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A large, sunny seating area inside a wine bar.
A glass of wine can turn any hour into a happy one.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Where to Find Chicago’s Best Happy Hours

Tried-and-true drink deals all over town

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A glass of wine can turn any hour into a happy one.
| Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

In the grand scheme of things, happy hour is a relatively recent phenomenon in Chicago. Lawmakers only allowed drink specials in 2015, overturning a longstanding state law that barred the practice citing safety concerns. In the intervening years, locals have (unsurprisingly) embraced the phenomenon, sometimes using food and drink deals as a way to check out a spot that’s too pricey for a full meal.

For a breakdown of can’t-miss happy hours from Andersonville to Bronzeville, explore the map below. Schedules, prices, and menus can vary significantly with little notice, so patrons would be wise to check out a venue’s website before making plans.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

Uvae Kitchen and Wine Bar

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This Andersonville bar is known for multi-course dinners paired elegantly with wine or unique cocktails. Its happy hour regularly attracts neighborhood fans with deals on bubbly, cocktail shrimp, and oysters.

Eli Tea Bar

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This LGBTQ-friendly cafe and sober bar in Andersonville hosts plenty of daily events including drag bingo and trivia. The bar, which specializes in tea, doesn’t offer happy hour specials, but for those who want to gather without booze, Eli Tea provides a tranquil space without judgments.

A person pours tea out of a teapot into one of three glass mugs filled with red tea, fruit, and cinnamon sticks.
Michigan-based Eli Tea has opened an outpost in Andersonville.
Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Nobody's Darling

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Nobody’s Darling has been a revelation since opening, bringing tons of energy to an otherwise quiet stretch of residential Andersonville. While this bar isn’t located near downtown, it has turned into a destination, particularly for LGBTQ Chicagoans. That vibe is more important than any drink special, thus making it a great choice for happy hour.

A hand places an orange peel garnish inside a rocks glass on a bar top.
Nobody’s Darling is one of just two Black-owned queer bars in Chicago.
Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago

The Victor Bar

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The Victor Bar was a pioneer in bringing top-notch cocktails to a neighborhood tavern. Other bars have followed the template, giving drinkers a choice away from downtown for fancy drinks. The bar’s decor is meant to evoke Paris, and it’s an attractive, unpretentious spot to catch up with friends or meet for an early date. 

Le Sud Mediterranean Kitchen

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Diners and drinkers across Chicago beat a path to this French Mediterranean restaurant in Roscoe Village, and for good reason: excellent hospitality, attractive digs, and a transportive menu that delights year-round. Grab a spot on the patio (enclosed when necessary) for happy hour cocktails, wines, and small plates like Spanish croquettes.

Sleeping Village

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The team behind Logan Square’s Whistler unveiled this come-as-you-are Avondale haunt in 2018 and rapidly attracted a cadre of loyal fans with a sizable lineup of cider and sour beers, as well as a wide variety of live music acts. Happy hour specials are plentiful and vary throughout the week.

Mother's Ruin

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Mother’s Ruin is the Chicago outpost of a popular N.Y. bar that delivers on making this classy dive feel like a welcoming bar run by locals. There are daily food and drink specials (the food menu is criminally underrated with tasty burgers and fried chicken sandwiches). The danger here is coming for happy hour and feeling so great that you let your hair down and stay longer than anticipated. It might be a slow morning after.

J9 Wine Bar

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This Lincoln Park wine bar thrives thanks to the after-theater crowd (Steppenwolf is down the street), plus after-dinner groups thanks to the myriad of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ restaurants in the area. It recently underwent a major expansion which makes it more comfortable when some of the world’s best wine producers show up to show off their brands for happy hour.

A spacious and airy wine bar.
J9 owner Sonya Mlodzek grew up next to the property where the bar now stands.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Dorian’s

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This Wicker Park bar sports the best sound system of any happy hour venue, as it was built around music. Concerts happen regularly on the stage, and customers will have to enter through an actual record store where patrons can thumb through vinyl on display. The bar offers cocktail specials Wednesday through Sunday. Check social media for the latest. Dorian’s is perfect for those who want to hear live music inside an intimate and well designed space.

Sparrow

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One of the city’s best bars is tucked behind Rush and Division and Mariano Park. For drinkers fed up with those shenanigans, Sparrow is a moody spot patterned off of Havana’s rum bars. Find draft beer and wine specials Wednesday through Friday.

Rootstock Wine & Beer Bar

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One of Chicago’s top spots for a glass of wine and thoughtful food, Rootstock is unlike any other bar in the city thanks to a cutting-edge wine selection and a decor that’s part Europe, part New York City. This is the type of happy hour spot for those who aren’t too buttoned up.

Le Select

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An over-the-top brasserie from James Beard Award-winning Boka Restaurant Group, Le Select is a dazzling visual spectacle in the former home of infamous clubstaurant Bottled Blonde. Bask in the glitzy, cavernous space at happy hour with $10 cocktails and wines by the glass, plus burgers, oysters, and other bites.

The Drop In

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Neighborhood dive The Drop In, housed in the former home of shuttered bar The Swill Inn, makes for a fun hang with easy-drinking cocktails like the Disco Flip (mezcal, musk melon, cucumber, lime). It’s also home to NADC Burger, a pop-up collaboration from local pro skateboarder Neen Williams and chef Phillip Frankland Lee of behind omakase restaurant Sushi by Scratch.

Tribe Supper Club

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Those seeking a stylish happy hour setting and cocktails to match can check all the boxes at Tribe Supper Club, a bar, restaurant, and nightlife venue that channels the Caribbean in West Loop. Specials extend to both food and drink such as jerk chicken Caesar wraps and peach froze margaritas.

The Loyalist

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The Loyalist offers ambitious diners with moderate budgets (ones that don’t allow for, say, opulent tasting menus) a chance to try dishes from decorated chefs John and Karen Urie Shields without breaking the bank. Located downstairs from two-Michelin-star sister restaurant Smyth, its happy hour is also attractive for deal-seekers with $11 cocktails and snacky bites.

Lone Wolf

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This bar is styled like a dive giving patrons along trendy Randolph Street a more casual breed of tavern that specializes in cocktails and beers from Three Floyds Brewing. The food comes from Claudio Velez, Chicago’s legendary Tamale Guy. Find daily cocktail, shot and beer, and other specials on late weekday afternoons with the exception of Friday when the specials start late morning.

Bar Mar by José Andrés

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Operated locally by Gibsons Restaurant Group, Bar Mar is a splashy seafood spot that bears José Andrés’s name (he’s the famous humanitarian chef behind World Central Kitchen). The space is gorgeous with large glass windows and two bars on the first floor (the second-floor steakhouse is a separate operation). Bar Mar was made for the happy hour crowd. Find plenty of raw bar items and fancy drinks with elaborate presentations.

Ceres Cafe

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Inside the Board of Trade building, Ceres Cafe carries a reputation for serving some of the city’s most powerful. It’s open for breakfast in the morning, which is a blessing or a curse. There are weekday specials, but a can of coke and glass of rum might be the most special drink offered at a Chicago bar.

Nine Bar

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Nine Bar is Chinatown’s only dedicated cocktail bar, tucked behind a swinging door inside Moon Palace Express. The interiors are dark and loungey, with a few small tables for those seeking to indulge in the flavor-packed menu (the McKatsu sandwich and mapo hot fries are highlights). The drinks are also no joke, looking to Thailand and China for inspiration. Every visit to Nine Bar is a happy hour.

A green cocktail in a tall collins glass with a red dragon print.
Nine Bar is Chinatown’s first devoted cocktail spot.
Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Bronzeville Winery

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It’s a new day at Bronzeville Winery with the spring arrival of chef Lamar Moore (Eleven Eleven, Currency Exchange Cafe), one of the highest-profile Black chefs in Chicago. The pretty, polished spot obviously leans toward wine and features a list from star sommelier Derrick Westbrook.

Uvae Kitchen and Wine Bar

This Andersonville bar is known for multi-course dinners paired elegantly with wine or unique cocktails. Its happy hour regularly attracts neighborhood fans with deals on bubbly, cocktail shrimp, and oysters.

Eli Tea Bar

This LGBTQ-friendly cafe and sober bar in Andersonville hosts plenty of daily events including drag bingo and trivia. The bar, which specializes in tea, doesn’t offer happy hour specials, but for those who want to gather without booze, Eli Tea provides a tranquil space without judgments.

A person pours tea out of a teapot into one of three glass mugs filled with red tea, fruit, and cinnamon sticks.
Michigan-based Eli Tea has opened an outpost in Andersonville.
Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Nobody's Darling

Nobody’s Darling has been a revelation since opening, bringing tons of energy to an otherwise quiet stretch of residential Andersonville. While this bar isn’t located near downtown, it has turned into a destination, particularly for LGBTQ Chicagoans. That vibe is more important than any drink special, thus making it a great choice for happy hour.

A hand places an orange peel garnish inside a rocks glass on a bar top.
Nobody’s Darling is one of just two Black-owned queer bars in Chicago.
Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago

The Victor Bar

The Victor Bar was a pioneer in bringing top-notch cocktails to a neighborhood tavern. Other bars have followed the template, giving drinkers a choice away from downtown for fancy drinks. The bar’s decor is meant to evoke Paris, and it’s an attractive, unpretentious spot to catch up with friends or meet for an early date. 

Le Sud Mediterranean Kitchen

Diners and drinkers across Chicago beat a path to this French Mediterranean restaurant in Roscoe Village, and for good reason: excellent hospitality, attractive digs, and a transportive menu that delights year-round. Grab a spot on the patio (enclosed when necessary) for happy hour cocktails, wines, and small plates like Spanish croquettes.

Sleeping Village

The team behind Logan Square’s Whistler unveiled this come-as-you-are Avondale haunt in 2018 and rapidly attracted a cadre of loyal fans with a sizable lineup of cider and sour beers, as well as a wide variety of live music acts. Happy hour specials are plentiful and vary throughout the week.

Mother's Ruin

Mother’s Ruin is the Chicago outpost of a popular N.Y. bar that delivers on making this classy dive feel like a welcoming bar run by locals. There are daily food and drink specials (the food menu is criminally underrated with tasty burgers and fried chicken sandwiches). The danger here is coming for happy hour and feeling so great that you let your hair down and stay longer than anticipated. It might be a slow morning after.

J9 Wine Bar

This Lincoln Park wine bar thrives thanks to the after-theater crowd (Steppenwolf is down the street), plus after-dinner groups thanks to the myriad of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ restaurants in the area. It recently underwent a major expansion which makes it more comfortable when some of the world’s best wine producers show up to show off their brands for happy hour.

A spacious and airy wine bar.
J9 owner Sonya Mlodzek grew up next to the property where the bar now stands.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Dorian’s

This Wicker Park bar sports the best sound system of any happy hour venue, as it was built around music. Concerts happen regularly on the stage, and customers will have to enter through an actual record store where patrons can thumb through vinyl on display. The bar offers cocktail specials Wednesday through Sunday. Check social media for the latest. Dorian’s is perfect for those who want to hear live music inside an intimate and well designed space.

Sparrow

One of the city’s best bars is tucked behind Rush and Division and Mariano Park. For drinkers fed up with those shenanigans, Sparrow is a moody spot patterned off of Havana’s rum bars. Find draft beer and wine specials Wednesday through Friday.

Rootstock Wine & Beer Bar

One of Chicago’s top spots for a glass of wine and thoughtful food, Rootstock is unlike any other bar in the city thanks to a cutting-edge wine selection and a decor that’s part Europe, part New York City. This is the type of happy hour spot for those who aren’t too buttoned up.

Le Select

An over-the-top brasserie from James Beard Award-winning Boka Restaurant Group, Le Select is a dazzling visual spectacle in the former home of infamous clubstaurant Bottled Blonde. Bask in the glitzy, cavernous space at happy hour with $10 cocktails and wines by the glass, plus burgers, oysters, and other bites.

The Drop In

Neighborhood dive The Drop In, housed in the former home of shuttered bar The Swill Inn, makes for a fun hang with easy-drinking cocktails like the Disco Flip (mezcal, musk melon, cucumber, lime). It’s also home to NADC Burger, a pop-up collaboration from local pro skateboarder Neen Williams and chef Phillip Frankland Lee of behind omakase restaurant Sushi by Scratch.

Tribe Supper Club

Those seeking a stylish happy hour setting and cocktails to match can check all the boxes at Tribe Supper Club, a bar, restaurant, and nightlife venue that channels the Caribbean in West Loop. Specials extend to both food and drink such as jerk chicken Caesar wraps and peach froze margaritas.

The Loyalist

The Loyalist offers ambitious diners with moderate budgets (ones that don’t allow for, say, opulent tasting menus) a chance to try dishes from decorated chefs John and Karen Urie Shields without breaking the bank. Located downstairs from two-Michelin-star sister restaurant Smyth, its happy hour is also attractive for deal-seekers with $11 cocktails and snacky bites.

Related Maps

Lone Wolf

This bar is styled like a dive giving patrons along trendy Randolph Street a more casual breed of tavern that specializes in cocktails and beers from Three Floyds Brewing. The food comes from Claudio Velez, Chicago’s legendary Tamale Guy. Find daily cocktail, shot and beer, and other specials on late weekday afternoons with the exception of Friday when the specials start late morning.

Bar Mar by José Andrés

Operated locally by Gibsons Restaurant Group, Bar Mar is a splashy seafood spot that bears José Andrés’s name (he’s the famous humanitarian chef behind World Central Kitchen). The space is gorgeous with large glass windows and two bars on the first floor (the second-floor steakhouse is a separate operation). Bar Mar was made for the happy hour crowd. Find plenty of raw bar items and fancy drinks with elaborate presentations.

Ceres Cafe

Inside the Board of Trade building, Ceres Cafe carries a reputation for serving some of the city’s most powerful. It’s open for breakfast in the morning, which is a blessing or a curse. There are weekday specials, but a can of coke and glass of rum might be the most special drink offered at a Chicago bar.

Nine Bar

Nine Bar is Chinatown’s only dedicated cocktail bar, tucked behind a swinging door inside Moon Palace Express. The interiors are dark and loungey, with a few small tables for those seeking to indulge in the flavor-packed menu (the McKatsu sandwich and mapo hot fries are highlights). The drinks are also no joke, looking to Thailand and China for inspiration. Every visit to Nine Bar is a happy hour.

A green cocktail in a tall collins glass with a red dragon print.
Nine Bar is Chinatown’s first devoted cocktail spot.
Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Bronzeville Winery

It’s a new day at Bronzeville Winery with the spring arrival of chef Lamar Moore (Eleven Eleven, Currency Exchange Cafe), one of the highest-profile Black chefs in Chicago. The pretty, polished spot obviously leans toward wine and features a list from star sommelier Derrick Westbrook.

Related Maps