Where to Drink in Chicago: The Best Cocktail Bars (and a Word About Malört)

Chicago is one of the best drinking cities in the country, and it lands bars on North America's best-bars lists year after year. Here's how to find the right one for your night.

The world-ranked bars

• Kumiko in the West Loop: calm and precise, with Japanese-inspired drinks and some of the best hospitality in the city. It's the one to book for a special night.
• Best Intentions in Logan Square: a neighborhood dive with world-class cocktails at fair prices.
• Gus' Sip & Dip in River North: perfect classics with no fuss. The dirty martini is the move.
• Bisous in Fulton Market: a small, stylish Parisian-style bar.

Hidden and speakeasy-style

• Meadowlark in Logan Square: a cozy bar behind an unmarked door that locals treat as a secret.
• Nine Bar in Chinatown: an Asian-inspired cocktail bar tucked behind a restaurant.

Only in Chicago

• Coq d'Or at The Drake: a wood-paneled hotel bar that opened in 1933, right after Prohibition ended. Order a martini.
• Three Dots and a Dash: a subterranean tiki bar reached through a River North alley. Share a flaming bowl.
• Cindy's: the rooftop over Millennium Park and the lake. Go at sunset.
• The Aviary: Grant Achatz's theatrical cocktail lounge. It's a splurge, and it's an experience.

See all cocktail picks →

A word about Malört

At some point, a Chicagoan will buy you a shot of Malört. It's a bitter wormwood liqueur made in Chicago, known for tasting like, well, a lot of things, none of them sweet. Drinking it is a rite of passage, and the face you make is part of the tradition.

How to survive it: don't sip it. Take it as a shot, follow it with a beer, and then announce that it wasn't that bad. You've now been officially welcomed to Chicago.

Tips

• The most popular small bars fill up fast. Go early in the evening or on a weeknight.
• Many of the best bars are in the West Loop and Logan Square, which makes it easy to try two or three in one night.

Planning a night out by neighborhood? See our West Loop and Logan Square guides. New to the city? ChicagoApartmentBuildings.com is our guide to apartment buildings across Chicago.