Hyacinth
Restaurant · Summit Hill
790 Grand Ave, St Paul, MN 55105
Highlights
Italian & Mediterranean-inspired dinner with intimate ambiance
Italian & Mediterranean-inspired dinner with intimate ambiance
"This petite Grand Avenue dining room’s driving themes are intimacy, comfort, and Italian romance. Founder Rikki Giambruno opened Hyacinth after running a popular New York restaurant. In 2023, Giambruno handed the chef-owner reins to one of his original cooks, Abraham Gessesse. Hyacinth’s succinct menu changes seasonally, featuring dishes like dry-aged duck breast with red currant; linguini with mussels, saffron, and fennel; and dry-aged branzino with grilled lemon. Hyacinth stays airy and sun-drenched during the day and takes on the feel of a cozy, crowded New York City restaurant at night. Book tables on Resy." - Eli Radtke
"Hyacinth is perhaps Grand Avenue’s most romantic dining room. Here, the menu features heirloom tomato crostini, beets with stracciatella, fusilli with pork sausage, and risotto with chanterelle mushrooms and hazelnuts. The petite dining room has an intimate, New York City feel — appropriate, as chef Rikki Giambruno returned to the Twin Cities after a period in Brooklyn." - Eater Staff
"The narrow dining room at Hyacinth feels like you’re spending dinner aboard a luxury passenger train with delicious pasta. Start the evening off by sharing the flatbread with the jiggly burrata add-on or fried olives stuffed with sharp provolone. If it’s available, order the bucatini cacio e pepe for textbook al dente noodles tossed with exactly the right amount of cheese and pepper—it’s so good you’ll throw a death glare at anyone asking for a bite, even your soulmate. An amaro flight makes for an excellent dessert, so sip on a couple of the Italian liqueurs before starting the journey home." - stacy brooks
"Though the menu at Hyacinth is a quick read — there are typically 12 to 16 dishes in total — it benefits from weekly curation and hyper-seasonal produce. You can count on at least one long pasta and one short pasta rotating in and out, with the restaurant’s signature pasta dish, a bucatini cacio e pepe, holding court at the top of the pasta menu through all seasons. Hyacinth offers half portions for all of the pastas on the menu, so don’t hesitate to try a few." - Julie Yu
"Feels like a New York City restaurant with a hyper-seasonal menu and exceptional Amaro selection." - Justine Jones
