Williams Uptown Pub & Peanut Bar

UMNbeerhunter

Minnesota

3.93/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

I am a little biased because Williams was the first bar I ever drank at legally and I also have a couple friends that work the bar. That being said if its busy service at the bar and at a table can be sketchy. Im not saying any of the servers or bartenders are bad they just get overrun friday and saturday.

Williams has a massive selection of bottles and taps. Its not that there is a ton of great beers just a large selection. Some notables are Surly Furious and Bender, Boulder Mojo, Rogue Dead Guy, and of course the entire line from Summit. Not to many great specials on their beer and the beer also can get expensive depending on what it is that your drinking.

Food is typical for a bar but they do have some specials like dollar hot dogs after midnight thursday through sunday, five dollar nachos on thursday nights and an 8$ steak on friday night.

This place is great for anyone between 21 to 30 especially if you are planning on hooking up with a random. Also I have never had a bad time at Williams it always seems that there is a good time to be had at this bar. Oh and I almost forgot free peanuts and popcorn in the basement.

11-12-2010 05:51:55 | More by UMNbeerhunter

JoRado

Minnesota

3.2/5  rDev -16.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | $$

I definitely got a college bar atmosphere when I first walked in here on a Friday night. Very noisy and very crowded. They had a lot of pool tables, but rarely are any of them ever available. Not a bad thing, considering this place is one of the few places in the area that has more than two pool tables.

I proceeded downstairs for their famed tap selection. Initially from across the room the bar looked heavenly for how many beers they had on tap. As I got to the bar and started sorting out what I wanted to try first I realized a lot of the taps were being tripled up and on to just accommodate for how many tap towers they had...kinda disappointing. So really they had about a third of the beers on tap than what it looks like.

Still great selection and reasonably priced. Don't expect to get a table if you come here late on a weekend though. I also forgot to mention free peanuts! As many as you want, which is a plus when drinking beer.

02-15-2012 01:10:10 | More by JoRado

pdoran10

Minnesota

3.35/5  rDev -12.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 2.5 | $$

williams is college and recently out of college age bar. it shows in the atmosphere. a rowdy crowded party bar for the most part. upstairs is a bit more tame than downstairs, with pool tables and darts, but this is basically a frat bar. I can say this confidently after being in a fraternity in college.

the bar is in good shape for what it is and I wouldn't describe it as a dive, but certainly not classy. Downstairs is designed with concrete floors for throwing peanut shells and spilling beer on.

service is pretty average, but can be pretty good when they are not busy. havent been overly impressed with any of the staff, but haven't had bad experiences with service either.

selection upstairs is starndard minnesota bar fare, no special beers, downstairs is a row of around 100 taps which are surprisingly not that impressive. a few random ommegang taps, some delerium tremens, and a few surly offerengs, but other than that pretty mediocre beers. one awesome thing is that you can get a 40oz. mug of surly furious for around nine bucks which is nice value.

probably best to avoid ordering food here...

09-21-2010 00:34:24 | More by pdoran10

kbutler1

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -14.9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

Used to go here a lot when I first moved to Minnesota. The upstairs is ok. They don't like you to ask them to change the TV to what you want and god forbid if you want any volume to hear what's on, even if the bar is dead. The food is ok. The beer selection ranges from the typical Macros to Micros. The upstairs also has pool tables for those wanting to shoot some stick.

The peanut bar downstairs is better than upstairs. Lots of stuff on tap but a lot of stuff I wouldn't drink like certain macros and such. Darts and pinball games for those looking to play some games. Peanuts are free at teh bar and you just throw them on the ground.

Overall, a place I really don't frequent anymore but can see why people go there.

08-24-2010 22:21:20 | More by kbutler1

2JupitersTooMany

Minnesota

4.45/5  rDev +16.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $

As a beer drinker, I'm rating Williams based merely on its Wednesday special. $3.00 pints of any tap beer brewed in the USA and substantial, delicious $5.00 burgers.

Last night, I enjoyed a Hennepin Saison, Rogue Dead Guy Ale and a Pear Cider, as well as a burger covered in mushrooms and blue cheese, with free peanuts and popcorn. My wife had a handful of different, interesting IPAs. We played pool on the newly-felted tables and enjoyed the sparse crowd. 70 taps downstairs = Everyone's a winner.

HOWEVER: This place is absolute garbage on the weekends, when it's packed with sweating fratboys drinking $7.00 beers. The recessed, dripping armpit of Uptown. Keep it to Wednesdays.

04-29-2010 20:28:15 | More by 2JupitersTooMany

AmberMan22

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev +8.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

I personally enjoy this place quite a bit. The fact that you can just toss peanut shells on the floor is quite a bit of fun, gives it more of a saloon feel.
Otherwise, plenty of pool tables, dart boards, cool neon signs, good lighting.
Servers are prompt, and for the most part, knowledgeable about the beer. They can generally make a good suggestion if you lay out a parameter or two.

Selection is massive, I'll be honest. Almost 80 taps, probably about 60 or 65 domestic. Upstairs has an offering of 300 different bottled beers. THREE HUNDRED! The taps are generally quite good though, so I haven't bothered with the upstairs.

Food was tasty, maybe a shade pricey. I was served promptly.

Value is the real trick. We only go on Wednesday's when domestic pints are $3 each. That is a great deal, but otherwise, you're looking at pretty steep prices. Buying a maß can leave your wallet almost $12 lighter if you buy an ultra-premium.

Highly recommend making a visit -- and if you're skeptical, show up wednesday night.

04-11-2010 21:23:40 | More by AmberMan22

MysticX

Arkansas

3.66/5  rDev -4.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

I have a special place in my heart for anywhere you can throw peanut shells on the ground. . . The 'Peanut Bar' is downstairs and a little more laidback than the 'classier' upstairs bar. Large number of taps, though nothing really rare or special. Can be a bit pricey, especially since they seemed to have raised prices in the past few months. There are a couple of nights where they have pretty good specials though, such as $3 American pints (including microbrews) on (I think) Wednesdays or Thursdays. Service can be a little hit or miss depending on how crowded it is. It usually isn't too packed on the weekday nights, but weekends are a different matter when the former/current frat/sorority crowd descends on the bar. In general, a good place to go if you want to drink a liter of beer while playing darts and eating peanuts/popcorn.

12-22-2009 14:53:40 | More by MysticX

sstafford

North Carolina

4.14/5  rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $

One of three bars I visited in Uptown, the others being Herkimers and Bryant-Lake Bowl. I went looking for beers not available in NC, and definitely found my fill. No, there wasn't a lot of rare brews there, but there were a good number of locals and regionals I hadn't seen before. The upstairs bartender wasn't the most knowledgeable, but the downstairs bartender definitely knew his way around the regionals.

Atmosphere was relaxed, all domestic microbrews were $3 a pint, and it wasn't crowded at all.

05-14-2009 16:49:52 | More by sstafford

mwagner1018

Minnesota

3.4/5  rDev -11%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 2.5 | $$

I go to Williams every once in a while (seldom, maybe once every 3-4 months), it is a great place to go with a bunch of friends, hang out with the college age uptown crowd, play some pool, or shoot darts.

A good selection of beer here, but nothing really rare...decent atmosphere, although it definitely caters to the just turned 21 crowd. The staff is pretty good at pouring, but don't seem to be all that versed in the total selection of beers they have. I would go here, knowing what you want, and get that, the staff isn't generally going to be able to recommend something that you haven't heard of, if you are a beer advocate.

I would say that there are certainly better beer bars in the city, with better atmosphere, but this is a fun place, you just have to be in the mood to be surrounded by people...that I would say 95% of them, don't understand, or appreciate the good selection of beers that this place does have.

Best time to go, is probably on the early side of the evening, in my opinion, more chill, you can hang out and find a seat at the bar upstairs, and have a good beer. If the place is busy, they definitely do not put in the time and effort that I think should be involved in pouring and recommending a good craft beer, when it comes down to it, it seems that most of the people there are just looking to get drunk.

04-03-2009 01:38:33 | More by mwagner1018

ckeegan04

Texas

3.8/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Dropped in early on Friday evening with some co-workers while we were in town for a conference. Nice bar feel to it though a little big. Went downstairs and it had a real nice feel. Dart boards, golden tee, etc. 70 beers on tap. Our waitress knew next to nothing about what was what, but she was real attentive without being annoying. Good selection of craft brews but nothing real spectacular. Overall a good place. Like I seemed to notice in the rest of Minneapolis, beers were a little steep. $6 for a pint.

04-14-2008 14:27:22 | More by ckeegan04