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Gavin Kaysen has reopened his fine dining restaurant Demi for reservations. The diminutive restaurant located directly behind his first eatery, Spoon and Stable, in Minneapolis’ North Loop restaurant was the hardest to snag reservation before the pandemic changed everything. Demi had closed on November 20 when the state shut down dining for the second time. The re-opening marks a dramatic return to an in-person fine dining style that has been hard to come by in the 10 months since the pandemic began, leaving tens of thousands of servers and bartenders out of work.
Demi’s capacity, just 44 seats pre-coronavirus times, makes for an intimate dining experience that keenly focuses on each guest’s personal experience. Seats are available around the curved bar in the main room or in the small Lounge, more separate from the cooks preparing and serving at the center of that bar.
The restaurant serves a tasting menu filled with bespoke touches and studious attention to detail and optional beverage pairings. When reduced capacity, guests are limited to just 22 possible reservations per night. The restaurant is open Thursdays through Sunday. Reservations only open one month at a time. This open batch goes through Valentine’s Day, which is already taking waitlist requests.
Kaysen, a darling of the dining world who has two James Beard Awards looked poised to snag more awards last year. Demi was nominated as a Best New Restaurant and Kaysen for Outstanding Chef, before the 2020 awards were largely canceled.
In July, Kaysen closed his second restaurant, Wayzata’s Bellecour. That bakery has relocated to the North Loop, inside Cooks of Crocus Hill, across the street from Spoon & Stable.
Those who had outstanding reservations before the second shut down will need to make new reservations.
A number of Twin Cities restaurants have resumed dine-in service. However, this should not be taken as endorsement for dining in, as there are still safety concerns: for updated information on coronavirus cases in your area, please visit the Minnesota Department of Health.
