The Local

We were in town for the weekend and were looking for a place to warm up (hello we’re from New Mexico!!)
After a few not so great places that we tried during the weekend, this place was a winner. We didn’t have any of the food, but the menu looked great.
The drinks were great and the bartenders were friendly and had some great suggestions of other places to visit as well.

Pleasantly surprised! My friends suggested this place and now it’s a must visit every time I come into town.
The fish and chips is AMAZING. Every other fish and chips I get anywhere else is now just a disappointment.
I’m super picky on fries and I seriously could not get enough in my mouth. They’re so good and they give you a ton! By the end of the meal I was in pain from being full but it tasted so good I couldn’t stop. Cannot wait to go again!

Great place. Restaurant is built around the bar. Had an O’Dell ipa which was great. But, the potroast sandwich takes the cake. Amazing! Good service and friendly staff.

Ate here on business, the fish and chips were great! The cut of cod I received was a filet and fried just right. To drink I had a Guinness stout, and I was happy to taste it came out perfectly with the right temperature and head.
The only downside here is the place we were sat did not have anywhere to toss my jacket.

The Local has good food. It’s not great food, or fancy food, but it’s tasty, substantial, and reasonably priced. Two of us had fish and chips. I had the cod; my friend had the walleye. Both came with a delicious, light, crunchy beer batter. With our tartar sauce were little pickles on the side. The fries were good but not that special. The sweet potato fries our companions ordered were better. Of course, you’ve got to get drinks at this pub, and the beer and wine selections were decent and delicious. I ended the night with a small piece of carrot cake with fresh cream cheese frosting, and it was really good, dense, moist, and not overly sweet — much better than I expected.
The Local isn’t really about the food, though. It’s about the pub atmosphere: the dark traditional woodwork, the Irish décor (right down to portraits of Yeats, Wilde, and Joyce), and the hopping crowd at the center. Also at the center is a long bar, polished to a gleam with a brass foot-​rail and probably a hundred stools, that runs the length of both sides. The night we were there, the place was very crowded. We had a 10 minute wait to get seated. The service before and during was decent, but we had a long wait to get the check at the end.
On the way to the restroom, take a look (if you dare) into the kissing room. Lit with a soft, hot pink glow in the dark and entered through swinging saloon doors, I can only imagine what happens in there. I don’t know what The Local is like during the day, but at night it is a happening spot that delivers a good time.

Yumm I wish I could go back in time and eat here again!
I love the red pepper artichoke dip. It is so good! and just the right portion. It comes with three different kinds of bread/​crackers for dipping.
Our server was also really good considering how busy he was for a sunday afternoon. Didn’t feel forgotten about or like we weren’t being given good service.
My salad was good — super healthy and good price
My boyfriend got the tomato soup. He thought it was really good. It is kinda chunky tomato so not really my thing.
This is definitely one of my favorite places to go when downtown Minneapolis!

I stopped in for a work-​related networking/​happy hour event. The Local is located on Nicollet Mall, and while the venue itself looks great, the renovations on the Mall at the moment leave much to be desired.
Inside, dark wood furniture and low lighting provide that quintessential pub feel, like you just want to sit down at a bench and order a frosty pint of beer right away. Since I was driving home, I resisted.
They have an ok happy hour menu, with a daily special. Monday nights, you get 3 sliders for $ 5.

We were staying at the Crown Plaza which is a perfect length walk to the Local as well as the Twins Stadium.
We got to the Local at about 8:00 pm after driving from California. Tired, stressed and hungry we stumbled into the restaurant. It was like coming home when they said, «We have Lagunitas». NOTHING like a delicious IPA to make the stress of life melt away!
Our waiter was delightful! Blond bombshell but I think I saw roots. Can’t remember his name, blaming it on my date, Lagunitas.
We had the BEST Irish Won Tons! Corn beef and cabbage with cream cheese filling, definitely a must try. We also had the Sriracha Wings which were also delicious as well as the sliders.
My Daughter and I loved it so much we came back the next day!

On a recent trip to Minneapolis, a friend and I managed to stop in at the Local (twice!)
For our first impression — I have nothing but wonderful things to say. We were greeted by a jovial host, who started chatting with us right away. Come to find out, he is a transplant from Rochester, NY, and this got us into deeper conversation. He was so friendly, and he really set the tone for our visit.
We were seated in the side room which undoubtedly feels like a cave. But I loved the intimate atmosphere there, and while somewhat noisy as it filled up, it wasn’t too bad. Our server was pleasant — suggested some drink specials. I tried my first Big Ginger here, and enjoyed it!
For a meal, I went with the cheesy tomato soup (absolutely delicious considering that I am not typically a fan of tomato-​based soups) and wild rice veggie burger which was excellent. I would definitely order that again. My friend went with the apple and brie salad and was pleased as well.
Our second visit was not quite as good as we had hoped given the first experience.
We came back a couple days later for a late lunch/​snack. And here’s where 5 stars drops to 4. The service this time wasn’t great. I felt like we were stuck way in the back out of the way. Our server was pleasant, but she was hard to catch when we wanted a refill or the check. The quinoa salad was superb, and I enjoyed the pub pretzels I shared with my friend… .BUT that same cheesy tomato soup was definitely not to my friend’s liking. I think she could sense that something about it was off… she surely didn’t enjoy it as much as I had previously. And upon returning to our hotel, we realized she likely had food poisoning…
I love the style of this place. I think it’s great that there are separate rooms for larger gatherings. The kissing room is surely unique. While my experience with the food would have garnered a 5 star rating, I just can’t rate it that high this go around. Would I come back? Definitely. It’s worth it — a fun Irish pub with a lot of character. Great for groups and dates alike.

Nice spot for some beers. The location is perfect for a night of bar hopping. The inside is antiquey and super dark. It doesn’t exactly inspire a vibrant mood.
I came for a surprise birthday party and we had a little snack buffet set up for our group in the back bar area. Chips with onion dip, hummus platter, chicken shots, and soft pretzels. All tasty, I’d definitely order any of these again for late night munchies.
I ordered the Bison ranch burger for dinner. The meat was cooked nicely, but the whole burger was pretty bland. I added a side of soup, some sort of cheddar potato, it was okay.
Service was great. We had a very large group, 20 plus at certain points through the night. I received my drinks quickly, and the server assigned to us was always close by to check on us.
I’d recommend this place for group events, or a quick drink. It’s always loud and busy, so it’s tough to have any deep conversations if that’s what you were planning.

Soirée à l’étage de the Local, privatisé pour l’occasion. Difficile de juger avec impartialité, quand on a passé une bonne soirée avec des collègues et copains, mais les bières sont bonnes et les différents appetizers servis au long de la soirée étaient très bien aussi.