Exterior: 5/5
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| The exterior of the whole building - the Water Works Pavilion |
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| Upstairs is the entrance to the restaurant itself |
At the time of this writing Owamni was located in the Water Works Pavilion near the Minneapolis Riverfront, although the enterprise is planning a move to the Guthrie Theater and a rebrand under the name Indigena. I'm sure the Guthrie is a great location too, but I have to say I loved the slightly out-of-the-way feel of the current spot. You do have to go down from street level to the riverfront level to get in, but once you're in the building there's an elevator if you don't feel like taking stairs up to the second floor. The only serious inconvenience was, we discovered, that rideshares don't pull up to the front entrance of the building.
Ambience: 4/5
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| Lots of natural light! |
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| And a wonderful view of the riverfront! |
We got there right when Owamni opened for the day (I was really fortunate to have awesome friends who included me in the reservation they were able to score). There weren't a ton of people in at that hour, but given how hard it is to get in I'm sure it's packed later in the day. The decor is very minimalist, which was relaxing. At the same time I had a hard time meshing the aesthetic with the cultural experience that's embodied in the food. Maybe they didn't want visuals to distract from flavors. Regardless, everything was impeccably well-kept.
Variety: 5/5
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| Really neat soda selection |
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| Crickets & Popcorn |
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| Stuffed Poblanos |
There's some cool stuff on this menu. The goal of the restaurant is "showcasing true North American Indigenous foods and culture" and "moving more Indigenous products developed by Native food producers," according to the Owamni website. Meals are designed so that you order some small plates for your group and then get one of the big entree items to share. I was intrigued by literally everything in the lunch/dinner lineup. My friends were troopers about me ordering crickets, because when else will I get to eat crickets in a fancy restaurant? They also had a remarkably flavorful vegetarian entree option (stuffed poblanos) that we appreciated. You can get stuff here that you can't get anywhere else, for sure.
Quality: 4/5
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| Yuca Fries |
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| Iced Elder Wisdom Tea with Honey |
Some of the stuff we tried was A+ gloriously good. The Yuca Fries, for example - I could have eaten those all day. The Crickets and Popcorn had a nice variety of flavors and textures going on and obviously that dish got points for novelty. (For the record, crickets are quite protein- and nutrient-rich.) My iced tea was amazing, too, and so was my friend's cinnamon switchel soda. My hangup with the quality, though, was the price. Like, the huge stuffed poblanos were good. Were they $45 worth of good, for three of them? At that price point I want to be swept off my feet by a symphony of flavor. Now the entrees are meant to be split, so maybe $20/person isn't really so bad. But the meat entrees were even pricier and I wonder if they stack up.
Kid-Friendly: 1/5
This isn't a restaurant for the picky-sticky set. Which is fine. People come here for a quiet, dignified dining experience. Your kids will probably not be interested in eating Game Tartare and Green Beans in Duck Remoulade. Even if they would be, do you really want to spend $15 on a plate of food they're just going to lay waste to in all the worst ways possible? This might be a nice restaurant for a coming-of-age celebration, though. "You're officially self-possessed enough to not embarrass the family. Congratulations. Welcome to the world of oysters and quail."
Would Eat Again?: Yellow Light
This was a fun, unique dining experience and I'd love to try some of the other stuff on the menu. The obstacles in the way of me doing that are 1) the price (because I'm a Midwesterner who wants things to be 'reasonable') and 2) the difficulty of getting a reservation. The Owamni website says that The Sioux Chef started the restaurant in part to create jobs for Indigenous folks living in the Cities. That's awesome. But on the flip side I didn't see anyone dining there who looked like the staff. Maybe there are more Native people in the dinner crowd, but at the same time at this price point I worry that someone trying to get on their feet in an urban milieu isn't going to have much of a shot at eating here regularly. It's great to make the upper crust more aware of Indigenous foodways. I'd like to see the place accessible to a more inclusive clientele, though.
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