Sportsman’s Club 948 N. Western Ave. Humboldt Park Neighborhood bar 872-206-8054 Website Let a nightlife dream team (hailing from Bar DeVille, Barrelhouse Flat, Lone Wolf, and Aviary) loose to rehab an old Polish dive and the result is this gem. The downscale vibe remains intact—as evidenced by the dozens of taxidermied animals and cheap … Read more
Bub City 435 N. Clark St. River North Country bar 312-610-4200 Website This barbecue joint morphs into a Nashville- style honky-tonk at night, complete with live tunes. Don’t fret if you can’t find seats near the stage: The view is fine from either of the two bars, where 100-plus whiskeys flow. A late-night menu … Read more
CH Distillery 564 W. Randolph St. West Loop Distillery 312-707-8780 Website Come for the cocktails—vodka, gin, rum, and whiskey, all showcasing spirits made onsite—and linger for the small plates: flavorful shiitake pâté, corned duck, and potato pancakes. You’ll either love or hate the decor, best described as factory chic. But with an attentive staff … Read more
Analogue 2523 N. Milwaukee Ave. Logan Square Cocktail bar Website Combine Violet Hour drinks with dive bar minimalism and you’ve got Analogue, the latest venture from Violet vets Robert Haynes and Henry Prendergast. Well-conceived cocktails share menu space with $3 drafts of Bud and everything in between, including surprises such as purls (beers infused … Read more
Lone Wolf 806 W. Randolph St. West Loop Cocktail bar 312-600-9391 Leave it to the minds behind Trenchermen and the Barrelhouse Flat to dream up one of the boldest launches of the year. This spacious neighborhood bar offers sgroppinos (sorbet- like vodka and prosecco concoctions), amaro cocktails, and savory Pleasant House Bakery pies, plus … Read more
The Berkshire Room 15 E. Ohio St. River North Hotel bar 312-894-0800 Website This handsome boutique lounge in the Acme Hotel represents a sweet spot in Chicago’s craft cocktail scene: It’s got all the swank but none of the snoot. Though the Fifty/50 Restaurant Group's latest project is populated by River North’s more moneyed … Read more
Punch House 1227 W. 18th St. Pilsen Cocktail bar 312-526-3851 Website Punch has been around since the 1600s. The carbonated soda gun? That’s a 20th-century invention. Leave it to a ’70s-rec-room-themed basement bar, the latest from the trendsetters behind Longman & Eagle (in Logan Square) and sister restaurant Dusek’s (upstairs), to marry the two—and … Read more
Parson’s Chicken & Fish 2952 W. Armitage Ave. Logan Square Restaurant bar 773- 384-3333 Website The sun-drenched outdoor bliss of this neighborhood hangout’s first summer may be his- tory, but that doesn’t stop the Negroni Slushies from flowing: The icy cocktail churns away in a Slurpee-style machine behind the eight-seat bar. And although the … Read more
Three Dots and a Dash 435 N. Clark St. River North Tiki bar 312- 610-4220 Website When Paul McGee, perhaps the city’s most beloved mixologist, decamped from craft cocktail mecca the Whistler to the behemoth restaurant chain Lettuce Entertain You in February 2012, his acolytes all but set his famous beard ablaze in protest. … Read more
A toast to the libations that rise above the pack
