The Front

*Cough* 2 & ½ stars for now.
Yep, I showed up to The Front for a quick second. We walked around trying to find our group and gave up because the place is super packed with young people booty shaking. I have nothing against this place, they play great music though. But the three people I came with, one of them didn’t like it. She was dying to go to Tangier’s…
And of course, we ended up going to Tangier’s. Don’t worry, I will come back to this place and experience it the whole night so I can write more… let’s just hope they don’t change the name to «The Back» by the time I come back!

What the hell is going on at this place. The DJ is the goofiest dressed individual I have ever seen and seems to have his own crowd of male groupies. The scene is just off. Low prices which is a plus I just can’t shake the odd vibe this place gives.

Another Northeast Minneapolis Hot Spot. This place reminds me of a more up scale version of a College Bar. A stripped down bare bones scene is what you get here but the DJ is a good one who looks like he is acting in a Movie every time I go here. Again, trying to hook up here can be tough, but the mixture of Co-​Ed U of M students and Northeast Minneapolis Hipsters as well as a mix of other races and types makes this place intriguing. If you live in the area, I would recommend frequenting this place.

I really can’t think of anything I don’t like about this place. Drinks are good strong and not too pricey. DJ plays great songs and it’s busy and has a great atmosphere. Not too many creeps just a fun dance party :)

I have never seen a more focused group of individuals (men). A female I was with referred it as terrifying.
In addition, the guy picking up glasses told a female friend said she was told to «drink her drink fast (chug it)».
So.creepy dudes and creepy staff. and the DJ/​Owner is a horrible DJ.
Can’t review less than 1 star
It’s a very weird place

I’d known and talked about going to the Front for a while but had never actually gone until my roommates and I were sitting bored at Legend’s one night this winter. And now we stop by here almost every weekend.
It’s only open Friday and Saturday nights and just looks like a vacant bar every other day. There’s no cover. The drinks aren’t expensive. It’s a fairly young crowd. I haven’t sensed anything overwhelmingly creepy about the guys that come here.
The music is ON POINT. From Stevie Wonder to Shakira to Biggie to Taylor Swift. This DJ knows what he’s doing.
It’s kind of small so it can be a little packed, but I think large crowds are important for the sense of anonymity that dancing sometimes requires. Head to the balcony upstairs or the patio if you need a break.

I have been going here for years and this place is hands down the best place to dance in Twin Cities. I have proudly introduced so many people this place. DJ Dirty Duke is the bomb. He video mixes 60’s-current and knows how to work the dance floor. The crowd tends to be younger, but don’t let that stop you if you are not. Drink prices are very reasonable It’s just a fun place to go and get lost for a night.

This place was a fantastic alternative to the clubs in downtown. Fun crowd, nice staff, and excellent music!

YES YES YES.
Da Front is da best. You know when you have that «F*&k dudes tonight, I just want to dance» attitude, but you don’t want to go to a grimy club? The Front will play jam after jam after jam (seriously, great DJ) and offer a floor for you to groove without feeling like you’re at risk of some slimy homeboy slipping handsy feels in unwelcome areas.
There’s a great balcony where you can observe the night creatures and get a lay of the hunnies down below.

Surprised I have not written a review on this place yet. The Front is my go-​to spot when I want to drink and dance my face off. DJ Dirty Duke is the bomb and spins a great mix of songs you didn’t know you forgot from HS and college days, classics (hello Whitney «I Wanna Dance With Somebody») and some of today’s hot jams. I love that they play the videos to go with the songs also.
This place gets super packed and the bar itself is a little small, but even so, once you’re able to make your way up there, it’s not too long of a wait to get someone’s attention and get a drink. Drinks are relatively cheap and strong. Tip — if you’re a beer drinker, bring cash and hit up the beer tub by the door to avoid the whole line altogether.
While it does get crazy crowded on the dance floor, there never seems to be anyone at the booths by the front windows, and they provide a nice home base to plant coats and friends who need a break or are not in the mood to shake their tailfeathers.
The bathroom situation here is rough — only two stalls I think and there are perpetually long lines so plan ahead and don’t wait until you’re about to burst to get in line. Other than that, I have no bad things to say. Come here prepared to dance like no one’s watching and drink like there’s no tomorrow!

The Front has grown on me the last few times I’ve been.
Mainly my obsession is the music here (and the music videos they play on screen). Like last night: Jumpin’ Jumpin’ by Destiny’s Child followed by Macklemore’s White Walls got my hips moving… And then they follow up with some Way You Move by my kryptonite, Outkast? I went wild. And I think people liked the way I moved (or so it seemed… I was a few gin and tonics in).
Tip: try and get that upper balcony spot for you and your friends. Prime bar real estate. Makes you feel just like Gatsby overlooking one of his parties, old sports.

Hidden dance club in north east? Of course! Pretty good drinks and decent craft beer list. Dj plays a lot of 90’s dance hits and there’s always at least 1 if not 2 bachelorette parties every Saturday.

How in all the years of going to Ground Zero did I not go here? Well, I should have, because it’s cool and pretty! Love the décor and the patio is a bonus. I was here early on a Saturday, so not yet crowded, which was perfect. And by the other reviewers comments, I’ll need to come back to dance!

HOOK. LINE. SINKER. …and that was a decade ago. It is rare that you crave going to a «bar» to dance instead of drink but DJ Dirty Duke is all of the inebriation you will need. Without question the best DJ in the Twin Cities… and I’d even argue the Upper Midwest. This isn’t your KDWB music mix. This is the stuff that makes your body involuntarily boogey… MJ, Lionel, Stevie with a modern «spin». Not to mention Darude, 2Pac, Snoop, JT, Timberland, GaGa, Clinton, or anything else you could possibly imagine requesting.
The physical space fits Northeast perfectly and the cliental runs the gamut. Everyone is welcomed and everyone is there to have fun and dance! DJ Dirty Duke recognizes and appreciates his repeat customers and takes care of them. He is the best in the business AND the best dressed! Dude is flawless.
Reasonable drink prices… mixed stronger than most. Great bar staff. Great bouncers. Great location. Great time! Fridays and Saturdays are busiest, naturally, and the crowd really gets pumpin’ around 10:30−11 PM. Be prepared to sweat your arse off while dancing with everyone. Oh yeah, NO COVER CHARGE has got me singin’ «Music’s got me feeling so free (we’re gonna celebrate), Celebrate and dance for free!»

Dance your pants off here! This is a place to get down and pretend you are still in your early twenties. There is quite a large range of ages here, but you have the usual creepy guys standing in the corner just scoping out the scenes. There is a small second floor balcony if you want a little room to breathe or need to find your friends who got sucked into the mob of sweaty dancers.
Not only is there a long line for the bar, but also the bathroom. It is really difficult to get there once the place fills up. The best way is to climb over the picnic table then vear right to stand in line.
The bonus of this place is the wild 70s style outfits of the regular DJ, his giant beer glass, his legit platforms and the videos playing on the walls. This place it fun for bachelorette parties.

hmm. i went with high hopes, but that may have been a mistake.
the bar must have been overwhelmed… it took an age to get drinks. the atmosphere was less eclectic than i was hoping for… and on a friday night, the place was packed but almost nobody was dancing. considering that i’ve heard this is a good place for that… hmmmm. strange. that was the biggest disappointment.
i feel like the Front was what happened when somebody tried to merge a downtown club with a lower-​key, casual, cozy ambiance. and it’s sort of… successful on neither front. not actually a great place to go drink and dance your face off, and too cold and impersonal for a cozy, offbeat pub. i must say, though, i did enjoy the DJ in his leisure suit, and the tunes were fun.
the dance floor was mostly full of people a bit too buttoned up to get down and dance, but out on the patio there was an interesting mix of people out for a smoke, some of whom drifted over from Ground Zero. the most enjoyable time i personally had at the Front was making new friends outside.
i didn’t have a bad experience, but it wasn’t what i was expecting and honestly wasn’t to my taste. to be fair, though, i’ll probably have to give this place another try some night out in NE.

Gorgeous interior, love that there’s a patio area. We came on a rather dead Friday night… then again, it was also just 10:45-ish when we came in. The TV was showing a CC’d «Zoolander,» and we were just coming up to the part when Zoolander goes «What is this? A center for ants?!» when the DJ started playing these awesome disco songs (with matching music videos). We’ve gots to get up and dance, you know whamsaying? Knocked back a decent vodka/​lemonade, and started boogeying down to Jamiroquai. At this point, it as around 11:30 and there were a couple other people dancing, and we even met a great couple who really liked our boisterousness. What can I say, I’m a pretty boisterous individual.
The DJ — who, actually, could be Jamiroquai’s twin — takes request, and does eventually start playing more Top 40 hits; he does a good job blending the songs and never stopping the rhythm. That, my friend, makes for a great dance night.

I have been going to the Front for more than 10 years ever since I lived in the neighborhood while going to school at the U. While the patronage and it’s appearance has changed quite a bit over the years, it’s ambiance and energy have remained strong and constant. How this place has remained, for the most part, an un-​tapped resource is beyond me.
The Front is the best place in the Cities for dancing. HANDS DOWN. I realize that is a bold statement, but I stand by it. You will always find DJ Dirty Duke in his leisure suit and 5 inch platform boots, drinking his massive goblet of scotch, all while spinning the best mix of R&B, hip-​hop, electro & rock. Duke is great at taking requests and he definitely recognizes his regulars. Needless to say, after 10 years, Duke plays what we want. In fact, most of the time we don’t even need to request our songs. He simply sees us walk in, and he plays them. Anyway, no where else will you find such a vast array of tunage being played to appease the masses.
There is never a cover charge, the crowds are typically always decent with a low amount of a-​holes, and the happy hour until 10:30 is a plus. However, watch out, as this place is fairly small so it can get PACKED. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer it to be nuts to butts on the dance floor, but it can get difficult to get a drink at times. That is usually why I’m half in the bag before walking in the door.
The bottom line is the Front is my happy place. I’ll be cutting a rug here until I’m 65, no doubt.

I discovered this place on a night I was supposed to be going to Ground Zero for an album release party. It was d.e.a.d. when we strolled in around 9:15, but we had no where else to go before Ground Zero’s doors opened at 10 so we ordered drinks and sat down. (2 for 1’s were great and my double malibu coke was mixed just right… almost clear :))
I opened the Unilocal app on my phone to see what the place is all about –I’m all for equality so don’t take this next comment to heart: I had initially thought gay bar because there were only 4 people (men) sitting at the bar. I was wrong but I haven’t had the experience the rest of you Unilocaler’s write about!
I was meaning to check it out after the show but my boyfriend literally dragged me to our car (i had a little too much to drink!) Next time I find myself in N.E. I’ll drop in and update this review!

Dance, dance, dance!
Can’t believe no one has reviewed this place since 2009! The Front is one of my faves for dancing, relatively D-​bag free and they have happy hour until 10:30 p.m. on the weekends (which is the only time they are open anyway). It’s a gorgeous, dark and sexy space that looks rather European in the same way that Club Jäger does — it even has a fireplace! You can expect a DJ that isn’t afraid to play all the guilty pleasure songs too. That, my friends, is the best kind of DJ there is. Every time I’ve been here it’s either been bursting at the seams with people or totally dead. The patio also makes for spectacular people watching, as The Front is «the front» for Ground Zero.
The not-​so-​good: The post-​HH drinks get a little pricey and the bartenders always seem to be overwhelmed when it’s busy. The last time I was here, I had to wait probably 20 minutes at the bar before I was helped. It’s not like the bartenders themselves are bad, but throwing more staff back there would certainly make things more pleasant for thirsty patrons.
Also of note: They don’t serve food and they are only open Friday and Saturday nights.