Barbecue Favorite Animales’ Uber Kid-Friendly Restaurant Is Finally Opening

Barbecue Favorite Animales’ Uber Kid-Friendly Restaurant Is Finally Opening

Green spaghetti, pastrami ribs, and a huge stage for live music are just a few of the highlights from the expansive new Minneapolis restaurant.

Adjacent to North-ish Minneapolis’ La Doña Cervecería, Animales’ cavernous space is home to a capacious bar as well as dozens of booths and communal tables well-stocked with paper towels and squeeze bottles of Animales’ signature vinegar-based barbecue sauce — all under dangling garden lights that makes the whole thing feel like you’re hanging out in your best friend’s backyard.

What became Animales started with chef Jon Wipfli’s love for cooking outdoors in small town Wisconsin. “That’s kind of the root of it,” he says of the birria-slinging food truck that started in 2017. “This isn’t outdoors, obviously, but the kitchen is designed so there’s light on every corner. There are big windows and skylights coming down,” and a big patio to boot. It’s a longtime coming for the highly anticipated restaurant, which Wipfli began seriously pursuing as far back as 2022.

But, of course, the main draw is the food — and all the opportunities Wipfli has to create now that he, and the team he’s relied on to grow Animales into the restaurant it’s become, has the space.

“Going from a food truck with a very small crew to this huge space obviously takes a ton more people than just me,” Wipfli says. “Having chef de cuisine Peter Thillen there to lead half the menu training, so that I could focus on smoker training, is the only way this could all happen. It takes all of us.”

A menu that includes chopped pork shoulder, pork belly, beef ribs, sausage and more, complete with that Carolina-style sauce, is available from 4 p.m. ‘til 9 p.m. or until it’s sold out each day, so get there early if you want to try it (and you should). The menu also boasts a trio of salads, five sandwiches that include a cheesesteak and a shrimp po’ boy, and a smattering of creative snacks like bone marrow toast, Mexican-style green spaghetti in a poblano sauce, and pimento dip.

It’s the sides where Animales’ creativity really shines. There are a handful of vegetarian options like a divinely smokey mac and cheese as well as a gluten- and dairy-free coleslaw and borracho beans sweetened only with sweet potato to name a few. “We finally have french fries, which everyone has asked for,” Wipfli says.

“The core of what we do is barbecue, but we wanted to be able to feed anyone, so these are what I call ‘make people happy’ food,” Wipfli says of the sides, snacks, sandwiches, and salads. “They’re very approachable, but still done with care and intent, they’re fun but still technically sound,” he adds.

When it comes to washing down Animales’ delicious food, there’s plenty of cocktails such as the mezcal, sherry, and eucalyptus Lost Hermano and the vodka, berry, and amaro hibiscus Agua Fiesta. There’s also beer and wine alongside a hearty nonalcoholic section and soft drinks, too.

Speaking of beer, expect lots of cold ones, plenty of well-smoked barbecue, and a smashing lineup of free, family-friendly local music at this weekend’s grand opening. The festivities kick off at 8 p.m. on Thursday, October 23, and run through the last show on Sunday, October 25 starting at 3 p.m.

Animales is located at 241 Fremont Ave. N., Minneapolis; open 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.