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Category: Pubs
Neighborhood: LakeviewIrving Park (Brown)
Mon-Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Sun. 7:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
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I've lived within stumbling distance of this place for about 2.5 years and had never been until last month.
THIS IS A FUCKING TRAVESTY.
They have a million beers, an old-ass photobooth (which I am FOR SURE using the next time I'm there), and is across the street from my beloved Diner Grill.
And even on a Friday night, the crowd was light years from douchey, the music was at the perfect volume, and getting a table or a beer was all kinds of easy.
So...uh...who wants to get ripped and play in the photobooth and then run across the street and eat slingers and pray for death?
So there i am sitting in amazement at the dogfish head beer selection on the menu, ignoring the swingers to my right, semi flirting with the cute bartendar by asserting my beer knowledge and ordering the dogfish stout.......completely forgetting I am in chicago when bam up walks John Doe inquiring about the possibility of ordering a Schlitz..
It was perfect.
This bar has a diverse beer menu and attracts diverse patrons to match. It is definitely a long room, but a perfect spot to catch up with friends and enjoy a few. If I lived closer, this would be my bar.
Thank you long room for having a plentiful dogfish head menu...oh and chimay....oh and schlitz too.
Wide beer selection, fair prices, good bartenders, down-to-earth patrons that are very friendly and easy to talk to. Not to mention, a rare bar without TVs, a great smoking patio(be warned it closes before music acts start playing), free evening parking in the lot across the driveway, and a place that doesn't overcharge(unlike too many bars) for beers like La Fin du Monde, or Delirium Tremens. Great pluses that they have a BYO food policy, and a photobooth for those who seek them out.
Not a knock I've found, and I only just wish I got here more often.
What can I say, I'm a photobooth addict, if its not clear already ;)
I saw this bar on a photobooth directory site so that was my main reasoning for selecting it as opposed to the seventy-trillion other bars in town. After having a few too many drinks, I now know why they put it in a bars :o)
For a while we played 'how many people can we jam into the photobooth' and then figured out ridiculous ways to divvy up the pictures between myself, my friends and even strangers.
The staff got a kick out of it, and wasn't annoyed though I could see why they might have been. The beer selection is some of the best and the cool folks behind the bar gave us all some pretty fantastic recommendations on what to try.
This place *might* win my heart...best bar in the city? The world?
It's truly, and convincingly possible.
Allagash on draught (oh, thank you PDX) + a vintage photobooth = most of my bar-like dreams come true. Frothy "black 'n white" smiles are utter perfection.
The music is never intrusive, nor are the patrons/staff (excludes Fridays/Saturdays). People have discovered the charms of this place, I recommend a weekday, if possible.
Sidenote/random bonus: The lot next door is free parking for Long Room AND Diner Grill is across the street. I've just planned a perfect night for you! Enjoy ;)
ps. Anyone know where they get those radical light fixtures? I want one.
Jimminy Christmas, what took me so long to get here? I love this place!
Great beer selection (though…
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Remarkably deft beer selection with most on-taps at $5 a pint.
Even when busy, the staff still took time to explain a couple of beers to me, which I appreciate. Too many beer snobs in the city give you "the look" when you ask too many questions. Not the case at Long Room.
Friendly staff, great atmosphere, and a pleasant outdoor area. Will definitely be back for more.
I always kind of forget that the Long Room is there. I've heard about the great beer selection and it's not far from my houjse, but I always just forget about it when it comes time to plan a night out. Well I finally remembered it last night (after a few drinks at Delilah's) and I'm pretty sure I'll never forget it again.
At 12:30am on a Saturday night, the place was lively and full but not packed and obnoxious. We were able to score a table for four and service was quick. But the real winner was the beer list - plenty of porters for me to choose from, around 10 diffrent bottles of Dogfishead for the husband - had they just had some Great Divide I would have been in heaven. Even without my favorite beer though, it was still enough to win me over.
New Belgium La Folie on tap, in Illinois. That along with the awesome multi level back patio is enough to make the Long Room a five star watering hole. Factor in the great decor, extensive and very clearly premeditated beer list, and friendly laid back bartender and this ladies and gentleman is a definite winner.
Went up for first round of drinks. $17, paid with a 20, watched the bartender stuff my change in the tip bucket, then walk away. Had to wait a few minutes, standing there in shock, until another bartender came and asked me if I needed help. He gave me my three dollars back. I never went back. I never will.
Long Room is one of my new favorite bars. It's very low-key, but not a dive. A very diverse crowd of all different age groups go there.
And, even for someone who's not a die-hard beer drinker, they have a really impressive list of beers from all over. And on tap! I brought a friend from out of town there once because she is OBSESSED with beer and a beer snob, and she was thrilled about their menu.
The only thing is that the bartenders sometimes seem more about the regulars than everyone else...even if you've been coming in there pretty consistently for a few months. But whatever, it's a good place.
A long list of reasons that I love the Long Room:
1. Holy beer selection, Batman! Usually 10-15 good drafts and 75 or so awesome bottles. And it changes!
2. Truth in advertising - this is one loooooooong room.
3. On Saturday nights, both the real tamale guy and the impostor are guaranteed to show up. (Confession: I like the impostor's cheese tamales better than Claudio's.)
4. The bartenders are super-nice. (And one of them thought my friend was cute! If he calls her I'll bump it up a star.)
5. A photo booth? Yee haw!
6. The back patio is absolutely lovely during the summer months.
7. They have a parking lot! It is just west of the bar on Irving. It's only open after regular business hours, but it's a nice feature.
8. They're across the street from the Diner Grill! You can drink all the awesome beer you want and then wash it down with a Slinger. :)
9. Chill, laid back patrons.
10. Live music!
The final leg of the All-out Wednesday Night Blitzing
After going to Crew for Uptown Day Drinkers, Holiday Club for freebies, Ravenswood Billboard for MORE freebies, I ran into a friend who couldn't get into Billboard so we rolled across the street from Papa Romeo's and headed into Long Room.
It was orange, very orange and had New York lounge scene on it minus the good music, fashionistas and $10 Long Island Iced Teas. Rolled in and took it all in while a buddy of mine decides that we should sit at the bar and check the place out. Being the most tore up, I didn't even want to look at the drink menu. My friends were impressed by the width and depth of the beer list and were pleased. Of course since my friend was buying us a round, we were treated to some delicious ice cold........PBR!!!
Yum!
1 star for outdoor seating
1 star for bell's two hearted ale
1 star for the photobooth
1 star the decor
-1 star because there are 5 photos on their website that i took and they never asked if they could use them.
i always seem to have a good time at the long room even if my memory of it's a little fuzzy sometimes. i mean, the photobooth pictures always look happy..and sloshy
This is a great bar. I was cranky about having to schlepp up here the other night, since it was out of the way for our entire group, but that isn't the bar's fault.
The outdoor seating is sweet. The wooden bench leans back, which was both unexpected and fun. The beer list is excellent. The bartender was able to suggest a fun, different ESB for me. I dig that they have specials every night.
I've had a few trips to the Long Room, and none have left me disappointed. One was after an amazing non-date*, and the latest was with my lovely girlfriends, on a mission to continue our fun and fantastic evening out. (According to our cabbie, it was the first of ten bars we would visit that night.)
Great selection of beers, which is much appreciated. I realize that I just wrote a review singing the praises of the $2.50 Miller Lite, but I go both ways. Ugh, I mean with my beer drinking--I like 'em cheap sometimes, and sometimes I like 'em a bit nicer. For what it's worth, LR had a Three Floyds on special for $4 for a pint...not too shabby either.
Well, after the Three Floyds, i realized silly me, it's girls night, I should be drinking vodka. Unfortunately, they did not have my beloved blueberi stoli, but I settled for a regular. And know what? At $6 a pop for my fave vodka drink, I was pleasantly surprised.
Unfortunately, I have not ventured back to the photo booth at this place (shocking, I know), but I have a feeling I'll be back.
*non-date = dinner (or similar outing) where you are seeing someone socially, enjoying his/her company, yet not wanting a relationship. But you're probably making out with that person.
Long Room is awesome.
Favorite night? Tuesdays for $1 PBRs and $2 Jim Beam. Bring a few more singles for the photo booth and you're golden.
Can get crowded on the weekends, but whateves.
And the back patio is great!
I'm not certain which I like better: the great on tap selection at a reasonable price or the fact I can walk there in under a minute from my apartment.
Certainly an interesting place with a unique atmosphere. Kind of has a coffee shop vibe, but with alcohol instead of coffee.
Great patio to sit and chat over a drink... when the weather warms that is.
I think I'll be visiting here more often than not.
edit: The Gumball beer they currently have on tap is divine. And the wait staff is rather friendly. I think I found my new watering hole... though hole does not do this place justice.
Ah, the Long Room, where to start? To put it simply, this is perhaps the best bar on the north side of Chicago. There are a few others in the running, The Charleston, for instance, in Bucktown, comes to mind. And I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the raffish, down on its heels Nisei Lounge in Wrigleyville, but in terms of getting just about everything right, the Long Room succeeds on virtually very level.
First, no televisions. How many bars can get away with this? When you walk in the front door instead of being bombarded by a cacophony of sports fans and flat screens, you are instead ushered into a more or less serene environment with only the suggestion of background music (and most of it great). The feeling is at once convivial and intimate, even though the bar is lonnnnnnnng. I counted once and I think they have 35 bar stools. It's a wonderful place to actually have conversations with other adults.
Secondly, clean bathrooms. Yeah, I know, I'm a dude and I'm not supposed to care, but spit-polished bathrooms really do make a difference. It says that someone is paying attention.
Thirdly, magnanimous and down-to-earth owners. Clark and Jason started this place eight years ago and from the very start they've made everyone feel like a member of the family. In the summer, even if you are just a semi-regular, you'll be invited to their barbecue on the lakefront. It's always a blast and a sign that these guys really care about the people who keep them in business.
Fourthly, product. Yeah, their beer list is fantastic, but I'm a gin drinker and it is one of the few places left that actually stocks gin other than Tanqueray. I like my Martinis with Plymouth, but they also have Boodles and Old Raj if I'm feeling adventurous.
Fifthly, atmosphere. Because of all of the above, you get an interesting mix of adults here, especially in the early evening. In fact, Chicago Magazine last year named the Long Room the best "adult bar" in Chicago. I couldn't agree more. I've nothing against the youngsters but it's nice to have a place where I can mix with people my own age.
Lastly, sheesh, I don't know, just about everything. They have parking, there's a beer garden, the place is huge so you have different feels to the different parts of the bar. Want to chat up the bartender? Sit up front near the regulars. Want to have a intimate conversation with your mate? Sit in one of the dark, circular booths in the back. Want to be raucous? Try the garden.
Seriously, this place is almost perfect.
This place has a pretty awesome beer list. You know, if I had some extra money to blow, I'd order the great ones there like Bells, Unibroue, etc. but its nice to know you can get a decent tap beer or a real cheapy like schlitz and not be judged!
This place is really cool inside, I like the wooden cut-out things coming of the booths. The back area is nice for big groups (I went for a birthday party), and we filled it up. It was great! Also, I love the photobooth! Although the advertisement on the side is incorrect. It takes 7 minutes, not 5, and its not full color! Whatever its fun anyway!
This place is pretty far out of the way for me, which is sad, but if I lived nearby, this would be my go-to bar.
Kim J. really summed it up!
Beer, photobooth, patio, Diner Grill, Tamale Guy!
Yay!
This is a great place to stop in for a beer, they have a great selection and very hip staff.
This place is one of those you can count on when you want to try some beer(s) you may not have had before.
A great list of imports/locals on tap as well as in bottles.
They have a nice patio that's open in the summer as well.
Cozy and friendly. I have never had a bad time here.
beer, beer, beer... i love beer and therefore love the long room. the bar is really nice too. i mean the bar itself.. you know the wood thing behind the counter.
The Long Room. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
First I love that you have a lengthy beer list that looks like it was custom made for me. All of my favorites are on it from Trumen Pils, to Delirium to Spaten. I like that you have craft brews from around North America as well as some seasonal varieties of those beers. For you non beer drinkers- they also have a pretty decent wine list.
I love your friendly bartender and low key ambiance. I especially like that this is the kind of dim lighting that we all look great in and I love the old style mirror behind the bar that lets you look at the entire bar in one glance. I love that this is one of the longest bars I've sat at in awhile (thus the name) and I love that people are just there to meet up with friends and have a drink.
Long Room- you had me at "hello" and then I saw that you had your own off street parking lot just west of the building and I fell in love all over again.
Is it possible to have an affair with a bar? I hope so. Cuz this is one place that I want to see again and again and again!
Delicious selection of random beers for over consumption. Strong, to quite strong, tunes reverberating throughout the "long" establishment. Didn't see any pretentious beer snob regulars giving the stink eye.
Overall, a place to have a pint or twelve and shoot the shit with your mates.
Solid.
One of my more favorite haunts in the city, but I seemingly never get over here! Where have I been that I've neglected this joint!?
Lots of good beer, cheap shots and a lively atmosphere without being too loud or overcrowded. Also, it seems to be a little older crowd-- awesome. Not a ton of just-21s getting piss drunk and yelling at each other.
This little gem fell into my lap as it were. When two of my best friends from Florida moved up to the city... they just happened to get a place a half block from this place and man am I happy.
When you walk in you realize that.. Yes... this is indeed a Long Room. It sounds cheesy but its true. It's got a great list of beers (think Delirium Trimmens on tap!) and a full list of rationally priced shots. This place just nails a perfect bar in my mind... alot of people may not like the fact that there is no TV or juke box... but I really like it, it forces you to conversate with your friends and not drift off. Also there is a open air patio in the back which is my favorite feature... the christmas lights and patio furniture are great. If you get hungry there is a Tamale guy that always comes around.
This is a great place to start an evening as well as close it. I highly recommend it.
My favorite bar in the city with an excellent beer selection that suits my ever-changing palette. Ever since the smoking ban I have found myself returning to the Long Room more and more. They have a great patio for a nice summer day and plenty of bar space to saddle up for the night. The taps always seem to be rotating and although there is no food served the Tamale Man is always on the prowl and late night eating options abound.
You know a bar is good when it is worth the 1/2 mile walk in the dead of winter.
So I'm really liking this place to just hang out with people and drink. No TVs or distractions... just a place to sit, drink, and talk with friends.
Amazing beer selection and friendly bartenders. Also, after I parked on the street I noticed a sign for Long Room parking... good to know it's available.
Excellent beer selection for a bar of this size. The best Old-Fashioned in the city according to my GF, and we're practically Violet Hour barflys, if that tells you anything.
Kudos to Jason for hosting live jazz on alternate Sundays! The Nia quintet really made our night there.
I do believe that Jason may have created one of the most perfect neighborhood bars. Great back patio. Cool patrons. Photo booth. Eclectic, but awesome mix of music. Nicholas Barron. Fabulous beer selection. Nice bartenders who can advise on said beer selection. Big, squishy booths. Even an occasional adorable dog to coo over.
I love trying new places, but there is always a little thought of "man, I could be at the Long Room instead of here" when I am in one not as wonderful as this. Whether I want a fun night out, a quiet night out or a date place, Long Room always fits the bill. Like I said, pretty much perfect.
It's not only the best neighborhood bar in the city, it's the only neighborhood bar that's lacking in pretension--whether hipster or yuppie or dive--in Chicago, period. As everyone has already mentioned, the selection is well-chosen, the prices are decent, and the staff is excellent.
But I'd go one step further and say that I've never been to a place in all of Chicago that has such decent, respectful, and non-bull people working for them. It's definitely the best place to go to if you're a newcomer to Chicago. I lived at the Long Room my first year here, because it was the only place where the staff didn't treat me like poo and where I never felt that I wasn't welcome. Some nights, the folks here brought me to tears after a rough day acclimating myself to Chicago.
After five years of being a patron, I've figured out how they do it: The Long Room has an organic feel to it like no other: from the original 40s pink-elephant wallpaper that co-owner Jason couldn't bring himself to take down to the folks behind the counter who genuinely greet you with respect but won't schmooze or kiss your butt to the non-ear-splitting level that the music is played ( they're always playing the best music mix of old and newest releases--everything and anything, 'fer reals, not watered-down bar music)., so as to allow for conversation. A watering hole where more people are talking to each other face-to-face rather than are on a cell phone or hunched over watching TV? Go figure.
It's also the only place I could see taking parents and out-of-towners and non-bar folks to and all of them feeling fairly comfortable, because neighborliness is still part of the quotient. That it's across from the Diner Grill (cheap greasy fare) and around the corner from the Ten Cat (cheap pool tables) and down the street from Timberlanes (cheap bowling) only adds to its charm.
I could go on forever, but I will say a couple more things. It is a bar where more single ladies are known to hang out, but not in that frizzy-haired Trixie way. It's just such a decent place that ladies probably feel more comfortable there. You won't see a lot of spangly tube tops here, or leery dudes with gelled hair, and it's not uncommon to catch the happy-hour crowd reading a paper or a book or asking you about a crossword clue.
Still, it's not a dive by any means. So, if you feel uncomfortable in any place that doesn't have TVs and neon PBR signs and folks dressed like a Mad Max extras, you might feel a bit turned off. And it's definitely geared toward the mid-20s and up crowd, so younger folks might find it boring.
But give it another try, and you'll see that it gets its fair share of folks: from hipsters to the odd seemingly homeless dude to the Trixie-Chad crowd. It's the closest thing you're going to get to one of those quaint neighborhood European bars: neighborly without being overly chipper or mall-deadening or exclusionary or overpriced.
The only drawback: the #80 Irving Park line stops at or around midnight, so if you live West of Damen, you're out of luck for late-hour visits. The #9 heading South will get you back to the Division Blue Line stop and you can transfer from there. But still, it's a haul if you live around the Wicker- Ukrainian Village-Bucktown area.
There is no place on earth that I would rather be drinking than The Long Room. Tasty beers, great bartenders, awesome music, and a photobooth- what more could a girl ask for?! I'll see you there.
Disclosure is that I know several people who work here and all are very respectable, kind folk who tend bar well and take care of their people. And Jason B (one of the co-owners) is pretty much THE nicest guy in Chicago.
And with that let me simply state that this is my favorite bar. Period. They have a really decent beer list that changes periodically and all beers are priced pretty reasonably. Juniper Ale please? Thank you.
The atmosphere is dark, I've only been in during daylight hours once and it was awkward, like being in a cave and seeing light only at the mouth of it.
There's always a good variety of music playing, somewhat inconspicuously depending on the crowd size, and what you hear depends on who's tending bar. Varies from brit-pop, indie hip hop or rock and the like.
Other notable pluses include the photobooth in the back room with some pretty nice booths to sit in if you have a small pow-wow and their beer garden. Most of my friends are smokers and hold this in high regard above all bars due to the fact that when the smoking ban went into effect, they kept the beer garden open with one of those new fangled heating lamps.
The only downside is that it seems like this is a place where dudes who are married or practically so go and hang out with their dude friends, not so many single dudes around to gape at. Ha.
This used to be my favorite bar in the city. I can't even say why it isn't anymore. But can a bar be a favorite when you haven't been in almost six months? I think my life just got too busy all of a sudden.
This place is wonderful for chilling. Perfect for a girl like me to sit and read or write without having to deal with a bunch of tools. Great for people watching and an excellent selection of whiskey.
The tamale man always seems to show up at the right time. I never seem him walk in but right as I'm thinking I'm a tad hungry, I turn and he is there. I think he's magic.
I have to get back to the Long Room soon.
Been here a couple of times with friends. They have a great beer selection. You should find what you are looking for. Sometimes I go for the exotic and sometimes I just have to have a Miller High Life. Either way you will find it here. The bartenders are super attentive and nice. They took the time to answer any questions I had about the beer selection. This place is also right across the street form the Diner Grill. Don't see any reason not to go back to this place.
I love a bar with no TV's. When that bar also has an excellent beer selection as well as knowledgeable and friendly bartenders, I am a happy man.
The Long Room is a great neighborhood bar. Awesome for people who like interesting beer too.
The beer selection changes every other week. You can usually get a Three Floyds, Two Brothers, Rogue or Surly. Delicious! I can often go in here and find more obscure and rare beers - rare Dogfish Head or Allagash varieties - than the Map Room or the Hopleaf.
We usually have no problem finding a place to sit at the Long Room. It does get a bit crowded later in the night though. Great outdoor space for nice weather too.
The music is one of the bartender's iPods. He will usually play Radiohead, Spoon and something by Belle and Sebastian or Camera Obscura.
I would go here even if I moved away from the neighborhood. Nothing bad to say here.
I'm all about a new bar experience. My friend Julie suggested a Friday night outing here and I was game. Only time would tell what The Long Room had in store that fateful Saturday night (don. . don. . .donnnn! . )
Well, they weren't messing around when they named this guy "The Long Room". It's a LONG bar. Skinny actually, kind of like a train car. There is ample room in the back for gathering but due to a reserved private party, we were confined to the longest, skinniest part of the bar. Per usual, I asked the bartender for the specials. $5 Manhattans. I think my Dad drinks those?? I got one (cheers, Dad!) and it was STRONG. Holy crappers. It definitely took me a while to suck that back!
I liked the scene here. A nice mix of regulars and irregulars. The tamale guy even made an appearance (but he was there around 10PM! Must be early on his rotation) The photo booth was an adventure even though my melon took up most of the pics. I would like to come back on a weeknight for a couple of beers (they're cheap!) and maybe if it was an unusually bad day, another stiff Manhattan.
I went to this place after having about 8 beers earlier. We live around the neighborhood and wanted to check it out on a Sunday Night. The decor is cute, and had live music when we walked in. A soulful band in the background played as my roommate and I drank some sweet Tramens beer. I don't remember too much but I know I had a good time.
Also, a nice bathroom and a hot waitress, which are major pluses for me.
Food Specials
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$4 x $4 Every Day
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Category: Dive Bars
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Category: Lounges
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Category: Pubs
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