Porter and Frye

Just popped in for a drink and was excited to find such great beer on tap! I""m a beer snob and am often disappointed at most places. Pros: Good place for beer snobs. Cons: What could be wrong with that? more

Went in for dinner. had made a reservation the previous day with a credit card. They day we went in for dinner they said we had no reservation so we could not eat. The dining room was nearly empty, yet they offered us a seat at the bar. We assured them taht we did indeed have a reservation and showed them the card and asked them to verify as we had reserved the private dining room. We again were told that we did not have a reservation, and that we could sit in the loud bar. We refused, and the manager said that there was nothing they could do about it---eveen though the dining room was empty. We left miffed at the flub. The next day we noticed that our credit card had been charged as we did not call to cancel our reservation!!!!! We called the manager; demanding to know why we were charged after the exact same person told us we did not have a reservation. We were offered no apology. We were simply dismissed as ""no-show's."" Ultimately we got the problem worked out, yet it was like pulling teeth. What nerve. No wonder this place is in bankruptcy. They have no idea what hospitality means. It felt like I was at a DMV office with a hostile overworked clerk. We were very well dressed, and eager to try the food. We left feeling sad as it was our anniversary, and they tried to fleece us. Never eat there!!!!!!!! Pros: not a thing Cons: Service. more

I recently took our Board to Porter & Frye for dinner. All of the directors are from out of town and all enjoy fine dining. Our reservation was originally for 16 but we had a number of folks drop out and we showed up with 12. The restaurant had set up a fantastic semi private dining room set apart with curtains and although there was an initial look of disappointment when they found we only had 12 for dinner, the staff immediatly went into action to remove 4 settings from our table to give us more room. That level of professionalism carried on throughout the remainder of our meal. With 12 diners I think we ordered just about every apitizer, entree & dessert on the menu I did not hear a single complaint at the table Our chairman commented that this was her favorite Msp restaurant, and given she's eaten at all the best the city can offer, that was high praise. A few weeks before our dinner I had read of the restaurants change of chef so although I admit I was a bit concerned about our choice, the restaurant overachieved in service, selection and taste. Well done Porter & Frye, we'll be back. Pros: great service and food Cons: good wine selection but pricey more

We eat out frequently (3-4 times per month) and like to try new restaurants. I can honestly say, without a doubt, that this was the single worst dining experience I have ever had in Minneapolis. Pros: Food quality, Location, Ambiance Cons: Service, Food presentation, Value more

This year we've eaten at a lot of top notch restaurants. In the last four months we've eaten at La Belle Vie, Chambers, Cosmos, and Heartland (among others). The tasting menu (available upon request, but you might want to call ahead since it's not on the menu) at Porter & Frye was the best meal we've eaten. I won't bore anyone with details, but after the second course we realized that the chefs at Porter & Frye were creating an absolutely special meal. Pros: Possibly the best chefs in the Twin Cities more

We stayed at the lovely Hotel Ivy with another couple for a weekend getaway and had dinner Friday night at Porter & Frye. The restaurant was less busy than I expected, but that may have been because it was the Friday after Thanksgiving. Each course, from appetizer to salad to main course to dessert, was visually beautiful, and tasted darn good too! The foie gras appetizer was like a tasty ice cream (I am not kidding). I tried my friend's lamb porterhouse, which was delicious. Some of the dishes were a little underwhelming, like my halibut and the panna cotta. We had breakfast there on Saturday morning, and the restaurant was dead. The breakfast was very good and reasonably priced. At both dinner and breakfast the service was good. I recommend Porter & Frye! Pros: Imaginative drinks in the bar, ambience, food more

Supposed to be good from what we heard but did not enjoy the service or food. Stayed in hotel for conference and was not happy. more

My wife and I decided to make it a special night out for our anniversary, so we reserved a table and planned to stay overnight in Hotel Ivy. The hotel was great. As close to 5-star as you can get for a Starwood hotel (bathrobes, slippers, iced champagne (they knew it was our anniversary), flat-screen TV, etc). Dinner, with our son and his girlfriend, also memorable. The room was a little ""Chambers-like""; downstairs, modern art, a little noisy. I had a great hot potato salad (I know it sounds boring, but it was really good) and lamb. Others at the table had ribeye, walleye, vegetarian gnocchi - all flavorful and appropriate sized portions. Great drink list too. Only detraction was the service was a little inattentive at first, but rapidly picked up as the food was served. Pleasant surprise that the price was not out of sight - about $60 per person with drinks, salads, main course, shared desert, and tip. Pros: Food quality and preparation Cons: Service a little inattentive and noisy room more