The 5 to Watch

5 Restaurants I'm seriously considering for 2026 Minnesota 50

My “Beyond Beurre Blanc’s 50 Favorite Restaurants 2025” only included 2025 openings. Why? Because I believe that our best restaurants are tried and true, not new and buzzy. BUT I love some new and buzzy spots. Who doesn’t?

This list is my “5 to Watch.” It’s four restaurants that opened in 2025 and the opening I’m most excited about for 2026.

All of these restaurants are ones that I’m seriously considering for my 2026 Favorite 50 list.

Why is this piece behind a paywall? In this piece, I tell you why I love every restaurant in here and also why I didn’t rank it this year. I don’t want randos Googling “best Twin Cities restaurants” to see those things. But I do want my paid subscribers to see it, because my readers are AMAZING, and part of what I try to do is educate my readers about restaurants. New restaurants all have kinks. The reason everyone is jaded by critics and influencers right now is that no one talks about those kinks.

I have infinite trust that you all know I’m cheering all of these restaurants on and am also being real about the things these new restaurants need to go from great new spot to one of the best in our state. This piece is broken down by restaurant with two parts: what I love and what I need to see to add them to the list.

You could, if you wanted to, call this a “hot” or “trending” or “buzzy” or “best new restaurant” list.