Welcome back to "Five Things," Racket’s recurring rundown of new, new-to-us, or otherwise notable Twin Cities restaurants.
Today we’re bellying up to the bar at Beckett’s, the Lyn-Lake sports bar that opened this July in the spot that was very briefly “cosmic cantina” Fool Me Once. Beckett’s is a good time: It’s open late; it’s got sports flicks playing on VHS behind the bar; it serves a boozy orange slushie drink called OJ Canseco. But it’s also thoughtfully designed and expertly curated—I just know someone who works here has the coolest basement you’ve ever seen.
Here are five other things you should know before you go.
1. Beckett’s Does Buckets
My first visit to Beckett’s came after a round of trivia at Morissey’s around the corner. We joined up with some friends, and when we walked in, they were in the middle of downing sugary-sweet cookie shots served in tiny plastic Beckett’s-branded buckets. What an introduction! (An intro…buckshun?)
In addition to the cookie shots (four bucks each), the bar serves four batched bucket cocktails ($13 each), including a spicy marg bucket with mandarin orange and habanero bitters and the John Daly, with peach and orange blossom vodka, lemonade, and iced tea.
That’s not enough for ya? Beckett’s also sells a 128-ounce “super bucket” for sharing between groups of four or more.
2. The Best Happy Hour in Town? …It Might Be
Beckett’s taps flow with a selection of macros (Hamm’s, Coors Light), and local craft beer (Indeed’s Pistachio Cream Ale, Summit’s Twins Pils). The fun here is that for $3, you can turn any 12-ounce pour into a “Big Beer”—so you could get a 22-ounce Twins Pils for $8, for example.
And during happy hour, from 2-6 p.m. on weekdays? It’s just five bucks for buckets, burgers, and big beers. It’s cheap and alliterative, and true to Beckett’s claim, it could actually be the best happy hour in town.
3. They’re Sportin’ in Style
Cocktails in buckets, big cheap beers—if you’re thinking “this all sounds a little juvenile for me,” well… it’s a sports bar! And as much fun as they’re clearly having with it, the details are really dialed in. Tessellated pennants criss-cross the ceiling, and just about every square inch of space is covered in photos, banners, jerseys, and other memorabilia. There’s an “everyone watches women’s sports” banner and a Wild Pride flag, and I mean, check out this Deion Sanders merch.
4. But Also, “Sportin’” in Style
Perhaps you’re the kind of person who likes the idea of sports more than the kind of person who tunes into every Twins game? That’s fine—while it’s clearly run by MN sports obsessives, Beckett’s welcomes fans of all types. The space is as much a celebration of sports culture as it is professional sports. (See: the framed Mighty Ducks jersey, or the “shake n bake” flag from Talladega Nights, or the banner emblazoned with “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”)
The cocktail tap handles are topped with figurines of local athletes; below the many flatscreens airing live sports behind the bar are two tiny CRT TVs playing sports VHS tapes: Air Bud or Major League or The Sandlot. It’s less like a college dorm room and more like an eccentric collector’s basement. (Even if the bathrooms are plastered in printouts of some of Baseball Card Vandals’ greatest hits.)
5. So What Are We Eating?
There’s a small food menu here with reasonable prices: $10 tendies, $8 smash burger, a Dome Dog served, of course, with a bag of Old Dutch chips ($7). They’ve got a basket of fries that you can order “wild style,” and they’re—I’ll say it!—better than the “animal style” fries from In-N-Out.
And maybe you don’t want to drink your drink out of a bucket? Fine, fine, there are cocktails that arrive in glasses, too: espresso martini, mezcal negroni, “Uptown Spritz.”
But you should order at least one bucket. Do it for me.
Beckett’s
Address: 3006 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis
Hours: Monday-Thursday 2 p.m.-1 a.m.; Friday 2 p.m.-2 a.m.; Saturday 11 a.m.-2 a.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-1 a.m.
