Where to Eat in Hopkins

Jason and Joy pick their top dining destinations in downtown Hopkins

Restaurant recommendations from MnMo food critics Jason DeRusha and Joy Summers


Joy’s Picks:

Hopkins is a suburb, but it feels like a charming small town. I love perusing the Mainstreet shops and then popping into one of these distinctive eateries.

Samba: There isn’t much of a Brazilian food movement happening in the Twin Cities, but Samba is entirely authentic and a great entry point if you’d like to learn a little more about the grilled meats they call churrasco. There’s also a little market attached to take home more of that South American flavor.

Mainstreet Bar & Grill: You don’t need to live in the area to slide onto a stool and feel at home inside this dimly lit spot where live music spills out into the street on weekends. They serve so many great dishes to pair with cold beer, including a ridiculously hot ghost chili–spiked burger that hurts so good.

Jason’s Picks:

Pub 819: From the people behind Stanley’s Bar Room in Northeast and the Howe Daily Kitchen, Pub 819 has great burgers (the Drunkin’ Lucy is stuffed with blue cheese and topped with Guinness cheese sauce), 90 different whiskeys, and 30 beers on tap (locals as well as Deschutes and Lagunitas).

A box full of colorful macarons.
Macarons

photo by Liza barbiza – fotolia


Amy’s Cupcake Shoppe: Launched with the help of a Kickstarter, Amy Brace’s downtown bakery offers way more than just cupcakes: a rainbow of macarons in flavors including root beer float and pomegranate oolong, authentic Belgian waffles on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and peanut-butter-cookie sandwiches filled with peanut butter–flavored Swiss meringue buttercream!