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City in Minnesota, United States
Photo: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Although the decor is not high class, Yu's serves decent Chinese food. Offers a lunch buffet. $5-9 a plate.
A great place to take the parents visiting their college student, this is one of the better restaurants in Mankato. Quality burgers and sandwiches with mediocre bowls also available. Good drinks, but closes earlier than other bars on the street.
Excellent dine-in or carry-out pizza.
Good bagels, great specialty cream cheeses. One of the few good breakfast spots in Mankato.
Boulder Tap, B-Tap
Sports bar with good food. Most of the wall space is covered by TVs tuned to sports channels, but sound is usually provided by music videos playing on some TVs. Not too loud. Happy Hour is M-F 3-6PM, and daily 9-11PM (dine in only): Half off most appetizers (not wings) and $1 tap beer.
The only upscale eatery in Mankato. Another great spot to take visiting parents or for a birthday dinner, this more expensive restaurant does have good food and drinks, but with high prices to match.
A small but nice bar featuring sports screens in the front and a delightful patio in the back. Good sliders, and excellent daily special and happy hour deals.
A charming small ice cream shop on riverfront drive. Indoor and outdoor seating.
Despite the name, it's in a strip mall next to campus, though you would be forgiven for thinking the whole thing is owned by MSU. The food is not great, but the location is hard to beat. Open for breakfast and drinks.
One of the best restaurants in Mankato. Suitable for large groups or individual takeout, India Palace serves fantastic Indian food at reasonable prices.
High quality pizza with customization.
With a kitchen open until midnight and more seating than most, this bar will have a chill vibe on even the loudest weekend nights. Outdoor seating in the summer and decent food all year round.
A quintessential college bar. Loud music on the weekends, though a stark lack of dancing or real dance floor. This place will always be crowded so get there early if you want a booth or want to claim a pool table that is coin operated and works 35% of the time. Participates in 2 for 1's.
At the east end of Front Street, right next to the mall doors. Down a long, steep stairway, you'll find another quintessential college experience. A bar that feels as if it's in the basement of a house party. Participates in 2 for 1's.
A small but nice bar featuring sports screens in the front and a delightful patio in the back.
One of the oldest bars in Mankato but certainly not the most popular. Patronized by more mature Mankato residents, not necessarily a college bar.
Another location with more seating and a more chill vibe, this wine bar offers flights, glasses, and bottles of good wine for reasonable prices. Great place to start or end a night.
One of the best coffee shops in Mankato. Staffed usually by locals and students, this coffee house offers great drinks, a limited but quality food menu, and lots of seating. A quieter spot to work on a laptop or read a book than the Coffee Hag, but still a center of community for the city. Local art is displayed and sold inside.
A fantastic coffee shop that acts as one of the cultural anchors of Mankato. With pride flags frequently inside and out, the Coffee Hag welcomes students and community members with a warm atmosphere and good coffee. Frequent local music acts perform here and local art is displayed inside. A walk up to-go window is located on the north side of the building.
A coffee shop offering seasonal drinks and limited seating. Not the vibe for staying for hours, but a good coffee shop, nonetheless.
Over 100 shops, plus movie theaters.
By car
While Mankato is not served by an interstate, it is connected by two US Highways.
Due to the large student population, Mankato is host to a relatively robust bus network known as the Mankato Transit System.
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Minneapolis · International · MSP
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