Photo: Chris Emeott
We talk to the people behind White Bear Lake’s best restaurant.
White Bear Lake loves Acqua, so much so that it made it into two categories. You chose Acqua as the best restaurant, and voted it a finalist for best patio. We talk to the people behind Acqua to learn more about them.
Ten years ago, Daron and Nicole Close opened their first restaurant in White Bear Lake. That same restaurant, Acqua, was voted Best Restaurant and Patio in White Bear Lake. In addition to their impressive food and drink menu, they have an expansive patio near the water where customers can dine beneath a cottonwood tree.
They were asked to recount their favorite meal and drinks respectively, since Daron is in charge of the food while Nicole manages the beverage side. Daron says he fondly remembers their first meal together as a married couple on their wedding night. The staff at Acqua catered a southern shrimp boil and roasted pig combined with items that can be found on the menu like fresh sweet corn and an apple, cheese and chive salad, with butterscotch budino for dessert.
Nicole’s go-to drink is a homemade margarita with orange liqueur, preferably cognac or brandy-based, like Gran Gala, Pierre Ferrand dry curacao, freshly squeezed lime juice and of course, a quality tequila like Don Julio. Her most memorable drink moment was at a winery in France’s Loire Valley where she and Daron enjoyed a Vouvray. She loved it so much that they now have several offerings from that winery on their menu: Damien Piñon Tufoo and Huet Clos du Bourg.
For a taste of the Close’s favorites and an opportunity to create memories of your own, wine and dine at White Bear Lake’s best, Acqua.
