[Minneapolis, MN] Apoy Filipino Bistro - Outdoor Dining

One of our first and only outdoor dining experiences was to Apoy in Minneapolis for weekday lunch. We are being cautious during this time and would urge everyone to really assess whether you feel like restaurants are taking the proper measures to ensure the safety of staff and customers alike.

Apoy has been open for a couple of years and is a Filipino bistro serving up food that is pretty unique for the area. There are a few fusion foods, you'll read about the pizza later, but many of the menu items are the more mainstream Filipino foods that everyone has heard of like sisig, pancit, and the like.

We had investigated the outdoor dining prospects and selected Apoy since it seemed like it was following the executive orders strictly - requiring reservations, proper spacing, masks, etc. When we got there, we were extremely happy to see that they were following all of the orders closely and were taking so many precautions.

I had a Manila Sunset. Rum, mango, jackfruit, orange juice, and grenadine. This was a very refreshing adult beverage to enjoy on a warm summer afternoon. It was packed full of fresh fruit and was very rum forward.

This is the House Soda (non-alcoholic). The day we were there, it was a jackfruit and mango soda, but I believe the flavors may change. The beverage was very fresh and also very refreshing. It was such a nice summer treat!

This is the Lechon Kawali - braised pork belly. It's an appetizer, but definitely enough for a full meal for someone, especially if you add a side of rice.

OMG, definitely upgrade your rice to the Garlic Fried Rice. This is the ULTIMATE comfort food and is an absolute must for garlic lovers. There is so much garlic in every bite and I just love the texture - it's slightly crunchy and crispy with each bite. This serving was also very generous and was enough for us to share between the Kare Kare (below) and the Lechon Kawali (above)

I had major issues choosing between the different entree choices. There were just so many great options. I ended up choosing the Kare Kare, but I'm sure you wouldn't have gone wrong with any of the other choices. The Kare Kare was full of so many fresh vegetables (bok choy, long beans, peppers, and large slices of eggplant). I loved it and definitely recommend if you want a pretty unique flavor experience!

There was so much flavor packed in this entree - from the peanut sauce to a bit of an sweet and sour sort of nutty flavor (separate from the peanut flavor). It is served with white rice, but I upgraded to the garlic fried rice (above). Even with the upgrade, we got a side of white rice, too, so we were well stocked on the rice front. This was a large portion, so definitely enough for two to share.

This is the Longani-zza (pizza topped with longaniza sausage). This was a perfect pizza for outdoor dining in the summer. The pizza was not too heavy, even with its two types of cheese. Even on a hot day, the crust was perfect and I didn't feel weighed down with it.
 It has a bit of a sweet flavor, but with a bit of spice on the side. The sauce was sweet, which was great and very memorable. The longaniza is a sweet sausage full of other flavors and was the perfect addition to this pizza. It was topped with a ton of fresh vegetables, which just lead to everything tasting so fresh and wonderful. Even as a non-onion fan, the red onions and green onions added a nice touch.

Here's a little glimpse at the interior of the restaurant.

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