St. Paul's Half Time Rec named No. 1 bar in America by Esquire

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A neighborhood favorite in St. Paul just landed national recognition as the best bar in the country.

Half Time Rec tops Esquire’s 2026 Best Bars in America list

What we know:

Half Time Rec, located at 1013 Front Ave. in the Como Park neighborhood, was named the No. 1 bar in the U.S. by Esquire’s Food & Drinks editor Jeff Gordinier.

The list highlights bars "where that deep sense of American comradeship is alive and well," Gordinier notes in the rankings.

Dig deeper:

Once featured in the iconic 1993 film "Grumpy Old Men," the bar is open daily from 9 a.m. to midnight, serving up a full menu, craft cocktails and local sports. Visitors can also play bocce ball and bean-bag games in the basement.

The review noted that "most of the barstools were already warm with butts," at 11 a.m. on a Friday morning, while, "local high school hockey is on every TV because this is the big tournament weekend."

Other establishments on the list include Stars in New York City, Gold Clover Bar in Washington, D.C., and Bar Tonique in New Orleans.

Why you should care:

Half Time Rec is the only Minnesota bar to make Esquire’s 2026 list, standing out among 13 other bars from cities like New York, Birmingham and Placentia, California.

The bar began offering food in 2015 under then-owner Scott Mars, and has since carried on the tradition under the new ownership of Shawn Lennon (who took over in 2023). 

Big picture view:

The Twin Cities food scene also received national honors last month when A Bar of Their Own in Minneapolis was named Best Local Sports Bar by USA Today readers.

The Source: Information provided by Esquire’s Best Bars in America list.