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The curved wooden bar at the CC Club, with many bottles behind it.
The CC Club in south Minneapolis.
Katie Cannon

10 Iconic Twin Cities Dive Bars

For Hamm’s on tap and square-cut pizza

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The CC Club in south Minneapolis.
| Katie Cannon

These are a select few of the Twin Cities’ most comfortable, well-worn, quick-serving bars. Dive bars are a part of the fabric of Minneapolis and St. Paul, especially in neighborhoods like Northeast Minneapolis and St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood, historically working-class areas. (For a deeper look at Nordeast’s dive bar scene, check out this map.) Ditch the tasting menus for cheap beer and whiskey in these beloved dives, each blessedly dark and easy on the wallet. Don’t forget to bring cash.

Note that these restaurants are listed geographically.

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Skinner’s

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Pete and Molly Skinner bought Skinner’s 23 years ago, but it’s been a beloved West Seventh dive since not long after Prohibition. Come for the exceptional pizza — thin-crust, square-cut, and made from scratch — and the warm, timeless vibe that only a century’s worth of friendly ghosts can conjure.

The exterior of Skinner’s Pub, a brick building on a road at dusk with a glowing sign.
Skinner’s Pub.
Skinner’s Pub

Spot Bar

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Spot Bar is a proper Hamm’s bar — it serves Minnesota’s favorite golden elixir on tap. (Or a Pig’s Eye pilsner, if you prefer.) As far as old-time dives go, it’s hard to compete with Spot Bar. It’s been a neighborhood staple since 1885. Come for the meat raffles, the pull tabs, and the hotdish cookoffs.

Cedar Inn

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Cedar Inn is famous for its jumbo “pterodactyl” chicken wings, slathered in buffalo sauce or coated with a punchy dry rub. The bar has a friendly neighborhood vibe, plus darts, arcade games, and pinball in the back. Dive bars are sparser in south Minneapolis compared to Northeast, but Cedar Inn is well worth a stop.

A black and white photo of a sign that reads “Cedar Inn, ATM” with drawings of a burger, a beer, and a chicken.
Cedar Inn in south Minneapolis.
Cedar Inn

Palmer's Bar

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Palmer’s was a beloved West Bank bar for decades before Tony Zaccardi (formerly of Grumpy’s Northeast, also a local musician) bought it in 2018. This a salt-of-the-earth kind of bar, perhaps Minneapolis’s most quintessential dive. As Zaccardi told Growler Magazine: “One of my favorite mantras about Palmer’s, is that it’s very much Black, white, rich, poor, gay, straight, trans, left, right, it kind of doesn’t matter. Everyone’s welcome here until you’re an asshole.” The nightly live music calendar is back in full swing.

CC Club

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Cheap enough to continue to inspire rock n' roll miscreants who make the local music we love and dark enough to make you fall in love with a new friend. Put a quarter down on the pool tables in the back.

The curved wooden bar at the CC Club, with many bottles behind it.
The CC Club, a classic south Minneapolis dive.
Katie Cannon

Low-key and welcoming, 19Bar is the best gay dive bar in the city. Bring cash for cheap margaritas and play pool all night — or grab a spot on the seasonal patio.

Cuzzy's Grill & Bar

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Cool since the North Loop was just an isolated neighborhood adjacent Warehouse District, Cuzzy's is dark, comfortable, and the perfect antidote to any long day. Bring a dollar bill to stick on the wall.

People sitting in a dive bar with photos plastered all over the wall.
A crowd at Cuzzy’s.
Cuzzy’s Grill & Bar

Dusty's Bar

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Whiskey drinks like water inside this Northeast fixture. Note the old phone booth, which gives Dusty’s a bit of a time traveler’s vibe. Buy a couple of pull tabs to while away the minutes while waiting for one of the famous sandwiches, made with Italian pork sausage, caramelized onions, mozzarella, and sweet peppers.

A row of bottles and a cash register in a low-lit bar area.
Behind the bar at Dusty’s.
Katie Cannon

Mayslack's

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Minneapolis-born Polish pro wrestler Stan Mayslack and his wife Ann “Butch” Mayslack opened Mayslack’s in 1955. While Stan whipped up garlic roast beef sandwiches in the kitchen, Butch ran the till. The pair hosted many a rowdy polka night. These days, Mayslack’s hosts plenty of live bands (and plays polka on the jukebox) and is still serving its famous slow-roasted beef sandwiches, heaped with banana peppers and onions and served au jus.

Grumpy's Bar

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Grumpy’s has everything you could ask of a great dive: Plenty of great beer, unpretentious decor, and perfectly cheesy bar pizza, cut into proper squares. This is a popular gathering spot for local musicians.

Dive bar with a top shelf beer selection
Grumpy’s Northeast/ Google Images

Skinner’s

Pete and Molly Skinner bought Skinner’s 23 years ago, but it’s been a beloved West Seventh dive since not long after Prohibition. Come for the exceptional pizza — thin-crust, square-cut, and made from scratch — and the warm, timeless vibe that only a century’s worth of friendly ghosts can conjure.

The exterior of Skinner’s Pub, a brick building on a road at dusk with a glowing sign.
Skinner’s Pub.
Skinner’s Pub

Spot Bar

Spot Bar is a proper Hamm’s bar — it serves Minnesota’s favorite golden elixir on tap. (Or a Pig’s Eye pilsner, if you prefer.) As far as old-time dives go, it’s hard to compete with Spot Bar. It’s been a neighborhood staple since 1885. Come for the meat raffles, the pull tabs, and the hotdish cookoffs.

Cedar Inn

Cedar Inn is famous for its jumbo “pterodactyl” chicken wings, slathered in buffalo sauce or coated with a punchy dry rub. The bar has a friendly neighborhood vibe, plus darts, arcade games, and pinball in the back. Dive bars are sparser in south Minneapolis compared to Northeast, but Cedar Inn is well worth a stop.

A black and white photo of a sign that reads “Cedar Inn, ATM” with drawings of a burger, a beer, and a chicken.
Cedar Inn in south Minneapolis.
Cedar Inn

Palmer's Bar

Palmer’s was a beloved West Bank bar for decades before Tony Zaccardi (formerly of Grumpy’s Northeast, also a local musician) bought it in 2018. This a salt-of-the-earth kind of bar, perhaps Minneapolis’s most quintessential dive. As Zaccardi told Growler Magazine: “One of my favorite mantras about Palmer’s, is that it’s very much Black, white, rich, poor, gay, straight, trans, left, right, it kind of doesn’t matter. Everyone’s welcome here until you’re an asshole.” The nightly live music calendar is back in full swing.

CC Club

Cheap enough to continue to inspire rock n' roll miscreants who make the local music we love and dark enough to make you fall in love with a new friend. Put a quarter down on the pool tables in the back.

The curved wooden bar at the CC Club, with many bottles behind it.
The CC Club, a classic south Minneapolis dive.
Katie Cannon

19 Bar

Low-key and welcoming, 19Bar is the best gay dive bar in the city. Bring cash for cheap margaritas and play pool all night — or grab a spot on the seasonal patio.

Cuzzy's Grill & Bar

Cool since the North Loop was just an isolated neighborhood adjacent Warehouse District, Cuzzy's is dark, comfortable, and the perfect antidote to any long day. Bring a dollar bill to stick on the wall.

People sitting in a dive bar with photos plastered all over the wall.
A crowd at Cuzzy’s.
Cuzzy’s Grill & Bar

Dusty's Bar

Whiskey drinks like water inside this Northeast fixture. Note the old phone booth, which gives Dusty’s a bit of a time traveler’s vibe. Buy a couple of pull tabs to while away the minutes while waiting for one of the famous sandwiches, made with Italian pork sausage, caramelized onions, mozzarella, and sweet peppers.

A row of bottles and a cash register in a low-lit bar area.
Behind the bar at Dusty’s.
Katie Cannon

Mayslack's

Minneapolis-born Polish pro wrestler Stan Mayslack and his wife Ann “Butch” Mayslack opened Mayslack’s in 1955. While Stan whipped up garlic roast beef sandwiches in the kitchen, Butch ran the till. The pair hosted many a rowdy polka night. These days, Mayslack’s hosts plenty of live bands (and plays polka on the jukebox) and is still serving its famous slow-roasted beef sandwiches, heaped with banana peppers and onions and served au jus.

Grumpy's Bar

Grumpy’s has everything you could ask of a great dive: Plenty of great beer, unpretentious decor, and perfectly cheesy bar pizza, cut into proper squares. This is a popular gathering spot for local musicians.

Dive bar with a top shelf beer selection
Grumpy’s Northeast/ Google Images

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