Young Joni

We finally went somewhere new shortly after it opened. I really wanted to try Young Joni, so I made a reservation about a month ahead of time. It was worth the wait.

We were seated right away. The room is very warm and inviting with open beams and lots of dark wood. The place was packed and buzzing and the sound levels were good, not too loud and not too quiet.

Our server greeted us pretty quickly and provided excellent service throughout our visit.

Paloma and sarsaparilla cocktails

We began with a couple starters- the first was the brussels sprouts. The sauce was a bit sweet and the onion added to the smoky flavor of the brussels sprouts.

The second starter was the grilled chili prawns. The sauce was definitely spicy and not in a Minnesota way. They were perfectly grilled and I could have eaten several more. 

We shared the Korean BBQ pizza. The crust was sturdy enough to support all of the topping and just the right amount of chewy and soft. The arugula was nicely dressed with sesame and soy vinaigrette and the short rib topping was tender and plentiful.

John had the sea salt and olive oil soft serve. It was surprisingly delicious, he was not sure it would be good, but it was in fact great. The olive oil almost tasted like caramel sauce.

My dessert was the church basement bars plate with a side of milk. The chocolate chip cookies were warm and perfect. The middle bar was a blueberry and lemon bar, which was sweet and light, like a cobbler. The chocolate bar on the left was super chocolatey, rich and sweet.

looking toward the bar

looking toward the front 

That reminds me, that the front door is a little tricky. All the windows and doors on the front look the same, the door is at an angle and has a very small lip to grab. 

restroom with giant lightbulb

I very highly recommend Young Joni. The experience was perfect from start to finish. It is not cheap, but worth every dime for the high quality food and service your receive.


Young Joni
165 13th Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Phone: (612) 345-5719
http://www.youngjoni.com