Double smash burger is a hit. The atmosphere is a nice transition from Joey D's/Chicago Taste Authority, which we miss.

My wife and I took a walk around Lake Nokomis on A Saturday and Bill's Bait shop was new and we wanted to try a new restaurant. I ordered a Venn Hazy IPA from down the street and sat at the cool bar. There are fishing tributes lining the walls and plenty of TVs in the bar area. I ordered the walleye po'boy. It came out in about 10 minutes and it was delish! The remoulade was perfect and the fish wasn't too greasy. The fish was not too fishy and the roll was stupendous. Great bartender, great after walk lunch! read more

Bill's Bait Shop - Walleye po'boy. Delish! - Fish & Chips Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

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New spot in S MPLS that has been a must hit on the list since it recently opened. Went on a Thursday night for dinner with some friends and the place was packed. We had to wait about 20 mins for a table and were able to hang out on the patio while we waited. The decor is top notch and gives grandmas cabin up north vibes which every Minnesotan has nostalgia for. The service was quick on a busy night and our food came out quickly. Two of us had the walleye fish and chips and two of us had the heirloom Tomato sandwich with pork belly. The sandwich was a little underwhelming but the fish fry seemed to be a hit. The deviled eggs and walleye po boy also looked amazing so may have to go back to try a few more items. read more

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Saw this place on a list of "must try" spots so of course I had to check it out-for lunch on a Tuesday. The menu is filled with lots of tantalizing options from smash burgers to walleye sandwiches, salads and cheese curds. There's also a great list of clever cocktails but no day drinking today....I went back and forth on food but decided on the walleye po boy sandwich. The extra crispy walleye fingers (3) were sitting in a crusty hoagie bun with lettuce and fresh tomato and a nice remoulade sauce (wanted more sauce). It was great! Sandwiches come with house made chips or fries (cooked in beef tallow-so old school!)-fries are a must-absolutely delicious. Service was super friendly and the place filled up around noon so get there at 11:45. Most of the seating is bar stools and high tops. Vibe is northern cabin chic. Already planning a return visit to try some of the cocktails and other fun items like Bourbon ice cream! read more

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This place is so cute with its northern woods, feeling and cool, kitchy, modern decor. We went pretty late, so it was seat yourself. Service was quick and the food came out pretty fast! The menu has lots of local beers and American staples. The grilled oysters were meaty and buttery delicious I don't know if I can justify $18 for these, but they were good. The beef tallow fries were super addicting! My fish in my fish sandwich was flaky flavorful, and had a nice crunch on the breading. It was a little weird to have an entire pickle spear on the bottom of the sandwich, but it did go well with the fish. The hoagie bun was surprisingly very soft. The remoulde was a perfect spice level in. It was a great flavor profile of tartar sauce. Safe to say will be back since we live in the neighborhood! read more

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I've been in Minnesota for a week and I haven't had Walleye yet. I found this new place, on Yelp of course, and was excited for walleye. This cute place is in the Standish Neighborhood and only a few weeks old. Nick was our server and he was very friendly, personable and efficient. I had the Walleye Fish n' Chips which is beer-battered walleye with fries that are cooked in tallow ($24) I prefer a tart tartar sauce and this was excellent. Lemony and delicious. The fish was also great. I thought the fries were a little salty, but my date said they were fine. I will definitely be back here the next time I'm in town. 4 1/2 stars! read more

Bill's Bait Shop - Walleye Fish n' Chips - Fish & Chips Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

First time review. Need to visit a few more times before I up my rating. I saw that this old hot dog restaurant had been taken over by new owners. It was a dark and dingy place back then, now, all fresh and lively. John was our server and was very attentive, even while the place was full on a Friday night. Burgers Fish basket Wings We sampled all of the above and really liked all of them. The Walleye basket is right up there with SeaSalt Eatery. Doll thought the burger and she felt it was top of the line. Wings were nice and crispy, juicy on the inside. I feel like this place will do well and I look forward to make returning trips. read more

New South Minneapolis spot! Friendly staff, quick service, amazing atmosphere! I'm so excited this place joined the neighborhood, it was much needed and I'm hoping it gets the love it deserves! They have a fun menu, with a happy hour 3-6pm sun-thurs. read more

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We've been here a few times. Outside, inside and bar seating. Service is always friendly and efficient. Food has been consistent, decent HH and good cocktails. I enjoyed the single smash HH burger more than the double on the regular menu. Loved the homemade chips, the dip was fine. Wings were good but needed more seasoning. Bill's Smoked Burger was delicious. I was excited to have a good espresso martini and other fun cocktails they offered. On your way out, grab the dirt pudding, it was a yummy treat! read more

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Great weekday night at Bills! Very lively, hip music, and restaurant was full! They have a patio area for warmer months. It is a casual, modern. vibe while maintaining elements of a north shore dive bar. Lots of familiar items in the menu, some with elevated updates. Great vegan and veg options. They are clear about use of beef tallow in fries! Much appreciated. Nice unique cocktail selection along with taps, and wines. We will be back! read more

He Said: Bill's has neighborhood restaurant and bar vibes, for sure. The place has a nice patio area, and the inside interior is very on brand. The week I went was during their grand opening weekend, so things were still being worked out. I spent over 40 minutes waiting for my 1 sandwich. The staff was really nice and offered both my boys free ice cream. The fish po boy was alright. The fries and walleye were fried and were only kind of warm...pretty sure my food had been sitting for a while before being served to me. The bread was pretty good. The soft serve ice cream was some of the best I have ever had! I hope to be back. Pros: - Great neighborhood location - Friendly staff Cons: - Still has some "kinks" to work out read more

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Good spot! Gets really busy around dinner time, so come early if you want to grab a spot. Small but nice outdoor section (would be great with more chairs)! Food is good, thankful they have banquet. read more

This was their 2nd day of being open. It is a super fun, kitschy place reminiscent of a Northwoods resort lodge, even if you don't have to use the bathroom I would go into them to "wash my hands" just to check out the decorations. We were the first ones in and told to take a seat wherever we liked. We were quickly greeted with menus and told she would return with waters. Upon her return our server took drink orders and dropped off waters. After that our server got recruited to work the bar and our new server brought our drinks and took our food orders. Everything went seamlessly as different people were dropping items off at our table from our appetitizer of beef summer sausage with a lovely pepper jelly to our entrees. We noticed there were a few hiccups with servers going to the wrong tables, but it seemed like it got sorted very quickly. For our meals my wife selected the Walleye Po'boy. It was delicious, boasting light flaky fish and a rich flavorful remoulade sauce. I ordered Bill's Burger, this had a black pepper rub, bacon, cheddar, smoked onion, and horsey sauce. This was so delicious and just the right amount of smoke from the onions. Our only complaint was we wished the burger was cooked to a perfect medium rare(the server said the cook on the burger was rare to medium rare on the burger and it ended up being a smidge under on the doneness for our tastes). I forgot about the cocktails...my wife's espresso martini was so delicious with a little heat from the chili liqueur. My Old fashioned was delightful with the pineapple rum, amaro, and peach liqueur. read more

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First time eating here. What a treasure! The happy hour had great deals! The food was great! We sat at the bar which we never do, but it was really fun! It was nice to watch how they paid so much attention to sterilizing all the shot glasses between drinks. Our server and bartender Sky was amazing! It was amazing how she could keep up with a smile! Decorated very cute! A well run restaurant! We will definitely be back! read more

Very cool northwoods bar vibe. Came late on a Friday night. Lots of business there, so glad they are doing well. We sat ourselves, someone came and gave us menus a few minutes later, so service ok. Tried the walleye po' boy which was spicy and good, but I didn't like how fried it was. French fries were good. My husband tried the heirloom tomato sandwich, but they need a bread upgrade. He found the bread to be too wonder bread-like. I tried a michelada for the first time, and it came with the beer on the side which I was not expecting. It was spicy, and I wasn't in the mood for it. We parked in the neighborhood. Would definitely come again. Think my kids would like it. read more

Easily one of my favorite finds in mpls. Food was great- ranch cheese curds had perfect amount of season and cheese inside was delish. Smoked trout dip and summer sausage had great flavor. Vibes were killer. I wish I could shop their decor ugh. Customer service was great too read more

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10/10. No notes. Do yourself a favor and go here now. Food was amazing. I haven't stopped thinking of our food. read more

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This restaurant has a great future! Service was fantastic. We got the double cheeseburger which was really, really good even though the beef tallow fries were cold - still tasty! We also got the heirloom tomato sandwich because this is the perfect time of year to enjoy that garden harvest - unfortunately, because of food safety guidelines the tomatoes were ice cold. This was still a delicious option, I just wish restaurants weren't forced to ruin amazing tomatoes! The decor is fun and quirky but a little bit like the Disney version of a bait shop. I think this place will get better with age when it starts to get a little rough around the edges like a real Minnesota bait shop. read more

I have mixed feelings about my experience last night. On one hand, it is a friendly neighborhood type of place. Nice bar area for locals to show up and watch the games together. I was disappointed that the two Venn beer choices they list on their menu were not available. Our friend ordered the walleye fish and chips that came quite a bit later after our entrées arrived. The server said they had had a large rush on the fish and chips, but you would think they would be prepared for that since that's one of their signature items. My Walleye Poboy was good. The french fries were OK but just average. If I lived in the neighborhood. I would make the walk to the restaurant but for us to make the drive into Minneapolis I would probably select something else. read more

Focus of the restaurant is to highlight the food and atmosphere of "Up North". Unfortunately the signature dish of walleye fish and chips fell flat and lacked flavor. The price of the food was excessive for the value. The dessert was the best part of the meal but came in a cottage cheese carton and where it was made is unclear. Overall a disappointing restaurant experience. read more

We both had the walleye po boy And smoked trout appetizer. It was excellent and we would come again. The bread for the po boy was toasted crunchy and warm. My girlfriend ordered the chips and loved them. I tried one and the chips were good. Friendly staff They need a bigger space. Nice place for the neighborhood. read more

Fun atmosphere. The menu, while meat heavy, still had a few vegetarian options. My tomato sandwich was quite tasty. I sure wish the fries that came with my vegetarian sandwich would've had a non-beef tallow option- chips? or a vegetarian side, especially after the staff asked about dietary restrictions. read more

The menu seems random and weird at first, but it's good! I had the duck salad, deviled eggs, and campfire oysters, and all were delicious. Especially the duck salad. If you like duck, it is generously portioned on top of a delicious salad with fresh vinaigrette to cut that duck fat. I'll be back to have that again. The only reason it's a four is I would like to see a little more beverage variety, and some good soups on the menu. read more

All of the staff are very friendly and welcoming. Very new but will get that neighborhood patina shortly. We were really looking forward to the food but it was OK. The fries were ok and the walleye Po Boy was medium. The vegetarian dog was nice, I enjoyed the level of spice. Nice location for the neighborhood and will continue to be a popular spot. Great spot for young families. Probably a good spot to watch a game and have a beer and an appetizer or two. read more

If your name has "bait" in it, you should nail the walleye po boy. Bills does not. It has too much bread and two small pieces of fried walleye. Bills owner should go to sea salt, steal their entire recipe, and put it on the menu. The smash burger was very very solid and service was 10/10. read more

Just what the neighborhood needed!! Lovely patio, our server was lovely, and the food was great. I had the double smash burger and was thrilled, we will be back. They're still sorting out some of the other dishes but I'm optimistic they'll sort it out. Vibe and service are great. read more

Food and service were excellent! We ate outside because it weather was nice and we didn't feel like waiting. We got the smoked burger it was good but I expected it to be more Smokey. Fried Walleye fish n chips were as good as I've had and the trout dip was a lively way to start. We got cocktails that were excellent as well and are excited to come back to this new spot in our neighborhood to try more of the menu . Our server Amaya was knowledgeable and attentive! Will be back soon! read more