First look: New Macy's Ridgedale restaurant is an ode to downtown Minneapolis' Oak Grill

Department store meals from a bygone era have returned, and just one forkful of the crunchy, sweet Mandarin Chicken Salad at the Social Kitchen & Libations in Minnetonka is all it takes to power up the time machine.

The new restaurant at Macy's Ridgedale, which opened earlier this month, pays tribute to the Oak Grill, the Dayton's (and eventually Macy's) institution in downtown Minneapolis that served business suits, ladies who lunch and parent-child shopping trippers with equal reverence until it closed in 2017 after a 69-year run (much longer, if you count its early years as a "tearoom").

Nodding to that long history via the menu "allows us to honor Macy's extensive legacy in food service, which dates back over 115 years," said the Social Kitchen & Libations chef, Brad Saylor. "These signature dishes have become beloved favorites among generations of customers in the Twin Cities area, showcasing our commitment to delivering a memorable dining experience rooted in tradition and culinary excellence."

Location: In Ridgedale Center, 12411 Wayzata Blvd., Minnetonka, 952-591-6640, macysrestaurants.com/the-social. Open Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Mon.-Tue. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Wed.-Fri. 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

The vibe: While the new spot sports a modern veneer compared with its white oak-paneled forebear — and an order-at-the-bar and take-a-number system that's only slightly more refined than QR codes — the place has enough nostalgia to resurface memories of midcentury Santa visits.

The centerpiece Waterford chandelier — now surrounded by a "modern cage" — is a 1940s relic from the 12th floor of the downtown Minneapolis Dayton's. The piece was moved to St. Paul's River Room in the '80s, and landed in Minnetonka in 2014 at what was then the Lakeshore Grill. (The Social takes over the Lakeshore Grill's address; that Macy's-based restaurant closed in 2020.)

The food and drink: Glimpses of the Oak Grill's timeless menu are somewhat intact. You'll find chicken pot pie ($16), wild rice soup ($6) and meatloaf (now in slider form, $14). And, of course, baskets of eggy popovers ($8), their steamy interiors primed to melt the accompanying honey butter into a river of golden goodness.

Those wildly popular popovers use the original recipe from the 1980s, when the manager of the River Room at the St. Paul Dayton's, Robert Johnston, suggested them for a bread basket. The recipe later crossed the river to the Oak Grill.

"Our customers can't wait to get their hands on them as soon as they walk through the door," Saylor said. "We often hear them say, 'We've been waiting for the popovers!' "

A few nods to the Oak Grill's brighter 12th-floor neighbor, the salad bar-heavy Sky Room, show up in a list of Marketplace Deli salads that come by the scoop (two for $12, three for $14). Sweets are on display at the bar. Tattersall is behind the short-and-sweet cocktail menu ($12).

If you're shopping: On the mall side, you'll have to meander through the store's menswear section (and a Toys 'R' Us section — beware, parents) to find the Social's marquee surrounded by button-down shirts. But you can skip all that by entering from the parking lot, past the flower-lined patio.