Skylark
(between 21st Pl & Cermak Rd)
Chicago, IL 60608 (312) 948-5275
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Music: Juke Box
- Best Nights: Thu, Sat, Sun
- Happy Hour: No
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
99 reviews
Neighborhood: Lakeview
"Coobah is amazing! Great food and good music! They have Bossa Saravah playing live bossa nova classics on wednesday nights and saturday…" read more »
101 Reviews for Skylark
Drinks: Cheap
Snacks: Good & Cheap
Music: Perfect
Crowd: Diverse
Staff Behind the Bar: Great
Waitstaff: Kiss My Ass
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I want to update my review to reflect my new feelings of goodwill towards the Skylark. I'm in love with the Skylark burger and you can't argue with the huge $3 basket of tator tots. And $2 drafts.
My rating doesn't change, though. Mostly because they turn on the lights at 1:30am and that is just criminal. Not only do they turn on the lights, but they just start screaming at you to get out. This is a regular occurrence, not a one time thing. So annoying. Other than that, lately, I've found the staff to be more or less agreeable.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/17/2007
I'd love to give this place a better rating but at this point, negatives outweigh positives here.… Read more »
I lived in pilsen for almost 3 years and no matter how much the neighborhood changed and no matter how "hipstery" some might feel this place is, I still love it and consider it one of the best bars in the city.
Before the smoking ban, this place was great because of it's sheer size. The huge seating area means no smoky clothes and plenty of room (even on a second Friday when the galleries close.)
The food is really good. The tuna sandwich is by far my favorite. The last few times I've had it, it was missing the dark rye bread, but I'm still a fan. I recently had their salad of the day and it was so incredibly good and pretty cheap. And the tater tots - oh man. Just don't get the sauces, ketchup does fine.
The drinks are cheap and stiff ($3.25 whiskey and coke? yes please!), the tap beers run the gamut from specialty to cheap and good.
The waitstaff and bartenders are chatty and friendly (save for a few servers who can get too busy, they need more than one on a Saturday night if you ask me). But more than once, the bartender gave me a freebie.
The music is usually an ipod but never too loud. On a weeknight or Sunday, this place is perfect to grab food, drink, and chat it up.
The crowd is always diverse but not rowdy or annoying. Never once have I been given a line or grabbed by a guy.
Basically, now that I live further north, I miss this place and don't get to visit too often.
But any chance I get, I'll take it.
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Prerequisites for working here: gruff voice, tattoos, facial hair (bonus for sporting the stache) and an affection for cds.
With that said, I'll come back.
For the beerz.
To finish the potato pierogis that are handmade by the Polish lady from the bakery up the street.
To finish the tater tots (not recommendable to doggy bag it)
To complete the photobooth (ran outta ink and they gave 'er the money back. Sweet)
No jukebox was played when we were there, bartender's choice...as it should be.
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I miss this place. A ton.
I went to Skylark every week for two years. That's 104 Thursdays, my friends. Sad? Nay. We celebrated everything:
"It's my birthday! Skylark?"
"I graduated! Skylark?"
"I got new shoes! Skylark?"
"I don't have AIDS! Skylark?"
I always walked home on the verge of smashery and I don't think I ever spent more than $20.
The tator tots are good. The beer is from all over. There's pervy notes on the bathroom walls. The waiter looks like Vasco da Gama. It's lovely.
Most of all I miss Danno, the bartender, because he used words like "dame" and "cat" and wore suit vests and had weird tattoos. He's a charmer, that one.
We will meet again, Skylark. If not only in my dreams.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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02/15/2007
This place is great, mainly because it's in walking distance of my pad. However, if this is true… Read more »
Hipster, shmipster with or without your old school schwinn, who really cares if they frequent Skylark...it's so 2005 if you do! Nothing is going to keep me away form the cheaply priced drinks and highly under-rated food. Granted their menu has the usual dive bar fare, but they have crispy tater-tots with sauces...and that scores big with me!
However, what I must tell you is they have awesome SPECIALS! Two nights ago, I had monk fish with jasmine rice and petite candied carrots with a pomegranate sauce and my fellow diner got pork tenderloin with pureed sweet potato/coconut concoction and mixed greens!
I mean WTF, have you seen this place, have you looked at the pictures provided on YELP? It's a hole in the wall serving up some seriously skilled eats, and all people can talk about are the hip/scene-sters! I think that just means hip/scene-sters know where it's at! HOLLA-BACK!
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I live in the neighborhood and this is the perfect place to relax and have a drink. The food is better than bar food anywhere else (plus if you check out their Specials - on the board in the back by the kitchen - you'll find quite a culinary delight to choose from) and the drinks are very reasonably priced. There's live experimental jazz on Mondays and the place just has a great vibe to it. If I could I'd go every day. Shouts out to the fantastic bartenders and the sweet door guys. Skylark is pure love.
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A friend from Pilsen brought me along one night. She'd prepped me for the hipster onslaught, but as we were there fashionably early (like, 9:30) it was still pretty empty.
We had the tater tots. I admit to liking tater tots, but I wasn't completely sure I was enjoying them because they actually TASTED good or if it was just the nostalgia kicking in.
As far as the interior design of the Skylark goes, it basically just looks like a shitty old VFW with a few dilapidated tables and booths. I mean, I prefer a place that's unadorned and just gets on with it, so to speak, but elevating what is essentially an apathetic normalness bordering on premeditated sloth to the height of "cool" is a bit hard to swallow. Thanks again, hipsterdom.
Whoever said it was "very close" to the Orange Line has a different perspective on "close" than I do. When it came time to go home, and I was faced with the prospect of catching the bus (which no longer ran for the night) or walking up to the El, a guy smoking outside gave me this advice: "I usually just keep my keys in my hand in my pocket, ready to punch someone if they run up on me. It's pretty sketchy." Nice.
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Some of us, who live in neighborhoods without a decent watering hole, would give a lot to be able to drink ourselves into oblivion at a perfect neighborhood bar such as Skylark. A wide selection of cheap drinks is the main thing, complemented by interesting decor (such as a quilt-like wall hanging made out of pieces of soda cans). The booths are cozy, the bigger tables less so. Seems like there is plenty of room for a pool or foosball table. I wish the photobooth worked!
i ate tater tots here once and shit flannel for a month. I also woke up with a daniel johntson record in my cd player. i remember uncontrollably asking the question, "but is it art?," as i listened to him hit all sorts of bad notes. Worst night ever.
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I visited this bar for the first time the other night, and had an awesome time. This is definitely a bar I could see myself going to regularly, if only I didn't live so far away! The drinks were a great price, friendly staff, and happy young people (artsy fun folk) frequented the place. There's usually a good group of smokers hanging outside (for those of us that can't give up a good cig with our drink), and the atmosphere is laid back. Very close to the orange line.
Also- $3 tater tots are amazing!
Sad part- they don't serve irish carbombs!
Go here for a chill time with friends.
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Here was the challenge given to me by my fellow chorister and choir's executive director: find a location with food and alcohol for a large number of people who have just sung at a Peace Vigil with monks. Must be close to the Monastery of the Holy Cross on 31st and Aberdeen.
The Skylark, located less than two miles away on Cermak and Halsted, not only fit the bill, but blew any other possibility out of the water. Because we were in there by 10, we--around two dozen Chicago Chorale members and our spouses/friends--were able to create a caterpillar of five tables right in the middle of the bar, and no one minded. In fact, even when the place started filling up about an hour later, there was not a seating crisis.
While the beer list is on the short side, there's an all-star line-up, with De Konink, Newcastle, Three Floyds, Rogue, and the Great Lake's Edmund Fitzgerald, alongside some of the more usual suspects.
The food is excellent bar food. At our table we of course had a glut of tater tot heaven, as well as some more unusual items: panko-encrusted shrimp, perogies, and collard greens. The Skylark burger with mustard slaw, onion rings, and cheddar cheese is outstanding, as is the BBQ pork sandwich. They have two vegetarian items on their menu too.
Although we appreciated and at points sang along with the juke box, we were all able to hold conversations across tables. Our two servers were fantastic, balancing those tricky De Konink goblets and splitting up the bill without even a request. Some people in our group even took advantage of the photo booth.
I think we, the Chicago Chorale, can all agree that The Skylark is our new post-Monastery party place. Our experience last night reminded me to take that jaunt up to Pilsen more often. This time was not unusual compared to my many past visits; it was just what I expected: pretty darn amazing.
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I went here for a going away for a co worker. And I was impressed. First off it almost felt speakeasy-like since you can hardly find it unless you know where you're going. I like their beer selection. It has a few things on tap that most don't usually carry. And I could also go out on the South Side for once and be able to get home on the train! Bonus!
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This place gets points for good food and drinks. It's not that far from my home, so I'm glad that it's there when I feel like some tater tots (that taste like everything ever fried-ever all in one potato tot) and a burger.
It's a fairly large, dimly lit spot and there are plenty of tables but I recommend coming earlier if you want a booth.
I've been on Mondays and Thursdays only. There's no live music as far as I know but the juke box has played some good music from time to time.
All in all, it's a nice spot to hang out with your friend and have a drink.
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A nice beer selection and a great place to just hang out with your friends.
This place is great, very divey with the best tater tots I've ever eaten. The photobooth is an added bonus. My favorite part is it tends to be fairly quiet so you can actually have a conversation...before about 11pm anyway. Good stuff.
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This is a great bar but a better (and underrated) restaurant. They have 3 Floyds Gumball Head (albeit in a bottle) so they already get my vote on the bar side.
What I don't understand is why everybody loves those tater tots. I mean, they're pretty good bar food when you're drunk, but BFD: bagged tots and bottled sauce? If that's all it takes, I'm opening a bar and you're all invited.
HOWEVER, the entrees were unexpectedly delicious. I had a jones for fried chicken and Skylark's hit the spot. The crust was very light, flaky and flavorful. The mashed potatoes were home made and kicked the tots' asses down the block.
My buddy had the special: shredded Moroccan leg of lamb. Holy moley that was good. I'd go back for that any day, especially because he was guarding his plate so keenly.
The prices are great and the staff was very nice, too. I'm going back.
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It's an artsy place. A place to be after second Fridays if you want to meet all the hipsters and all the artists.
I was expecting rude service but waiters were surprisingly nice and mostly efficient. They serve food which is awesome.
Hashbrowns with different dipping sauces is a must when you are drunk!
Nice beer selection.
It's a nice place to hangout since there aren't really that many places in that area. And what you find is not that bad.
I'm not arty hipstery type and found people watching as satisfying as the food :)
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Hey if you live in Bridgport is pretty much the only bar that around. Plus it has an old school photo booth. Totes
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This place is very low key. Its a good place to hang out with friends. A few of my friends took their shirts off here and no one noticed. Dark atmosphere. Nothing fancy. I like it.
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skylark went way hipster, way tooooooooooooooooooooooooo fast :(
but, i am guessing, like the rainbo club, the best time to enjoy your bier is before the faux folks; so between 4 pm to 8 pm, monday through wednesday.
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I really dig this place. I agree that its low-key, the bartenders are all really nice, I never have to worry about what I'm wearing when I go there, its so dark and everyone minds their own business. I absolutely agree that its an under-rated restaurant. If you go, or just haven' t tried the food, do so! They switch it up often, but its always good. I recently had the paella, delicious. They always have tater tots available, and you can never go wrong with tater tots. Lastly, document your visit with some pictures in the photo booth.
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This place could not be more overrated. It's fine to go to and just chill, but why do people have to make it out to be so great? Oh yeah, because it's right near Pilsen's white-belt (aka the art district), and every hipster and scenester heard from another hipster or scenester that this was the place to go cuz it's like, hip and scene. I have literally heard of people going all the way across the city just to "check it out" because they happen to listen to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Let me tell you, brother, it's not worth it. Find a place closer to home to be hep and wear stupid sweatshirts at.
I mean, whatever. It's pretty cheap and has a photo booth, but it also has terrible live music (when it is there), and it's chock full of "art kids." Oh boy. I'll be back because it's close to where I live (kind of), but I'm not dying to chill there.
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While visiting a buddy, neighborhood artist, we went for food and whiskey. Great Place, food was outstanding, I think the whiskey was good and enjoyed some new music(Oneida). Have been back and will keep returning when in town.
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They have good tater tots. They have a photobooth. It's suitably dark and dingy and awesome. I love Skylark.
This is also the only bar in Chicago that I have thrown up in. This was partially to do with the fact that the bartender was really nice and kept buying me shots, partially do to with the fact that I was on hardcore medications that were not meant to be mixed with alcohol, and partially because I should not have drank those ten or so shots and eaten half an order of tots. So, uh, sorry about that, Skylark.
I haven't been back since, because I feel bad for tossing my cookies in there, otherwise I'd totally grab a beer here every so often.
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I'm just going to type the words hipster and $2 PBR right now so I can fit in here. Yeah so what? There's a lot of tight jeans and thrift store frumpery going on here but I don't go to bars to stare at the table next to me so they can dress however they want. The beer selection is surprisingly varied, lots of Michigan and Indiana microbrews. I brought a cousin here from New Orleans and he had 2 complaints: no golden tee and no red bull. So now you know what kind of place it ISN'T.
I personally enjoyed the mirrored gold 50's chevy-esque wall shelves above the booths and the large tower of stackable chairs for the taking. You don't have to ask if this seats taken at this place. at least not on a Wednesday night.
But I have to say, something about this place just isn't right. From the outside, I expected quiet old fat men bellied up to the bar on the inside. But instead, it looks like a wicker park bar and while I am not ripping on WP, the juxtaposition of the outside appearance and the actual goings-on inside was sort of alarming and yeah, I guess disappointing.
I stood waiting for the bathroom and noticed a white board of food specials on the wall. This place did not strike me (from the inside or out) as a "cous cous" kind of place but there it was, as a side dish for the special of the day (which was equally fancy, but i forget exactly what it was). There's not necessarily anything wrong with it, it's just odd.
The bartender was nice. No attitude there. I liked that they put tinsel on the christmas tree. Not enough people keep it real with the cat, 2 year old and dog killing tinsel anymore.
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Ahhhh, the larky lark is like home. My only gripe used to be that it got smoky, smoky as hell, but what bar didn't? And now that Chicago is smoke free, the Lark is pwning everyone. Great comfort food (Love the pulled pork and the Skylark Burger), plenty of tater tots to go around, and an awesome (and more importantly) reasonably priced beer selection.
It's even one of the few places in the city you can now find a Kalamazoo beer on tap (brews put out by Bells under a different name to try and circumnavigate the shitty outdated IL distributor laws), so what's not to like?!
It can get a little overrun on weekends but get there early (and stay late!) and you'll have no problem getting a table or a booth. We usually shoot for 9:30 or earlier to insure booth acquisition.
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I figured that I would rewrite this review after spending almost three days a week here alllll summer.
The Skylark is hip, but only if you really care about being hip. I'm pretty boring. I wear cardigans and only own one t-shirt from a thrift store, that only cost me 1 dollar, and I have never felt out of place.
Sure, there are the kids with their 40 dollar 80's thrifted shirts and tight jeans and the girls with their granny dresses and side ponytails (I kid you not. SIDE PONYTAILS!) but they're allowed to wear whatever they want.. and you are completely allowed to ignore them.
I'll admit some of the bartenders are surly and some of the wait staff are short with you, but Sunday nights at the Skylark with Eric and Samya (sp?) are totally sweet, and Thursdays with Dano (voted one of the top 10 bartenders this year on Metromix) are pretty sweet too.
How to avoid the surly bartenders? Just know what you want to order and don't do the "What do beers to you have?" Cut the space cadet routine and look up. They're all organized by PRICE on a chalkboard.
Oh and the food? It's pretty damn awesome. Tater tots are always hot and cheap. Burgers are always well cooked. The curry is spicey and the specials are always damn tasty.
DO NOT FORGET THE PHOTOBOOTH! You'll be sorry if you do!
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I love Skylark because it's spacious, there are always places to sit, they have a photo booth and it's never (at least when I go) packed like every other place I seem to frequent. They have a decent beer selection and the prices are reasonable. I've heard their food is good, but I've never had it because I'm far more concerned with drinking myself into a blackout. If it was anywhere near my apartment it would be my bar of choice. Also, according to the men's bathroom, Weekend Nachos and Disrobe are two of Chicago's best hardcore bands... So, you know, it's punk friendly I guess.
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I went to Skylark for the first time this past Monday for my 21st birthday. Most of my friends and I go to UIC, and this is literally the only good bar in the area, so it was the logical choice for a Monday night.
With that said, I was super impressed with this place - namely the price and strength of the drinks (the cash-only thing necessitates some preparation). The bartenders are also very cool and laid back. despite the clownish outward appearance of the local hipsters, I was surprised at the friendly vibe from most everyone i bumped into (including a 40-something trucker from st louis).
A nice surprise was arriving to see a band setting up, expecting some coked-out dancey hipster bullshit, but actually witnessing a rather pleasant bop quintet. other than that, the music was a little weak.
my only gripes:
-cash only
-the aforementioned lame music
-located in the middle of nowhere, even for someone like me who lives less than a mile away.
i will definitely be returning here again
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The lark rules. It's right by the crib and the only really cool bar for miles.
It's not really loud and obnoxious. There's lots of places to sit. Bartenders are cool. Good beers, fairly priced. Dimly lit. Everyone I know likes the food. Nothing bad to say, just a good bar to hang out at and just chill.
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Almost makes me want to move to Bridgeport. Fairly priced adult beverages and lots of space to converse lazily and loudly. Biggest draw: baskets of tater tots with various picnic condiments to dip the little guys into. Also...I don't care if you serve me beer cut with cat piss, but if you play the ENTIRE B-52's Cosmic Thing record in your bar, I'm as loyal as Hillary is to Bill.
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It's a cool place to go for drinks. I like to handle late night business meetings here. There is nothing fufu about this place. It's a bar that I can get my vodka stiff and have some laughs. I like this place a lot. I would go with a variety of friends for different occasions but generally just to talk.
The likes
No TV (and this is from a sports nut) = more talking to the people you are with. I tend to tune people out when I see SportCenter on TV.
Good Priced Drinks
A photo booth is always a good amenity.
The Dislikes
Parking can be a pain on certain nights
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I know 3 stars isn't much but mean people really suck...... let me explain........
The skylark Hands down great food great Liquor selection they have a Photo booth, and a cool legend of some artist that strips down and takes a picture with you.
But.....
I'm NOT a yuppie and I'm NOT a hipster
So that makes me an outcast because I'm average
Tight pants (the waiter) - I think he is in a Shakespearean play
- an a**hole most of the time depending if he takes his Zoloft never is nice or is good about service ( not expecting 5 star treatment but offer me a beer if I'm empty) Other times hes fine I tip well I don't get it
-The Bartenders
well most of the time they are cool but eeeeee other times except the guy with the beard he always is polite
I really like this bar it's sad that some people are snobs BUT Whatever my money is green and the beer is cheap
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An absolute must-see is the men's urinal - a triumph of porcelain casting. Not sure they can even make them like that anymore.
I'm not sure what the big deal is - the only place for white people in the neighborhood perhaps? Non-Chicagoans excited by the dark bar? This place is (was?) a dime a dozen in the city but shows what you can do with no competition. The service is horrid - not always the servers fault because it seems to always be one waiter for about 20 tables - don't they realize they could make more money if people's drinks were filled more often? Pluses - it is really cheap, the food's decent and a little different.
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After an evening at Pilsen's Art Walk, we followed the trail of oh-so-hip-artists through the darkened doorway and were pleasantly surprised by the large space, exceedingly long bar, and fantastic half-circle booths that line the wall. The scene was lively and jovial (aided I'm sure by Art Walk), and comfortable in its own way. Lots of fancy imports on tap for really good prices. The food looked far too nice to be bar food. As everyone else here appears to have done, we treated ourselves to a basket of tater tots, which were accompanied by several sauces for dipping, and a few new companions who couldn't hold themselves back. Nicest crowd I've seen in awhile. Staff was friendly, even while kicking us out at the end of the night and offering the opportunity to mop.
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Two friends in town from New York City, one staying up in Logan Square, the other down in Hyde Park. It is 3PM, we are avoiding families and holiday shopping. We're hungry. We're hung over.
As luck would have it the Skylark made perfect sense. We arrive, ask if the kitchen is open, the gentleman behind the bar informs us that the fry oil is still heating up. Score! The place is empty, the grease is fresh and the music right.
We take our time ordering. Pulled P0rk, Salmon, Eggplant. Tater tot salad salad. Hair of the dog. Slaw.
The pleasurable aspect of the afternoon is that the place was empty, quiet, dark, friends who haven't seen each other in months catching up on each other's lives. The other time I found myself at Skylark it was later, louder, hipper. The food was pleasant. The BBQ that comprises the pulled pork could be a little spicier but the roll it was on was toasted and very fresh. The Gimlet ordered would be nice if they offered them in the style of the Matchbox. The bill for the three of us was under $40 and as one of my compeara stated on the way out, that would have not have happened in New York City. We enjoyed the space and the atmosphere. Just remember to avoid a mess, hit the place early on the weekend, enjoy a decent lunch!
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I've been coming here for years. This place has been my new hangout bar since Yak-Zies in Lincoln park closed down. (The one in Wrigleyville does not have the same atmosphere).
From the outside it looks like your usual bad neighborhood dive. But inside your greeted by a surprisingly large space and a long antique bar. The decor is best described as thrift shop oddball and adds to the unique feel to the place. As everyone mentioned there is a old b+w photobooth.
They try to be inventive with the menu here over the years with success and some failures, but the tatertots and 3 dipping sauces are always a sure thing as is the cheap beer.
Recently this place seems to have been 'discovered' by the hipster crowd and is very crowded on the weekends. I recommend everyone drop by if your into oddball dive bars and you just happened to be on the southside.
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Cash only dive in Pilsen...with under the radar crowd, improvised jazz, Elvis pin ball, b/w photo booth, fantastic tater tots, and big tables for your raucous crowd.
Everything is delightfully half-assed...and comfortable.
Tell that jazz drummer to buy me a shot.
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It's out of my neighborhood, which makes me like my neighborhood a little less. I went down there tonight to meet a friend for drinks, and it left me wanting a corner place like it on a corner close to me.
Highlights:
Pinball machine (it's Elvis, which, meh, but it's still a pinball machine)
Decent food with a little more variety than typical bar fare (had the strip steak, it was good)
Cheaper drinks
Good music played at a reasonable volume
Lots of half-booths
LessGoods
Smoky
Seemed a little understaffed
High-backed booths make people watching / interactional speculating tough
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