Windows On Minnesota

The views here are some of the best in the cities. I’ve been here numerous times and the floor to ceiling windows still make my jaw drop. The banquet rooms are otherwise typical. They are generic and nice but nothing special. I do like the chairs though. It’s nice to be able to sit at a seminar and not get a sore butt or back. The catering here is the worst, however. I’ve never had a good meal here. The meat is always overcooked, veggies are soggy and the desserts are just fine. Today I had a spinach salad with wilty green spinach and the saddest looking strawberries that looked mushy, dried out and a day away from molding. The salad was completely unacceptable. I wasn’t the host and didn’t complain, but the food was just nasty and this is one caterer that hasn’t figured out how to serve multiple plates of well done food at the same time. I know it’s hard but I’d really second guess having an event here that involved eating.

I guess my expectations were too high, but the whole space seemed a little like an afterthought — as if they were going to make it in to offices, and then just decided to make it an event space. Don’t get me wrong, the windows and views are amazing. But the rooms felt very compartmentalized, and did nothing to enhance the beauty and awe of being that high up and seeing that much of the surrounding area. Not to mention that several of my pictures have streaks/​prints/​some kind of smudge due to the cleanliness of the windows…
We had a seated dinner, 4 courses — appetizer, salad, main, and dessert. The dessert was the best part. The rest of the food was decent in concept but mediocre in execution — the salad greens were limp, the salmon overcooked, the mashed potatoes not nearly as good as all the other potatoes I ate in MN that weekend.
The staff wasn’t particularly friendly. I got more than one surly look for ordering water from the bar. Thankfully they put out a huge dispenser of it after the dancing really got going so that I didn’t have to keep getting those looks.
The bathroom was poorly maintained — some of the stalls didn’t have working locks, some of the sinks didn’t have both handles, and general cleanliness could have been improved.
At least the elevators are fast!

I attended a wedding at Windows on Minnesota over the weekend.
This is a stunning venue because it’s on the 50^th floor of IDS Center, the tallest building in the state of Minnesota. The floor is divided into several rooms. They’re aptly named Stars, Galaxy, Universe, and Planets. The wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner reception, and late night dancing each took place in a different room. The floor has a complete 360 degree view of downtown Minneapolis and beyond. There are mirrors on the inner walls that face outwards towards the windows, further enhancing the skyline views in each room. Amazing vistas all around.
I estimate there were about 200 people at the wedding and I thought the event space and staffing was adequately sized and equipped to handle the crowd, from the two cocktail bars in the lobby to the huge reception area inside the Galaxy room.
The food and service were both very good. For a four-​course seated dinner, we had the option of chicken, steak, salmon, or vegetarian entrees. The first course was jumbo shrimp over risotto, second course was spinach salad with goat cheese and fruit, third course (for me) was salmon and green beans, and the fourth course of dessert was a motley of cakes and mousse.
After dinner, we were able to see the sun set to the west and then proceeded to dance the night away until 1am under the starlit skies of the City of Lakes inside the Stars room. Overall, I had a lot of fun and thought Windows on Minnesota could not have been a more perfect venue for the born-​and-​bred Minnesotan bride.
The official hotel for Windows on Minnesota is the adjacent Marquette Hilton.

I attended a dinner for a professional event. The ambience was superb, appetizers were excellent, main course was not so great, I had a tried their chicken wrapped with wild rice dish and vegetable lasagna, both dished were mediocre. Service was not impressive either.

I am partial to soirees that take place at the top of the IDS tower (Windows on Minneosota, managed by the Marquette Hotel). I have been to over two dozens of events there and have yet to be disappointed. In fact, I can honestly say that I have been very pleased every time. The venue is superb and so unique (it’s worth going just for the view – the best in town). The catering services are excellent and the food always good. Even the underground parking of the IDS tower, usually way too expensive during business hours, becomes affordable after 4 p.m. I have also attended several Sunday brunches and business lunches (Thanksgiving is a staple with a decadent buffet) where the IDS tower parking is free when validated. For all these reasons, I wholeheartedly recommend Windows for those special events or simply for a fulfilling festive brunch.

I recently attended a fashion show here late at night and thought the place was very nice! The space was good and the décor was posh; there are cool lights on the ceiling. It seemed very clean since the bathrooms were also very ritzy and spotless. I would recommend it for a wedding reception too since they have a dance floor as well! I would definately go back!

I could totally tell that this is a fabulous restaurant, but I think they were having a bad day. My parents tried to change our reservation but only got a recording that told them what would be available on their special Bastille Day brunch, so the event started off on a weird note (seeing as how it was Sept 16).
I should mention first that it was a lovely day and we were able to see very well (Windows is on the 50^th floor of the IDS)– we could even see the collapsed I35W bridge.
Frankly, brunch buffets are problematic. They’re great for groups because not everyone wants breakfasty things at noon, but they’re hard to do well. Cold food works fine, but hot stuff is tricky. For example, the selection at the «carving station» was salmon from the whole (really big) fish, and it tasted good but it was a little overdone, but it could have just been the parts of the fish that we had. The pumpkin soup was great, but too cold as the sterno below the pot had been out for who knows how long. The eggs benedict were surprisingly good for sitting in that chafing dish, and the highlight for my boyfriend was the omelette station, where a chef made them to order.
I liked that there were many interesting choices. Some I took (like the pumpkin soup and the Greek salad), and some I passed on like the duck l’orange and the rabbit in mustard sauce. Many of the items were gone or almost gone, which was irritating as many staff members were just standing around.
But for how gorgeous the desserts were, they were disappointing, too. The servings were tiny so I took most of them to try. The chocolate mousse was too dense, the tiramisu and the cream puff were disappointing (they just lacked flavor altogether), and the crème brûlée, while it tasted divine, hadn’t been fired long enough to give it a nice crispy top. I really liked the carrot cake, however. I generally love carrot cake.
I know I often say this, but for the price, everything should be great. I didn’t pay the bill, but it’s around $ 35 a person for the brunch (which included a mimosa or glass of champange, but not coffee).
I might go again, maybe for a big day like Mother’s Day or Easter when it’s busy so they’d have a fuller staff and would have to be refilling the buffet items more often, which would help to make sure that the things that should be hot are hot and fresh.