchen staff so this might explain the variation in the quality of the food we’ve noticed.

Such an underwhelming experience. The beef wellington was entirely unimpressive and the mashed potatoes and vegetables were cold when served. The duck was dry and the bread that everyone was raving about reminded me of something that came out of a pillsbury can (you know, the ones that always scare you when they «pop»?)
I really wanted to like The Restaurant, and my husband and I were I were hoping that Rochester finally had a fine dining establishment to call its own. Unfortunately, it was a depressing dining experience (we were the only ones in the restaurant) where we were served mediocre food at an outrageous price.

Beef Wellington. Delicious. There’s not much more I can say that wasn’t already said in my previous review, or that of the others on here.

I was so sure this was a winner with all the 5 stars that I saw. Maybe my expectations were too high to begin with or maybe I’ve just been to too many fabulous places, but The Restaurant did nothing for me.
First off — we’ve been wanting to try this place forever so it so happened I had a lunch free and I figured we’d check the place out. So maybe that it was lunch and not dinner, it wasn’t as good?
Second — the old house outside is beautiful and I expected the same inside. Didn’t get it — it was a cheap decorating scheme I thought. The tables and chairs looked like they came from the restaurant of a motel that shut down in the 80’s — something you’d find at Goodwill. The same with the table settings and cloths and the area rug in the big dining room — yuck. Décor really makes or breaks a restaurant and this one is broke.
Then the food. We had the caprese type salad — tasteless. And this is my favorite kind of salad so when I don’t finish it, you know its bad.
We got the crabcake po’ boy and the bleu cheese and bacon burger. The burger was pretty good, but the po’ boy, I just picked out the crabcake and, even then, wasn’t that overyjoyed with it.
And then the bill came and I thought — WAY overpriced for so little to be over anything about…
If you want a great meal with great décor go down the road to Pescara. Its so much more worth it than The Restaurant. Sorry to offend, but its just the way my friend and I saw it.

The Restaurant continues to be amazing. We dine here at least once a month (but may or may not have eaten here two consecutive nights recently… yum…) The tasting menus are exceptional. A great deal… the food and wine/​beer are spectacular. Thank you Chris for everything! We can’t wait for the French tasting next weekend.

8÷18÷2012 — I deeply regret that The Restaurant has closed. There is a sign in front that another restaurant will be opening there soon. Probably after the road work in front is complete.
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The Restaurant is in a Victorian house a couple of blocks from St. Marys Hospital.
Our kids gave us a $ 40 Groupon for an anniversary dinner at The Restaurant. We don’t tend to be fancy eaters … our favorite restaurant is a Basque boardinghouse in Bakersfield. But … our dinner at The Restaurant was easily the best we’ve had in town here in almost 20 years, and equaled the quality of the dinners on the Celebrity cruise we took a year ago. (Celebrity is known to be the highest-​quality feeder of the big cruise lines.)
It was Greek week at The Restaurant. I had the special tasting 7-​course/​6-​wine $ 60 prix fixe; my wife had a delicious salmon/​walleye mosaic entrée. My courses were a salad, avgolemono, ricotta/​italian sausage manicotti, crab/​scallop/​tiger shrimp rissoto, sorbet, stuffed leg of lamb, dessert, There were six wines, almost all Greek except for an Italian spumante at dessert, and all very tasty served in 3 to 4 oz portions in smallish wine glasses except for the flute at dessert. The food portions were all delicious. I’ll single out the blood orange sorbet at the center of the meal, avgolemono soup, the Linzer torte for dessert, and in particular, the stuffed leg of lamb. My first bite, I said «Oh my God, this is good!» to my wife. .
Chris, the co-​owner, served us, as a server was sick. He was congenial, helpful, and knowledgeable. Besides Chris chatting us up after we ate, his brother, the chef and other co-​owner, came out, checked with how our dinners were, and also chatted with us.
The restaurant was not crowded on Saturday night (against the Denver-​New England football play-​off.) The atmosphere was very pleasant and relaxed, and not stuffy at all.
Our bill was $ 99 after tax (before the Groupon) for the prix fixe, an entrée, one glass of wine, one coffee, and one expresso.

These are the best meals I had in Rochester. I at at The Restaurant once for dinner and twice for lunch. The dinner special was grilled scallops and shrimp over risotto and the seafood was seasoned and cooked perfectly. The risotto was also delicious. One day for lunch I had the blueberry chicken salad and it was fresh and flavorful, but priced a bit high for a lunch salad in my opinion ($ 18). The chicken in the salad was warm and juicy. The service was incredible and the entire staff was warm and welcoming. This is probably the only place I will eat when I return to Rochester.

Wow best brunch we’ve had in Rochester by far. The service and food were amazing!

THE FOOD! THE FOOD! It is all about the food. Regardless of everything else, The Restaurant food gets 5 stars. My wife and I walked here one evening after searching for a close restaurant on Unilocal,and saw the 5 star ratings. We are both connoisseurs of salmon, my wife having lived in Alaska! Hawaii, and the California coast. She had the salmon dinner salad and I had the «salmon mosaic» — wild salmon woven with fresh walleye. A good fish plate starts with the fish, and this was excellent, fresh fish, prepared perfectly. The High Line Pinot was an excellent pairing.
This restaurant is in an old house, not given to easy maneuvering. It was a nice evening and we were fortunate to get one of the small tables on the porch. To be honest, the service could have been better, as the server was overwhelmed. Still, I have to go with the 5 stars because these were the best fish plates either of us had had in literally years — and we eat a lot of fish.
Justin, chef and co-​owner, sat with us for a few minutes after our meal. I know nothing of his background, but in addition to being a tremendously talented chef, he is a most personable man, and he truly cares about his customers. I would give almost anything to have this place closer to where I live.
(Longest review I have ever written!)

Slow service and fishy smell inside the restaurant. Chairs are too low inside and don’t match the table height. Definitely not worth the expensive prices.

My colleague and I went here and had the bruschetta and the haystack sandwiches for lunch. You can taste the fresh produce they use to make everything. Excellent food and service = 5 stars!

I do a fair bit of travel, and when I found myself in Rochester, MN, I turned to Unilocal to find the best stuff in town. I was not disappointed with any of my choices, and was very delighted with The Restaurant.
The Restaurant has excellent food, very friendly service, and a cozy atmosphere. The entire experience was wonderful.
The vinaigrette on the salad was nicely tart, and the orange duck very well prepared. The beef Wellington was similarly excellent.
Have I had even better beef Wellington elsewhere? Perhaps, but I think part of that was due to the time in my life I had it. I was in Rochester for family medical-​related reasons, and I think food loses a little bit of its taste when a person is under stress like that. The Restaurant is a great place to go to forget about the medical things that bring many visitors to town.
Did I expect to even find a place with very good beef Wellington in Rochester? Nope! So in that regard, this was simply a fantastic surprise!
The building is a nice house converted into a dining area — tables (white tablecloth) laid out throughout the house, and a variety of local artwork (available for purchase) lines the walls. A truly excellent local dining experience in Rochester.
Our waitress chatted with us plenty, chatting about all kinds of things.
I fully approve of every moment of the experience at The Restaurant!

We enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing meal on a recent Tuesday evening at The Restaurant. The owners were friendly and were happy to share the history of their place as well as information about their wonderful food. We thoroughly enjoyed the appetizers, entrees and dessert that we shared (of course, I always need to taste what everyone else is having). While ordering our wine, we weren’t sure what we wanted, and the owner was happy to let us sample a couple of choices to make sure we would be happy with the one we chose. A very nice touch and very appreciated.
Please make the time to stop by for lunch or dinner, I’m sure you will be happy you did.

We travel A LOT, and last night we found ourselves In Rochester, Minnesota for dinner. After asking around for the best local restaurants, the name «The Restaurant» came up time and again, and after reading the glowing reviews here on Unilocal,we decided to give it a try.
Upon arrival, we found a beautiful old heritage house, that looked like something my grandparents could have lived in. It was so quaint and absolutely exquisite. I couldn’t have been happier to have such a unique setting to enjoy our dinner in.
We were greeted by the server, who was a very sweet, warm and welcoming woman and the cute little hostess who is absolutey adorable.
The dining room is gorgeous and incredibly intimate and romantic. It is a small little room that holds about 10 tables with beautiful bay windows all around.
The wine list is unique and very extensive. We ordered a beautiful bottle of Pinot Grigio that was everything it should be
For our appitizer we had the chefs soup of the day, which was chicken and wild rice. It was absolutely delicious… Not too salty, not too creamy, not too ricey… Absolutely perfect.
At this point the chef came out of the kitchen and introduced himself to everyone and checking up on how the diners were enjoying his food.
He was very friendly and informative, and a true artist. You can tell that he really cares about and respects the integrity of his food.
Upon speaking with him further, he informed us that a local farmer delivers all his produce fresh twice a week, and that he had received his training in many of our favorite San Diego restaurants.
For the second course, we ordered sweet peppers stuffed with goat cheese and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. (a must try)
It was sincerely one of the most incredible things I have ever tasted, and I eat at the very best restaurants all over the country.
There was not a single thing that could have made it any better.
For our entre, we ordered the steak au poivre which was absolutely incredible, and big enough for 2 to share. The chef is true to cooking styles, and when you request medium rare, that is what you will get, as opposed to many places that confuses medium rare with medium.
The vegetable were crisp and perfect, the potatoes were perfect too, not too lumpy and not too salty but just perfect.
Let me interject that I am a huge food snob and after living in NYC for years, am difficult to impress.
Throughout our meal our server was incredibly attentive, never allowing our wine glasses to become empty and constantly asking if there was anything she could do to enhance our dining experience.
More than anything, I wish we had had room for desert, but after devouring every morsel placed in front of us, there was no more room!!!
After dinner, while we were waiting for our taxi the chef/​co-​owner and the hostess came out to speak with us further. Both were warm and friendly, and being able to speak with them about how we enjoyed our meal after the react really enhanced our dining experience.
The only reason I rated it 5 stars, is because that is the most allowed. If I could, I would give it 1000 stars! This is definitely now one of my favorite restaurants, and we will be back every time we are in Rochester for sure!
If you miss out on this restaurant, you will definitely regret it !
Thank you to «The Restaurant» and their incredible staff for giving us a wonderful dining experience that we are sure to remember and return for.

I was driven to write my first review on Unilocal because of the one unfavorable review posted of The Restaurant. My husband and I ate at here on the Saturday evening before Easter. Though there was obviously a big day ahead of them, the staff could not have been nicer. But, most important the food was terrific! We both started with salads and enjoyed those. My husband had Steak au Poivre and I had the Trout Piccata for mains. Both were expertly prepared and tasted GREAT. I also took the cheese plate for dessert and was delightfully surprised by the array of local cheeses.
After enjoying our food and our experience, we were chatting with the folks there, and the chef came out. Turns out he worked under Charlie Palmer and several other «name brand» chefs, and he’s extremely knowledgeable on the state of cuisine in the US. This is a guy who cares about what he’s cooking and is dedicated to the field. And while he’s been working in San Diego (an up and coming foodie town), he’s chosen to come to Rochester to work with his brother on this restaurant.
We are passionate about food and regularly eat at the latest restaurants by top chefs to learn how they are pushing themselves. Rochester can be proud that Chris (owner) and his brother Justin (chef) have chosen to bring their skills to the city. The restaurant provides a terrific experience and great food. You shouldn’t be disappointed, as there is a lot here to love.

The Restaurant, though its name is ambiguous, is an elegant, unique place to have a great meal. Because we are Rochester, one can wear jeans to every restaurant in town, but if ‘The Restaurant’ was in a bigger cry, jeans probably wouldn’t be allowed. It’s upscale and somewhat casual at the same time.
The restaurant is in Chardonnay’s old location — a quaint old house on 2^nd street SW. The service was a bit slow on the night we visited, but it wasn’t a big deal and our server apologized multiple times and gave our party of four three free desserts. It was an unusually busy night apparently, though the delay was not that bad and the sincerity of the staff certainly impressed us. They want to make their customers happy, which is actually somewhat unusual these days.
We had an appetizer of peppers filled with feta cheese and drizzled with a balsamic reduction. What impressed me the most about this dish was not the freshness or great taste (which were present), but the simplicity and restraint demonstrated. It takes serious restraint to put three ingredients into a dish and then stop. It was absolutely perfect with those three ingredients, but it would have been very easy to add more flavors and lose track of the basic elements of the dish. This dish proclaimed loudly that this chef knows what he is doing. Later, he came out and made ’rounds’ on the tables to make sure everyone was happy. This is clearly a chef who cares.
I’ll keep the rest of the review brief since this is getting long. Here’s what we had:
— Duck salad: inexpensive and very flavorful. Each bite was a little different and a little better than the one that preceeded it. It was spicy and the duck was plentiful and tender.
— Beef wellington: the beef was not overcooked but was a bit tough, the sauce and pastry were classic.
— Poached pears: delicate and flavorful. If you like poached pears you’ll like this dessert.
— Crème brûlée cheesecake: NOT made in-​house but from a bakery in the cities. Very good, but I’d rather eat something they prepared.
Overall it was a great experience. Great food, especially for Rochester, and sincere service to match. We need more places like this in Rochester.