Underbar
3243 N Western Ave
(between Belmont Ave & Clybourn Ave)
Chicago, IL 60618 (773) 404-9363
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 9:00 p.m.-4:00 a.m.
Fri, Sun 9:00 p.m.-4:00 a.m.
Sat 9:00 p.m.-5:00 a.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Music: DJ, Juke Box
- Best Nights: Wed, Thu, Sun
- Happy Hour: No
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
20 reviews
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
"Gscotts is a LP original and its nice to have a bar in the area that isnt flooded with you know what...its a change of pace from the other…" read more »
31 Reviews for Underbar
Decent late-night post-Hungry Brain destination. They have expensive fancy schmancy beer, if you're into that. For the non-beer snobs in the room (HI!!!) they also have $2.50 PBR on tap. The last time I was there they played Deerhunter's "Cryptograms" in its entirety, which is almost enough to bump it up to 4 stars.
My only question... when you're out drinking until 5 am, can you really appreciate a $10 beer? Really?
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Funny (3)
Cool (3)
Checked out the late-night scene at Underbar this weekend and was pleasantly surprised. As one would imagine (since it was, after all, 3 in the morning) there were some unsavory characters...but there were also some really nice people just hanging out, enjoying their beers. I like being able to go to a bar and having the option of striking up a conversation with a stranger without feeling uncomfortable. So that was a plus! And they have Gumballhead on tap! Yes yes yes!
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
i like coming here pre-midnight and getting the bar to yourself and the people you came w. super nice staff. after 1 am--avoid like the plague.
Wow, we must have hit this place on an off night. We came in around 7:30 on a Tuesday and the place was totally dead. This would have been fine. What was NOT fine was the bartender and three of her friends practicing their go-go dancing routine in the middle of the bar floor starting at about 7:45 and ending....well we were chased away before they stopped. Actually, even that might have been okay if they didn't play a Neil Diamond song and the theme from the Partridge Family (I couldn't make this stuff up) over and over to practice. Seriously, I realize there were only two paying patrons there, but this is a bar, not a dance studio. They also went ahead and played their music loud enough that we couldn't hear each other no matter where in the bar we sat.
The dance hall days and the $30 minimum charge on credit cards ensures I'll likely not be going back.
I love this bar. The lighting is low & sexy, the bartenders are fast but keep out of your grill, and the music selection is solid. It's a great place for meeting up with friends who live all over the city; since it is near the intersection of Belmont, Western, & Clybourn, it is easy for just about anyone to get to. Crowds are non-pretentious. Prices are moderate.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
If this were as cheap as the Hungry Brain it would be the perfect bar. It's small but not gross, not too loud, and good selection.
Celebrity sighting: Brendan Kelly of the Lawrence Arms, while wasted, told my friends and I that we should all do tequila shots. He then told us he didn't have any money. What an asshole.
If you go here early (meaning before midnight), chances are good you can talk the bartender into borrowing a game of Scrabble from behind the bar. The drinks are good at decent prices and the bartenders are very nice. One even plays whole obscure Depeche Mode albums, which ranks up there in my book.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
The cops sit under Western's bridge to nowhere in unmarked cars and wait to hassle / talk to customers stumbling in past two. Not worth it. I had an uneasy feeling of being cop bait and I'm quite certain they're part of the crowd too. I took a hot shower when I got home. The owner needs to "donate" a little more to our city's finest or move this to a new location. With the new nanny law that mandates after hours bars must have a camera, this ends up being far too Orwellian for my tastes.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (2)
By far, the best after hours bar in the area! I used to go to Estelle's and found myself not liking it there anymore - way too crowded & creepy guys just like most after hours bars. Underbar, however is the tops! It hasn't been overcrowded any of the times I've been there and they carry a good selection of beers (La Fin Du Monde). The crowd, atmosphere, & music is a little more rock 'n roll which is just the way I like it!
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Pre-2am, this bar is perfect for anti-social weirdos like myself. It's quiet, dark, empty and the beer selection is great. It's a great place to go with someone if you actually want to have a conversation AND a drink. After 2am, it starts filling up and gets pretty packed and is fun on a completely different level. Underbar is one of my go-to places.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
I seem to have wound up here after going to other bars, twice. I had no idea this place even existed!
It's a cute place, and usually the bartenders have the ipod playing some decent tunes. The bartenders are great and the drinks tasty and reasonably priced.
Being a 4am bar, it's not so crowded until 2 am, which is great if you want to sit and have a good conversation. After 2 am, the rush hits and it gets noisy and crowded.
The crowd is a little stand offish to newcomers, so be prepared. However, everyone has been nice when encountered.
I could see being there a lot if I lived in the hood. Give it a try!
like the continental only smells more like a restroom. only thing going for it is the 4 am license and the "diverse" crowd so one never realizes she is technically in lakeview. people are druuuhhhhnk here.
despite its location *under* the western avenue overpass (clever-clever), one seems to always be able to hail a cab. i think the assy cabbies know to line up and take advantage of the 4am'ers. (um we a**bags deserve it no doubt.)
A solid 4am bar. In fact it's the one I tend to go to most often now that the smoking ban is in effect and you don't have to wait in line to get in (or out for a cigarette). The clientle seems to veer between rockers and college kids, so sometimes they sort of rub each other the wrong way so interparty socializing isn't huge, but if you're just into a late-night bar to spend with some friends or the pal you just met before last call at another bar, this is a good place to head towards.
Ooooh, Underbar. You're cute! And you have Three Floyd's Beer. I just want to pinch your cheeks!
Although Underbar is a little out of my way I am glad I swung by for a beer Saturday night. It totally reminds me of Lemmings minus the pool room in the back. The place was d-to-the-dead around 9:30 PM. Around 10, things picked up a tad when a few sets of couples strolled in. After reading other reviews, this place appears to start bumpin' late night so I will have to come back when I'm in my "I'll stay out all night, I don't care cuz I'm a ROCKSTAR" mode.
People thought this was:
Useful (7)
Funny (7)
Cool (7)
I'm not a huge fan of late night bars in general - I'd rather sit and enjoy a quality beverage with my friends than worry about seeing and being seen.
That said, this place is great (and relatively hipster-free) before the late hours of the night. They have a surprisingly good beer selection, and the prices are reasonable. Friendly bartenders and easy parking make it just that much better.
This place is located sort of equally inconveniently from the "big three" Chicago northside neighborhoods (WP/Bucktown, Lincoln Park, and Lakeview) but honestly that's one of its charms. You get a crowd of folks who are fairly determined to be there, even if they don't get there until 2 AM (I keep my street cred by arriving promptly at 1:55). Makes for a good, fuzzy-brained dynamic for a nightcap, but the real reason I like this place is because they have a way above-average beer selection.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Underbar is open late, but that's about all I enjoy about it.
The crowd is overly white for Chicago, the beer (other than Pabst) is overpriced and space is cramped.
Maybe it's just me, but drinking just across the street from a police depot seems like a really bad idea.
As a late-night joint, I'd rank it over Christine's Place but under Estelle's.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (2)
God, I'm always wasted out of my gourd by the time I show up here. It always sounds like a fantastic idea when it's 2am and the other bar is closing. I don't think I would recognize it if I walked in sober.
The parking is weird, prepare to be confused. If you're looking for a 4am nightclub with See-And-Be-Seen Trixie dancing the night away to DJ Cooler-Than-You (CTY to his friends, werd), you really don't want to come here. Good beer, great service, and a very strong rock n roll industry type crowd define this bar.
Don't stumble out to your car with vomit on your shirt, the police station's across the street.
What a strange little place. Yes, I am a Bluelight refugee. I used to love that old dive. It had a comfortable, welcoming ambience. The new Bluelight - not so much but that's whole other review.
I, like many others, used to always walk past this place without ever walking in. The other night, desperate to get my final smoke in before the ban took effect, I decided to go Hungry Brain. But Hungry Brain was way too packed. Everybody was thinking the same thing. So in desperation I decided to go to the Bluelight. But I didn't want to go to the Bluelight! I peaked through the window of the Underbar and made an executive decision: We were going to try the Underbar.
We walked in around 11pm on a Saturday night. Incense was burning. It was nice but a little strange to smell incense in a bar. I was surprised, it wasn't that packed but then I remembered this is a 4 am bar.
The crowd that was present was very diverse. Hipsters, locals, working people, some yuppies. Service was fast. Bartender was polite.
On tap selection is small - only four choices. But they do have a wide selection of bottled beer. Pretty nice.
This is a basically a nice, clean 4 am bar. I might actually make it a special trip to the place early in the evening if I felt like a quiet bar. I'm sure this place can get pretty packed in the evening.
Only reason I subtract a star: There are not a lot of tables. I suspect it becomes standing room only pretty quickly when it fills up. Also, somebody was playing rap music all night. Yuck.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (1)
I used to head to the Bluelight next door for a nightcap- not anymore since it was taken over. I had heard that Underbar was overrun with frat boy types so I had never stopped in until one night when the Bluelight looked hopelessly awful and I I decided to go next door.
I am so pissed that I had waited so long to try this Underbar out. The beer selection rivals that of Hopleaf and Map Room... and it's a late bar! The bartenders are on the ball, even when it gets crowded. If you can get there early enough for a seat at the bar, you're set. There are some good specials as well. If only I lived closer....
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Friendly bartender, but not aggressively so, fast service! That was nice. Small selection on tap, but with some genuinely choice brews (Chambly nior, one of the best beers I have tasted). The crowds are usually genial and quiet. The lighting is perfect! Dark and intimate, yet light enough to see and very conductive to socializing and conversation. Would be five stars if bathroom wasn't a one-seater and seating did not fill up so swiftly.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
Underbar is a nice cozy small bar, with friendly people and great selection of beer. Parking is hard and the hours are great!
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
The idea of this place always sounds like a good idea at 2AM: it's kind of off the beaten path, good owners and staff, beer selection, etc. The problem is I get here late-night, and it's packed with a lot of idiots.
Used to be that the blue light 2 doors down would save the night! But it got bought out and fancied up and now that another old dumpy dive bit the dust it appears I just need to figure Underbar out- I know there's a bar here I'll like under the right conditions, I just have to think to get my butt in there earlier.
I used to think the liars club people owned the place (plus I'd see Herb here a bunch) but somebody told me it's owned by the folks who own green eye instead? Hmmm, whatever the case, the point is it's a bar in that vain, with a little bit of a rock-n-roller vibe to it, with good background music and drinks.
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
This place is real swell.
Weeknights. Weekends. Sunday afternoons. I like.
After 2am, its tolerable, but barely. It gets very crowded.
Otherwise, the staff is nice.
The beer is good.
The cocktails are stiff enough.
During the "off-hours," it really is the perfect place to come with a friend and just shoot the shit, catch up, or engage in some deep philosophical conversation. The bartenders do their own thing and let you be. And sometimes, that is just what you want..
The Underbar-Green Eye-Lemmings triumverate never disappoints me. Cheers.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Probably the best place in the city I've been to for 4am drinks. Coming here during off-hours is nice, too. It's nice that it's right on Western under the viaduct, easily accessible by bus.
The bartenders are nice (they rotate them within the other two bars) and the beer selection is impressive. The tunes are great too.
Like everywhere, this place gets overrun by douchebags around 2am. This is about the best place around if you're out past the normal drinking hours (in terms of "normal bars"). This place would win in a cage match vs. Estelles or any Lincoln Park bar, but pit it against some of the 4am places in the sketchier neighborhoods and Underbar would run off sobbing.
Word to the wise: my friend's good friend got mugged outside here recently at like 3am on a Wednesday. So use caution late at night. Gee, who knew police stations behind 5 acres of parking don't really help stop neighborhood crime, even if they are across the street.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Sure beats going to the Blue Light. Crowded. Nothing special, but nothing bad either. Good place to drink when you should have stopped 4 beers ago.
My Favorite bar and bartenders, and it's open late night and yes it does get pretty crowded after 2am. Bar opens @ 4pm till 4am Mon-Fri and till 5am on Sat. No real drama or overly drunk idiots at this bar ,you can hang with a friend and chat without being bothered. If you prefer that than there is next door. :) As in you won't have much of a choice with some of the drunken dummies here. Things have changed some since it changed owners and was totally remodeled. Less hillbillies, more teeth and actual doors on bathrooms.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
If you didn't get enough to drink by 2 or 3 you will need to visit this place. I sometimes frequent this place after a long and late night of work. Bar staff is friendly and offer up a good selection of beers. Be warned that the place gets slammed by hipsters right around 2:15 or 3:15 depending on what night you go there.
I went last night and really enjoyed myself. My friend and I sat at the bar and were able to have a full blown intense conversation without anyone bothering us or the music being too loud. It was out of the way so it wasn't even remotely crowded (which I prefer). The bar tender was awesome and approachable. The other patrons were pretty respectful and adult for the most part. I will definitely go back if given the chance.
It's OK...not GREAT, not BAD, just OK. Not worth the trip, but still OK.
i had a conversation recently with friends in which we discussed the fact that if the place were to close tomorrow we wouldn't mind at all. i don't hate the place but the choice to come usually comes at a point where we all want to stay out but don't have the energy to head up to carol's or down to estelle's. therefore we battle the sardine can of the crowd, the expensive beers and by the time we're halfway done with our first drink, decide we'd all be much happier just going calling it a night.
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed...
Related Lists
-
4 a.m. bars
Why stop at 2 a.m.? These Chicago bars go the… -
My Neighborhood
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,… -
Only Dopes Do Dope- So I…
My best shot at ranking all the drinking places I… -
Avondale Adventures
My old neighborhood ain't hip or trendy, but it's…
Hot and New
- Roy's Furniture Co
54 reviews
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
- Knee Deep Vintage
30 reviews
Neighborhood: Pilsen
- Piccolo Sogno
27 reviews
Neighborhood: Near West Side
- La Gondola Italian Restaurant
107 reviews
Neighborhood: Lakeview
- A Tavola
48 reviews
Neighborhood: Ukrainian Village
