I absolutely loved coming here! We had the observatory room booked for a birthday and it was such a vibe for our medium sized group. The entire drink menu was extensive and the drinks were the priciest that I've ever seen, but they were all so unique and delicious. The food was pretty great too. Towards the end of the night the music selection got weird, it's was just a bunch of tiktok songs. Overall, would definitely be a fun place to go on a fancy date night to try out new cocktails. read more

9.6/10 Great ambiance, incredible staff, amazing cocktails, delicious food. They have a secret room in the back called the Observatory. read more

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Very good experience. Had a great time. The menu is tremendous. Such a great spirits list. I'm tired of the 3-5% service charge with a ridiculous reason why you need to put it there with any place that's does it for "insert phrase here". Not all places do it. Legislation coming that will outlaw it too. It overshadows a great place. Stop doing that. read more

Can't say enough positive things about the place. The ambiance, the staff, the service, are all above average. I attended here in their observatory for a colleague's book signing and was so impressed I later decided to host my birthday in the same place. Christian took great care of me and my party, and was very attentive and communicative. Choose this place for your next event, reasonably priced and well worth it. Their host Shannon is very responsive through email as well! read more

I think this is the best bar I've ever been to! The service blew me away. The fact that the barista asks clients about their allergies before serving a drink--wow! Not to mention, they can easily and thoroughly describe each drink, including how it looks and other details. Highly recommended! read more

This place is all about its atmosphere and ambiance. It's absolutely stunning to look around, so elegant. We enjoyed our cocktails while having a great view of the bar. Our server was very cool and has some great recommendations for us. I had no expectations going into it and it ended up being a hit. read more

4 stars instead of 5 only because the burger and fries recently transitioned to sliders, fries sold separately. Please bring back the full sized burger! Otherwise, great time every time. read more

Stunning lounge next to Ever where no detail is spared. Exciting drink list, prices considerably below "outrageous." Very intimate space on weeknights, among the best in the city. read more

I was a little disappointed. The food is good, but don't come hungry. The drinks are good, but very, very, very expensive. I just sort of felt bad afterwards for spending so much money on so few things to eat and drink. We had to go somewhere else after After. We were still hungry and thirsty. read more

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Took a small group here. It was Hiding in plain sight. Blackened signage and black black doors made it hard to Spot. Once inside it was a cool place with cool good drinks. It's a "small bites" kind of place but we had come for dinner. What they served was excellent, really good Everyone had a good time and enjoyed After very much. It was pretty expensive though (the reason for only 4 stars), so be aware. Still, good fun and worth going. read more

I'd give this place a zero if I could. I could not be more disappointed from the Ever crew. After is doe the Chicago tourists and Europeans after the finish at Ever, where they can get ripped off for another $100. The atmosphere is stunning, beautiful inside, great design. However, the bar is too wide and sets you to far apart from the bartenders, its kind of weird. The menu is super boring. They have mostly classic cocktails, not with at twist or elevation except they charge you double what a normal cocktail costs. The have their own cocktails, but they are all boring. The fine spirit cocktails cost $40-$50 for a slightly elevated liquor vs the others. At least at a place like Mordecai for this price you get bottles that are aged decades. The cocktails are fine, but for $12 not $23. Maybe I expected too much, I was thinking Aviary, Kumiko or even Night Cap at Oriole which are high end restaurants that excel at the cocktails. After is reductive and offensive. This whole place needs re-conceptualized. read more

Delicious cocktails. Beautiful space. Friendly staff. Unfortunately we did not get to try the food, as we were grabbing a quick drink before dinner, but those around us who ordered food said it was great. read more

I'm so torn...I wanted to love it, but it just fell very flat for me. It's a 3.5 for sure. The food was 5. Everything else was a 3. 1. The atmosphere was a little more loud neighborhood bar and not so much upscale, fancy drink place. We went at 815p on a Friday and it seemed like a happy hour for a lot of people after work. I was under the impression that it would be more upscale...like Aviary. It def didn't give that vibe at all to me. 2. The service. Meh. It was average. We arrived. No valet. No suggestions on where to park. Fyi there is a parking garage right around the corner. The line was about 6 people deep at the front. They were scrambling. We sat at a table. They set it for 4 but there was only 2 of us. Our server was attentive but not to the caliber of other fine drink spots. It was very aloof. 3. The cocktails...they were decent?? Not amazing. Nothing special. Slightly disappointed? The espresso martini was good, but I still was expecting more. 4. The food was EXCELLENT. Everything we had we loved! I liked it way better than Ever. The short rib was delicious. Meatballs potentially the best I've ever had. Mushroom bun such great flavor. We tried almost everything on the food menu and it was ALL yummy. I was expecting waaaay more. I think if you are meeting up before/after Ever, you might be disappointed in the atmosphere and the actual cocktails. read more

After lounge - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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this place is amazing. Hanna and Chandler were very hospitable. This is probably the classiest lounge bar in Chicago and for what it's worth the restaurant ever should have three Michelin stars. I've never had a better espresso martini! read more

Overpriced. I paid $23 for a margarita that tasted like it came from a pre-made bottle and was 3/4 full. It tasted good to be sure, but why so expensive? I also had the arancini and fries, and while good were teeny tiny and not commensurate with the price. On the other hand, the ambiance is cool with the "cozy winter" vibes and definitely feels like a great spot for drinks AFTER dinner. Glad I checked it out, but out of my price range for a second visit. read more

Came here with my friend to celebrate some things in our lives and it was a really fun night! I loved my Cosmpolitan ad Expresso Martini! Both were made super well and exactly what I wanted. Their food is a bit overpriced especially their fries and their brussels portion was tiny, but they were all tasty! Would definitely recommend the two drinks I got and coming here with a reservation. Can be easy to miss the store since the sign + doors all blend in with each other. Ambiance is nice here for a date or to hang with friends in a fancier setting. read more

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Wow. Stunning drinks and atmosphere. Our waitress blew us away with her knowledge of fine spirits and their beverage sourcing. Definitely a perfect spot for a special occasion or if you're just feeling like you need to drink a cocktail with your pinky out. read more

After lounge - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Pricey but tasty! We tried a bunch. I think the must gets are the Japanese cocktail and the 79 old fashioned read more

Everything about this place is amazing! All the food and ALL drinks are top notch; the ambiance is rich and comforting. The service from the front door to the bar is excellent! I highly recommend this place to any and everyone! read more

Very good crisp, clean cocktail styles. A lot of great options for all spirits. No, it's not the presentation of Aviary but you can tell they use expensive liquors and mixes. The 24k gold espresso martini was great, but it's fairly dark so it's hard to see the gold. It's a much more casual vibe than Ever, you don't need to dress up but expect to see some people dressed up. Service was just ok... one guy couldn't be bothered to explain any of the elaborate drinks to us, which is opposite of the amazing service of Ever. The caviar platter was great too and had a nice presentation. read more

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Had the absolute best time here!! We were here to celebrate a birthday and our group had reserved the observatory! The observatory gave such intimate vibes!! We loved that we were surrounded by books and family, I felt like I was in a cabin somewhere far away from chicago. The drinks here were beyond amazing!!! We tried so many drinks off the menu and each one was so unique and amazing! Our favorite was definitely ground control which I have a picture of beneath! We also tried the margarita, espresso martini, milk punch, cosmopolitan, citrus fuze, Haitian daiquiri. Each of these drinks were so intricate and fun, we loved trying them all! We also had a lot of appetizers and loved these as well! We tried the duck wings, mushroom Arincini, pork belly and maitake steak buns, French fries and wagyu. My favorite was the Mushroom Arincini! Service was a little slow for us for the drinks but I don't blame them cause we had a party of about 10. Overall, was a great experience and I'm already dying to go back. read more

After lounge - Ground control - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Had a VERY special family event in The Observatory. It was spectacular. I was able to work with the kitchen in advance to design a unique menu for my guests, and it all went better than I could have hoped for, and at a price that was not even as high as I had budgeted for. Cannot say enough good things about the staff and everyone we met at After. 10/10!! read more

Went there for after dinner drinks. Had a couple of whiskey cocktails. Very cool to sit at the bar and watch the bartender make drinks. We didn't have a reservation but they said we could sit at the bar for an hour. Which was perfect amount of time for us. read more

Tl;dr it just left a lot to be desired. The menu was extensive in terms of specific liquors, but the cocktail list was, like the cocktails, uninspired. Save your money and get a drink somewhere else, these are worth about $12-15 at best. While the interior is quite nice, I'm thankful we had a somewhat awkward, "soundproof, private booth" (lol, that's how they refer to it) instead of the food hall-esque seating. The tables were also a beautiful matte black that sadly looked pretty gross after condensation, fingerprints, and small spills marked it up. Service was just fine. I've been to $ restaurants and bars with better service. I just felt they didn't care, and I would have ordered more had they come by more frequently. We had about 5 staff members visit the table, which was odd...as if they didn't know who was handling the table. I've heard nothing but good things about Ever. It's a shame they didn't bring the same quality and experience to After. Shrug. read more

Two days ago was the second time I had been to After, the first time being within the month of them opening. The first time I chalked up a couple of things to them just getting in their groove but this one left me a little bit less hopeful. We ordered tons of small plates for the table, almost none of them were explained on what they were when they were put down by food runners. they also waited for us to move the plates around when they were rush bringing everything at once even though they should've known the table wasn't big enough for this. The '24k golden' espresso martini is not worth the $25 price point. You don't see any of this 'gold' or whatever it is and honestly there is no distinction from even a $12 espresso martini at a local neighborhood bar. The REAL reason why I am writing this review is what happened halfway through our experience. Someone in our party put their hand under the table and there was a giant wad of gum. Ok, fine. Not the restaurants fault, right? It was the lack of even acknowledgement when we told the server it was there. She didn't even apologize, no one EVEN CAME to clean it up. They acted as if it didn't even happen. For the $600 we spent on these 'light plates' and a few cocktails, I honestly know that after giving this a second try that it is not worth the standard of which it is set at. Recommend checking out other places instead, half the price, better cocktail variety and hopefully much better service. read more

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If you go in here with the expectation that you will: 1) end up paying about $30+ for a cocktail that in no way has anything special about it and could easily be created in any decent bar for less than half that 2) be in a pretentious bar with bartenders who can in no way go off script and are essentially robots Then you might have a decent time. Otherwise I'd suggest going to one of the many great Chicago cocktail places. A couple recommendations: the Charleston, the California Clipper. If you want that area and want to spend the same amount of money for a much better experience, better and more clever drinks then try the aviary. read more

As soon as you walk in, you feel like you're somewhere special. I was initially turned off by the cost of the cocktails. However, we were able to sub out the ultra premium liquor with a brand in our price range. We also ordered some of the small bites. In particular, we still reminisce on how good the Maitake Steam Buns were. read more

Extremely overpriced. The ambiance is neat but the ridiculous prices of all drinks, glasses of wine (even mediocre price point wine) was over $20 a glass. If you're getting top shelf cocktails it's going to be 40+ easily. If you're rich, sure, this might be your thing. read more

This the best bar I have ever gone to. Every thing is awesome from the staff to the ambiance to the food. My bartender Chris is the absolute best. His drinks are great and he calls you sir instead of boss or bud. The crème brûlée is awesome. You don't have to pay for parking. This place puts a smile on my face! read more

Came here for restaurant week and was seated at the bar. The bartender was not helpful at all at explaining any of the restaurant weeks drink pairing g. He seemed to be annoyed when we asked what the exact drinks were. The bill came. They conveniently, forgot the deposit that we had already paid and charged us for two pairings when we only had one. We were so excited for this week, but we were extremely disappointed. We will not be back. read more

I was admittedly surprised by some of the reviews here. My experience was very different in a positive way. The cocktails were great, duck wings were unbelievable, and the service was terrific! read more

No one came to speak to us for 20+ minutes after we finished our drinks and we had ordered 2 rounds of drinks and we were sitting directly at the bar. Probably would have ordered more if the servers had been more attentive and cared to ask us if we needed anything else. Disappointing service. read more

Went here for my birthday, which also happens to be NYE. My husband and I had such a great experience! The hospitality from the moment we entered was wonderful. Ambiance was on point. They had a set menu for the evening where you could choose from a few options for food (small bites) and a larger selection of drinks. We loved how the drink selection included mocktails, which were as delicious (if not even better) than the alcoholic cocktails. I left off one star because the service felt a tiny bit rushed (but I understand that there was a group coming in after ours, so no big deal). Would still highly recommend! read more

Phenomenal cocktails and great experience! Highly recommend the Duck and the Japanese cocktail. Delicious!

Extremely rude bartender and also super basic and overpriced cocktails. In a city like Chicago with several much better options? I think not. There are a establishments like meadowlark, lazybird and Arbella that are classier and much better run. I will never be back. read more

The cocktails are impressive and innovative, which includes possibly the best old fashioned I have ever had. The bar and private rooms are cool, and the service is fantastic. They have a great caviar selection and presentation, and the food menu is checking out, even it is just an order of fries. read more