Dutch Bar — Restaurant in Minneapolis

The Dutch Bar is a cocktail bar. It is also a surprise. My first notice was a kind of "whoa! What is that!" moment. It is surrounded by taquerias and panaderias and pastelerias on Central Avenue in NE Minneapolis. I happened to catch sight of it when I was driving north on Central, and we decided to come back in the evening for cocktails.

It is owned by Patty Grell, who ran the wonderful Modern Cafe until it sadly closed in 2015. The interior is white and green and bright with a great tiled bar, and there is apparently a changing show of painting and art by local artists.

As usual, we sat at the bar. Their specialty cocktail list is relatively short, but covers the major spirits. I had the Dutch martini, which was made with the Dutch gin genever and a small maker French riff on green chartreuse. It was herbal and quite lovely. My husband had the tamarind Manhattan which was also quite nice. They also made him a regular Manhattan, but using their curated amaro. Nice!

As the place is small, they have a carefully curated selection of spirits. They had about 8 bottles of different gins. I asked for a very, very dry martini made with a gin I had never seen before- Future gin. It is made in California by 4 women, and it was bright and citrusy.

They also have a carefully curated wine selection. This means you can't go wrong!

Food consists mainly of bar bites: a cheese plate, a meat plate, various spreads, and a few sandwiches. There is no dinner option.

One very nice feature on a beautiful day is their patio in the back. It was busy out there this weekend, but still plenty of room.

I recommend this lovely little cocktail bar. The service is attentive and enthusiastic. The drinks are good. What more...

In love with the vibe of this place, it is dark and rustic with light wood, velvet upholstered seating, and minimal decor. The feel is a bit pretentious, but not off putting in my opinion. The food is mostly small bites and a couple sandwiches, and the wine and drinks menu is fairly priced and thoughtful.

I got the olives and pickled vegetables, and the eggplant red pepper dip with crudités. The picked veg was great- crunchy carrots, cauliflower and other veg pickled to vinegary perfection. The olives were big meaty Castlevetrano olives. For me things went downhill with the dip and vegetables. The dip was sweet and spicy, but the assortment of vegetables was not my cup of tea. I didn’t touch the celery or the green onion (was I supposed to eat that on its own..?) The cooked mushrooms were good and the quality of the vegetables were great, but I should’ve asked what veg was included before ordering. Also, a bit of bread included with this would be a nice addition, without needing to order it separate and pay extra.

The apricot old fashioned was okay- a tad sweet up front and bitter on the end. I was happy with it but it is on the sweeter side.

Overall I did enjoy Dutch Bar. 2 small plates and 2 drinks were about $50 and they do add a hospitality service fee, but such is the current climate when dining out.

I will also mention there was a strong smoky cooking smell in the place. However, I am eager to visit again and try out a few...

Mixed bag review. For a place taunting itself as friendly, laid back, approachable etc. it failed. We intentionally sat at the bar to be "chatty". I tried too many times to be friendly and lead with open ended questions, no luck. Dude was not slammed with customer's, literally only 2 other parties of 2 seated @ tables. Once we had our food I made it a point to heartily thank the chef for the most delicious ham sandwich of my life. She was very neutral/ cold, humble? At any rate she essentially said in a rather condescending tone "It's just a ham sandwich." Well this peasant thoroughly enjoyed the food and drinks, but the snooty pretentious vibe, no thanks! I will likely return because the stupid sandwich was that good, and cross my fingers that my 1st impression of the staff...