Oro by Nixta Minneapolis

Oro by Nixta sits at 1222 NE 2nd St in Minneapolis. It holds a spot on the 2024 New York Times 50 Best Restaurants list, earned a nod as one of Bon Appétit’s best new restaurants of 2024, and was a finalist for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.

The room runs smart and elegant, but the focus remains on a creative, modern approach to Mexican cuisine that feels distinct from the city’s more traditional offerings. While its location is a twenty-five-minute walk from the Stone Arch Bridge, the distance is a necessary trade-off for the kitchen’s experimental style. It is a more demanding experience than the casual spots nearby, and it thrives because it ignores the expected benchmarks of local dining in favor of a singular, sharper vision.