Willmar is a major city in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States, with a population of about 21,000 as of 2020.
The city is filled with diverse people; most of the population are immigrants, many from Somalia, while others hail from South America (Guatemala), India, and Germany.
There are severel fun places to visit at Willmar. Some of these include Holiday Inn Express, Days Inn by Wyndham, Super 8 by Wyndham, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, and more. These are some of Willmar’s resorts or hotels.
There are also parks and adventure spots like Foot Lake, Kandiyohi County Historical Society, and Robbins Island Regional Park.
Here are the top restaurants in Willmar, MN.
Best Restaurants in Willmar
1. Grizzly’s Wood-Fired Grill & Bar
Grizzly’s Wood-fired Grill & Bar is the highest-rated restaurant in Willmar, MN. It is a casual American restaurant and bars renowned for its wood-fired barbecue food, chicken, and steak entrees. They serve the best-tasting grilled fare in the area. Not only the taste but the presentation of the food keeps Grizzly’s Grill & Bar unique.
They serve wings, tacos, pulled pork, salads, Parmesan pasta, Mac & Cheese, chicken fajitas, and more. Minnesota chicken wild rice soup is an excellent food recommendation. It is served hot and tasty for all to enjoy.
Grizzly’s pretzel bites are also very delicious and highly recommended. The restaurant’s food items on the menu are delightful, from bacon cheddar to ribeye steak. Lemonade and beer are two common drinks available at Grizzly’s Wood-Fired Grill & Bar.
Address: 2207 1st St S, Willmar, MN 56201-4209. Phone: +1 320-231-0840
2. Green Mill Restaurant and Bar
Green Mill Restaurant & Bar is a relaxed family restaurant chain. It is a bar and grill chain with branches nationwide serving American fare, plus deep-dish pizzas. Green Mill Restaurant Willmar is located in Best Western Plus Willmar.
This restaurant provides excellent pizza, steak, wings, and drinks to the Willmar community. For the pizza, all of their crust styles are available, including deep dish. The restaurant offers tasty calzones and garlic cheese bread.
Some of the menu items include deep-dish pizza, seafood, desert fire pasta, cobb salad, supreme calzone, and more. Tacos and bruschetta are customers’ picks at Green Mill. Chicken lobster, chicken bacon avocado salad, grilled chicken pineapple fried steak, and chicken cacciatore are interesting menu items to order at Green Mill Restaurant.
Address: 2100 12 Suite 200, Willmar, MN 56201. Phone: +13202312301
3. Lulu Bean’s
Lu Lu Beans is an interesting coffee shop in Willmar, MN. It is a great place to kick back with the best cup of coffee in Willmar. Lu Lu Bean is not too busy, thus making it suitable for low-key breakfasts for singles and groups.
It serves great coffee, desserts, sandwiches, and a great tea selection. They offer outdoor seating and healthy option for all customers. Lulu serves muffins, cookies, panini best beef, pumpkin muffin, patty melt, cinnamon rolls, and many more.
Lulu’s coffee latte is tasty. They have a lot of dessert and milkshake varieties. The smoothies have a ton of flavors and a selection of sugar-free options. They open daily by 6.30-7 am and close by 6-7 pm.
Address: 1020 1st St S Ste 3, Willmar, MN 56201-3510. Phone: +1 320-214-9633
4. Ruff’s Wings & Sports Bar
Ruff’s Wings & Sports Bar is the best pub for anyone to go to if they want to drink beer while they watch TV sports. They serve local craft beer, boneless wings, chicken wings, and red hook Baja shrimp tacos. They also serve cocktails if you’re not a beer drinker.
You can choose to order their ultimate burger, tater tots, chicken & fries, Ellsworth cheese curds, and more. In our opinion, quesadillas and croissant beignets are the most delicious food menu items.
Ruff’s restaurant is fun to stay in and enjoy wings, burgers, and beer while vibing to music or TV sports. This restaurant is a great place to eat in Willmar, MN. Ruff’s Wings & Sports Bar operates in the evening from 4 pm to 11 pm.
Address: 2100 Highway 12 E Suite 100, Willmar, MN 56201-5863. Phone: +1 320-214-7833
5. Jake’s Pizza
Jake’s Pizza is a pizzeria at Litchfield Avenue in downtown Willmar, MN. It is a local favorite pizza restaurant. Everyone comes to Jake’s Pizza to socialize as they eat portions of Jake’s delicious pizza.
The restaurant’s staff is friendly, and the atmosphere is fun and cozy. Jake’s Pizza is such a great spot for anyone in Willmar, partly due to its tasty pizza and social environment. They prepare their own dough, lay it on the specially seasoned sauce, and add ground meat with mozzarella cheese toppings.
Jake’s Pizza has one-topping and specialty pizza options for its customers. Their garlic cheese sticks version are sumptuous, as the many comments from online customers suggest. They serve non-pizza options, including bread pudding, burgers, cakes, and more.
Address: 316 Litchfield Ave SW, Willmar, MN 56201-3353. Phone: +1 320-235-1714
6. McMillan’s Family Restaurant
This is one of the best restaurants in Willmar, MN. McMillan’s Family Restaurant is a fantastic eatery to go to grab all three meals of the day in Willmar. They serve homecooked meals using healthy recipes that have worked for over 35 years of being in the restaurant business.
McMillan’s food is great, and their staff service is superfast and always friendly. They provide classic American foods adding a modern touch to them.
Some of the interesting food items on McMillan’s restaurant menu include salmon & shrimp skewer, soup & salad, steak & eggs, pasta salads, strawberry Sunday, and so on.
Salmon with McMillan’s whiskey signature sauce is one of the best foods to order at this restaurant. Spaghetti with meat sauce is another fantastic meal to order at McMillan’s Family Restaurant.
They open by 6 am, close by 4 pm on weekdays, and a little later (8 pm) on weekends. It is one of the best places to eat in Willmar, MN.
Address: 2620 1st St. S, Willmar, MN 56201. Phone: +1 320-235-7213
7. Frieda’s Café
Looking for a breakfast café in Willmar? Freda’s Café is one of the best breakfast restaurants in Willmar, MN. It provides all the classical American breakfast foods you can imagine. Freda’s Café has all it takes to rock your breakfast, from bread to coffee to huevos rancheros.
The restaurant has an extensive list of sandwiches, toasts, salads, and coffee on its menu.
For instance, mocha latte, coffee latte, iced coffee, and cappuccino are just a few of the items on the coffee menu. Other goodies on the menu include steak & eggs, French toast & bacon, eggs sausage & hashbrowns, turkey sandwich, and pancakes.
Their full stack of pancakes and sausage patties are perfect for eating at Freda’s Café. Grilled cheese waffles and a cup of coffee are great breakfast options.
There are a lot of breakfast foods that can satisfy any customers entering Freda’s Cafe.
It opens by 6 am and closes by 4 pm daily. Note that Fridays are reserved as veterans day for this amazing coffee shop/breakfast café.
Address: 2620 1st St. S, Willmar, MN 56201. Phone: +1 320-235-7213
8. El Tapatio
El Tapatio is the best Mexican restaurant in Willmar, MN. They have a good reputation for making the best Mexican dishes for the Willmar community. El Tapatio has a homey environment, as the Spanish name suggests. Thus, each meal is homecooked from scratch to follow the homey theme of the restaurant.
They serve taco salad, flan, chile Relleno beef taco, carrot cake, egg rolls, and so on. Chile Relleno beef taco and chicken enchilada are perfect for a good time at Willmar, MN.
Shrimp enchiladas, sopapillas, molcajete fajitas, steak fajita for two, Al Pastor tacos, guacamole, and more are some of the menu items available.
The restaurant’s rice and mixed vegetables are delicious. Many customers enjoy it, and the much love and praise it has received make it a good recommendation.
Beef Fajitas for One is another good pick at this eatery. El Tapatio Restaurant opens only on weekdays by 11 am and closes by 10 pm.
Address: 1111 1st St S, Willmar, MN 56201-3511. Phone: +1 320-214-0444
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9. The Oaks at Eagle Creek
So you want to dine in style but don’t know anywhere fancy in Willmar? Then you must consider The Oaks at Eagle Creek. It is located at Eagle Creek Golf Course. It is along the golf driving range in Willmar, Minnesota. The Oaks at Eagle Creek offers a serious full-course dining experience in a way you haven’t witnessed before!
You can enjoy the iconic views of the green golf course and its artificial lake from the restaurant.
You can request their jumbo chicken wings or The Oaks burgers for lunch. For dinner, you can choose to pick Eagle Creek’s chopped salad.
Sweet potato waffle fries, Philly cheese steak, cheeseburger & waffle fries, and more are part of the food menu. Southwest Turkey Melt is a good pick at this restaurant. Candies are good dessert compliments to pick up after eating your lunch or dinner.
Address: 1000 26th Ave NE, Willmar, MN 56201-2179. Phone: +1 320-235-4448
10. Panda Garden Buffet
Are you looking to sample different tasty dishes? You’ll find many top-rated eateries in Willmar where you can have an enjoyable dining experience with your travel companions, one of which is Panda Garden Buffet. It is a popular restaurant that serves American and Chinese-style entrees.
It has a relaxing area with themed decors, generous helpings, and nicely-served dishes. Try sampling a flavor-rich Chinese cuisine such as Oriental Combination, including stir-fried vegetables, sushi, orange chicken, salmon Y calamari, and pork with two egg rolls.
You can taste some of Panda Garden Buffet of Food’s top-notch American favorites by going for Mongolian beef. It features homemade chips, a side salad, and veggies. Bon Appetite!!!
Address: 1305 1st St S, Willmar, MN 56201-4236. Phone: +1 320-235-1288
11. Azteca Mexican Restaurant
Have you ever craved Mexican food while in Willmar, Minnesota? Then Azteca Mexican Restaurant is a good restaurant to explore. Azteca has located somewhere on Smith Centers Boulevard.
Azteca’s extensive menu includes fresh guacamole, taco salad, chicken fajitas, burritos, cheese dip, carnitas de res, and more. They serve other common Mexican foods such as tacos, nachos, quesadillas, chips & salsa.
The latter is given as a complimentary gift from the restaurant. Drinks like top-shelf margaritas, micheladas, and other cocktails are solvents available for your enjoyment at Azteca Mexican Restaurant.
You can ask for the chef’s recommendation or pick “house specialty” from the menu. They open by 11 am and close by 10.30 pm daily, with Fridays being taken as Veterans Day.
Address: 215 4th St SW, Willmar, MN 56201-3329. Phone: +1 320-262-3920
12. Culver’s
Culver’s Willmar is a fast-food restaurant specializing in frozen custard and signature burgers made in Midwest beef and dairy. Their Google Business page advertises the availability of cod, Swiss mushroom burger, tater tots, Culver’s fish sandwiches, and duke. You can relish one of their sweet treats, such as gelato and what they call “flavor of the day.”
Culver’s® also offers crispy chicken and grilled chicken. They are experts on burgers, chicken, and sandwiches. You can visit Culver’s from 10 am to 10 pm every day, including on weekends.
You can be sure to find frozen custard, yogurts, and milkshakes. They offer delicious cheese curds, salads, and pretzel bites. Most customers love their custard cones and shakes. They’re all very sweet and enjoyable.
This restaurants is one of the best places eat in Willmar, MN, and it is worth adding to your list of best Willmar restaurants.
13. 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza
1000 Degrees Pizza Salad Wings is one of the best restaurants in Willmar, MN that serves pizza, salads, and wings. This restaurant has multiple branches, and that of Willmar is situated in Skylark Shopping Center.
They offer pepperoni pizza, Hawaiian Pizza, Topping Pizza, chicken bacon pizza, cinnamon dessert pizza, supreme pizza, and white pizza. In addition to this, they also offer to “build your own pizza.” There is also the availability of pizza toppings if you want to add those to your delicious pizza.
1000 Degrees Pizza is undoubtedly one of the best pizza restaurants in the Willmar area. They open by 11 am and close by 9 pm every day.
Address: 1700 1st St S, Willmar, MN 56201-4228. Phone: +1 320-262-3759
14. Golden Palace Chinese Restaurant
Golden Palace Chinese Restaurant is an informal dine-in venue for Chinese food classics. The Golden Palace serves Chinese dishes that meet up all culinary standards. They serve mostly chow mein, sweet & sour pork, and dumplings.
You can expect to see seafood dishes on this restaurant’s menu. Some of their seafood offerings include shrimp, crab Rangoon, and more. Other menu items are coffee, sesame chicken, vegetable egg fo, pup u platter, and Chinese rice soup.
A recommendation at Golden Palace Chinese Restaurant is sweet & sour chicken and hot & sour soup. It might sound clumsy, but this food is delicious and one of the customers’ favorites.
Golden Palace Chinese Restaurant opens by 11 am and closes by 9 pm, with Fridays regarded as Veterans Day.
Feel free to add this restaurant to your list of best places to eat in Willmar, MN.
Address: 1605 1st St S, Willmar, MN 56201-4234. Phone: +1 320-222-8888
15. The Goodness Coffee House
The Goodness Coffee House is the best place to drink coffee in Willmar, Minnesota, in our opinion. They serve great coffee in an informal, cozy environment. This coffee shop is located at 333 Litchfield Avenue, Willmar.
While you order your perfectly made coffee, you have big windows on either side of the building, which provide you with views of downtown Willmar. The Goodness Coffee House offers coffee/tea pairings such as breakfast sandwiches, walnut burgers, Panzanella, and doughnuts.
You can visit their website and Facebook page to explore the restaurant’s offerings and features.
They open by 6 am and remain till 4 pm. The Goodness Coffee House doesn’t open on weekends.
Address: 333 Litchfield Avenue SW, Willmar, MN. Phone: +1 320-403-5025
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Plan a Trip to Willmar
If you’re a bit confused about where to get some of the best meals in Willmar, then you can read this article thoroughly.
Obtaining your meals from any of the above-listed top Willmar restaurants is one of the best ideas, as the dishes offered are amazing.
Why the wait? plan a visit to Willmar today!