Review: Aster House

Here are our thoughts on Aster House, where supper club meets Jazz-Age charm

Aster House is a Minneapolis restaurant, self-described as blending the elegance of the Jazz Age with the glamour of the Jet Set—evoking the style and sophistication of classic Northern Getaways.

What’s Up
Aster House, a new addition to St. Anthony Main, brings a jazzy vibe to the historic Brown-Ryan Livery Stable, just steps from the Mississippi River. Owned by Jeff Arundel (Aster Cafe, Jefe Urban Cocina), the restaurant features a menu developed with Karyn Tomlinson, Food & Wine’s Best New Chef of 2024, and chef Josh Jones. The cozy, atmospheric space blends “jet set meets jazz age” with soaring ceilings, brick walls, and royal-inspired curtains. Arundel, who is also a singer-songwriter, says, “Aster House was a performance space in the ’90s, and I played there. It was unforgettable, and when I had the chance to breathe new life into it, I couldn’t resist.” There is seating for about 120 on the main level, and 70 to 80 on the second level—perfect for brunch to come—with a patio for about 90 opening in spring.

Side Dish
Classic cocktails with a twist, such as the Old Fashioned and Daiquiri, start a menu of stepped-up supper club fare with artistic attention to detail and flavors. The star of the menu is the smoky, melt-in-your-mouth bone-in pork chop, served with stewed kale and butter beans. Other standout dishes include slow-cooked chicken with Dijon cream, New York strip steak with golden potatoes, and lake trout with braised fennel in beurre blanc sauce. The accompaniments can serve as appetizers or sides, including wild rice fritters that are lightly crunchy on the outside and delectably creamy on the inside with balanced wild-rice-soup-meets-stuffing flavor. Polenta with sarvecchio cheese and roasted oyster mushrooms stands in for potatoes. Top off dinner with banana toffee pudding or chocolate mousse. 

Where It’s At
The menu is slated for at least two flips during a calendar year (fall/winter and spring/summer), and Jones will always roll out specials—but staples will remain. “The pork chop is to die for, and I think if something works, leave it (within reason),” says Arundel. A lower-level “password club” space is planned—with a password circulated monthly that you need to get in. It will have a small bar and 40-seat lounge with its own private outdoor grotto. The main floor stage is set for music and entertainment, but Arundel says it will not be a “music venue” per se, but rather a bar/restaurant/private club with occasional performances that may range from fringe to dead center. “The core important thing to us is still being a great place to walk in and hang out,” he says.

25 SE Main St., Minneapolis; asterhousempls.com

In her role as Senior Editor on Greenspring’s Custom Publications team, Mary leads Real Food magazine, the nationally syndicated publication distributed through our retail partner grocery stores. She also leads editorial on the nationally syndicated Drinks magazine and writes a weekly blog post focusing on food and drinks for MinnesotaMonthly.com. She rarely meets a chicken she doesn’t like, and hopes that her son, who used to eat beets and Indian food as a preschooler, will one day again think of real food as more than something you need to eat before dessert and be inspired by his younger brother, who is now into trying new foods.