Best Downtown Sioux Falls Lunch Spots

Good food, great company, and a reason to explore downtown Sioux Falls, yes, please! As patio season rounded the corner, our team decided to try different restaurants around the downtown area for lunch. A common topic around the office is the best places to eat, new restaurants to try, and upcoming restaurants that are opening in Sioux Falls that we’re excited to try. Did someone say, FOODIE?! 

Living in the city of Sioux Falls, there are many different neighborhoods to explore, but the food and drink scene downtown is unmatched! We wanted to hit a variety of different cuisines that those that live outside of the city, might not know about. From little hole-in-the-wall places to the most popular restaurant on Phillips, we wanted to try it all.

Due to our growling stomachs and inability to choose a lunch spot, we created a spinning wheel of restaurants we all wanted to try. Simple, easy, and no more “I don’t care!” Take note if you want to save time before going out to eat! We highly recommend allowing a spinning wheel to make the decision for you!

Here are just a few restaurants we tried over the course of a few weeks and our thoughts on the main dish, sides, outdoor space (if we sat on the patio), the overall atmosphere, and the visual appearance of the dish. Each restaurant was unique and absolutely delicious! We would highly recommend each of these restaurants if you haven’t already tried them!

Sanaa's Gourmet

Sanaa’s is a local's dream. This was some of our TSH member’s first time trying Sanaa’s and to say it might be one of our new favorites is an understatement! With so many choices to choose from, some of us tried the beef steak fatayer, while others tried the feta, olive, and oregano fatayer. This will blow your average soup and salad lunch out of the water!

All fatayers were a hit, but the tabouleh took the crown and was a crowd favorite within our office. If you’re ever craving authentic Mediterranean food, this would be our first recommendation.

Sanaa, who owns and operates Sanaa’s is a Gourmet Chef, Restauranteur, Author, Nutritionist, and Blogger who studied culinary in Florence, Italy, as well as the Cordon Bleu Baking School in Paris, France. She has quite the resume and it definitely shows in her food!

JL Beers

JL Beers is a downtown staple. It has great burgers and a plethora of beers. We can’t get enough of their fries/potato chips with chipotle ranch and beer cheese dip! When they say it’s the best beer cheese dip ever, they’re not lying. This trip around most of our team wanted to try the Not Just a Nutter Butter Burger which has fresh peanut butter, red pepper jelly, diced jalapeños, pepper-jack cheese, and cottage bacon on it.

Not convinced about having peanut butter on your burger? Some of us were skeptical too, but just try it and we promise your mind will be changed! The fries and chips make a great shareable side for a bigger group to enjoy. With a downtown location, this is the perfect place to go to enjoy a good burger and fries with great company!

Bread & Circus

Bread & Circus is always a great choice for anyone coming to Sioux Falls. We’re extra lucky because it is less than a 1 min walk from our studio! The food is always great, and we get excited to see the new seasonal meals that grace the menu every few months.

Once summer arrived, we were so excited to go in to try the famous Hawaiian Plate (a local favorite), which is made of Shoyu Chicken, Rice, Island Mac Salad, Green Onions & Sesame Seeds. And yes, it was as delicious as it sounds. Their outdoor space is another great perk. Being able to enjoy the warm temperatures while we have them is a must!

We have also recently had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners, Barry Putzke. One of our clients, Voyage FCU, had the opportunity to interview him on what it takes to run a restaurant in downtown Sioux Falls and the creation of Bread & Circus. Listen to the full episode of Tips for Change here.

Ode to Food

Ode to Food is another classic in downtown Sioux Falls. It’s a great client lunch meeting spot as well as a happy hour destination! They also have a great patio that overlooks the river and the rest of downtown. We stuck to indoor seating this time because the weather was not on our side and it was a little too hot to enjoy eating next to the river.

Ode to Food has a great lunch menu full of tasty sandwiches, salads, and classic lunch baskets. You never leave feeling hungry and it’s a great spot to satisfy everyone’s taste buds with its lunch menu!

Roots of Brasil

We are telling you right now if you have not been to check out the new restaurant, Roots of Brasil, you need to add it to your list! We went in having high expectations and it did NOT disappoint. Every dish has a Brazilian twist on the classics, along with dishes that are unique to Brazil.

Everything we ordered we raved about. If you get that chance to try it out, our team’s favorites were the Milho Verde Elote, Gaucho Fries, and the Risotto!

The atmosphere is so fun and allows you to feel like you’re sitting on a little street in Brazil enjoying a cocktail and authentic meal! And we were told that the floors and staircase were hand-painted to replicate famous landmarks in Brazil. Definitely, a go-to restaurant to check out! Every single one of us said that we would definitely be back!

If you have any recommendations on what we should try next, we would love to know what we should be adding to our decision wheel. We loved every dish, and the time spent with our team outside of the office, and can’t wait to continue trying out restaurants as downtown Sioux Falls continues to expand!