The 1029 Bar

This is a decent bar and a decently popular bar. Their smaller menu stays true to the fact that the food is good. The lobster salad is amazing, solo much lobster! The wings are also great, I elected to get the dry Cajun rub as opposed to the sloppy smack sauce that tastes sugary, like honey, and not spicy at all. Too my dissapointment. Although the wings were cooked to perfection, the blue cheesy was very generic and cheap tasting. So why do I give this place 4 stars you say? The atmosphere. People come here to do kareeoke, and it works well for that. Bar tenders are also nice and the service isn’t bad. Come with a group of friends and werk it!

I had wanted to go to 1029 forever! Every time we’d stop by element it would be, «we should go to 1029,» or, «What do you think 1029 is like?» Well, last night we finally made that happen!
It seemed to be a really fun atmosphere inside. It was busy but not crowded, the tables weren’t on top of each other, everyone seemed to be loving the food, the bathrooms were dated (it’s an old building) but clean!
But it was SO SO LOUD and just a little too early in the night to handle that. The solution? Patio!
The patio is up a partial set of stairs, but is accessible from the back side of the building.
The downswing:
First, and I acknowledge they have *almost* no control over this, that patio was ROWDY. This was at like 8 PM and this group was going hard. There was a lot of screaming and falling over and smoking and some guy kept revving his cycle (the literal worst). So experience downgrade, but again, not their fault and possibly not the norm.
You know what is their fault and likely is the norm? TERRIBLE SERVICE. We saw our server when we first sat down and she said she had to run something inside and would be right back! Fast forward twenty minutes, nothing. At this point we go inside and get our own pitcher. She was at the bar chatting, apologized profusely. Half hour later, still nothing. Go inside to fetch another pitcher. In all, we were there 90 minutes and had wanted to order food, but unfortunately our server NEVER CAME TO OUR TABLE. She was definitely around though. She would stop by one table every 5 – 10 minutes to see how they were doing and would ignore every single other table on the patio! When one group shouted, «Hey, what about us?» she went back inside. Like wtf? A

This place is great. Nice wrap around bar and some of the best food in North East for a dive. The karaōke is run by a touch screen computer, so no going through dirty books or dealing with a person who decides whether or not you go up or not.
Somehow they get away with playing roulette there. Atmosphere is jolly and full of locals who welcome outsiders.

Humiliated– I went to 1029 for happy hour with my colleagues. Our drinks took a while and my friend’s was totally incorrect. Our next waitress was way better. Ate lobster grilled cheese (yummy). My issue though is a huge one: we were the only group there with people of color. And as we dispersed, a woman leaned against my friend, told him to get off her, and then the bouncer kicked my friend out. It was so blatantly racist, that patrons left who were not even part of our party. We spent a nice chunk of change only to be humiliated. We left, tried to calm down, cried a bit, and now… Something has to change.

Fun spot. Lots going on always. On any given day you might walk into a bunch of people playing bingo, pull tabs or winning meat from the meat raffle. On any given night, you’ll probably walk into a karaōke joint of very inebriated people singing Journey’s, «Don’t Stop Believing» or a bunch of people yelling at, what they call in MinnesOta, «The Wheel» (imagine MN roulette).
The kitchen is run by the Smack Shack and they serve quite a few menu options for such a tiny kitchen. Lobster roll is what everyone raves about. It’s alright, can lack flavor sometimes, but I usually enjoy it. Lots of chunks of lobster, they do not skimp! Their burgers are always on point and fries are delicious. They have lobster mac and cheese and bacon mac and cheese. That’s all you need to know. They usually have a food special each month. Drinks are great, cheap and strong. Some local brews on tap but you won’t necessarily find your die-​hard «craft beer» drinker, «I’m too good for Bud Light» buddy in here. Lots of locals run this place as with any dive bar. Oh, and service is fantastic!

Great food, fun atmosphere, but terrible service. We easily waited 20 minutes to get a drink order and to close out our tabs… all before 6.

Great dive bar! The staff are so friendly. Great service, and lobster Mac to die for! You have to try this place.

First time at this place — loved it! It was packed on a Saturday night. Had the Smack burger and fries — delicious! Fun vibe and karaōke started at 9. The perfect girls’ night out at a fun dive bar!

Always a good time at 1029. Between the delicious food, respectably priced beers, and amusing fellow patrons performing karaōke; it’s impossible to have a bad time.

I met two fellow Unilocalers here for Happy Hour. I ordered the Lobsta Roll. I enjoyed it but remembered it tasting better on the food truck years ago. Enjoyed two beers here. On the way back to my car, I stopped back in to use the bathroom and I got carded. The place was very packed.

Hands down best karaōke bar in Minneapolis. The tap menu always has fantastic options and the same food is served here as Smack Shack. Unfortunately, they just raised prices on food but the lobster roll is mind-​blowingly delicious and worth the few extra bucks.

This place is such a cool dive bar! The décor is odd as you got bars all over the place and police badges. The fries are great, even if they don’t have honey-​mustard. I had the lobster roll, which is really good, just not worth the price the one negative is the workers don’t seem helpful if you aren’t a regular.

I’m not exactly sure what the minimum character limit is for these reviews is. but I’ll keep it simple:
Go for the Lobster Sandwich, stay for the hilarious karaōke.
Cheers!

A little disappointed in the lobster mac and the lobster roll. The lobster itself was great, large chunks of claws, but we felt a little underwhelmed for a place that’s been featured on TV.
However, the entire staff was super friendly and it’s a cute little divey bar. Good local brews on tap. I’d come back again, but wouldn’t go out of my way like we did this time.

First, the food was great. no complaints!
The service… the pull tab seller completely ignored us when we walked up and said «hi»! She looked down and read her book as we continued to stand there. I had to say «HI»! again, and we received the cold shoulder. MAYBE it was because one of the employees popping popcorn was busy playing pull tabs during his shift.dunno.
Upon asking for our tab, the employee that was playing tabs that works behind the bar got really funky and acted like he knew nothing of our food and drink tab. Once we gave him cash, he simply walked away without asking us if we needed change on our split tab.
This was embarrassing, I brought a friend from the burbs in here. I have never been treated this way. There were about 10 people in the whole bar, it was not busy. I am a good tipper, and have been here many times in the past.
I am severely disappointed!

Relaxed, casual atmosphere, good food but very crowded most nights. Being crowded is obviously not a bad sign for a bar or restaurant, it just depends what kind of mood you are in. If you want a low key night out, I wouldn’t choose 1029 on a Friday or Saturday. I’ve been on a Sunday afternoon and it was great.
Karaōke on the weekends is always very popular and has a life of its own. 1029 is a fun spot, you just have to put yourself in that mindset.

For a Dive bar. I have no problems diving into a spicy Bloody Mary with The shrimp Po’ Boy basket. This place isn’t big on looks or an updated infrastructure but the food is great. The staff is comprised of all females except the cooks. The patrons appear to be neighborhood locals (I could be wrong) but everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves while listening to the Touchtunes jukebox and purchasing bingo sheets.
The meals all tend to be $ 10 and up and drinks are a little pricey also. I can’t say the prices detour anyone from coming to this local favorite. I spent $ 60 easily. I’ll be back Smack Shack.

1029 bar is perfect a more convenient location for me if I’m wanting Smack Shack lobster! I do prefer the atmosphere of Smack Shack in North Loop, but this one is a cute and small dive bar. I went for lunch today, and since it was nice and sunny out, we sat outside! The outdoor area is really cute — right at the back where the 2^nd door is. There are tables with umbrellas so you can have some shade.
The food at 1029 is delicious! I’m a huge fan of Smack Shack eats! I got the lobster roll and I loved it! The lobster tastes light and fresh, and it’s smushed between two amazing bread slices. And by amazing, I mean buttery, fluffy goodness. It comes with potato chips and a pickle as well! My boyfriend ordered the burger and he liked it! We also got a half order of fries which was plenty, and only $ 2!
Our server was really sweet, and all the food was great. I will definitely be making my way back to 1029 many more times!

So the boyfriend and I were reminiscing about our Florida trip and the fresh seafood, how we can’t wait to go back. So he stated researching lobster rolls in the twin cities. He found 1029 Bar n Smack Shack. 1029 menu is smaller compared to Smack Shack but located in a less congested Mpls area, so we went there.
Keep I’m mind this was a late dinner and a bar. Lol we arrived around 9:15 pm on a Friday night. It was very loud inside with karaōke. Its a seat yourself bar. We tried to get seating outside, but it was full. We got a table by the kitchen and rest rooms. Very loud, we could barely conversate… If we did, we had to yell. Litteraly. But that’s fine, it’s a bar and we really wanted to try the food.
Service was good. Got our drinks and put our order in right away. I ordered clam chowda soup $ 3. He got lobster roll v$ 15 with fries $ 2 extra and I got shrimp po boy $ 11 w chips. I was expecting them to bring my soup first… But it came with the food. I was a little disappointed, but I was already buzzed by then with my blue moon…
Fries were skinny and crispy. Just the way I like em. Chips, were chips. Lobster roll bread was super soft and yum. Lobster was in big chucks. The bf loved it. I thought it was good. My shrimp po boy was OK. My first time ordering a po boy sandwich. Bread was super good. Didn’t like the buffalo batter flavored shrimp really. I love Buffalo sauce n wings… But didn’t really like it in the sandwich. It was OK.
Checkout was quick n easy.
L

Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! Everything here is perfect. The food is immaculate. The service is very good. There are a lot of douchey types talking about golf with orange skin. Ignore them and order more seafood.
I had the lobster and arugula salad which is so delicious. Just ideal for summer with an ice cold beer. I also had the shrimp poor boy which was absolutely wonderful, the best I’ve had since I was last in New Orleans.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said? The lobster dishes here are amazing. Lobster roll. Lobster macs and cheese. Lobster grilled cheese. It is all amazing. Food is great and atmosphere is far more relaxed and quiet than the Smack Shack
In downtown Minneapolis. Parking is way easier, too. We go to 1039 Bar and have the same great food as the smack shack without the hassles of being downtown. This place is not to be missed.

Went here for the first time last weekend. It was 630 on a Saturday and they were quite busy. I ordered the lobster roll and my boyfriend ordered the lobster Mac and Cheese.
I didn’t like the bread with the lobster roll as there was way more bread than lobster. Though the lobster tasted fresh it was kind of bland in my opinion. The chips were chips. (If you want a great lobster roll go to Bluestone)
Brians Mac and Cheese didn’t have much lobster and was also kind of bland.
The staff was nice but over all we wont be coming back.

Swung through here on a recent Tuesday and was pleased to see a lively local bar with free popcorn, nice sized bar, great IPA selection, and a good sized patio. Pull tabs and paraphernalia — it meets all the definitions of a dive bar without being actually divey.
There’s free parking — but man be careful on the way out so you don’t scrape…
This is a must do on your Nord east pub crawl!

Love this place. We’ve come here twice now and both times have been thoroughly entertained. We brought some out of town friends here on Halloween and ended up staying much later than we did because of all the great crooners in this place! They’ve partnered up with Smack Shack to offer some crazy good bar food for cheaper than at the Smack Shack restaurant since it’s a bar atmosphere.
They have something going on all the time — the first time we were there they had Bingo. The time we brought our friends in they had karaōke and pull tab. Great place to hang out, great beers/​drinks available. And GREAT service — our waitress was incredibly attentive and held the perfect balance of checking in without making us feel pressured.
We ordered the lobster mac n’ cheese and the lobster grilled cheese, they were both fantastic. The mac n’ cheese though gets RICH after a while, it’s a pretty big portion and the cheese is really thick. The lobster grilled cheese was yummy with a great balance of lobster and asparagus. All in all, will definitely be back!

It seems as if every corner in Nordeast is occupied by a neighborhood watering hole, but 1029 is definitely one that I’ll go out of my way for.
Sure, it’s a cop bar and the ambiance is no frills, though the latter is certainly part of its charm, but it’s definitely a fun spot to hang out and the food from Smack Shack makes for some damn good drunchies. Even if your BAC hasn’t reached criminal levels, the lamb sandwich, lobster roll and lobster mac and cheese are tops. I don’t care if the atmosphere, reasonably priced drinks, etc. disappears — I will keep coming back for that lamb sandwich.
I have always encountered friendly bartenders and the crowd is generally pretty entertaining as well — if this were my corner bar I’d have zero complaints.

This is my favorite dive bar ever!
First of all, it’s not like… tooooo divey. It’s got all of the benefits of a local dive without attracting TOO many weirdos. I can’t think of anything I don’t like about this place — they pretty much have everything I need. The only thing I can really criticize is they don’t offer dirt-​cheap specials all day every day like some dives. But they still offer an affordable and entertaining time, so it’s worth it.
I often come here for Bingo on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It’s $ 1 cash per 3-​card sheet, with a final round of blackout with the chance to win $ 1k. I meet a friend or two here, play bingo, chat with random people who are always end up being good company, get some drinks, and indulge in Smack Shack delicacies. So far, the Smack Shack offers my #1 favorite food. I have literally dreamt about their lobster mac and cheese, and being a New Englander, I stand by their lobster roll with pride.
Their weekend Karaōke nights end up being super fun. The place is filled and lively! I’ve also stumbled across a random bar crawl that was hosted by 1029, which was one of the most fun random events I’ve experienced in the Twin Cities. We were escorted on a bus driven by a guy dressed like the XX Most Interesting Man in the World, fed sandwiches, snacks, and jello shots, and got the best drink deals around Northeast. Everyone was super fun, friendly, and welcoming, and I still often end up running into them at the bar.
Oh, and they are easy to find, and have a private parking lot. I’m thinking of just moving into this place.