clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile
A juicy lucy cut in half with prodigious amount of cheese spilling from the center as two hands pull it apart.
A Juicy Lucy from the 5-8 Club.
John Yuccas/Eater Twin Cities

Where to Eat the Twin Cities’ Iconic Juicy Lucy

This classic Minnesota burger is stuffed with molten cheese

View as Map
A Juicy Lucy from the 5-8 Club.
| John Yuccas/Eater Twin Cities

The best burgers, Juicy Lucy diehards maintain, have the cheese inside. One of the Twin Cities’ most iconic dishes to date, a Lucy is a classic beef patty stuffed with cheese, which liquifies (or oozes magnificently, at the very least) upon grilling. It’s a messy, quintessential meal, and one with many local renditions: Both the 5-8 Club and Matt’s Bar (which spells its signature burger the Jucy Lucy, to distinguish it from other takes) claim to be the original home of the burger; Blue Door Pub serves a popular blue cheese version while The Nook keeps it classic; Peppers and Fries tops its Lucy with extra American and Wendy’s House of Soul deep fries the whole thing all together. There are many restaurants across Minneapolis and St. Paul serving great Juicy Lucys — here’s a map of nine essential spots.

Read More

WENDY'S HOUSE OF SOUL, INC.

Copy Link

Wendy’s House of Soul has a unique take on the Juicy Lucy. The Mogul Burger features two pre-baked, quarter-pound patties with a center of American, pepper jack, house, and provolone cheeses, plus green pepper, onions, and turkey bacon. The whole thing is encased in a gluten-free wrap and deep fried, then served with pepperoncini, a pickle, and fries. Grab a deep-fried Soul Roll to go while you’re here.

Crooked Pint Ale House

Copy Link

Crooked Pint runs a chain of restaurants across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, and the Dakotas, and offers a number of respectable Juicy Lucys. One you likely won’t find elsewhere in the Cities is the Poutine Lucy, which is stuffed with American cheese, then topped with more American cheese, plus chopped bacon, pub fries, cheese curds, and beef gravy.

Matt's Bar

Copy Link

Matt’s, one of the Twin Cities most essential restaurants, claims (along with the 5-8 Club) to have invented the Jucy Lucy. (To distinguish its Lucy from other Twin Cities renditions that have since proliferated, Matt’s spells its burger without the “I.”) The legend goes that in 1954, a Matt’s customer ordered two patties with a slice of cheese in the middle — after taking the first molten bite, he declared “That’s one juicy Lucy!” Matt’s Lucy is classic and unadorned (in the best way), flavor-dense and charred at the edges. The American cheese takes on a particular liquid quality compared to some oozier others.

5-8 Club

Copy Link

The 5-8 Club (one of two contenders for the “Home of the Juicy Lucy” title, along with Matt’s Bar) first opened in 1928 as a speakeasy. Today, it’s better known for its cheese-stuffed patties: The 5-8 rendition involves classic American cheese, a broad patty, and a subtle layer of pickles. If you’re in the market for something a little wacky, try variations like the Buffalo Chicken Juicy, or the PB&J, stuffed with an gooey blend of peanut butter and American cheese, and topped with strawberry jam.

Peppers and Fries

Copy Link

A popular, baseball-themed sports bar in Minneapolis’s Longfellow neighborhood, Peppers and Fries serves a notable Juicy Lucy. The stout patty is packed with a dense pocket of American that doesn’t entirely liquify (though prepare for the cheese to leak onto your plate on first bite). Peppers and Fries serves its Lucy with an extra slice of American on top — a “spare tire,” the menu explains, “in case of a blow out.”

Blue Door Pub Longfellow

Copy Link

The Blue Door Pub’s signature Lucy is actually a “Blucy” — it’s stuffed with blue cheese. That said, you can order a classic American rendition here, plus a number of other cheese-stuffed variations. The Longfellow Blucy is an herbed goat cheese and blackberry sauce combo, and the Mount Blucuvious comes with ghost pepper cheese, fried avocado, spicy bacon, and cilantro-lime sauce. Blue Door has another Minneapolis location on Como Avenue.

A person holding a burger with a bite out of it, cheese is oozing out of the center, there is also a basket of tater tots on the table.
A signature Blucy from Blue Door Pub.
Katie Cannon / Eater Twin Cities

Groveland Tap

Copy Link

This Mac Groveland neighborhood pub is popular with college kids and families alike. Possibly the best bite on the menu is a spicy take on Minnesota’s classic cheese-stuffed burger: the Cajun Lucy. Ample pepper jack cheese and jalepeños fit inside the patties with surprising ease. For an extra indulgent Lucy experience, try the BCO Lucy, made with bacon, American cheese, and fried onions.

The Nook

Copy Link

The Nook’s infamous Lucy is called the Juicy Nookie. This burger, a local cult favorite, is classic and unassuming: Gooey American cheese well-distributed throughout the not-too-thick patty. The Nook is a Twin Cities gem in terms of ambiance, too — downstairs from the restaurant space is a small bar papered in signed dollar bills, and a bowling alley with arcade games. Note that you can get this same burger at sister restaurant Shamrock’s on West 7th in St. Paul.

Jersey's Bar & Grill

Copy Link

Jersey’s Bar and Grill isn’t officially in the Twin Cities proper, but Inver Grove Heights is just a stone’s throw from St. Paul. A popular neighborhood bar with frequent live music and DJs, Jersey’s serves some of the best Juicy Lucys in the east metro. Choose between seven Lucy offerings, from the French Onion Juicy to the Jalapeno Popper Juicy, which comes breaded, deep fried, and topped with jalapeno cream cheese.

WENDY'S HOUSE OF SOUL, INC.

Wendy’s House of Soul has a unique take on the Juicy Lucy. The Mogul Burger features two pre-baked, quarter-pound patties with a center of American, pepper jack, house, and provolone cheeses, plus green pepper, onions, and turkey bacon. The whole thing is encased in a gluten-free wrap and deep fried, then served with pepperoncini, a pickle, and fries. Grab a deep-fried Soul Roll to go while you’re here.

Crooked Pint Ale House

Crooked Pint runs a chain of restaurants across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, and the Dakotas, and offers a number of respectable Juicy Lucys. One you likely won’t find elsewhere in the Cities is the Poutine Lucy, which is stuffed with American cheese, then topped with more American cheese, plus chopped bacon, pub fries, cheese curds, and beef gravy.

Matt's Bar

Matt’s, one of the Twin Cities most essential restaurants, claims (along with the 5-8 Club) to have invented the Jucy Lucy. (To distinguish its Lucy from other Twin Cities renditions that have since proliferated, Matt’s spells its burger without the “I.”) The legend goes that in 1954, a Matt’s customer ordered two patties with a slice of cheese in the middle — after taking the first molten bite, he declared “That’s one juicy Lucy!” Matt’s Lucy is classic and unadorned (in the best way), flavor-dense and charred at the edges. The American cheese takes on a particular liquid quality compared to some oozier others.

5-8 Club

The 5-8 Club (one of two contenders for the “Home of the Juicy Lucy” title, along with Matt’s Bar) first opened in 1928 as a speakeasy. Today, it’s better known for its cheese-stuffed patties: The 5-8 rendition involves classic American cheese, a broad patty, and a subtle layer of pickles. If you’re in the market for something a little wacky, try variations like the Buffalo Chicken Juicy, or the PB&J, stuffed with an gooey blend of peanut butter and American cheese, and topped with strawberry jam.

Peppers and Fries

A popular, baseball-themed sports bar in Minneapolis’s Longfellow neighborhood, Peppers and Fries serves a notable Juicy Lucy. The stout patty is packed with a dense pocket of American that doesn’t entirely liquify (though prepare for the cheese to leak onto your plate on first bite). Peppers and Fries serves its Lucy with an extra slice of American on top — a “spare tire,” the menu explains, “in case of a blow out.”

Blue Door Pub Longfellow

The Blue Door Pub’s signature Lucy is actually a “Blucy” — it’s stuffed with blue cheese. That said, you can order a classic American rendition here, plus a number of other cheese-stuffed variations. The Longfellow Blucy is an herbed goat cheese and blackberry sauce combo, and the Mount Blucuvious comes with ghost pepper cheese, fried avocado, spicy bacon, and cilantro-lime sauce. Blue Door has another Minneapolis location on Como Avenue.

A person holding a burger with a bite out of it, cheese is oozing out of the center, there is also a basket of tater tots on the table.
A signature Blucy from Blue Door Pub.
Katie Cannon / Eater Twin Cities

Groveland Tap

This Mac Groveland neighborhood pub is popular with college kids and families alike. Possibly the best bite on the menu is a spicy take on Minnesota’s classic cheese-stuffed burger: the Cajun Lucy. Ample pepper jack cheese and jalepeños fit inside the patties with surprising ease. For an extra indulgent Lucy experience, try the BCO Lucy, made with bacon, American cheese, and fried onions.

The Nook

The Nook’s infamous Lucy is called the Juicy Nookie. This burger, a local cult favorite, is classic and unassuming: Gooey American cheese well-distributed throughout the not-too-thick patty. The Nook is a Twin Cities gem in terms of ambiance, too — downstairs from the restaurant space is a small bar papered in signed dollar bills, and a bowling alley with arcade games. Note that you can get this same burger at sister restaurant Shamrock’s on West 7th in St. Paul.

Jersey's Bar & Grill

Jersey’s Bar and Grill isn’t officially in the Twin Cities proper, but Inver Grove Heights is just a stone’s throw from St. Paul. A popular neighborhood bar with frequent live music and DJs, Jersey’s serves some of the best Juicy Lucys in the east metro. Choose between seven Lucy offerings, from the French Onion Juicy to the Jalapeno Popper Juicy, which comes breaded, deep fried, and topped with jalapeno cream cheese.

Related Maps