hell's kitchen inc.

great breakfast and reasonable prices!. my husband and i ate here for the firsttimeabout a week ago. firstly let me just say that the decor in this place is outstanding! it really does look like hell's kitchen... lol! we were so impressed with the artwork and look/feel of the place. having the waters and waitresses walk around in their pajamas was clever indeed. we found that the food and the service were great. if you go here for breakfast i highly recommend the pancakes! get a big stack (at least four) because two isn't nearly enough. they are absolutely fantastic! i would request getting their homemade peanut butter to slather on them as well. :)

best birthday dinner! visiting minneapolis and this was just a few blocks from our hotel. we made reservations to sit in the section with live music, which was great. loved the atmosphere. very friendly service. they made me feel so special on my birthday. we got the juicy lucifer and lemon ricotta pancakes - both were amazing. they also gave us a free dessert and token to use at the photo booth. such a memorable night. will absolutely return nexttimewe are in minneapolis.

proudly promoting itself as “minnesota’s most-book restaurant,” a lines-beget-lines strategy that sees seating for what must be at least two hundred packed on weekends where those without reservations will often be asked to wait at least an hour, it was prior to a vikings-bills matchup at u.s. bank stadium that advanced planning scored a table at hell’s kitchen, the restaurant predating gordon ramsay’s television program expectedly raucous even before live music began.

now serving the city since 2002, an underground location on 9th street downtown overtimebecoming a destination for american fare served amidst kitschy confines that remain whimsical despite the restaurant’s name, it was to a seat immediately in front of the stage that breakfast was served, a middle-aged man with plenty of ink offering a good blend of hospitality and professionalism that one usually does not expect at such a busy or “themed” place.

owned by mitch omer and cynthia gerdes, her angel food bakery upstairs just visited and often acting as a stand-in breakfast for those turned away from hell’s kitchen, it is from the hands of chef steve meyer and team that guests are currently fed from a wide list of everything from pancakes to burgers, a lengthy list of beers by bottle or tap clearly popular amongst the pre-game crowd as was a $14.95 option to build one’s own “jacked up” bloody mary.

opting instead for coffee, a mug kept full of surprisingly good drip throughout an hour long stay, it was shortly after asking a few questions that the meal began with omer’s regionally famous toasted sausage bread, the odd concoction featuring fruit, nuts and spices a bit like zucchini bread riddled with the sapor and salt of pork that is as enjoyable as it is unique, though the richness makes this an dish best shared.

intrigued by other “minnesota icons” including walleye hash and rice porridge, but working with limited capacity and more meals to follow, it was instead that course two featured one of hell’s kitchen’s lemon-ricotta hotcakes, the flavor and texture fine but no different than versions offered elsewhere while the house’s take on a jucy lucy titled “juicy lucifer” costs twice that of matt’s but is unquestionably better thanks to prime beef and a brioche bun plus tangy red pepper jelly around the molten core.

this was part of the taste of minneapolis food tour i experienced while visiting.

this place was insanely cool! from walking down into the pits of hell and finding yourself staring at a full bar, i knew i was in my own personal heaven. hardly anybody in my group liked the watermelon sangria they had us try out - i loved it! it was so refreshing and light. i seriously could've ordered a pitcher and called it a day. the pear/ham/cheese sandwich was not my favorite - something about the warm pears didn't sit well with me. the salsa that came with the chips was sweet and spicy all at the sametime- i couldn't get enough of the stuff. great place to grab a drink and meet the locals!

yuk!. every once in a while someone will tell me, “oh, such and such a place has good huevos rancheros” and against my better judgement, i will give it a shot. i learned long ago that you can’t get good huevos in minnesota, so really i am just a moron for even trying. this was the case with hell’s kitchen. this dish bears no resemblance whatsoever to traditional huevos rancheros, and furthermore, it has been a longtimesince anyone has plopped down before me a more disgusting plate of food. it’s almost as if some infant had come up with this dish: “hey, let’s deep fry a flour tortilla, put hash browns on it, then scrambled eggs and black beans and then cheese and some acrid-tasting salsa and top it all off with sour cream.” i suppose if you were extremely hungry, this would constitute something approaching sustenance. in fact, this dish is just a model for how horrifically obese and culinary-challenged we can be as a culture. i also tried the sausage bread and i’m sorry but i just don’t get it. it tasted like over-toasted walnut bread laden with fat. in addition, the lemon pancakes, which were lighter tasting and pleasantly crepe-like, also felt way too heavy. i absolutely hate spending a lot of money for bad food so now not only am i disgusted but i’m also pissed-off

as some one who used to work for hell's kitchen, i have many things to say. joe the chef and mitch put so muchtimeand energy into the recipes. and don't forget the su-chefs! they throw in their ideas and work so hard! to the people that complain about the servers: the servers are rolling their eyes because they know it's taking forever for your food. but what can you expect from a super busy restaurant? there's a couple hundred other people trying to order too. it's not magic. if you wanted fast food then go to a fast food drive thru. damn good food takes time.

well past it's sell by date...... had brunch on sun 10th feb. i had read about the famous huevos rancheros....i have to say that they were pretty mediocre. solid scrambled eggs - served like a slice, not soft scrambled as described. above the tortilla there seemed to be something that looked like a hash brown. very bizarre. not much taste to it - beans could do with a bit more seasoning, maybe some fresh cilantro, some chipotle sauce or salsa on the side.

all in all pretty tasteless - ideally should be well seasoned and served with fried eggs with a runny yoke....to add to the experience.

i ordered a side of toast - didn't come with any of the jams or peanut butter as stated on the menu. i had to ask for them.

service pretty useless and i was sitting at the bar, so should have been much more attentive.

the place was packed, so i guess many people go for the atmosphere. feels like the ingredients are pretty average, the kitchen staff have lost interest and the owners are not spending muchtimein the kitchen any more. such a shame, good concept, but given the fantastic quality of food & restaurants elsewhere in minneapolis it's not worth the visit.

great place, just definitely have a reservation! their lemon ricotta pancakes are a total classic, can't help but order them eachtimei'm there!

lucifer got no s'plainin' to do..... ... the food speaks for itself!
on my long-awaited 3rd visit to hk i found it had moved a couple of blocks and was full of hellacious improvements. naturally, you now descent a red staircase to the nether world of good eats. and instead of a single, long, narrow diniing room, there is a labrynth of large dining rooms with full bars. the decor remains sinfully gruesome.
i was greeted at the host's desk and shown to a table in the rear of the lair. i spent notimein pergatory waiting for my food either. i opted for some voodoo in the form of a carribean dish of fried eggs, black beans and salsa that had a hotter-than-hades zing to it. of course no meal is complete without a slice of bison sausage bread that can only be described as heavenly. perhaps satan took the recipe off an angelic baker? the beans had a wonderful rich, flavor, the eggs were done right and the hot salsa and sweet bread complimented each other perfectly. it's kind of place you could dine in for an eternity.
the only off-note was my server's demeanor. the service was fine, but she was as clipped, abrubt and non-engaging as she could be. i presumed she had something on her mind and was a 1000 miles away in her head. all in all, this is still one of my favorite places in the twin cities.


-----13 oct, 2011-----

a heavenly experience!. i've eaten here twice with friends for the brunch meal and we loved it. the servers were all in their pajamas and the food was unique and fun. we loved the standard breakfast, the bacon, the rosti potatoes. but the bison bread is simply the best. when you buy a loaf to take with you just tell people the devil made you do it. i also got some of their natural home-made peanut butter and a hell's kitchen cooking apron since i liked the place so much. i'm supposed to be in the twin cities on business soon and i plan to go back!

10/11/11. i went to hell's kitchen for an event but i had dinner beforehand. i decided to have the salad and sandwich combo. my salad was a caesar salad. they use very good romaine lettuce. it wasn't wilted and the leafy parts were tasty. it didn't have a grainy texture, which i have found in some salads. the croutons were quite tasty. it seems like they used last night's bread and made croutons out of them. the salad was also not over-dressed. very worthwhile.

the sandwich i had was the ham and poached pear sandwich. i never would have thought to put this combination together, but it really works well. the ham was a leaner type, shaved. the pears were like sinking your teeth into a soft apple pie (without the crust). they also put two types of cheese (don't remember which, but they were subtler cheeses). it made the sandwich flow well. the only thing i would have changed was the bread. it was a sourdough bread. i think i may have preferred a marble rye.

for dessert, i chose the red velvet whoopie pie. this thing was larger than my sandwich. it was a very good whoopie pie though. the cake was dense, but the filling made up for it and the chocolate sprinkles (for lack of a better term) around the filling's outside made a nice contrast in texture. i would recommend this, but it's more of a sharing dessert.

hell's kitchen is worth a try.


-----05 jul, 2011-----

7/1/11. i went to hell's kitchen for lunch and just sat at the bar. the beer menu was quite refreshing. i saw some more unusual things on tap and had those. i also went for the big steak and eggs. i did have to return my steak for being too rare (medium rare preferred) but the hash browns were great. the steak was well seasoned and the poached eggs were good. nexttimei think i'll try lunch, but i will definitely return for another go if just for the beer selection.

food expert's. we had an amazingtimeat the hell's kitchen in duluth. when we returned to duluth this past week, we discovered it's no longer there. that's sad. they had killer coffee.

we tried the hell's kitchen in downtown minneapolis. the food was marginal at best. lets say, there was a lot of plate showing, get my point ?

we decided not to return. the duluth location was the best. now, it's gone. how sad.

great breakfast and music to boot. we had a great breakfast. service was very good and the music was awesome. great way to spend a sunday morning breakfast.

unique selection of items on menu. veggie frittata, lemon ricotta pancakes, crab/shrimp cake eggs benedict. great cinnamon rolls too!

will be back the nexttimewe are in the tc. -tk

dinner: great waiter, he was very helpful as this was our firsttimethere. he had many recommendation to offer. should i visit minnie again, i'll visit again.

a breaklast made in hell. when we travel, it is unusual for us to return to a restaurant everytimewe return to a city. hell's kitchen is our exception. everytimewe travel to the twin city we go to hell's kitchen for their sunday brunch. we always make a reservation and without one, there can be up to an hour wait for a table. service is fun, the waitstaff is wearing pajamas. service is efficient and friendly. they have a great bloody mary. i always have some mahimin porridge, an interesting concoction of wild rice, dried berries, hazelnuts, maple syrup, and cream. my wife usually has the not so traditional egg benedict. notice that i said egg and not eggs because they serve only one egg on a thick slice of ham with hollandaise sauce. it comes with a very generous portion of their hash-brown potatoes. with our coffee we have one of their over-sized delicious caramel-pecan rolls. like everything else that we have tried here, a bit difference than the norm. the roll is served with a caramel sauce that with use pieces of the roll to sop up. it is a breakfast made in hell and usually our last meal as we head to the airport for our flight homes.

shambolic!. okay, let me start by saying the i have been in the professional restaurant business for almost 35 years. i started as a waitress and came into the kitchen in 1989 and have been there ever since. i have worked all over the country for some of it's most talented chefs and really good restaurants.
having said that, when i go out to a restaurant, the food and service had better be good! this, sadly, was not my experience at "hell's kitchen".
let's start with the fact that i went on line to look the place up. my partner said it was known for it's "soul food". being brought up in the south (i grew up in south carolina and went to culinary school there), i was intrigued to see what (i will use the nicer word) "northerner's" would do with, basically, southern favorites; cornbread, red beans and rice, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, catfish fingers, chicken wings. dinner entrees include a choice of catfish or fried chicken with all the sides.
we get to hell's kitchen at 9:02pm, so too late for anything but the alla carte menu which had everything but the fried chicken. which was fine with us. i wanted catfish, my partner, anything made without meat, because she is vegetarian. the place to order is in a drafty hallway area that is where the servers have to go to pick up food. it consist of a over sized table and a pleasant young lady, who sadly did not know whether things had meat in them or not.
we ordered, and then was told that we could not use a credit card, but had to use cash. fine, okay we go and pay the two dollar fee to get cash and pay. it will take 20 minuets, we are told. i question this in my mind, because i know that if this food is done right, it should be a matter of heating things and dropping some catfish. a good kitchen could do it in 8 to 10 minuets. but okay, 20 minuets, we can have some drinks.
we are told to seat ourselves at the right side of the room. clearly, we were getting no service. once at the table, no one we serving even water, so i had to go to the bar to get my own drinks. after waiting for 10 minuets for a clearly overwhelmed and very slow bartender, i am told that i can't order two drinks at atimeunless the person i am buying the drinks for is standing there! i have never, and i have been to red neck bars in the south, been told something so crazy! i go, and get my partner, we wait another 5 minuets for the bartender to acknowledge us, we order a raspberry cosmo and an appletini. this came to $19.50 for rail vodka and drinks that came in margaretta glass! (cheaper at the townhouse and the service is better!)
we get back to our table and it has been over an 45 minuets! i go over to the young lady that we ordered from and she says that they thought that we left, because no one was sitting at our table! our food was now cold, and they would have to re make the order, which meant waiting another 20 minuets! now you can imagine i am not too happy at this point! on top of it, as i have come out with these drinks that were not very good (my appletini was way too sweet and didn't have very much vodka). i was told by a manager the the drink prices were "downtown prices"! $9 for less than 2.5 oz of rail alcohol per drink is normal for people in downtown minneapolis to pay! i was outraged! this guy must really think i was born yesterday!
let's go to the meal. after waiting an hour and 15 minuets for out food. it came out on plastic plates. that was one thing. but it was not hot. the mac and cheese was clearly from a box. no crust on top. the noodles were bland and for that matter, all of the food was cold and bland. blackeyed peas, one of my favorite things from back home tasted caned and had no seasoning. (insulting for a black southern girl like myself, really). the collard greens, again one of my favorite things, were strangely bland and had crunchy onions in it. the cornbread was good! it could have been a bit hotter, though. there was no care taken with the plating. we order, and did not get the redbeans and rice, which i feel was just as well. the nice young lady that took our money for the meal refunded our money. we ate, because by thistimewe were so hungry and frankly, i did not want to have to find another place to eat that late. the thing i really objected to with the food and service was the total lack of service. if this was the secondtimethey did this for this event, the hell's kitchen staff has a lot to do in terms of learning to service their customer! as a professional, i was embarrassed for them!
after dinner, we went to hear shannon blowtorch spin! she was fantastic and had the crowd eating out of her hand. i was on the dance floor so long i got a foot cramp! that's when you know you have a good dj! the music was well mixed and thought out in her sets. she and naughty boyy played, for me, the best sets of the night, and it was an enjoyable night after all.
pop up or not, the owners of hell's kitchen need to be involved in how their restaurant is used not just by the event, but by your managers. you never know when you might be reviewed by someone who knows better!