Grand Avenue boasts St. Paul's best selection of restaurants. Here's a guide to the best international options for travelling the world without leaving the city.
It's impossible to decide if Japanese or Italian (or Nepalese, or Middle Eastern...) is best, so in alphabetical order, here's an itinerary of a gourmet Grand tour.
Acropol Inn Restaurant
Clara JamesThe Acropol Inn is a family owned restaurant at the downtown end of Grand Avenue. The serve all the classic Greek dishes, and their baklava is the best dessert you'll find on this end of Grand Avenue.
The Acropol Inn
748 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
Telephone 651-298-0151
Clara JamesNo list of international restaurants would be complete without Italy. Local chain D'Amico & Sons is always busy serving Italian staples pizza, pasta, soup, breads and sandwiches. They make a terrific Balsamic Chicken salad. All menu items are available to take out, and they also do great box lunches for busy office workers.
D'Amico & Sons
975 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
Telephone 651-227-9933
D'Amico and Sons also has several other locations across the Twin Cities.
Clara JamesRemember when Chinese food was exotic? How times have changed! Here's a contender for most unusual cuisine: Everest On Grand, which serves incredible Nepalese food. Probably not for the faint hearted, their menu includes goat curry and yak dumplings. Yes, yak. They also have a selection of dishes with more familiar ingredients so you can ease into Nepalese cooking with a tasty chicken noodle dish. They also have lots of vegetarian options.
Everest On Grand
1278 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
Telephone 651-696-1666
Grand Asia Restaurant
Clara JamesFormerly the Grand Thai restaurant, Grand Asia has expanded its menu to include Vietnamese and Chinese dishes in addition to Thai options. The menu includes several choices for vegetarians and vegans. They make
great spicy noodles. This place is always hopping at lunch time, but service is fast so a table will usually be available after a short wait.
Grand Asia Restaurant
758 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
Telephone 651-293-9124
Clara JamesAnd staying in Asia, next is the Vietnamese Huong Sen restaurant. A fixture of Grand Avenue life for almost 20 years, it's always busy with students, families and office workers enjoying lunch or dinner. Their best value is a big bowl of Vietnamese soup, which is delicious and fills you up all day.
Huong Sen Restaurant
1702 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
Telephone 651-690-2728
La Cucaracha Restaurante
Clara JamesThis restaurant is not quite on Grand Avenue, but it's just steps from
Grand Avenue on Dale Street, and the food is excellent, so hopefully you'll excuse it being listed here. This family-owned Mexican restaurant serves up fantastic burritos and fajitas. It's very affordable and the portions are
huge so it gets justifiably busy, especially on summer evenings. Highly recommended.
La Cucaracha Restaurante
36 South Dale Street, St. Paul, MN 55102
Telephone 651-221-9682
Clara JamesA beautiful setting to enjoy exquisitely presented sushi on Grand Avenue. Their specialty is teppanyaki grill cooking, and their chefs put on quite a show doing it! There is a lovely lantern-lit outdoor patio on the second floor that's a charming spot for dinner on a summer evening.
Saji-Ya
695 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
Telephone 651-292-0444
Clara JamesMiddle Eastern cooking at the western end of Grand Avenue. Shish makes great food to grab and run. Their gyros are great and their kebabs are the perfect late-night snack after an evening in Grand Avenue's bars. They serve Turkish Coffee too, something of an acquired taste, but try it if espresso doesn't give you the kick it used to.
Shish Mediterranean Grill & Cafe
1668 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
Telephone 651-690-2212
Grand Shanghai Restaurant & Express
Clara JamesA trusty Chinese restaurant at the west end of Grand Avenue. Grand Shanghai has a huge menu, speedy service and take-out available. Nothing spectacular, but good, tasty food for a decent price. If you are in the area, and want Chinese food, you'll be happy with Grand Shanghai.
Grand Shanghai Restaurant & Express
1328 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
651-698-1901
The Barbary Fig
Clara JamesThe Barbary Fig is one of the more interesting restaurants on Grand Avenue. The cuisine is a mix of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African. If you like unusual flavors, this is the place to come. The desserts are not just international, they are out of this world! If you thought Moroccan food was just couscous, you'll be amazed. The menu is small but changes frequently, so come once, then come back again and again.
The Barbary Fig
720 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55105
Telephone 651-290-2085
