Joe Senser’s Sports Theater

Do it… stop reading and get some char wings with the house fries. Okay, this isn’t a prime steakhouse… it’s bar food folks with a great staff. They seem to do it right, I’ll be back the next time I am in town.

Being close to my work, a few of us decided to head to Senser’s for happy hour on a Wednesday afternoon around 4:30PM. It had been quite some time since we went there because in the past, the place was always too busy, too loud, and let’s face it, there are a number of other options in the area. Finding beers, nachos, and chicken wings isn’t exactly like finding Waldo, so why over complicate it, right?
So, I got there at 4:30PM, and the place was mostly dead. A few business travelers were sitting at the bar, and a few other tables had a few people at them, but for the most part, Joe’s would have been better off closed. We all grabbed a beer and proceeded with our appetizers order, all without a menu because we knew what we wanted. Our assumption is that some sort of happy hour special would have been in effect, but we didn’t ask, knowing that we were all splitting the bill and eating/​drinking anyway. In terms of beer selection, Senser’s had a decent selection, including a few IPA’s that aren’t the norm in the area, so we were satisfied in that regard. But, why my 2-​star review? When we received the bill, we were all shocked to realize that our 22 oz. beers were $ 8.75 each. Yep, you read that right — $ 8.75 per beer (as in, more than what you’d pay for a 6-​pack or even more than what you’d pay for a beer at a Wild game). We were appalled! And, judging by the traffic in the restaurant, I’m guessing others have experienced the same. We won’t be back.
Tip for Joe Senser’s — I hate to remind you of this because this is your work, not mine, but beers down the street at Cowboy Jacks during happy hour are $ 2. $ 8.75 for a beer is atrocious.

Probably a rockin’ place when there’s sportsball on tv. For lunch: Meh.
I’ve eaten here several times while getting my car serviced next door. The most recent trip: French Dip sandwich w/​fries, and coffee. The coffee was very good. The French Dip was okay. The fries were so bad I almost sent them back, but I wasn’t hungry and simply didn’t eat more than a few. Service was friendly; I stayed for a while and left a big tip.

Best club I’ve ever been to, the chix are hot and the chicken wings are fat. Best thing is this place ain’t even a club and I’ve never been to a club. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ grand little shop man. Waves are even bigger than the ad says there are. If you didn’t think the char wings aren’t great then get out of my kitchen, more like get out of Joe’s kitchen cuz that’s probably where you’re at haha. Man had a great time all the servers had such a laugh the entire time never a dull moment when that food is on the plate. Spice, zest, food just a few examples of what you’ll remember while your at Joe sensers. Come on and get your butt down here!

Great food, great service, great TVs, and good beer!!!
The char wings are a must have! The ribs ARE fall off the bone! I had the wings & ribs combo! Honestly, enough for two!!!
Grain Belt Nordeast a good low %, light lager!
Owner/​management: Yah Gotta a good crew! It’s compliment to the whole restaurant how everyone works together.
BTW: love speaker boxes!
See you the next time I am in town.

I went here and ordered the chicken wings apayizer for my lunch. It was pretty good, although it wasn’t anything special. The service here was good though and I had a good experience.

Haven’t been to Joe Sensers in a long time. Glad I went back. Had the Chicken Chili and Salad. Chili was excellent and would go back for that. Good atmosphere and would be great place to watch a game. Big place but wasn’t too loud to have a conversation. Recommend checking it out.

Wandered in. Hotel next door. Very good bartender. Yummy drinks. Massive TVs. A deer hunting video game. Who knew? Went there several nights in a row and the crowd was fun and happy. As far as sports bars go, this is one of my top 10. Just so friendly and chill and full of life even on weekday nights. Go — the food is good, too.

Stopped in here last weekend while I was in town. My friend and I were wanting to watch the Iowa State football game and Joe Senser’s happened to be the alumni sponsor. Food left much to be desired and over priced. Service was bad though I do not directly blame the waitress. Nothing I would ever come back to.

We liked this place a lot and ate here twice during a 5 day visit to Minnesota. The restaurant is big so even if it’s crowded, you don’t seem to notice. Good food and drink selection to enjoy while watching any of the big screens showing different games. They offer food and drink specials. Staff was very friendly and accommodating.

I may not be the intended audience for this «sports theatre» since I’m less than an avid sports fan, but they serve a decent pizza and have friendly staff. Solid 3.

Service is fantastic! Always stopping by to check on us! I had buffalo chicken and waffle fries! So good! Friend had Mac and cheese and he said it was ok, he wouldn’t order it again but I really liked my sandwich. Okay beer selection. Thanks!

Fun place for dinner! Between the NHL playoff game and the Vingo game we were having so much fun it was hard to focus and enjoy our yummy food!

Great food for a Sports Bar! Our waiter was fantastic… super friendly and very attentive!
We had Pizza Spirals for an appetizer… delicious!
Chicken fingers and waffle fries were great… huge portion. Definitely could split between two people.
Mama’s Meatballs… delish! Angel hair pasta with three huge meatballs. The meatballs has cheese inside of them too. Huge portions!
Would definitely come back!

Rather than antagonize some previous reviews here, I will take the high road and highlight some of the very positive elements that have earned Joe Senser’s a solid FOUR-​star rating from this picky Unilocaler.
First of all, the name explicitly says THEATER. When I think theater, I think projectors and THX superior quality. Joe’s comes through with huge screens and as long as the channel you’re watching is in HD, then the image on the screens is perfectly fine. It’s clear enough with a high enough refresh rate that any hockey game can be watched — and I’ve watched at least five games in a week here. Best of all, at Joe’s you can get sound to go with your picture. This is the first bar I’ve ever been to with the HearHotspot app. I love being able to put on my noise-​cancelling earbuds to drown out lame surrounding conversations or a particular genre of music I despise.
Second, the food has been very good to me on each trip. The wood-​roasted chicken was juicy and smoky, the brisket was shaved razor thin so I didn’t experience any chewy parts, the dry-​aged NY strip was cooked perfectly although could have been fine without the butter, and the Senser Fries are crispy-​salty-​awesome. There are plenty of drink specials every night to quench your thirst and while they don’t have 100 beers, they have a good selection of flavor.
Third, the service has been very good. Perhaps I lucked out by getting the best in the store in Kelly as she’s been there to help me each time. The managers and hosts/​hostesses have been incredibly accommodating about setting me up with a screen to watch my two-​time Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings.
The minor reasons for no fifth star: some of the neon signs on the walls interfere with the contrast on certain screens; portions on the veggies are a bit light — could use an extra half or full scoop; restrooms need more attention busier nights.
Overall, I’ll take Joe Senser’s over any other national sports bar chain based in MN.

This place is… interesting.
We came here twice– once during lunch and once on a pub crawl for a wedding party.
Service– the actual server was very nice. but she made a weird assumption that me and the guy next to me were a couple. so that was kind of awkward, but she quickly realized our odd predicament and ran the cards again. the actual start is what was weird… it just seemed like the front of house people were super stressed out and taking it out on each other. it was just very awkward to listen to. however, they did work very hard to get my party of 8 seated relatively quickly. so for that– very appreciated.
food is good– i liked how there were so many options. the waffle fries and seasoned sour cream were my favorite! chicken tenders were well breaded too! nachos were really good!
ambiance. it was fine during the game. some sports game showing, and a funny reel of funny youtube videos which was pretty entertaining. but when we came back for the wedding party… wow it was awkward. maybe midnight at a bar, huge wedding party coming in from a PARTY bus with shots and general craziness. and elvis was playing… like slow elvis. the mood pretty quickly crashed from taht point on. carshed hardddd even after the music changed to be more dance-​club. it’s no wonder the bride wanted us to move on from that place so quickly.

Joe Sensers; self proclaimed «sports theater» with no love for Minnesota sports?
My husband and I came here to have a bit of predictably mediocre bar food and watch the «Wild» game on «Hockey Day Minnesota» and were horribly disappointed. Not in the food, that was as expected, not great, but not inedible either. Our disappointment was with the establishments selection of game audio.
They do have 15+ large projection TVs and show several different games at once. The picture quality is horrible and they need a serious upgrade, but that’s not the worst part, for some unknown reason on «Hockey Day MN» they chose to have the main audio on some Iowa St. Basketball game. WTF?
The Wild game was honoring our military and the Iowa game was honoring what? Iowa fans?
Horribly disappointing.
I do realize they have mini speakers you can put on your table and listen to whatever TV you choose, but on Hockey Day, let those be for the 5 Iowa fans that are here. Are we not after all in Minnesota, the state of hockey?
I recommend going to one of the many other sports bars in the area. I know I will next time.

Went there to watch Vikings game against Packers. Very surprised to find the place mostly empty a hour before the game, and it was happy hour.
Wasn’t bad last year, we went there and had a great time watching the Vikes. They had giveaways during the game like Cell Phones, and Jerseys. Even an autographed football… last night… Nothing.
Now to the food. What a joke.
Half price small pizza that filled less that half the pan it came on for $ 6. I had Roma pizzas that tasted better, And this was about 1 ½ slices of a $ 2 Roma.
My GF ordered nachos. $ 5. it had 6 chips in a row that where soaked in oil. She sent them back, they didn’t charge us, she didn’t want them replaced. Drank my beer and headed to Carbones in Burnsville, it was packed. Had a great time and got a whole plate of casadias for $ 5 that was more than a meal for two.
Sensors has slid downhill. Stay away.

What’s the most important features of a sports bar? Beer and TV. It’s here that Joe Senser’s fails miserably.
The food was average at best, and the beer selection was pretty limited. They had the usual cheap national options, and a handful (like 5) local/​craft beers. The most egregious fault were the televisions. They had several dozen, but they were almost entirely old, dated projectors. the bulbs were extremely dull and the pictures were not sharp at all. They seriously need to upgrade with some large flat panels and ditch projectors.

Oh my where to start. I should have known something was wrong when, on opening NFL Sunday the place was not busy. Not a good sign for a sports bar. I got the boneless wing appetizer and the Mama’s meatballs for dinner. The boneless chicken tenders could have come from McDonalds and tossed in sauce. Not good. I held out hopes for the meatballs. I was soon disappointed. They were mushy and flavorless. The angel hair pasta was over cooked mush and could have been mistaken for mashed potatoes. Add to all that the flies that circles my plate like a Sunday church social it made for a rather under-​whelming experience.
Go anywhere else!