So, for consistency's sake, our list is based on the year a bar was founded under its current name.
The owner didn't return calls for comment.
Harbee Liquors & Tavern in Pilsen might have made the cut - the building has been around since the 1870s - but with owner Steve Frytz facing back taxes and his liquor license in limbo, the lights are off there, possibly for good.Īnother curious case: Chipp Inn, a cash-only, drinks-only bar in a brick-front frame house on a quiet corner in Noble Square that might be the oldest bar in Chicago, if you believe the stories.įramed photos and receipts in the back room indicate it has been a bar since at least the 1920s, run by the Kruzel family for decades, but bartenders there say it goes back further to 1874 - though they're not sure where exactly that year comes from or whether it was always called the Chipp Inn. Kasey's went through a few iterations and name changes, too - a sit-down restaurant called George's Busy Bee, then Chester's Lounge, then Bernie's 701 Club - until Casmir Weglarz bought it and renamed it Kasey's Tavern in 1974, current owner Bill White said. But it only became Marge's in 1955, after a woman named Marge Landeck (or Lendeck or Lednick - the newspapers at the time couldn't decide on one spelling) took it over. Sedgwick St., where Marge's is, since 1885, general manager Meg Comstock said. There's been a pub of some sort at 1758 N. You'll eat well at all three.Īnd where is Marge's Still, the Old Town watering hole, or Kasey's Tavern in the South Loop, both of which, it's been said, date to the 1880s? It's true they're very old, but they belonged in our roundup of the city's oldest restaurants. You might wonder why Schaller's Pump, the Berghoff and Green Door Tavern are missing from this list.
The neon sign above Gold Star Bar in West Town still announces "Furnished Rooms," for rent by the hour during the building's seedy hotel days, owner Mary Ann Reid said. Take a look at the best bars in Chicago and find the perfect destination for your next night out.But vestiges of the past remain.
In a city that's packed with places to belly up and have a drink, these watering holes shine extra bright and boozy. With so many great places to grab a beverage, our list of our all-time favorite bars around town is expansive-and inclusive of taprooms at Chicago breweries, wine bars uncorking bottles of red and white as well as the finest cocktail bars Chicago has to offer. In a city where faded Old Style signs swing outside of beloved dive bars and lines snake around the block at trendy cocktail lounges, the best bars in Chicago act as meeting places, date locales and venues for celebrations. Raise a glass to the best bars in Chicago! Pull up a seat at taprooms (Life on Marz Community Club, Whiner Beer Co.), spots for sipping natural wine (All Together Now, Easy Does It) and cocktail bars (Bokeh, Osito's Tap) throughout the city. We're happy to report that classic spots like Scofflaw and Old Town Ale House are still alive and well, but we're even more overjoyed to add some fresh drinking destinations to the mix.
August 2021: After a year that was particularly rough for dives, taprooms and cocktail bars, the latest update to Time Out Chicago's DRINK List has finally arrived.