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Bars in Chicago
Today May 18
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Party Earth Review With a rich history in the arts and music scene, The Flat Iron, formerly the live music venue The Blue Note, draws a dedicated community of creative patrons. The giant face of a skull immediately greets guests upon entering – usually accompanied by the deafening sounds of Black Sabbath from the jukebox – while murals by ... more
1565 North Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
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Bar / Lounge
Party Earth Review Camouflaged behind a colorful plank façade adorned with an ever-changing display of graffiti art, The Violet Hour offers an unexpected touch of upscale luxury to a neighborhood better known for dive bars and hipster hangouts. A series of dark blue floor-to-ceiling curtains part to reveal the various rooms of the venue ... more
1520 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
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Party Earth Review Constructed of old brick and sandwiched against a neighboring restaurant, The Matchbox is a dive bar that looks a lot like its name. All the same, this tiny, tapering corner venue – only three feet wide at its narrowest point – boasts more than thirty varieties of bottled beer, from microbrews to rare French imports, not ... more
770 North Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
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Party Earth Review Located at the south end of the city’s famously ritzy Magnificent Mile, Sweetwater Tavern and Grille is a cavernous sports bar and restaurant with an upscale, minimalist vibe. Floor-to-ceiling windows and dozens of plush white booths around the perimeter provide a cozy spot for tourists and local professionals to enjoy ... more
225 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60601
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Bar / Tavern
Party Earth Review Despite its proximity to the lavish shops and restaurants of the Magnificent Mile, Pippin’s Tavern has been drawing in one of the most eclectic and diverse crowds in Chicago since 1973 from wealthy shoppers and young businessmen to college students and foreign tourists. The weathered façade, which looks like a gingerbread ... more
806 North Rush Street
Chicago, IL 60611
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Party Earth Review Having gone through multiple owners, names, and clientele over the course of its long history, Lottie’s Pub opened in its current incarnation in 2002, bringing a sporty but casual hangout to this mostly residential neighborhood. Named for a six-foot transvestite who allegedly ran the joint in the thirties, the venue’s ... more
1925 West Cortland Street
Chicago, IL 60622
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Bar / Club / Live Music Venue
Party Earth Review Named for its two separate entrances – one for the fans and one for the bands – Double Door is a simple club where music undeniably takes center stage. With its single long bar the only element that takes away from the open wooden dance space and a standing room capacity of only five hundred, it seems incredible that the ... more
1572 North Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
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Party Earth Review The Empty Bottle has been serving up $5 drink combos and live music seven nights a week since it first opened in 1992, featuring a jam-packed calendar of events ranging from jazz and rock to experimental noise. The venue’s deceptively small exterior hides a spacious three-roomed space decked out in concert posters and packed ... more
1035 North Western Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
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Bar / Lounge
Party Earth Review Located on the ground floor of the Hard Rock Hotel, Fall Out Boy Pete Wentz’s Angels & Kings is an intimate, dark venue where, depending on the night, patrons might find rockers in skinny jeans or clubbers in high-end cocktail dresses. Although Wentz himself has been known to grace the small stage, entertainment is usually ... more
Hard Rock Hotel
230 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60601
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Bar / Pub / Restaurant
Party Earth Review Popular with an amiable bunch of grad students and young professionals bent on conversation, the modest Hopleaf Bar harbors an intense dedication to beer, and lots of it. Every night, the worn wooden tables and booths on the first floor quickly fill up with easygoing patrons pouring over the selection of more than two hundred ... more
5148 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60640
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Party Earth Review A Chicago staple since 1936, the Rainbo Club is a cozy one-room venue popular with a creative clientele of artists, musicians, and hipsters. Ambient blues and folk music set the tone in the spare space, whose small stage – which has hosted everything from burlesque performances to dueling pianos – now showcases a rotating ... more
1150 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
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Party Earth Review Tucked inside the ultramodern Sofitel Hotel, Le Bar is a stylish and intimate lounge best known for its French fusion snacks, intricate cocktails, and assortment of gourmet cheeses. Early in the evening, upscale hotel guests and fashion-conscious couples sink into warm velvet chairs by a roaring fire to work their way through ... more
Sofitel Chicago Water Tower
20 East Chestnut Street
Chicago, IL 60611
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Recommended Bars in Chicago
Top Sports Bars
BY: Lucas
Lucas also likes: Beer Sports Rowdy Casual Anything goes Bar Flirty
more recommended by Lucas
Super Chic Bars
BY: Adriana
Adriana also likes: Exclusive Nightclub Fashion Forward Shopping Jetsetter
more recommended by Adriana
Great Music Bars
BY: Jonah
Jonah also likes: Live Music Eclectic Indie Alternative Non-mainstream
more recommended by Jonah
Fun Student Bars
BY: Emma
Emma also likes: Happy Hour Culture Dancing Lively Budget-friendly
more recommended by Emma
Chicago Bars Overview
Chicago’s social life invariably revolves around its denizen’s love of sports and beer, but there are still hundreds of bars in Chicago that cater to the highest of the high end and the dingiest of dives to fit into any resident’s social schedule.
There are actually thousands of Chicago bars – and they populate every street and are hidden away in the quaintest residential areas – so if the Cubs, White Sox, Bears, or Bulls are playing, it’s a lock that every bar in town will be playing the game on their TVs. But the biggest spots in town for sports fans are in Wrigleyville where sports bars are dime a dozen.
Meanwhile, many food-heavy bars dot the city and serve perfect beer and food pairings, though it’s just as easy to find the best deep dish pizza and a cold one at other local haunts, or just a wine bar to while away the hours in.
Though neighborhood bars, sports bars, and pubs are the most common nightlife destinations in Chicago, an array of higher-end venues in areas like River North and the Gold Coast draw in the social elite to live, work, and play.
The best part about all the bars in Chicago, whether high-end, sports crazy, or just the hole-in-the-wall variety, is that they stay open really late, with some spots keeping their doors open until 4 or 5am.
Find Chicago Bars by Neighborhood
Lincoln Park
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Goose Island
Bar / Brewery / Restaurant
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Lilly's Bar
Bar / Live Music Venue
- Wise Fools Pub
Wicker Park / Bucktown
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Debonair Social Club
Bar / Club
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Double Door
Bar / Club
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Piece
Bar / Pizza Place
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