Lake Elmo Inn

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Story That Started at the Sink

In 1971, a 16-year-old named John Schiltz took a job washing dishes at a local spot then known as Ben's Elmo Inn. He never really left. After honing his craft at prestigious Hyatt properties across the Midwest, John returned in 1983 — at just 27 years old — to purchase the restaurant and restore its original name: Lake Elmo Inn. More than fifty years after that first shift, he and his wife Christine remain at the helm alongside the next generation of family leadership, including their son and John's niece.

That continuity shows. The room still hums the way it always has. Sunlight settles on linen at lunch; candlelight takes over at dinner. Servers remember returning guests' favorite starters. The dessert tray rolls past and good intentions disappear.

Rooted in American Cuisine, Tuned to the Seasons

The menu is a confident expression of American cuisine, built around seasonal ingredients and a few signature touches the kitchen has made its own. The Minnesota Wild Rice & Duck soup has become something of a house institution — a cup or bowl that regulars order without looking at the menu. Panko-crusted Canadian Walleye arrives with caper artichoke tapenade and a chardonnay butter sauce. The "Sunnies" — potato-crusted sunfish filets, a Lake Elmo Inn original — speak directly to the restaurant's Minnesota roots. In-house smoked BBQ ribs, slow-roasted and glazed with a bourbon sauce, anchor the heartier end of the menu, while dishes like the Atlantic Salmon with Italian salsa verde or the Superfoods Salad with quinoa, avocado, and toasted almonds show a kitchen comfortable moving in multiple directions.

Lunch, dinner, Sunday brunch, and catering all draw from the same philosophy: thoughtful American cuisine, attentive service, and an experience that is reliably itself every time.

Recognition and a Wine List Worth Noting

Wine Spectator recognized Lake Elmo Inn with its Award of Excellence — a distinction that reflects the care put into the cellar alongside the kitchen. John Schiltz was named Restaurateur of the Year in 2006, the same year Christine launched Lake Elmo Inn Catering, extending the Inn's hospitality to weddings and events across the Twin Cities.

Signature touches — sorbet intermezzos between courses, warm cinnamon towels, chocolate-dipped strawberries — are the kind of details that turn a dinner into a reason to come back. And people do, year after year, for the same occasions, at the same tables.