Butch McGuire's Irish Pub / Restaurant

Gold Coast, Chicago –

A quintessential Irish pub just north of swanky Rush Street, Butch McGuire’s has been doling out bar fare and beer since 1961 and draws an energetic crowd of affluent professionals, younger frat types, and party girls looking for a good time.

Butch himself originally launched the pub as a singles bar, and although local lore suggests that more than five-thousand marriages got their start here, nowadays the scene is less about long-term relationships and more about short-term partying.

While weeknights see the rustic, easygoing pub full of well-to-do business types unwinding over a drink and sports fans watching the game or playing a round of darts, weekends see the pub take a walk on the wild side as boisterous preppy types and party girls pound pitchers beneath a ceiling hung with hundreds of beer steins, glasses, and model boats.

Part of the nightly crawl for scenesters flitting from bar to bar, Butch McGuire’s is an easy choice to start the night, end the night, or maybe even meet Mr. or Mrs. Right.