Chicago - Nightlife - Dive - BlackBook Guides

701 N. Damen Ave., Chicago 60611
312-929-2349

Bar DeVille

What happens when two experienced bar owners open the kind of bar that they would actually want to go to? It instantly becomes a local favorite, of course. Owners Kevin Heisner and Matt Eisler (Emp... read more

2801 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago 60622
773-292-1200

Continental

When it's 2AM and you just can't stand to go home, but can stand the thought of the skanky booths at Estelle's even less, head to Continental. The favorite 4AM spot for (sub)urbanites to keep the p... read more

4115 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago 60618
773-248-1366

Horseshoe

Setting the stage (literally) for Chicago's alt-country scene, Horseshoe has live bands most days of the week on a tiny front stage. They've put their all-you-can-eat Sunday bluegrass buffet brunch... read more

2403 W. Homer St., Chicago 60647
773-227-8851

Green Eye

Basically the sister bar of Wicker Park's Lemmings, except that it's cleaner, smaller and less beset by time-ravaged alcoholics. An oasis with a good beer selection for all the hot kids who are tur... read more

2149 S. Halsted St., Chicago 60608
312-948-5275

Skylark

Opened by the owners of Wicker Park's Rainbo Club, Skylark is one of the best places in Pilsen to have a few beers and a bite. Get the Skylark Burger, a huge, juicy seasoned burger topped with must... read more

1555 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago 60642
312-804-1459

Hogs & Honeys

Like so many nightlife efforts in Chicago, this Coyote Ugly-esque bar is a poor man's version of New York's Hogs and Heifers. The ladies behind the bar sport lots of put-on 'tude, periodically (and... read more

1951 W. Dickens Ave., Chicago 60614
773-489-6457

Danny's Tavern

Danny's used to be set up like an old apartment building replete with antique kitchen and bathrooms. Then they remodeled, closed off the upstairs, the rooms got bigger, and the assholes showed up. ... read more

1920 W. Irving Park Rd., Chicago 60613
773-348-7592

Katerina's

Katerina's has the feel of a small Southern European club, with a live band to match. Surrounded by scarlet walls and black and white photos of lesser-known showbiz luminaries, crowds gather at ta... read more

5419 N. Clark St., Chicago 60640
773-561-7363

Star Gaze

Don't be fooled by that welcoming-looking blue awning with the rainbow trim. One of the only lesbian bars in Chicago, it has a reputation for attracting some pretty tough customers. Relationship-or... read more

3201 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago 60647
773-252-9700

Street Side Cafe

It's the corner spot where everyone knows your name -- well, if you're a local/regular. They have deejays every night of the week playing whatever you may fancy, from rockabilly to house music. Thi... read more

734 W. Division St., Chicago 60610
773-486-1559

Zakopane

The ultimate old-man bar, Zakopane usually has a female bartender (always in a short, tight outfit) behind the bar pouring beer for old Polish dudes who are literally nodding off at the bar with th... read more

1850 N. Damen Ave., Chicago 60647
773-862-1688

Lemming's

Brother bar of Humboldt Park's Green Eye, this bar is the original. Once the legendarily scummy domain of local dogs, their owners and maybe a random prostitute, it now gets select upwardly mobile ... read more

2771 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago 60614
773-472-2771

Delilah's

Seedy punk/mod/rocker/greaser hangout that's somehow survived amidst an ever-homogenizing neighborhood of Irish pubs, nail shops and upscale eateries. The neon Maker's Mark sign is the only giv... read more

2319 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago 60618
773-935-2118

Hungry Brain

One of the city's last great slacker watering holes, the Hungry Brain is furnished with old mismatched couches, tinderstick chairs and charming bedheads lit warmly by some kind of unseen phosphores... read more

2428 N. Western Ave., Chicago 60647
773-486-7774

The Mutiny

This dangerously dirty punk bar is what it is, and if you don't like it, then don't go. Well, at least, that's how the regulars -- usually rocked out in Mohawks and dyed hair -- feel about it. They... read more

3325 N. Broadway St., Chicago 60657
773-477-8533

The Closet

Decades-old lesbian-run place in Boystown. Quiet earlier, it's packed after 2AM, oftentimes with a lot of hairless boys. Very fast service and videos from Mary, Missy, and Madonna. You'll find grou... read more

5024 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago 60640
773-728-5511

Big Chicks

Though owner Michelle Fire doesn't go topless at the Gay Pride Parade anymore, her bar is as popular as ever. Gay couples, dressed in everything from business casual to jeans abound during the week... read more

2076 N. Hoyne Ave., Chicago 60647
773-489-4757

Charleston

This dingy bar used to make up in character what it lacked in tidiness, but gone are the rickety, dirt-coated wooden furniture and pool table. In their place are cafeteria-style tables and a makesh... read more

1150 N. Damen Ave., Chicago 60622
773-489-5999

Rainbo Club

You could easily skip the early 20s scenester crowd that populates this place, posing out in natty pinstripe jackets and asymmetrical mullets to the strains of Gang of Four. The punk music, the bar... read more

3224 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago 60647
773.276.6809

Whirlaway

A throwback to what Chicago bars all used to look like: similar to what your grandparents' living room decorations would've been in the '70s if your grandparents were blue-collar alcoholics. Cheap ... read more

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