Pinoli TODOTC.com To Do in the Twin Cities Restaurants Pinoli Date: Feb 16, 2024 1601 West Lake St Minneapolis, MN 55408 Phone: (612) 823-0250 www.pinoli-mpls.com

One of the problems with reviewing 40 Twin City restaurants a year for you is we don’t get to return to great restaurants very often. The last time we went to Pinoli Italian Restaurant was about five years ago. And thankfully very little has changed.

Pinoli still have great service, food & wine. The dining area is adequately quiet that I could have grabbed parmesan from the table next to us without asking to be passed yet I can’t tell you what they talked about. We like that in a Friday evening meal. And no one was snapping selfies or making sure everyone knew they were in the house…

Pinoli is a great smaller Italian restaurant on Hennepin in Uptown midway between Hennepin & Lake and Lake Calhoun… sorry I only work with words with vowels.

Pinoli doesn’t have Vallet. But the parking lot is right in back of the restaurant and is well lit. They also have a killer Patio on top of the building which is on our short list to visit this summer.   

If we have a single complaint about the place, we were running late at the wine tasting before, we were talking with a couple of unbelievable Ford Models that were at the tasting, and Pinoli don’t answer the phone all the time. But there was no problem seating us 15 minutes late.

So, we started with wine. I love it, actually E more than me loves it, when they have the traditional Cab Sav on an ethnic wine list. Obviously, E had it. And it was a good Cab Sav. We have a friend David that treats us to incredible Italian Wines. I was in the mood for the same. I was torn between the Sangiovese & the Nebbiolo. I love it when the waitress knows their job. She explained the Nebbiolo was a bit thicker and more intense flavor. E was a bit taken back when her Noir guy went for the more intense wine. Hey, when in Rome! Both wines were good, and we had good pours.

Pinoli is one of the increasing number of local farm to table restaurants. And you could not ask for fresher or better food. So, E went over the menu to see what we could order and still try to control our waistline before going to Hedo at the end of the month. For a salad we went with the Dragsmith Farms young Green Salad for $11 with Mixed Lettuces, herbs, red wine vinaigrette and Pine nuts. It looked and tasted as good as the wines.

After the salad we had a bread plate. E had to ask for it, we did not see it on the menu. A great breadbasket as they offer, should be on the menu. I know people are cutting back on breads, we don’t even have it in the house anymore. The dogs are complaining about no 2 AM Peanut butter sandwiches, but our pants fit better. Nothing like great bread & wine.

For a main course we had Linguini Alfredo with Chicken for $15. Like usual we shared and neither of us left hungry on a great dish with good portions.

We never have dessert but that night we were celebrating… god knows what – but the Citrus Olive Oil & Almond cake with blueberries and whipped cream for $11 was heavenly.

Our bill was $86.20, and we shared everything but the wine. That is about what one should expect for a great meal in the Twin Cities and only about triple what I believe we spend at McDonalds for great healthy food.

If you are looking for great Italian food, try Pinoli’s on Hennepin its worth every penny. We’ll be back this summer!

Contact us Dennis@ToDoTC.com