Porter and Frye

The food was decent enough. The service, however, was completely lackluster. Kevin, our server, actually ignored us and only came by the table when it was time to add to his sales. We were truly surprised to find he was a seasoned server of two years at this restaurant and not the trainee we pegged him for. More consideration and attention needs to be given to the guests. There are plenty of restaurants in town and in order to keep and bring in customers, this poor service needs to change.

Nice atmosphere. Super close to the convention center and decent prices. I took off a star because the turkey in my turkey Blt wasn’t good. Maybe it was the quality of it but it was way too fatty and a little on the wet/​slimy side. I ended up picking through the sandwich, eating the apple slices (cool touch) and the bacon. My friend ordered a burger and that looked much better. The sweet potato fries were great. Nice option if you want to get out of the convention center bit don’t have time to go on a hunt for food.

Located at Hotel Ivy, about a block away from the convention center. Ordered lunch for pickup here then walked over and it was already ready. I don’t see it on the menu right now, but I got a cobb salad and it was the most unique cobb salad I’ve ever had. Abundance of bleu cheese and bacon, seemed to be an emphasis on saltiness. Also had huge croutons in it!
Recommend as a quick and easy lunch option if you are working at the convention center.

I mostly pop in for happy hours, but have had dinner a while back too. I think this place has a really tough time holding on to chefs since it’s not that busy. The food used to be pretty good at some point, they had a duck quesadilla that was perfection, but they messed with a good thing and changed the recipe. It’s just ok now and overly greasy. The calamari is a joke — they deep-​fry vegetables, like onions and peppers, so you’re really only getting half the calamari.
The clientele at the bar can be interesting, and I’ve overheard some sleazy/​entertaining conversations before, but that’s how hotel bars are.

Stayed at hotel ivy and needed something quick and easy for dinner. I did takeout so this is a food review only, although the ambience inside is pretty modern and sleek.
Lamb chops — the roasted veggies were good. The salad mix they threw on top did not really make sense and looked like it was just thrown on by accident. Then chops itself were very bland. It was cooked fine but did not taste that good. Also, the portion was pretty small so I found myself pretty hungry after.
I don’t think I’ll be back as there are other options in the area I would rather try.

This place is soooo good. Great food! Great service! Heather was so kind and very helpful! Definitely going back for the lamb burger and to see heather!

I went here on a Saturday evening in late May following my sister’s college graduation. We had a reservation for 6 and arrived slightly early however we were seated right away, following a short wait at the door for a few minutes until an employee materialized. It was as if they were shocked someone had walked in… Also, this place was empty which was surprising for a Saturday evening in Minneapolis.
When we were seated we placed our drinks order right away. All seemed to be going well until we looked at the food menu. We were surprised to see only a few items on it. We asked the waiter why they had such a limited menu and he didn’t seem to understand our question. It turns out he forgot to give us the main menu and had only given us the specials menu. Not sure why you’d forget to give patrons a menu but after looking over the menu we placed our order: walleye for both my parents, the sirloin special for my sister, and the Steak Diane for me.
While we waited for our meals they brought out fresh bread. It was delicious! We actually asked for seconds too! Then came the food…
My Steak Diane arrived perfect! I really have no complaints about it at all and if I were solely reviewing the Steak Diane I’d give it 5 stars. My dad’s fish and lobster mash potatoes were good too. He had no complains. My sister said the sirloin was very gristley. A sirloin is supposed to be a relatively lean cut of beef yet she couldn’t eat half of it which is disappointing given the price of the dish. Finally, my mom’s fish and fries arrived chilled at best. She had it sent back and remade however there were no apologies from the waiter or the kitchen staff. Given how empty this place was at 6pm you’d expect them to have plenty of time to create 4 dishes with care and attention to detail. Apparently not.
Overall, I’d never go back to this place. Even though my dish was great, I found this place to be waste of money, the service to be poor, and the overall dining experience to be mediocre at best. Take your money and go elsewhere. You won’t miss much here and it’s no surprise this place was empty when we walked in.

Lunch on a Saturday, restaurant was empty. Service was horrible, food decent, nothing special. Can’t believe this place survives. Look elsewhere.

A quick lunch at Porter and Frye was incredibly disappointing. Our group arrived at 12:15, there were two people at the bar and several tables occupied and there was not one single employee in sight. A guest at one of the tables was looking for her server, or any human, but none. I walked into the hallway to the Ivy, none. I walked back to my group and told them I would check the kitchen. As I approached the swinging doors, a server exited empty handed followed by a second server a few seconds later. If there were close options we would have left.
I ordered the Frye Burger medium-​rare. This included an 8-​ounce ground chuck patty, with an over-​easy egg, cheddar, bacon on a potato roll. The burger was incredibly disappointing. The meat was more a 6-​oz patty, vastly overcooked, beyond well done, flavorless and hard. The egg was cooked perfectly but then slathered in salt and the bacon added more salt. The roll was uneventful. The sweet potato fries were tasteless but salted very well.
Service was slim. Two college students were left to their own devices, no manager, no guidance. One takes the order, one delivers the food. They brought one teacup full of ketchup for four people eating burgers and sandwiches, all with fries. When we asked for more, «oh yeah.»
Overall my burger lunch was less than diner quality food served by a couple of college kids.

Did not provide food with the requested dietary restriction/​allergy. The individual luckily spotted the onions that were required to not be add and told there would be none. She is highly allergic and it would at minimum a hospital trip. She could not eat after that due to the anxiety attack it created. If you do not have severe allergies you CaNNOT understand the severity of this!!! The restaurant removed the dish from the bill but otherwise was minimally responsive on the mistake not even a apology.

I only had a chance to try their drinks. Solid hotel bar. Quick and friendly service. Their cocktails had us coming back every night. The «goat rodeo» was off the charts good.

I got their breakfast for the two days that I stayed at the Ivy as part of the platinum breakfast benefit.
I ended up throwing both of them away after a few bites because EVERYTHING WAS SMOTHERED IN BUTTER! To the point where it’s inedible!
Knowing this the second day I ordered an egg white omelette with just vegetable fillings. It came with bread that was soaked in butter (at least it was multigrain?), and potato slices that were covered in butter. After letting it sit out for a while the bottom of my takeout box had congealed into white pools of solid fat. I took a bite of the omelette hoping for something healthy and edible and even the peppers and mushrooms tasted like they were boiled in butter.
I keep getting the same reactions everywhere I go in downtown Minneapolis «you don’t go to this place if you want to eat healthy». Unfortunately it seems like EVERY place in MN feeds you like it’s your last meal. Since I come here for business I have no choice but to strategically pick restaurants that can sustain me on a day-​to-​day basis. This place, unfortunately, will not get my vote.

Nice enough hotel bar whilst staying at the Ivy, as I must admit I only made the time to stop in for the drinks and not for the dining. Quite good drinks, and I have to compliment the bar for having actual ginger beer with which to make a Moscow Mule. Service was generally quick, both during early after-​work hours and latenight.
One word of warning though if you’re coming in solo for a nightcap — you may be propositioned by a «professional» or two.

Read Andrew W… he says it all.
The bartender was friendly and fun, the food was nothing special. But the desserts were memorable… but not in a good way.

We stayed at the bar for fear of what others had said. My sazerac was fantastic however the small bites were hit or miss. Shaved beets 4 stars. Tombasil soup 2 stars. Dessert eh, 1.5 stars.
The bartender was great though, and again, my drink was awesome. Sounds like some of their other creations could be great too. Avoid the food and stick to the booze.

Being a hotel restaurant, there are some limitations placed on Porter and Frye.
The menu needs to remain reasonably safe, so there will always be chicken, there will always be Steak Diane, there will always be a Caesar. A few more devious things pop up from time to time, though, which is appreciated.
Cheese plates are reliably varied in flavor selection while not being too extreme and overpowering in the more potent selections. The above-​mentioned Caesar does at least include actual anchovies from what I recall, as well as legit slices of decent Pecorino-​ish cheese. Charcuterie plates are reasonably well-​varied but again, not too far afield.
The greatest strength of Porter and Frye is in their cocktails. Probably the best Sazerac I’ve had in town, and their original creations do great things with interesting flavors. Plenty of things one cannot easily make at home.
It’s not cheap, but it is in the Ivy. Bar menu actually isn’t too ridiculously expensive, and the lamb burger and pizzas are pretty good.

The Johnny Boy, a $ 12 elixir of scotch, caramel, and jalapeño, from Porter & Frye has been a great night cap on more than one occasion. This drink, paired with some lively conversation about the history of alcohol between the bar tender and some patrons, was enough to push this bar into cool territory.
I’m not sure if only trying one drink at this place a few times qualifies me to review it, but whatever, I just wanna get my message out there: get this drink and prepare for a nice long hour of sophisticated conversation while sipping on a little piece of heaven.
PROTIP: This drink is not for everyone; by everyone, I mean those of the human race that generally prefer sweeter drinks. But no worries, Porter & Frye has a plethora of expensive drinks to blissfully throw your money away at.

Staying at the Ivy, I eat here quite a bit and really enjoy the food and the service. I enjoy sitting at the bar if it’s just me and a colleague or sitting at one of the tables. It’s generally quiet during the week (but not dead by any means), with an upscale feel. I could imagine coming here on a date or with work mates.
The food is modern comfort food always with a fish special of the day and a couple of steak options. The beet salad is a staple of mine along with the lamb pappardelle pasta.

Based on some of the Unilocal reviews on here I didn’t have high hopes walking in… however I was very very wrong. This place is a great chop house and I would highly recommend it!
We came here on Saturday night with a group of 7 and were seated right away. Our server was friendly, knowledgeable and quick! We all started off with specialty cocktails and they were all great. I had the Lover martini… it had fresh raspberries, raspberry purée, stoli and champagne, delicious!
For starters I started with the Caesar salad, it was great! Lemony, creamy and white anchovies and fresh parm, yum! My husband got the escargot with wild mushrooms and crostinis and it was some seriously good food. There were tons of escargot, lots of bread, mushrooms and just great flavor… it was a great value for the $ 12 price tag. My friends got the cheese platter that I was pretty jealous of. It had 3 types of cheese, berries and yummy bread and crackers.
I had the roasted lamb loin for my entrée. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, they served it with fingerling potatoes, amazing! My husband had the quail with roasted sausage and mushrooms and that was fabulous as well. If you’re a mushroom and meat fan I would definitely come here, they do it right.
Dessert was okay but I’m not a huge dessert fan. I did love the berries soaked in balasmic vinegar and could have had a bowl of that with vanilla ice cream and been perfectly content.

For a high end hotel like the Ivy, would expect a great restaurant. Had a good experiences for breakfast and lunch with the ahi tuna salad. Service was very good and the interior is a great match to the hotel. It’s a little trendy also which I like. Take advantage of the happy hour specials and they are great for a downtown spot like the Ivy.