The Rathskeller

«She was born in a barrel of American oak Made of sugar, maple, and charcoal smoke She just goes to show your folks
What God can do with water»

Very cool place for a cocktail. They had live music and great staff. I knocked off one star because my first drink was an old fashioned and it wasn’t made right. They muddled a cherry and a very large piece of orange in it and it watered down the drink. But then the server recommended a salted caramel manhattan and it was delicious!
Also try the restaurant upstairs, tycoons. You can get dessert and appetizers in rathskeller, but the restaurant is worth going for a whole meal.

My only complaint is I wish i found this place sooner. Such a relaxed place to enjoy whiskey, especially when it is half off.

A serious place with serious beer. Go during the week and have this underground city hall cellar all to yourself. One of the hidden gems of Minnesota. One of my favorite places on earth.

One of my very favorite bars… bar none! Great drinks, great staff, and stellar location.

The Rathskeller is my favorite bar, without question. It’s such a cool environment. They also have a really great ragtime band that plays early evening every Friday.
Cade, if you are reading this, I have to toot your horn a smidgen. Don’t let it go to your head. :) He is the head bartender and has a huge specialty drink knowledge, including an award-​winning smoked maple Manhattan. He keeps a great selection of bourbon and scotch. Not to mention the craft beer on tap.
Go to the back of Tycoons and take the elevator to –1. :)

My Wife and I went down here for a quick drink. Love the ambient setting. They had a live jazzy band playing which was also entertaining. They have a decent selection in drinks. I would recommend check this place out.

We got into Duluth late Friday night and weren’t up for more than a quick drink before bed after the drive. This obscure, historic basement bar was perfect. Cool, ambient atmosphere. There is a tight limit to the number of people they allow in at a time, so it was pretty intimate. Our bartender was super knowledgeable about craft cocktails, beer, and the Duluth area and very friendly.
We came back Saturday night as well!

This obscure and cool hangout is one of our favorites here. Great tap beer selection with a good balance of familiar/​exotic/​regional/​international types. The menu is fine for a tasty late bite. The real star of the place is the room it’s in, however. Totally awesome speakeasy-​meets-​European atmosphere.

Very cool bar in the basement of Tycoons with awesome selection of hard to find beers. They don’t open until 5 and we were told it’s get super busy so go early if you hate crowds.

I really like this place and come here every time that I am in Duluth. The ambiance is great and if you come here on a non-​busy time, I would ask the people that work here about the history of the building. The menu is fairly scarce downstairs, so we usually have a drink and dessert or appetizer.
They will try to brag about the tap list, but I was slightly underwhelmed. With that said, I love this place and cannot wait to get back.

I went to the Rathskeller right at open at 5pm on a weeknight. We were the first people in the restaurant’s doors and the only people in the ‘skeller. Some people may see this as a detriment, but I enjoy the freedom to chat with the bartender and not be interrupted by other annoying patrons. The doorman wasn’t even on duty yet, so it felt even more covert.
From what I had read, I expected a bar with a lot of hard-​to-​get beers on tap, but unfortunately I was not impressed. The tap list was pretty unexceptional. However, the bartender gave us a sampler of the Schneiderweiss on tap and it was excellent. I wish that I would have ordered that.
The ambiance is awesome. You definitely feel like you’re away from the world. I have no idea what this place is like when there are more than 2 people in it, but frankly, I don’t really care to know. I loved the intimacy and the promise of great, personal service.
I think this would be a great place for a fancy date. But personally, I’ll stick with the Brewhouse.