For better or for worse? Not entirely sure. Chef is still there cooking away, but he was also up front cleaning tables and serving drinks last night. A little strange. The rest of the family who owns Peninsula were nowhere to be seen. Given, it was a Monday night so who knows.

Some positives – the menu is still the same, large and in charge. The restaurant looked busy, full of happy patrons eating lots of food. They also have their full liquor license now and offer a full menu of specialty drinks and martinis in addition to their wine and beer list.

Some negatives – we had the worst service ever yesterday evening. When we first arrived the hostess came over to ask how many. There were 6 of us so she had to push some tables together. Looking irritated that we would bring a semi-large group in to eat she told us to ‘just chill’ for a moment. Yes, we are a group of young adults, but I don’t recommend using the phrase ‘just chill’ when you are a hostess in a sit down restaurant, but then again I don’t recommend using the phrase ‘just chill’ ever.

Our waiter was extremely slow, nice, but slow. I think he was new and just getting the hang of things, but still. We placed our orders which came out in a stream instead of all at once. Four of us got our meals at once. There was confusion as to who got what dish as 2 or 3 different people came out to serve us our food. The one time our waiter actually brought a dish to our table he gave it to the wrong person. One dish sat on the window of the open kitchen for a few minutes as we contemplated whether they were waiting for the last plate to be done. Turns out they weren’t waiting for another plate because the plate never got entered into the computer. We watched as the waiter told the cooks something was missing. It took awhile to remedy the whole mess and the rest of us felt bad eating while the guest of honor sat without any food. Guess that’s the bad thing about having an open kitchen. The waiter mostly avoided us for the rest of the evening, probably because he was embarrassed, but he still managed to make off with a 20% tip (my dad is too nice).

Needless to say it was an ‘off night’ for Peninsula. The food was excellent as expected, but sometimes really bad service can sour the whole experience. I will most likely revisit, but last night has stifled my desire to return anytime in the near future.

I love Peninsula. I love it so much that I worked there at one point. The family that owns Peninsula keep to their roots and that is just one of the reasons Peninsula is so great. Located on the delicious Eat Street, Peninsula has some heavy competition. Still, they continue to thrive as their business grows. It goes to show that Peninsula is something special and definitely worth checking out.

Everything is authentic, just ask ‘Chef’. The staff is friendly and helpful, they will explain anything and everything on the menu, just ask! They serve wine and bottled beer and now have their liquor license to make some specialty drinks. If you want to dare a friend ask for a durian smoothie. Personally I love the oniony, smelly fruit, maybe you will too?

The menu is filled with Malaysian dishes as well as some Thai, Indian and Chinese. It’s basically a small novel and I would like to think that just about anyone could find an item they liked. From noodles to curry to lamb and back. There are several vegetarian choices, whole fishes (awesome!) and tofu made in house.

Peninsula is definitely unique and bold. A great addition to Minneapolis and Eat Street.

I’ve always enjoyed my experiences here. The waitstaff are friendly and attractive, they’ll describe anything on the menu and even explain the cultural influences upon Malaysian cuisine. The interior deco is very pleasant, the musical selection is better than average, and they make their own tofu right on the premises!