The New York Times Names Khue’s Top 50 American Restaurant

The St. Paul establishment is the only restaurant from Minnesota to make the cut
By
-
Food from Khue's
From left: Grilled Sirloin with a Vietnamese marinade and yu choy; the Spicy Chicken Sando with herb aioli and chili crunch; and the Sticky Jicama Ribs with soy-glazed tofu, toasted sesame seeds, and scallions

Photo by Kevin Kramer

Khue’s Kitchen in St. Paul made The New York Times 2026 top 50 restaurants list, the only Minnesota restaurant to make the cut. The restaurant is helmed by Chef Eric Pham and named after his mother and fellow chef, Khue Pham.

The New York Times’ Brett Anderson wrote of the restaurant in the review, “A budget-friendly restaurant that doesn’t ask you to sacrifice anything? Yep. There are very good wines, too.”

Last year, two Minneapolis restaurants in Bûcheron and Diane’s Place made the New York Times’ top 50. They were not omitted due to a drop-off in quality, as the article establishes that none of the restaurants on the 2026 list are included on any lists from previous years, and many have only opened over the last few months. Khue’s, for example, only opened in March, 2025.

Khue’s Kitchen is open Wednesday through Sunday every week. Minnesota Monthly food editor Jason Derusha wrote a review of Khue’s in August, 2025, calling the restaurant’s menu, “Classic Vietnamese cooking through the lens of a Generation Z Minnesotan.”

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR