58 Reclaimed Restaurants in Saint Paul and Minneapolis

My ex-husband and I were together for over eight years. Like most relationships, our love was largely built and maintained around meals. We could go out for a fancy dinner one night and a dive-bar the next and feel comfortable and adventurous in both places; I loved that about my marriage.

When I discovered my ex-husband’s long-term affair, memories of the meals, appetizers and glasses of wine that we shared became tainted by his betrayal. Driving past a restaurant that we went to together I would be reminded that my relationship was broken. Out of fear of the memories, my own emotions, and the man who broke my heart, I felt as if I could never go back to those places again.

Then, I discovered Reclaiming. Read my blog, 6 Signs You Might Need to Reclaim Something.

My definition of Reclaiming is “Identifying a fearful, internal reaction to a place or thing that holds a memory, and choosing to face it head-on and create a new, positive association.” You can see my Reclaiming Flowchart here. When I made the decision to go on a Reclaiming journey, I began with restaurants. One-by-one, I would return to these places with friends or family so I could make new memories. It was a long (and slightly expensive) process, but vitally important for my own practical healing. 

The following list are all the restaurants and bars in the Twin Cities that I have Reclaimed up to this point. I am still in the process of Reclaiming although I know I’ve come so far!

The Reclaimed restaurants on this list hold no power over me anymore. I’ve faced the pain and the memories with intention and courage. I am a very different person than I was when I was married. I used to love these places because they helped me build my marriage. Now, these restaurants are reminders of the time I faced my fears with boldness and strength by going back to Reclaim them. Read my article, Reclaiming: Position Myself For Healing. 

Whether it’s the person who hurt you, or a location that reminds you of something you’ve lost, you do not have to live in fear of anything. I hope my list of Reclaimed restaurants encourages you to Reclaim something for yourself.

1. 5-8 Tavern & Grill
2. 612 Brew
3. Aster Cafe
4. Bad Weather Brewing
5. Barbette
6. Barley John’s Brewing
7. Barrio
8. Bauhaus Brew
9. The Black Forest Inn
10. Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza
11. Buffalo Wild Wings
12. Cafe Latte
13. Chino Latino
14. Chipotle
15. Cook
16. Cossetta
17. CRAVE American Kitchen & Sushi
18. Dock Cafe
19. Downtowner Woodfire Grill
20. The Flameburger
21. Forepaugh’s Restaurant
22. Great Waters Brewing Company
23. Green Mill – Woodbury
24. The Happy Gnome
25. Icehouse
26. Jake’s Grill
27. Joe Senser’s
28. Keller Grille
29. Kieran’s Irish Pub
30. Little Oven
31. Louis Ristorante & Bar
32. Mad Capper Saloon & Eatery
33. Mancini’s
34. Meritage
35. Mercy
36. Mickey’s Diner
37. Namaste Cafe
38. Neumann’s Bar
39. Pazzeluna
40. Perkin’s Restaurant
41. Pizza Luce
42. Prohibition
43. Republic
44. Saji-Ya
45. Shar’els Cafe
46. Spoon & Stable
47. The St. Paul Grill
48. Stella’s Fish Cafe
49. Tamarack Tap Room
50. Taste of Scandinavia
51. TGI Friday’s
52. Tin Whiskers Brewing
53. Town Hall Brewery
54. Vieux Carre
55. Vietnam Star
56. WA Frost
57. Ward 6
58. Yarusso Bros