Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ venues, listening bars and late-night dives in Minneapolis.
Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ nightlife, listening bars and late-night dives across Minneapolis, with where to go and what is worth the late night.
First Avenue in Minneapolis has been the downtown danceteria since 1970. The 1,550-capacity Mainroom hosted Prince's Purple Rain shows and still books touring headliners and dance nights.
Tip: Capacity is 1,550 on the Mainroom floor. The connected Depot Tavern opens at 16:00 most show days; the same building holds 7th St Entry.
Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis is the downtown EDM complex that holds The Loft, Bar Fly, Studio B and The Lyric across multiple floors with rotating Friday and Saturday DJ bookings.
Tip: Bar Fly inside Skyway is the 300-capacity dance room geared toward electronic DJs; ticketed shows weeknights, table service available.
Ground Zero on Northeast 4th has been Minnesota's goth and industrial dance floor for over twenty years, with Friday and Saturday DJ sets and a long-running monthly bondage performance show.
Tip: Open Friday and Saturday only from 22:00 to 02:00. Cash only with ATMs on site, 21+, two-for-one drinks until 23:30.
Cowboy Jack's in the North Loop runs an 11,000 square foot Wild West-themed barn with a large dance floor, free line-dancing lessons and live DJs on Saturday nights downtown.
Tip: Closed Monday through Wednesday. Karaoke and live music kick off 21:30 Friday and Saturday; line-dance lessons in the Barn before the late crowd.
7th St Entry, the 250-capacity small room attached to First Avenue, opened 1980 and is where Soul Asylum, The Replacements and Husker Du played early sets. Still books touring indie.
Tip: The Entry has its own street door on 7th Street North; show wristband often gets you across into the Mainroom after the headliner.
The Cabooze on Cedar Avenue has served live music on the West Bank since 1974, with a 600-capacity floor and an attached patio operating as The Joint across the parking lot.
Tip: Tickets via VenuePilot; doors usually 19:00 or 20:00. Summer outdoor shows on the back patio with food trucks pulled up.
Fine Line on First Avenue North opened 1987 on the main level of the Consortium Building and reopened in 2022 after a flood, with a 650-capacity room booked by First Avenue staff.
Tip: Doors usually 19:00 with show at 20:00. The balcony around the floor offers the cleanest sight line; main bar at street level.
Bunker's on North Washington has anchored Minneapolis funk and rhythm and blues since 1976, with a small stage and a Friday house band that has booked Prince sit-ins over the years.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Cover when bands play and the room is tight; arrive before 22:00 for a seat. Late-night kitchen serves through closing.
Icehouse on Eat Street took over an 1868 lake-ice storage building in 2012 with a two-story listening room, a full kitchen and a calendar that includes JT Bates Jazz Implosion every Monday.
Tip: Monday's Jazz Implosion series runs from 21:00 with a low cover; book the mezzanine for the clearest sight line over the floor.
The 331 Club on 13th Avenue NE has anchored Northeast Minneapolis since 1899 and books live music every night of the week. Never a cover, every band of the night gets the room.
Tip: No cover any night. Mondays at 21:00 brings the Roe Family Singers; Wednesdays 19:00 is Harold's House Party on KFAI radio.
Union Rooftop on Hennepin Avenue runs the only year-round retractable glass enclosed rooftop in Minnesota, with skyline views over the theatre district and a late-night dance crowd Thursday to Saturday.
Tip: Late-night dance floor opens 22:00 Thursday through Saturday. Brunch Saturday and Sunday morning is the easy walk-up entry point.
Brit's Pub on Nicollet Mall has poured British ales since 1990, but the draw is the 10,000 square foot rooftop lawn bowling green open mid-May through mid-September.
Tip: Reserve the lawn bowling rink an hour at a time from May through September. The rooftop bar stays open year-round; lawn closes in October.
The Rooftop at Hewing Hotel sits six floors above Washington Avenue in the North Loop with indoor and outdoor seating, a year-round heated pool deck and full skyline views to downtown.
Tip: No reservations, first-come, first-served. 21 and over only. The pool deck stays heated in winter; the bar runs all four seasons.
Crave on the LaSalle Plaza corner of Hennepin Avenue runs one of the largest rooftop patios downtown, with sushi, an American kitchen, drag brunches and dance party bookings.
Tip: The rooftop is the patio half of the LaSalle Plaza location; drag brunches Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 are the easier reservation.
Volstead's Emporium opened December 2015 in a basement behind a Lake Street alley door with a red light above. Live jazz, burlesque and comedy run most nights.
Tip: Look for the alley entrance behind the building; the door with the red light. Reservations via Tock Wednesday to Sunday; walk-ins always welcome.
Prohibition occupies the entire 27th floor of the W Minneapolis at the Foshay Tower, the 1929 Art Deco landmark. 360 degree city views from what was Wilbur Foshay's original full-floor retreat.
Tip: Open Tuesday through Saturday from 17:00. Reservations via the W Hotel site for the window seats; the bar walk-in works on weeknights.
Cobble Social House opened 2019 in a North Loop basement off the alley by Monte Carlo, marked by a blue neon eye above the door. Sushi and cocktail program in a low-lit gallery space.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. Friday and Saturday run to 01:00 with a late kitchen; reservations via Tock for the small booths.
Billy After Dark sits below Billy Sushi in an 1887 building, with exposed stone walls, plush seating and a ceiling of pinholes lit by LED stars. Ring the bell at the back door to enter.
Tip: Enter via the back of the Billy Sushi building, ring the bell. Wednesday and Thursday close at 22:45; Friday and Saturday push to 23:45.
The Saloon on Hennepin Avenue opened 1977 and is the oldest gay-owned and operated dance club still standing in Minneapolis, with weekend drag, dance floor and a back patio.
Tip: 18+ after 21:00 Sunday to Thursday, 21+ on Friday and Saturday. Saturday Pride Block Party runs through summer.
LUSH on Central NE is a former garage turned LGBTQ bar with 24-foot ceilings, a green velvet tropical lounge and a back theater running drag, burlesque and live music most nights.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday drag bingo; weekend drag brunch books out via Resy. Biscuit kitchen runs all hours from Betty and Earl's.
eagleBOLTbar on Washington Avenue South pairs a Minneapolis leather and cruise tradition with a heated dog-friendly patio, weekend brunch and karaoke or trivia most weeknights.
Tip: The expanded heated patio runs through winter. Karaoke and trivia weeknights; brunch Saturday and Sunday from 11:00.
The 19 Bar in Loring Park opened 1952 as the city's first gay bar and is now among the oldest continuously LGBTQ-owned bars in the country. Cash only, jukebox, pool and darts.
Tip: Cash only and dive-bar simple. Reopened February 2025 after a 2024 fire forced closure. Pool tables and darts free.
The Gay 90's on Hennepin Avenue is the largest LGBTQ complex in the upper Midwest, six bars and three dance floors across two buildings, with the La Femme Lounge drag shows upstairs.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. La Femme Lounge drag Wednesday to Sunday; Kinky Fridays and burlesque add to the calendar.
Berlin opened February 2024 across from Spoon and Stable as an 85-capacity European-style jazz and listening room, with state of the art sound and ticketed Friday and Saturday shows.
Tip: No reservations except for ticketed Friday and Saturday shows. Most weeknights run no cover. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Small Hours opened September 2024 in Northeast Minneapolis as the city's first dedicated hi-fi wine bar, with Klipsch La Scala speakers, Luxman turntables and a Sam Cassidy record collection.
Tip: Wednesday to Thursday close at 23:00, Friday and Saturday at midnight, Sunday at 22:00. Tinned fish and bread to pair with the natural wine list.
Dakota on Nicollet Mall runs a seated jazz listening room with two sets a night, a chef-driven menu and world-class touring bookings seven nights a week downtown.
Tip: Two sets nightly. Reservations open by ticket purchase; the front row seats book first. Kitchen close varies by show.
Mortimer's at the corner of Lyndale and Franklin in Lyn-Lake has been a no-nonsense Uptown dive since 1976, with strong cheap drinks, a back patio and a regular crowd of musicians.
Tip: Kitchen runs late and the burger menu is the order. Walk in, cash and card both work, expect a wait on weekends.
The CC Club on Lyndale traces its roots to Prohibition and remains the dark, working dive at Lyn-Lake. Cheap drinks, kitchen open through the night, regulars from Replacements days.
Tip: Open daily until 02:00. Kitchen runs late, jukebox loud. Cash friendly but card accepted; weekend crowds pack the booths by 22:00.
Grumpy's Northeast is the Fourth Street NE dive bar that anchored the neighborhood's brewery row before craft beer arrived. Tight room, full tap list, regulars across the bar.
Tip: Small one-room dive; the downtown sister closed years back. Cash friendly, kitchen serves bar food, jukebox loud.
Jimmy's on Fourth Street NE is the cash-only Northeast dive with the wood-paneled bar, vintage signage and a back patio. One of the densest pockets of dives in the city.
Tip: Cash only, ATM on site. No food kitchen. Open afternoon to 02:00 daily. Crowd thickens after 22:00 weekends.
Vegas Lounge on Central NE is the tiny holdout dive that refuses to update its decor, with karaoke nearly every night, pool tables and a patio out back. Mid-century paneling intact.
Tip: Karaoke nightly; arrive before 22:00 to put your name on the list. Cash and card both accepted, no cover.
Peak food season in Minneapolis is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Minneapolis rewards trust.