The best restaurants St. Paul

Everybody knows Cossetta: it's a kind of luxury canteen. It smells good. You line up with your tray at the pizza, pasta or salad stand before moving upstairs. The food is good without being ruinous. A good address for Italian food without spending too much time at the table. To the right of the entrance, there is even a small grocery store offering products imported from Italy. For those looking for a more formal atmosphere, try Louis Ristorante, at the same location, which serves a slightly more sophisticated (and more expensive) cuisine.

The locals come early in the morning to have a pastry (muffins, cookies, chocolate fudge, caramel rolls...) to accompany their huge cup of coffee. Despite its Starbuck's look, Café Latte is a world away from impersonal chains: here, the cakes are all made on the spot, and you can feel it! They are brought to you hot from the carts, and different breads and scones are featured every day! You can also have a snack at lunchtime or eat a salad or a sandwich on the go. A good little address.

Located in the city's historic district, the Saint Paul combines a luxury hotel with the Saint Paul Grill restaurant, whose reputation is well established. At lunchtime, the menu is simple and the prices affordable. Come and eat your hamburger or giant omelettes in this chic bistro-style restaurant. In the evening, the atmosphere is completely different: prices double, but the cuisine is more refined. Good wine list. Ask for a table by the window overlooking Rice Park to admire the illuminated fountain and park.

Five types of Juicy Lucy are offered at Le Nook, in addition to the usual burgers, the classic or alternatively with pepper cheese, chorizo and queso, Philadelphia cheese or roastbeef and cheddar. On the menu are also nachos, onion rings, sandwiches and some salads. So the whole thing is not very dietetic, but that's not the point! Popular pub atmosphere, very friendly. In the evenings, concerts are sometimes organized there.

Located not far from the Capitol, this restaurant offers an idyllic setting for dinner for two. The dining rooms are elegant with their fireplaces, oil paintings and Victorian wallpaper. In the summer, it is pleasant to settle down in the courtyard and have lunch in a small corner of greenery. The more expensive dinner menu is also more elaborate and swaps the steak and chips and beef risotto served for lunch for seafood and filet mignon. A small selection of cheeses is proposed to you, to be tasted with a glass of wine.

The former chef of Forepaugh's gourmet restaurant is behind the stove at this establishment. The cuisine served here is rather difficult to define, with Cuban, Puerto Rican and English inspirations, like the origins of Chef Gonzalez who, moreover, grew up in California. It could be described as elaborate comfort food, a kind of world cuisine full of flavours. The drinks menu does not disappoint, which is not surprising since it was concocted by Aaron Johnson, cocktail star in the Twin Cities.

Around the cute Mears Park Place, the Bulldog Lowertown catches the eye among the few places to eat, with its terrace tables. Inside, there's absolutely everything you'd expect from a modern pub of this kind: conviviality, freshness, an eclectic clientele who come to relax around the central zinc. To eat: big salads, burgers like the Mushroom & Swiss burger with cheese, mushrooms and caramelized onions! To accompany a beer, a panaché or a cider... straight from the barrel, please!