First Course

This place has incredible food. It's a real neighborhood gem. I highly recommend the blue cheese stuffed olives and the ancho chile gnocchi. Do try the truffle fries. They are out of this world! The bread and pasta is all homemade. It's sort of a western European Italian/Spanish fusion bistro. Go there!

My wife and some friends decided to give First Course a shot for a birthday celebration.  I almost feel ashamed to admit it, but I have lived in South Minneapolis for over 5 years now and never knew this place existed.  To find out it has been around for nearly 10 years made me feel even worse!

I will agree with other reviewers that First Course definitely has a 'neighborhood' feel to it.  The space is very small, yet cozy, and the decor is funky-modern complete with a small bar and 360 degree fireplace.  The menu is the perfect size.  Plenty of choices to satisfy a wide range of pallets but certainly not overwhelming.  The wine list is also surprisingly extensive.  Our group decided on a handful of tapas to start with.  Some noteables were the pork ribs, fried green olives, First course shrimp and the beef skewers.  The shrimp was my favorite...4 fresh jumbo shrimp in a delectable butter sauce.  Very good.  For my main course I had the beef tenderloin, which I rarely pass up if offered on the menu.  It was a nice 6oz cut with some mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.  It was good, but not great.  I asked for medium rare, but it was done more medium.  Not a huge deal at all, but worth noting.  Others at the table had the lobster risotto and the tilapia.  All raved about how good it was.  For desert, we all shared the creme brulee, flourless chocolate cake, and the German chocolate cake.  All were awesome with the creme brulee being the most memorable.

The service was fantastic.  Our server was very knowledgable and was very attentive to our needs.  He thoroughly answered all of our questions regarding the menu.  They even have a resident sommelier on hand that offered several thoughtful wine pairings with the wide array of dishes we had ordered.  They also offer live music which adds a little something to the atmosphere.

All in all, this was a great first experience at First Course.  You'll get great food at a moderate price.  For my wife and I the final tally came to $115 + tip.  Not bad at all considering we each had a 3 course meal WITH a bottle of wine.

I will go back!

Went to First Course for our team Christmas party.  We saw the Yelp reviews and wanted to give is a shot-  they did not disappoint!  The menu has something for everyone and makes each dish their own through their preparation and sides.  Meals took a while to come out (45 min) but it was worth it- if you are with good company it does not matter, right?
I will definitely be back as it was delicious, unpretentious, and an all around great dining experience.