Best Restaurants for Celebrating Derby Day in Minneapolis - St. Paul

by OpenTable x Woodford Reserve

Updated 08 April 2021

To mark this year's Derby Day, OpenTable and Woodford Reserve have come together to bring you a list of restaurants offering Derby Day drink specials and celebratory dishes near you. Whether you are donning your finest Derby attire and heading to a local watering hole or planning a feast for the festivities at home, we've got the restaurant (and game day tipple) for you. CRAFTED CAREFULLY. DRINK RESPONSIBLY. Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Whiskey, 43.2%-45.2% Alc. by Vol., The Woodford Reserve Distillery, Versailles, KY. Woodford Reserve is a registered trademark. ©2021

Thirty Bales

4.2

4.2 (852)

$30 and under

American

Hopkins

About the restaurant

Thirty Bales is a celebration of everything Midwestern cuisine has to offer. We're an upbeat neighborhood restaurant bringing together bright personalities, bold recipes, clean ingredients and craft spirits and playing with the flavors that make the Midwest a place unlike any other.

If you're curious about our name, it comes from the legend of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. As the story goes, Babe had an appetite as big as Bunyan himself and is rumored to have eaten 30 bales of hay a day.

Like our restaurant's big blue spirit animal, we're a pack of people that lives to eat and drink. We're endlessly in love with the Midwest and its connection to seasonal ingredients grown close to home. It's what inspires our menu and our team. And it's what inspires us as we tell our own story with the flavors and spirits of the Midwest.

Top review

Dianne

Dined 5 days ago

Went here for the first time with our adult daughter and her 3year old after a kids’ play at the theater across the street. It was busy but not packed. Waitress was great, told us it was busy for her and that she would try to give us the best service she could. We appreciated that information from her. The menu selection was good for our preferences. They were out of chicken fingers, but we got a cheeseburger instead for the three year-old All the food was high-quality with good flavors. My husband, especially like the sauce on his hamburger. I appreciated that the noise level was quite reasonable for a restaurant with a bar in the middle of it. The TV is in the bar area were not obnoxiously in our face, which we appreciated. Overall we give it high marks and we would return.

Gold Nugget Tavern & Grille

4.6

4.6 (686)

$30 and under

Grill

Minnetonka

About the restaurant

Welcome to Gold Nugget Tavern & Grille!

The Gold Nugget is home to the best burger in the Twin Cities and so say the people at the 2014 Twin Cities Burger Battle. We also feature handcrafted sandwiches, soups and salads, made from scratch in our kitchen. Our beer menu focused on local craft beers and outstanding national selections, we always have something new from our neighborhood brew masters.

Everyone in your family, on your team, or from you company can find something to please their palate. We also have a great kid’s menu and gluten-sensitive offerings.

Top review

Penny

Dined on 13 Dec 2024

Food was good but service was not great. Will return since the holiday ambience was very nice and happy hour was reasonable.

The Smack Shack

4.6

4.6 (1737)

$31 to $50

Seafood

Downtown / North Loop

About the restaurant

Casual, coastal restaurant in the North Loop. Reservations taken for dining room only, patio seating is available on a first come, first serve basis. Please check in with hosts upon arrival for patio seating.

Although named for the boats used to catch lobster, Smack Shack was launched as a food truck in 2010 serving lobster rolls from a land-locked downtown Minneapolis parking lot. Owner Josh Thoma had a great recipe and a belief that appetite for fresh lobster in the Twin Cities was as strong as any coastal city.

Smack Shack is committed to serving sustainable seafood and is a current partner in the Minnesota Zoo’s Fish Smart program. Sustainable seafood is wild caught or farm raised seafood that has established practices to ensure the long term growth and thriving populations of seafood with limited harm to the environment.

Top review

Nick

Dined on 13 Dec 2024

We enjoyed prompt friendly service on our first visit. My grandsons and the adults all were extremely pleased with each dish. We shared appetizers and enjoyed various entrees. Every dish was exceptional. I asked my 8 year old grandson what his favorite was. He named 3 dishes and he didn’t even get to try my favorite, the Lobster roll.

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Popular dish

Lobster Lucy

Nicollet Island Inn

4.8

4.8 (3391)

$31 to $50

American

Downtown / North Loop

About the restaurant

The Nicollet Island Inn has stood witness to over a century of change on the shores of the Mississippi River. The Inn is consistently named the most romantic restaurant in the area and its river views have been voted some of the best in the city. An immediately recognizable Minneapolis landmark, the Inn offers world-class cuisine created by Executive Chef Michael Rain , whose innovative and constantly updated menu includes a variety of seafood, steaks and gourmet specialty dishes. Our wine menu has been chosen specifically to compliment the food and highlight producers from the world's leading wine regions.

Nic's bar, just off the main dining room, is a casual, old-world tavern and the patio offers stunning views of the Minneapolis skyline. The Inn is a convenient, comfortable destination for breakfast or lunch meetings while the 3 or 5-course Sunday Brunch is the perfect weekend indulgence.

Top review

Brwynn

Dined 2 days ago

My fiance and I both stayed at the hotel and ate at the restaurant, both were fantastic. I had the salmon and my fiance had the filet mignon and we would recommend both. The staff were very friendly, efficient, and very kind about my food allergy. We loved it and plan to go back!

Nolo's Kitchen & Bar

4.6

4.6 (1103)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Downtown / North Loop

About the restaurant

**Please note all reservations are for Nolo's Kitchen, the rooftop is first come, first serve. For cabana rentals please visit https://www.rooftopbarmpls.com/cabanas**

Located at the historic Gardner Hardware Building at 515 Washington Ave N in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis. The NOLO's team consists of Marty Collins, Brett Johnson and Peter Hoff, each native Minnesotans with extensive industry experience. Marty has owned over 10 restaurant concepts in Minneapolis, MN, Kansas City and Columbia, MO, and Iowa City, IA. Brett and his family have owned and operated The Hilltop Restaurant for the past 40 years. Pete, the head chef, brings his most recent culinary experience and creativity from California to NOLO’s, The Rooftop Bar and The Basement Bar. His culinary vision and passion for local ingredients create new modern comfort food dishes. The team shares a passion for the restaurant and bar industry and sees an opportunity to fill gaps in the market in the North Loop.

Top review

KimberlyVIP

Dined on 8 Dec 2024

Everything was so delicious. We had the tomato basil soup, apple pecan salad, and butternut squash ravioli, all outstanding! The service was fantastic, attentive and helpful. One of my favorite places in the North Loop.

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Popular dish

Ricotta Gnocchi

Baldamar

4.9

4.9 (6803)

$31 to $50

Steak

Roseville

About the restaurant

If you're going to take your name from a badass like the patron saint of blacksmiths, you better be able to back it up. Baldamar marks the turning point where we usher in the new standard for style, service and steak. It means the menu’s made with old-world craft at its core and modern day meat eaters in mind — with flavors forged in fire and folded into pure primal perfection. It’s where every steak is aged 40 days and 40 nights for a taste of biblical proportion, and where crazy-fresh seafood means it was caught during your morning commute. At the bar sits every spirit imaginable, and someone who isn’t afraid to use them. This is more than a new steakhouse. It’s a line in the sand. It’s not just where you celebrate special occasions. It’s where you create them.

*A 20% Service Fee is added to all groups of 8 or more.

Top review

SANDY

Dined 4 days ago

Absolutely love the food, wine, aperitifs and dessert! Took my boys and my nephew’s wife and had indescribably great food, ambiance, service and limoncello which brought me back to Italy! Love everything and will be back again and again!

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Experience

1:30PM Champagner Brunch with Santa 2024

Experience

2:00PM Champagner Brunch with Santa 2024

Experience

11:00AM Champagner Brunch with Santa 2024

Gianni's Steakhouse

4.8

4.8 (2567)

$31 to $50

Steak

Wayzata / Long Lake

About the restaurant

Prestigious 2014 Beef Backer award winner Gianni's Steakhouse is an upscale restaurant for all ages to enjoy. In addition to our hormone, antibiotic-free, USDA prime and local beef, Gianni's also offered chops, chicken & fresh seafood. Enjoy our famous tableside "spun" Caesar salad now safety crafted in our kitchen, potatoes papalette, grilled shrimp appetizers, and a first-class, internationally represented wine list. Invite your friends out tonight in our newly redecorated space. Gianni's has received the award of excellence from Wine Spectator for 2018 - 2023.

Top review

DanielVIP

Dined on 12 Dec 2024

Giannis always delivers an exceptional dining experience. Great food, tasty cocktails, and wonderful service in a setting filled with warm ambiance.

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4.3

4.3 (104)

$30 and under

Breakfast

Downtown / Loring Park

About the restaurant

Visit our scratch kitchen, where you can enjoy breakfast anytime! We also serve fresh burgers, sandwiches, soup, salad, and ice cream 24/7 in our classic diner! We are the only 24-hour restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, serving top-quality ingredients for a hearty meal day or night. We are conveniently located on Nicollet Mall next to the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Top review

Keith

Dined 6 days ago

We went on a very cold Sunday. We had a reservation, but it really wasn't needed. It was really good. I had chicken wild rice soup & apple pie before a show at the Walker. Anyway, there weren't many people there when we went.

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