Uptown Bar & Cafe

My ex just sent me an article about the Uptown Bar & Café closing and it just broke my heart! Sure the service can be bad at times and before the smoking ban it was a nonsmokers nightmare, but it was still one of my favorite places for lunch and brunch when I lived in MPLS. AMAZING gyro breakfast plate, Mediterranean skillet and the best grilled ham and cheese I have ever had. Its just sad to see Uptown changing the way it is.

Best bloody marys in town, and everything on the menu is fantastic.

Adiós Amigos!
Good music, tater-​tots & bloody Mary’s.
I’ve met some great folks in the few years that I have been both employee and customer here.
It will be sad to see this place go. I wish the petitioners luck in their attempt to relocate, but it will never be the same.

Great joint to catch a local band and have a local beer. Based on where it’s located I am surprised it hasn’t been replaced by a posh, uptown lounge bar yet.
UPDATE: It has been replaced by a Mac store. Go figure.

‘Meh’ is right.
I mean, it wasn’t bad, but
’I’ve experienced better.‘
The main reason why we came here
is because my friends woke up with a hang over
and wanted to be able to have a beer with their 1pm breakfast.
(Yeah, breakfast at 1pm)
(And yes, drinking by 1pm)
(Get over it)
So we all came to the consensus of coming to this fine establishment.
It’s a good size for a bar/​café, which is always nice.
The lighting is dim and the décor is minimal.
It’s kind of a grungy, dirty little place, which is typically my cup of tea.
The bar had some classy fellows
that were already getting their drink on.
My thoughts were:
«People that are drunk by noon? This could be my kind of joint!»
And maybe it could be.. .
if it hadn’t taken nearly 45 minutes to get our food.
I mean, seriously?
We all pretty much had breakfast food
except for 2 people.
Which, of those 2 people, one of them ordered chicken strips,
the other had the breakfast gyro.
I was not impressed.
How long does it take to fry up some eggs and toast some bread?
The place wasn’t even that busy!
To quote Gob Bluth:
«Oh, come on!»
The food was pretty good.
I ordered the Huevos Rancheros and was not disappointed.
I tried a piece of lamb meat from my friend’s gyro
and it was pretty darn good.
I guess, as far as bar food goes, this was appetizing.
Our server Grace was pretty attentive and checked up on us
as much as a decent server should.
I’d say overall, I probably won’t really be seeking this place out
on my own accord.
It’s not bad, but I don’t feel like waiting forever for some dumb eggs.

I’d put The Uptown squarely in the middle of the pack as far as bars go, you get some decent beer and mediocre food, if you feel like eating, but the live music can be the sole motivating factor. The worse thing is the waiting game you often play at the bar; I’ve scratched a visit just on that note alone. Agree it can be a bit tiring to see so many trend-​conscious people jammed into one place. Scoring a booth is almost a must.

The thing I love about the Uptown is that it basically hasn’t changed at all during the 20+ years I’ve been going there. The food is your basic greasy spoon/​diner food — not that exciting, but fulfilling, good for what it is, and reasonably priced. Actually they have a pretty monster club sandwich which I invariably can only eat half of, and take the rest home for the next day. Same with their omelets. Their turkey is made fresh, and I love to go in on one of the first really cold days of winter, and order their turkey platter w/​mashed potatoes, gravy & cranberry sauce — Makes a good Thanksgiving dinner substitute if you aren’t doind the «family thing.» Their burgers are also nice — fresh ground beef (not frozen patties, which I detest), and a good variety of toppings available. Not ‘gourmet’ burgers, but they don’t come with the gourmet price tad either. Just good solid diner fare. The only warning I’d give — avoid the chili. Last time I had it is was spiced with Kalonika peppers and wasn’t well, good. Sandwiches are huge.
So what prompted me to write this was that I went to see a friend’s band on Wednesday, and according to our server, the company that owns The North Face next door has bought the patio and parking lot from the Uptown, and plans to put up a Columbia Sportswear store between the two.
BOOOOO!!! Boo, North Face/​Columbia — Like I need another full-​retail place to buy puffy jackets in Uptown. And boo, Uptown Bar. Your parking lot was always full except in the afternoons, but I will miss that patio. Guess I’ll be smoking out in front on Hennepin Ave now. Sucks.

First, I had no idea this place was called Uptown Bar & Café. Café? Really? Huh.
I am only rating the Uptown based on breakfast/​brunch. I’ve been late at night for shows, but for me, this place is all about breakfast. Hands down the best Bloody Marys in town. Every year a bunch of friends and I do a Bloody Mary crawl looking for the best one, and every year this one wins. I get mine with Absolut Pepar (which I can’t figure out how to spell) and it is divine. I have learned to leave the complimentary glass behind. You think you really want it, but 3 years and a kitchen full of pint glasses later, you’ll realize you don’t need it.
My favorite things to order are the BLT and the polish sausage dish (neon yellow cheese on the side). And the tater tots. Oh god yes, the tater tots. Crispy and yummy.
I am assuming the hipster scene comments relate to the place after the sun sets, as I am certainly no hipster but never feel out of place.

I personally think this place is overrated:
1. Bloody’s are not good — people these were rated best bloody in 1998!!! they still advertise it. Yuk — I’ve made better by spicing up V8 when I was in a pinch. It was really strong though.
2. Service was bad — slow and cranky. Took forever to get drinks, longer to take our order and about the same to get our bill. All served with a side of annoyed waitress. I don’t know about you but that’s not my idea of fun early in the morning or during a hangover.
3. Food was B-​O-​R-​I-​N-​G. I had the huevos rancheros — had to put a ton of red and green tobasco on it to waken my taste buds for the day. Hubby had a grotesquely huge portion served — the gyro breakfast. Again — just ok.
Not a very cheery review I know but seriously — someone needs to tell the truth — the place was PACKED. Maybe I just don’t get it.

Came here last night after the Unilocal Elite event at Summit Brewery. Boyfriend’s friends’ band, The Whore Moans, are currently on tour and stopped by Minneapolis to play a show.
Pros:
Cheap beer and drinks. Last night’s special was $ 2.75 PBRs. They are also pretty fair to bands, I think everyone got like 5 drink tickets.
The patio is pretty big, so it’s good for hanging out. The bar itself is divided in half, one for the stage and the other for the bar. Service is decent, the cocktail servers make their rounds regularly through the stage part. While listening to the first band, I was able to watch a documentary on alligator gars on the other side. Man, those alligator gars are serious business.
The bouncer is this kind of old biker guy with a sweet white mustache/​beard combo. He’s pretty gruff but does a good job of refusing to admit really drunk people in.
Cons:
Lots guys wearing shirts that are too tight.
Cute girls wearing ugly glasses and dressed like bored housewives from 1976.

There really isn’t anything special about this bar, unless you consider the Uptown Hipsters to be, then, yes, I guess there is something special! This isn’t a bad little place, I’ve never really had a problem here, it is usually pretty busy, but overall, it’s never too over the top. The breakfast here is delicious, come hungover. you won’t be let down. And don’t order any fruity-​fruit drinks, like Sex on the Beach, the bartenders Will give you crap for ordering it, and everyone at the bar will stop and look at you awkwardly, since its not a PBR (really, I had to do it for a friend once and got the weirdest reaction from everyone there). But if you do love PBR, you will fit in here!

The bar didn’t really impress me or turn me off. For a bar, it was just okay. Beer was more expensive than bars of this type, but the waitress made enough rounds that my glass was never empty and I never had to wait. Music was decent, but extremely loud for the size of bar it was.
I’m sure I’ll be back, as some of my friends occasionally play shows there, but wouldn’t be my first pick for a place to go out on a weekend.

A. The Tater Tots are one of my many reasons to live.
B. Their breakfasts are huge — I’m a fan of the «gyro breakfast» which is served with a giant side of gyro meat and accompanying sauce. I had never heard of this as a breakfast pre-​Uptown Bar.
C. The drinks are cheap for Uptown and strong which = a good night.
D. The shows seem legit — I went to see a friend’s band perform on a Tuesday night which meant no cover, and the other bands that were also playing were decent as well.
E. The service is a bit slow. But, if that doesn’t phase you, then you’ll be good to go.

Okay, I’m actually going to use the following phrase, and I’m not proud, but I have to:
This place is aces.
Now to redeem myself with an explanation.
First: Best Bloody in town. I don’t even like them, but I love these. And they squirt them out of the bar gun! I’ve never in too many years of drinking come across a gun bloody that tasted anything like this. And they don’t jam the drink full of a bunch of crap — there’s a pickle. Just a pickle. Now that’s a good Bloody.
Second: Their breakfast is top-​notch. The bacon once literally prompted me to write home. The omelets are good, and the Gyro breakfast (as mentioned in a previous review) was great, but the real payoff is with the Skillets.
Third: The space is inviting, but ample enough (yes, even when it gets crowded). Get here early and grab one of the booths on the left. Now you can watch the game, hear the live music, or kill an afternoon. Nice enclosed patio with heat lamps above, too.
Fourth: The non-​breakfast food will knock you on your ass. The club is altogether too much food for $ 8, and comes served with a towering pile of tots salted to perfection. The grilled cheese (get it with broccoli, no matter what your inner voice may say) is excellent, and any one of their salads will be a testament to greens. The Lake Street salad, though I have not gone that way myself, has been most reputably recommended.
Fifth: Happy hour. The portions are absurd. For the price you pay, you’d be hard pressed to buy a whole bag of pizza rolls and pay someone to cook it for you and deliver it to you with a pint of Summit EPA.
Overall: Just go. Any time of day, this bar can be exactly what you need.

I come here for breakfast the morning after a night of drinking. It is one of the greasiest and largest breakfasts around. I particularly like the gyro-​meat breakfast. They have an outdoor patio. The service is usually pretty slow, but I’m never in a hurry when I’m there.

I dont know that I’ve ever eaten at the Uptown but I’ve seen my fair share of shows here. Friends play here regularly and some drink here regularly so I am there a decent amount.
I dont have anything against it to explain why it has lost 2 stars, but I also dont have any reason to be impressed and back up the 3 stars I have given it. The word «mediocre» comes to mind…
I suppose the bar/​venue semi-​seclusion is sort of nice. I like when they are separated enough that the loud bar-​talkers dont interfere with the show.
I also like that there are 2 women’s bathrooms.
There, I came up with some reasons.

You know one of those places you seem to spend a lot of time at but everytime you do you say to yourself «I wish this place was better. Why in the world do I always seem to come here?» That’s me and the old UB&C. The drinks are pretty expensive for a glorified townie bar. It’s the bar where you are constantly in one or ALL of the wait staffs way. The breakfasts are pretty good but there are better ones in town by far. And 90% of any show you go see at the Uptown you’ll likely hate the sound emitting from the p.a. due to whatever pseudo capable human they decide to run the faders and knobs.

I love to sit out on the «patio» and have one of their huge lunches, have a beer and do a little people watching on Hennepin Ave.

Pros:
Good music
Great location
Cons:
Mediocre service
Usually crowded
PA is way too loud for such a small room
BBQ sauce is watery. That’s right.
Solution:
Come early
Bring earplugs
Don’t eat… at least anything involving BBQ sauce
Order from the bar

I can see how this place used to be a big part of the local music scene. It feels full of history inside. The benches are worn really smooth. And the air is heavy with talk even when it’s not very full. I like the feel — even if you’re not speaking it never feels too quiet.
It’s a fine spot to watch shows too. Small, so the crowd can be overwhelming — but good service. The outdoor area is unusual in Uptown, right on Hennepin, so the people watching is a-​ok.
It can be kind of intimidating to walk in here. Partly the bouncers and partly the feel of the place, but it’s a bar where you can find yourself a home.