At first when I pulled up to the place I was very skeptical. But when I got inside and tasted the food I was extremely surprised! Everything we had at our table was great. The Wisconsin Cheese Curds were absolutely mouth watering! I've never been to the state fair nor am I a Native Minnesotan(or from the Midwest), but these cheese curds where the best I've had for my whole time out here. That marinara sauce was delicious too! For my dinner I had the Tony burger and that was mouth watering too! I'm not a big burger person but that was as good as the burgers at Red Robin. My co-workers had the Walleye Tacos and they said those were great as well. The moral of this story is to not judge a book by its cover! Great food! read more

Best cheese curds in the state, they rival the state fair and you don't have to wait in line for an hour! Great food good service in a warm and cosy location. The only downfall is the lack of space to sit. I highly recommend anyone in the Bemidji area go check out Bar 209. read more

I don't know what happened to 209. For a bar and grill Food here used to be so good and even tho it was pricey I didn't mind Because of the quality, but over the past year there has been a substantial decline. Recently our grp of 4 ate here and we were all disappointed in our meals. One had the wild rice crab stuffed walleye, the walleye was lacking in flavor, didn't see any crab at all , and the bed of beans it was served on were practically raw. another in our grp had the salmon which was undercooked, someone else had classic burger ( which used to be delicious) burgers are pretty basic but thAt was even sub par. Hopefully they get things turned around otherwise doubt if we'll go back. read more

Surprisingly delicious lunch stop while visiting up north. The prices are very reasonable and they do accept AMEX!! Not your typical bar food pretty quite during the lunch hr. read more

Typical northern Minnesota bar with non typical bar food options. I had the burger blended with sausage and it was fantastic. Beer selection was good and the atmosphere was good. read more

Ok, we are from the cities and have no connection to this joint. We are in Bemidji camping and stopped in for a quick bite. I got the mac-n-cheese burger with the beef / sausage mix and it was OFF THE HOOK! I would drive the 4-1/2 hours for the burger alone!!!! The cheese curds were delicious and the beer was good and cold. Service was good and friendly and the food arrived quickly. Atmosphere? It is a small bar and was crowded, but with a burger like that, all is forgiven!! read more

Not sure I would have stopped here based on the outside appearance but I'm glad I did. My hotel highly recommended them when I asked where to grab a beer and watch the game. Decent beer selection and plenty of food options, I went with the Walleye Tacos. Seems pretty clean and you can see the kitchen while they prepare the food. read more

The food here is actually quite good for a bar! I love their burgers and appetizers. But the service is lacking. Now I understand that it is a bar first and a food venue second. But the staff never seems to actually want to serve you. They are simply order takers not servers. Unless you are drinking alcohol don't expect a refill, and even then it may take awhile. read more

Great food! They have a variety of options outside of traditional bar food and its tasty! If you go for burgers, get the blend.

This place has a very diverse menu with great food options. We ordered mozzarella sticks -awesome- and the tony burger and the bison burger all really good great beer selection and great service read more

The happy hour specials are AWESOME! 2 for 1 drinks and half off apps. Do you self a favor and get the Cajun steak tips. Soooo good.

Pretty good food, nice servers and a good variety of food. Lots of beers on tap and interesting craft cocktails. I will come back here!

Great place! Had their blended beef and pork burger and it was awesome! Also their cheese curds are great.

They had delightful and delicious food as well as great service it was so good. Just make sure you're ready to eat

Food and service were great! Had the Walleye Tacos with curds which I would highly recommend!

They really might have the best cheese curds in the state! Tip of the hat to them. The 209 burger is great burger!

Visiting Bemidji and saw 209 was the best happy hour. It was fantastic. Half price drinks and apps (appetizers) from 4 to 6 pm. We had the Cheese Curds (as good as the State Fair) and the Pulled Pork Nachos (great!) Our server Lonna was THE BEST! And they play classic rock and roll! read more

My girlfriend and I found this place on Yelp and decided to try it. Overall it was a great decision. First, it's a great bar to watch sports in. We sat at the bar and had three huge tv's in front of us. The beer selection was surprisingly really good. They even had Kona on tap which I hadn't seen anywhere else in MN. The food was also tasty. I had the Juicy Lucy and the only complaint was the fries had a seasoning on them that was a little too much for me. My girlfriend also enjoyed a burger and had some of the biggest onion rings I've ever seen. That made them hard to eat as the onion was really thick but the breading was yummy. We'd definitely go back here! read more

Looking for the famous Juicy Lucy, and we found it here. Fun little place that exuded a happy, jovial atmosphere....that might have been the best burger ever! They toasted the bun, which I like. And the fried curds were to die for. Great service and cold, good beer selection, too. read more

my family and i thought we would go here because we were watching the fireworks in bemidji. the menu was super confusing, and so i ended up ordering a juicy lucy with fries, medium cooked. when my food came, i thought they put ketchup on my burger but i quickly realized it was blood. the waitress asked what was wrong and she realized it too and sent it back. when i got it again they cooked it with the wrong blend and everything was very spicy. any juicy lucy didn't even have cheese on the inside!! my moms salad was good though read more

My family had an excellent meal during the lunch rush on the fourth of July. We sampled a good portion of the menu. The Juicy Lucy was one of the better burgers I have had. The cheese curds were well prepared, not to greasy, and very tasty. The "World Famous" pizza was delicious. Highly recommend the Thai chicken lettuce wraps. We will definitely be dining here again when we are in the area. read more

My husband and I are newer to the area and have been trying to go to a different restaurant each time we go out in Bemidji. We really enjoyed Bar 209. We went for lunch and got the Poutine and a burger to share.....sooo much food. The burger was great. We got the combination (sausage and hamburger meat combined). The poutine was good not great just needed a little more gravy otherwise very good. The service was fantastic!! Just the right amount of help there to refill drinks when needed but did not bother us. The food came out quickly too. We are definitely going here again!!! read more

One of our favorite places for apps and drinks in the afternoon. Good menu selection. The atmosphere is always inviting and fun. The walleye tacos are delicious... read more

Burgers here are amazing! Very tasty - you'll be craving them and wanting to come back for more. I like that you can get a beef/sausage mix in the burgers, if desired. Drinks are a bit on the "high side of fair" as far as pricing goes. It's hard for a couple to go here for dinner and walk out with less than a $40 bill. read more

Server was very friendly and helpful. Walleye tacos delicious. My first experience with cheese curds. Loved the decor - felt very comfortable. read more

209 is a nice, popular bar that seems to be Bemidji's nightlife "Hotspot" of the time. Agree with the below poster about the size. It is pretty small and when it gets crowded(weekends, holidays, special events) it gets hard to move around. If the crowded atmosphere doesn't bother you, then definitely worth a stop! A good piece of advice when traveling is "Go where the locals go", and 209 is one of the places Bemidji locals frequent. Large drink selection, pool table, bar food, and lots of people. Nothing more, nothing less. read more

While the regular menu can be a bit pricey, the happy hour pricing (from 4-6 and 9-11 EVERY DAY) has made this bar/restaurant our favorite place to eat in Bemidji. During happy hour the beers are 2-for-1 and the appetizers are half-price. We had assumed that a half-price appetizer would be barely enough food to suffice, but we have been able to consistently get two appetizers for dinner and be completely full. In addition, the appetizers are incredibly well-made and tasty (features of almost all the food we have tried there). The atmosphere is friendly and the bar staff are beyond helpful! I would recommend Bar 209 to anyone who enjoys eating and/or drinking well in good company. (P.S. Try the waffle nachos) read more

My husband and I were very happy with the food and friendly service at Bar 209. The walleye sandwich was awesome. The onion rings were the best. And the margaritas were excellent too. very clean old building, and the wait staff was very helpful and attentive . We will defiantly go back when in Bemidji. read more

I ordered a Strawberry Cheesecake Martini and it wasn't made the way it was described on the menu. No apology or a way of making it up was attempted. I got charged for both martinis. Then my Mac N Cheese burger came. It was made with sausage after I has asked for all beef. Probably won't return. Come out here for lake season and hear only good things about Bar 209. I'm disappointed... read more

Great food and great service. Seating is a little tight but worth it. Choices are great!!

Mixed review-great fish tacos and chicken fingers. The shrimp salad was bad. They put caramelized onions on the salad which were mush. Overall it was good but not great. read more

Amazing, personalized service. Great food. Food allergy were not an issue for the restaurant. Never an empty glass. Beer samples offered.

Really excited for half off appetizers and 2 for 1 drinks tonight. Only to find out they don't do it on Fridays and Saturdays. Change the menu if you aren't going to honor what it says! Total BS. And if you don't like being called out, post something that says what it truly means. read more

We are first-time customers and are so impressed with the service and food! 2-4-1 drinks and half-priced apps were great. Cheese curds, the flatbread pizza menu and an excellent draft beer selection made our first visit crave-worthy! read more

Really good place. Great Steak Sandwich and truely the best cheese curds ever. I like the burgers but I am not a fan of the signature blend. I prefer a 100 beef burger which is an option. Just my taste. Outstanding beer selection and 2 for ones 4-6 with half price apps (wings are really good too) CHEESE CURDS, is the best time to go. Can get crowded with rowdy patrons later at night on weekends. read more

My favorite place to eat in Bemidji. Lively atmosphere. Great selection of unique burgers.

The 209 started as sort of a "hole-in-the-wall" place down the street. Now they've come into their own in a gorgeously designed bar with so many cool design features. But that's not why we keep coming back... the food is fabulous. I've never had a bad dish. I think I've eaten my way through the entire menu and I love it all. Most recently I tried the Philly Cheesesteak Soup. So yummy. Their walleye tacos are really my favorite of any place I've ever been to. Late night happy hours are the best deal, but I'm usually the oldest in the place at age 50. They have stopped using plastic straws and I'm so happy they are taking a lead in Bemidji on this. I hope no one dares complain. Straws are terrible for our environment. They are a huge cost for any restaurant and I'd rather see them spend the money elsewhere even if it just increases the profit for the young entrepreneurs who own this place. read more

Beware, they are charging you a high fee to use your credit card. Then you get to pay taxes on top of that. Food was better at the old location. Staff seemed irritated to be at work. Great looking location but I think they need some work to catch up to what they had before. read more

Took 50 minutes to get our food. Walleye tacos and poutine. Kitchen seemed horribly understaffed for a tourist town on the Fourth of July weekend. The stars are for the competent waitresses. The new location is beautiful. However, extremely disappointed with the time it took to receive our food. By the time it made it to the table it was room temperature. The gravy on the poutine was lacking any flavor, it may as well not have been there. read more

Stopped in after business trip. Almost didn't walk in looking at the outside but inside was clean. Bartenders friendly, upbeat, quick. People seemed happy. Overall good environment. The reviews on the cheese curds are accurate, really good! I had the b2 burger it was ridiculously good. I am here quite often and this is by far now my favorite place read more