Rustica Eatery & Tavern

One of my favorite spots! Love their happy hour. Pizza is delicious. Decent beer selection. Cool casual vibe.

Excellent drinks, great service and very good food.

My first review was prior to the opening of the Tavern side; so I have to correct myself. I go to the Rustica Tavern probably once a week. The tongue and cheek is amazing – if you’re nervous about tongue or cheek meat, it’s really just like a pulled pork. This place is the highlight of Moorhead’s food scene and easily rivals anything in Fargo. I take out of town friends here consistently. Really great cocktails especially if you let the bartender apply some of his own ideas to your drink. We once had a sampling of three different variations on a negroni: each distinct and fantastic. I really could laud every small pizza here; specials usually involve unexpected toppings yet are consistently delicious. The atmosphere and serving staff are also pretty great.

Awesome service. Delectable food.

Staff ranks up there with the food… super good. We ordered takeout from the bar on a busy Friday evening. The bartenders were so sweet and helpful– they even helped us carry out takeout for 9 to the car. On the appetizer menu we ordered the bacon wrapped dates stuffed w chorizo and should have ordered 2 orders bc they were such a big hit. We also had meatball apps, very savory, moist and flavorful. Definitely would order again. We also ordered three pizzas. All were really good for a thin crust pizza. Definitely unique ingredients that worked so well together. Did not expect this caliber of restaurant in Fargo. The icing on the cake (literally) was the rosemary and orange scented flan! Omg!!! I’d come back just for the flan. The flourless chocolate cake was also really, really, really good

Antipasto, the flatbread pizza, and the fried chicken are as good as it gets in the Fargo-​Moorhead area.

I’ve only every come during happy hour, which is an amazing deal. On Tuesdays — Saturdays at 4−6pm and 9−11pm, there are $ 3 pints of beer, $ 6 glasses of wine, and $ 5 gourmet pizzas, which are excellent. It’s a smaller space, so sometimes there is a bit of a wait for a table but the staff and service are great. I also enjoy supporting Moorhead local business :)

The Tavern’s wood fired pizzas are simply the best – the Quixote is a personal fav that lives up to its literary inspiration. And the excellent cocktails rival sister restaurant Mezzaluna! Rustica is a welcome addition to the FM food scene.

Our experience at Rustica could not have been better! The food was exceptional. We started with the Spanish meatballs and antipasto. Superb! For the main dish, I selected a fresh pasta dish with chile braised beef. Amazing! Others in my party had paella, filet tenderloins, and the steak. Everyone raved about their food. One even commented that he’d never had steak done to such perfection. We ended the evening with peach bread pudding, chocolate cake, and tres leche cake. Again, amazing!
Our waiter was attentive and personable. We will definitely be back!

Outstanding meal! Couldn’t have picked a better place to eat with my family on my last night in town. We started with both a Spanish meatball and antipasto platter appetizers. In addition I had a Kale Cesar Salad — all were amazing. For my my main course I had a wonderful seafood paella which was perfection. I especially enjoyed the addition of a small side of chile paste for a little extra heat. For desert I had the Tres Leche Cake — fantastic! Also sampled the chocolate cake and the bread pudding, which were just as amazing. And everything was made better by our terrific server, Mark. He made sure our meal was an amazing dining experience. We’ll definitely be back again!

Went there with my mother and daughter to have a nice dinner and drinks. We had made reservations since it is a small place and it seemed to be pretty busy. We were seated right away and from there it went pretty well. The food was not your typical Fargo fare, it was different and full of unique flavor combinations. We tried their dates wrapped with bacon, it was a little too sweet for my taste but my daughter loves it. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because I had orders a medium well steak and they served a medium rare one. But in all fairness they were on top of it and quickly apologized and brought it back to the kitchen. They ended up taking 3 drinks off of our check and giving us a free dessert. I would definitely recommend this place for a nice dinner and drinks. It is pricey, for the three of us and with our drinks being comped it still came to $ 140 plus tip about $ 160. So just keep that in mind when planning on going there.

I’d driven by this place a number of times, but had never really given it a second thought.
But, last night I found myself there on a date and could not have been happier with the whole experience.
We arrived about 40 minutes early. Without missing a beat, we were still seated within a couple of minutes. I would’ve been happy being directed toward the bar until our reservation as well, but it definitely showed the staff’s ability to adapt to change during a busy 12-​top at one end of the room.
We started off with the Botoni, a nice light Muscato that was just delicious and the Antipasto. I could’ve probably had two or three more because it was just that good. The bread was perfectly toasted and seasoned, the meats, olives, mushrooms, and other tapas-​type items on the plate were wonderful.
I had the fish special and my date had the peppercorn walleye, which she gave me a sampling of and it was amazing.
My fish was perfectly cooked with a rare center. The outside was done just enough to give it a beautiful golden color and give it a slight crispiness without being overdone. The beef broth that the fish came steeped in, I thought would’ve been an odd pairing, but it really wasn’t.
It may not be for everyone as some of the entrees were on the $ 30ish side, BUT, I will say that every penny spent was worth it and if you’re looking to celebrate a special occasion or just have a nice quiet night out, this would be one of my recommendations.
The service was great, the setting was clean, warm, and very pleasant. All in all, I’m looking forward to returning.

Rustics never disappoints! Great service, amazing food!

Perfect for a date night! We had the pork belly appetizer, paella, walleye and shrimp, and bread pudding. Everything was excellent. The pear/​chambord gimlet was amazing!

I feel like this is the best spot to hit in Moorhead. The menu has staples but varies especially with seasonal influences. I have never had anything that wasn’t spot on. If I have any questions, thoughts or concerns they are attentive immediately. My wife and I try to throw this one in the rotation once every month or so.

The Tavern’s woodfired grilled pizzas are SO GOOD. My personal favorites are the French Farmer, Bambino and Margarita (basic, I know) but all things I’ve tried here are delicious. If you’re looking for an appetizer that’s easy to share, the roasted vegetables and toasted bread is an excellent choice. I’m also a big fan of the rotating selection of local craft beers on tap. Most importantly, the regular and late-​night happy hour is on point. (4 – 6 p.m. and 10 – 11 p.m.)
I haven’t dined at Rustica as frequently since it’s fairly high-​end, but I’ve been there a few times for special occasions. I recommend the Roasted Vegetable Torta Rustica paired with cabernet… trust me, it’s just as tasty as it sounds.
Overall, the great service, incredible eats, and the cool, trendy atmosphere easily make this the best bar/​restaurant in Moorhead. Kudos to Sara & Eric Watsons (and general manager, Mason) for giving this side of the river another fabulous five-​star dining experience.

I prefer the Tavern over the Eatery side. The Tavern has 5-​star, easy-​on-​the-​eyes service, and glorious, to-​die-​for fried chicken, which I’ve been known to dream about at night. My friends and I are big fans of the salads, especially the kale. Highly recommend.

Excellent restaurant, best in Moorhead by far. One of the best in the area. Burrata, pork belly, stuffed dates are all outstanding apps. Big fan of the nightly fish feature, the pork saltimbocca, filet medallions, and prosciutto wrapped lamb are all winners too.
Top notch service and a great ambience. They have recently opened up a tavern side with wood fired pizza and now have patio seating available as well. Highly recommended.

We went to Rustica last night for a nice dinner and had a great experience! We had only had appetizers before, so this was the first time having actual dinner; and we weren’t disappointed at all. We started with the roasted veggies appetizer and it was amazing… this coming from a true carnivore too! For dinner we had a chicken dish and a chorizo pasta dish. Both of them were very tasty — something we would order again.
Wine and drinks were great too. The service was excellent. The only thing we didn’t like was the little basket of bread served in between the appetizers and the main course. The bread was pretty blah… not much taste. Not a big deal though. We stuffed ourselves with food, and unfortunately didn’t have room for some of the tasty looking desserts they have. Maybe next time! Will be back!

This place is really good! We went for dinner on Halloween and this place does not disappoint. The atmosphere reminds me of smaller restaurants you would find hidden in neighborhoods of larger cities.
Must haves:
Apps
Pork Belly
Burratta
Beef Tacos (note they are a large portion and could almost be a meal in itself)
Entrees
I had the Halibut special with duck fat fried potatoes and Brussels sprouts which was fantastic! It seriously rivals Gordon Ramsey’s Halibut that I had a Steak in Las Vegas.
Fiancé had the roasted chicken breast with sweet potato mash and it was delish as well.
My only negative was the dessert. We ordered the apple pie and it was more of a pastry type pie then a homemade apple pie.
We will be back!