Chicago Bars
Things to do in Chicago
A place where everyone knows your name. Chicago IL Bars ! Sometimes you just need to get out of the house and away from your everyday surroundings. Sometimes you've made a date to meet someone. And sometimes you just want to go someplace where people are having a good time. Take a look at these favorite bars and nightclubs at HelloChicago.com and pick your spot. There's detailed information concerning the best nightspots in Chicago, including directions on how to get there.
Living up to its namesake, The Matchbox is not only Chicago’s “most intimate bar,” but also its narrowest and perhaps smallest. Shaking up potent cocktails for years, it’s no wonder why Matchbox is one of the city’s most dependable establishments.
The Handlebar is a biker bar, but of the cyclist kind, not the rough and tumble motor bike type. Bucktown’s neighborhood pit-stop welcomes both the peddling-friendly and non-wheeled set for breakfast, dinner and drinks.
In the past couple of years, increasingly, PBR (cheap Milwaukee beer) and Chicago pizza combinations have been popping up in bars throughout the city. With a shaky economy, it's the perfect way to imbibe and have dinner without breaking the bank. PBR tastes fine on its own, but mixing it with a hearty slice makes it even better.
Named after the Lone Star state of Texas and not the band Big Star, the honky tonk taqueria and whiskey bar brings affordable gourmet tacos to the denizens of Wicker Park. An extensive list of tequilas and American whiskeys presents itself along with daily $3 shots.
Chicago’s home to an array of jazz and blues clubs, but it also maintains a rich pedigree in rock history. From the tiny music room of Hideout to Uptown’s massive Riviera theatre, Chicago live music venues have hosted some of the best acts in the world and locally.
Mixologists, or cocktails experts, concoct handcrafted cocktails made from fresh ingredients, resulting in an intricate yet delicious drink. Here are five Chicago mixology bars where you can get a custom cocktail.
Ukrainian Village’s Empty Bottle has been delivering top notch musical acts to Chicago since opening in the early ‘90s. A launching pad for up and coming national and local acts, the Bottle also serves cheap beer and excellent food at its Bite Café next door.
Chicago has a fertile jazz history steaming from turn of the 20th century to the apex in the ‘30s. Jazz may be a dying breed, but a few Chicago jazz clubs around town still produce nightly showcases and honor the tradition started over a hundred years ago, and every Labor Day weekend the city's iconic jazz fest is held at Grant and Millennium Parks.
Even though Europe is thousands of miles away, Chicago brings the best of the continent to Uptown in the form of Hopleaf Bar. Emphasizing Belgian-style beers and cuisine, this place is always crowded for many reasons.
Named for the elevated train line that rumbles outside its front door, the Red Line Tap offers music and libations.
A favorite of Chicago gangster Al Capone, the Green Mill still draws an eclectic crowd sprinkled with artists, musicians and poets.
This popular west suburb music venue has a bar, restaurant, patio and sprawling live performance area made famous in several Hollywood films.
Woodlawn Tap, a nostalgic Hyde Park pub that has been the watering hole for University of Chicago students since 1948.
One of Chicago’s most popular bars is less a bar and more a cocktail lounge. Called The Violet Hour, (a name taken from T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”) this Wicker Park neighborhood has received rave reviews from around the world.
A brewpub down the street from Wrigley Field attracts fans with big TVs, an even bigger menu, and best of all, beers brewed on-site.
The Velvet Lounge Chicago is a small storefront jazz club, but inside the sound is big Chicago experimental, a favorite of its founder the late jazz great Fred Anderson.
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