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Categories: American (Traditional), Bars
Neighborhood: LakeviewBelmont (Purple Express, Brown, Red)
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Came here on a Monday night after Brew & View. Not many people around. Had some beer. Nice chill atmosphere. Bartender was pretty funny. I forget what we were talking about, but I do recall laughing.
I'd go back.
No frills, not crowded, cheap beer, free jukebox, plain & simple.
Any more words we be a disservice.
This place is great! Nice, divey atmosphere, considering the neighborhood. Pretty fair beer prices, and an authentic, fading "nice place" vibe. (Okay... maybe more "fading" than "nice place," but its still kinda cool.) The place has really nice tin tile work on the ceiling, but the occasional tile is peeling out.
The bartender tonight was your typical awesome real-Chicago-bartender... snarky and sarcastic, but friendly at the same time. Gave my friend and I all the time we needed to figure out what we wanted next... even when we only chose to hang for one bev.
I used to hang out around here a bunch when I was young, but don't really that much anymore these days. This, however, is a brightspot in an otherwise crazy part of town. I'm into it. Def an L&L fan!
Whenever I am in this hood I need a fix of the LandL. Super friendly provacative bartenders in a dirty dive that reminds me of home.
Things covered on Saturday afternoon. Ginsburg, Fehrlinghetti, Kerouac, Southern cooking and transvestites, a good time for all.
Okay, here is my L&L story....I have a few friends that are gay and from time to time I tag along with them and visited a few of their bars on Halstead........on this particular night they wanted to have a few drinks in one where little boys dance on the bar in thongs..............Ur uh.......no thank you. I think I'll hang out with some of my fellow straights......but where....as I walked up to Clark I saw L&L and walked in.
This dark dive bar isn't necessarily unique and nothing about it strikes me to single something out, but I ordered a PBR and awaited my gay friends to move onto the next bar and call me.
After my first beer the phone rang...it was them, but music was playing too loud on the jukebox so I moved to the door....I just happened to be dressed in mostly black and stood at the open door on the phone.........I must have had a serious look on my face because........
A kid....walks in and sees me at the door........pulls out his wallet and hands me his ID....while trying to still carry on the conversation and without missing a beat I take the ID...act like I'm looking at it and give it back to the kid........not a second longer another "kid" walks in an following the last kid also presents his ID...then a girl...another boy..by this time I happen to look up at the bartender who is mouthing the works...."what the f*ck are you doing?!?!"...........that was my cue........exit stage left.......and out the door I went.
Hmmmm....perhaps a doorman is something I should pursue...it seems at the very least I have the look for it????
This dive bar is one that a good stop off for a beer.......
This is the perfect dive bar. Cheap beer and not a flat screen in the house.
Bonus points for giving a free drink to whoever gets the Final Jeopardy question correct in the afternoons.
At this point, hard to write a compliment that has not already been mentioned. Jukebox has Lawrence Arms, PBR Lights, and belly up to the bar at any hour of the weekend without a five person deep buffer around the mahogany.
Coming here, you have to expect the dive atmosphere, so don't expect anything BUT that. Its not crowded even though its small and you will get a seat or at least some room to lift your drink without it spilling before you're able to savor it. Go for bottles of beer, white russians, and irish car bombs, maybe not in that order though.
Used to go here after shows and when you know big events in the city are gonna flood the more popular places (ie St. Pat's, the Taste, etc). I think the more seasoned city residents understand this and stop in frequently. When friends come in from out of town, this is on the list. They won't be overwhelmed, but that's what drinking with friends should be, just hanging out, kicking back, being able to hear a conversation, and the occasional sexual innuendo pose for a picture. Well maybe five or six photos.
If you normally frequent shi-shi places w/ bathroom attendants, this place is probably your worst nightmare.
Skip it & leave more beer for me.
Want a place you can watch Jeopardy every afternoon while a bevy of interesting historical facts is offered up by the nicest bartender in the city?
This is your spot.
Went here after escaping the horrid frat boy madness that was Trader Todd's. This was a heavenly breath of fresh air in comparison. Cheap bottled beer, and it looks like they have a special daily. Rather dark, great REAL jukebox, nice, efficient bartenders. Probably the only place in the immediate area at which I feel completely comfortable. Oddly (and luckily for us), though it was a Friday night, only about 1/2 the seats were occupied. It's not a huge place, so I was thankful for that.
Also, there is a basket of free tampons in the ladies' room. Nothing nicer than looking out for your customers like that. Something to think about when you're planning a night out during that time of the month, huh?
I guess there's something to be said for a place that isn't so packed full of people that you can't find a seat or hear your song on the jukebox until an hour after you put it on. They have cheapish beers and a laid back atmosphere too. The lighting is dim, the handful of patrons in the bar span a wide range of ages and depths of alcoholism... but I just wasn't all that impressed. I'd go here again if I were in the area with a group of people and we needed a place to go. I'm sure it beats going to (insert frat party bar where I can't hear myself talk).
But... I wouldn't exactly plan out my night with a stop at the L & L.
So, after much ado, I came here with friends tonight.
My one friend lives above the bar, so we've been meaning to get to it together (she's been several times). I got there & expected the whole dive bar thing & got it in spades.
I never went up to the bar to order, so I can't judge/vouch for the bartenders, but I didn't hear anyone at my table complaining. & we mostly ordered just plain old beers, so there's not much by the way of screwing up twisting a cap off.
I do know that at one point I mentioned that it was like all of the kids who were still bitter about being called freaks in high school got together in a bar that smelled of your typical frat house. & that's about right.
(sidebar: I was called a freak more times than I care to remember, but dude ... get over it & certainly don't turn into exactly the type of people you so openly disdain)
What made my first visit memorable was the rudeness of the clientele. Now I get that it's cool to be uncool in a decidedly uncool-but-cool place as this, but that doesn't mean you have to be a dick about it. You won't ruin your edgy streetwise hipster rep if you say, oh, I dunno, THANK YOU when we offer you a chair. You won't tarnish your strategically over-washed Che Guevara t-shirt image by smiling at the woman with the unassuming bob & perky shoes. You won't give up your indie cred if you resist openly mocking the fact that the woman in front of you isn't cool enough to have her nose pierced/face tattooed/earlobes stretched.
Yeah, I may not look like I belong here, but you don't know what's going on underneath this seemingly demure exterior.
So to the flock of wasted band groupie wannabes who surrounded our table in the attempt to freak us up outta there ... you're bigger douchebags than the douchiest Chads.
To the height-challenged couple who insisted on making out in front of the world while dropping bottles & falling atop those broken bottles on the floor moments later ... you're also douchebags.
& finally, to the third wheel to the over-served douchy couple who - at last viewing - was spitting up as what could only be a precursor to a major vomit session ... I hope you're feeling better, man.
When you feeling like getting absolutely smashed by yourself and don't feel like shelling out an arm & a leg for a beer, you go to L&L Tavern. I had my very first PBR here and I've never looked back since. This place is also unique in the sense that they're one of a handful of bars in Chicago (and in the country) that sells Jeppeson Malort.
L&L reminds me that going out in Lakeview is still worth the trouble.
'Nuff said.
I don't get around to this bar enough, of course I can't drink like I used to, but it is: a bar, a dive, a sinkhole, a garden in the middle of a sewer.
What it is not is a place for pretentious little shit's who feel the need to be coddled because they are now old enough to legally step in. it is not a place where people go dressed in the latest retro fashions to show how original they might be.
If you go to a bar to drink (and last I checked that's what bars were for), this place is great. Good prices, wide selection; it's an aged single malt with a bouquet of reality. The only thing it lacks is a bigger window to watch the circus of the lost parading down Clark Street.
Funy thing is the L & L is not aspiring to be a Dive bar. Its been the same way for a million years. My old boss who died a few years back when she was I dont know 104 told me stories of hanging her when she was still hot. I personally have been coming for 12 years. Yeah there are drunks, crackheads, hipsters and whores here. Thats what makes it great. Drinks are cheap , if you are nice to the staff they wont be an asshole to you. Don't order stupid faggy drinks here or try to take your own beer from the cooler and it will be ok. Besides do you need friends so bad you need them to validate your every sentence?
PS. To my douchebag ex please stop going here. It was mine first and I want it back
I love that the beers are lined up on the shelf according to price and you usually just have to point and mumble to get the one you want. During the week it's filled with all sorts of interesting characters, usually will talk to you, sometimes talking to themselves. Yes, it's a dive in the truest form and someday I want to convince the owner to give me the PBR beer mirror...in Spanish.
In my stumble home from Wrigley I'll make a stop off here for one last one and hit up the water cooler in the front. God knows how much the water is actually replaced, but if you are drinking from a water cooler in a bar it probably doesn't matter.
Barstaff no nonsense yet friendly if you keep the attitude at home.
I discovered this place through my cousin, and I found myself surprisingly comforted with the idea of being a regular here. Unfortunately, I just don't bother with the Belmont area much these days...
But this bar is a simple no shit establishment with cheap drinks, daily specials, and friendly bartenders to keep you busy in one way or another.
In the handful of times I've been here, it's never been busy and I get the feeling that's just how it goes. You can definitely come here to get your drink and either be left alone peacefully or start a conversation with a fellow drinker.
Oh, the L & L.
Too many times I have walked out of here and how I ended up not passing out in a gutter is beyond me.
Strip it down and it is a friendly neighborhood bar.
Yes, you'll see old men nursing their drinks. Yes, you'll see hipsters and it will be crowded (but what do you expect rolling in late at night on a weekend?). I have also run into old High School friends, neighbors, and once, my brother.
Cheap drinks, and for every bartender that isn't nice, there is always a nice one.
It isn't Mecca, people, it's a bar.
Best thing... the basket of tampons in the women's bathroom. Original cardboard applicator. So that you can take one back to the table and wow you friends with your rendition of "Mary had a Little Lamb" using it as a slide whistle.
Yeah, I said it. What?
a great place to get fall down drunk when you don't care anymore. This place is a dive. A fantastic dive that i love.
I can't believe I've never reviewed this place. I'd have to call it my overall favorite bar in Chicago - a place that always feels like home. I'm not sure what it is about it, but it's as comforting as ordering a PBR in mom's kitchen.
The bartenders are great and the clientele is usually decent. The drinks are stiff and cheap, so don't forget to tip well. One of the best jukeboxes left in Chicago - everything from Springsteen to CCR to the Lawrence Arms.
Within these old walls, there's much more love and good vibes than your average bar - especially one in this neighborhood. Whether it's stopping in during a warm summer Saturday for a quick one or coming in to hide from the sub-zero temps in winter, the L&L will always have a special place in my heart.
It's not that this place is one of the most disgusting dives I've ever entered that annoyed me so much, or that the rotting vinyl tile floor is so torn that it's impossible not to jiggle on your barstool let alone even scooch your stool up to the bar. It's the asshole behind the bar who got under my skin.
We went here after a long day for a beer. The place was empty on a Sunday afternoon during footbal hour. Gee; if I were the Sunday bartender lacking football clientele, I'd talk to my customers, act friendly like I gave a rat's ass that they were there, you know?
We ordered. He plunked down our drinks and walked away. Moron. I unpluncked one of the two dollar bills I'd plunked down for a tip. We finished our one drink, and left.
No wonder it's empty on a Sunday afternoon.
I genuinely like this place! Both times I've gone I've gotten good service, and it hasn't been crowded. I've also always gone around 9pm ish, when it's not crowded. Grabbed bar seats with the boy, and tried the day's special: $3 Bohemian Black Shiner something or other. It was good, and not too heavy for a dark beer.
Bartender was the lovely tattooed blonde gal. I'm not one for chatting up bartenders, but she smiled back at my thankyou before we left, and seemed to be having a good conversation with the guy sitting left of us. Thanks lady! You're sweet.
Drinks are always good & cheap, especially if you're in beer mode. Great place to chill out with friends, but go somewhere else if you want frilly drinks & atmosphere for that type of thing.
Otherwise, dress casual and settle in for some good beerage!
I love this bar. It proudly boasts serving PBR. They have a bouncer that looks like Rivers Cuomo and is the nicest guy you'll ever meet. The drinks a are cheap and the jukebox is wicked good.
The only reason it doesn't get a '5' is that their is an older female bartender whose entire conversation with you is, "do you want another?' Bartenders are paid to be friendly at least if they want a tip.
The neighborhood is crap, but I still make a trek here as often as I can. Ever since they were in Maxim magazine as one of the best dive bars in America its been a tad different crowd, but on certain nights you can get away from all that. They have a great whiskey selection and smart ass bar tenders which I love.
Try it out.. look for the blonde with all the tats...
This is what a dive bar should be- quiet except for the jukebox/ball game, everyone hammered or on their way, no decor, not very clean, cheap drinks, no bullshit. Jeopardy is the best time to visit- free beer if you get the answer to final jeopardy right!
Not much else to say about this no-frills gem. know what to expect and what not to, and you will be in for a good time.
Aside from the fact that I felt like all eyes were on me the second I stepped in this place....it was a pretty a-ok dive.
The bartender was a little cold at first but I felt like she started to warm up once she realized I was a buck-a-beer tipper (even when I'm orderin' cheap)....?
They had Hillary's speech at the DNC on and seemed to be as entertained as I was so I'll give them that!
There's a lot of straight talk about the L and L being a dive bar. Sure, it has symptoms of a dive bar: an O.G. jukebox that doesn't provide Miley Cyrus downloads and grudgingly accepts U.S. currency printed after 1990; cheap beer and dim lighting; a bartender that looks like King Hippo from Mike Tyson's Punch Out.
But there are some anti-divey elements at play. I purchased an Estonian beer here. Baltic beer screams cosmopolitan Oprah Book Club bar--not dive. Exhibit B: Cartoon Network was on the television. Why don't you just let the nerdz bring in their Robot Chicken DVDs and turn the joint into an Internet cafe? Not saying you have to show Russ Meyer films on loop but something that advertises itself as a Superstation would suffice.
Dive debate aside, I had a decent time. Kinda cramped. My final jukebox selection was cutoff by the bartender playing Jonny Cash. Didn't care for that too much, but maybe its a closing-time ritual?
In my dozen or so visits to the L&L, I have always found the place to be a haven for asshole bartenders. Personally, I don't understand the reasoning behind the rude bartender. Sure it sucks to be around a bunch of drunken idiots clambering for your attention, complaining about getting the wrong drink or perhaps hitting on you. Next thing you know they're pissing all over your bathroom like a sprinkler and projectile vomiting like the end of the Nathan's hot dog eating contest.
Regardless, you know exactly what you were getting into when you started the job. And I don't know about anyone else, but I'm sure as hell going to leave a better tip and stay for another round--not to mention--tell my friends to come join me if the bartender is happy and taking care of me. Until then, go bitch up a rope.
Love the bar. It's small and dark and they have "regulars". That's were I like to have a beer. They used to have a guy of walked around giving out popcorn. I think he died, but the memories are still positive and the people who run it are nice.
What does L and L stand for? Little and Lovely? Loose and Lady-free? Lively and Ludicrous? I do not know but I am sure that the L and L Tavern is a legitimate dive bar.
It kind of looks like the Pabst Blue Ribbon Fairy threw up in here -how many things can say PBR? A bell, stickers on the bar stool, clocks - the list goes on. PBR bottles are only two-fitty which is pretty sweet. If you want a can of the stuff you can opt for the green one which is non-alcoholic. Who knew?
I stopped by here pre-Yelp party on Wednesday because I was parked by Linens & Things and didn't want to get a ticket for exceeding the two hour parking limit. L and L was a good spot to kill an hour / drink two Miller Lites. The bartender is great - looks like he may live here though. I also enjoyed watching the Simpsons with the regulars. Hehe. I didn't notice any tighty-pants hipsters so I will give this place a solid thumbs up.
This is how your grandparents use to drink. On my most recent visit, the room was still and lonely. Solitary patrons appeared to be dozing off; companions did not speak. Suddenly, a polish gentleman in a Starter jacket rises from his stool and screams at the bartender, "I said I'll have another you fucking bitch!" She sighs "ok...", and telephones a tall older gentleman who arrives shortly and muscles the now-crying man out of the bar. The man next to me resumed his recitation of the movies of Patrick Swayze, their release date and grosses, unperturbed.
You'd never know this walking by but yeah its a freakin' bar! I for the longest time never noticed, but its your local spot if you like DIVES. And I mean like real dive... like I don't feel like I can order anything but PBR or I might get looked at funny which I already do because I am a reasonably attractive female. But yes... its totally like you stepped into your middle of nowhere truck stop, but in a good way, because everyone there are Chicagoans. But its a nice change of pace to the wrigleyville lakeview swing of things for sure.
LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! I'm a hipster and I'm in a dive bar... aren't I ironic?
LOOK AT ME! Because I will not look at you because I am too cool for that.
If any of these people went into a true dive bar they would get the crap beat out of them.
P.S. Whatever you do, do not bring a girl dressed in a white Audrey Hepburn coat ordering Amaretto Sours in here. She will stick out like a snow flake in a coal bucket...
One of my favorite dive bars. Plenty of people watching fun, all kinds of people show up as the night goes on. Some green neon, just enough lighting for your eyes to fix itself to and scan the room for the bars full flavor. Look up at the board or just above the middle of the bar and see their full line of beers. They sell the extra large size bottle of Fat tire, $7 and worth the buzz. Heineken Lights and reg $4. They play all kinds of music, no specific kind. Last night for example it went from Gun's and Roses to a forget able hip hop song. Why don't they have "Black Betty" by Spiderbait, it's a fuckin great song.
I think most people use this oasis for a bathroom break. Guys there is absofuckinglutley no reason you should be missing the target, the men's room has a urinal and a toilet. I'm an advocate for dry floors in the Men's room.
P.s. last evening, the Gothic dominatrix ladies that walked in, all black attire and look, WoOT! Hot.
It's funny because I went to this bar for the first time with a friend of mine who is an epitome of the clientele. He's a chilled-out Gen-x punk who since gave up his balls to get married. Any bar that has a hot tattooed lady bartender will honestly get me to enjoy my night there. From what I remember since It was a while since I've been there, the drinks were priced pretty well.
The L AND L TAVERN is certainly a mixed bag. My experiences have been varied, but never terrible.
I'm personally a huge fan of skipping out of work or class early and heading to the L AND L for some Jeopardy. Patrons are invited to participate in Final Jeopardy by writing the question down on a piece of paper. If you're right, you get a free beer. The daytime bartender is occasionally this burly dude who is friendly enough but might annoy you with his wealth of (occasionally inaccurate) knowledge.
It can be a little frustrating when you spend several dollars on a jukebox playlist only to have the bartenders shut it off for a Cubs game.
I think the dude with the pirate earrings is the owner. He'll usually knock back a few shots and then head to the back of the bar and move some boxes around.
This one time I was sitting at the L AND L midafternoon trying to watch Jeopardy with minimal interruption from the garrulous bartender and drink a PBR in a nonironic way. Suddenly the PBR promotions representative rolled through the door and bought a round of PBRs for everyone who was drinking PBR! That's better than trading your driver's license number for a pack of cigarettes.
Then there was the night that I headed here for a birthday party after I'd been at an awards dinner. I was horribly, unfashionably overdressed in a full suit. The bouncer, who looked as though he'd gotten lost on his way to a Fall Out Boy concert, joked to my girlfriend about how I had been smoking the vaporizer while I waited for her. I think he might have been suggesting that I was a "square." It was my first experience with wardrobe discrimination in Chicago and I felt violated.
Fortunately, my favorite time to go to this bar is during the daytime. There are no crowds, no bouncers. And there is always Jeopardy.
If having fat, tattooed people being rude to you is what you consider a good time then by all means! Come in and have a few drinks with rich people pretending they are poor!
This place is awful, its a bar in a yuppie neighborhood ASPIRING to be a dive bar. It has about as much charm as that street punk kid you knew in high school who didn't bathe on purpose and dyed his hair to piss off his guidance counselor mom. If you like L and L, chances are you are in fact an asshole.
In response to David F., thank GOD there is still a place like this open in Lakeview! Just because I prefer to live near the lake and in a safe area does not in any way indicate I prefer to spend my hang out time with the striped shirt dudes of Wrigleyville. What would I do if my only other options were The Cubby Bear and Harry Caray's? I would immediately get on the wagon, that's what would happen.
Keys to enjoying yourself at this establishment:
Skinny jeans
scarf (even if 90 degrees out)
black rimmed glasses
holier than thou attitude
lack of hygiene and ownership of comb/bush
horrible taste in music
Che Guevara or NOFX tee
satchel with pins supporting your "cause"
If you even think of coming into this place, do your best to not wear anything that can resemble "new" or name brand. You will be silently judged and ridiculed if not sporting said hipster apparel. You must go dumpster diving, take up ultra liberal cause (Eco terrorism comes to mind), judge all conformist for not conforming to their ideas, and have been to one "punk" show recently even though real punk died quite some time ago.
We use to have a name for these tools in high school: Nerds.
Tiny, dirty and cheap. Just how I like my bars!
This place is an oasis in Wrigleyville, a safe haven for those not fond of all the frat boys with striped shirts and spikey hair.
If you looked up "dive bar" in a dictionary or encylopedia - the L&L would be a prime example. It embodies that vibe and that's why I love this place.
Six Bucks Before Six
Neighborhood: South Loop
Free Aperitif On Arrival!
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Category: Bars
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Category: Pubs
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