Category: Bars & Lounges

Chicagoland is full of Irish bars but not all of them offer the food, coziness and Irish music that distinguish a pub from your basic American sports bar. One of the friendliest and most modestly priced Irish restaurant is The Celtic Knot in Evanston. Unlike some of the louder pubs, this one makes a great date spot because of its menu and the snug, a dining room separate from the bar. The Celtic Knot’s live Irish music on Tuesdays and Storytelling in the Snug on Sundays make for a unique date. Whether your date likes to sip whiskey at the old wooden bar or eat dinner behind the curtained windows of the snug, The Celtic Knot is sure to please.

The Celtic Knot’s authentic menu serves up plenty of stew, salmon, oysters, lamb and chips with gravy or curry. The Full Monty Irish breakfast with bangers, bacon, sliced tomato, mushrooms, black and white pudding and fried bread. For $11.99, that‘s all the sausage you can dream of and breakfast and lunch in one meal. The corned beef sandwich comes on brown bread with melted Swiss cheese and thick-cut, lean corned beef and a side of chips. Stew with beef and Guinness or traditional shepherd’s pie with onion, peas and duchess potatoes will warm you up on a cold day. In hot weather, try one of the excellent salads. I enjoyed my salmon, white bean and red onion salad on mixed greens, a fresh spin on traditional salmon. You can also treat your date to crab cakes with smoked salmon and red pepper sauce ($7.99) or dare each other to slurp some oysters ($8.50 for half a pound.) The sides of brown bread, Heinz beans and even mushy peas keep the menu traditional and the fish and chips comes wrapped in newspaper ($11.99). The Celtic Knot does not offer one lone corned beef sandwich surrounded by the usual chicken wings and PBR, like some wannabe Irish bars I could name.

For a great finale to a meal here, split a dessert. Try the traditional sticky toffee pudding ($7) chocolate cake or bread and butter pudding with whiskey caramel sauce ($7.50). The elegant vintage cheese plate with raisins, apples and nuts also appears as a dessert option. For total decadence, share a dessert combo for only $8.99 and find a favorite sweet.

As in Ireland, you can order beer by the pint or half-pint here (20 or 10 glasses). I like the 10 ounce Guinness and my friends recommend Smithwick’s a lighter lager-style Irish beer. The wine menu offers a good mix of American and imported reds and whites, most for under $10 a glass. Your whiskey choices include Jameson, Bushmills (S7) and aged Scotches, like the 12-year-old Glenlivet ($8). If your date likes sweet drinks, suggest the unique Celtic coffee made with Tia Maria and whipped cream.
Music

The house band played mostly instrumental Irish music, always at a pleasant volume so diners can converse. The instruments include a fiddle, string bass, banjo and mandolin. I really enjoyed the traditional music and the theme from the “real party” in Titanic. The music, fine food and coziness of The Celtic Knot will soon make it a favorite date spot.

The Hideout, Chicago’s favorite alternative country bar, makes a great date spot. Popular, but not overcrowded, the Hideout offers all kinds of entertainment and bargain price drinks. It’s fun, unpretentious, and feels like drinking at a friend’s house.

Best known for its alternative country music, the Hideout also offers blues, rock, dance mixes, metal and reggae. Last year, I saw Delta Bluesman David “Honeyboy” Edwards there, still sounding great at 92. Every Tuesday the house band, Devil in A Woodpile, plays ragtime and bluegrass with piano, string bass, jug and washboard. D.J. Bald Eagle and Mother Hubbard host a dance party every other Saturday night, starting at 11. The Hideout also throws block parties with food and music outdoors in the adjoining lots. Last summer’s Hideout Block Party included rock and roll choir Blue Ribbon Glee Club and post-modern marching band Mucca Pazza. An April 4 show called “The Hideout Gets Heavier” featured Yakuza, Rabid Rabbit and Kommandant. No matter what your date’s musical taste, you can find something to impress them at the Hideout. It’s a fun place to dance or just sit back and watch a show.

If you and your date prefer comedy or film, check out the Chicago Short Film Brigade or the Interview Show. Once a month, the Chicago Short Film Brigade shows serious and funny short films, with popcorn and sometimes pie for concessions. The Interview Show follows a Jay Leno/David Letterman format with host Mark Bazer bringing in local musicians, comedians and filmmakers. Covers for these entertaining shows are $5 to $10, less than a movie.

Drinks at the Hideout are also reasonably priced. My favorite beer there is the Berghoff Red for $2.50 a bottle. Goose Island, Red Seal and Newcastle Brown Ale are also on tap and the full bar serves cocktails like the house special “Wooden Leg” with rye. Note that there is no food except snacks, like the popcorn on movie nights and the bar is cash only, but there is an ATM.

True to its name, the Hideout is isolated from the rest of Wicker Park and somewhat hard to find. Industrial lots surround the Hideout, so there’s plenty of parking nearby. The Hideout is close to North Avenue and Elston. You can walk there from the Damen Blue Line El Stop, going east on North Avenue and north on Ada. Look for the Old Style beer sign.

The Hideout’s building is a two-story wood house with a big patio out front. Inside, it has stuffed deer heads and swordfish on the walls and yellow Christmas lights strung up from the ceiling. Its relaxed kitsch welcomes all visitors and the chalkboard above the bar reads “Drinking unites; sobriety divides.”

Meet your friends at the Red Line Tap in Rogers Park for plenty of good beer, all kinds of music, and good food from the Heartland Cafe. The Red Line Tap shares a building with the Heartland Café; look for the broken missile on the roof next to the Morse Red Line El stop.

At first glance the Red Line looks ordinary with a small stage, concrete floors and one pool table. The selection of beer and music, both modestly priced, sets the Red Line apart from other bars. On a Saturday night I saw three bands there for only $5, including rock, folk and jazz. Many types of bands play here including the regular features: country and rock with Poverty Tax on Sundays, jazz, jam and funk with Project 99 on Mondays, the much-loved bluegrass band Sexfist on Tuesdays, punk rock and metal acts on Wednesdays and an open mic on Thursdays. No matter what your friends’ musical tastes, you can find something they like at the Red Line. Covers are $5 and entertainment is free on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Bring your instruments and vocals to the long-running Thursday night open mic. Sign-up is at 8pm with the music starting at 9. Miki Croisant from Funk to Punk hosts and visiting bands can use the house drum kit. Performers each get one free drink, which your musician friends will love.

With over two dozen beers on tap, the Red Line serves a mix of local and domestic beers from Goose Island 312 to New Holland’s Mad Hatter to Sapporo and Fransiskaner Weiss. The $2.50 or $3 nightly beer specials always offer a good domestic or import like German Jever, and never wuss out and give you an overpriced can of corporate beer. You can also order cocktails and wine from the bar.

When you get hungry at Red Line, order quesadillas, nachos or other food from the Heartland Café kitchen, which also serves a smaller menu here. You could make a night of it, meeting up at the Heartland for dinner first, then moving to the Red Line to enjoy the music. The Heartland Café has been a cornerstone of Rogers Park for over 30 years. Since 1996, the Red Line has served drinks in this location, which housed Roy Kawaguchi’s bar before that. All types and ages of people feel welcome here and the small bar offers great music, beer and food for you and your friends.

Want to go out with some friends in Wrigleyville without paying too much for drinks and having to yell at each other to talk over the game on TV? Pass Wrigley Field and continue west on Addison until you see the Guthrie's Tavern sign.

The red sign and corner door remind you of an English pub. Although you will find Newcastle, Sam Smith and Guinness on tap here, the interior of the bar feels more like an American den. Art posters stick to the walls and funky paintings cover the ceiling. The back room still feels like a screened-in porch, even with its heater and fan and red picnic cloths cover the tables.

Bartenders here are experienced and friendly. House cocktails include a creamsicle orange drink with whipped cream or juicy rum punch for $6, each a good deal. Your non-drinking friend can drink cider or hot chocolate here (depending on the weather) for $1.75. Beer drinkers will find plenty of domestics and imports, even my favorite Lindeman’s Framboise, the Belgian raspberry ale. The hard cider here is Woodchuck , which tastes like green apples.

Guthrie’s claim to fame is the huge wall of board games across from the bar. They not only have the everyday games like Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly, but also Balderdash, Scattergories, Operation and dozens of new and old games I had never heard of. Round up all your friends and go to Guthrie’s for a game night. There’s no loud crowd, jukebox or noisy TVs to interrupt your concentration at Scrabble or Apples to Apples. Plus, you can make the loser buy you a Sam Smith’s Nut Brown Ale.

Guthrie’s has a sparse and modest menu, just mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings and a few basic pizzas. However, they more than compensate for this by stockpiling takeover menus at the bar. No one here will object if you call for Mongolian beef, California rolls or a piping hot calzone from a neighborhood restaurant. When I played Taboo with my friends at Guthrie’s, a nice man came in selling six tamales for five dollars; I hope he is a regular because I am definitely going back.

Guthrie’s has served drinks here since 1986 but this location has been a bar since 1933 when the Moretti family opened it after Prohibition. The name Guthrie comes from a developer from the 1800s who contributed many buildings to the Lakeview neighborhood. With so many fun games and good drinks, all your friends can feel like winners at Guthrie’s.

In the former location of a Lakeview hardware store, the Wilde Bar opened in November 2007. Featuring two full bars, authentic Irish food, and a beautiful interior, the bar would not disappoint Oscar Wilde. Were he alive today, the great gay Irish playwright would feel comfortable here eating a plate of bangers and mash, drinking whiskey in the back with a boyfriend or seated by the fireplace writing something witty.

Inside, the Wilde Bar is much longer and broader than the narrow storefront would lead you to expect. Amber and bronze chandeliers hang over the two long dark bars, the leather booths and two fireplaces with portraits of Oscar Wilde. Portraits of other Irish writers like William Butler Yeats and Samuel Beckett hang on the walls. Two stained glass windows in the ceiling show red dragonflies and Celtic knots. The décor reminds you of Wilde’s insights about aesthetics; even the tile and wood beam floor looks beautiful. Two plasma TVs silently show basketball and other sports, so you can keep up with the games and keep up a conversation at the same time. Like a pub in Ireland, the bar features some booths with walls on three sides, called “snugs”. At night you could drink privately here with a date.

The menu features old-fashioned Irish with staples like lamb, chicken pot pie, champ (mashed potatoes with milk, scallions and butter ($2.95) and the enormous savory Irish breakfast with bungers, bacon, grilled tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, two eggs, toast and black and white (sausage) puddings. Other menu items put an Irish spin on American food like the burgers with Irish chips and coleslaw or the chicken salad with Irish cheddar and bacon. Two soups are on the menu; one is always vegetarian. Desserts include a Guinness chocolate cake, sticky toffee pudding and lemon syllabub with wine sauce. For a brunch, dinner or dessert date, portions are generous and satisfying. My only complaint about the menu is that beer does not come cheap here; Guinness is $6 and Bud and Coors or $4. This would move me to skip directly to whiskey and other drinks.

Service was prompt and attentive here and the food was the best I’ve had since I visited Dublin. The Wilde Bar and Restaurant combines old-fashioned beauty with American comfort and great Irish food and drink. There are DJs here on weekends and private parties. I have nothing to declare but its genius.

If you’re looking for a great place to catch the game on the big screen, then heading down to Sedgwick’s is probably your best bet. She ain’t the biggest place in town, but the pub grub sure is good, and wow – look at all those micro brews available!

The first thing I think deserves massive mention is their food – this ain’t your average pub grub… not by a long shot! Everything is just so fresh and tasty, not too expensive and hey – even you veggie lovers out there won’t be left scratching your heads! Start off with some quesadillas or their simply perfect pretzels and follow it up with one of their fantastic sammiches and a cold brew! Of course, if you’re looking for something a little less hands on, they offer some really good soups, salads and pasta dishes as well! If you go on a weekend, be sure to hit their brunch; they have a really nice menu that is perfect for getting into game mode!

Now let’s get into what this place is really known for: da sports! A 106” HDTV, alongside other plasma TVs adorn the walls, making it a great place to catch the game, no matter where you’re sitting. Besides the regular stuff like football, baseball and basketball, folks who get into soccer and rugby are also very welcome! In fact, they even have fan clubs for Illini and Duke! They also throw lots of parties here, so just like it’s always five o’clock somewhere, at Sedgwick’s, every night is game night!

Of course, just because a bar features food and big screens to watch a game does not a great sports bar make – it’s the PEOPLE that make it so! I admit I’m not the biggest sports fan myself, but this is one place I can tag along with my friends and not feel completely isolated or out of place, because the regulars are just so friendly and fun! Even complete novices like myself can walk out a tad bit more knowledgeable here, without putting a major cramp in my pocket book or smelling like some Trixie’s daiquiri. And yeah, it’s nice that the majority of the people are esthetically pleasing, so when I find a spot that have the standard attitudes missing, it gets an extra nod from me!

More of a café earlier in the evening, more of a night club later on, Cafe Lura is one of those places you just look forward to seeing a show at, because while the stage area itself might be on the tight side, it’s the side rooms themselves people really enjoy. And ladies – this place is thankfully not a meat market!

If you’ve come for good, authentic Polish food, then you’re in for surprise and are better off hitting one of the many Polish restaurants in the neighborhood. While they do boast a pretty darn good pierogi in either its boiled or fried state, the small menu is pretty much focused on standard Americanized fare. However, they do offer blintzes and potato pancakes as well, alongside some decent sandwiches – enough to keep your tummy from rumbling and tasty enough to satisfy a craving.

Now, if you’ve come for the night club aspect, then you’re REALLY in for a surprise, because this place is fun, fun FUN! The center stage is pretty tiny, where 20 people make the place look crammed. However, the bar area is where most of the action is, where regulars will find themselves permanently shackled to the stools for the rest of the night. If you wander past the stage area, you will find what is probably one of Lura’s best kept secrets: that absolutely charming lounge area. No matter what the weather is outside, in this room you will be transported to a medieval European garden under a perpetual night time sky. You can still hear the music just fine, but at a decibel level that allows you to actually talk and get to know people!

Past the bar area is another tucked away nook, where this room is more reminiscent of a European hunting lodge. This is also where most folks choose to dine, and where you are most likely to find the Polish speaking regulars. While not as stunning as the other room, this is also a nice place to sneak away from the rest of the party!

Behind the establishment is a small parking area, with the door leading right into the bar area. However, most people opt to park on the street so that the bands can utilize this space for loading and unloading their gear. After 9pm, metered parking is free anyway! Also, buses in the area are plentiful and run all night, though cabs are a little harder to come by. If you want one, have the bar staff call one up for you.

For a good date in Wrigleyville, pass up the noisy sports bars and meet at Uncommon Ground on Clark Street. The restaurant has two bars, a big one in the front and a smaller one in the back. It offers coffee drinks as well as beer, wine and cocktails and a menu from breakfast to desserts from Bittersweet Bakery. Your date may be impressed with the organic, seasonal menu and both meat-eaters and vegetarians can find tasty dishes here.

In summer, grab an outdoor table on the sidewalk. In winter, settle into some cozy leather chairs near one of the two fireplaces. Enjoy the local art on the walls, all of which is for sale. Even the restrooms are decorated with paintings; I liked the big tree on the ladies’ room wall. The front room tends to be brighter and louder, while the lights and sounds are lower in the side room. Enjoy local bands here or the sounds of the Monday night open mic.

Share a plate of Spanish tapas with Manchego cheese, Serrano ham, Marcona almonds, quince paste and olives. The menu ranges from pizza, pasta, and burgers (including a veggie burger), to duck, salmon and even buffalo. The distinctive, healthy Sunshine Salad combines seasonal farmers’ market vegetables with sprouts, sunflower seeds and avocado in organic cider vinaigrette. For a breakfast date, try the Uncommon Huevos with eggs over easy on a black bean corn cake topped with ancho chili sauce and Chihuahua cheese.

Uncommon Ground prides itself on one-of-a-kind cocktails. Two of the most promising are the Frida Kahlo with dark chocolate liquor, vanilla vodka, cinnamon and cayenne pepper, and the Cold and Flu Buster, a whole pot of chamomile tea spiked with ginger vodka, honey liqueur and a lemon slice. Local beer, a good selection of wine and Uncommon Gound’s famous coffee offer enough variety for any date to drink what he or she enjoys.

As a coffee shop, bar, restaurant, and music venue, Uncommon Ground stands out in a crowd and makes you feel welcome. The Clark Street restaurant opened in 1991 and a new Uncommon Ground coffee shop opened recently at 1401 W. Devon. Check them out for a great and uncommon date.

The outside of the Skylark bar in Pilsen looks like an ordinary two-story brick house. The white bird over its front door and the neon beer signs in its window hardly hint at its strange inner beauty. Friends had recommended the Skylark to me and I was pleasantly surprised by its unique charm. I expected a good dive bar and this is one I would recommend for a date.

Inside, the Skylark has brown walls and red lights on the liquor cabinets behind the long dark bar. Bring a date and enjoy the soft lighting and honky tonk or alternative rock music. Hang your coat on a hook and slip into their comfortable vinyl booths. Look up at the cases of kitschy curios like china ducks and someone’s tin foil art project. Play some pinball on the Elvis pinball machine and take a picture in the old curtained photo booth. The one part of the Skylark I cannot recommend is the library, a magazine rack with a few abandoned paperbacks and artsy local magazines like The 2nd Hand and Interview. It’s too dark to read in here.

There’s a full bar and the beers range from cheap date Pabst and Old Style ($2-$2.50) to high maintenance Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Robert the Bruce ($3.50-$4). The menu has something for everyone, including vegetarians, with food items from cheeseburgers and fried chicken to the eggplant sandwich and butternut squash. I had a spicy barbecue pulled pork sandwich on a white roll with crisp coleslaw and tater tots. You can get piergoies or tater tots as an appetizer. If you press them, most folks will admit their secret love of tater tots. Most of the menu items cost $6 to $11, so you can treat your sweetheart to a complete lunch or dinner and not break the bank. Skykark's kitchen stays open late, until midnight on weeknights and one on Fridays and Saturdays. When you and your date are suddenly starving at 10pm, this menu is more fun than fast food and more satisfying than basic bar grub.

Skylark is kitschy but not pretentious. It can get crowded when a band plays there, but on the Thursday night when I went, they had plenty of room. My waiter was fast and friendly and the beer bottles came with a small glass for slow sipping. Before you go, note that the Skylark only takes cash, so don’t count on your credit card here. In case you forget this, an ATM waits by the front door. I may be a cheap date, but I’d definitely see the Skylark again.

Andersonville offers all kinds of bars, but my favorite for a casual night out is Simon’s Bar. Tell your girlfriends to come as they are and not fuss with high heels or dresses. The jeans and tennis shoes crowd here comes for drinks and conversation, not to dress and impress.

Look for the neon light shaped like a fish with a Viking helmet and cocktail and the Swedish flag. Mingle at the long dark wooden bar or relax at tables and wooden benches along the walls. Try the comfy couches in the back by the gas fireplace and the jukebox, which is loud enough to enjoy but not won’t drown out your conversations. Bands sometimes play here on weekends but the occasional cover will not be more than a few dollars.

Simon’s has the old Swedish charm that made Andersonville unique. My favorite drink here is glogg, the traditional Swedish red wine punch strengthened with vodka and infused with plump raisins and slivered almonds. Glogg costs only $4 here and comes with a gingersnap. No drink warms you better on a snowy night. With fruit, nuts and antioxidants it almost seems healthy. The bar offers a broad selection of flavored vodkas and microbrews like Goose Island and Red Seal Ale, but drink prices remain reasonable. Don’t count on bar food here but enjoy do drinks after dinner at any nearby restaurant or a cocktail before a play at Annoyance Theatre or the Neo-Futurariam.

Impress your friends with the history of Simon’s. This bar dates from 1934. Before that, there was a speakeasy at this location. The small wooden booth near the front door was a booth for cashing checks in the Depression, after many customers lost faith in the banks. Faith in beer and liquor has stayed strong here, though. The yellow murals on the walls have said “Wilkommen” to generations of neighbors and friends.

As so many Chicago neighborhoods gentrify and cocktail prices become downright insulting, it’s comforting to know that some watering holes remain the same. I’ve enjoyed Simon’s Bar with my friends and met some good people there. The place feels as comfortable as a living room for drinks and conversation. The bar stays full, not because of advertising or trendiness, but because its patrons honestly like it and bring their friends. Hang out as long as you want, because here you can afford it.