Chatterbox is the perfect neighborhood bar joint. Super chill, good music, awesome staff, food and overall vibe. You can play old school video games and they also have lots of board games to choose from if that's your jam. Becoming a regular here is inadvertently easy to do. The customizable mac n cheese is bomb.com. Shawn and Cindy cater to customers in all the best ways. Also they have mead. Bitches (like me) love mead. read more

When I heard that there's a place where I can play Candyland, drink beer, and eat good food, I didn't believe it. The two times I've been here were both first dates (I won't judge Chatterbox for both those dates not leading to a second date..hah), but I think the atmosphere really helped ease the tension. I mean, we were playing Connect Four, if that's not romance material, then I don't know what is. I had the quesadillas which were very very good i thought. They have a good selection of beer and other cocktails to choose from. I liked how laid back it felt, and the waiters I've had both times were very friendly and funny as well. I'd definitely go back, but hopefully not for a first date. read more

Really fun casual pub with a large assortment of board games and classic video game consoles including Nintendo, sets genesis and Atari. The food is good pub grub. Overall a fun place to hang out with your buddies and walk down video game memory lane. read more

Chatterbox Pub - Bars Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

I've been to hundreds of burger joints and dive bars and this place totally impressed me. From their fresh ground bacon burger, local brews and local soda. Housemade sauces, ketchup and excellent service. The backstory is amazing but you'll have to go there and hear it for yourself. Definitely a must go back. I had the blue cheese burger and loved it. read more

I only deducted one star because after 2 days and half a bottle of Febreze my coat still has a strong stench of onion rings from this place. Other than that this place rocks! Very good and eclectic menu, tons of board games to "rent" free of charge delivered by your servers, one old school Nintendo and one Sega with game rentals at $2 and $1 respectively, mulitiple TVs to watch the big game, Buzztime Trivia, micro brews, wine, and "specialty drinks". Also, great service! I'll definitely be back and am excited to try out the other locales. read more

Chatterbox has a great concept - play board games while you sip on beer and eat some sometimes-tasty food. The table layout is chaotic: we were meeting another couple of drinks, and, although there was a sea of open tables, somehow we just couldn't find one that seemed comfortable. There are loads of two-tops, and then there are four-tops squeezed together back-to-back, most of them too narrow to sit at (unless, of course, you enjoy cozying up to your tablemate's knees). The atttitude on the servers is priceless. At first I got a little huffy, but then I had to laugh it off: the first server wouldn't let us push the table out a little bit, because the six-food space wouldn't be enough for the servers to get through. Then, our second server (you'll notice a lot of confusion over who's serving whom) looked offended that I had gotten soup with my grilled cheese & tomato dill soup. I ordered a salad instead of what I THOUGHT were fries that came with all of it; when I had no soup, I asked for it (from yet another server). When guy #1 came back, it was an awkward moment of utter confusion. The grilled cheese was actually not bad. It is doused in pesto, adding a little zip to an otherwise bland meal. Their "house speciality" foccacia is nothing special, actually, but the house salad with a little blue cheese dressing is pretty decent. Also, the sweet potato fries with red pepper aioli are addictive. They're not the best in town, but, of all the Chatterbox options, they're towards the top of the list. One highlight: they have Strongbow on-tap. Other than that, the only thing that keeps us coming back (twice a year) is the idea of playing board games while imbibing. Sadly, though, we didn't even touch our board game that night (the table was too small), so made a collective decision to just go home, drink wine, and play the board games we already have, rendering Chatterbox obscolete for the foreseeable future. read more

There is a good choice of drinks and happy hour pricing is good. They do have WiFi. This location, unfortunately, is not as fun as the Saint Paul location. You pay a premium for beer and food and the atmosphere is lackluster. It can get really loud, one time we were playing one of the trivia games and I couldn't even hear the person across my table reading the questions. Also, it does smell a little stale. I did also have one bad experience where I ordered some food...not at happy hour...with a Groupon and the waitress seemed really angry with me. I was completely embarrassed at the end, even though I had paid cash for the food, I felt like I was treated like I was trying to take advantage. I also heard the server telling someone in the back (loudly) about my misunderstanding. Okay, I cried. But, who says Happy Hour can't be sad sometimes? read more

We have never been to the Chatterbox before and have the Pub Pass so we stopped to check out the craft beer selection. After we got our beer (which were very good and the selection was amazing) Steve (owner) came over and talked with us about the history, beer selections and made my mouth water over the burgers. Ended up getting the Chatterbox burger and I am sure it was the best burger I have ever had! We had our 8 year old with us and it was family friendly! Ambiance, staff, beer and food were all AMAZING! We will definitely be going back! read more

Tonight we are engaging in a holiday tradition by request of our daughter. We go to the Macy's display and the Chatterbox Pub. We usually go to the Chatterbox in St. Paul, which has more of a family feel. The St. Paul location is larger, has board games to check out and several retro game systems for the kids to play. This is what we expected when we walked into the Minneapolis location. Uh, not so much. We walked into the bar section and thought we got the wrong place. The bartender instructed us to go through the hallway. On the other side we found the similar decor. There is a Sega and a Nintendo that my daughter water to play. According to our server, it was being tinkered with last night and not sure if it works, daughter disappointed. The "techie guy" never came back to get it running. It is an older location that, according to my daughter, smells like history. My hubby had the Kentucky beer burger or something, he liked it, but over cooked. I had the grilled cheese and tomato bisque. I only got half because my 10 year old daughter kept asking for bites. Kaitlyn did like her kids Mac and cheese, too. The red pepper sour for the fries is way garlicky! All in all, I think we will go to St. Paul for the family atmosphere. read more

See all

Ah the Chatterbox, been going there since it was the much crappier version. I like the delightfully frumpy atmosphere. The tap selection is fair to good, always something on that will suit a mood. The food is good bar food not pretending to be anything better. Old board games and video games are decent to pass the time. They can lighten the load with a lady. I do not like the open kitchen and the smell that sticks with you after you leave, it's kinda like when you've been cooking and your hands smell like the food you prepped for the next hour, or you could say slightly better than the smell you used to tote around before the smoking ban. As another poster indicated, the Chatterbox Lager is just a Schells product, nothing special except the name. If anyone thinks Schells is brewing batches of a special beer in their "factory" setting for a couple little pubs, they might need to ask themselves if they think W was a good President, or if a college ID can get you a drink at a bar, or if higher taxes make smarter children, or if Randy Moss would make a good coworker, or if the tin foil hat prevents brainwashing waves, or if Bill Clinton is truthful, or if Santa Claus is real, or if Barry Bonds' forehead growth was natural, or if the Earth is flat because they can be convinced of just about anything. read more

My friend Mark, told me to check this place out as they offer Vintage Video Games for FREE while you wait. We got the "Chatter" Burger and played Arkanoid. Good time with a Great Retro 70s & 80s vibe. Tell 'Em The ZERo sent ya. read more

This place is adorable and kitschy fun! While driving home from south minneapolis, in an attempt to avoid rush hour, I went a little bit out of my way to grab a happy hour drink. I came across the Chatterbox Pub and decided to step inside for a quick beer. With a broad array of customers, great service, Nintendo!!, and board games, I felt at home. I wish I lived in the neighborhood because I would want the Chatterbox Pub to be my neighborhood bar. read more

Friendly staff, lots of variety with old school games and gaming systems. I had the waffle pork sandwich with bacon - took a chance and enjoyed it! Docked on star because while it's a kid friendly place, there is no baby changing table in the men's room. Our daughter had a blowout and I had to change her on the men's room floor. Yuck! Management, please make the small investment and fix this. The current state makes it very unlikely I will take my kids back there. read more

Cool spur of the moment dinner and drinks heading out of down. Sat at a booth for a few minutes before anyone said hello, and when he came over just kind of threw the menus on the table and walked away, which we don't mind because I hate all that chitter chatter, but a lot of people would be mad about that. Drinks came quickly, and I don't think they even charged us for the second round. YAY! Ordered an app and our meal at the same time. App took over 20mins to come out, then 3 mins later our food was out before we could even finish the app. Little mishaps that happen everywhere, though. Burgers were very delicious, I had what I think was their version of a mushroom and Swiss, but instead of mushrooms had green olives. Hands down the best burger I've ever had, not at home, lol. read more

Stopped in last Tuesday night to meet up with some friends for drinks and dinner. The service was ok, not very attentive for how slow it was. He was a friendly guy though. The food was good but not outstanding. read more

If 4 stars rested on clever theme-i-ness alone, Chatterbox would be sportin. The fun and games are so endearing, but dangit if the other pesky considerations don't get in the way. The stink-jacket I came home with tonight has a bit more of a dreep fried character to it than the stale smoke one I thought I wore home last time. And, I still want to burn my clothes. The sweet potato fries were jacketed in their own KFC style batter armor that, kind of, made the sweet potatoes not frigging awesome like they should be. The dough of our pizza had an other-wordly lightness to it that made me think I could cut it with my mind, let alone a limp-wristed, half hearted, fork flick. The sun dried tomatoes, buried under soggy pineapple and ham, added a rubbery time-bomb factor which, sounds a lot more fun than it felt or tasted. There's too much mediocre pizza out there to let this even pass for middling. But, hey, the staff was very nice. However, trivia and chat sooth the battered taste-buds, so it's all good. But, god if I don't stink... even after a shower. No changes in score, just solidification. Activities: 4 stars Food: 2 stars read more

Step up your game Chatterbox. The food was just not good. I feel bad that I spent my hard earned money on your garbage food. Maybe other items are better, but the French dip and the chicken fingers were just so bland and cooked poorly. This is a cool place that I've liked for years but I definitely won't be eating the food here again. Also, the server was a snotty grumpy guy who's apparently never had any of the food or drinks on the menu. read more

Having tried both this location and the newer Highland Park location in StP, I can firmly say this Chatterbox is way cooler. After reading reviews describing Chatterbox as a friend's basement, I was somewhat wary, but that description is very apt and not a bad thing at all. A cozy feeling, very laid back. I was the designated driver for the evening so I was delighted to see that Chatterbox has "from scratch" sodas to make a sober person like me feel special. I loved the ginger ale (and the free refill). I also tried some of my friend's Caribbean Nights which was very nice, refreshing. Our waiter recommended trying the cracked red pepper sour cream with our fries and it was delicious. Smoky, creamy, a little spicy, perfect with the hot fries. Oh, and the music was rad. Overall, a great experience, despite the long wait (it was a Saturday, after all). read more

We live so close, we want to like it. But the last 3 times we were there service was so slow and so awful that I can't justify supporting it. The last straw was not getting half of our order and never finding the server in time to get it. Then she put it on our tab anyway and wanted to argue about it. Nope. Plus I hate having to wash my coat after being there, you leave smelling like a grease trap. read more

The food or wine selection is spectacular. The service is alright too. What the great thing about this place is the kitschy atmosphere Lots of retro games to be played. Nintendo to candy land. Karaoke on some nights too. Whats not to love? read more

It is a cute neighborhood place that serves wine, and their own microbrew. The kitchen seems to be able to fix some good stuff too. But the real attraction is the large collection of board games. It's a nice place to gather with friends and family to play some games. To accommodate the greatest number of guests they have uncomfortable furniture arranged in awkward configurations and the music is so loud it inhibits any real conversation read more

Of course the entrees are good. But when you realize you get a nice helping of tender seasoned fries with your Hell Kat Burger you know you are getting a good turn. My suggestion, ask for a side of the Hell Kat sauce for fry dipping and giving your main a little extra surge of awesome. It should go without saying that if you eat at a micro brewery then you should order a house beer. The Magnamonius Brown Ale is a choice you won't regret. read more

Started with the beet salad. I've had better, and I've had worse. Then, shared the California Dreamin' Burger (organic baby greens, local tomato, basil-pinenut pesto mayo, pickles) with my daughter. She LOVED the food. Great neighborhood restaurant. So appreciative that there are so many choices of places to dine in the area. read more

Chatterbox Pub - Local Beet Salad - Bars Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Hate to leave a negative review for a neighborhood place that has so much going for it. Some wonderful staff, great atmosphere, good music, awesome games, genial owner. All that doesn't change the fact that their food often just isn't good. It is sobering to contemplate the team effort that goes into raising a chicken/catching a fish/growing veg only to have it arrive cold/soggy/dry/over-or-under seasoned on a table. This has been my experience more often than not. 3rd to last visit: Chicken wings bone-dry inside/dripping hot sauce outside. When I reluctantly sent them back, politely asked the server how they were prepared/if he'd tried them/what he'd suggest instead. He said "I don't eat here, I'm vegetarian." 2nd to last visit: Fish fry (previously a stand out! FYI it is not all-you-can-eat) gummy/soggy batter, arrived barely warm. Pickled slaw (which I've enjoyed on previous visits) - tasted like straight vinegar. Most recently: Grilled cheese w tomato soup. Sandwich arrived room temp and soggy w soup so teeth-grittingly salty that I politely sent it back, too. Ordered a chicken wrap instead that was dry, and of the caliber of gas station pre-made for 2x the price. The server was kind about it all - and the owner even stopped by to chat - but what is happening in the kitchen that the result is so often so subpar? Whoever lost their mojo, hope they get it back. read more

It's a shabby restaurant thought the ideas of providing game are nice. Servers came slowly, orders came slow, service is poor. Literally took us an hour to get our food and the restaurant wasn't that busy. Not a clean place either. read more

I used to love this place. I went out tonight with a friend of mine and the service was horrible. We were literally ignored for 10-15minutes even after I went up to the bar to order. We finally got up and left. it was very disappointing especially since they were not busy and I really love their food. Lazy servers with no concept of customer service. read more

Great food and decor. Service is slow and I get the feeling that some of the staff could care less about customer service. I hope this location doesn't close like the other two Chatterbox Pubs. Hire better waitstaff. read more

An original place with good beer selection. Food is bar food, it is what it is. So don't come here expecting a chef based menu, like some of the other reviewer seem to want. Board games, greasy food and beer are a perfect for an unpretentious mid-winter hang. I will say the Highland Park location is awful. It is the family friendly Disney version. If you want to hang with the breeders, then go there. Kids are not meant to be in bars. read more

Gave this place a try. Service and staff went above and beyond. Very friendly. Great tap list. The food is where it losses points. Chicken wings taste pre-cooked possibly frozen then reheated later. The meat was very dry and fell from the bone. The sauce was excellent. The burgers were okay nothing to really say about it. read more

Great service and tasty burger! Very safe and clean and quaint. Pricey but worth it.

The food menu is amazing with a lot of effort put into it. The atmosphere is fun and inviting. They offer gaming console booths and there are a variety of board games to play as well. This is definitely a destination spot for food, drinks and fun. read more

The pizza was great. The server was laid back but nice. I did have to go find him a few times to request service, such as grabbing a game from behind the bar or paying our bill. The menu offers several options for pizza and you can substitute ingredients if you want. You have to pay to play all the arcade games except one (which I will address). The board games, however, are abundant and free. The setting is low lighted and has a very authentic bar/pub appeal. The bathroom for each sex is small but has amusing wall art (male cartoon characters/action figures for the men's room and female versions for the women's room). The huge bad side to this pub is that they allow small children (actually any age) and any amount of kids to roam and run around the bar and restaurant. Parents are allowed to set their kids free in the restaurant as they dine and drink. The kids were on the one free arcade game continually, not playing peacefully but fighting and arguing and screaming as children naturally do. The children were also allowed to sit at the bar and play with the gambling video game screens. None of the employees stopped this action, but rather ignored them as it was a regular occurrence. The parents were never notified or talked to by the staff. It was quite disappointing because we were ready and willing to spend more money on beer and the gambling bar game. read more

Chatterbox Pub - Bars Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

See all

We've lived in and around Highland park for years, but had never been into Chatterbox pub until last night. the food we had ranged from meh to inedible. My husband had the Mac n'cheese, I had the wasabi Ahi Tuna, and we ordered a Caesar salad to share. My husband thought the Mac n'cheese was fine, but nothing to write home about. My Ahi Tuna was REALLY salty, and outside of the saltiness the favors seemed to clash. The worst thing we had was the Caesar salad... Seriously this has to be one of the hardest things the mess up, but they managed. The plate was just a head of romain sliced in half with oil, vinegar and I guess Caesar seasonings poured on top. The way it's served causes all the dressing elements to pool inside the head of the lettuce, so my first bite had almost no dressing and my second had so much I instantly started coughing, my eyes started watering and I had to down my entire water to wash the taste from my mouth. At the same time the place was busy so maybe the food is hit or miss depending on the dish. Unfortunately, we probably won't be dining here in the future. read more

This is my favorite Chatterbox location! The waitstaff is always friendly, & the food is always good. The spinach artichoke dip is the best I've ever had. Go on music bingo night and you're sure to have a good time. I don't even mind leaving with that kitchen smell stuck in my clothes. Downside? Only that the ladies bathroom door needs fixing. read more

I always want to like this place, but service is slow and you'll sometimes pay over $8 for a draft beer that's cloudy and flat.

I got this delivered and it was pretty tasty! I loved the fries but they could've given more. My wrap wasn't very hot so the shredded cheese wasn't melted which I was disappointed in but everything else flavor wise was very good! read more

I've been living in the Longfellow/Corcoran neighborhood for three years, and the Chatterbox S. Minneapolis location is fantastic - but only on paper. The entrees are for the most part average, but the appetizers are great when you're on your third or fourth round. It's a beer/wine only bar, which, like the nearby Cardinal, keeps a lot of bar-hoppers and roudy rif-raff away. Chatterbox, unlike the Cardinal, has a nicer beer selection - not a micro-brew haven, but it is without the monotony of only American light lagers on tap. The vintage video games, video trivia, and huge board game list make it a good place to set up shop for an evening (or slow weekend afternoon in the winter). BUT, there is one thing that is so unacceptable about this place that, even though I live 2 blocks away, keeps me from going here: this place stinks of vegetable oil. If you're there for more than half an hour you will need to wash your entire outfit to rid the stench of a deep-frier which sticks to you like cigarette smoke used to. After that smell follows you home and all the way to the laundry room the first time, it will be hard to go back in because you will notice the overwhelming odor immediately on entering. Even though I think that this is a 5-star neighborhood bar, the fact that this place has smelled so bad without proper ventilation for so long, without being fixed or at least lessened, forces me to give it 1-star. Some reviews on here are negative because they are expecting too much - this is a neighborhood watering hole, not an Uptown/Downtown/Eat Street pub, and with these reviews I disagree. But the fact that they have such a glaring issue with ventilation makes me surprised that they remain in business, or at least have not been cited for this by the city. I have met more than a handful of people who never go here because of this issue. With the opening of the Smokehouse Brewery/Pub opening later this year less than a mile away, and the new Blue Door Pub location opening in Longfellow, I hope that the upcoming neighborhood bar-diversity will shrink this location's patronage enough to force an improvement to that overwhelming stank that assaults your senses every visit. If this problem gets fixed, I'll be the first person at the door waiting for a Chit-Chat Lager and those delicious dipping sauces for fries. read more

The food is good and the ambiance is fun. Beer list is decent. Sure the service is slower than something like an Applebee's but the food is better and I never felt neglected. Will come back! read more

I have to preface this by saying: I work in the restaurant industry so giving a negative yelp review is not something I relish. However, the negative experience I had here this past weekend warrants a negative review. My boyfriend and I live nearby and like to walk here to have a few drinks and play old video games or Boggle. Our experiences here have become increasingly poor. For example, we go to play the games but the system and/or games pretty much never work. I understand it is OLD stuff but I never had an issue at the highland chatterbox and, if offering these old games is your gimmick, you should try to have functional systems. This is a minor complaint, but it is part of the reason we decided our most recent experience here would be our last. We walked in and decided we would just sit up at the bar. From where we were sitting at the bar we were directly across from the kitchen and we could see and hear everything, this wouldnt be a problem except they were BLARING (no, I'm not exaggerating) rap music. I don't have a problem with rap music but a) there was already music playing in the restaurant so I didn't need a second soundtrack b) that is not what I want to listen to when I'm out to dinner c) it was unedited. I'm not a prude but I don't need to hear about "bitches" when I'm eating dinner. Even my boyfriend, who listens solely to rap music, was irritated by it. Again, I work in a restaurant so I get it, they want to listen to music, but if you have an OPEN kitchen and you can be seen and heard by customers, save the music for when you're closed. It was completely inappropriate and annoying. BUT I could've lived with it if our food had been good. We ended up ordering a pizza and the grilled cheese with tomato soup. The soup and sandwich were cold, I try not to be super picky about those things because I have had customers hand back plates of steaming food complaining it is too cold, but honestly the soup wasn't even warm. THe pizza was NOTHING like the pizza we had last time we were in. It was barely cooked all the way and it was tasteless. We asked to put jalapenos on instead of olives because my boyfriend hates olives. The server wouldn't let us substitute. Really? If i was asking for anchovies or something that would make sense but jalapenos and olives are comparable in price. It seemed nit-picky and stupid to charge us. This probably wouldn't have bothered me had I liked the food, but it was so not worth it. the bartender forgot the glass of wine I ordered, but he otherwise was fine. Far from exceptional, but fine. to complete our experience, my boyfriend went to use the bathroom and the mens was out of order so he went to use the ladies but the latch was broken (it has been every time I have been here for months. It's not expensive or difficult to fix, cmon guys, fix the damn latch) I'm bummed because I love supporting local places in this neighborhood but I definitely wont be wasting my money here again. read more

Some of the worst bar food I've had. The hell cat diablo chicken wings seemed old and boiled with no flavor. The chicken tenders were slimy underneath the batter and seemed microwaved. The lettuce served on the side of the wings was old and blanched from the boilded wings. I do not recommend this place to anyone and will not be coming back. read more