HoDo Restaurant

Reviews

• Julie M.

  star star star star star_border 20 July 2026

  Very good restaurant in downtown Fargo that specializes in local ingredients. The service was attentive and friendly.
  
  I had the pear and cheese toast to start followed by the gnocchi for my entree. My husband had the mushroom and Brie for an appetizer and the chicken and dumplings for dinner. The mushroom Brie dish was like a stew with bacon that you spooned onto bread. He also had the Kentucky mule, which was basically a Moscow mule but with bourbon. It took maybe 7 minutes to get his drink but he thought it was worth it. I don't like bourbon and even I thought it was delicious. The hint of ginger cut down the liquor taste.
  
  The pear and cheese toasts were delicious; they had a balsamic drizzle and were the perfect mixture of richness, acid, and sweetness. The rest of our food was very good, but the mushroom Brie dish and my gnocchi seemed salty. I was also a little surprised by how similar the prices were to restaurants in NYC, but the portions here were quite large so that made up for it. It was also in a great location.

• Brian G.

  star star star star star 5 July 2026

  My wife and I enjoyed an amazing dinner with friends, followed by drinks on the beautiful rooftop with live music.

• Eric B.

  star star star star star_border 4 July 2026

  Gayle and I had just arrived in town, checked in at the Hilton Garden Inn, and paid our first visits to members of the Kelly clan.  We decided to have dinner downtown, and took up a relative's recommendation to try out the HoDo Restaurant.  Walking into the building, the nicely refurbished and historical Hotel Donaldson is straight ahead and upstairs, while the HoDo Lounge is to the left and the Restaurant is to the right.
  
  We arrived on the early side of Friday evening, making us one of the first customers in the restaurant.  We snagged a big table by the big windows and proceeded to enjoy our meal, some local beer, and making plans for our big weekend in Fargo.  Gayle is a graduate of nearby Moorhead State, so I knew I was in good hands.  Service was Midwest friendly and well paced.  Prices are perhaps a little high by Midwest standards, and very reasonable if you've come in from California.
  
  My only regret of the evening was not staying around the Downtown long enough to enjoy the live music in the HoDo Lounge. But there was the first Friday Art Walk.....

• Marjorie J.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 3 July 2026

  I'm surprised HoDo has so many great reviews. I went with high hopes but was quickly disappointed. The pics make the restaurant look beautiful, but it's a little outdated. I was excited to try their homemade pasta, but they said they had run out of it. On a Monday night with only two tables?
  
  They did not have the bottle of wine I ordered, so they brought out a different one (that cost 5 dollars more) and didn't offer it for the price of the original bottle, which is usually how this situation in handled. The service was not polished, but both the hostess and server were very sweet.
  
  The food was okay. Nothing very memorable. I was charged 20-some dollars for two chicken legs on a bed of vegetables. The bison portion was small. The cocktail I had was fine, and dessert was good.
  
  If this had been a 100 dollar meal, I would have enjoyed myself, but it was a 200 dollar meal and, in my opinion, was not worth it. It's a decent local restaurant pretending to be fine dining.

• Lisa S.

  star star star star star 23 June 2026

  So we FINALLY got to try this place! We stayed at the Hotel Donaldson 3 years ago and had reservations at HoDo, but they were having a heat wave and the kitchen had to close, so we couldn't eat there then, much to our disappointment. So THIS time, we made reservations at HoDo again, and ate there tonight!  It's what I would call upscale casual. I love the contemporary artsy decor;similar to the hotel Donaldson, which is amazing. We arrived at 6:30pm and were seated right away by our friendly server. She was so sweet and took excellent care of us all night. I started off with the Pomegranate  Lemon Drop Martini,which may very well be one of the most beautiful drinks I've even seen. It was equally delicious. We ended up sharing some apps and the egg sandwich. An interesting item to have on a dinner menu, but it worked. We also shared the Lavosh of the day(a Lavosh is like a flatbread),the bison meatballs and the risotto. Everything was so gorgeous and tasty. I have nothing negative to say. We are so happy we finally got to eat here, after 3 years of waiting! Can't wait to return!