Dario
Restaurant · North Loop
323 N Washington Ave Suite 100, Minneapolis, MN 55401
Highlights
Fresh pasta, New American cuisine, and a stellar cocktail program
Fresh pasta, New American cuisine, and a stellar cocktail program
"Dario, the pink-washed North Loop restaurant from Stephen Rowe and chef Joe Rolle, puts fresh pasta at the center of its menu: sunchoke-ricotta doppio and wild mushroom tortellini are in good company with hiramasa crudo, honey-glazed duck breast, and delicate vegetable dishes like gem lettuces with a cacio e pepe vinaigrette. Pasta maven Rachel Cornelius McLeod (also of Cornelius Pasta Co.) makes the tender, supple pasta every morning. Book a table through Resy." - Stacy Brooks
"Dario’s pastel pink chairs and green cushion booths are so aesthetically pleasing you might worry it's one of those spots where the food doesn’t live up. But it absolutely does—they take pasta seriously, even if your casual date night is all giggles while splitting small plates. Our heart belongs to the doppio ravioli, filled with separate pockets of sunchoke and ricotta before being drizzled with honey. The cocktail menu leans into bitter spirits, but drinks are still balanced, especially the Bad Apple mixed from brandy, vermouth, and amaro. When it comes to dessert, the affogato with a generous scoop of thick vanilla ice cream and a sharp shot of espresso is worth losing a little sleep over." - stacy brooks
"A buzzy, swanky restaurant with evident heart, opened by industry veterans who literally pitched investors with pop-up dinners in a co-owner’s St. Louis park home, buying their own glassware and linens and whipping elegant meals out of a few overstuffed coolers. They brought on Rachel McLeod of Cornelius Pasta Co. to helm a sun-filled, flour-dusted pasta room; McLeod is, in the owners’ view, operating in a realm “somewhere between a three-Michelin-star chef and a true pasta granny,” as Rolle puts it. The kitchen turns out canonical, soulful pasta: doppio stuffed with sweet sunchoke and ricotta; agnolotti bursting with braised short rib, parmesan crema, and red wine jus. The room pairs a punchy, shell-pink aesthetic and a punk-rock soundtrack with a finely tuned beverage program — cocktails as compelling as its nonalcoholic spritzes, fragrant botanical tonics, licorice root Shirley Temples, and dandelion pours — making the place feel like a destination that balances electric atmosphere with real culinary rigor." - Justine Jones
"Dario, the North Loop’s new pasta-focused, pink-washed restaurant, has a stellar cocktail program from Marvel Bar alum Stephen Rowe. These drinks are served unadorned — Rowe forgoes garnishes and citrus rounds in favor of aromatic bitters and spices incorporated directly in the cocktail. Effervescence, bitter finishes, and a range of nonalcoholic, low-proof, and full-proof pours bring the menu together." - Eater Staff
"Though the restaurant is a newcomer to the North Loop, Dario’s pastas should be a familiar sight to any fans of Rachel McLeod’s Cornelius Pasta Co. McLeod leads the pasta program at Dario, made fresh every morning in a designated pasta room off the main kitchen. For those devoted to the classics, there’s the fusilli pomodoro, served with meatballs and burrata; or the rigatoni alla vodka, topped with a rubble of breadcrumbs and parmigiano. For something new, order the doppio ravioli, its doubled sides filled with sunchoke and ricotta, their zippered edges catching shards of toasted hazelnut and rosemary." - Julie Yu
