11 Best Bars in Chicago, Illinois

Chef Grant Achatz applies his cutting-edge culinary style to cocktails at this West Loop bar, adjacent to his high-concept restaurant Next. Your newfangled old-fashioned might arrive injected into an egg of ice, or your drink's flavor might change subtly as its flavored ice melts. Inventive bar bites are on offer as well.

This Logan Square cocktail go-to with an impressive catalog of vintage spirits focuses on elevating classic drink recipes by using unexpected ingredients. The Charlie Trotter's alums who opened Billy Sunday cheekily named the bar for the Prohibition-era temperance evangelist.

The eye-catching Carbide and Carbon Building has its first rooftop bar. The Pendry Chicago Hotel, the skyscraper’s latest occupant, turned a former private-event space on the 24th floor into a chic indoor-outdoor lounge overlooking the Chicago River. The wine list emphasizes rosés (there are even several rosé cocktails), the kitchen offers sushi and small bites, and after dark, DJs spin French house.

Chef’s Special brings fun energy to Bucktown’s bar scene with brightly flavored cocktails in colorful shabby-chic digs. Don’t snooze on the menu of kitschy classic Chinese-American dishes; the kitchen is overseen by the team from Giant, the Logan Square favorite. Happy hour, held every evening from 5pm to 6 pm, means the place is packed within minutes of opening. 

It's probably just our imaginations, but somehow the sunlight that streams over the vintage tiles and velvety banquettes in this easy-going Humboldt Park cocktail bar seems to glow. An equally dreamy side patio has a second bar and a brick fireplace flanked by lots of low seating for basking in the firelight once the sun sets. Dogs are very welcome here.

Rat Pack wannabes or anyone looking to relive the swing-dance dream of the 90s will appreciate the mid-century decor at this modern-retro lounge. Order a martini and scan the straightforward bar menu as you vibe to crooners like Frank and Dino on the digital juke box. The back room hosts comedy open mics, karaoke, trivia, and storytelling events on weeknights and 80s and 90s dance parties on the weekends.

Tucked onto a side street slightly removed from Andersonville's main stretch of Clark Street, minuscule Marty’s has been serving up some of the tastiest cocktails in the neighborhood for two decades. Roughly the size of a one-bedroom apartment, the bar can get very crowded, so come early in the night (or just escape to the outdoor patio). 

Hidden behind the the kitchen door of Moon Palace Express is Chinatown’s first cocktail bar. Neon lights illuminate Nine Bar’s sleek, dark space, and Asian-inspired cocktails with ingredients like Sichuan peppercorns and rice vodka feature on the menu. Don’t overlook bites like mapo fries, wings, and the chicken sandwich on the small food menu.

One of the city's hottest perches, ROOF occupies the 27th floor of theWit Hotel. The outdoor space entices with firepits and panoramic city views; floor-to-ceiling glass windows make the indoor area equally breathtaking. DJs spinning eclectic beats and a menu of pricey cocktails and small plates complete the scene.

That the once-shabby stretch on which the Scofflaw sits grows hipper by the month is no coincidence; the cozy, brick-walled cocktail bar, which boasts a huge collection of gin, put the intersection of Kedzie and Armitage Avenues on the map. The kitchen—which turns out one of the city's best burgers—stays open till 1 am.

The Violet Hour channels a Prohibition-era speakeasy—an unmarked door in the mural-covered facade leads to a mysterious, curtained hallway. Inside, twinkling crystal chandeliers cast a glow on cornflower-blue walls, and extremely high-backed blue leather chairs encourage intimate conversations. Add to that pricey but flawlessly executed cocktails and a small menu of refined snacks, and it's our idea of nightlife heaven.