Half Time Rec, a modest neighborhood hangout in St. Paul's Como Park, has snagged the top spot on Esquire's 2026 Best Bars in America list, officially earning the title of No. 1 bar in the country. The nod shines a national spotlight on a place better known for its basement bocce lanes, early morning regulars and a no-frills menu that runs from breakfast sandwiches to late night pours. For locals, it feels less like a coronation of a trendy hotspot and more like overdue recognition for a bar built on routine and community rather than buzz.
Esquire's Pick
Esquire's Food & Drinks editor Jeff Gordinier said the team set out to find bars "where that deep sense of American comradeship is alive and well," and singled out Half Time Rec for its unpretentious warmth. The magazine's write up calls out the famously indulgent Bloody Mary and the basement's tacked together bocce lanes as symbols of the bar's offbeat charm, according to Esquire.
Local Details
FOX 9 reports that the bar sits in St. Paul's Como Park neighborhood and opens daily around 9 a.m., serving a full menu alongside craft cocktails and plenty of local sports on the screens. The station notes that basement games, including bocce and bean bags, help drive the neighborhood crowd and that Half Time Rec is the only Minnesota bar to appear on Esquire's 14 spot list.
What This Means For The Scene
Esquire's roundup features 14 bars from across the country, from Stars in New York City to Bar Tonique in New Orleans, and putting Half Time Rec at the top signals some national affection for community first bars. That ranking, the magazine suggests, reflects a renewed appreciation for spots that prioritize local rituals over trend chasing, according to Esquire.
FOX 9 adds that the bar began offering food in 2015 under then owner Scott Mars and that Shawn Lennon took over ownership in 2023. For now, the staff appears content to keep taking care of their regulars, although the Esquire spotlight could make those basement bocce lanes and barstools a little harder to grab.
