Small bites like crab fritters and duck liver offer a great snack, while lion's-paw scallops, game-bird sausage and double-cut lamb chops hit it out of the park. Read more.
The French 77 champagne cocktail is delicious! I also like the jet-li and specialty martini's with st. germaine. Relaxing, upscale atmosphere. Cozy seating near fireplace gr8 during Chicago winters
really swanky looking victorian inspired lounge inside the hotel sax (formerly the house of blues hotel)...good vibe, good music. very cool private sections, get the glass room next to the dj booth...
Looking for a cool view, good small plates and good cocktails?!? Hit this place up. The rooftop is pretty sweet.
Quiet spot in the daytime for work (free wifi). Sexy lounge at night. Library bar serves excellent coffee (Le Colombe) from 6:30a until 3 or 4p. At 5p, cocktail servers in skimpy dresses serve booze.
Snare one of the 17 stools at the Lobby bar and savor, along with your cocktail, scenes from greek mythology.
The luxurious décor, the stunning views & the seasonal & contemporary approach to mixology make for a memorable experience here. Their new tequila, De Leon, is also very good. Read more.
TheWit Hotel’s swank rooftop lounge sports a specialty cocktail menu, a well-curated wine list and Mediterranean small plates. Read more.
Try the Jucy Lucy from our 100 Best list: Oh, man, we do not need to remind ourselves how good this juicy, greasy, medium-rare burger oozing Velveeta cheese is.
During Prohibition, they ran a hose to a brewery and pumped the beer in. Thus the name. The Schallers still run this cozy spot & still make a fine pot roast. It’s a great place to watch the White Sox. Read more.
This is a very basic, kind of divey beer joint. A very basic, kind of divey beer joint with unexpectedly good food, like a greasy (in a good way), spicy sausage-and-peppers sandwich. Read more.
Try Batch 19 at Will's. It is a pre-prohibition style lager. Bold, hoppy flavor that is well-balanced from the archives of Coors dating back before 1919. Read more.
This is Chicago’s premier indie rock club, hosting cutting-edge bands from home and abroad. “Cheap Sundays” and free Mondays remove the financial risk from gambling on an unknown bill. -ASK Read more.
This institution is legendary for three things: it was once a Capone hangout, it’s supposedly haunted, and the staff is known to shush you and the chatty friends who wandered in during live jazz sets. Read more.
An eclectic musical appetite, commitment to community building and friendly staff keep this cozy bar in a class of its own. Don't leave without ordering a Wooden Leg. -ASK Read more.
The ribs can be a bit dry, but the smoky pulled pork makes up for it, clocking in as one of the best around. Tender, juicy chicken comes in second, with puckery slaw and meaty beans solid runners-up. Read more.
The Hungry Brain is on Chicago Magazine's list of 100 best bar's as a part of the 5 best bars for music!
Drawing Room vet Tim Lacey resurfaces at this David Morton/Michael Kornick hideaway. Read more.
Tempting small plates such as almond-stuffed olives, grilled baby octopus and harissa-spiced wings are tough to choose from, Don't know good suds from duds? Ask the staff to offer up suggestions. Read more.
Try the pork loin tartine from our 100 Best list: The Logan Square wine bar is turning out glammed-up bruschetta piled with pickled pork loin, whipped feta, Bosc pears and juniper vinaigrette.
Don't go if hungry. It's a place to sample and talk but not to EAT. The wine and cheese pairings are lovely, but I left hungry even after consuming quite a few food items.
Patrons can enjoy one of the best selections of bubbly and sparkling wines in town. Guests can sample cheeses as well as half-shell oysters, caviar and quail-egg ravioli. Read more.
Similar to a tapas place, shared plates are what you'll be expecting. Try the saffron broth'd black cod w/ butifarra & clams. There's a special emphasis on Sherry, designed to pair with the plates. Read more.
The bone-in filet is pretty spectacular, its buttery-soft meat perfectly seasoned, best rare and barely singed by the flame. Try their Old-Fashioned too – it’s one of the best cocktails in Chicago. Read more.
New Menu items available now! Try: the Paulina St. burger with cheese fries (or garlic or truffle fries), 4 new chicken sandwiches, pulled pork sandwich....so much to try!! Get started today!
The owner, K, masterfully dices and fries chicken, beef and pork, and intestines both large and small. Order the soju, but drink wisely: The rice-barley liquor is easy to drink…and 19 percent alcohol. Read more.
When an order that could have served four people comes to $24 (including a Jameson and beers, and that’s not even on craft-beer Thursday, when brews like Half Acre are $3), you’ve found a winner. Read more.
OH. MY. GOD. Three words for you: Moody Bleu Burger. Goes perfectly with a pitcher of Anchor Steam and place at the back garden's picnic tables.
The B: pork belly. The L: arugula. The T: tomato hollandaise. What the acronym doesn’t describe is the perfect balance of each layer, bookended by a supple poached egg and fluffy biscuit. Read more.
If you’re lucky, you can snag a couch in the back by the fireplace where you can take in the cool vintage bar, sip some seasonal glogg and check out the friendly neighborhood crowd.
Try the whitefish sandwich from our 100 Best list: Long live Justin White, the new chef who’s raising the bar on bar food one God-given fried-fish sandwich at a time.
Thought you’d want to know: Three Aces has been nominated for Best New Pub Grub and Best New Italian in Time Out Chicago’s 2011 Eat Out Awards. Vote now! Read more.
Add this to the list of things we never would have considered: eating at Tuman's.
This 67-year-old family-run bar attracts Ukrainian Village and Humboldt Park cool kids and old-timers for free pool and affordable beers from Half Acre to Hamm’s. Read more.
This place is open till 4am, has cheap drinks, live country music, and a good mix of patrons! The bathrooms are a bit gross however!
friendliest staff in LS! cheap, strong drinks. chill atmosphere. live music. non-pretentious hipsters. i love cole's!
If you've been searching for the real world equivalent of HIMYM's MacLaren's, look no further. You've arrived.
Beers here are dirty cheap, and if you have to sit inside, the juke box is above average. You can also play ping pong in an adjacent room. Read more.
Look here: The portraits hanging in this bar are mostly of regulars (with a few politicians thrown in). Read more.
Go there: Belly up to the bar, built in the 1930s to resemble the USS Normandy. Read more.
"When you have a TV," bartender Nick Rahn explains, "it creates an ambience where everyone's staring in a corner." This tavern has enough distractions with a draft list, tater tots, and a photo booth. Read more.
Gourmet burgers are awesome (lunchtime during the week only)...the regular burgers (late night!) aren't bad, either!
Check out the Beer tapping parties! Food trucks and great beer on tap. Great community effort.
An impressive selection of brews & small batch whiskeys is lined up, as well as hand-pumped beer engines pouring perfect pints. For a solid ale & a tasty dish of hearty pub fare this place delivers. Read more.
Check out the roasted chicken with oven-roasted artichokes, spring onions and mashed potatoes or a CB&J: a grilled sandwich of housemade cashew butter, fig jam and Morbier cheese on sourdough bread. Read more.
I feel at home at the Map Room because it’s “a travelers tavern” and you can taste a world of beers without ever leaving your stool. – Samantha Brown Read more.
For those 30 days when winter is gone, this place is as close to heaven as you’ll get—pint glasses of basic brew and a good plate of BBQ on a picnic table. It’s the simple pleasures in life.
The clientele is mixed in age but not in gender, and everyone is on their best behavior, which makes it an altogether more sophisticated and adult experience than Elixir's next-door sister, Hydrate. Read more.
Since 1984, this bar off the Mag Mile has been a low-key, well-hidden hangout for middle-aged gays. Regulars drink cocktails and chat over dance music thumping at a comfortable level in the cozy space Read more.
On warm summer nights, the two bars at this multi-tiered rooftop are bustling with Boystown boys. Read more.
Go there: The gay guys stay in the front here, the gay girls chill in the back. Read more.
One of the bar's owners, Steve, hosts a wacky version of bingo, dubbed “Stingo,” Wednesdays at 9:30pm. Read more.
When to go: There’s free live (usually country) music Friday and Saturday nights at 10p.m., grab a comfy booth in the front room if you can handle the volume. Read more.
When to go: A recent change of ownership means a new cocktail list and an array of DJ nights. Read more.
Here in Chicago, you're never too far from an unassuming watering hole w/ cheap beer on tap. This Bucktown institution tweaks that formula while attracting a mix of artists and professionals. Read more.
As seen on Turks and Early Edition. Of course it’s crazy on the weekends, but even on weekend afternoons, regulars gather at this bilevel, wood-heavy pub to watch the game and drink a lot of whiskey. Read more.
Great food, Great service. Has all your favorite micro brews minus the dirty hipsters from estelles.
If your strapped for cah go with the $3 PBRs or I'd go for the Rogue draft if you have some cash to burn. Staff is amazing. Probably the best dive bar in Chicago.
In the past it served as a speakeasy, and today it’s a great spot to enjoy half a glass of Jameson before heading through the back door for an amazing meal at the adjacent Athenian Room. Read more.
Get there early if you plan on having a table. This cozy martini bar gets crowded quickly but the delicious and strong martinis are worth it. During warmer months the patio is charming and adds room.
Picnic tables and a great whiskey selection make this teeny rooftop, overlooking a fairly blah section of the city, a laid-back spot to catch some sun. Read more.
To-do: enjoy the free popcorn, try 3 different beers on tap from their great selection and get the tater tots with 3 dipping sauces. If you do this, you'll be back frequently.
When a bar has 4am hours, it’s usually a sign of personal sorrow if you’re there before midnight. Not so at Alice’s, where karaoke veers from expected to epic beginning at 11pm. Read more.
There’s nothing quite like getting up bright & early to knock a few back, dig in to a hearty breakfast, & scream your head off to a nation-gripping showdown of futbol. Read more.
Sit here: We know it sounds dorky, but seriously, the board games are half the reason to visit this place. Get a spot in the front room to play. Read more.
A classic arcade bar where you can score craft brew pints such as Sixpoint Resin and Central Waters Satin Solstice while throwing down in games of Donkey Kong, NBA Jam and Tecmo Bowl. Read more.
From Mary-Oke Wednesdays to Attic-Tion Sundays (with a $5 special on the addictive frozen slushies), the party goes on all week long. Read more.
