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love palmers, one of my fav around.
great music, mix of people, never boring!
the drinks are not cheap, but they are dammm good, lots of love from the barman.
go there, have fun, dive in, wake up, and once again...
peace!
Palmer's is one of my favorite dive bars in Minneapolis. It gets crowded and the drinks aren't so cheap, but they make up for it when Cadillac and Cornbread play on Sunday nights and pull you on top of the bar when it's your birthday.
Not as fun when the patio is closed, though. You need an escape for a breather quite often here. Oh and my friend was hit on in the bathroom twice in one night. Women's bathroom.
Every time I come home I ALWAYS drink at Palmers. This was definitely my favorite bar when I lived in Minneapolis and one of the reason i miss MN....
The bartenders are friendly and will pour your drinks VERY strong. Any and every time i am here i get very drunk!! Plus they have an outdoor patio that's great in the summer time.
Great, generous bartenders when they aren't dealing with a crowd. One made my friend's shitty birthday night great with a round for the three of us, another said 'no prob' when I couldn't fully front my after-work beer. I came back a month later and paid him back with interest, he just grinned.
The best bar in America? Well, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure about a lot of things, like dysentery and women. But as far as I can fathom, it is the best bar in America, which puts in the running for best bar worldwide. Warning: if you are middle class or have an extra jingle in your pockets (from being rich), don't come here. In fact, fuck you, you're not welcome. Why is Palmer's so great? Well, it is the only bar I have ever been to where the people are themselves. It is the only place where patrons actually seek out other cool people to talk and get drunk with. It is the only place where you are likely to have an interesting story to tell. Plus you can buy beads, weed (just kidding), or booze. The stiffest drinks in America are sold here for the cheapest price you can find. Beer selection is subpar, but whatever. Just sneak in one of your craft beers and buy a whiskey. Wonderful patio. Great music when they have it (3 or more days a week). Plus it is in the West Bank, the best area of Minneapolis. Hard Times, The Wienery, Triple Rock, and various restaurants devoted to Somali and Ethiopian cuisine lurk around the corner. This is the central place of West Bank that ties everything together. Either you get it or fuck you.
Dirty P's is a very fitting nickname for this bar (as I have heard it called). Somehow, it feels cozy yet kind of gross....sort of like a relatives house that very faintly smells of cat urine. This place doesn't smell of urine, per se...it has that patented weird Cedar Riverside smell that 80% of the neighborhood smells like.
This place is best for the environment. Drinks are not as cheap as other neighborhood purveyors, so if you're on a budget or you're a tightwad...show up half in the bag. I am told they make stiff shots, but cant confirm or deny this.
I dig this joint.
It's the epitome of dive.
The place is so cramped that I usually won't go in if it's busy.
Everything is covered with grimey layer of charm.
There are random awesome decorations all over.
They customer demographic is impossible to pin down,
you get people from all walks of life here.
Definitely a good place for people watching.
The drinks come strong and the personalities are even stronger.
There is a girl that bar tends there,
I think her name might be Brooke(?)
She has long brown hair, usually has it in a pony tail
and she wears glasses.
Petite girl with a punch,
I love her spunk and her sense of humor.
Seriously, if she isn't working,
I don't even want to go in.
I love their patio area!
They have a fire place out there!!
How cool is that??
I don't smoke,
but I enjoy sitting out by the fire any chance that I get.
You can see some bands play here as well,
which is always a perk.
If you're looking for an unpretentious, awesome, eclectic dive bar, look no further.
The drinks are ridiculously strong. I warn you, ordering shots will result in immediate drunkenness--I swear their shots are at least 3 oz. The staff is completely, utterly, awesome. Damn, I love that place.
Some interesting facts: there is a tunnel under Cedar Ave connecting Palmers and the Nomad that was used during prohibition (it has been bricked over). It used to be a bordello. Also, it's haunted as hell. Just ask the staff.
Palmer's is one of the most *eclectic* bars in the T.C. The last three times I have been here they've had random food sitting out on the table right when you walk in the door. Folks in the bar (and people coming in off the street) have grazed on a buffet of food in take-out containers (Mexican I believe...with lots of wilted lettuce, if I remember correctly), a box of produce, or some chicken wings. Has Palmer's become something of a neighborhood bar/food shelf? If so, that's awfully nice of them to be supporting their clientele in such tough economic times.
I was surprised to see the clientele switch gears at about 10:00 pm the last time I was here. It went from die hard locals to hipster college students. Interesting-- but since Palmer's welcomes people of all walks no one batted an eye.
This is a true dive bar.
Drinks are strong. The space is small. The crowd is eclectic.
I don't know if everyone who patronizes this place has a story about it, but it seems like it. It seems like I get a good story pr'near every time I go! There was one time that I opened the door to walk in and a guy was getting punched out the door. I walked over him like it was nothing but inside I was like 'this is my wild wild west moment!' Then there was this other time that the cutest Mexican grandpa with full ranchero nudie suit on with cowboy hat and everything kept on passing out on his bar stool around last call. Such a precious memory, he really was the best and his kids were keepin' track of him. I really could go on but I'll use one more story as a word of caution: one time I got chunks in my Guiness here... so keep it simple. Cheap beers, simple mixed drinks this place is a blast!
Palmer's is honest. If they don't like you, you'll know it. I appreciate that in a bar. Nothing faux.
Palmer's is a good test for people who claim to like dive bars. On the continuum of hipster/ironic to actual dive bar Palmer's fall a few stops closer to actual dive than many.
The neighborhood is sketchy, the clientle can be shady and the staff seems ready to stomp out problems (perhaps too ready, according to some accounts here). You don't have to worry about bumping into any suburbanites or sorority sisters here.
They pour the drinks STRONG here, but let me tell you, you won't notice at first. Using some supreme bartending jujitsu, they can pour drinks that don't taste unpleasantly strong but still knock you upside the head. Be warned: drink that first one slowly.
The back patio is a wonderous little maze of tables, chairs, couches, and booths. Dogs roamed freely. Be warned: the patio has a strict "no smoking crack" rule.
My last visit was a sunday night. They had some live blues/old-time bands, which suited the prohibition era feel of the place. It was damn good. Dancing erupted. It was relaxed and friendly. Drinks disappeared and minds turned hazy. Good times. I believe my sunday nights are booked for the foreseeable future.
The West Bank/Cedar-Riverside neighborhood has been in my good graces lately, and Palmer's is an integral part of it. It's the real deal. No pretenses, no bullshit, just an honest neighborhood bar.
Palmers isn't my favorite bar, but I'm going to give it 3 stars anyways because it can be an interesting experience. Its a narrow dive bar on the west bank. The bartender is an a-hole, they only accept cash, and it is frequented by the homeless, neighborhood drunks, and ironic hipsters. It is as busy on Monday at noon as Saturday at midnight.
They never have a happy hour, so you are paying $4-5 a beer. I think that when you go to a dive bar, you should pay dive bar prices. But if you are in the area, you should stop in for one drink. You'll probably get a funny story out of it.
They used to have a good blues band that would play on Sunday nights.
What a trip of a place. To start it off, the door guy flipped out when he saw the hometown on my Massachusetts license - turns out he grew up in a nearby town. Small world.
Lots of punks, bikers, and even a pet rat that was hanging on the shoulders of a nearby customer. Two DJs near the front of the bar were spinning a wacky mix of 70s funk and 80s pop - including Purple Rain, which was appropriate while visiting Minneapolis.
$2.50 mixed drinks that were 80% alcohol and 20% mix got me liquored up, stat. There were plenty of characters, indeed. Typical rundown dive bar decor - including an old Prohibition sign hanging over the bar. The back patio is also wonderful - Minneapolis loves those back patios.
If this place were in Philly, I'd be here all the time.
This is a bar where you drink straight Jameson and stumble home smelling of cigarettes and campfire. The jukebox is straight out of an alternate history that seems to resemble Fight Club set in a Tarantino universe. Drinks are the strongest in town, and the staff is actually quite friendly as long as you're not an ass. Starting to have more live music as well. Not for the faintest of heart, but you'll be fine. Don't miss the patio. It really is a great time.
I have been fortunate to have kept myself off of the 86'd list. The people here are what the Triple Rock, CC and any other bar in the MPLS want to be. The largest mix of people in a part of the country that is thought to be primarily white. Yeah, someone recently was shot at here. It is truly a dive, there's always a chance of insane behavior. Which is why it's so fucking rad. And the Hamms on tap sort of helps out.
I went to Palmfest 2 years in a row; one year some one opened a can of mace- an experience indeed, and then a nother year I saw the Knotwells inside the tiny bar. I have not been to such a united, painful punk rock show in years. The kids that frequent are standoffish, but get to know 'em - they'll help you up in the pit.
Ok, if you don't know what this place is like find out before you come here. I've heard it said that the Cantina from Star Wars is an apt metaphor. This is NOT the same as the Triple Rock. You've been warned.
I remember watching The Murder City Devils warm up for Modest Mouse about 8 years ago. Right before Modest Mouse takes the stage (not at Palmers but a bar very close to it) Isaac says, "They'res a bar over there called Palmers. We had a F****ng great time at Palmers. So there you have it. Don't wear your NASCAR jacket into this place if you want to walk out in one piece. Check out the fire pit out back and be sure to stay off the 86'ed list.
Now that the Viking is closed Palmers has the best juke box in Minneapolis and the surrounding area by far. West Bank at its finest. Hands down.
Reminds me a lot of Alphabet City, NYC, circa 90's. Lots of dreads, some rats, some punx/anarchists, and a few people on the shady side of life (they can get you anything you can't get at the local pharmacy). White, Black, Asian, Indian, & now Eritrean. For Mpls. this is truly a great racial mix though not really mixed in class. But that's ok -- yuppies sucked in the 80s early 90s and still do.
Gotta let you all know that on Sundays they have a house band kickin out some sweet blues. And like the man said their jukebox is deep. But Sunday's really turns it into a nice gumbo of people all spicy and stewed.
OK beers on tap, cheap local swill, and great shots. I say it's a "back" bar -- order a shot (large in a tall glass) and get your favorite chaser "back" and you're on your way. The make a strong mixed drink too. But, don't piss and moan about the sweet pungent smell around the fire pit. If you don't like it leave. If you need some, someone will share -- or a shady will get you squared away.
I've been a reg since I've come back for a visit a couple weeks ago and I've never seen, or felt, any static. Just good vibes, from oldsters to young kids.
Used to hate (hard-core clubbing dayz) now I appreciate. Stop in and see what it was like to be in Alphabet City, during it hay day
, changed to embody what remains of the West-Bank of Mpls. Palmer's is last drinking establishment on the Bank. The West-bank has always been multicultural, anti-establishment, pro-legalization, and generally time-warped with all the marginalized of every era. Anti-smoking and catering to college money killed the others.
Only four stars cause the dance floor is small and seating is limited inside.
eek. I think I was informed when I went over to this place that someone had gotten stabbed recently inside. Oh well. Inside I went. Agreed it is the dive bar of dive bars. I am jealous to hear that Ralph got to hear some blues while he was there. I think I might have been wearing a white dress the first time I went (I have been a few times) and was sure I was going to walk out pretty much covered in grime. The back yard is trip ( a quality bonfire was going which we sat around and enjoyed for a bit each time I have visited Palmers). I guess my advice would be its interesting but enter at your own risk?
The ceiling is creepy. Palmer's is old and has a jukebox and a firepit in the back. You may find yourself talking to someone you usually wouldn't get a chance to. Last time I was there everyone was talking about libraries. A very important topic. They have an 86'd board and a lot of old stuff there. It is fun. Their drinks are strong and there are pictures painted outside of leaning drunk dandies.
Minneapolis, MN
Category: Dive Bars
Minneapolis, MN
Category: Dive Bars
Minneapolis, MN
Category: Restaurants
Minneapolis, MN
Category: Dive Bars
Minneapolis, MN
Category: Bars
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