Lake & Irving

Lake & Irving sits at the intersection of Lake Street and Irving Avenue South in Uptown Minneapolis, a few blocks east of Lake Bde Maka Ska. Chris and Andrew Ikeda — brothers, both Culinary Institute of America grads — opened it in 2013 with a menu that pulls from Chris’s years in high-end Hawaiian resort kitchens, Andrew’s California training, and the Italian grandmother who taught them the value of a good basil-macadamia pesto.

The result is a genuinely idiosyncratic gastropub. The dining room is dim, wood-paneled, and plush; the patio in back opens for summer and hosts brunch when weather allows. The menu spans an American core with Asian and Mediterranean detours — the Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich has a citywide following, the Cheeseburger arrives on a Patisserie 46 brioche bun with foie gras butter (as the Luxe Burger), the Pau Hana Burger nods to Chris’s Hawaii years (pineapple glaze, kabayaki, pickled jalapeños, smoked gouda), and the Kalua Pork Sandwich threads pineapple slaw through pulled pork. Small plates are where the kitchen really flexes: Korean Fried Cauliflower, tempura fried lion’s mane mushrooms, cold smashed fingerling potato salad with cured salmon. Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday morning — the Challah French Toast with beer syrup and the Chicken and Waffles are the crowd-pullers.

On the THC side, the drink list carries a rotating selection of cans — the specific brands change with what’s available, so ask the bar what’s cold. Thursday nights host Trivia Mafia at 8:30pm. Reservations are strongly recommended, especially for weekend brunch and Thursday trivia.