New bars open all the time in Chicago – some Al Capone-themed tiki bar or Australian beer garden probably just opened around the corner from wherever you’re currently located. But there’s no better place to drink than a classic.
So we compiled a list of our favorites – the places we find ourselves returning to over and again. Some are older than others, but they’re the standbys that we can rely on for a number of different occasions. They are the places that make this city great. In other words: the Greatest Hits.
If you live in Chicago, you should drink at them all. If you’re visiting, check out as many as you can. Some spots are cocktail bars, some are dives, others have live music, and then there are a few that fall somewhere in between, but all of them are essential to Chicago.
The Hideout
A bar serving cheap beer in a 100-something-year-old house stranded in an industrial corridor. If that sounds like the type of old man bar whose foundation is pure Chicago sweat and grit, that’s because it is – but it’s so much more than that. An inclusive space for some of the best local and visiting bands, podcasts, and comedy shows. A place that passes out blankets at the bluegrass concerts hosted on their porch. The site of one of the best dance parties in the city every Saturday at midnight. The Hideout feels like a cross-section of the soul of Chicago, which makes it a great place to get drunk.
This article originally appeared on The Infatuation.
1354 West Wabansia Ave, Chicago, IL 60642 | 773.227.4433
