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Hotti Biscotti - CLOSED
Categories: Food Coffee & Tea Nightlife Bars Dive Bars Coffee & Tea, Dive Bars [Edit]
3545 W Fullerton Ave(between Central Park Ave & Drake Ave)
Chicago, IL 60647
Neighborhood: Logan Square
(773) 292-6877
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Music:
- Live
- Best Nights:
- Tue, Fri, Thu
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Hotti Biscotti
18 reviews in English
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Review from Jocelyn P.
Chicago, IL
10/18/2009
I love this place, but there's no way you can give it 5-stars.
It's hilarious that the Hotti Biscotti sign advertises smoothies, sandwiches, and coffee! when they have PBR, High Life, and possibly something else. (Though: I did get fish soup here one time, and it was very very good! It was a random night.)
Tuesday night experimental-jazz-noise music is cool. I've heard some wacky/funny bands before. Basically this is the closest bar to where I live, just about, so it's fun to stop by here and there.
It's full of characters (like me, maybe...) and is certainly laid-back in a good way. Goofy fun, like Cosmo Kramer.
:D :D :D !Listed in: Stuff in Logan Square, !INCLUDES! Out of business coffee shops! Other…">I was their best customer...
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Review from Rebecca G.
Chicago, IL
10/3/2007
Hotti Biscotti, in glorious Logan Square, isn't somewhere you go to get great beer, tell a bartender your troubles, or feel like you're a part of some scene. In short, it's a goofy place with a small selection of beer and liquor and no ambiance, or at least not very interesting ambiance (although it has improved over the last couple years). On the other hand, it's not pretentious, either. You can listen to good or bad live music, depending on your luck, and you will get a free meal on a Friday night, which the bar's owner so graciously prepares out of the kindness of her heart (and it's tasty, too). If you're friendly and not overly shy, you will meet a couple of locals who call Hotti Biscotti home.
I've heard decent Free-form Jazz there on Tuesdays, and if you come often enough, it becomes that place where everybody knows your name. If that is satisfying enough, and if you like cheep bottles of beer, then you check it out, but don't come with high expectations, or you'll be disappointed.Listed in: My Neighborhood
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Review from Sarah M.
Chicago, IL
10/20/2008
Noise, sweet noise. The owner, or whoever books the bands, has great taste.
As a venue it is intimate, has character and has that certain comfortable dive-y charm to it.
Plenty of seating which makes me happy. I hate standing up in bars. The couch is really warm and inviting- really plush.
The drink prices are pretty good too.
Oh and the bartender has a gruff charm but is a pretty nice guy. -
Review from Zachary M.
Chicago, IL
5/1/2008
Not a bad little spot. I mostly came here to see my friend's band KB-DUO.
The fact is, the bar is cheap, they're willing to host more experimental/avant-garde acts, and free food on Fridays! You might see me performing at the open mic one Wednesday.
Also, they had the best beer on the planet. Well, not really the best tasting (it was pretty awful) but it was American brand beer. American beer is quality brewed to capture the spirit and strength of America. Bless you, Hotti Biscotti, for providing me with liquid freedom for a mere dollar. -
Review from Nels W.
Chicago, IL
3/24/2007
I've only ever been here to see my friend play, so my perspective is probably a little skewed. The drinks prices are reasonable, and there hasn't been any cover when I've been, so it's easy on the wallet. It's a tiny little place, though, so I'd be worried if anyone more popular was playing that it might be hard to find a place to stand, let alone sit.
The decor is trying to be something, but it's just a little too casual, and comes too close to feeling like something I could pull off if my basement were a little bigger. Bottom line: It wouldn't be my first choice, but if someone you like is playing, it's certainly not a bad place to go. -
Review from Bradley M.
North Pole, AK
3/10/2008
To quote the great Dennis Green when he was speaking of the Bears "There are who we thought they are". It turned out he was correct; the Bears were a 1 dimensional team that can easily be beat. Just ask The Indianapolis Colts. :P
Hotti Biscotti "Is what I thought it is", which is basically a total dump of a bar with very friendly people and great prices. I went in one Wednesday evening starving after a very intense sparring session very hungry. I went there because the Yelpers had talked about their food being phenomenal. Well, I guess the owner only makes food on Friday. Total Bummer.
So I had a beer and left. The bartender was really friendly and nice. There were only 2 people there, and it was open mike night later, the tender had asked if I came for that. I did not.
Regardless, I do believe this to be a cool dive bar. It has that nice someone's basement feel, with various knick-knacks disseminated about .I'd certainly go back. I need to check it on a Friday eve when the owner makes food.
If you are looking for a great dive bar, I would definitely recommend Hotti Biscotti.Listed in: My Old Hood
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Review from An P.
Chicago, IL
2/9/2010
Wandering in Logan Square and having come from Whirlaway, we marched on to Hotti Biscotti on a Saturday night to discover what this Logan Square dive had to offer. We found live music and some people playing board games (including SCRABBLE!!!). The beers were cheap and the bartender friendly.....
On the W-T-F Richter Scale, I would have to rock it a 7.5 - it was experimental music night with some basement locked kids on stage taking a break from their latest D&D session to rock out with trumpets, trombones, guitar and bass and a mega dosage of distortion pedal. No one was into this music and a general look of disgust filled the crowd.
I would come back here on any night not featuring Dungeons & Dragons distortion crew. Scrabble, Scrabble, Scrabble!!! -
Review from Benjamin B.
Chicago, IL
9/13/2007
Normally I would give this bar 2-Stars based on the service... but then I discovered that the serve free food on Friday nights. I think that that is a very kind and heart-warming idea. Plus, the food is actually quite good. They don't have much of a beer selection to speak of, nor do they seem to have many choices in the way of liquor. The bartender was aloof at best... seemed to me to be flat out unconcerned or possibly slightly annoyed that I was asking for a beer. That kind of shit REALLY gets under my skin.
Then again, I was going to give them 2-Stars based on the fact that I had to leave the bar because the band that played there was so extremely loud and high-pitched that it felt like it was causing hearing damage, no joke, no exaggeration. But then my brother told me that usually the bands aren't like that and they stopped playing not long at all after I had left (presumably because the staff asked them to stop)... and I did leave pretty much right away.
So yeah, it is down-to-earth for the most-part... not fancy, not totally shitty... just a pretty average place... with some small charm to it. -
Review from rebecca g.
Chicago, IL
9/2/2009
With such a pretentious name, you'd think they would have a better selection of beer (or at least *something* on tap)...but hey, at least it's cheap. Which sort of cancels out the incredible pain it is to get to this place without a car.
Nevertheless, the bartender is laid-back and nice enough, the bands are nothing short of interesting, and seating not too atrocious. -
Review from Carrie S.
9/7/2007 ROTD 9/19/2007
When I lived in Logan Square, Hotti Biscotti was hands down my dad's favorite bars. Whenever he visited, he would go here for a cheap beer and live music. My dad is a live music junkie. When I went with him, I was first surprised by how tiny the place is, but it's still cool. The red walls with pictures of loyal patrons make it seem welcoming and relaxed. I've walked past here after work on my way to Tony's Finer Foods and it's been closed, so it's a full on bar/music joint these days. The beer is cheap, the music is good, and it's a good people watching place. I imagine Hotti Biscotti is what Cosi started out as with part coffee shop/bar. Going to Hotti Biscotti is like going back in time to when coffee shops weren't chains, were the center of cool, and when they served booze all around. I'm glad places like HB still exist and don't quake to the mainstream idea of hip and cool.
Listed in: My Favorites, ROTD's
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Review from Daniel W.
Asheville, NC
8/8/2010
Hotti Biscotti is the greatest bar ever to have been established. I came here for the first time the other night. A free jazz band was playing. I have seen and heard many many free jazz bands in my day, all of which sucked tremendously-- EXCEPT THIS ONE!!!!! They seemed to communicate telepathically and cooperated to create a variety of different moods and textures. THE REAL McCOY!!!
The bartender is the kind whose favorite thing in the world is to hang out and drink with his customers and inform anyone who's interested about his encyclopedic knowledge of music.
This place may not be around much longer, and I would urge anyone who reads this to get to Hotti Biscotti immediately.
They also have very reasonable beer and if you make friends with the bartender (which I did immediately) he'll even give you a free whiskey or two. -
Review from Ingrid G.
Chicago, IL
9/6/2007
HB reminds me of one of the DIY kind of coffeehouse/bars that opened up in Ukrainian village in the early 90's. If I was a goofy punky 22 or 23 year old again (and alas, I will not be) this or a place like it is probably where I'd hang. It has an artsy, crumbly kind of feel like you're in the basement rec room of a faded star from days past. For the young or young at heart
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Review from nick l.
Chicago, IL
3/11/2009
Despite your first viewing of what might be a hodge-podge of a bar that feels also like it's someone's attic of junk, it makes up in personality. The staff is laid back and friendly and the beer is definitely affordable. They have a movie night, but it's movies Netflix forgot existed - always dated and bizzare, but in a good way. The best part is the music, definitely pushing on experimental in all capacities - idm, breakcore, noise/avant garde, cirtcuit bent experimental. It doesn't disappoint.
Listed in: The Places I Go Out
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Review from George B.
Chicago, IL
2/18/2007
One of a handful of places in the city where you can experience avant garde music and art, and basically whatever they have happening that night. It is a bar that doubles as a coffee shop (the heir to the Nervous Center?) that has a revolving array of good, healthy sandwiches and food to eat (when available). For those with an open mind! Don't go here expecting to hear anything remotely normal. Go here to watch some music with few limits or attachments to what that word means to most people, or to catch a foreign film on their projector, or just go and be surprised. Very unique place mostly frequented by artists and non-scenesters.
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Review from Elisa E.
Chicago, IL
6/12/2008
An explanation of my rating: Five stars for being one of the last genuine dives in the city, with deductions for never seeming to stock the same beer on any given night. On Saturdays, truly weird/obscure movies are shown, and artist/filmmaker R. Syska tends the bar and waxes philosophical on important subjects, like dangerous toys of the 1960s (our last conversation). Dave Purdie, who used to drum for Silver Abuse can often be spotted grabbing a smoke outside. Sure, the peeps at the Burlington (down the street) have shiny hair and wear the right clothes, but you won't tell stories about the place 20 years hence.
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Review from jen d.
4/21/2008
i miss coming over here for fun movie nights and avante garde music. the syska brothers are cool and this is indeed the heir apparent after nervous center closed up on lincoln. a good place for a cheap drink, maybe some food, good films, and interesting shows. a hangout! what i imagine the uk village used to be ten years before i lived there. friendly, too!
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Review from Cheryl G.
Chicago, IL
7/21/2008
It's alright when a band's playing, but if you go on a night when nothing's going on, it's weird. The atmosphere reminds me of being in someone's basement.
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Review from PJ B.
Chicago, IL
3/20/2009
Love this place for open mic poetry nights (second Thursdays), music, and cheap drinks!
