Highly-anticipated Hmong restaurant opens next week in Minneapolis

Vinai, a highly-anticipated Hmong restaurant from James Beard Award-finalist Chef Yia Vang, will open its doors in northeast Minneapolis this month.

Vang, the owner of Union Hmong Kitchen (UHK), announced the 88-seat restaurant in the former Dangerous Man Brewing taproom will officially open to the public Tuesday, July 30.

“The menu is reflective of how we ate at home, growing up in a Hmong household,” Vang stated.

The restaurant is named after the refugee camp in Thailand where Vang’s parents met and where Vang was born before they immigrated to the United States in 1988.

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“Vinai is a love letter to my parents,” Vang said. “When I think about them, and about Vinai, the common theme that comes through is this idea of restoration.”

The space, remodeled in partnership with Christian Dean Architecture, features a variety of visual references to Vang’s story, such as a wood ceiling structure designed to resemble the huts where people would gather to share a meal at the refugee camp.

“During the day, the orange tones of the space look like the red dirt from Northern Laos,” Vang shared in a news release. “And in the evening, the tones shift to a brown hue, reminding us of the dirt here in Minnesota. We call both of these places home.”

The menu will emphasize live fire cooking and grilling and feature an array of shareable dishes, such as charred cabbage and stir-fried greens.

Dishes also include spatchcocked chicken, a nearly two-pound pork chop, lamb heart, fried catfish and more.

The cocktail list, created in partnership with Jeff Seidenstricker of Steady Pour, features variations on classic drinks, as well as beverages featuring ingredients of Hmong cooking.

Vinai will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays beginning at 5 p.m. Reservations are available now at www.vinaimn.com .