Chicago - Nightlife - Indie Bar

2849 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago 60618
773-267-0123

Square Bar and Grill

A welcome addition to the latest on-the-rise neighborhood of Avondale, this mellow bar does the basics but does them well. Exposed brick, deep red-toned walls, a bar made from salvaged wood from a ... read more

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

2421 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago 60647
773-227-3530

The Whistler

It's impossible to be prepared for the sheer tininess of this place, no matter how much you're warned. Started by the dudes of Whistler Records, the bar is either stuffed with flannel-shirted indie... read more

600 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago 60610
312-822-2900

The Motel Bar

There's nothing particularly motel-like about this slum spot for the after-hours rock jet set. Tucked behind Japonais and next to Kitsch'n River North, it's an odd location that draws a mixed clien... read more

3641 N. Halsted St., Chicago 60657
773-325-2233

Circuit

This massive gay dance club is filled with gangsta wannabies, transgendered folk and cutie-pie boys all shaking their shit on a dance floor that gets cooled down with dry ice. Rotating DJs make Cir... read more

2210 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago 60622
773-276-1411

Darkroom

With couches to the left, dance floor to the right, indoor stage and outdoor patio in the back, and giant bar in the middle, Darkroom can afford to be schizophrenic. There are displays of photograp... read more

301 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago 60657
773-883-4400

Matilda

Almost as if three neighboring bar owners said "F-it, let's just combine our bars and make one hodgepodge of a brewpub." North room is dark, sexy, south room is industrial with Zinc-Chromate decora... read more

1655 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago 60614
773-665-1110

Liar's Club

Owner Herb Rosen hasn't swapped out the bar's KISS Meets the Phantom of the Theme Park VHS tape since the doors opened more than 10 years ago, but Liar's red fez lampshades, red vinyl booths, and t... 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

1949 N. Hoyne St., Chicago 60647
773-252-7636

The Map Room

About 10 years ago, there were places like the Map Room all over West Town: self-consciously arty bars where a random patron with paint-stained fingers might strike up a conversation with you and t... read more

1035 N. Western Ave., Chicago 60622
773-276-3600

Empty Bottle

Fortunately the only thing that sucks at this place showcasing the likes of Acid Mothers and Temple is the bar service, but only because it's a 2:100 ratio of bartenders to drinkers. The cheap pric... read more

2159 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago
773-782-1400

Tuman's

When it was Tuman's Alcohol Abuse Center, it wasn't unusual to see leather-jacketed patrons literally fall off their barstools or pass out on the pool table spread-eagle. Following a 2003 rehab... read more

1415 N. Wood St., Chicago 60622
773-486-9806

Beachwood Inn

With its threadbare pool table and stacks of board games, you could come here alone and end up with at least two new friends before the end of the night. If the scattered crowd of hoodie-clad scene... read more

2646 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago 60647
773-486-2700

Fireside Bowl

This old bowling alley was once a hallowed mainstay of all-ages punk shows. It also happened to have the worst sound system in Chicago, yet the separate old-man bar area was the place to hang betwe... read more

1354 W. Wabansia Ave., Chicago 60642
773-227-4433

Hideout

Excellent indie-rock/alt-country honkytonk nook that looks like a shack in the middle of nowhere, which it is. PBR drinkers and lots of loud conversations about Sleater-Kinney's last show in front,... read more

5210 N. Clark St., Chicago 60640
773-878-0894

Simon's Tavern

Don't be put off by the animated Charlie Tuna-like logo holding a martini in blue and red neon. ("Pickled herring," a Swedish delicacy, get it?) Modeled after a 1930s bar from the SS Normandie, Sim... read more