A Minneapolis-based restaurant founded by Chef Sean Sherman, specializing in modern Indigenous foods and focusing on pre-colonial Native American cuisine.
Larry Feldmeier is a chef known for his work at The Albert in Chicago and his association with the acclaimed Indigenous restaurant Owamni in Minneapolis. While at The Albert, he contributed to a restaurant whose...
Owamni, now known as Indígena by Owamni, is a pioneering Indigenous restaurant dedicated to celebrating the culinary traditions of Indigenous peoples across the Americas. It offers a decolonized dining experience by removing colonial ingredients such as wheat flour, cane sugar, and dairy. The restaurant prioritizes purchasing from Indigenous food producers locally and nationally. It is located in the Guthrie Theater and offers great views of the Mississippi River and downtown Minneapolis.
Customers consistently praise Owamni for its unique and delicious dining experience, highlighting the interesting menu and flavorful dishes. Many appreciate the extensive options for dietary restrictions, particularly its gluten-free and dairy-free nature. Specific dishes like mole chips, sweet potato gnocchi, bison skirt steak, and cricket popcorn receive high marks. Service is generally good, though some note it can be slow. The ambiance and views are also frequently mentioned as positive aspects.
Additional Details
The restaurant has rebranded to "Indígena by Owamni" and is considered the next generation of the original pioneering Indigenous restaurant. It is committed to a zero-waste approach, as evidenced by dishes like dehydrated mole chips.
Gluten-freeDairy-freeNo cane sugarVegan options available
Best Times to Visit
The restaurant is open Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday from 11 am to 11 pm, and Friday through Saturday from 11 am to midnight. Some reviews suggest it opens as early as 10 am for brunch, making mornings a good option for a less crowded experience.
Awards & Recognition
Best New Restaurant Award • 2022
Eater's Most Influential Restaurants
5
The dinner my fiancé, brother, and I had at Indígena this evening was probably one of the best meals each of us has ever had.
We had such a hard time narrowing down what to order, since everything on the menu sounded too delicious to choose from - fortunately, each dish is meant to be shared with the table, so 4 dishes made for a very satisfying and varied meal. We got the mustard green salad, the stuffed dried chilies, quail, and bison skirt steak with yucca fries, along with some cocktails and coffee. Every bite and sip was heavenly, and each of us was gathering sauce or dressings from the plates and licking our fingers by the end. We finished the meal with a duck egg custard. A spectacularly luxurious meal, leaving us all fat and happy but not uncomfortably full at all.
The staff were masterful. The person who took our orders was so friendly and knew the name of one of the leaves I asked about. New dishes were presented to us with pride, our water glasses were kept full. The space is gorgeous. Our table was spaced from others nicely so we could have a lively conversation, and the music and ambient noise wasn't overwhelming at all.
Our bill came out to be a little over $200 and it was well worth every penny. Everything in this restaurant bursts with passion and care and I love it. If and when I end up in Minneapolis again I will be eager to return.
Wonderful experience! The food was delicious as always! We were 6 and had to share: the popcorn crickets (we had to try them haha), mirochou (one of the favorite dishes), Yuka fries, sweet potato gnocchi (very tasty and great to share) glazed carrots, warrior stake (amazing! Also another favorite for all and big portion), venison (another favorite!! Was amazing and great portion as well), game sausage (the sauce was tasty but they were dry so we didn’t love them) and we closed with the wild rice chocolate dessert (it was ok but it was not a favorite).. we were very satisfied with that amount of food, we could have had 1 less plate. We did missed a bit of the warmth of the original Owamni location, but a great venue. Melissa our server was FANTASTIC we loved to hear all the explanations and the passion she brought to the experience! Unforgettable experience!
Absolutely loved my dinner and since I'm nursing the end of a cold, I had the Feel Good tea which was delicious! My husband had the cranberry margarita which he said was delicious as well. We had the bison skirt steak and the stuffed poblanos with marichou (caramelized sweet corn) and wow! Everything was delicious and the poblanos had a nice bit of heat to them. This was our 2nd time eating here and honestly we need to come more often to experience everything on the menu!
Indigena is a flavorful, unique and important restaurant that serves delicious food that is soulful and inventive. We ate at the old restaurant Owamni and the new space is stunning. Service was warm, attentive and they have a very large menu that can make anyone happy.
Our photos show what we ordered and the gnocchi was by far the best. Everything was so delicious but presented flavors that were off the beaten path. This restaurant is going to win a lot of awards and it’s deserving of all of its accolades.
When we come back we will definitely order the whitefish dip which looked incredible and the carrot dish. The table next to us ordered the carrots and they were gorgeous. We wish we had ordered it.
A good gluten/dairy free restaurant
They dehydrate mole for chips! Mole chips with bean dip were great. It's a really cool way of having zero waste.
Sweet potato gnocchi has very good flavor and textures. People with lower spice tolerance would call it spicy.
Game Sausage- sauce is good, the texture of the sausage is drier than standard, more like a burger
Egg custard is amazing.
Tayne was a great server, had a good time :)
