Beer Halls in Chicago

Following the traditions from European immigrants, many Chicago joints have a traditional beer hall feel. Some neighborhoods are full of Central European bars that look like houses from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, while trendier neighborhoods run with the concept, marrying craft brews with cozy lodge décor. Chicagoans love their beer, and Chicago beer halls are going to serve it up in mugs bigger than your head.

The neighborhood of Lincoln Square has a plethora of authentic German bars serving beers with lots of umlauts in their names. Many serve up comfort food along with the steins, and some even feature oompah music. The Chicago Brauhaus, for example, looks like a stereotypical German beer hall with a kitschy exterior. Smaller bars nearby may not be out of Bavarian central casting, but you can be sure that they have communal tables and biergartens out back. On this stretch, even the gourmet grocery, Gene’s Sausage Shop and Delicatessan, has turned its roof into a communal beer-swilling space.

Other neighborhoods and ethnicities have their share of beer halls in Chicago. Wicker Park’s Bangers and Lace hipsterfies the concept. Here, an intimate lodge décor featuring landscape murals and dozens of taxidermy animals forms the backdrop for the young professionals who settle in at the grandiose wooden bar to linger over unusual international brews and Chicago-style hot dogs, while a small sidewalk seating area attracts daytime shoppers taking a break over creative cocktails and people-watching.