Scena Tavern

This place is a joke. I think because we asked for bread our server stopped caring about us. The mushroom flat bread was very good. Entrees were just dumb. 2 meatballs for $ 16 that were overcooked and uninspired. Short rib was tiny portion and just nothing special. I would rather go to burch steak any day of the week. Don’t understand what is special here to justify the prices that thy charge.

This place is great! It’s one of my favorite in Minneapolis. Starting from their buckwheat bread, to their crushed tomato piadini, delicious steamed clams, and the super tender and juicy roast half chicken, everything is surprisingly good! They also have a good drink list and long happy hours. Thank you, Scena!

The yellowfin crudo was phenomenal. I wasn’t a fan of the steelhead but my friend loved it.
I highly recommend the fennel sausage piadini.
We shared the bucatini and the pork sausage tenderloin. They went perfectly together. I will be coming back for the pork sausage.
The clementine cake was a nice sweet finish at the end of our meal.
Service and ambiance was great. We will be back! Can wait for all day happy hour on the patio this summer!

Excellent pizza (piadini)
Salad
Service !!!
I can’t wait to go back and try some pasta

Went on family and friend night which is a great way to bring people in to a new restaurant. The place is huge and will likely prove difficult to sustain. The waitstaff was comprised of novices who were trying to uphold the fine dining standards imposed– they were doing their best. The crudo which is supposedly a signature for this place was a disaster. I had the yellowfin, and it tasted stale, what’s worse is that they minced the fish up and squished it into a ball! This was a red flag, making me feel like they were using odds and ends of the fish instead of using filets properly. We also had the caramelized onion piadini (flatbread– this one is no longer offered I hear) — flavors were good, could have used the brightness of a green and a check on the amount of oil used. Also the phallic martini adornment, while very amusing, can’t mask mediocre execution. Don’t know that I would return for full priced service.

WOW, a friend of mine suggested it and knows the Chefs. He called ahead for me and my party (3) were treated like family. Jamie (Chef), came over and we told her to do her thing… After the first 4 courses we needed a break. Between the cocktails (martini’s to die for), great beers, and wine the evening was off to a great start! Thanks to Blue for pairing everything. I am not sure I can remember everything, but I believe we started with some Steelhead, tuna, prawns and scallops. Next the chicken liver terrine and ham plate, Ohh Somewhere in there was the Wild mushroom Piadini (I am not a mushroom guy, I would eat this again anytime!), steamed clams. The Dry aged beef meatballs (WOW) Now to finish it off… Pappardelle veal tongue bolognese, broccolini, and BISTECCA (one of the best steaks I have had. As we asked for them to get a handcart to haul us out, over came the Vanilla bean gelato with an amazing prune and liqueur (I believe this was something she threw together for us (wow). Ohh, Blue came back with a nice house made Limoncello too.
Great Experience and great food. GO you won’t be disappointed.

Family and friends night was a great way to try a new neighborhood joint! However– the crudo made me super sad! If you have a beautiful piece of fish, you should not be mincing it and squishing it into a meatball! Also it tasted like a not high quality situation. Would love to meet the decorator tho.

First of all, ask for Sally. She is an amazing server and order everything she recommends!!! Wonderful recommendations, great personality and she made it a fabulous evening.

Looking for Uptown’s hottest food and beverage experience? Go to Scena. The crudo bar is a culinary masterpiece that is second to none. The presentation and fresh taste of the scallops and yellowfin with unique flavor profiles should be applauded. The artisan cheese selections were «melt in your mouth» delicious. The meatballs reflected the comfort and flavor of your Italian Grandmother’s kitchen. The house made «fireball,» should be bottled and sold, it is that outstanding. Our bartender – named Blue, developed uniquely delicious grapefruit martinis for our table of 20 and came out to visit us to make sure we were happy. Our server, Rachel was the ultimate guide for our fabulous experience of both food and beverage selections. She brought the knowledge and passion for the menu. I would highly recommend Scena for a romantic evening out, dinner with friends or for large events.

Well this was disappointing. The food was okay at best — we had the Bucantini — WAY too salty, should have sent it back (but was with a group and didn’t want to be ‘that’ person), the
Carbonara — bland, barely any taste… and both a bit too al dente. I tried 3 glasses of red wine, each different… all where ok, but wouldnt order again (hence why I kept trying a new one each time). We also got the Short Ribs — which was very good, but for $ 24 — way too expense for JUST meat… at least through some potatoes or something with the dish. Overall I will go back for Cocktails, but for sure not the food… which also took over a hour to receive during a very slow night (less than 3 tables). Ahhh come on Scena try, try again!

Delicious food, fantastic bartenders! Ask Adam to whip up one of his own creations for you. You won’t be disappointed!

Given the new location and outward appearance, I was expecting to experience Coup d’Etat (Scena’s next door neighbor) Part Deux… needless to say I was setting the bar low.
Said expectation was further enhanced by Scena’s chic interior design work that was surely ripped straight from Coup d’Etat. (Except Scena boasted an elongated fireplace and a dazzling abstract clock-​inspired piece of art, which took the edge of Scena’s pretentiousness.) Fortunately, this is where the similarities ended.
Scena is a dress-​to-​impress place, which I typically don’t jive well with. But, I’ll try to evaluate it for what it is…
*The service was on point. We had a moderate-​sized group (of 9), and the entire staff (doormen, hosts, servers, etc.) handled us with ease and impeccable manners. The menu was recited clearly and knowledgeably, food was delivered in a timely manner, tabs were split individually without passive aggression.
*The drinks were simple, smooth, and sophisticated. Yet, the price of the cocktails was reasonable. $ 10 for a well-​crafted «champagne» cocktail.
*The food was simple, yet not without flavor. I sampled a few items including the scrambled egg flatbread. (Note: Scena employs a haughty euphemism in place of «flatbread,» something along the lines of «piadini,» «panini, «padini»…) While the pizza was rather, um, odorous (i.e. Eau de Barnyard), the flavor was surprisingly delightful and complex… though don’t expect anything near BLG’s scrambled egg bruschetta (the likes of which I was hoping to be served). I nibbled on the crushed tomato flatbread too — a bit less impressive and therefore relegated to «meh» status.
*Good value. While the servers warn you that many of the dishes are intended to be shared (i.e. a bit on the small side to allow for grazing across a number of menu items), the flatbreads were undoubtedly suitable for a full dinner — and mine was just $ 11. Again, the drinks too were very fairly priced.
All in all, not nearly a bad experience despite the 3-​stars. Actually, I was quite pleased considering the type of establishment. However, I just find it hard to warm up to somewhere that seems so in-​authentically stuffy to me, trying hard to woo the rich and famous of Henn-​Lake.
Ultimately, I become captivated by the restaurants whose true personality and passion shine through. To me, Scena is not that.

I dig it.
Uptown needed a spot like this. More upscale, yet cozy and warm.
Food was belly-​circles worthy and the drinks: get in my mouth!
Will be back to try more of the eats and beautifully crafted cocktails!

Head to upstairs bar and sit in front of Jeff for a few hours. Came here for drinks and he took care of us the whole time with the most amazing drinks. Watching him make his cocktails was entertainment in itself. Will def be back.

I’d been by Scena Tavern a few times since the sign popped up, so I decided to try it with my family while my brother was home for the holidays. Our reservations were for a Wednesday night at 6pm, but I was still a little apprehensive when we were the only ones seated in the dining room. As I looked around, the restaurant had more patrons than I realized, the space is just very spread out.
Our server came over and explained the drink menu, which is heavily focused on gin. There are not only gin cocktails (think classic cocktails made with gin instead of other spirits — for example, a gin Old Fashioned), but also several pages of gins listed. I settled on one of the sweeter gin cocktails, and was pleasantly surprised.
After thorough explanations of each dish by our server, we opted to try a variety of dishes.
Scallop Crudo — Light, fresh, the 2 types of shallots made this dish
Yellowfin Crudo — Not my favorite, but the rest of the group liked it.
Clams — I’m more of a fan of mussels than clams, so these were only okay to me. The broth was flavorful and good for bread dipping.
Chicken Liver Terrine — Tasted like fancy
Romaine Salad — Well-​dressed, but not enough roasted grapes. I think there were 3 in the whole salad?
Pappardelle — Surprisingly bland. We all thought it needed salt.
Scrambled Eggs Piadini — Basically a flatbread pizza with sausage and eggs. I loved it, but who doesn’t love a breakfast pizza?
Grilled Short Rib — By far the best dish of the night! Perfectly grilled. Reminded me of the steak I had in Argentina. Don’t forget to dip in the salsa verde!
Pork Sausage and Tenderloin — Good and pork wasn’t dry, but nothing in comparison to the steak.
Our server had recommended the Bistecca for 2, but with the hefty $ 99 price tag, we weren’t sold. Instead we opted to share for the smaller version (short rib) which is cooked exactly the same. As I mentioned above, the steak was amazing and everyone wished they had more! We will be going back to order the larger size in the future, and I think with sides, it sounds like it could feed more than 2.
We also ordered 2 desserts (the doughnuts and the gelato with brioche), but both were unexciting and nondescript. Next time, I’d go elsewhere for dessert.
Service was good, but the food was a little inconsistent. Some of the dishes were great, while others were lackluster. I’ll be back in a few months after the kinks are worked out.

Delicious crudo which I still think about. Bread also amazing and very generous with refills. The short rib was fantastic (cooked perfectly medium rare). Clams are a must have and make sure you dip bread in the broth. The pastas were a bit unmemorable– not much of a standout (would expect better in an italian restaurant).
Kitchen was very slow– there was a long gap between two of our courses (the entire meal took 2 hours to get all of our food). This will probably get better with time. However, management was kind enough to give us a complimentary bottle of champagne which was much appreciated!
Very hip, yet cozy atmosphere. Drink menu was pretty solid including 2^nd largest gin list in the country. I as a group of 6 and after splitting the bill it was very reasonable for a night out with lots of delicious flavors and drinks.

I’m having a very difficult time writing about this new place. They are really trying here. The place is absolutely awesome inside, we had a really great server. He explained every item on the menu in full detail. It was a great speech that our group of 4 even applauded him afterwards. You can tell he was very into food, which I appreciate. The service and atmosphere is a four star. I asked in my open table app reservation to be seated next to the fire place and we were! (Granted it was NYE) Thanks Scena Tavern. This was my first time having food from a crudo bar. The proper definition of crudo is «raw» but I really think it should mean «tiny» or «puny». We ordered the yellowfin crudo. When it arrived one man, not our server came over with a small bowl, set it on the table and ran off, more like bolted! He must of been used to people being like wtf is that. Luckily our dinner guests had a great sense of humor and we all busted out in laughter at the site of four dice sized slices of yellowfin. Glad we only ordered one and ordered normal sized foods for our meal. The other food was pretty good. The flat bread «manila clams» was the best item we ordered followed by the bucatini pasta and the dry aged meatballs. The bread basket is pretty great and so were the martinis. The food gets a 2 – 3 star rating based on the highway robbery of the Crudo. Sorry crudo but I would rather have sashimi for raw fish.

So what started as a pretty terrible experience ended in one of the best! I came in with a group of people and our initial server was laughably terrible (pretty sure he was high), we asked for bread twice and never got it, we asked him about items on the menu and he couldn’t tell us much (other than a drink with egg whites in it had egg YOLKS in it, haha) and then he topped it off by bringing out the wrong food orders and then awkwardly lingering because he was too afraid to apologize or something… very odd.
The server at the table next to us realized how awful our server was being and she just took over our table. (Thankfully, because she was awesome!) and then the Manager came over and deeply apologized and offered us free desserts and a free round of drinks. In the end he ended up taking off about $ 70 on our bill!
I was very impressed by how Scena handled that whole situation with the terrible server. And the bucatini was seriously AMAZING! We will definitely be back :)

Great food and service! It was a great scene and wonderful food. We had the 2 curdos and pork wrapped sausage as well as the short ribs. The cocktail list is crazy good and recommend trying a few of them before dinner.

Scena Tavern is the newest addition to the Uptown restaurant scene… a. Although it has Tavern in its name, it’s clearly more focused on being a restaurant with a bar than a bar with food. Scena is located in the Walkway apartment building, the same building as Coup D’Etat. Scena is basically directly below the now famous floating hot tub on Lake Street. The menu is «Italian-​inspired» and all things considered, the prices are generally reasonable. I had expected prices to be slightly higher honestly.
I got the Cresta di Gallo pasta and I thought it was pretty good. I got the Scena Sling signature drink as suggested by the server and it was also pretty good. I think Scena’s best attribute (other than good food) is the vibe. It has an upscale and modern vibe. Perfect for a date. It’s definitely one of the best places for a date in Uptown, in my opinion. We were sat by their fireplace and on a cold, winter’s night… there was nothing better. Overall, I think Scena will be a good addition to Uptown restaurant scene.