Benchmark Bar / Beer Garden / Restaurant / Rooftop Bar

Old Town, Chicago –

Boasting a double distinction as Chicago’s first rooftop beer garden and its first rooftop beer garden with a giant retractable roof, Benchmark draws a lively and amicable crowd of sports fans year round, whether to enjoy the sun and open air or to laugh at the snow on the other side of the glass.

A polished and modern haven for Blackhawks fans, the bar features nearly fifty TVs over its two levels, including a massive ten-foot unit above the main marble bar, where boisterous groups of friends congregate to cheer at the big game and power through a round of seasonal cocktails.

Work buddies and girlfriend groups looking to chow down on some upscale Southwestern fare usually head to the sleek wooden tables by the windows for a street view, or pile into the plush chocolate booths, each with its own flat-screen.

An illuminated staircase, meanwhile, leads bigger groups up to the mezzanine beer garden for drinking, mingling, and a bird’s-eye view of the revelry below or, when the roof is retracted, a view of the birds above.

Given the number of TVs and the year-round beer garden, it’s no wonder Benchmark is a popular getaway for sports lovers, rain or shine.