Alma

Verdict

Alma at 528 University Ave SE is one of Minneapolis's more considered neighbourhood restaurants, and counter seating is the reason to prioritise a visit right now. If you want to watch a kitchen work at close range while the season is still driving the menu, this is the booking to make. It is not a difficult reservation to secure, which makes the decision direct: book it, and do so soon enough to get a counter seat before the current seasonal dishes rotate out.

The Counter Advantage

Counter seating at a restaurant like Alma is not a consolation prize for parties who could not get a table. It is a different format with a clearer payoff. You see the pass, the plating, the pace. You get context for what you are eating that a dining room table cannot replicate. For food-focused visitors who travel specifically to understand a kitchen, the counter positions you inside the process rather than outside it. If your group is two, ask for the counter when you book. The experience justifies the request.

This kind of counter-forward dining has become a reliable shorthand for seriousness in the American restaurant conversation. Venues like Smyth in Chicago and Lazy Bear in San Francisco have built reputations partly on how the format closes the distance between cook and guest. Alma operates on a smaller, more accessible scale than those destinations, but the counter logic is the same.

Minneapolis Context

The University Avenue SE address puts Alma in the Marcy-Holmes neighbourhood, close enough to the East Bank of the University of Minnesota campus to draw a mixed crowd. This is not a downtown power-dinner location. The neighbourhood character tends toward the local and the unpretentious, which suits the format. If you are building a Minneapolis itinerary around serious eating, Alma pairs naturally with Owamni for a contrasting approach to Midwestern produce, or Spoon & Stable if you want a comparison point in the New American category with a more polished dining room. Hai Hai, the James Beard-nominated Southeast Asian spot in the same part of the city, is worth adding to the same evening if the schedule allows. For a broader sense of where Alma sits in the city's eating options, see our full Minneapolis restaurants guide.

Timing and Booking

Booking difficulty is rated Easy, which means you are not competing for scarce reservations the way you would at The French Laundry in Napa or Atomix in New York City. That accessibility is genuinely useful. It means you can plan around your travel dates rather than building travel around an available slot. The seasonal menu argument is still a reason to move: if a current seasonal programme is the draw, waiting until conditions change reduces what you are booking into.

Phone and online booking details are not confirmed in our current data. Check the restaurant directly for reservation options and to verify current hours before visiting.

Quick reference: 528 University Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414 | Booking difficulty: Easy | Counter seating recommended for parties of two | Confirm hours and booking method directly with the venue.

Worth Knowing

Visitors focused on the national fine-dining conversation will find Alma a more grounded proposition than destination restaurants like Le Bernardin in New York City, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, or Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler in Brunico. That is not a criticism. Alma's value is in what it does at neighbourhood scale: serious cooking, accessible booking, and a counter format that rewards the kind of diner who pays attention. If that describes you, book the counter and go soon. For other Minneapolis options in the area, our Minneapolis bars guide, hotels guide, and experiences guide cover the broader picture. The 112 Eatery and 4801 S Minnehaha Dr are also worth considering depending on your format preference.