Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery

Bar, Eatery

6040 28th Avenue South, MSP Airport Term C
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55450
United States | map
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.38
Reviews:
13
Ratings:
19
pDev:
14.5%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by craigbelly:
Photo of craigbelly
Rated by craigbelly from Iowa

3.35/5  rDev -0.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.25 | service: 3.25 | selection: 3.25 | food: 4

Sep 11, 2019
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.73 by ovaltine from Indiana

Jan 01, 2016
 
Rated: 3.64 by Chucker17 from South Dakota

Oct 26, 2015
Photo of BillRoth
Reviewed by BillRoth from Maryland

3.68/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.5
Pleasant surprise. was finishing Beer safari trip to MN, IA and WI. Only place open for beer and breakfast in Term C. All in all a comfortable place, good people and decent beer. Didn't eat, but menu looked good. Worth a stop if hanging for a plane departure.
Apr 12, 2015
Photo of pat61
Reviewed by pat61 from Minnesota

4.06/5  rDev +20.1%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75
Its usually full with after work downtown types or people waiting to go to a game. The beer is decent and the food is a pretty good interpretation of standard bar fare.
Mar 23, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by bulldogg915 from Wyoming

Nov 08, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by mothman from Minnesota

Jun 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by heytomcat from Minnesota

Apr 11, 2014
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Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

2.95/5  rDev -12.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 3 | food: 3.75
Stopped here for a late lunch during a multi hour layover. The atmosphere was classic pub and was effective in making one forget that they are in an airport. The quality was pretty average, the beer was hit or miss and the food was typical pub food. The service was poor, taking long lengths of time to order anything and receive that order, which is surprising since it is an airport restaurant that usually is intentional on being quick. The selection of beer was sparse, only 8 to choose from and most were not quality brews. Overall the beer and food was a bit overpriced for what I received.
Aug 13, 2013
Photo of jsprain1
Reviewed by jsprain1 from Minnesota

3.03/5  rDev -10.4%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 2 | food: 2
A- It's clean and all, but it's mostly people on their laptops with nothing particularly inviting. It's best to get a seat with a view of a television.
Q- Beers were fresh, glassware clean, etc.
Ser- Service is quick, but otherwise not particularly friendly or helpful. Quick is always appreciated though.
Sel- 4 of the regular Rock Bottom lineup with bud light and a Summit on tap. Not much to choose from.
F- My chicken wrap was kinda bland and the french fries were uninspired.
It's roughly 8 bucks a beer which is only tolerable because that's airport pricing for ya. I would generally pass on this place in the future.
Oct 15, 2011
Photo of zhanson88
Reviewed by zhanson88 from California

3.14/5  rDev -7.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3
Atmosphere: Pretty much non-existent for me personally. I was waiting for a flight and ready to get the hell out of Minneapolis. I had some time on my hands and wanted to have a couple beers.

Quality: Had two beers and they were both fine. Nothing to raise a flag, certainly.

Service: My waitress was nice and seemed enthusiastic about the beer they served. Good enough for me.

Selection: I think they had 6 taps and some bottles. Nothing real impressive. If they could manage to get some Surly....now that would be impressive.

Value: Well it's at an airport, I expected a rip-off. And that's exactly what I got.
Dec 18, 2010
Photo of gixxerman
Reviewed by gixxerman from Pennsylvania

2.76/5  rDev -18.3%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 2
What can you really expect from an airport Rock Bottom? If you guess outrageous prices, small selection, no atmosphere, and pretty much completely unimpressive - you hit the nail on the head!

But, at least they had 4 of their own offerings, plus a few Boulder beers on tap.

A 20 OZ draft is over 8 bucks. Not a bargain, but at the airport, you will pay that for a Girls Light, so I guess it isn't the worst option available.

I guess it is an OK to spot to jump in and grab 1 between flights, but not a place I would recommend spending a lot of time at, unless you are on the company's tab.
Jan 27, 2010
Photo of brdc
Reviewed by brdc from Wisconsin

2.45/5  rDev -27.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 1.5 | selection: 2.5 | food: 3.5
It is hard to judge this place. Let's try to be specific.
In an airport, it is a good option, at least in comparison to the other lousy options.
However, the beer option is quite limited, and the beers tried from their own sample, mostly around mediocre, with two exceptions - to be reviewed. Atmosphere is standard airport bar, perhaps a little nicer.
Service is downright mediocre - very slow, lots of mistakes, and nobody knows anything about beer.
Food is decent, but not great, and prices relatively high. Having said that, it is still the best option in the airport.
Aug 25, 2009
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.7/5  rDev +9.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
One of the better airport bars with fresh beer from the downtown location, and Bobby as a great breakfeast through lunch bartender. Convenient in themain terminal, very wide selection of food. Rarely the RB seasonals, but the turnover of beer here is good. I liked the atmosphere as it was mostly business people staying for a while, booting up their laptops. No drunks here, and you better not be to make your flight. If you are coming off your flight, head downtown.It takes a bit of time to get service but then it was quick. Worth a stop.
Nov 19, 2008
Photo of joedon
Reviewed by joedon from Minnesota

3/5  rDev -11.2%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 3 | food: 3
I suppose I'm crazy to even try out an airport "brew-pub" but had time to kill so I tried it.

Two big impressions: service was slow and inattentive and the prices were obscene. $7.00 plus tax (89 cents) for a pint of beer. Nachos were another $12.

Normally I enjoy Rock Bottom and generally know what to expect. Not with this location. My advice is to steer clear and save your money.

By the way their biggest beer sales here are for BMC, not their home made beers. I'm not sure where the R-B branded beers are brewed but it's not in the MSP airport.
Oct 21, 2008
Photo of bigkingken
Reviewed by bigkingken from North Carolina

3.45/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 1
So does a microbrewery location in an airport still count on my brewpub tour? Since I've included other satellite locations, such as the various locations of Coeur d'Alene Brewing in Spokane and Moscow, I tend to argue that it does. After all, the beer is made by a mother location nearby. But the food is another question. The kitchen can't be well equipped. Anyways, the Rock Bottom in the Minneapolis airport could pass as any other Rock Bottom location, but a quarter of the size, and they carry domestics. It's decorated the same, has numerous flat panel televisions, and even more suitcases laying around.

The first beer is the Rock Bottom Wheat, a Belgian Wit, and I was skeptical, but its actually quite good. Much better than some other Belgian imitations I've tried. It has a strong candy/yeast taste traditional to Belgians, but no depth or complexity to speak of. Next on the plate is the Itasca Extra Pale. Ever-so-slightly amber in color, it has a fruity nose smell, and a subtle bitterness. Hopheads would not like it, but I find it quite drinkable. Next is the Hazed and Infused Dry Hopped Ale, which scores points for naming originality. Unfiltered, it is indeed cloudy, with a much more assertive taste (almost cider-like) than the regular pale. I think it's better. Next is the Singletrack Copper Ale, which claims to have won a Best of the Best from All About Beer Magazine in 2000, and a Bronze at the World Beer Cup in 2004. But now it's 2008. But it's still wonderful. It almost reminds me of a rye taste and texture. The nose is highly hopped in a fruity way, but delicate and well balanced. Very, very good beer. The Eric the Red is a German-styled amber lager that, while nicely spicy, is the least impressive of the group. Finally is the Bighorn Nut Brown Ale. Not particularly nutty, or chocolaty, or caramel flavored. It's close to my second favorite with the Hazed and Infused, but that's only for lack of impressive varieties and no other dark beers.

Since I don't know how to rate food at an airport restaurant (the kitchen can't be well equipped) I decided to order a dish I've had at the Indianapolis Rock Bottom location, which I know I love, and compare the two. A decent idea, I thought. Wrong. The fish was terrible, the fries were decent, and the blandness of the coleslaw was saved by the addition of granny smith apples. First of all, the salmon in Indy was smoked and delicious. I order salmon a lot, and I've never had salmon that tasted fishy. The fish tasted fishy. Maybe its just not a good idea to order fish at airports period, unless you're in Seattle or Hawaii or something.
Sep 24, 2008
Photo of Chugmonkey
Reviewed by Chugmonkey from Wisconsin

4.2/5  rDev +24.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4
I can't count the number of Friday nights I spent in this place on my way flying home. YOU HAVE TO TRY THE WILD RICE SOUP!!! I always got that and was always disappointed when it was out. The walleye fingers and the wild rice soup were my go to meal, that and as many 22oz taps of decent brew I had time to knock down.

Prices reasonable for airport fare. If it looks busy, it clears out quick due to quick service. By far the best place to eat/drink in MSP airport. Hard to find reliable food/service in an airport restaurant like this place.
Jun 25, 2008
Photo of Dogbrick
Reviewed by Dogbrick from Ohio

3.64/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
It's always nice to find a brewpub (or something close) in an airport, and this is a good example of that. I was not aware there was a Rock Bottom in MSP so that was a pleasant surprise. It is located in the C concourse and is easy to spot.

The interior is reminiscent of other airport family restaurants not of the Chilis Too variety. The U-shaped bar is toward the left, with table seating all around it. There are large chalkboards behind the bar listing the available beers and their stats.

The beer selection favors Rock Bottom beers with a couple guest taps. A sampler of 6 beers costs $7.85. The beers are pretty typical Rock Bottom selections from Wheat, to Amber, to Nut Brown etc. All of the beers are fairly average.

Service here was pretty good on a Friday evening. The bartender did very well interacting with guests from all over and had a solid understanding of the Rock Bottom beers.

I did not have any food on this visit.

Overall I would make it a point to stop here on any layover in the twin cities airport. Finding a brewpub (even if they don't brew the beer on site) in an airport is always a blessing.
May 13, 2008
Photo of John_M
Reviewed by John_M from Washington

4.16/5  rDev +23.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
I had no idea this place existed, though I was subsequently advised that the airport version of RB has been around for some time. It was a welcome surprise during a 2 hour lay over the other day.

The airport RB is located at the end of C concourse, just past gate C1 (where my flight was leaving as it turned out). The place is good size with a wrap around bar off to the left when you walk in from the concourse. While nothing exceptional or fancy, the place certainly has the RB feel to it, with the usual RB decorations and woodsy feel to it. This particular day they had on 4 RB beers, as well as the Hazed and Infused as a guest beer. Their wheat beer was described as a Belgian Wit, and to my surprise it was outstanding when I sampled it. Service was quick, efficient and friendly, with the bartender joking that I would have received a larger beer complimentary if I had shown her my mug club card at the outset. I didn't try the food, but from what I could see it was nothing particularly special. The menu was fairly small and did not appear to include all of the usual RB choices. As for the cost, a 20 ounce beer was the typical airport rip off ($7.75 I believe). That's pretty much the norm for "premium" beer at this airport, so I wasn't phazed by it.

All in all I had a nice time here. I'd definitely stop in again and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys RB beers.
Apr 30, 2008
Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery in Minneapolis, MN
Place rating: 3.38 out of 5 with 19 ratings