Lounges in Minneapolis

Black Sheep Pizza is Minneapolis's most creative bar-restaurant combination — a North Loop pizza restaurant with an exceptional craft cocktail and natural wine program that has become one of Minneapolis's most beloved evening destinations. Its combination of excellent food, outstanding drinks, and the warm communal atmosphere of a great neighborhood restaurant-bar creates the most accessible expression of North Loop's ambitious food and beverage culture.

Fulton Beer Taproom is Minneapolis's most beloved craft brewery lounge — a North Loop gathering place producing outstanding ales including the celebrated Sweet Child of Vine IPA. Fulton's extraordinary community spirit and its remarkable North Loop location create a brewery lounge of genuine Minneapolis craft beer culture significance.

Marvel Bar is Minneapolis's most acclaimed cocktail bar — a North Loop institution that has consistently ranked among America's best cocktail bars since its opening. Minneapolis's extraordinary cocktail culture (it produces more nationally recognized bartenders per capita than almost any city in America) and Marvel Bar's remarkable innovation create a cocktail lounge of genuine American drinks culture significance.

Norseman Distillery is Minneapolis's most atmospheric craft spirits lounge — a Northeast Minneapolis speakeasy-style bar producing extraordinary vodka and gin in a Viking-themed industrial space that creates one of the most distinctive cocktail experiences in the Midwest. Its connection to Minneapolis's Scandinavian heritage and its creative spirits production have made it one of the most talked-about distilleries in the upper Midwest.

Uptown Minneapolis's entertainment corridor supports some of Minnesota's most creative cocktail lounges — serving a neighborhood that has been the center of Minneapolis creative culture since Prince made it famous in the 1980s as the setting for Purple Rain. Uptown's extraordinary concentration of independent bars, restaurants, and music venues creates one of the Midwest's most complete neighborhood entertainment experiences.

Shindig is one of Minneapolis's most charming cocktail lounges — a Northeast Minneapolis venue that serves the neighborhood's extraordinary creative community with craft cocktails and a warm, inviting atmosphere. Northeast Minneapolis's extraordinary density of artists, musicians, and craftspeople creates one of the Midwest's most interesting neighborhood bar cultures, and Shindig serves that community with appropriate creativity.

Tattersall Distilling is Minneapolis's most beloved craft distillery lounge — a Northeast Minneapolis cocktail room where Tattersall's extraordinary award-winning spirits (crème de fleur, blackberry lemon shrub) are showcased in creative cocktails. The distillery's success in building national recognition for Minneapolis craft spirits has made it one of the most important players in Minnesota's growing artisan beverage economy.

The Dakota Jazz Club is Minneapolis's most acclaimed live music lounge — a 350-capacity Nicollet Mall venue that has presented the world's finest jazz, blues, and American roots artists for over 30 years and consistently ranks among the top jazz venues in the United States. The Dakota's restaurant-club hybrid model, impeccable booking standards, and elegant atmosphere make it the destination for serious music enthusiasts seeking the most refined live music experience in Minnesota.

Minneapolis's cocktail scene reflects one of America's most creative mid-size cities — a place where the extraordinary cold (Minneapolis is the coldest major city in the continental United States) creates a bar culture of unusual warmth and indoor social sophistication. Minneapolis's remarkable creativity (it produces more theater per capita than any city except New York) and its extraordinary cocktail culture create a lounge environment of genuine Midwest creative excellence.