Chicago Bars and Nightclubs

Whether your favorite evening activity is dancing, listening to live music, sipping martinis in a swanky lounge, or drinking beer at a pub, Chicago bars and nightclubs have something to suit your preference. Draft beer, drink specials, DJs, dance parties, live bands, sports watching, and more fill Chicago's nights, often extending into the wee hours of the morning.

Chicago has many drinking establishments, ranging from neighborhood taverns such as The Burwood Tap (724 W. Wrightwood); sports bars like Wrigleyville’s Cubby Bear (1059 W. Addison); bars with fully stocked cellars like Webster's Wine Bar (1480 W. Webster); or if you fancy a martini, stop by the trendy Fulton Lounge (955 W. Fulton Market).

Featured Chicago Bars, Clubs and Lounges

Green Mill Jazz Club (Irving Park)
This legendary Chicago night club has been around since before the days of Al Capone (who used the establishment as a speakeasy in the 1920s). Green Mill’s shadowy, old-timey interior was renovated to reflect its prohibition-era intrigue and the tradition of live music, dancing and drinking continue on into the 21st century with a full schedule of jazz and other bands and a well-known poetry slam on Sunday evenings. The weekend is the best time to visit, but Green Mill has performers seven days a week for those who like to catch live tunes when it’s not so crowded.

John Barleycorn (Wrigleyville)
3524 N. Clark Street
(773) 549-6000
This second edition pub, grill and dance club is an extension of the John Barleycorn in Lincoln Park. It has successfully attracted the post-game partiers of Wrigleyville, as well as some after-work patrons and late-night socialites. The building has two roomy levels (the top story is a bumping dance floor) and it’s equipped with numerous big-screen TVs, a couple classic wood bars, decorative odds and ends (mostly model ships) and lots of seating. The spaciousness of John Barleycorn is eaten up after 10 or 11pm on weekends when young Chicagoans venture out in droves looking for a good site to settle in for the night and drink until last call.

Louie’s Pub (Wicker Park)
1659 W. North Avenue
(773) 227-7947
In Chicago, when weekend revelers have a hankering to sing they head to the nearest karaoke bar. Louie’s Pub is the most popular place in Wicker Park to take up the mic and let your inhibitions go as you belt out your favorite melodies over the barroom PA. Louie’s is a fun place for groups of friends because you have an instant fan club the second your selected song comes on. Even if you don’t have the nerve to perform in front of the crowd, you can sing along with other karaokers from your seat – the lyrics are displayed on monitors throughout the pub. In addition to an extensive list of timeless tunes, Louie’s has a full service bar with fairly decent prices and generous seating area, despite its narrow layout.

Underground (River North)
56 W. Illinois Street
(312) 644-7600
This ultra-trendy Chicago dance club is one of those under-the-radar, super-secret spots that prefers to keep its location on the down-low. Perhaps that’s why there is no sign on out front and the entrance is actually in a back alley, guarded by a less-than-discrete bouncer dressed in fatigues. The cover charge to get in is $20, but there is always a local DJ spinning house or techno for the crush of hip clubbers that managed to find and secure entry to this fallout shelter-esque bar. Visiting celebrities have been known to pop into Underground while in town, which is part of the reason it has become one of Chicago’s seen and be seen late-night destinations.

Tin Lizzie (Lincoln Park)
2483 N. Clark Street
(773) 549-1132
Hyped as an “alternative sports bar,” Tin Lizzie mixes just enough high tables and satellite game broadcasts with loungey sofas and fashionable interior design to suit a wide range of patrons – especially those with ties to Michigan athletics. Detroit Pistons basketball, Red Wings hockey and the Michigan State Spartans are always the home teams at Tin Lizzie’s, although most of the Chicago games also find their way onto at least a few of the 14 HDTVs set up throughout the bar. Along with a sizeable list of draft and bottled beers, Tin Lizzie’s serves up tasty pub grub like pizza, wings and oven-baked sandwiches. Specials include half-off EVERYTHING on Wednesdays, $2.50 Buds on Thursdays, and ANYTHING at the bar for $3 on Sundays.

Timothy O’Toole’s (Streeterville)
622 Fairbanks
(312) 642-5282
Timothy O’Toole’s is an all-in-one watering hole that caters to Chicagoans’ thirst for fun (and beer). Kind of like a basement rec room, this lower-level establishment is decked wall-to-wall with entertainment, including darts, pool tables, video games, televisions, wireless Internet connection and a well-stocked wet bar. Timothy O’Toole’s overloads the senses with 47 TVs covering nearly every square inch of the space, which makes it the ultimate place to watch a game with your crew. There are two private party rooms and the gut-splitting humor of the Comedy House infiltrates the scene every second and fourth Thursday of the month with local standup comedians. Open from 11am to 3am every day of the week and offering a full food menu, Tim O’Toole’s is a preferred hangout among the midday and after-hours office crowd and weekend partiers alike.

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