Acqua
4453 Lake Ave S,
White Bear Lake, MN 55110

Tonight we are eating by White Bear Lake at Acqua. When we told people we were eating at Acqua almost to the person they all said they heard it was great.

Acqua is a small house on the west side of White Bear Lake converted into a restaurant. Our wine buddy Patrick,  a Tenor who works at North Loop wine & Spirits where we were just prior to coming here tasting wine, once worked here as a singing waiter. The manager said Patrick has been asked for and is missed.

Since we are in the burbs, parking is a stones throw from the restaurant and free, which is appreciated. Acqua, being a house can be a bit confusing finding where to go for reservations but we followed the waiters to the bar were escorted to our seats.

We were taken across the little road that separates Acqua from the White Bear Lake boat docks for lakeside seating. The view at night was great. I'm sure the view by day is amazing. Above us is a huge beautifully lit Cottonwood tree with an umbrella covering the 20 tables over looking the lake. Just because Acqua is part of a small house does not mean it is hurting for seating.

The wine list bottle/glass is comparable with any quality restaurant both in quality & price in the metro. E had her CA Cab Sav and I chose a Zin from Medicino County Willy sings of. Both excellent pours and tasting.

Acqua has a bit of a different menu than most. They offer three courses for $55. That in a world that single courses can be $30. And for each course, there are eight plus options.

Our Server Patricia informed us that all food are made from scratch and she REALLY knew the menu and had some great suggestions.

For E's first course she chose the  Bruschetta bread with Feta Goat Cheese Tomato and Tyme.  I chose the Fried Tiger Shrimp, Sambal Aioli, with pineapple Vinaigrette and micro greens. That also came with bread with the creamiest whipped butter & honey we have had in years.

For the second course E had an Apple salad with Manchego & Chive Salad with Olio Verde. It was similar to a Waldorf Salad without the walnuts and very good.

I had a Roast Beet salad with red & yellow beets, field greens and fried lemon honey goat cheese. It was nice & flavorful.

For our third & final course E had Wild Alaskan Halibut with butter poached Crab, artichoke hearts and tomato. Great!

I had Bison hanger steaks with seared Foie Gras, whipped mashed potatoes and Angels Envy Bourbon Demi Glacé. Best & only Bison I have ever had.

Acqua deserves the great reputation for food & service. The servers and food were both phenomenal. We normally share everything. Tonight we each got three courses. The bill with three wines was $187 with tip over $200. It wasn't cheap but everything was great. Yea sometimes you have to splurge.

Acqua would make it into our top ten list, with all the great restaurants in the metro don't ask me to see the list it's probably over 20. We'll be back!

Contact us dennis@TheMNWineClub.com