Beat Kitchen

This classic sits right on the heart of Roscoe village in the north side of town, one of the many buildings that has transformed along with the neighborhood and transformed into a thriving neighborhood, Beat kitchen has endured the transformation and adapted from a dye bar into a neighborhood favorite, featuring not only a great selection of craft beer and a full bar selection with your favorite american bar cuisine like buffalo wings, cheeseburgers and onion rings to die for. all among the live entertainment that features something for everyone from country to heavy metal, local to super stars all within the same venue mixing together for an amazing get together, you can come in for happy hour, get snacks al fresco on the beautiful patio, get loud with a concert of your choice and have dinner in the same venue all while you quench your thirst with your favorite beverage, wait stay after hours and enjoy the local scene and make new friends, definitely a venue that represents Chicago and its neighborhood diversity, Good times at Beat kitchen

I love the Beat Kitchen. To unsuspecting passersby it looks just like a regular ole neighborhood bar. But inside there’s more to it than that. The Beat Kitchen isn’t in a busy area surrounded by bar after bar and other clubs so it is a bit of a hidden gem over in the Roscoe Village area. The bar itself is a pretty small area with a few booths along the wall but once you get past the booths is where the beauty of the Beat Kitchen lies. Through the doors in the back of the bar area is the music venue. It is a small, quaint area that is perfect for intimate performances. A lot of the shows I have seen there have been acoustic performances by bands, but don't be fooled, this place was built to rock. Capacity for the venue can't be more than three or four hundred people so there really isn't a bad vantage point to view the stage. One of my favorite things about this place that other people might not like is the grungy side of it. The bathrooms are none to clean. The venue has that stale beer smell to it. Most people would find those to be turn offs. But to me that is what I love about it. It feels like a true Rock n Roll club. And that is part of the appeal to me. i feel that every time I go there i am going to have a blast. Ticket prices are always affordable and drinks are decently priced, unlike going to a major venue so you won't break the bank there. I've haven't been to the Beat Kitchen just for a few beers with friends so perhaps it wouldn't contain the same appeal to that crowd. But if you are looking for a great place to see a live show, the Beat Kitchen should be on your list of places to check out.

A friend of mine played a show there with his band from North Carolina so I went to support them. To be honest, the place wasn't half bad. The concert area is pretty intimate so you can go there to either enjoy some live music or just have a drink at the bar and relax. I had the experience of knowing the band so I enjoyed the intimate setting, but not sure if I would hit up the Beat Kitchen for a night out with the girls. It's one of those "you go for a certain purpose" venues. I have a few friends who go to DePaul and they frequent the area a lot and have the same opinion of the Beat Kitchen. Honestly, if I were already in the area and needed something to do I would go there, but I wouldn't make the trek across the city to go.

This is where you got to see local bands who are juuust about ready to blow-up. I’ve seen several shows here, all great, all varying from reggae to rock (Octopus Project, Boy Sets Fire, and Appleseed Cast were probably my fave). Yes, there’s a dollar or two up-sell on the booze during a show, but it ain’t nothing like what the major concert venues do to you. I try and avoid the 18+ shows because I’m not in the mood to party people with people half my age. And the greatest part is you can hang out at the front bar and hardly even know a show is going on. So even when the band isn’t of interest, it’s still a great neighborhood spot to booze. Wouldn’t cross town just for the bar, but always drop in when I am around Roscoe.

I don't live near Beat Kitchen so I haven't come for the bar itself, but saw a Bishop Allen show here a few years back and it was a great spot for a small show. The back room filled up nicely without being too packed which gave some great energy to the band. Nothing like a packed house even if the house is not that big to get a band going. After the show the band hung around the merch table for a while and chatted with fans. Beers are well priced and tickets to just about any show will run you about $12 or less. They have some affiliation with Subterranean also. There are a couple other spots around here, but not a ton so plan to make a night of it at Beat Kitchen.