Acqua Restaurant & Bar

We have been to Acqua once every 2 or 3 months since they have opened. Typically have really enjoyed it. Tonight service was slow and waitress was quite disinterested. Vegetables in risotto were burned. Very surprised and disappointed. Will go back but bad experience tonight.

I forgot how frickin tasty this place can be. Wow! My wife and I both did the three course tasting menu tonight and we’ve loved everything. In fact I’m posting before dessert because it’s so good. And I might fall asleep after dessert from a food coma!
I’ve had the beet salad with warm goat cheese balls and Amy had the lobster bisque soup. Wish I hadn’t dipped half a loaf of bread in the soup but it was too damn good not to finish.
For the main course Amy had pork tenderloin with risotto and I had squash raviolis. So good!
For dessert we’re getting cheesecake and chocolate soufflé. I don’t think Amy realizes she’s driving home so I can sleep…

Food is excellent. The bar staff is en pointe. They never miss a beat.

We stumbled upon this restaurant and were delighted with a wonderful balcony table upstairs with a great view of White Bear Lake. We split the 3 course option — just enough food. The Caprese salad was wonderful, with the buffalo mozzarella just right. The Tiger Shrimp Scampi was excellent, and the New York style cheesecake topped the meal perfectly.
Great service, great food and a great view makes this place a new favorite when we’re visiting the cities.

If you want a nice restaurant in White Bear Lake, on the water even, check out Acqua — it’s a nice place. They have seafood, chops, vegetarian risotto, and they have a tasting menu. You can find something for $ 18 — $ 40 (3-​course tasting menu). The cocktails are lovely too — I enjoyed the cucumber margarita. If you get to sit on the lake it’s wonderful. We sat inside, and it was fine, but feel it will be better when the weather is cold/​bad because we prefer to sit on the lake when it’s nice out. We did have our 15 month old, and they accommodated us well, but next time we will try a romantic dinner or night out with friends to not feel as rushed. Reservations are recommended.

Food was fantastic! Staff was GREAT! Just a wonderful place. Went here while one vacation to celebrate our wedding Ann. Everything was awesome

The food is delicious and great atmosphere. Must have the spicy Chile drink they have on their menu!

Love, Love, Love. Food was excellent. I had family in town from Florida and he is vegan and they were very accommodating. The service is always excellent.

One of our favorite places in White Bear and it is hard to beat on a nice evening. The food is usually pretty good and they gave a nice selection of beers and wines.

Nice views of White Bear Lake but my food was disappointing. Starting with the beet salad with very nice fried goat cheese, however the beets were limp and old and the dressing was not well balanced. I had the snapper with orzo. Not a good choice as the fish was dry and overcooked, the sauce was acidic and bland. It needed some garlic or pepper to liven it up. Just a boring entrée and overpriced for the area.
My friends had some entrees with scallops and shrimp that looked much better. Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing.
The service was excellent however.

I went to Acqua on a Saturday night with 3 friends to celebrate a birthday. Acqua is a quaint building across from WBL. It’s cute and the staff and owner are terrific. Everyone was so helpful and friendly. Their margaritas are very, very good. My friends love the Jamedon and ginger cocktail, which was tasty, I just don’t like dark liquors.
The menu looked great, it was tough making a decision.
I ordered the scallops on the small plate menu — added one extra scallop for $ 4 as only two come in an order. OMG! Order these! The sauce was amazing and it was very rich — if you have heart troubles, choose a salad!
I had the best and fried goat cheese salad — very good. They should just have a friend goat cheese appetizer as those were fantastic.
I also ordered the brussel sprouts to share — they were a bit tough. Not as tasty as other place dive tried (to this day, Bank DT Mpls has the BEST brussel sprouts!)
One friend ordered the salmon and loved it, one ordered the mussels and I tried a few, they were great. One had the pink snapper and that was very good as well! We all split a piece of cheesecake which was super light and airy, odd for a cheesecake. But it was great.
The wine we ordered was wonderful as well. Cabernet first and Shiraz second.
A lovely night, great food and wonderful service! Give it a go if you happen to be up this way.
Tip: try the tasting menu. For $ 40 you get a salad, entrée and dessert and all portions are regular serving size! Terrific bargain.

Acqua is a hidden treasure in the northern suburbs! The food is amazing, the service impeccable, any experience unforgettable. Acqua continues to impress me time and time again.
The goat cheese beet salad is hands-​down, my favorite salad in the entire world. Their menu changes often, so be sure to visit often. The salted prime rib is always a hit, the Oso Buco is always delicious, but their fish selections are out of this world!
I’ve been visiting this restaurant for many years, and the service is always been exceptional. No matter what the occasion, whether casual dining, or formal affair, this restaurant will impress.
Don’t forget dessert! They generally have a great selection of ice cream, torts and the caramel bundino mousse is a must!
The restaurant is small, so make sure to book a reservation. They also have outdoor seating in the summer, right on White Bear Lake.
You can also arrive by boat!

We came here last week during restaurant week. I had the shrimp scampi and my significant other had the Ragu alla Bolognese. The shrimp scampi was just the right proportion but the Ragu alla Bolognese was huge. For starter, I had the field green and cucumber salad and my significant other had the wild mushroom soup which was creamy but good. For dessert, I had the chocolate soufle and she had the Izzy’s trio ice cream (butter pecan, chocolate chip, pumpkin). Our favorite was the butter pecan. I had graham cracker ice cream with my soufle with homemade marshmallow. Overall, reasonable price at $ 30 per person for restaurant week. We went to see a movie afterwards at Oakdale Marcus so it was a nice dinner and movie date night. Parking was not adequate but free valet parking so don’t let the attendant scare you off. Otherwise, park at the very end near the VFW lot.

I mean, the hype for this place is high, so I gave it a go despite the prices. A great place if you like good wine and cocktails. The salmon was one of the cheaper entrees at 26 bucks. It came with the purple kind of potatoes, some greens, and orange slices. It was quite good, but could have used some more exciting seasoning. Again, the wine is great. Try this place out.

We dined here with two other couples in December. This place is very unique being that it is an old house converted into a restaurant. With that being said, it is very small and cramped so be prepared for some bumping into people as well struggling to find a place to stand around the bar enjoying a drink waiting for your table. Regardless, the food and service were amazing. I ordered what the server recommended as a staff favorite, the Gamberi. This is a scallop and shrimp plate and it was fantastic. Everyone else in my group were completely satisfied with their meals as well and we all agreed we would return. Free Valet parking is a bonus here too. Even though it’s in WBL, the parking is not good.

My girlfriends and I had a wonderful dinner and experience at Acqua the other night. We had a table on the second floor, which gives off a totally different vibe than the main floor, which looks more dated. The atmosphere was beautiful and spacious.
The food was outstanding (bruschetta appetizer, cheese plate, apple/​manchego salad, beet/​goat cheese salad, sea bass, butternut ravioli, butterscotch budino, chocolate torte with graham cracker and marshmallow)! To be honest, it was better than we expected.
The wine recommendation that Thomas (our waiter) had was spot on and exactly what we were looking for.
Overall, a great experience. Too bad we all live almost an hour away or this would be a «go to» place.

This place is the bomb!
I’ve been here a couple times now and both times it has been excellent service and phenomenal food. Small cozy quarters tucked in nicely by the lake, I had the lobster dish and it was the best, full of flavor and sweet!!!

I came here with my wife for dessert and coffee. We shared the Chocolate Soufflé Cake, Toasted Marshmallow & Graham Cracker Ice Cream dessert. It was very good, especially the ice cream, very unique and yummy, and the service was prompt and friendly. My main complaint is the building. It is in a very narrow and cramped space. We sat inside on the main level and it was way too tight in there. The patio by the lake seems like it would be pretty nice, but it was too cold when we were there. If I knew I would be sat in the same space, I would not go back, but to sit outside I would try it again to try the food menu.

I really wanted to like this place, it is my mom and step-dad’s favorite restaurant and when they took us here we were excited to see what this place has to offer! I don’t get out of Minneapolis or St. Paul much to try restaurants so I was excited to see what the burbs have in store :)
Let’s start with the good stuff:
It is located close to white bear lake, so you can get a view of the lake!
The wine list is good, not amazing but good
They have a prix fixe menu
The dessert was really good, but not $ 9 good
What didn’t thrill me:
The prices! $ 40 for a prix fixe menu is a little absurd especially if you aren’t downtown or a James beard award winner
The food was okay at best. I had the watermelon salad for my first course and the watermelon had started to go bad, it wasn’t fresh. I had the salmon for my main course, nothing phenomenal.
The service was okay
So overall, okay food at high prices. If you live in the area try it out but don’t go out of your way to go there!

I’ve been hearing about this place for a long time and put it on my list of places to try years ago. Then I realized it was in White Bear Lake so I took it off my list of places to try. But a friend with a gift certificate convinced me to go.
I was pretty excited to finally see what the buzz was about, but also apprehensive and worried that it isn’t necessarily «good» as much as it is «good for White Bear Lake». But we hauled our a$$es up to WBL ready to find out. My first thought walking in was «oh my god, I’m totally overdressed» as the ambience leaves a bit to be desired. And the chairs are über uncomfortable. So right off the bat I was let down and ready to be disappointed. But fortunately, that’s where the disappointment ended.
I did the 3 for $ 40 tasting menu and the $ 20 paired wine flight, started with the much-​raved about beet salad which did not disappoint, nor did the pinot grigio it was paired with which cut the acidity of the dressing beautifully. There is no vegetarian entrée on the tasting menu, but when I asked if I could get one they offered eggplant parmesan or vegetable risotto. I opted for the former even though I’m not a big fan of eggplant. It was delicious. The sauce was slightly smoky and slightly spicy and and with the paired merlot (yes folks, merlot) it was fantastic. Ended with the chocolate soufflé cake w/​graham cracker ice cream and marshmallow cream served with port and nearly died.
My friend also did the 3 for $ 40 but added an appetizer. Don’t do this. It was way too much food. The calamari which he ordered was boring and blah but the server noted that he hadn’t touched much and suggested that she’d bring him the mussels instead which she swore he’d love. He did.
It was all quite delicious. That said, I wouldn’t drive to White Bear Lake for it again as there are restaurants much closer with the same quality. But if you happen to live in the northern ‘burbs, I’d definitely put this on the short list.