Chambers Kitchen

09/23/09

Wonderful Dining Experience

by JanieJ

My husband brought me to Chambers Kitchen for our anniversary and we had a fantastic dinner. Our server was friendly and attentive. We had a memorable, absolutely delicious dinner. Dessert was amazing! I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone who is looking for a fancy expensive meal in Minneapolis.

• Pros: Delicious Food, Pleasant Service

09/12/08

One of the best experiences I have had in the Twin Cities

by lalicious

I went to Chambers Kitchen recently with my husband and had a terrific time. The space is incredibly unique with Damien Hirst prints surrounding the dining room. The kitchen is seperated by glass from the dining room, which is perfect because you can see the action, but not let the noise affect your dining experience. We had the tasting menu, which was a little expensive but worth every penney. Our server explained the preperation of each dish when it arrived and the flavors were immaculate. The dessert course was out of this world, we were bombarded with so many different flavors and blends it was like the finale of a firework display. We had a drink in there courtyard after dinner which is a must see if you haven't been there. Huge firepit, gorilla statue and cabanas make for a festive atmosphere. I am excited to go again!

• Pros: unique dining experience, great food and service
• Cons: did not see Jean-Georges, but was told he would be coming again soon :)

06/10/08

Terrible Service spoils our date night!

by Kris59

We went there for my wife's birthday and got the worst service. While the food was ok, the service was very inattentive and rude. Not something one would expect from a high end pricey restaurant. Our evening was ruined and we've sworn never to go back there again. There are many other great restaurants in town that would offer much better food and service at a more reasonable price.

• Cons: Terrible service, understaffed

02/29/08

Great food and ok customer service

by epal

I went to Chambers last weekend and it was great! I got the grouper and although it was a lot spicier than I anticipated, I thought it was great. The ginger flavor was great.

The candy they gave us after dinner though were not so good.

09/28/07

Food and service very good, ambiance disappointing

by omall004

My brother and I dined here Sept 21 (Friday evening). We were greeted immediately and seated promptly (we had reservations) in the downstairs dining room . The server started by asking if we had any time constraints, which was nice. I started with a Ginger Margarita, which was quite good. Our appetizers were fabulous. My brother had bacon wrapped shrimp--large shrimp wrapped in Nueske's bacon (according to our waiter)--he then informed our waiter that he was thinking about cancelling his main dish order and having a few more orders of these! I had the special; heirloom tomatoes and house-made mozzarella. It was delicious, but a rather small portion for $12 (5 wedges of tomatoes and 5 banana-size slices of mozzarella). My brother had the beef tenderloin, done to the wellness specified, but beyond that was nothing special. I had the Duck a la O'range, which I thought was very good--super tender and flavorful. For dessert, he had the panna cotta with strawberries and lychee--excellent flavor and texture. I had the blueberry crumble with sweet-corn ice cream. The ice cream was REALLY good--very interesting and rich! The crumble was in a tall, narrow cup, so practically no crumble and all blueberry-disappointing to me. Our overall bill was about $140 for 3 courses, 2 alcoholic drinks and 2 N/A drinks. The service was excellent. Waiter was well informed and friendly. All the food and drinks were served at appropriate intervals. However, the ambiance was terrible. The room was super loud, and it was so dark that a man at the next table had the candle pulled over onto the middle of his placemat so he could read his menu. The chairs were super uncomfortable--they were slippery (I was wearing a silk blouse and sliding around on it) and the backs lounged so far back, that you can't sit with any part of your back on the chair while you eat, or your food would be in your lap. Overall the experience was pretty good, but I probably wouldn't go back unless someone else was paying.

• Pros: Service was great; some really great, creative items on the menu
• Cons: ambiance--too dark and loud

08/31/07

nice outdoor patio

by weiver

Chambers is the equivalent of a fairly hot chick, that once you get to know her, you realize she isn't all that.

The place tries and does make it to a level of cool. The biggest limit on my enjoyment here is that the food is just alright and the staff is rules oriented instead of pleasing its customers. Chambers clings to a niche/balance between happening food and price. It's become boring and it shows in the dwindling crowd. I'd love to see some energy flow into this place. Minneapolis could use another great spot to hang out.

• Pros: good outdoor spaces
• Cons: lost its mojo

05/14/07

Nice ambience, reasonable prices

by jesusofnazareth

It's rather amusing to read prior reviews of this restaurant. It's either a pretentious venue of mediocrity or a place to put Minneapolis on the culinary map.

Five of us dined there Saturday 5 May. Our collective opinion is that it's neither. Our experience with the staff, from the maitre d' to our own server was very pleasant. The ambience is such as to draw out people whose closets contain only black clothing. Come to think of it, the staff's sartorial theme was black, too. I think I wore a black shirt, but that was purely coincidental. I just grabbed it from the hanger. I wore black socks; I'm sure of that.

We had libations on the third floor outdoor deck above Hennepin. A bare-bones area, yet still quite nice in the good weather we had. There's an inside bar there, too, called "Red, White, and F.....g Blue" for some reason. The ambience of the dining room tends toward minimalism - an attractive minimalism. As for the food, I was familiar with Vongerichten's style since I've been using his cookbooks for some years now. I expected rather small portions (a steak ordered by another in our party was hardly size-challenged, though) and little or no use of cream sauces. My halibut was fine, but it could've used more of the fruit reduction sauce. A chicken preparation was pronounced a bit disappointing but perfectly edible (faint praise). I believe it was a sea bass that was termed excellent, and the friend who ordered a tuna appetizer proclaimed he would return solely for that. Oh yes, a peppered shrimp first course I had was very, very nice. There were no salads on the menu. Desserts - something with bananas and the passion fruit sorbet - were quite good, the latter being wonderfully intense. Notwithstanding Vongerichten's fame and the downtown location, the prices are reasonable, entrees going for something between $18 and $28 if I recall correctly. The art throughout the hotel is well worth viewing. Parking is very close. All in all, a pleasant evening.

• Pros: ambience, outdoor bar, reasonable prices
• Cons: entrees could use a bit more of Vongerichten's pizazz

05/10/07

LONG WAITS, SELF ABSORBED STAFF

by tandc

The staff seemed to be more concerned with flirting with its bar customers than helping people who had made reservations for dinner. The hostess that evening kept checking herself out in the windows and made us feel as if we were inconveniencing her even though her job was to get us seated. We had a group of 7 and weren't seated promptly. I wouldn't recommend going hungry because the food takes about an hour to come out. When dinner was finally served, it was good but portions were tiny.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Service, Parking, Expensive

04/12/07

Wonderful wedding anniversary

by sheilaconway1

This was our first visit to Chamber's Kitchen - what a treat! We were celebrating our 11 year wedding anniversary and wanted to try dinner somewhere new. We mentioned that the dinner was for our wedding anniversary when we booked our reservation through Open Table. We arrived on a very rainy evening and the valet gentleman held umbrellas for us and guided us to the door. The hostess warmly greeted us and wished us a happy anniversary. (We had put notes like this on other Open Table reservations for special occasions, but they were never acknowledged.) We were put in the restaurant in the back. It was quiet and intimate. The decor is vary modern, but not cold. Our server was wonderful! Very helpful with suggestions. The food was spectacular and well paced. We especially enjoyed the egg rolls, ginger fried rice, salmon with mushrooms and rhubarb, bacon wrapped shrimp and banana cake. Who could have known that fried rice could be amazing! Our server and the other staff kept water constantly filled - a big plus! Our desserts even had happy anniversary written in chocolate on the plates. And we spent less for better food and service than other restaurants that we have frequented. We will definitely go back and recommend it to all of our friends.

• Pros: Great food and service! Nothing like what you would probably cook at home.

04/05/07

WANNABE Central

by djerotica

I can't vouch for dinner, but for the bar scene, I must say I wasn't impressed. The bartenders took forever, literally 20 minutes, to get my friends and I drinks. The bar area on thr 5th floor is basically just a big white space with sleek, modern couches and tables scattered througout the space. The crowd there all seemed odd and wannabe cosmopolitans. I feel like Chambers is over the top, trying to hard to be "chic and modern." I don't think I would go back unless I was forced to. The atmosphere and people are a two thumbs down.

• Pros: nice location, very modern
• Cons: slow bar service, expensive not-so-great drinks, wanna be cosmo peeps central