Bars for a thursday night?

[s1mpson]

Hi fellow chowhounders! -

My fiancee and I will be flying to MN for a wedding, and we get to spend one night in the Twin Cities.

We've already selected our lunch (Matts bar for the infamous Juicy Lucy) and Dinner (hibachi buffet), we just need some help on places to go after dinner...

What are some good places downtown that people can recommend?

I'd like to goto an area where there are a few good bars, so we dont have to drive everywhere.

Some places I was looking at:

Seven - for the rooftop bar
Whiskey Junction

AAAAND thats it. I'm utilizing Yelp too -- but I hope you chowhounders can help me as well!

remember.. Thursday night! .. if you need an exact date. .its june 16th

[s1mpson]

Looks like I have a lot of research to do today! Thank you everyone!

I read up on a few bars yesterday, none are any you guys mentioned in this thread. Should be a productive day of planning .

I guess I would prefer a more college-sports bar to start off with, hit up a few of those, then end up maybe at a lounge to relax and maybe get a late night snack. ..

[LiaM]

If you're looking for a college crowd, you might try around Dinkytown by the University (around 4th Street and 15th Ave SE). The Kitty Kat Club is a nice loungey bar and there are a few other places around there that I'm less familiar with (the Library, Downtime, the Blarney Pub).

[BigE]

The Library would be the definition of a college sports bar, though the Dinkytown area can be pretty dead in the summer.

If you're in DT near Seven/Bradstreet, you could go to O'Donovan's. That's a pretty laid back joint.

Otherwise, Uptown is probably your best bet.

[danionavenue]

college sports bars downtown I recommend brothers and rosens

[danionavenue]

oh ya and Sneaky Petes is funny. There are some stripper poles. Funny to watch the big burly men try to do moves ha ha.

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Sneaky Pete's
14 N 5th St, Minneapolis, MN 55403

[LiaM]

If you're looking for a rooftop bar there are a couple in Uptown that are supposed to be good: Moto-I, Stella's, Uptown Cafeteria. I'd recommend that area for barhopping anyway. Bryant-Lake Bowl is usually pretty cool, Chino Latino can be fun. Barbette is my personal favorite.

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Chino Latino
2916 Hennepin Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55408

[kevin47]

Your response to Matt's Jucy Lucy will be "dunno what the big deal is".

Dinner. If you are within earshot of Matt's, and want to keep it cheap, downscale and interesting, try T's. His signature chicken curry is delicious. You can either drive downtown, or simply catch the light rail for the bar scene.

To which, do check out Bradstreet, or Saffron Downtown. Both of those places make serious cocktails. If it's about the rooftop, consider moto-I in Uptown (not accessible by train, but an easy drive).

In this area, take Yelp for what it's worth. Those folks get excited about some pretty awful stuff.

[danionavenue]

Downtown Thursday night, The Drink has $2.50 drinks till midnight and it is usually pretty busy. They also have fun music. If there is a Twins game that night, most places will be busy. I love Seven's patio. You have to walk up 3 flights of stairs to get there.... hello people, heels and ladies drinking plus stairs could lead to issues. The W hotel has a great lobby bar and bar upstairs but, not sure how it is on a Thursday.

[BigE]

Where are you staying? And by hibachi buffet, are you talking about Wasabi, Ichiban, or somewhere else? Just trying to zero in on a walkable area.

For DT drinking options, you couldn't much more polar opposite than Seven and Whiskey Junction. That isn't a bad thing, just saying the clientele will go from grizzled biker to young and chic. They're also a little ways away from each other...much more than walking distance.

If you're at Ichiban, you could walk to Brit's, The Local, and Barrio...all on Nicollet Mall. That would be a pretty good trip.

Near Seven, the first place that comes to mind is Bradstreet. Top notch cocktails in a great spot. Solera is another one with a rooftop bar. The new Crave is supposed to be opening a giant rooftop deck soon, but I'm not sure of the date.

Hope that helps :)

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Solera
900 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403

[s1mpson]

Hi!

Thanks for responding.. I'm actually not sure the name of the place... My fiancee found it on yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hibachi-buffe...

so.. Hibachi buffet? We're gonna drive to downtown from the buffet, so it doesnt matter if the bars are walking distance from the place, just as long as the bars are close to each other

[Alsama]

I would go to 1000 different restaurants before I ever stepped foot in Hibachi buffet. Why there? Especially when Minnesota has so many better options.

[KTFoley]

Here's a semi-recent thread on buffets, including Hibachi Buffet.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/726784

People do tend to prefer the 98 Pound Buffet, it looks like.

There is not a lot of anything near Whiskey Junction, except the Cabooze next door. It's been a loooooong time but I remember them both as bikers&blues kinds of places. Depends on what a good bar means to you. Triple Rock is a hike in one direction; Blue Nile is a hike in the other.

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Triple Rock
629 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis, MN

[Foureyes137]

Just a head's up, the place you reference from Yelp, there was recently a thread here on CH, wherein a diner expounded on why this restaurant has a bouncer/security guard who works the door.

Suffice it to say, I hope you are going for the entertainment...there are other places in town for teppenyaki that are not as, uh, lively.

The two bars you reference couldn't be more divergent, one a see-and-be-seen downtown enclave for suburban 20somethings (and $10 rails), the other a grungy (fun) biker bar (that isn't downtown).

What are you looking for re: experience/ambiance? Do you want a clubby/VIP vibe, a divey joint to have a shot and a beer, a collegiate white-hat pound-and-puke beerpongatorium, an upscale lounge? You can get all of these downtown, but they are in different areas and may require different dress.

Also, do not discount Northeast or Uptown for hopping. Less variety (NE is divey, Uptown is sorta suburban), but it's a quick cab ride and a good deal of fun.

[BigE]

Goodness. I would HIGHLY recommend checking out somewhere else. Even within a few miles of that place, there are a dozen or more options I would prefer.

But, if you are in that area, Uptown has a pretty solid night vibe. I'm not sure of any Thursday night spots, so I'll leave that to the rest of the crew.