Food and Wine 2025 Restaurant of the Year is Diane’s Place—Celebrating Hmong Heritage in Minneapolis
Food and Wine 2025 Restaurant of the Year is Diane’s Place in Minneapolis. If you love traveling for a great meal as much as I do, you’re probably already buzzing about the hype for Diane’s Place in Minneapolis; it’s now a must-visit destination for foodies. Grab your foodie backpack and let’s go see what the Twin Cities have to offer the culinary world.
A Taste of Hmong Heritage
Diane Moua was already a well-known pastry chef before she decided to open Food and Wine 2025 Restaurant Diane’s Place in April 2024. However, this place is more than just dessert; Diane brings her Hmong heritage and puts it all out for everyone to experience. Chef Moua was raised in a Hmong community in Wisconsin. Here is where her family shared their meals and home with others in the community. The Moua family was known for their hospitality, and it looks like that warmth Diane carried with her to start the roots of her restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis. Now, when someone eats at her restaurant, they not only feel the love passed down through shared meals, but they also experience a tasty lesson in Hmong culture.
Food and Wine 2025 Restaurant of the Year
Why did Diane’s Place win Food & Wine 2025 Restaurant of the Year? Plenty of places serve good food, but Diane’s Place is a true standout because it celebrates community and culture. The decor feels like a welcoming embrace with family photographs and a meaningful framed Hmong wedding skirt. The whole vibe is about genuine hospitality. Chef Moua and her team go above and beyond to make you feel like you belong, whether you’re a regular or walking in for the first time. And the food! Diane’s Place fuses the bold, comforting flavors of Hmong home cooking with refined, inventive technique. The menu tells a story of tradition and creativity side by side. Every brunch and dinner is a family-style affair, and there’s spirit and nostalgia in every bite.
3 Must-Try Dishes at Diane’s Place
What to eat at the Food and Wine 2025 Restaurant of the Year? There are so many tempting options, but here’s what’s at the very top of my foodie list:
1. Croissant-Bread Thai Tea French Toast – This game-changer teams light, flaky croissant bread with a lush Thai tea custard and a sweet drizzle of condensed milk. It’s breakfast perfection and has Minneapolis brunch fans obsessed.
2. Spam-and-Nori Croissant Sandwich – A playful yet sophisticated take on breakfast nostalgia, this sandwich combines tender Spam, roasted nori, and a perfectly baked croissant. It’s one of those dishes you can’t help but smile about as you devour every bite.
3. Egg Roll-Stuffed Chicken – Hmong flavors get inventive here: a juicy chicken breast is stuffed with crispy egg rolls for crunch, flavor, and a hit of pure comfort. The creativity and generous portions make it a dinner star, and it’s already got a cult following.
Of course, you’ll want to save room for the house-made pastries, from pandan-coconut cakes to croissants, all lovingly crafted by Chef Moua herself. The Sesame Balls with red bean caramel look like a great dessert to share with the table, too!
Final Thoughts
Beyond the food, Diane’s Place is all about honoring the Hmong community’s history and resilience, especially as the community marks 50 years in the United States. Food comes from all corners of the world. Food tells a story. Restaurants allow us to hear the stories told by others that we may have never heard before, but once we experience that tale, we are no longer listening to the history of the unfamiliar because we have toured the unknown. Take a moment and take a tour of Diane’s and the Hmong’s past, as it is now a part of Minneapolis’ future, and enjoy Food and Wine 2025 Restaurant of the Year!
