Chicago Bar Roundup
Wine
Vera
This quaint, cozy West Loop nook charms with its mix of old school and new school wines, an impressive array of sherries, ciders, and more. At the epicenter, however, is an incomparable nod to Spanish dining and drinking culture, dutifully executed by Mark and Elizabeth Mendez.
Telegraph
While much of Logan Square thirsts for PBR and cocktails, here’s a wine bar that touts the grape in all its glory. Sommelier Jeremy Quinn is an oenophile mastermind, curating a wine list as varied, dynamic, and exciting as the contemporary cuisine flying out of the kitchen.
avec
Like a fine wine, this Mediterranean wine bar has only gotten hotter with age. One Off Hospitality’s West Loop nook hops around Europe with wine steward Eduard Seitan as guide, unleashing a flood of small producer-grown wines from the likes of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
RM Champagne Salon
You’d have to be dangling from the Eiffel Tower to get any more Parisian than this. Nestled down a curiously romantic alleyway, this West Loop parlor peddles all things bubbly, chic, and c’est la vie. It’s prime for a date or a special occasion or a special date with a platter of seafood and a bottle of Champagne.
Beer
Local Option
Amidst a sea of collegiate bro bars lies this intoxicating Lincoln Park oasis. Wander into this dimly lit den and explore one of Chicago’s most comprehensive beer lists, with a serious proclivity for rare brews. It’s basically the beer equivalent of a Beanie Baby fire sale, ca. 1997, and it happens every day.
Bangers & Lace
Break away from the Division Street hoopla at this lodge-like haven in Wicker Park. The food menu is a real sausagefest, while the impressive craft beer selection, featuring an ever-rotating roster of seasonal ales, is masterfully tended to by beer sage/certified cicerone Ria Neri, a veritable ninja when it comes to sausage and beer pairing suggestions.
DryHop
Thirsty for craft beer? Go right to the source and throw back a few at this Lakeview brewpub, where the farm-to-table ethos is echoed with a brewery-to-glass formula we love. This hip pub is all about the hoppy ales with a nod to Belgian-style brewing traditions, courtesy of brewmaster Brant Dubovick.
Fountainhead
Few beer bars feel as authentically Midwestern as this Ravenswood hangout. With a name that stirs up imagery of beer pouring forth from taps and a cozy cabin-like motif, the bar warms taste buds and hearts simultaneously with a sprawling portfolio of ever-changing international, domestic, and local brews.
The Owl
Make like a true night owl and flock to this Logan Square twilight haunt for some of the best late-night imbibing and dancing in the city. A jukebox and a waterfall-bedecked bar set the groovy pace for the evening, enlivened by multiple beers on tap, which throw fuel on the festive fire.
Hopleaf
Here’s an idea: save on airfare to Belgium and drink to your heart’s content at Andersonville’s preeminent Belgian beer bar. Midwestern craft beers are dutifully represented, but the real gem is the library of Belgian brews, both on draft and bottles, from tripels to sour ales.
Cocktails
Three Dots and a Dash
It’s part Pirates of the Caribbean, part intemperance at this subterranean tropical hideaway in River North. The rum-heavy punches are potent, juicy, and exotic, served in illustrious glassware by hula-clad waitresses that make us forget we’re not actually on vacation someplace sunny and care-free.
Scofflaw
Come for the gin-based drinks, stay for the midnight cookies. Sounds like a recipe for success to us. This Logan Square haunt continues to wow with lustrous and affordable craft cocktails, ideally sipped in the manse-like sitting room with a chocolate chip cookie or two, doled out for free at midnight.
The Violet Hour
The bar that ignited a craft cocktail boom in Chicago is still going strong. Once you locate this clandestine parlor, fall down the velvet-draped rabbit hole and land mouth-first into some of Chicago’s finest cocktails, honed to a tee by mixologists as precise as dentists.
Punch House
Every day is #ThrowbackThursday at Pilsen’s hip interpretation of a ’70s basement bar. Located on the lower level of historic Thalia Hall, fruity quaffs come by the glass, carafe, or bowl, perfectly backlit by a massive, glowing fish tank on par with anything at the aquarium.
Billy Sunday
There’s just something so righteous about imbibing housemade tonic, even if said tonics are mixed with liquor and stirred into deliriously delicious cocktails by barkeep Alex Bachman. It’s American tavern lore at its finest at this polished Logan Square watering hole.
Lone Wolf
Finally a solid place to drink while waiting for a table on Restaurant Row. Except if you’re like us, you may just want to while away your night here, where the Italian-inspired cocktails are bracing and the Prosecco-splashed sgrippinos are as smooth as silk.
CH Distillery
Get a first-hand glance at the making of your imminent buzz at this West Loop distillery and bar, where the vodka, gin, and rum are made on-site and stirred into exhilarating spirit-focused cocktails. Doesn’t get any fresher than this.
Sportsman’s Club
One foot in the door at this taxidermy-laden saloon in Ukrainian Village and you’ll feel like you inadvertently fell into an issue of Outdoor Life. But unlike some excursions into rugged masculinity, the cocktails here are slick, bitter, and vigorous, with an ample nod to amaro.
Barrelhouse Flat
A cocktail list of biblical proportions could prove problematic for some, but it’s de rigeur at Lincoln Park’s premier cocktail lounge. Amidst the boisterous confines of this hip hangout lies some serious craft cocktail artistry, splayed across multiple pages, from shaken drinks and stirred to egg-based libations and fizzies.
Dive Bars
Danny’s Tavern
It’s a house party without the threat of arrest. The hip-hop and rock blares and the booze is cheap and encouraging at this nondescript Bucktown dive. It constantly feels like a raucous party at this vintage house-turned-bar, which takes us back to the rebellious days of youth, but better because we don’t have homework to answer to.
Whirlaway Lounge
It’s not every day a storied dive bar takes its name from a prize-winning racehorse. But then again, not every dive bar can be as cool as this Logan Square staple. The beers are plentiful and frills-free, the ambience is as comfy as Central Perk, and the family-run soul of the bar permeates the whole experience with warmth.
Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar
Named after the matriarchal owner, the refurbished bar portion of the operation treads in DJ-spun tracks and artisanal liquor in a chill environment, which is exactly how we like our craft beer, cocktails, wine, and spirits.
Vera
1023 W. Lake Street, Chicago
(312) 243-9770
Website
Telegraph
2601 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago
(773) 292-9463
Website
avec
615 W. Randolph Street, Chicago
(312) 377-2002
Website
RM Champagne Salon
116 N. Green Street, Chicago
(312) 243-1199
Website
Local Option
1102 W. Webster Avenue, Chicago
(773) 348-2008
Website
Bangers & Lace
1670 W. Division Street, Chicago
(773) 252-6499
Website
DryHop Brewers
3155 N. Broadway, Chicago
(773) 857-3155
Website
Fountainhead
1970 W. Montrose Avenue, Chicago
(773) 697-8204
Website
The Owl
2521 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago
(773) 235-5300
Website
Hopleaf
5148 N. Clark Street, Chicago
(773) 334-9851
Website
Three Dots and a Dash
435 N. Clark Street, Chicago
(312) 610-4220
Website
Scofflaw
3201 W. Armitage Avenue, Chicago
(773) 252-9700
Website
The Violet Hour
1520 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago
(773) 252-1500
Website
Punch House
1227 W. 18th Street, Chicago
(312) 526-3851
Website
Billy Sunday
3143 W. Logan Boulevard, Chicago
(773) 661-2485
Website
Lone Wolf
806 W. Randolph Street, Chicago
(312) 600-9391
Website
CH Distillery
564 W. Randolph Street, Chicago
(312) 707-8780
Website
Sportsman’s Club
948 N. Western Avenue, Chicago
(872) 206-8054
Website
Barrelhouse Flat
2624 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago
(773) 857-0421
Website
Danny’s Tavern
1951 W. Dickens Avenue, Chicago
(773) 489-6457
Whirlaway Lounge
3224 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago
(773) 276-6809
Website
Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar
960 W. 31st Street, Chicago
(773) 890-0588
Website
