Lake Wine & Spirits

They’ve got everything I ever need and their sandwich shop is great! Also I don’t like tomatoes and when I ordered it without the woman working suggested I do the sweet peppers instead and she was so right! Definitely ordering them on my sandwich every time.

FRESH ALTERNATIVE AWARD 🫑 CLEAN DELI AWARD 🥇 I visited this tiny delicatessen with a longtime bestie. We stopped by May 15th-a sleepy sunny Sunday afternoon around 2:15 pm. The shop was not busy, but steady. It’s located on West Lake street in the center of Minneapolis, and holds some of the finest freshest tastes you’ll find anywhere. The secret here are the original owners’ recipes, which were curated over time. A liquor store is attached as well. We didn’t go in, but apparently they have a large selection of different liquors. A small hole-in-the-wall with traditional meats and a huge selection of different cheeses, olives, marinated mushrooms, specialty nuts, jams, jellies, bbq sauces, specialty crackers, coffees, drinkables, and water crackers. They also have fudge for your sweet tooth! Obscure selections keep you on your toes! Huge chalkboard shows you all the sandwich selections, and their daily specials. A tiny table with 2 chairs is a quaint place to wait for your order-and be ready to wait a little bit, because everything is made fresh for you, once you order. You don’t just get a pre-made sammich that’s been laying there for hours! We ordered 2 sandwiches: The Club, which was ham & turkey piled high with cheddar and arugula & a special mayonnaise with thinly sliced red onions and tomato on steamed ciabatta bread. Also we ordered the Ham & Jal, Ham, cheddar, arugula and tomatoes with a spicy homemade jalapeño jelly on steamed ciabatta bread. Both sandwiches were amazingly delicious and the bread warm and wonderful. Yummmmm We complimented our meals with a couple selections of “Uglies” brand potato chips, we chose BBQ and Jalapeño flavors. They were great! Just as good or better than the regular brands. Well folks lemme tell ya: this is a diamond in the rough and you’d best try it out if you’re in the area. Neighborhood is bouncing back strong after a tough couple years and it shows. New updates, new feel to the area. Minneapolis once again does not disappoint! We also picked up some ‘sample cheeses’ small inexpensive cutoffs from the larger hunks of cheese just right to grab a few and take home for a cheese plate taste-test. I grabbed a container of marinated mushrooms (sorry no pic- they were so good they were inhaled)! These mushrooms popped in your mouth, you could tell they were so fresh. And the marinade! SO GOOD. Everything was so noticeably fresh that each bite was a pleasure! I will be back - because I need to try more of their freshly made sandwiches. Service presented nicely wrapped in white butcher paper. Very clean tasting. Friendly and efficient staff. Prices were around $10 for each meal. WTP AWARD ✅ Highly recommended! We WILL be back!

Let’s talk about the cheese shop inside this place. They serve, hands down, the best sandwiches in uptown. Undisputed champions- and the competition in this town is tough. I’ve tried them all and they never disappoint me. High quality ingredients, creative combinations, great variety of options. The liquor store itself is a nice enough place with a good wine selection. It’s often a one stop shop for any quick dinner that you can trust to be delicious.

I wish I could give both the liquor store and the cheese shop their own 5 star rating! The liquor store packs a lot of good options at good prices, and the cheese store is a genuinely delightful treat. Try the Heidi Ho for a sandwich that's just amazing.

Being new to Minnesota, I think the whole separated liquor store is a pretty weird concept, but I'm glad we've been trying different ones to see what's inside because the cheese shop inside has some of the best sandwiches you will ever try. And I'm saying that after just moving here from New Orleans.