Pubs in the Gold Coast, Chicago, IL

With most of its residents in one of two groups—20-something club-goers and uber-wealthy eccentric senior citizens—the Gold Coast isn’t usually a neighborhood known for pubs. Even socialites need a night off from bottle service, however, and Gold Coast pubs, though not exactly the laid-back corner spots found elsewhere, pour a pint in warm environs.

As with most things nightlife on the Gold Coast, pubs hover around the intersection of Rush and Division Streets. Dotted between swankier establishments, these pubs provide a bit of a breather during late nights out. The granddaddy of Division Street, The Lodge Tavern, has been around since 1957, and 4am-partiers can lift a pint where their grandparents might have…met? The Lodge looks like an old English pub, but its rowdy scene is purely last call. People show up as-is, but the hook-up scene is just as healthy as at its dressier neighbors.

Nearby Butch McGuire’s opened as a singles bar in 1961 and claims the introduction of five-thousand married couples through the years. Marriage might be far from the current crowd’s mind, but who knows? The drunken flirting might eventually last more than one night. Even if not, frat-and-sorority types have plenty of fun checking each other out.

Pubs in the Gold Coast might not have cranky old regulars or bartenders who know everyone’s name, but that’s not what the local crowd wants. With pretty people looking for a good time, these pubs just provide a little liquid courage in the form of cheap beers.