Diane’s Place, a Minneapolis restaurant helmed by local chef Diane Moua, has been named the Restaurant of the Year by Food & Wine Magazine.
The magazine’s editors scouted more than 100 restaurants across the country to award the title, editor-in-chief Hunter Lewis said in a statement.
“Diane’s Place stood out for its exceptionally high level of service and hospitality, and for the way that Diane Moua and her team share Hmong foodways with their Minneapolis community through the menu and culture of the restaurant,” he said.
Moua, who previously earned acclaim in the Twin Cities food scene as a pastry chef at spots like Spoon and Stable and Bellecour Bakery, opened her solo restaurant in 2024 with a focus on both sweet and savory dishes inspired by her Hmong background and classical culinary training.
Earlier this year, Moua was a finalist for a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest, a title ultimately won by Karyn Tomlinson of St. Paul’s Myriel. She has previously been a finalist twice in the Outstanding Pastry Chef category, a nationally focused award.
Moua and fellow local chef Yia Vang also were both recently featured in a New York Times profile that declared that Diane’s Place and Vang’s Minneapolis restaurant Vinai are making the city “the American capital of Hmong food.”
Diane’s Place: 117 14th Ave. NE, Minneapolis; 612-489-8012; dianesplacemn.com. Open for brunch Thursdays through Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner Thursdays through Sundays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Closed Wednesdays.)
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