Tilia has anchored the Linden Hills neighborhood in South Minneapolis since 2011, built around the idea that ambitious cooking and a genuinely welcoming room aren't mutually exclusive. It reads less like a downtown showcase and more like a neighborhood restaurant that happens to cook at a higher register.
The menu draws repeat visits for its pasta, shrimp, and a bread program that regulars mention unprompted, alongside a rotating list of entrees that leans inventive without losing approachability.
Tilia's chef has been named a James Beard Foundation Best Chef finalist three times — in 2020, 2018, and 2017 — with earlier semifinalist recognition in 2014, 2013, and 2012, a run that places Tilia among Minneapolis's longer-standing showcases for chef-driven American cooking outside the downtown core.
The menu draws repeat visits for its pasta, shrimp, and a bread program that regulars mention unprompted, alongside a rotating list of entrees that leans inventive without losing approachability.
Tilia's chef has been named a James Beard Foundation Best Chef finalist three times — in 2020, 2018, and 2017 — with earlier semifinalist recognition in 2014, 2013, and 2012, a run that places Tilia among Minneapolis's longer-standing showcases for chef-driven American cooking outside the downtown core.