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    Front Bar

    4.4 (46 reviews)
    ModerateBars, Coffee & Tea
    Closed 4:30 pm - 10:30 PM

    Front Bar Photos

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    FRONT BAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Hipster
    Intimate
    Trendy

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    Recommended Reviews - Front Bar

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    two cocktails on a wooden table
    Corey W.

    The Cosmos and Renaissance are TO DIE FOR! Amazing vibes, amazing service, so happy to stumble on this place!

    Melanie P.

    I would definitely recommend this place. It's a great location and walkable to other restaurants. They have both coffee and alcohol, need I say more. I enjoyed the matcha latte and there's plenty of seating. Cool vibe and I would come back !

    great drink, but not great service.
    Katie E.

    I have frequented Front Bar on multiple occasions (I live down the street), mostly to get some late night work done with a cup of tea. More recently though, on Friday 1/11 my friends and I came to see a show at Steppenwolf and we decided to come early to enjoy some drinks and appetizers at Front Bar. We ordered a cocktail and a glass of wine, a hummus plate, cheeseboard, and a sausage, goat cheese and pear flatbread. We were taken care of by a nice woman who was working behind the bar, and quickly after we finished our first drinks, we started waiting for a refill. We had about 30 minutes before the show was starting. Now, trying to get service at Front Bar was our biggest and most frustrating issue. I understand the bartenders will tend to older patrons first, it is polite. But we ended up waiting (with our credit card out, making eye contact with both the male bartenders working that night) for 25 minutes until we ran out of time and had to leave. Over TWENTY FIVE minutes waiting for a drink to bring into the show is unheard of (I've been to plenty of busy and more-crowded bars, and there were 3 of them working behind the bar). The bartenders were very aware of how long we were waiting, but it seemed they did not care, and kept tending to people who were just walking up to the bar, or they were even just wiping down the counters and taking away empty glasses instead of asking us what we needed or if we had been helped. We were so frustrated that we almost started laughing at how comical the situation was. We actually decided to just completely stop our conversation, stare at the bartenders and see how long it took for them to finally come over. That didn't seem to even work. The two male bartenders weren't even tending to anyone while we had our cards out waiting to grab our last drink. After almost 30 minutes, we ended up having to leave to see the show or we were going to miss it. Unfortunately my friend still had her card open, so we had to rudely and embarrassingly scream across the bar if we could 'PLEASE close our tab'. It still took him 5 minutes as one of them begrudgingly printed our receipt and threw it on the bar. We ended up going to the bar in the theater for our drinks before the show, because clearly Front Bar was having an off night. It's a shame because the food was decent, and the cocktail was good too. But we felt that we were inconveniencing the bartenders just by looking for a drink. Honestly, we concluded that it may be our age (we are in our late twenty's), or maybe they just didn't feel like helping us that day. Either way- even though the food was good and I always have a great conversation with interesting people I meet at this cafe/bar, AND the show was great- at Front Bar we felt clearly unwelcomed and awkward, that none of us will be back.

    Rainbow cake, son.
    Ilana O.

    Picked this place kind of on a whim - and score, they have a robust enough coffee and tea menu for the non-alcohol drinkers among us. Apparently there are some. I know, I was surprised too. We arrived right as a show at the Steppenwolf was letting out, so just know that this place gets busy, and people sort of plunk down and don't leave for a while. Which is fine. There's scattered seating throughout, and I appreciate that when I was sitting cross-legged with my shoes on the couch to face my friend, no one asked me not to. There are gender neutral bathrooms. This is the first I've seen, so I think they're incredibly progressive. Bravo. I will admit though, that it was a little unexpected when a man walked out of a stall as I was re-adjusting the ladies, but there are much worse things in the world. We each got some tea (don't need caffeine past 7pm, because, hello, I'm in my 30s), and it was really lovely. It's a great stretch of Halsted. Would totally be back for cocktails. Also. The rainbow cake.

    Delicious Balm in Gilead cocktail

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Juwan is the reason I will continue to frequent this place. Show or not. Great fun, great space, better hospitality

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Front Bar

    Review Highlights - Front Bar

    I live right around the corner from Steppenwolf and when Front Bar opened, I couldn't be more pleased.

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    Three Dots and A Dash

    Three Dots and A Dash

    4.1
    (4.2k reviews)
    1.8 mi
    $$$

    This place is a yes, yes, and yes! I have a buddy that loves Tiki bars and found this place/made a…read morereservation, so our group came to visit on a Sunday night. The vibe is speakeasy-ish; the entrance is off the street in an alleyway but the interior is very nice, low light, and would be fun for a date night! The staff were attentive and very friendly. My friend got some shots, which were surprisingly good given they were kind of sweet, and I ordered the "mystic lamp" cocktail ($16) which was VERY memorable to me as someone that loves floral drinks -- it was very floral, slightly fruity, and had a lovely chunk of lychee it came with which was delicious! The drink was decent sized too; I've been charged a lot more for much less drink at other speakeasies (those of which I don't plan to visit again any time soon haha). In my opinion, this spot has the perfect combo of great drinks, nice ambiance, cool speakeasy-vibes, but also cheerfulness given the tiki-theme inside. Would definitely rec a visit to anyone visiting Chicago who likes cool bars!

    I can't understand what the fuss is all about here. I couldn't wait to leave…read more This place represents itself as a tiki bar but is the most half-hearted attempt I have ever seen. I was excited for the experience having heard how busy it gets, blah blah. These positive reviewers need to seek out other tiki bars. After you negotiate the alley entrance and go down dangerously dark stairs, you are met with crazy boring decor. I kept thinking there had to be more right? The whole point of a tiki bar is to strike a mood, but hanging a very few polynesian masks on the wall, putting up a grass facade over the bar and dressing the servers in vaguely polynesian outfits is sad. I've seen private tiki bars at people's homes that are more exciting. Add to this a comparably boring music selection played far too loud over boomy lo-fi speakers and you'll wonder what's going on here. So what about the food and drink? Completely uninspired for anyone who's had more than a mai tai before in their life. About a dozen extremely common drink choices is all you get!! No specials, that's it. When I asked if this was the whole cocktail menu, the server said it was but they have a full bar so you can get anything you want. Well, I could get that service at just about any bar in the world, so big deal. Maybe it would be better if you sat at the bar and chatted up the bartender. One could also go taste their rum selections and other cocktails in the Bamboo Room, but I hate that kind of elitist nonsense. That's never been what tiki bars were about. The drinks we sampled were okay at best. Even the namesake 3 Dots and A Dash cocktail was lackluster and used cheap cherries for the dots instead of classic Luxardos. (If you know, you know) The appetizers were okay, but way overpriced. 5 tiny spring rolls for $18. Come on guys, enough already. I'd rather go to the bar at the Polynesian Hotel at Disney than return here. This place is a hard pass.

    Photos
    Interior Entrance
    Interior Entrance
    These Loaded Luau Cheese Fries
    These Loaded Luau Cheese Fries
    Tiki gift shop.

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    Tiki gift shop.
    Rossi's Liquors

    Rossi's Liquors

    4.2
    (432 reviews)
    1.9 mi
    $

    Friendly and lively dive bar (4/5 Green Stars) Waiting for…read moretake-out from nearby Lou Malnati's, we wandered into Rossi's for a quick drink. It's a reasonably-priced busy dive bar in the heart of Chicago. I asked the bartender if she had a beer + shot deal and she said "no, but you can order a beer and shot." And so we did! Noise level is fairly high, thanks to a lively crowd plus a jukebox. They don't normally serve food but I think are fine with customers bringing in your own food, and you can also place an order from a nearby restaurant (I don't recall which one). And yes, it's cash only so bring some money if you don't want to pay ATM fees! 4 out of 5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact. I like bars that allow customers to bring (or order) their own food - it allows for all diets! The one thing I'd like to see is more beer on tap - even just one good rotating local beer (e.g., Goose Island). Draft beer has smaller environmental footprints compared to bottled or canned.

    Recently stopped by Rossi's Liquors and this place is the definition of a dive bar, in the most…read moreauthentic way possible. After a quick ID check at the door, the bouncer let us know it's cash only (thankfully we came prepared). From the moment we walked in, dim lighting, loud music, and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds gave the vibe of a full-on frat party, but not in a bad way. It's chaotic, energetic, and unapologetically no-frills. There's even a self-serve cooler with drink prices clearly listed underneath. I grabbed a Sapporo Premium, brought it to the counter, and our friendly bartender broke our change and offered a chilled glass to pour it into. Simple and efficient. That said, it was loud, so loud that even whispering-distance conversations were a struggle. The space is small, seating is limited, and since we couldn't snag a spot, we ended up leaving shortly after finishing our drinks. This feels like a better weekday hang than a packed weekend night. Still, if you're looking for a classic, gritty, no-frills dive experience, Rossi's delivers exactly that.

    Photos
    Nightcap
    Nightcap
    Rossi's Liquors
    Rossi's Liquors

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    O'Callaghan's

    O'Callaghan's

    3.5
    (315 reviews)
    1.9 mi
    $$

    Sat at the bar because it was Friday night and the tables were all taken. I liked the variety of…read moremusic, the ambience, the atmosphere....and the burger and fries! That burger----was SOOOO GOOD (Char Burger) and the waffle fries were kind of crispy- good! They had an NBA game playing on the tvs. Service from both bartenders was great- Our main server had great attention to detail. (realized they forgot the mustard without me saying anything) All in all- great! (Skip the fish and chips- get the char burger!)

    I came in with three friends and we grabbed a high-top table. We ordered a few rounds and…read moreeverything was going fine. Toward the end of the night, two of my friends left, and the remaining two of us paid our bill and were finishing our drinks while waiting for our Uber. At that point, the bartender came over and told us she needed our table for a large group. The table wasn't reserved, and we were clearly just finishing up. We told her we were about to leave anyway, but the way it was handled felt really abrupt and rude. What made it worse was that she immediately brought a group over to take our table, and even they were apologizing to us because they seemed uncomfortable with how it was handled. I've worked in bars and restaurants myself, so I completely understand needing to manage space, but there's a way to do it respectfully, and this wasn't it. Unfortunately, this experience left a bad impression, and despite having been here multiple times before, I won't be returning.

    Photos
    Dining Room
    Dining Room
    Corned Beef
    Corned Beef
    O'Callaghan's

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    Front Bar - bars - Updated July 2026

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