Beer Bars & Imports
Belgian, German and deep-list beer bars, plus a few beer gardens.
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Hopleaf
Chicago's essential Belgian beer bar, run by the same owners since 1992, with dozens of taps, no TVs and a serious kitchen.
The Map Room
A self-described traveler's tavern with maps and globes on every wall, and one of the city's original destination beer bars.
Resi's Bierstube
An old-school German bierstube with a leafy beer garden and a deep list of German imports.
Laschet's Inn
A wood-paneled German tavern with imported beers on tap and hearty plates.
Sheffield's Wine & Beer Garden
A long-running beer bar with a deep list and one of the prettiest beer gardens in the city, a short walk from Wrigley.
Monk's Pub
A dim, decades-old Loop tavern with a monastery feel, free peanuts and a serious list of Belgian and Trappist beers.
Sleeping Village
Part bar, part music venue, with dozens of carefully chosen beer and cider drafts and a good patio.
Where the beer list is the point
These are the bars people go to for the beer itself: Belgian ales and Trappist bottles, German drafts poured the traditional way, and long lists of imports and hard-to-find craft beers.
What to try:
- Belgian and Trappist ales: strong, complex and served in the right glass. Order mussels and frites with them.
- German drafts: lagers, hefeweizens and seasonal märzen, ideally in a beer garden
- Something you've never heard of: the bartenders at these places love to make a recommendation
Good to know: North Center has a small cluster of old-school German taverns, a reminder of the neighborhood's German roots.
Want beer straight from the source? See Craft Beer & Breweries. For an old-school corner bar, see Classic Taverns & Dive Bars.