Choose your location
Sat / Jan 16
Affluent / After Work / Bar Food
Party Earth Review Located in an old warehouse on dimly-lit Weed Street, Joe’s Bar is a colossal 20,000-square-foot palace of sports, live music, and private parties. Jocks and fraternity types in athletic gear sit at the long steel bar in the front room under nine monstrous flat-screens and a chaotic sea of framed jerseys and college banners ... more
940 West Weed Street
Chicago, IL 60642
30s / 40s / Acoustic / Affluent / Beer
Party Earth Review Depending on the time of day, there’s a little bit of everything at Old Town Social, from an upscale sports bar and a restaurant featuring locally sourced products to a DJ-driven lounge. What doesn’t change at this former warehouse is the antique vibe, be it in the front parlor with the fireplace, vintage armchairs, and ... more
455 West North Avenue
Chicago, IL 60610
20s / 30s / ATM / After Work / Bar / Beer
Party Earth Review 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 ... more
1510 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60610
Once a red-light district, these days Old Town is home to affluent professionals. Its upscale condos still share the streets with a plethora of bars, some sleek, some as grungy as in days of old. As opposed to the tiny, exclusive housing of the neighborhood, many of the bars are in gigantic spaces.
Many Old Town bars are on an out-of-the-way block called Weed Street. The massive Joe’s Bar anchors this nightlife strip, and its 20,000-square-foot warehouse space always seems close to full. Dividing its time between sports and live music, Joe’s is a nightly reunion spot for Big 10 grads and other yuppie types. In the summer, a dog-friendly 6,000-square-foot patio adds even more sports-watching space.
Though Joe’s patio closes in the winter, the folks at nearby Benchmark have a contingency plan. Their rooftop beer garden can disappear under a giant retractable roof. Sports fans can check out the fifty TVs on the bar’s two levels and cheer on their teams in chic surroundings.
Sticking with the trend of massive bars in Old Town, old-timey Old Town Social is another good-looking spot for bros to check out game-day action—sometimes on private booth-side TVs. While Joe’s patrons dance to live cover bands, the people of Old Town Social bump to DJ-driven house and pop party tunes. Bars in Old Town are no longer dens of wino depravity, but the hood’s new residents are keeping late nights alive.