WXYZ Bar

The WXYZ Bar is located inside of the Aloft Minneapolis Hotel.
We came in and hung out a number of times during the week that we were staying at the hotel. They carry a decent selection of local craft beers — I tried 2 different beers during the week that I had never had before.
I also had a few meals at the bar during the week, including their white chicken chili, a mini pizza topped with tater tots, polish kielbasa, mushrooms, and cheese, an Avocado Burger (with no bun), chicken fingers with fries, and tater tots served with a Chipotle dipping sauce.
All the food was served hot and was tasty.
The beers/​ales I had the opportunity to drink were:
— Scurvy IPA (6.5% ABV), Tyranena Brewing Co., Lake Mills, WI
— Extra Pale Ale (5.2% ABV), Summit Brewing Co., St. Paul, MN
— Ghostrider White IPA (6.0% ABV), Wasatch Brewery, Park City, UT
All were good IPA/​Pale Ale options — delicious!
The bar staff was friendly and attentive. The only thing I will ding them on is the three TVs above the bar. They are tiny! Due to the way the bar is designed — the bar shelves swing open and the TVs have to be small enough to not block the shelves — which makes them to small to actually watch anything.
Other than that — Nice little hotel bar!

Krista is the best bartender I’ve had in a while! Even with an event going, she kept Us entertained and fueled up at all times. Highly recommend going when she works! (not sure when that is though)

The bar is so relaxing and friendly! I really appreciate their bartender Kathy as she’s very laid back and helpful! Gives great suggestions on food and drinks! Also knows the area for those visitors in the Twin city. It’s a great place to pregame before going to the theater and then a nightcap after the theater! I really like the atmosphere!

This bar is (in my mind) the real life version of the show Mixology. (Side note: if you haven’t seen this show, it’s an amazing, only one-​season, available on Netflix and binge-​watchable in a weekend.)
It’s a bar in a hotel, yes. But it’s comfortably lounge-​y, had a light-​up bar (!!!), super tasty delicious cocktails and an outdoor patio that seems like it’s someone’s very luxe, very comfortable backyard. I come here as someone who isn’t a tourist and has never set foot into the actual hotel.
The only reason why it’s –1 star is that their food doesn’t appeal at all and their dessert menu should be much more fabulous.
Good golly, I’ve come to really love this bar. My notions of hotel bars are forever changed.

Great cocktail bar. The bar is really cool and they have good service. Good drinks and very laid back atmosphere. Went there after date dinner and it was great for a couple cocktails.

Despite its size, this little lounge somehow manages to contain all the hippest trends in nightlife circa 2006. The resulting effect is almost charming in its outdated sterility. Almost.
Excellent service, and the bottled water is complimentary.

Excellent bar food, walleye fish tacos were bang on! Won’t find a better bartender, what more do you want?

Happy hour lasts until 7 pm and begins again at 10!
The appetizers we had were good, although the crab cakes are very strong curry flavor. I like it, but you lose the crab flavor. We also enjoyed the walleye tacos. The bartender was really great! The place is very modern, and, although it was too cool when we were there, they have outdoor seating.

This place was awesome. We were treated exceptionally well and the manager even came out to introduce himself to our group. The bar has little lights in in that change color, the back bar was so gorgeous in the way the lit it and displayed their booze, and the overall setup was stunning. There is a back patio to smoke on, as well as very helpful waitstaff. They have live music every now and then. It is a lounge-​y type atmosphere and a great place to bring a group to relax and enjoy a few cocktails. Loved it!

Swanky, chic, sexy and upscale all at once. WXYZ inside Aloft really is a gem among the Minneapolis drinking establishments. The staff is always great and generally absurdly easy on the eyes if that matters. Say hi to Rachel while you’re there, who is one of the best bartenders you’ll find west of the Mississippi river and a great person to boot.

I love this great little spot inside the Aloft. It fulfills my consultantist need to drink immediately after a 13-​hour workday.
There is very little in the way of food at this bar, and I’ll be honest, what they have is not that stellar, even when held up to the bar food standard. It’s best to stick to a local Crispin in a chilled glass while playing some pool.

Cool little hotel bar! Enjoyed a daily drink here with my colleagues while I was at Aloft for work. They have a great cocktail menu along with a nice selection of wines and beers. The area is open and is apart of the lobby so it’s not the most private or intimate of spaces but it’s convenient if you’re staying in the hotel for sure.
Staff was a blast – loved the bartenders that I interacted with and the drinks really packed a punch making them totally worth your while.

#GrowHorse
Now, I don’t know how familiar you are with #GrowHorsies, so I’ll give a brief run down before moving forward… #GrowHorse is what happens when a group of co-​workers love each other very much and decide it’s time they «just add water».
After a long discussion full of equal parts love and cabin fever, we felt it was time we take our relationships to the next level and bring a bouncing baby #GrowHorse into the world.
So, long story short, our team #GrowHorse got #GrowHorse napped despite a pretty poorly penned note by a member of our crew asking the staff of the ALoft Hotel, which WXYZ Bar resides in, to not «touck» #GrowHorse. Naturally, the night staff became confused by the penmanship of a possibly palsy-​handed person, and when we went to check on #GrowHorse incubation, #GrowHorse was no horse. Gone, baby gone.
The next day, we’re all super bummed and decide a little a drowning of sorrows is needed, so we head to the WXYZ bar for a proper sousing. At this point, we decide a mobile memorial should take place where we re-​visit all our #GrowHorse mems via instagram and only moments later we realize that in a twist of serendipitous fate, that our #GrowHorse was found, taken into custody and remained un’touck’ed… as it appears our tech savvy bartender, Rachel, was able to snap a ‘found’ photo and hashtag that ish up on instagram so we’re able to reclaim our #GrowHorse and have our faith in humanity restored at the same time.
Oh, and the drinkies ain’t too bad either. I asked dearest Rachel to make me something fun (more than 2 ingredients, not a clear beverage and maybe a garnish), something she would drink and surprise me. What I got was a deep to berry red glass of of a bevvie that starts with spicy + a bit of salty and finishes with sweetness… very similar to how our #GrowHorse sitch ended up playing out.
Final verdict: Perfect for a somber saucing or a celebration of life, love and the pursuit of #GrowHorses everywhere.

Order a 3G Martini. May be the best martini I’ve ever had.
Not the hugest fan of the layout and some of the details, but overall a very nice hotel bar with bartenders that are friendly and know how to make a drink.
Just order the Martini.

This place had a FABULOUS happy hour. Well happy hourS. I believe they had an afternoon happy hour, as well as a late evening happy hour. Wine was $ 4 – 5 for the happy hour, and their pours were generous! My friends enjoyed the cocktails.
Their happy hour appetizer selections were great, and super affordable. We tried pizza, hummus and pita (and the hummus was made from scratch! I think the pita chips might’ve been too… they were nice and warm), tater tots, and spring rolls. Nothing absolutely amazing, but good quality for the price.
Service was a little stuck-​up… But other than that, what a great addition to the Aloft Hotel!

WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!!! I STINK? WAIT. DO I WANT A DRINK?! YES. …I SAID YESSS.
It’s loud in here at night. Like, blaring loud. But they play good music. So it *kinda* makes up for it. They also have a happy hour that goes til midnight.
It’s a mixed crowd. On this particular Friday night, my colleague and I spotted hipsters dominating the jukebox (hence the good music), business men at the bar, and the young professionals type scoping out the eye candy. And then there was myself and my coworker. Two tired and hungry gals in random ‘50s attire.
Service was great. We got our wine and plates at warp speed. The chicken sliders and veggie platter are an easy way to end the night.
If you’re staying at Aloft and are too tired to make the trek elsewhere, you won’t be sorry that you stayed in at WXYZ.

My boyfriend and I stopped at the w xyz bar before a show at the Guthrie and I was very impressed. It was casual, modern and fun! We sat at the bar (which is lighted and changes color) and we were served right away by the very friendly servers. And surprise! It was happy hour. =)
insert sigh of happiness here. We chatted a bit and enjoyed a few drinks and then strolled across the street to the Guthrie.
I look forward to returning and trying out more of their specialty drinks.

I really like the casual hipness of this bar. Plus when I showed up fresh off a very bumpy flight they went ahead and gave us drinks early even though the bar wasn’t supposed to open until 5. The WXYZ is in the lobby of the Aloft hotel so it definitely has the hotel bar feel, but it’s nice and open. And they have free Wi-​Fi, which you can never complain about.
Try one of the specialty cocktails or a glass of sparkly champagne. Either way it’ll be served up to you by friendly staff and that’s refreshing in itself.

Let’s see…
Blueberry Highball.
Pear Rum Martini.
Blueberry Highball.
Watermelon Martini.
Either the drinks were a *tad* weak, or I suddenly became the biggest rockstar alcohol consumer ever! I’m going to side with the former. However, they were VERY tasty, and frankly… I’d rather have them a bit weak and be able to enjoy them while still being able to stand up right and not slur my words.
My favorite? The blueberry. Clean, fresh, cool glass, metal straw (jury’s still out on that one), with little, bulbous, blueberries floatin’ about. MMMM, I drank it while it was about 11 degrees… I imagine in the summer it’s pure, blue heaven.
Friendly staff, funky lounge… doesn’t even really feel like a «hotel bar.» Oh, and games. Nothing like breaking the ice with some businessmen over Hungry Hippo, eh? ;)
Blueberry Highball, put it on the list!

I’ve been here a few times, but only once during the evening. From the perspective of a hotel bar (it’s inside the Aloft Hotel), it’s a very chill place to grab a drink, work on your computer, and mingle a bit. This isn’t your typical stodgy hotel bar: the über-​modern and bright décor lends itself to fun, and considering many of the occupants stay here on business, it’s a nice way to wind down from a day of meetings.
From the perspective of a Minneapolitan starting his/​her evening of going out, the wxyz bar is also a nice choice. They have a daily happy hour as well… I think it’s from 5 – 7 pm. Since it’s just around the corner from the Guthrie, it could be a nice place to grab a drink pre or post show. The also have a nice outdoor space with firepits that’s perfect on a chilly fall night.
I was here once for an event: the Sugar fashion show back in October and this place was slamming! A great DJ was spinning, 80’s pop colors were everywhere, and pixie sticks, chocolates, and electric colored martinis filled up the room. It was a great way to spend an evening and made me realize they really know how to throw a party. In fact, I hear that if you do want to throw one, your can bring your own play list on your Ipod and also arrange a drink special for the evening!