Unique Bars Near the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis Campus
The newest bar in Dinkytown, and one of the most popular as of late, is Blarney’s Grill and Bar, or just Blarney’s to anyone in the area. When completely empty, Blarney’s looks like a relaxed Irish pub, with plenty of wood grain, dark colors, and a huge brick fireplace in the middle of the room. When it’s packed on a weekend night or one of their weekday drink specials-Thursday $2.50 Long Island Ice Teas were especially popular in the past year, although the taste of the drinks left a little to be desired-the bar looks like any other stereotypical college bar with a pretty stereotypical college crowd. So if you are looking for a great deal of crowded social action, this is the bar to try first, but if you’re looking for a relaxed Irish pub, you’d better get there in the early evening or on a weekend night without drink specials.
One of the more interesting bars in Dinkytown is aptly named The Dinkytowner and is located below ground directly under Blarney’s. After you walk down the long set of stairs into the basement bar-remember those stairs when you’re deciding whether or not to order that sixth shot-you’ll probably notice the DJ spinning a crazy collection of music to your right, and a modest bar to your left. If you keep walking to the left past the bar, you’ll pass rows of red vinyl seats, where you can get the best breakfast in Dinkytown, and immediately walk into the pool room, easily the best place to play pool in Dinkytown. There are occasional drink specials, including a ladies night, but the main draw to the bar is the dark, red-lit basement ambiance and the freshly spun techno and hip-hop music.
If you consider yourself to be among the ultra-cool, or even just a regular person looking for an ultra-cool bar, The Kitty Kat Club should be your first choice. There is definitely no bar experience quite like the Kitty Kat Club anywhere else in Dinkytown, perhaps even in Minneapolis as a whole. Opening only a few years back, the bar could be described as a psychedelic antique store. If you pull up to a table with a group of friends, chances are two people will be on a soft loveseat, two more will be in easy chairs, and the rest might be on other random sofas, benches, and chairs. The drinks are a little pricier than most Dinkytown bars, but usually they’re mixed strong enough to make them worth the money. Plus, the bar staff are some of the most friendly in the area. Become a regular, leave a few good tips, or even just ask for suggestions of drinks and be prepared for service unlike any other bar.
Rounding off the list of the best places bars in Dinkytown is Burrito Loco, a once small burrito restaurant and delivery place that moved into a bar. The drink specials there are usually pretty good, and they even include a night where, with a small cover, everyone drinks for free until the first person has to go to the bathroom, a good deal unless you’re the first person to go. However, the real highlight there is their food menu. It’s the only place to get a burrito in Dinkytown, and the only burrito place on the Twin Cities U of M Campus that delivers. Their burritos and quesadillas are excellent and can be made fresh for you while you pound down the drinks. Burrito Loco also offers a limited amount of pool and dart playing space. Usually Burrito Loco’s bar can get quite busy on the weekends, but it is more of a relaxed-or sometimes empty-place to go on weeknights.
If you’re willing to leave the Dinkytown bar area, which is sometimes needed to add variety, the best bar close by is Town Hall Brewery in the West Bank area. The bar features a relaxed pub atmosphere, and even though it’s usually fairly busy, it’s not too hard to find a place to sit. Town Hall brews a wide variety of beer on location and usually has inventive and tasty seasonal varieties. Their Scotch Ale might be the best beer it the city. If you really like the beers, you can buy them in jugs to take home. Some other bars in the West Bank area are Grandma’s, with the most used dance floor of all the U of M college bars, Sgt. Preston’s, which has some pretty decent food and great outdoor seating in the summertime, The Corner Bar, and Bullwinkle’s, both of which are also pretty decent bars.
So there you have it, the best places to drink in Dinkytown. Just remember, each bar has a unique crowd and mood; it’s best to try out a variety of places until you find one that you really enjoy being at. Also, a crowded bar means a lot of social opportunities, but it also means it’ll be harder to get a drink, and the ones you do get will be made in a hurry. When one bar is overcrowded in Dinkytown, there’s usually another one down the street that’s a little less busy, but a little more comfortable.
