William’s Uptown Pub & Peanut Bar

I used to come here a lot during my more rambunctious college days. It was one of my favorites and I really like the atmosphere here, but recently, they refused to accommodate my son’s peanut allergy. He already feels ostracized on a daily basis, and all I asked was that they stash away the peanuts in the peanut bar for the duration of our visit. I will not be returning to this establishment.

I will start with the fact that we went here on a Saturday around 8:30pm and the place was already packed with drunk people, we couldn’t even get through the crowd of people to use the bathroom downstairs, so had to use the one on the first floor. Then, we had terrible service from an incredibly rude server, honestly the worst service I’ve ever had. Anywhere. One person from our party was standing up to go get a drink from the bar, since our waitress was very inattentive, and said waitress walked past and the two of them bumped into each other, our friend turned around and said I’m sorry, to which the waitress sharply replied «Watch out!». We didn’t stay long, and as we were getting our party together, I was standing off to the side near the stairs and our waitress decided instead of walking around me, or asking me to move, she would just shove me out of the way and say «Move!». I don’t know about any of the other servers or bartenders, but the awfulness of this woman has helped make up our minds that we will never be back.

Yobani should be fired. Worst customer service I’ve ever received. Told me to hurry up when I was ordering. Extremely disrespectful. Only reason I gave any stars was for the bouncer that always works the back door on weekend nights. Such a pleasure always!

We went here around 8:30pm to get something to eat and drink before a 9:30 move at the Uptown. This is clearly not the time of day this place caters to. It appears to be the type of place only appreciated in a drunken haze, when searching for peanuts and a bathroom at the end of the night! Considering that was most definitely not the case for us, not to mention we are about a decade past that time in our lives (thank freaking god!!), this was not a good experience.
My first note is that the entire place smells like an airport bathroom, it was seriously overwhelming and tainted the flavor of everything (gross, I know!). We sat at the bar, which was sticky. The beer list was weird, I will never understand a place that has very limited (5 I think) taps, all in domestic crap beer, and an overly extensive bottle list. You are not fooling anyone into thinking you are a quality tap room, just give me a dozen or so quality options in each and call it good! We ordered appetizers, which took 25 minutes to arrive. 25 minutes to fry some chicken strips, fries, and put a pretzel on a plate when there are maybe 4 other people eating in the entire place! Needless to say, we quickly ate and got out of there. The bartender was good enough, which is the only reason for 2 stars. There most definitely will not be a return visit!

Great beer selection and a lot of good bar games. Steak night on Friday is awesome too. Otherwise food is average, nothing to write home about. All about the beer really!

LADIES WATCH OUT! Just last Friday I had my drink roofied and two men tried to take me home with them. Not sure why I even went back here since TWO other friends of mine have also been drugged here. This place is seriously dangerous, watch out.

Dear Williams,
I met you when I was in college. I liked you then. I’m older now. I still like you. Whether shitfaced or barely a buzz on, you welcome me in open and non-​judgmental arms.
You have big ol’ mugs of beer with a plethora of choices. You give away peanuts and popcorn. There’s plenty of people watching to be done.
Sure, I frequent more «relaxed», «adult», or «classy» establishments at times, but you always make me smile.
Sincerely,
A Wisconsin drunk.

I’m not sure why this place is in business. It’s in uptown and the standards are much higher than what William’s can live up to. The tvs aren’t great, the wood chairs are seriously uncomfortable, the vinyl table cloths feel icky, the service is unenthusiastic, the food is fried/​reheated Sysco bagged food. They have some decent twitter specials and cheap pool and darts but that’s about all this place has to offer.
To me, this seems to be a college bar where prices are reasonable, tons of drunk people can gather and spill without anyone noticing and the standards overall are low. Only thing is, I’m a decade past college so I don’t think I’ll be back.

I’m a huge fan of the downstairs peanut bar! Here’s what you need to know:
The Good:
1.) I fucking love there french fries! Order them! I know I’ve been drunk when I eat them, but trust me they are great fucking classic crinkle cut fries!
2.) They have a great selection of beers and there well priced!
3.) Free peanuts and popcorn, who can beat that!
4.) It’s a million times less pretentious than any of the bars next to it!
The Bad:
1.) It’s gonna be loud, crowded, and messy (people make a mess with peanuts).
2.) I hear people complain that it’s a douche haven, yes there are some douches, but everyone that goes out to drink in Uptown is a douche, a hipster, or a prick of some kind.

Went in early on a Saturday evening. Darts, skee ball & 73 beers on tap in the basement. Good place in my book! Wasn’t crowded when we got there but I imagine that later in the evening it can get busy. We had good service and the bartender made great beer recommendations. Free peanuts and popcorn too! Great for groups or to try new beers. I would recommend checking out. Only give 4 stars would need to check out again to justify 5.

Visited Williams for my second time on Saturday night. Reviews seem to be split between loving and hating Williams. First off, those surprised by douchebags in Uptown, where have you been for the last decade? Maybe since I live in Uptown I’m used to it but douchebags in Uptown are about as common as girls wearing yoga pants jogging around Calhoun (i.e. extremely common). I’m not one to defend douchebags but they aren’t all bad, most of them just want to have a good time. In fact, I befriended several of them in the basement of Williams while playing the various games. The game area in the basement of Williams is fairly unique compared to other local bars and it’s a great place to challenge friends and newly made douchebags friends to skee-​ball, foosball, darts, etc.
It’s nice to have an activity to do while hanging out and drinking versus just focusing on drinking and all the girls you have no chance with. As stated in other reviews, the main level of Williams is mainly just a very long bar. The party is in the basement with free peanuts/​popcorn and all the games. They have a TouchTunes jukebox so you can control music from your phone. The basement gets loud but everyone seemed to just having a good time and didn’t observe any ridiculous behavior. Not the fanciest bar in Uptown but the basement of Williams is arguably the nicest place to have a fun night in Uptown. Keep expectations reasonable and you’ll love Williams.

Came here last Saturday night with some girl friends! It’s been awhile since I’ve branched out from my usual night out spots in Uptown. William’s is tucked away behind Bar Louie, so I’m not surprised I’ve surpassed it many times! From the outside, WIlliam’s looks kind of like a dive. We walked in to a long bar, some tables, and a bouncer. Little did I know, there was a downstairs! Downstairs was pretty crowded but there were plenty of tables and also standing room. The bar was busy but getting drinks proved to be pretty easy, which is always a huge plus on a Saturday night. I never had to wait more than a couple of minutes and the bartenders were friendly.
The downstairs atmosphere is exactly what you’d call it — a basement … peanut shells decorate most of the surfaces and the floor. Growing up, I was a sucker for places that let you throw your peanut shells wherever you please and I have an appreciation for places like this. I wouldn’t wear my best shoes if I were you! There’s also free popcorn to munch on! This is definitely attracts a younger crowd and some the outfits were very ridiculous but hey, I appreciate personal style… and the people watching is great. It definitely gets rowdy but that just seems to go with the entire feel of the place. I’d like to come here on a weeknight because I’m sure it wouldn’t be nearly as packed and they have dartboards and pool tables, seems like a pretty chill spot and they have a large tap beer selection!

Why not. In Uptown — this long standing hangout has an upstairs long bar and a downstairs Peanut Bar. Meaning — go downstairs, have free peanuts, throw the shells on the floor, have free popcorn, order one of many many taps of beer.
The food is very good for bar food, and is a great place to hang out. In the summer — go about 6PM and avoid the flat brims and have the place to yourself for a nice cheap date night. The burgers are delicious, the wings are decent, and the veggie tray is generous and crispy.

Williams is an Uptown Minneapolis mainstay. Yes, if you go here after 11PM on a Friday or Saturday night it is filled with bros and their douchey female counterparts getting increasingly hammered (and making the place increasingly gross), but that is something you know going in (and if you’re doing it right, you’ll be imbibing enough and having enough fun you won’t care a bit).
The upper level of Williams features a long bar in one room, a dining area towards the front, and a room in the back with pool tables and darts. It can get packed up here, but things generally don’t get too crazy. Prices on darts and pool tables are fairly reasonable. While nothing is high quality, it works, and there are servers who come back to take orders so you don’t have to interrupt your game to walk to the bar.
The downstairs of Williams is the peanut bar and what people either love or hate about Williams. After my early 20’s phase I hated this part of Williams for about 5 years before recently learning to love it again. You get free peanuts and popcorn (usually, though it can run out), its loud and raucous, and there is great people watching. For instance, this past Saturday night, there was a dude at the bar wearing a ridiculous long cardigan sweater and sunglasses who proceeded to ask the bartender «What’s the hot special?» («Beer» was his response). There are more dartboards downstairs, though there is barely enough room to use them during the peak bar hours.
Pretty much any time other than weekend evenings, Williams is a chill spot and has great deals on food and drinks at certain times. The happy hour food and drink specials are excellent.
Williams has been around for a long time and isn’t going anywhere, for good reason.

This is one of, if not my favorite bar in Uptown. HUGE beer list, great atmosphere, and lots of fun. I always go to the basement to take advantage of all of their taps. The crowd is fun and slightly better than the typical uptown crowd. Overall, I love this place!

I’ve been here a few times, and each time I was like, «Ok, can we leave now??»
In general, this place is DOUCHE CITY. Like, douches for dayyys. It seems to be a predominantly younger crowd of bros with maximum testosterone levels and minimal IQs. Specifically, when I went there for the first time, we got there before 10pm to start the night off. Lo and behold there was already a messy ass dude being cut off by the bartender. And I’m not going to make a firm accusation, but let’s just say a few people there looked extremely young. More recently, I went there on a Friday night. A lovely «man» who clearly gets a lot of ladies, shouted a few racial comments to me. And then later, another manbaby accosted me as I was leaving, saying that I bumped into him (I was not drunk and I know I barely grazed him), and of course then figured he had every right to start harassing this 5’2″ girl for it.
Other than their sexually frustrated crowd (they’re doing it wrong…), the overall environment is sub-​par. The lower level is a basement. A really really loud and filthy basement. I had to shout to talk to my friend sitting next to me. And maybe I’m not «cool» enough to enjoy the floor covered in peanut shells and all of the peanut dust mixed with popcorn shards and spilled beer. The one redeeming factor is their free popcorn, but that just ends up stomped into the extensive garbage disposal that is their floor.

Why all the hate?
Complain all you want, but I’m having a hard time hearing you over my $ 3 tall boys and free peanuts. Oh and if it looks like I’m ignoring you, it’s probably because I’m up at billiards.
For a bar, this place at least tries to include some entertainment, like the jukebox, darts, foosball table, etc…
If you’re coming to this place purely for the pre-​game, then it gets the job done. Anything else? Eh, probs not.

They have a hot dog stand right inside when you walk in with my FAVORITE Chicago Hot Dogs for only $ 2!!! This is my favorite thing about this bar.
Downstairs is the peanut bar and it is DIRTY and crowded. People love it though. I prefer the main level with darts and pool tables and HOT DAAAAAAAWGS. HAHAHA.

Normally there is a pretty strong correlation between the # of tap handles a bar has and how much I enjoy it — William’s is somewhat of an outlier in that regard. While the 70+ tap handles are what earns the most praise from me, it’s still not a strong endorsement.
The beer list, while large, is far from unique. I’d venture to guess that roughly half of the tap handles are either large macros or are brands that have been acquired by the ever-​growing overlords of AB-​Inbev or MillerCoors. Sorry comrade, embrace the guise of choice that is capitalism. That said, as long as you’re not expecting any diamonds in the rough there are still some decent regional craft brews that can be found. They serve typical bar food — I recommend the free popcorn and peanuts.
This place can get annoyingly packed on the weekends, and while it’s not my preferred crowd, there’s certainly never a shortage of people filling the multiple levels that William’s occupies. Dart boards, Buck Hunter, pool tables, etc. can be found for those looking to train for the bar olympics.
William’s is a tough one to peg — it’s not really my bag, but I don’t mind if someone suggests heading here, just make sure to temper your expectations.

Is this a Midwestern thing? My friend and I passed by on an afternoon walk and decided to stop in on our way back for the happy hour. A peanut bar? What does that even mean?
We were the first to enter for the evening and asked the bartender straight away. She seemed surprised by our curiosity. Apparently they have a peanut bar downstairs. Could we enter? No, it doesn’t open until 5 and it was only 4:10. Darn.
We settled at the upstairs bar anyway and each ordered one of the special draft beers for $ 3.50. Also downstairs is their immense draft selection, but the happy hour choices are the same. Upstairs features hundreds of bottled beer options.
We inquired more about the peanuts and how they’re served. She told us most people just get a basket… and they’re free! After you eat them, you throw the shells on the ground. She laughed as our mouths fell and eyebrows raised. Yup, definitely a Midwestern thing.