Upton Forty-Three

What a magnificent restaurant. We took a leap of faith since we’ve never had Scandinavian food before, and it was well worth it. We will be back here for sure.

Great food. Super crabby waiter. He was clearly at the end of his shift and was rushing us out. I was in town visiting people that I see once a year and if we were in a rush, we could have hit a drive through. At one point he said, «I don’t care how long you stay here, but you might. Have you given any thought at all to what you want to eat?» We had a 7pm res on a Tuesday. It’s not like we swooped in for a last seating or we were holding up a table in a packed restaurant. As we wrapped up our entrees, he cleared half of the table as we were still eating and then took the last person’s plate while she still had food on her plate. Message received. It’s too bad. We would have ordered more food and drinks. It’s a shame. This place could shine.

I boycotted Upton 43 to show my support for industry workers. Now that this restaurant has taken their hands out of their employees pockets, I’m willing to give them a try.
Why did the newest Scandinavian restaurant have to make such a tragic faux pas and alienate arguably one of the most interested and vocal groups of diners in town; the people who work at them?
Glad you’ve seen the error of your ways and are now letting your cuisine take center stage.
3 stars, up from 1 star, to reflect your decision, not your food.

We were excited to try this new buzzy place for a special dinner. We loved the look of the place and the menu was intriguing. But overall, it was a hugely expensive disappointment.
We walked in without a reservation and were told it would be a 30 minute wait. We waited in the cramped bar and were intrigued by their non-​alcoholic drinks; we ordered one with pear and honey vinegar. It just tasted like sweet vinegar. I left half of it at the bar. After more than 30 minutes, a hostess offered a table to a couple who came to the bar a while after us, which alerted us that they might have forgotten our table request. I checked with the hostess, she asked who I had spoken with, I said the manager, and she said he had not alerted her we were waiting. At that point, we were seated.
Here’s what we ordered. Herring appetizer. Entrees of salmon and tenderloin (because they were sold out of chicken entrée). The herring was so vinegary it was ultimately inedible. And I love pickled herring. Left half of it behind. Salmon came with millet, «burnt» bechamel and cooked and raw radishes. The millet had a nice creaminess that made the salmon more interesting, but the fish was very plain, unmemorable. Same with the tenderloin, around 5 oz, grilled plain, which came with a simple side of sliced potatoes and asparagus. Certainly not worth $ 35 for a meal I could (and do) easily make at home. Had a pinot noir which was totally lost with the vinegar herring appetizer.
Service was friendly but extremely slow, with a very long wait for our meal after ordering. By the time it got to dessert, we just wanted to leave. To be fair, there were some larger parties there that the staff seemed to be catering to more. It looked like they were doing tasting menus.

Going out of business? I had lunch at Upton 43 not long ago mid week in an almost empty restaurant. The food was interesting so I decided to take my wife there to try the Scandinavian influenced food this Saturday. We arrived at 12:30 to a nearly deserted restaurant and were told that there was a 25 – 30 minute wait– in a nearly empty restaurant!!! When I inquired about the wait I was told that they just didn’t have the staff… Of course, we wandered over to another nearby restaurant, the Harriett Brasserie where we had a delightful lunch.

This is a beautiful restaurant with the most beautiful ceramic serviceware. This restaurant is basically beer and wine. They have low proof cocktails that i was tempted order but needed something a bit stronger after a long week. Thankfully i was with a shared plate friend. We ordered the fried gouda and the chicken liver. We originally wanted the charred cabbage but they were out of it. Kind of strange since we were the first diners of the evening. We loved both of our selections. Would never normally order chicken liver but it was scrumptious.
Then we shared the mushroom burger and the scallops. i loved the mushroom burger but wouldn’t order the scallops again. They were good not awesome like the other dishes.
For dessert we had the rye pancake. OMG! So amazing– plate lickable amazing. Wish i could get the recipe for the pancakes… hint.hint. Would definitely go back with the girls but wouldn’t take my husband-​too selective of an eater.

Very unique setting. Huge booth tables and smaller sitting areas for couples as well. We were there for brunch on a Saturday morning. Got right in. The wait staff was very pleasant and helpful in sifting through the menu. I ordered the Bacon Steak and my wife the Swedish Pancakes. We watched the food be prepared over an open fire with a height adjustable grill. Cool looking contraption.
The order arrived in around 30 minutes. The food was very good. the «Bacon Steak» was small strips of meat that was lightly crispy on the edges and cooked perfectly. The potatoes were penny sized circular slices that was buried beneath two eggs and the bacon. No complaints on the eggs or the potatoes. The «ketchup» that was served with the meal was really a flavorful barbecue sauce.
My wife’s pancakes were light, thin and delicious. The orange added a nice texture and flavor compliment. There was a cream between the pancakes that was really good as well. The only issue with this meal was it tasted a little overly sweet. My wife had coffee as well that just tasted a bit to thick (strong) for my liking.
Side note: They had one large table that sat maybe a dozen people as well as chef’s tables. The giant booth we sat in could easily accommodate 6 people. If you are looking for a place with groups, this would be a great option.
Overall a very nice experience in a nice location. We will be back!

After two attempts to get here, my friend and I finally managed to coordinate schedules and the weather cooperated enough for us to make it to Upton43. We also managed to not get hit by a car or hit by a falling satellite or something while walking in, so by the time we entered we were already pretty pleased by being in the door and not dead.
Overall, the place feels a lot like the neighborhood surrounding it: charming, slightly upscale, and you pay for the location. Walking in, I was instantly nostalgic for when I lived nearby. It just has that Linden Hills/​Southwest/​50^th & France feel to it. I believe this used to be a hardware store and possibly something else added on, and it is so much larger than the hardware store ever seemed. There’s so much space in this place! It’s not like over at Tillia where you’ll be packed in almost on top of your stranger neighbors at tables. I couldn’t really hear anyone else’s conversations despite the high ceilings. I’m a fan of that.
The hostess was nice and we chatted about the neighborhood. She wasn’t up front immediately but saw us walk in and scooted up and got us seated ASAP. As it was a weeknight, it wasn’t particularly busy. It wasn’t full, that’s for sure. I note most of the negative reviews come from weekend visits, so consider a weeknight at this joint, I would say. Everything about our experience was pleasant.
The reviews noting that menu items are unavailable are accurate. There was at least one item from every category that wasn’t available. That seems like a real problem that they need to get a handle on, especially with a menu this small. If my dessert options go from four to three because one is unavailable, that’s not so great an impression.
I had the fermented lettuce to start because I was curious what fermented lettuce would be like. Lettuce isn’t as firm as say, cabbage, so fermenting it seemed like a dubious plan. As it turns out, it’s like half-​fermented lettuce: I could tell it had been fermented a little, but mostly it was just lettuce. Half-​cooked lettuce, maybe? It tasted like normal lettuce. I’m glad I tried it, but I’ll go back to my sauerkraut and kimchi, thx. My friend had and liked the chicken liver, and I discovered I don’t like chicken liver. He enjoyed mixing it with all the other flavors on that plate, so maybe if I had tried that I would have liked it more.
I got the Swedish meatballs and oh dang, those are good. Sooo good. Our server said it was Grandma’s recipe and sometimes Grandma stops by to make sure Chef isn’t mucking up her meatballs, so winner winner meatball dinner right there. I also found them to be the right amount of filing and, in comparison to my friend’s plate of some gross seafood of some sort (I try not to remember gross things, sorry), I definitely got the bigger portion.
For dessert, I had the juniper bavarois. I don’t really know what it is, tbh, but it was pretty yummy. #notcultured
The food was all plated magnificently, I liked the wine menu, my friend was a fan of the beer menu, and our server was fantastic and explained everything to us when we asked.
I’ve never had Scandinavian before, so I’ll probably go back at some point to try something else. The presentation makes everything seem a little fancier, a little more delicate, and I think that’s a fun way to try some new food.

We went for the first time on Sunday afternoon to check out the «lounge menu» advertised for 3 – 5 p. m, hoping to try one of the menu items, the smörgåsbord. First thing to know: there’s no lounge, just a small bar with a couple bar stools off the dining room. Based on their website they seem to have a non-​spirit-​based cocktail menu, but we were not shown that.
We were immediately informed that two of the six items on the «lounge menu» were unavailable. One was the smörgåsbord. I then tried to order their only by-​the-​glass Rose; that, too, was unavailable.
Of the four menu options available, two were sandwiches. We weren’t there for sandwiches. We got french fries and fried gouda, which were both fine, but left us with essentially no feel for the kitchen’s style or identity.
Minutes after we sat, one of the employees working the bar area started filling the dishwasher, which is right under the bar. Sounds of rattling glass, etc. Then said employee started the dishwasher: more noise, plus we were treated to that swampy dishwasher smell. Bad spot for a dishwasher.
Dropped $ 40 bucks for one glass of wine, one beer, a small order of fries and six fried cheese balls. I will add that the other employee in the bar area — not the dishwasher loader — was very friendly; may have picked up on our mild ire.
I’ve been a fan of this chef’s other restaurants although have noticed a similarly troubling lack of attention to detail, particularly at the late lamented Parka. I’ve no doubt Upton Forty-​Three is serving up some unique and memorable food but we left with little desire to return for a full meal anytime soon.

Well, they tried.
First of all, I have to say our service was wonderful. So if the kitchen gets their act together I’d try it again. (Reason for 2 stars)
But they have work to do. Our brunch took forever and most of the dishes were cold. The mushroom burger was greasy and just… not good. The pyttipanna was also cold-​ish, but the favors were pretty yummy. The 2 egg brunch was good minus the undercooked sausage (oops). The chicken sandwich was average, but cold fries. The omelet was the best of the bunch.
The coffee was strong and very good. We didn’t try any cocktails or switchels.
Overall it wasn’t a very good food experience, but the service and ambiance is promising if the kitchen could catch up.

We had a reservation for 8:30pm on a Saturday. They were out several of the wines we wanted, and a few menu items, which was annoying considering there’s only about 6 items for each appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Service was terribly slow. We ended up having to go up to the bar to order more drinks. Dinner took extremely long to come out with no apologies, at 10:30pm! We then realized we were the only table left in the place, which made the 2 hour wait for food very confusing. I ordered the scallops and NO JOKE, they serve you 2! 2 scallops for your entrée, no side dishes offered. All the portions were extremely small, we all left hungry. Each couples bill was over $ 150 and we left starving…
By the time the server figured out our bill and we paid, it was after 12am. Almost 4 hours for dinner?
Go to Tilia instead!

A true dining experience! The interior is almost as beautiful as the perfectly plated dishes, the staff is highly knowledgeable, and the experience overall is quite the delight!
We had a group of 5 who shared most of the menu. Everything was wonderful, but the highlights (AKA the. things I’m still thinking about two weeks later) were the fermented lettuce, Swedish meatballs (omg), duck sausage, and the rye pancake for dessert!
Bravo, Upton! Well done. Can’t wait to get back and try the brunch menu.

I love a place that is authentic while innovative. That it Upton 43. They serve Swedish food but in a way that challenges the palate and the patron.
I went there for brunch with five adults and a baby. We ordered many different dishes so it was fun to try the combinations. They have a menu of smorrebrod which is basically stuff on toast. The gravlax smorrebrod was excellent. It was a more traditional dish but well executed. The roasted cauliflower and metvurst smorrebrod were also very balanced. There was a hash with beets, vegetables, cottage cheese, and 2 eggs that I found delightful. The sweetness of the beets complimented the eggs and cottage cheese (which I am positive was homemade).
The atmosphere was very minimalist and modern — what you would expect at a Swedish place. Not my favorite but my companions enjoyed it.
My two disappointments were that they were out of a couple items on their menu when we arrived at noon. I had planned on ordering the fried goat Gouda so it was too bed they were out of it. Also, it was very slow service. Our server told us that it was her second day so I had to feel bad for her but we were there for almost 2 ½ hours. Everything just took a really Kong time.
I would be interested to try dinner there.

I hate giving out 2 stars but my experience here was way below expectations. First I was told that they were known for no tipping which had me accepting slightly higher prices for such tiny portions. 2 scallops for an entrée? I don’t think that’s acceptable. Anyways, they never told us that they had JUST changed their policy to tipping which we only found out about because we asked at the very end of service…
Speaking of service, it was lacking. It almost seemed like everyone was just like, «oh, you’re here to eat huh?» and our server didn’t try in any way to explain the menu or give feedback on what was good when I asked.
On to the food. Nothing wow’ed me, at all. We had several appetizers, I tried 3 different entrees, and we split 2 desserts. The only thing that I think was really great was the duck sausage but I wouldn’t return just for that. The chicken liver was alright but again, not worth coming back for. The dinner ended up being around $ 400 for four of us once tip was included and we left hungry… I would say there are probably 100 places in Minneapolis that are better and won’t cost an arm and a leg.

If you’re in the mood for sophisticated, flavors off the cuff from the norm, perfectly seasoned deliciousness come here! You will not be disappointed!
The ambience is fantastic, the servers are knowledgeable and attentive!
Don’t sleep on the perfectly crafted dried apply and acorn squash soup! You must absolutely try the duck sausage! #gamechanger just like my server described.
So good!!!

Excellent dinner tonight-​absolutely everything was top notch. I started with the pickled herring, something I’ve never enjoyed when it comes from a jar. But this was delicious! The poached salmon entrée was also wonderful, the mildness of the salmon and the butteriness of the cauliflower offset just so with the onion. I also had a Swedish American pale ale, which fit nicely with the food and the atmosphere.
Our server, Sara was attentive and informative without being overbearing. I can’t wait to go back!

Dined here for the first time on a Saturday evening with friends.
Things enjoyed:
— Ingredients and preparations were intriguing, as I have never come across several of the options.
— The restaurant space was clean and minimal, yet with a cozy vibe.
— Gratuity is included in the menu prices.
Things not so enjoyed:
— Did not receive a greeting or even a smile from the hostess upon entering.
— Service fell flat.
— None of the food packed a punch (I’m going to assume it’s a Swedish thing) nor was all the hot dishes served hot.
— Bathrooms downstairs weren’t stocked with hand towels.
— Non-​alcoholic beverages and tea options was lacking.
May give this restaurant another try, but won’t be for awhile as there are so many other reliable spots in the neighborhood.

I feel like if you tell people you are in love with a Swedish-​inspired restaurant, they laugh thinking that you’re there covering yourself in nothing but Lutefisk and pickled beets. But no no, Upton43 is NO JOKE. Their dishes are Swedish-​inspired but with a modern and even French twist. And it’s a huge success that is pleasing to anyone with a mouth.
First of all, I love the interior. Brightly lit, super tall ceilings, white wood, clean simple tabletops, modern blue and grey tones, unique silverware holders, open kitchen, chopped wood pile… it is just screaming to be all over instagram. The service was so sweet and informative. My server explained the menu, and that gratuity is built into the pricing, and made some suggestions. The ärtsoppa, gravlax smørrebrød, coffee, and root beer were ordered.
The ärtsoppa (pea soup) came out in a honking big bowl with tunnbröd on the side — which was like little fennel pancakes with spiced lingonberry preserves. So so satisfying and impressive! The soup was seasoned perfectly, had huge chunks of ham in it, and was garnished expertly. The gravlax smørrebrød (like an open-​faced sandwich) was a show-​stopper. Just stunning to even look at. I almost didn’t want to eat it it was so beautiful. But I did. Immediately. Lots of bold flavors that were not overwhelming: house-​cured salmon, truffle, egg butter, radishes… MAMA LIKE.
This is going to be a go-​to when I have visitors in town. I love that they’re open every day for lunch and dinner, have free wifi, and take reservations through Unilocal

What a great new unique and trending restaurant to linden hills– our server — Sarah was delightful — she was very knowledgable of the menu and gave us some great recommendations– the food was played beautiful and the flavor combination was wonderful. The goat cheese and heering apps were awesome and the salmon /​cod were the best! They do not have their liquor license yet but will in 3 days– this a a must go to in mpls — FYI they include tip in the price of the meal

Upton 43 has potential! Overall, we enjoyed the experience (some of us more than others). Here are some highlights:
THE GOOD:
1. Incredibly nice and helpful staff
2. Very modern blue/​grey décor (and most of the seating is comfy booths rather than tables)
3. The inventiveness of the food — if you are an adventurous eater, this is your place!
DISHES TO TRY:
1. Fried Gouda salad (think cheese balls that explode with melty cheese when you cut into them, + a perfect jam)
2. Salmon main course — mom said this was the best salmon she has ever had
3. Herring starter — much tamer than the menu makes it sound. Heavy on the potato and flavor.
IMPROVEMENTS:
1. Let’s face it — not everyone is adventurous as I am when it come to food. I can think of a number of my own friends that would have NO IDEA what to order on this menu. Just one look and you know this place is not for the faint hearted. Upton 43 needs a few more recognizable dishes on the menu — at least two straight up «salads» under starters, a burger (with Gruyère and lingonberry jam? Talk about delish), and a steak NOT restricted to two people that want to order it.
2. The gratuity IS INCLUDED in the menu prices. That’s why the menu seems expensive. My advice — add this to the menu on the bottom, it explains why you get a little sticker shock — no service charge at the end.
3. Still a few things to work out with the prep. My Swedish meatballs (yum!) were served with cucumber/​pickles that were too salty to eat. I told our waitress, she had the chef taste it, and they totally agreed and took it off the bill. These guys are very kind and receptive to feedback, and that’s why I think they have a chance.