Bar: Gopher Bar

Address: 241 7th St. E, St. Paul, MN 55101

Score: 9.3/10

St. Paul is a hell of a city. This was the first time I visited the city and god damn I loved it. It was a little griddy, a little trendy, it had a bit of everything. Sometimes with a bar, you just know it’s gonna be a good one. Sometimes it is because of the location, sometimes it’s by name, in this case it was the facade and the gorgeous “Gopher Bar” signage on the outside of the maroon building. Gopher Bar is obviously a play on the beloved University of Minnesota. From the color of the building to the inside of the joint they bled maroon and gold. 

I fell in love with the spot from the signage and the giant Coney Island sign on the building. You do not necessarily think of coney’s when you think of MN, but they were proud of them. I am not the biggest hot dog guy but when I walked in, you could tell this was the spot. Everyone was enjoying hot dogs and damn did they look good. 

Once we settled in the bar, the observations began. The decor was littered throughout the place in the best way possible. You name the neon sign they had it. Some real cool vintage ones as well. My personal favorite had to be the Coney hot dog Coors sign. I know it was custom, but my god it was unique. Around the bar they also leaned into being the hockey state with the decor, they had a ton of hockey jerseys and memorabilia hanging on the wall. I truly felt like I got the true Minnesota experience. 

In addition to this decor they also had gorgeous wood paneling, I believe it was a dark pine. Behind the bar they had some deer heads mounted on the walls, everything just screamed Minnesota. 

At this point I was not sure how the place could have gotten better, then I discovered pull tabs. Truly a top invention in my opinion. What a fun way to pass time, especially when you are winning. 

What I enjoyed about this bar the most was the cozy atmosphere, and the no bullshit attitude they had. “No fucking credit cards” and “No fucking personal checks”, cash only baby, the way we like it. 

Price: $4 beers, pretty standard price nowadays

Decor: Best decor I saw all weekend.

Service: Fast service, really nice bartender 

Atmosphere: Place was pretty busy. Good mix of drinkers and people dining in.

High Life Bottle?: Of course they had it. 

Bonus Points: Cash only bar.