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Recommended Corner Taps

  • Archie's Iowa & Rockwell Tavern
    Corner Tap
    Archie's Iowa & Rockwell Tavern Humboldt Park
    A quintessential midwestern watering hole tucked away on a quiet residential block off to the side of a burgeoning strip of bars on Western. The selection of beers and booze The selection of beers and booze includes the dive standards »
  • Bank Shots Bar and Grill
    Karaoke Bar
    Bank Shots Bar and Grill Irving Park  1
    A less flamboyant successor to late, great, Filipino Queen Albert's, Bank Shots still features karaoke anytime, a menu of cheap deep-fried snacks, and a respectable if small selection of craft beers. The wings, hand-cut shoestring fries, and $3 fried-ravioli baskets »
  • Beachwood Inn
    Dive Bar
    Beachwood Inn Wicker Park/Bucktown
    A cheap and friendly dive that's easy to miss, the Beachwood is tucked away just off Milwaukee at the intersection of Beach and Wood. It's a happy respite from the glitzy circus that is "Six Corners"—and those who think the »
  • Bucktown Pub
    Music venue
    Bucktown Pub Wicker Park/Bucktown
    This neighborhood bar is comfortably middle-of-the-road, too upscale—with its polished wood, framed concert posters on the walls, and dozen craft beers on tap—to be a dive, but still mellow. Old-timers say that its character isn't what it once was, but »
  • The Burlington
    Music venue
    The Burlington Logan Square
    Removed from the well-populated bar village sitting just east on Milwaukee Avenue, the Burlington—which had a hefty stake in the neighborhood's realm of hip prior to the recent gold rush—reinvented itself last year by adding a well-booked, acoustically sound back-room »
  • California Clipper
    Corner Tap
    California Clipper Humboldt Park
    This neighborhood landmark, complete with vintage neon sign out front, offers a uniquely appealing combination of dive bar affordability and art deco class—nowhere else in the city can you feel quite as Bogart-and-Bacall while kicking back cheap PBRs. Jeans and »
  • Candlelite Chicago
    Bar/Lounge
    Candlelite Chicago Rogers Park/West Rogers Park
    For decades the green martini glass on this neighborhood saloon’s neon sign was a beacon for wonderful cracker-thin-crust pizza—and still is. That’s even after a group of regulars took it over—including a culinary school grad—and installed flat-screen TVs in practically »
  • Celtic Crown
    Bar/Lounge
    Celtic Crown North Center
    Celtic Crown has carved out a nice little niche for itself in a crowded landscape. There are three bars with distinct personalities, so if you get tired of the action on the main floor (the most sports-bar-like environment) you can »
  • The Charleston
    Classic Bar
    The Charleston Wicker Park/Bucktown
    Some people still complain bitterly about the Charleston's remodeling a couple years ago: gone are the stuffed armadillo, the lamp made from a ram's head, the pool table, and some of the bar's signature quirkiness. But there's still a reel-to-reel »
  • Chipp Inn
    Dive Bar
    Chipp Inn West Town/Noble Square
    On a side street hidden from the rest of sleepy Noble Square, the Chipp Inn gives off a homey, Cheersy vibe. The small, bright bar is the only neighborhood joint around, and there are always regulars of varied hipness hanging »
  • Delilah's
    Music Bar
    Delilah's Lincoln Park
    Imagine if every last bit of grit, street cred, authenticity, and tattooed flesh in all of Lincoln Park were forced into one delightfully creaky, dimly lit, two-story bar. Wait, that actually happened. And if that's not enough, the whiskey selection »
  • Edelweiss Tavern
    Corner Tap
    Edelweiss Tavern Avondale
    Formerly known as Wee Willy's, this spacious but cozy watering hole recently came under new ownership and updated its name to Edelweiss Tavern—though the scene remains pretty much untouched (including the giant Wee Willy's mural in the back). Drinks are »
  • Edgewater Lounge
    Bar/Lounge
    Edgewater Lounge Edgewater
    The only problem with the Edgewater Lounge is that it's become the fallback date spot for my boyfriend and me: one wishes for more options, but there's really no place nearby that offers such an elevated combination of food, drink, »
  • Gingerman Tavern
    Craft Beer
    Gingerman Tavern Wrigleyville

    The back room at this friendly joint in a beautiful old wedge-shaped corner building has two lamp-lit pool tables, black-and-white tile floor, a good jukebox, and eclectic vintage decor. The big front-room bar offers a huge selection of bottled »

  • Happy Village
    Classic Bar
    Happy Village Ukrainian Village/East Village
    With board games and a Ping-Pong room, this is a place you could easily pass a few hours reconnecting with your childhood, and maybe for this reason it attracts a younger crowd than some of the other neighborhood institutions. It »
  • Helen's Two-Way Lounge
    Dive Bar
    Helen's Two-Way Lounge Logan Square
    An established dive that has loyally stayed put during the neighborhood’s gradual, for-better-or-worse makeover, Helen's Two-Way Lounge sits at the wedge of Milwaukee and Fullerton and takes its name from the facing doors that open onto each street—an easy way »
  • Huettenbar
    Corner Tap
    Huettenbar Lincoln Square
    The lederhosen have definitely been exchanged for business casual, but this alpine-lodge-inspired institution is an authentic alternative to the larger beer halls in the area. Proximity to the Brown Line and strong German beers like Spaten and Kutscher Alt on »
  • Hungry Brain
    Classic Bar
    Hungry Brain Roscoe Village  1
    Hungry Brain is one of the coziest spots in Chicago. You've probably passed this small bar over and over and never realized it was there. Its interior is comfortable and lit with the glow of beer signs and Christmas lights. »
  • Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap
    Bar/Lounge
    Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap Hyde Park
    Quintessentially Hyde Park, and frequented by an eclectic mix of locals, students, game watchers, and professors, Jimmy's is a dive with a dim, cavernous interior and a quirky soul. The businesslike bartenders make their martinis strong, and the burgers and »
  • Local Option
    Bar/Lounge
    Local Option Lincoln Park
    With a handwritten sign inside reading "Welcome Nerds (You Know Who You Are)," custom neon for Mikkeller and Evil Twin above the bar, and a huge skull-and-crossbones mural whose German motto translates to "Shit beer will kill you," Local Option »
  • Marie's Riptide Lounge
    4 AM Bar
    Marie's Riptide Lounge Wicker Park/Bucktown
    Longtime owner Marie Wuczynski died in 2011, but not much else has changed in this old-school bar for quite a while now. The jukebox is still 25 cents a song; the bar, with its classic lights, must date back to »
  • The Matchbox
    Corner Tap
    The Matchbox River West
    To say that the Matchbox is cozy would be an understatement. Wedge-shaped, it's 15 feet across at its widest point and about three and a half feet at its narrowest. It can be tricky to squeeze past seated patrons to »
  • Montrose Saloon
    Bar/Lounge
    Montrose Saloon Albany Park
    An unprepossessing, chummy Old Style bar with a number of diversions to help evaluate your ability to drive home: board games, darts, pool, and a large beer garden where you can throw horseshoes and bags, and grill your own. —Mike »
  • Ollie's Lounge
    Corner Tap
    Ollie's Lounge Edgewater
    It’s hard to see into Ollie’s from the outside, but don’t be shy—what lies within is a friendly little neighborhood joint with a pool table, a good jukebox, and cheap drinks. The owner, Miss Ollie, is such a community fixture »
  • Red Line Tap
    Bar/Lounge
    Red Line Tap Rogers Park/West Rogers Park
    There's not much to the Red Line Tap: bar on the left, stage on the right, a couple ancient arcade games, the requisite pool table. That's part of its charm, though—whatever it's doing, it's not trying too hard. There are »
  • Rite Liquors
    Classic Bar
    Rite Liquors Wicker Park/Bucktown
    Rite Liquors isn't just an old-man bar—it's a place to hang out while you're growing old, as many regulars already have in the 90 years this neighborhood slashie has been in business. It’s got an impressive liquor selection, from Woodford »
  • Scofflaw
    Craft Cocktails
    Scofflaw Logan Square
    A rebellious mix of the baroque and the affordable, Scofflaw makes a perfect square of Logan Square's premier cocktail destinations (Lula, Longman & Eagle, the Whistler). Head mixologist and co-owner Danny Shapiro has mixed more than his fair share of »
  • Small Bar
    Bar/Lounge
    Small Bar Avondale
    Around since 1907, this cozy corner spot with its brick walls and tin ceiling represents the most old-school and authentic hangout of the Small Bar brand. The beer list is extensive, featuring 60-odd international and craft brews—a chalkboard lists the »
  • The Sovereign
    DJ /Dance Bar
    The Sovereign Edgewater
    A sublimely unpretentious neighborhood joint just off the busy corner of Broadway and Granville, with friendly bartenders, a good crowd, and a killer jukebox. What else to say? Pours are cheap and generous, and six-packs are available for takeout. The »
  • Weegee's Lounge
    Craft Cocktails
    Weegee's Lounge Logan Square
    Aside from offering an expertly prepared gin rickey, sidecar, and old-fashioned, this joint is arguably the most tolerable locale with a shuffleboard table in the city. Located off the Logan Square beaten path of cool, the dimly lit, rarely too »
  • Whirlaway Lounge
    Corner Tap
    Whirlaway Lounge Logan Square
    Forever one of Logan Square's best dives, the Whirlaway feels homey and pleasant, like you’re getting drunk in your parents’ basement. The decor is suspended in the early 90s—never mind the massive flat-screen TV sitting three feet behind the bar—and »
More Recommended Corner Taps »

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Location Comments

  • I have had three bad experiences here due to the inflexibility of the management staff …

  • Captain Chicago loves this place - especially the Bullpen!

    • Re: The Lodge

    • Posted by Captain Chicago
    • on January 1, 2013

  • After numerous times attempting to dine at Bad Apple, I finally relegated it strictly as …

  • More »
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01.22.13
Cathy Richardson, Shelley Miller
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January 22
Emeli Sande, Emily King
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Emeli Sande, Emily King Lincoln Hall
January 22
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