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15 Best Restaurants in St. Cloud, MN

Blake Walsh, Jermaine Dela Cruz

Oct 10, 2022 • 11 min read

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It's a shame St. Cloud in Sherburne County isn't given more credit as a culinary destination in Minnesota.

It's a long enough drive to qualify as an adventure but not so long that it becomes a destination, only 75 minutes away from the Twin Cities metro area.

However, by skipping St. Cloud, visitors miss out on one of Minnesota's most down-to-earth, unpretentious, and gratifying eating scenes.

There's a wide variety of food options, so there's sure to be something that suits everyone's tastes.

Several fine dining establishments, small plate restaurants, and artisan bakeries are available for gourmands.

The culturally curious can sample traditional Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Indian, or Greek cuisines.

Brace yourself for a gastronomic delight with the best restaurants in St. Cloud, Minnesota!

The Pickled Loon

If you’re a fan of tacos, you will be in heaven at the Pickled Loon.

Saint Cloud is the largest city in Central Minnesota, home to over 4,000 restaurants.

They offer burgers, sandwiches, and salads.

The tacos made on corn tortillas are gluten-free.

As far as dessert goes, their special whole cakes prove you can have your cake and eat it too!

These were a recent addition to the Pickled Loon menu and quickly became local favorites.

Mongo’s Grill

Mongo’s Grill is a great place with a wide variety of healthy food options, including many vegan and gluten-free dishes.

Mongo’s offers a unique food experience where you can customize your dish any way you like.

You start by selecting the ingredients, and if you’re going for meat or seafood, sit back and watch them grill it up and serve it the way you want.

Whether you’d like a meat-based or vegetable-based dish, you have options at Mongo’s Grill.

Start with their great selection of soups and salads before going for the main course.

In addition, you’re guaranteed to enjoy their several delicious, perfectly-seasoned sauces.

You can either customize your lunch or dinner or choose from the several chef-recommended meals and combinations.

Jules’ Bistro

Jules’ Bistro is definitely among the best food experiences in St. Cloud.

It has an elegant setting and a warm, artistic atmosphere, including live music and local art.

The restaurant sits on a fine line between casual and fine dining.

Jules’ Bistro makes everything to perfection, whether it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any of their unique daily specials.

They also provide many great gluten-free and vegan options.

Their breakfast menu includes the customizable Rise & Shine Pizza, accompanied by scrambled eggs, vegetables, cheese, and the protein of your choice and served with fresh fruit.

Jules’ Bistro’s lunch and dinner menus are packed with delicious salads and soups, including their signature St. Germain salad served with a tasty soup or chili sauce.

You can’t go wrong with their amazing paninis or flatbread pizzas for the main dish.

Jules’ Bistro has something to offer for every diet.

For most meals, you can substitute gluten-free bread or crust in salads (croutons), paninis, and pizzas.

Coyote Moon Grille

Coyote Moon Grille is on Territory Golf Club, six miles from downtown St. Cloud.

It offers a nice change of scenery and a great dining experience.

The Coyote Moon Grille has an exciting selection of freshly-made salads, pasta, sandwiches, and baskets.

You can start with a wide variety of delicious appetizers, including duck bacon wontons, chicken bacon ranch flatbread, onion rings, and mozzarella sticks.

You can follow that up with burgers, sandwiches, and pasta.

Alternatively, you can go for some fantastic special combinations, including the barbecued pork ribs & fried chicken fingers and their signature 7 oz. USDA Choice top sirloin.

You can replace it with an 8 oz. prime rib on the weekends.

If you’re into seafood, you’ll love their incredible broiled shrimp & scallops.

Make sure to ask for them beforehand since these aren’t always available.

Bo Diddley’s Deli

Bo Diddley’s Deli has become one of Minnesota’s well-established restaurants for over four decades.

It offers quality food made from premium local ingredients.

Bo Diddley Deli’s outstanding sandwiches are outstanding; voters from Central Minnesota voted them as best sandwiches.

You’ll find their Combo sandwich, made with corned beef, ham, and salami, an absolute delight for meat lovers.

Several vegetarian options, such as the veggie pitas, are also on the menu.

Other pitas include seafood, tuna, ham, or turkey.

These might also contain provolone cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion, alfalfa sprouts, and guacamole.

For side dishes, you can go for their daily soups or Odds + Ends choices, including a wide variety of tasty taco chips, salsa, and a guacamole side.

Greek Cravings

Greek Cravings has a selection of excellent food, including some of the best Gyros in Minnesota.

Whether you want a classic, hummus, falafel, chicken, Greek Philly, or spicy Philly gyro, you can’t go wrong with one of the available choices.

You might want to sample the spicy Philly gyro for its sheer variety of incredible sauces and cheeses.

Greek Cravings has several delightful specialties on the menu which are worth checking out.

These include gyro fries, several rice and kabob options, and the spanakopita, the beloved savory spinach pie.

No matter your choice, you’re sure to enjoy one of the best Mediterranean cuisines.

Olde Brick House

If you want to go for delightful food over drinks, Olde Brick House is the perfect place.

This clubby Irish pub has an extensive menu offering sandwiches, burgers, salads, soups, pasta, and tacos, along with various excellent starters and appetizers.

In addition, you can go for one of their traditional fare specialties, including Guinness fish & chips, Bangers & Mash, the Dick Titus commercial beef sandwich, Celtic meatloaf, and more.

You can choose from the many great meat-based and seafood-based entrées at Olde Brick House.

Hajime Asian Bistro

Hajime Asian Bistro is a haven for Asian food enthusiasts and is one of the best Asian restaurants in the Cloud.

Their lunch menu features unique dishes.

They offer great kitchen combos, served with white rice, shumai, and California Roll.

You can go for a sushi maki with two or three rolls.

Then, order the classic rolls or go for the Chef’s special rolls.

For the main course, their ‘à la carte sushi & sashimi are delightful and include raw or cooked pieces of your choosing.

You can get that with a side of salad, soup, vegetable appetizers, pan-fried noodles, and more.

Star of India

If you want the best of what Indian cuisine offers, you should eat at the Star of India.

The restaurant makes many excellent traditional entrees, appetizers, main courses, and desserts.

You’ll want to consider their exquisite bread, especially the garlic naan and STAR bread.

You can choose from a great selection of meat-based and vegetarian entrées to start.

Star of India has an extensive lunch and dinner menu.

We recommend that you go for one of their several tandoori dishes.

The Star of India Special is easily the best choice as it combines tandoori chicken, tandoori shrimp, tikka, and boti kebab, accompanied by chicken curry and a naan.

Granite City Food & Brewery

Everyone will find something to their liking at ‘Granite City,’ and Granite City Food and Brewery is no exception.

The food quality and sheer variety of meal options are impressive.

You have plenty of starters, flatbreads, great-looking slider towers, burgers, soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta, and many more.

Granite City makes some of the best local sandwiches, including their signature avocado grilled cheese, BBQ beef cheese, and millionaire’s BLT sandwiches.

On top of that, their seafood delicacies are as good as it gets.

In particular, their crispy shrimp Asian tacos, grilled mahi tacos, and Southern Cajun shrimp boil are outstanding.

There’s no comparing between their main dish options at Granite CIty Food & Brewery, all of which are made to perfection.

Kohinoor Bar & Grill

Kohinoor Bar & Grill is among the best places for Drinks and Dinner in St. Cloud.

It has a simple yet classy setting and a relaxing atmosphere.

Kohinoor Bar & Grill offers many unique regional Indian and Asian dishes, including naan, tandoori, kebab, and curry.

Their signature dishes include curry, masala, balti, dal, jalfrazi, saag, biryani, and methi.

These are incredibly well-made and prepared with fresh, premium ingredients, sauces, and spices.

You can also choose one of the several beloved Chef’s specials: the chili garlic chicken, mushroom chili pepper, achari mutton gosht, Punjabi goat curry, and old Delhi chicken curry.

Giliberto’s Mexican Taco Shop

Mexican food enthusiasts are sure to have a great time at Giliberto’s Mexican Taco Shop.

Whether you want Mexican for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you’ll find what you’re looking for.

The restaurant is home to some of the best Mexican specialties in St. Cloud.

Tacos, burritos, tostadas, tortas, enchiladas, tamales, and many more are on the menu.

If you’re a seafood lover, you’ll also enjoy their mariscos, shrimp fajitas, two fish tacos, and their exquisite camarones a la diabla.

Giliberto’s Mexican Taco Shop is also a vegetarian-friendly restaurant and offers several veggie burritos, tacos, and enchiladas, among other foods.

You can’t go wrong when you pick one of their specials; their rolled tacos, guacamole, & cheese is to die for.

You can go for their combos if you’re in a large group.

Likewise, you can choose from 22 exciting combination plates, all served with rice and beans, among other things, depending on the plate.

Val’s Rapid Serv

Val’s Rapid Serv makes good hamburgers, and most people in Saint Cloud know it.

The iconic fast food restaurant opened over half a century ago and never lost its authenticity.

Val’s Rapid Serv still offers the simple classic burger experience at a great price.

It’s nothing super fancy, but it’s genuinely good.

If you’d like a burger on the run, be sure to grab a burger and go.

True’s Pizza

True’s Pizza is one of the best pizza places in town and makes excellent sandwiches, burgers, and chicken wings.

Naturally, visitors might want to start delightful specialty pizzas.

In particular, Supreme Pizza is otherworldly and is deservedly a local favorite.

True’s Pizza is vegan-friendly and offers a delicious veggie pizza made with mushroom, onion, green pepper, and green olive.

Their Gourmet Veggie is another fantastic vegan treat.

You also can’t go wrong with their sandwiches, including the Build Your Own, where you can add your preferred toppings on their delicious ciabatta roll.

Final Thoughts

St. Cloud’s food scene is as diverse as it gets, featuring plenty of cuisines worldwide.

Regardless of your diet and food preferences, St. Cloud has something to cater to your liking.

Check out the best restaurants in St. Cloud, Minnesota!

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