The Bulldog Uptown — Restaurant in Minneapolis

This is my favorite bar in Minneapolis, and has been since Matt (RIP) opened it back in 2003.

Craft beer and good bar food is basically a given at any pub in Minnesota these days. It's easy to take for granted. However the Bulldog was one of the very first bars in Minneapolis to bring a curated tap beer list (with Belgians!), along with elevated burgers, hot dogs, and sausages back in the early 00's.

The Bulldog pretty much set THE standard in the kitchen and on the taps back before these things became an expectation. This was derived from the owner and original bar staff (some of whom still work there, like Brian and Sonja) working in the service industry before opening the Bulldog, and spotting gaps that needed to be filled. Things that we take for granted today but were unheard of at the time. A Chicago dog in Minneapolis??? An Italian beef sandwich? Kwak beer? But why?

Thankfully not a whole lot has changed at the Bulldog in 22 years. The food still rocks. The tap list is ever changing, but always interesting...and always with a Belgian or three available. The atmosphere is still dark with lots of neon lights and interesting stuff hanging up on the walls. The staff is still awesome. The crowd is still an eclectic mix that ranges from sports fans watching the game, to mailmen, to first dates and thugs and everything in between.

There aren't many of these type of places left on the south side. If you appreciate a good bar, good bar food, or if you just want a peek into a timeless establishment..check it out.

Oh yeah:

The Bulldog has the best fried cheese curds outside of the State Fair. I said it. And I'll die...

My wife and I had dinner at the Bullfrog the other night and it was okay. We'd been there once before and just had appetizers and were less than impressed. There was hardly anyone in the bar. People were nice but the food didn't give us any real reason to go back. Since then I got a Groupon-type discount and figured we'd give them another shot since we live in Loring Park. We stopped by a week or so ago and the place was packed. We couldn't get service so we left. They were having some type of promotion with live music. Last Thursday we went back and once again there was hardly anyone there. Frankly I'm wondering how long they will be able to stay around if that's all the traffic they got on a Thursday night. We split their appetizer special (I forgot what it was), then Mary Jo had a POPPER BURGER (with deep fried jalapenos, tillamook cheddar , cream cheese, & spicy sour cream) and I had PECAN CRUSTED CATFISH PLATTER (served with red beans & rice, southern greens and blue corn sticks with honey butter). Both entrees were very generous portions. We have very fond memories of our visits to New Orleans so we were very excited when they announced the concept. Additionally, we like the Bull Dog restaurants, so we had very high expectations. I'd say this place is okay if you're in the neighborhood. I asked Mary Jo if she thought the burger was as good as a Bull Dog burger and she said definitely not. I thought the catfish was okay, but if I were to go back I'd try something else. You'll have to find parking on the street so be prepared to walk a...

This place should be a 5 as the food is for sure a 5, but due to poor service, I had to drop it. I honestly really struggled giving it less, but as I'm reviewing the entire experience, I have to drop it down.

Service: 2/5 Waitress only came by a once to refill drinks and see how we were doing (a struggle while eating spicy wings). When we finally asked for our bill, she gave us the wrong bill, which wasn't a big deal. I turned within 3 seconds to catch her quickly, and nicely tried to inform her, and she said with tone, "I'm talking to another customer now, I'll get to you next." After I informed her of the mistake with the check, she brought the new one and crumpled up the old one and said, "see that wasn't that hard."

Food: 5/5 Wings were great and cheese curds are amazing. Will definitely go back again for the cheese curds if nothing else.

Note: I'm not one to bash a place for one experience, so definitely check this place out. Just know at least one server is...