Oak City Brooklyn Center: Happy Hour of the Week

A beacon in Brooklyn Center

​Oak City, Brooklyn Center
2590 Freeway Blvd., Brooklyn Center
763.503.3561

Hours: Daily, 3-6:30 p.m.
Sunday - Wednesday, 9-11 p.m
$2 Rock shrimp, Buffalo wings, Walleye fingers, Waffle fries & Cajun ranch sauce, Chips & salsa
$3 Mini burgers with fries, Onion rings
$4 Flatbread pizzas - Margherita, spinach and artichoke heart or sausage
$5 Boneless wings, Captain Crunch chicken tenders, State Fair cheese curds
$7 Nacho your average nachos, Buffalo shrimp
$2 Rail drinks and domestic taps
$3 Vodka Red Bulls & Bomb shots
$4 Long Island ice teas - traditional, Sunset, Tokyo tea, Ocean View, Long Beach, Purple Rain
$1 Off all other cocktails, bottled beer and wine

The north suburbs don't always get their fair shake, so we at the Hot Dish sought to remedy that. And what better way than to hit up Oak City's Brooklyn Center outpost for happy hour. Here's how it went down.

The busy Oak City bar

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Venue: In what used to be a TGIF, OC has successfully taken the national chain feel out of the place and given the restaurant/bar a warm, friendly vibe. While hardly haute, the service is friendly and fast, and the happy hour list is as long as your arm. There is a large bar area where you can belly up or camp at a hightop, and TVs are always within view but not overwhelming. The crowd is a great mix of folks--families coming for dinner, couples going for a cocktail, and regulars chatting with the bartenders. It has a huge parking lot, and of course in the 'burbs, it's free.

Verdict: If you're in the vicinity, OC provides a solid daily happy hour until 6:30 p.m. The food we had (a crispy pizza and a fried lackluster rock shrimp) was standard issue, but we were won over by this BC hangout. Why? Because of two things--the sheer number of discounted items on the happy hour menu and the welcoming atmosphere provided by the staff and the diverse clientele. Check your pretensions at the door and you'll be fine at OC. Robert, a local patron, told us that it's his go-to spot for early happy hour because it's close, cheap, and the servers are good to him. He hits the nail on the head--this is a neighborhood hang, and the hh is built to keep their existing clientele content. It's working.