The Bar Below

Chicago is hot and sticky in the summertime - but if you want to watch a game while wearing your favorite sports jersey THIS IS THE PLACE! It's in the basement and an absolute icebox at times. I am not complaining. Lots of space with two separate rooms. Private dining room is available too. Good menu, full bar, good prices. I wonder if they are owned by the same people upstairs at Beef and Brandy - those guys rock and The Bar Below does too.

Great service - huge portions. Check the posters and boards for specials. Right next door to the Palmer House. Beer specials can be $5 if you aren't picky, but cocktails are over $10. So be prepared. Stairs only - I didn't see an elevator, though I may be mistaken.

I have to get this off my chest: the lemon drop martini is terrible. Please go taste some around town (Cheesecake Factory, Maestro's, etc.) and make yours better. I'm not exaggerating, this tasted like cleaner.

I really like the vibe here. I like the menu, it's normal tasty food with a spin or a twist. The BBQ sandwich is fantastic and the tater tots are a treat. It feels like a neighborhood spot you want to visit weekly. We probably will actually!

Last night I had the chicken and waffle sliders. They were so tasty! A little too spicy for me, but I'm a baby. Still ate 2 of 3 because the sweet/hot combo was good! Our server was great! The drink list is massive and I always have a hard time choosing what to eat. Also, if you like Mac & Cheese, you'd better order it here. My friends went nuts over the white truffle and mushroom one.

The bar below is literally down below. The space is cute, definitely could see it being a good happy hour spot. We stopped by for some apps and a drink before a show. Great selection of beers both draft and bottled. Overall, it checked the boxes but nothing overly extraordinary. Got a beer and my friend got a cocktail but had to send it back and got a beer instead. Service was good, food was fine.

The name is pretty much what it is...the bar below a restaurant by the name of Beef & Brandy.

I sometimes drop by after work or if I just happen to be walking down state street post shopping. Cool space down there and the bar is a funny wavy shape but you can go ahead and get in where you fit in. There is a dining area as well and a pool table if you want to get your competitive juices going. The beer list is very nice and there are lots of options...full bar here also so they can accommodate anything you're looking for. Extensive food menu, but I have only had the quesadillas that were very good. The shrimp tacos are pretty good as well...washed them down with a St Bernardus beer. There is a television at the end of each side of the bar if you wanna catch some sports. The staff is usually very conversational as well and are good for a laugh.

I like bar below and its a good spot to check out for lunch or after work as they have a pretty nice crowd then.

My husband and I went here for lunch around 2:30 after the Chicago Marathon. We were not the only people to have this idea. I will warn marathoners that there are steps to negotiate, which can be tough after 26.2 miles. They were understandably slammed, so service was a tad slow. After we received a server, someone came right back to check on us to make sure we were ok. The food arrived in a timely manner shortly thereafter. My crab mac n'cheese was tasty. But not a whole lot of chunks of crabs. My husband loved his wings. The restroom is roomy enough to change out of wet running clothes, if needed.

I wasn't supposed to be here. My $&@^* car wouldn't start and it was parked on the tenth floor of a parking garage smack in the middle of the South Loop.

While I'm waiting the hour and 20 minutes for AAA (really AAA? It was beautiful outside. That's my next review), I started wondering around the Loop rather aimlessly looking to kill some time.

Bottom Bar's sign jumped out at me. Something about it was inviting enough to entice me downstairs.

All the employees are really nice. Their menus are clip boards with like 20 pages of beer choices: IPA's, berry beers, gluten-free beers, beers on tap, beer in the bottle, etc. More beer choices than cereal brands in a grocery store.

Way at the end, like 20 pages into it, appeared the food choices. I was expecting fried everything fried in four-week old oil. Boy was I wrong.

I wasn't sure when Rudy the tow-truck driver was going to arrive and I was supposed to eat with some Yelp friends, so I only ordered the jalapeño hummus with fresh vegetables.

It was AMAZING! Perhaps the best humus in Chicago. The veggies were crisp and cold. I was seriously ready to lick the sides of the bowl if I wasn't worried about my picture appearing on someone's Facebook feed.

They have free Wifi, no password needed. Non sequitur, I realize, but I thought you should know.

This is a comfortable place to kick back with friends after work. Not pretentious, reasonably priced, great choice in the Loop. I'll likely return, even if my car is turning on.

Just ok. Randomly, I wish the lights weren't so bright in this place. For a place where I think I'm going "below" it was very cheery and bright.

I was hoping for more of a bar feel, but this was definitely a restaurant. Drinks were fine, service was good and the happy hour was nice.

I do like their selection of drinks, quite an extensive list. I'd like to come back and try it again later in the evening. I'm half and half on this one.

Blerp.

My partner, my friend, and I were visiting Chicago for her birthday and a nice Memorial Day vacation weekend. This bar was right around the corner from our hotel (The Palmer House) and was very convenient when we were returning for the night from our adventures out in the city.

The service was great and friendly. Our bartender (Mike) was friendly, chatty, and made great strong drinks. We talked about our trip to the city and he suggested some places for us to go and see and when he learned of my friends birthday, he told us to come back for a drink on the house the next day. We did, he remembered, and the birthday drink was on the house!

This place is LITERALLY below the B&B restaurant and the stairs are steep, but don't be intimidated. This place was great. Order some fries with your drink!

Well, based on the reviews and pictures, this place must have an issue with consistency. My Spinach and Artichoke did not look like the pictures. It did not have a layer of cheese and it was mainly spinach and artichoke with a little moisture/sauce.

I do agree the service was a little slow. The staff barely checked on us and the food was taking a little longer than I am used too. I did order the cheese curds and they were delicious. My spinach and artichoke was a little disappointing.

However, my girlfriend is a fan of their cocktails and this is mainly why we keep coming back every few months. But I am a little iffy about order any of the food.

I was excited to go here based on the reviews but was highly disappointed in the service and the food as well as the drinks.

My experience started off pretty well, I was showed my table and given my menu. I asked about the happy hour and she told me the martinis and cocktails were $7 for happy hour. I ordered one.. when the bill came I was charged $10 for each drink and was told my a diff waiter that only "some" drinks were discounted for happy hour. It would have been nice to have been told that prior to ordering!

Then I ordered the shrimp tacos.. mistake number two. They were dry and flavorless . I should have known better than to order tacos from a bar, lol.

Third, i had to talk to 2-3 severs to actually get any service. I asked for a to go box, extra salsa, water and everything took forever to get!

I would definitely not be back here and would recommend others check out a diff bar.