Every metropolitan area has its unique ecosystem. Comes the night, this usually turns upside down. Knowing the city and even doing your preparation on the place throughout the day will not prepare you for the city’s nightlife. Regarding the nightlife in Minneapolis, here’s a brief rundown of what you need to know.
1. Best areas to go out
First, you must understand that your night out usually won’t be restricted to one place or bar. At the same time, you don’t want to spend most of your night in transit. Your main objective is to get the most out of the nightlife in Minneapolis. This is why you want to pick the area to go out. This will make bar/nightclub hopping a lot easier.
First, you have Downtown Minneapolis, THE nightlife hub in Minneapolis. Here, you have iconic places like The Loft and The Pourhouse. This is the most metropolitan area in Minneapolis, and it’s beaming with everything from nightclubs and downtown bars to sports bars and cocktail lounges.
Another area worth visiting is the North Loop. The place got its name after the streetcar line, and the place is known for some of the most unique restaurants in the entire metropolitan area. This area is rich with places like Gori Gori Peku and Parlour Bar.
Northeast Minneapolis is a place filled with old-fashioned cafes and dining spots. It also has many microbreweries (a category we’ll cover independently later in the article).
2. Live music and concert scene
Minneapolis is renowned for its great live music scene. After all, did you expect anything else from the hometown of Bob Dylan and Prince?
The first venue on this list is the First Avenue & 7th Street Entry. This place was visited by almost every noteworthy performer on the continent. It’s a unique place, as well. Since the dawn of time, live performances happened under the open sky. Well, this venue has an exterior painted black with over 400 silver painted stars with names of musicians who performed there. It’s Minneapolis’ walk/wall of fame.
331 Club is an amazing place for a laid-back experience. Also, unlike our previous entry, which is more universally famous, 331 Club is more likely to provide you with an authentic local experience. On the other hand, if you’re more interested in listening to a hip-hop artist, you should visit The Cabooze.
One of the biggest venues in the city is The Armory, where a big name is likely to have their concert when they decide to visit Minnesota.
3. Craft beer and distilleries
Visiting Minneapolis with a plan to go out and not make a craft distillery tour is a massive missed opportunity. Still, with so many distilleries, you won’t be able to pay them all a visit. Which of them is a must-visit?
The first place on our list is Tattersall Distilling. This is a place that distills:
- Rye whiskey
- Gin
- Vodka
- Apple brandy
- Blackstrap rum
- Absinthe
You can try many handcrafted cocktails at the bar, unlike anything you’ve ever tasted. The best thing about it is that you know it’s all “homemade,” which will make even the familiar cocktails taste different.
Norseman Distillery is another place worth visiting. This place has an interesting origin story – it was opened during Prohibition, later legalized, and became an integral part of the city’s culture and history. The menu changes seasonally, meaning there’s a difference depending on when you schedule your visit. A tour is not the only way to enjoy this venue; you can also sign up for a Cocktail Lab Class, which will turn you into a cocktail master.
4. Late-night food options
If you’re scheduling a visit to a restaurant, you’ll likely be restricted to the menu of the place you’ve visited. However, if you’re out drinking and having fun with friends (or on your own), eventually, you’ll get hungry. At this point, you’ll want to explore some of the city’s best fast-food options.
The first choice is to go to Culver’s for ButterBurgers and frozen custard. While this place migrated from Wisconsin to Minnesota, the place is already a huge part of the local fast-food biome.
Our previous entry came to Minnesota from Wisconsin, but what about a fast-food chain that migrated to Minneapolis from Chicago? Portillo’s is where you can get real Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches.
While this is a global fast-food chain, Minnesotans love Five Guys. The place specializes in customizable burgers and fresh-cut fries, a prerequisite to a tasty (albeit not the healthiest) late-night snack.
Ultimately, you should pay a visit to Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. While you can find great chicken fingers elsewhere, the famous Cane’s Sauce is endemic to this venue.
5. Outdoor activities
While spending an evening outdoors in Minneapolis may sound counterintuitive, you must remember that Minnesota is not freezing all year round. Also, the city has far cleaner air than most metropolitan areas in the States, so this idea is not so wild.
Naturally, you’re looking for some of the best rooftop bars like Lounge at the Hewing Hotel, Brit’s Pub, or Union. The last one has a glass-enclosed rooftop bar, which makes it available all year round. You can always go to their Instagram page and see what the place looks like before deciding what to visit. Remember that Instagram has its own system and rules, and online authority doesn’t always translate to the real world.
The Skyway System is also something worth visiting. Enclosed walkways connect multiple buildings, making walking from one hotel to the other easy. It’s a unique piece of architecture that provides an amazing view.
Wrap up
At the end of the day, the nightlife in Minneapolis is unique, and there are two rules you should follow to get the most out of it. first, try to go to the place where locals go. Touristy places are the same all over the globe, and you want to sample the real thing. Second, you’re probably not staying for long, so try to sample as much unique experiences as you can.
