Skinner’s Pub Voted a 2026 Nextdoor Fave | Go-To Restaurant

2026 Nextdoor Fave Award winner badge — Skinner's Pub & Eatery, Saint Paul MN

Our neighbors just voted Skinner’s Pub & Eatery a 2026 Nextdoor Fave Award winner in the Go-To Restaurant category — and we’re still a little floored by it.

2026 Nextdoor Fave Award winner badge — Skinner's Pub & Eatery, Saint Paul MN

Go-to. Of all the things to be called, that one lands. Not the flashiest spot in Saint Paul, not the trendiest. The place you actually go.

Voted by Neighbors, Not by an Algorithm

The Fave Awards are Nextdoor’s tenth annual look at the local businesses their neighbors love most, and the part that matters is how winners get picked. Every vote came from a real, verified neighbor during the voting window in September. Businesses can’t pay for Faves. There’s no ad buy that gets you on the list. The only route in is for the people who live around you to put you there.

Which means this one came from Randolph. And Fairmount. And Saint Clair. From the regulars who’ve been coming in since Pete and Molly took over in 2000, and from the folks who wandered in last month for the pizza buffet and kept coming back.

Twenty-Six Years of the Same Idea

Pete and Molly Skinner are lifelong Saint Paul residents who bought this place in July of 2000, in a building that’s been feeding this neighborhood under one name or another for the better part of a century. Their son Sam is behind the bar now too.

The approach hasn’t changed much: make the food from scratch, keep the prices honest, run the free shuttle to every Wild home game whether it’s October or February, and let people tell their neighbors about it. Turns out that last part works.

Thank You

To everyone who took a minute in September to vote for the bar down the street — thank you. Twenty-six years in, there’s still nothing that beats hearing it from the people who come in every week.

Come see us. We’ll have a seat for you.

You can see the full list of 2026 winners at nextdoor.com/fave_awards_winners.

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Skinner’s Pub Wins Gold for St. Paul’s Best Bar!

Skinners Pub Dining Area

We’re proud to announce that Skinner’s Pub has won Gold in Minnesota’s Best magazine for St. Paul’s Best Bar in 2025!

A huge thank you to Minnesota’s Best for the recognition—and an even bigger thank you to our amazing customers, loyal patrons, and community who have supported us since 2000. Your votes, your loyalty, and your love for Skinner’s made this possible, and we’re truly grateful.

For over two decades, we’ve worked to create a neighborhood spot where everyone feels welcome. This award is a reflection of the incredible people who walk through our doors every day—and we couldn’t be more honored.

Thank you, St. Paul, for making Skinner’s your go-to bar. We’re raising a glass to you, and to many more years of cold drinks, great food, and unforgettable memories.

👉 Read the article on Minnesota’s Best here

Best Neighborhood Bar in St. Paul – City Pages

Skinner’s Pub & Eatery

In St. Paul we move at a slightly slower pace. We aren’t as quick to tear down something that can be reused or abandon a comfortable old favorite for something new and shiny. Skinner’s Pub encapsulates all that is great about the saintly city. The booths are nice and worn in, a comfortable groove that you can settle into for a good, long drink. The building is old and dates back to the 1900s when it housed the Vogelgesang grocery store. This bar and restaurant continues to be a gathering spot for neighbors and for anyone on the lookout for a great slice of square-cut pizza. The drink prices are also a plus; some beers cost just a couple of bucks and cocktails max out at a top-shelf price of $5. Skinner’s is a spot where you’ll be embraced as family if you put in enough time to count as a regular. You’ll find yourself greeted heartily with a firm handshake and your favorite beverage waiting on a coaster at your usual seat. Spend a little time with the characters at this family-run joint and you’ll get enough stories to fill a book.

Dip into one of these 8 east metro ‘dive bars’ with great food

SKINNER’S PUB

A burger at Skinner’s Pub on St. Paul’s Randolph Avenue inAugust 2017. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press) For story on Dive Bars.
A burger at Skinner’s Pub on St. Paul’s Randolph Avenue. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

One of our favorite bars, period, Skinner’s is the perfect mix of neighborhood atmosphere and really great bar food. The pizzas are killer, there’s crisp fried chicken, the hoagies are hot, the burgers infinitely snarfable and if you want the ultimate drinking-friendly shareable snack, go for the totchos, served on a giant pizza plate.

What’s up: Pull tabs, bar bingo on Thursdays

Where to find it: 919 Randolph Ave., St. Paul; 651-228-1947; skinnersmn.com