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A vanilla cream pie with a graham cracker crust sits on a white plate; it has swoops of cream on the tip and extra whipped cream on the side.
A slice of vanilla cream from Hot Hands.
Rebecca Slater / Eater Twin Cities

12 Essential Restaurants in St. Paul’s Mac-Groveland Neighborhood

Biscuits and pot pies, Korean fried chicken, and steaming plates of ravioli

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A slice of vanilla cream from Hot Hands.
| Rebecca Slater / Eater Twin Cities

Stretching from the eastern banks of the Mississippi River to Ayd Mill Road, the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood of Saint Paul is home to many vibrant green spaces, historic sites, boutiques, and small businesses. There are plenty of longtime homeowners and multigenerational families in the area, and it’s also a hotspot for college students: In addition to neighborhood landmarks Macalester College and St. Paul Seminary, Mac-Groveland borders the campuses of the University of St. Thomas, St. Catherine University, the Mitchell-Hamline School of Law, and Concordia University, St. Paul. Just as intrepid and multigenerational as its residents, the neighborhood dining scene draws locals from across the metro area — particularly during the spring and fall, when the neighborhood’s parks and walking paths come to life. Here are 12 essential restaurants to explore around the Mac-Groveland neighborhood.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

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Estelle

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Inspired by the flavors and culinary traditions he found while traveling along the southern coast of Europe, chef Jason Hansen marries Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian comfort foods with a few Minnesotan inflections at Estelle. The restaurant’s signature cheeseburger features beef from Osceola, Wisconsin, and is served with Spanish patatas bravas. On the dessert menu, a Portuguese pasteis de nata sits alongside a rich chocolate budino inspired by the “snack pack” puddings that dominated American middle school cafeterias in the early aughts.

Nashville Coop

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Fried chicken spot Nashville Coop has a thriving fanbase among college students in the area. The streamlined menu offers three meal basket options — chicken tenders, a chicken sandwich, or chicken served with Texas Toast — and five sauces with heat levels ranging from MN Nice (no heat) to the Cluckin’ Hot, which promises “24-hour pain.” Order a side of the house mac and cheese to temper the heat.

Fried chicken filets on a metal grate above red and white-checkered paper, all topped with a single pickle slice.
Nashville hot fried chicken from Nashville Coop.
Nashville Coop

Hot Hands Pie & Biscuit

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Pastry chef Tara Coleman first opened Hot Hands in 2019, and has since built a devoted neighborhood following. Though the menu changes with the seasons, there are a few reliable hits: a classic apple pie with a crunchy lid of brown-butter streusel, a maple fried chicken sandwich topped with honey butter and a massive slice of bacon, and a chicken pot pie that’s an ideal dinner for one. In the spirit of community, Hot Hands pays it forward: Add $6 to your bill to pre-pay for a slice of pie for a neighbor who needs it.

Carmelo's Spaghetti Room

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A neighborhood favorite for birthdays and celebrations, Carmelo’s small dining room is often packed on the weekend. The portions are generous, the cheesy appetizers are a must, and the handmade ravioli is the star of the show: Order the house classic, stuffed with prosciutto and herbed ricotta. Call ahead to make sure you can get a table — the large leather booths that curve along the side of the restaurant are a perennial favorite.

A white plate of tomatoes on a table with glasses of water and a red candle holder.
Carmelo’s is a favorite for special occasions.
Carmelo’s Spaghetti Room

Pad Thai Restaurant

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A favorite for students and staff of Macalester College, Pad Thai Restaurant is a bustling, family-run spot on the west side of campus. The lunch specials are where Pad Thai Restaurant shines: Take your pick from 16 dishes, including the eponymous pad thai and a sour-spicy tom yum, made bright with lemongrass and makrut lime leaves.

Shish is the place to go if you’re hungry and under-caffeinated in Mac-Groveland. A starter platter, which runs at about $12, comes with a few spreads, fresh falafel, thick slices of feta, tabbouleh, olives, and pita. Coffee aficionados should order the Turkish coffee, which is so strong it could revive you with its scent alone. Those seeking a lighter caffeine boost should try the Arabic tea, a sweet black brew served with fresh mint leaves.

A wooden table set with a vast assortment of dishes.
Try the starter platter at Shish.
Shish

St Paul Cheese Shop

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A Grand Avenue outpost of Minneapolis’s France 44 Cheese Shop, the St. Paul Cheese Shop serves a rotating selection of sandwiches that are well worth a lunch stop. Featuring bread from Twin Cities bakers, meats from Minnesotan and Wisconsin farmers, and cheeses from the shop’s own stock, each sandwich is a miniature tour of some of the Midwest’s best food producers.

Khyber Pass Cafe

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38 years into its tenure at Grand Avenue and Snelling Avenue, Khyber Pass Cafe remains the place to go for comfort food in Mac-Groveland. At this Afghan restaurant, you’ll find impossibly creamy hummus, tender kabobs, and spiced curries served with fragrant basmati rice. Regulars know that no order is complete without one — or many — of the rainbow of chutneys on offer, from tart cherry to cilantro and walnut.

Colossal Cafe

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A breakfast favorite among neighborhood residents, the Grand Avenue location of Colossal Cafe is always bustling on weekend mornings. Though there’s usually a crowd during peak brunch hours, lines move quickly and take you past the bakery case, where a rotating selection of scones and croissants provide plenty of ordering inspiration. The biscuits alone — golden, tender-crumbed, and served with a choice of seasonal house-made jam — are more than worth the wait.

eM Que Viet Restaurant and Bar

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The newest restaurant to join the Mac-Groveland stretch of Grand Avenue, Em Que Viet is a sister location to Que Viet, a Northeast Minneapolis institution — co-owners Maria Nguyen, Brianna Le, and Lauren Le describe Em Que Viet as the “younger, trendy, sassy version” of its older sibling. Here, you’ll find Que Viet’s famous egg rolls and an assortment of “Em specials”: a bright shrimp and pork banana flower salad, pineapple-cured beef carpaccio, jet-black squid ink fried rice topped with wisps of shaved bonito, and more.

A restaurant’s interior: There are cream walls, a long brown leather booth, white tables with wood chairs, mirrors on the wall, lamps, and a garland of pink and white flowers hanging above the tables.
Em Que Viet on Grand Avenue.
The Restaurant Project

Bap and Chicken St. Paul

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Bap and Chicken’s founder, John Gleason, was adopted from South Korea as a baby, and grew up in Minnesota — his journey plays an important role in the restaurant’s menu. As the name suggests, chicken is the star of the menu here. Whether it’s the four-piece twice-fried drummies or a whole chicken, each order of Korean Fried Chicken (KFC for short) comes with a house sauce. Korean barbecue is a runaway favorite, though spice lovers should opt for the dragon sauce.

Everest on Grand

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Marked by a simple red awning, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it exterior of Everest on Grand belies a spacious and sunny dining room inside. Here, Nepalese, Tibetan, and North Indian classics share space on the menu, and tomato-based curries feature heavily. Momos are a must-order, served steaming hot with a range of condiments, from the fiery potato achaar to cooling raita (made with house-blended yogurt). With many vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free options, Everest is also a great place for groups with mixed dining needs.

An assortment of Indian and Nepali dishes in silver plates and bowls on a table.
A spread from Everest on Grand.
Everest on Grand

Estelle

Inspired by the flavors and culinary traditions he found while traveling along the southern coast of Europe, chef Jason Hansen marries Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian comfort foods with a few Minnesotan inflections at Estelle. The restaurant’s signature cheeseburger features beef from Osceola, Wisconsin, and is served with Spanish patatas bravas. On the dessert menu, a Portuguese pasteis de nata sits alongside a rich chocolate budino inspired by the “snack pack” puddings that dominated American middle school cafeterias in the early aughts.

Nashville Coop

Fried chicken spot Nashville Coop has a thriving fanbase among college students in the area. The streamlined menu offers three meal basket options — chicken tenders, a chicken sandwich, or chicken served with Texas Toast — and five sauces with heat levels ranging from MN Nice (no heat) to the Cluckin’ Hot, which promises “24-hour pain.” Order a side of the house mac and cheese to temper the heat.

Fried chicken filets on a metal grate above red and white-checkered paper, all topped with a single pickle slice.
Nashville hot fried chicken from Nashville Coop.
Nashville Coop

Hot Hands Pie & Biscuit

Pastry chef Tara Coleman first opened Hot Hands in 2019, and has since built a devoted neighborhood following. Though the menu changes with the seasons, there are a few reliable hits: a classic apple pie with a crunchy lid of brown-butter streusel, a maple fried chicken sandwich topped with honey butter and a massive slice of bacon, and a chicken pot pie that’s an ideal dinner for one. In the spirit of community, Hot Hands pays it forward: Add $6 to your bill to pre-pay for a slice of pie for a neighbor who needs it.

Carmelo's Spaghetti Room

A neighborhood favorite for birthdays and celebrations, Carmelo’s small dining room is often packed on the weekend. The portions are generous, the cheesy appetizers are a must, and the handmade ravioli is the star of the show: Order the house classic, stuffed with prosciutto and herbed ricotta. Call ahead to make sure you can get a table — the large leather booths that curve along the side of the restaurant are a perennial favorite.

A white plate of tomatoes on a table with glasses of water and a red candle holder.
Carmelo’s is a favorite for special occasions.
Carmelo’s Spaghetti Room

Pad Thai Restaurant

A favorite for students and staff of Macalester College, Pad Thai Restaurant is a bustling, family-run spot on the west side of campus. The lunch specials are where Pad Thai Restaurant shines: Take your pick from 16 dishes, including the eponymous pad thai and a sour-spicy tom yum, made bright with lemongrass and makrut lime leaves.

Shish

Shish is the place to go if you’re hungry and under-caffeinated in Mac-Groveland. A starter platter, which runs at about $12, comes with a few spreads, fresh falafel, thick slices of feta, tabbouleh, olives, and pita. Coffee aficionados should order the Turkish coffee, which is so strong it could revive you with its scent alone. Those seeking a lighter caffeine boost should try the Arabic tea, a sweet black brew served with fresh mint leaves.

A wooden table set with a vast assortment of dishes.
Try the starter platter at Shish.
Shish

St Paul Cheese Shop

A Grand Avenue outpost of Minneapolis’s France 44 Cheese Shop, the St. Paul Cheese Shop serves a rotating selection of sandwiches that are well worth a lunch stop. Featuring bread from Twin Cities bakers, meats from Minnesotan and Wisconsin farmers, and cheeses from the shop’s own stock, each sandwich is a miniature tour of some of the Midwest’s best food producers.

Khyber Pass Cafe

38 years into its tenure at Grand Avenue and Snelling Avenue, Khyber Pass Cafe remains the place to go for comfort food in Mac-Groveland. At this Afghan restaurant, you’ll find impossibly creamy hummus, tender kabobs, and spiced curries served with fragrant basmati rice. Regulars know that no order is complete without one — or many — of the rainbow of chutneys on offer, from tart cherry to cilantro and walnut.

Colossal Cafe

A breakfast favorite among neighborhood residents, the Grand Avenue location of Colossal Cafe is always bustling on weekend mornings. Though there’s usually a crowd during peak brunch hours, lines move quickly and take you past the bakery case, where a rotating selection of scones and croissants provide plenty of ordering inspiration. The biscuits alone — golden, tender-crumbed, and served with a choice of seasonal house-made jam — are more than worth the wait.

eM Que Viet Restaurant and Bar

The newest restaurant to join the Mac-Groveland stretch of Grand Avenue, Em Que Viet is a sister location to Que Viet, a Northeast Minneapolis institution — co-owners Maria Nguyen, Brianna Le, and Lauren Le describe Em Que Viet as the “younger, trendy, sassy version” of its older sibling. Here, you’ll find Que Viet’s famous egg rolls and an assortment of “Em specials”: a bright shrimp and pork banana flower salad, pineapple-cured beef carpaccio, jet-black squid ink fried rice topped with wisps of shaved bonito, and more.

A restaurant’s interior: There are cream walls, a long brown leather booth, white tables with wood chairs, mirrors on the wall, lamps, and a garland of pink and white flowers hanging above the tables.
Em Que Viet on Grand Avenue.
The Restaurant Project

Bap and Chicken St. Paul

Bap and Chicken’s founder, John Gleason, was adopted from South Korea as a baby, and grew up in Minnesota — his journey plays an important role in the restaurant’s menu. As the name suggests, chicken is the star of the menu here. Whether it’s the four-piece twice-fried drummies or a whole chicken, each order of Korean Fried Chicken (KFC for short) comes with a house sauce. Korean barbecue is a runaway favorite, though spice lovers should opt for the dragon sauce.

Everest on Grand

Marked by a simple red awning, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it exterior of Everest on Grand belies a spacious and sunny dining room inside. Here, Nepalese, Tibetan, and North Indian classics share space on the menu, and tomato-based curries feature heavily. Momos are a must-order, served steaming hot with a range of condiments, from the fiery potato achaar to cooling raita (made with house-blended yogurt). With many vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free options, Everest is also a great place for groups with mixed dining needs.

An assortment of Indian and Nepali dishes in silver plates and bowls on a table.
A spread from Everest on Grand.
Everest on Grand

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