10 Native and Indigenous Restaurants to Dine at Across the United States

Owamni is a new restaurant inside the five-acre Water Works Park along the Mississippi River. Opened in summer 2021 by Sean Sherman (an Oglala Lakota Nation member) and Dana Thompson, the restaurant notably only uses decolonized ingredients; this means that the Owamni menu has removed ingredients introduced by European colonists, such as wheat flour, cane sugar, and dairy.

Those ingredients are swapped out for others like nixtamalized corn tacos, wild rice, smoked Lake Superior trout, dandelion, bison, and blue corn (prepared as “blue corn mush” with maple and hazelnut), and rabbit. In August, Sherman and Thompson debuted The Sioux Chef, Indigenous Food Lab—a nonprofit training kitchen at the Midtown Global Market with production space for Native foods and Indigenous culinary entrepreneurs.

Owned and operated by Quapaw Tribe, the Red Oak Steakhouse is a fine-dining restaurant inside the Downstream Casino Resort. The beef used by the restaurant comes from cows that are humanely raised, hormone-free, and sourced locally from the Quapaw Cattle Club. On the menu, expect to find items like Smoked Bison Prime Rib, Grilled Snake River Farms Wagyu Spinalis Cap (alongside blue corn onion rings, chimichurri sauce, and Cotija cheese) and Braised Bison Short Ribs (served with white-cheddar creamy polenta in a red-wine reduction).

After viewing exhibits about the state’s 19 pueblos at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, head over to the Indian Pueblo Kitchen, which is focused on Indigenous cuisine education. Executive chef Ray Naranjo (of the Santa Clara Pueblo reservation) operates the kitchen, making dishes like waffles made with ancient grains and piñon topped with berries and maple syrup slow-braised duck leg in a mole sauce with duck-fat fries and puffed quinoa. Frybread and Pueblo oven bread are also baked daily, while, for dessert, you can order Pueblo-style bread pudding folding in currants and cheddar cheese. In addition to the menu, the restaurant hosts a series of culinary events called Intimate Indigenous Experience, where either singing or art demonstrations are paired with a tasting menu.

Off the Rez is a Native American food-focused cafe that has evolved from its food-truck beginnings to a brick-and-mortar inside the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture on the University of Washington’s campus. Co-owner Mark McConnell’s mother grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana and shared her heritage with her children.

At the cafe, there’s a nice balance of sweet and savory options on the menu, such as braised bison Indian taco, fry bread topped with sweetness (such as fruit jams, honey, or lemon curd), and wild-rice bowls. Although Off the Rez has a café open for breakfast, lunch, an dinner, its food truck is still making the rounds. For news on where the truck is parked each day, check out their Facebook page.

If you’re a fan of art, the Black Sheep will prove your utopia. Co-owner Bleu Adams is a member of the Navajo community and feels it’s important that Native American art and food are showcased under the same roof. This means you can enjoy Navajo tacos while admiring pottery by Native American artists. The Black Sheep Café honors the heritage of its co-owners, Bleu Adams and Jovanna Mason, and harnesses the culinary talent of Chef Mark Daniel Mason. Separate from her culinary career, Adams is also part of the team behind Protect Native Elders, a charitable organization focused on finding relief and supporting Indigenous communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Café Ohlone is located on the University of California-Berkeley campus (in the courtyard of the Hearst Museum of Anthropology). The café is founded by Vincent Medina (Chochenyo Ohlone) and Louis Trevino (Rumsen Ohlone). Medina is a cultural leader of the Itmay Cultural Association, while Trevino is a member of the Rumsen Ohlone community and a leader in reviving the Rumsen language.

The Café Ohlone is more than just a restaurant; it is a community where patrons can enjoy open mic nights, community talks, and more. In light of the pandemic, the café pivoted in 2021 to offer Sunday Supper with Café Ohlone. These monthly curated dinner boxes are, just like the menu, focused on the Ohlone tribe’s food heritage and features items like dried rosehip and stinging nettle tea, quail eggs, and hazelnut milk chia porridge.