Bemidji Restaurants?

I am looking for nice restaurant advice/reviews/ideas. A friend who lives in the Bemidji area is getting married soon. We would like to have a %26#39;girls night out%26#39; for her before the wedding. We want it to be a low-key and quality evening; a really nice dinner (decent seafood a plus) with some wine.

I haven%26#39;t had much luck with finding reviews and menus online so I%26#39;m hoping you all will be able to offer some help.

The places that sounded good to me so far are:

Tutto Bene

Gagelhoff%26#39;s

Union Station

Peppercorn

Any feedback on these or sugguestions of other places?

Thanks in advance! :)

Bemidji Restaurants?

I can%26#39;t help you much except to let you know that the Union Station has closed. I like Peppercorn. They have semi-private rooms that you might want to reserve.

Good seafood is harder to find. There aren%26#39;t too many places farther from the ocean in North America.

Bemidji Restaurants?

My wife came home and reminded me that Gangelhoff%26#39;s Grill is also closed. A new name on a older restaurant is Cattails. I haven%26#39;t been since the name changed but it was pretty good before.

If your party might like an Irish Pub setting, Brigid%26#39;s Cross is reported to be fun but I haven%26#39;t been yet.

Chain restaurants include:

Applebee%26#39;s

Ground Round

Green Mill

Perkins

Country Kitchen

Just 15 miles away east of Cass Lake is the Canal House. Only open summertime though, maybe May 1 to October 1.

West about 20 miles on the west side of Bagley is Fireside. Trying hard to be a bit more upscale.

We ate at Tutto Bene years ago and it was good, but not my favorite (we eat out a lot). We tried it again a few weeks ago and it is by far our new favorite! EXCELLENT FOOD! Great service! Not much more spendy than Cattails (good, but not as great) or Peppercorn (also good, but unless you go for Monday night AYCE crab legs.....:)).

Thanks for the feedback! I Tutto Bene is at the top of my list right now! I want to try and avoid chains. Brigid%26#39;s Cross sounds interesting too so I will look into that (but it might be more my style than my friend%26#39;s and going out is about her, not me).

Do I need reservations for Tutto Bene? Talk among the girls is %26#39;play the day by ear%26#39; but if we want a nice dinner, reservations seem like they might be needed.

If there are only 2 or 3 going and it isn%26#39;t a major holiday or a Friday night, I%26#39;d say you wouldn%26#39;t need a reservation. If it is more you should so you can all be seated at the same table. Restaurants are pretty good at accommodating walk it parties but it gets more difficult as the party numbers increase and it may be impossible on a real busy night without a long wait. Reserve if there is any question, cancel if you must as plans change. A reservation puts a tiny strain on the restaurant as they have to keep the space available and may have to make other patrons wait. A timely cancellation removes that strain.

You dont go to Minnesota for the seafood. Common sense tells us this.

You might consider ice fishing for eelpout, you could deep fry them yourselves.

I assume your event is past, but I thought I would suggest for others that a new, classy restaurant has opened in Bemidji called Sparkling Waters. It is near the Hampton Inn and overlooks Lake Bemidji. I would suggest this restaurant for a nice dinner. They have a website.