Love Merkles in Wrigleyville. You have to go after or during a Cubs game and it is one of the funnest places in Chicago. The people are always fun and friendly and you must try the Booty Call mixed drink. Its expensive but it is literally a fishbowl full of alcohol with about 10 straws in it. Cool bar tenders, fun people, good times! read more

place is ok and fun after a cubs game but i felt compelled to write my first one star review this place mainly due to the bouncer. The last several times I've been here, the bouncers have a "holier than thou" attitude wanting to kick people out for no real reason and to not let certain people in. I got threatened for being too close to thw band (they are my friends) and then again for unbuttoning a button on my shirt as it was pretty hot (wtf?) I hope the bouncers are evaluated and certain measures taken to get rid of the bad apples. A review below mine pretty much says the same. read more

Great Service, been here 2 or 3 times and the food gets out to you quick. Had a $4 burger special the last time I went. Burger was good, but the side of fries you get is worth $4 by its lonesome. read more

It's an average "bro" bar in Wrigleyville. But I do like that they have a 'half off' everything on Tuesdays. Made my day a lot better, to be honest. They DO have fishbowls that are the size of your head and are good if you are planning on getting hammered! (I split one with three other girls, ended up drinking the majority of it because I didn't realize how much alcohol was in them-- and proceeded to get really drunk) They do have drink specials on weekends, which is nice (most bars in Wrigleyville don't on weekends.) But it's nice to see there's something going on :) It's average, not the best-- but it's aiiiiight. read more

This is definitely a fun place! I love Thursdays where they have awesome live music and $2 coronas! You can't beat that on a nice summer day! read more

Love it here! Was happy to swing back in for a drink tonight and see almost all the familiar faces I was hoping for. It was packed to the brim for March Madness but I was able to elbow my way up to the bar and grab some drinks. Service was quick, drinks were good and the vibe was energetic. I miss this place these days but fondly remember the many nights we all spent here drinking. Thanks for the trip down memory lane tonight Merkles! read more

Great Wrigley neighborhood bar! Amazing burgers and all the local Craft beer you want. Gumballhead is all the time on draft you dont see that anyway else in the neighborhood. Its nice to go to a bar on Clark and be able to get something better than a miller lite, bud light or bluemoon. If you want good food and good beer and non douche atmosphere this is the place to go on Clark street! read more

Merkle's - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is your place if you're looking for an establishment that caters to inebriated cub fans and people looking to foolishly dance with a statue of Colonel Sanders. Ok, so I wore a sombrero, danced like a fool, and drank nasty shots. I can appreciate a bar that lets me make a bad decision sometimes. read more

Didnt get a chance to see if they still had omlettes during brunch however the backroom setup and the food...insane! I love this place. Stopped by last week after moving away for a while and was blown away again! Plus the potatoes are insane! best brunch in town! read more

DELICIOUS chicken wings! You really can't beat the $0.65/wing specials (minimum order of a dozen). Their Asian ginger wings and BBQ are the best! read more

One of my favorite pre-Cubs game bars. Pretty good burgers. Never overly crowded and good service. Typical Wrigleyville sports bar without too many drunk goons. read more

It's a mediocre Bro bar with average priced drinks and loud music. There wasn't much good or bad here, these just aren't my types of places. I wouldn't go back of my own accord. read more

Decent beer specials, lots of TVs for games, quick kitchen, polite staff. We had about 6 of the appetizers to share among 7 people and it was typical bar food so I wouldn't go back for the food. But it was a great crowd for a Hawks game and we did have a great time. It wasn't too crowded so that was nice too. All too often in Wrigleyville, you're cramped in like sardines when a big game is on. read more

Seemed like a fun place. Pretty decent salad and wraps, but the beer seemed high priced.

Come for their cheap burgers on Tuesday and make sure you order the fries. They are thick burgers on a super yummy bun. They are amazing! Minus one star for the waitress being kinda rude and trying to rush us out. Also, their specials don't apply on cubs games, booo. read more

Average little dive. Stopped in for a beer after a Cubs game while visiting Chicago. Nothing great, nothing bad, just kinda blends in with the rest of the bars in the area. Only difference is the name and the history of the guy, Fred Merkle. Yet another agonizing memory for Cubs fans. Oh well, a good reason for a beer I suppose... read more

Merkle's is my kind of bar! GO HAWKEYES! It is a great atmosphere for Iowa games and gets packed with alumni. Even on days when Iowa does not have a game, I always enjoy Merkle's. The staff is friendly and the food is pretty good. The wings are a favorite of many of my friends. I have enjoyed many Iowa games here as well as Blackhawks games. When we won the cup - I was in Merkle's as Wrigleyville went crazy. Great memories - great bar. read more

The best bar in Wrigleyville to watch a sport's game or go out on a Fri/Sat night. The staff is really friendly and the atmosphere is fun! The second you walk in, there is Colonel Sanders! read more

I love this place! It's great after Cub's games but also to watch Illinois play -- or any sporting event. They have plasma TV's throughout the bar and they offer great specials during the week. read more

Light years ahead quality and price wise of the bars in the vicinity. The food is solid and the staff is really nice and attentive. A great place to go before and after games or if you are just in the neighborhood. And a jukebox with Bad Company AND .38 special how can you go wrong? read more

My friend Kristen calls this "Merkles for Babes". You go in and decide if she is being sarcastic or not!

All local beer on tap! Excellent staff in a great location with good simple food. Get the El Pastor... This is not a typical Wrigleyville bar....This is a neighborhood joint mashed between douche bag haven bars. This is the place to hangout before a Cubs game, enjoy local beer and eat. read more

Great fries! Dropping a star because they trashed their 25cent wing night and greatly slashed down the beer list

Cool place. Nice post game type of a spot though we went during a game when we didn't have tix. Good beers. Good games. Good atmosphere. Liked it. Will stop in again. read more

a guarenteed good time! And the food is always good, a great cubs pre gamer or after a game better yet!

Great place. Cool atmosphere and a great spot to catch a game. On Mondays they have a really cool open mic with some really funny comics. Perfect way to start your night after a hard Monday at work! Come down and get on their great drink specials! read more

One of my favorite bars in wrigley! Merkles has delicious food. Every time I get the spicy chicken wrap and am never disappointed. They have really good specials too. Everything including drinks is half off on Tuesday and appetizers are five bucks on Thursday. read more

This is a great place to come early on A Friday or Saturday to grab a few drinks before you start you night!!! They usually have specials here on the weekends. Very relaxing bar where you can sit down and watch a game. It tends to get crowded at night but it's more of a mature crowd usually. They also have an upstairs where they sometimes do karaoke which is pretty fun!!! One of my favorite in wrigley!! read more

Just went here after Cubs game. Met a group of friends and they have a good beer selection.

I left my umbrella there before a Cubs game, went back 2 weeks later and they still had it. Merks FTW.

Had an amazing Xavier watching experience here over the weekend! Thai was our bartender and although the place was pretty packed and she was by herself for the first part of the game she was very attentive and got everyone what they needed! Drink specials were great. I took part in the $3 domestic cans and the food is pretty delish for bar food. Would definitely recommend this spot for game watching! read more

Merkle's would be NOTHING without Evelyn. If you go in, ask for Evelyn. If Evelyn isn't there, leave. Come back when Evelyn is there. Evelyn single handedly changed the trajectory of my life. She does palm readings in the back. Ask to see "Merkle's ghost". read more

This is a fun Wrigleyville bar. It's not very big but it does the job. They let you pick your own music so there is an assortment of music playing throughout the night. Their drinks are pretty reasonable, but if you're looking for a place to sit down with your friends, you'll have to go really early b/c there is limited seating. read more

The server's here are really friendly and knowledgeable. Great drink specials as well. Sign a dollar and put your mark on their wall. Nice spot. read more

When my friends and I go out for a laid back, fun evening, we got to Merkle's. The food is delicious and the service is always fabulous. The potato skins are sooooooo good! read more

The best part about this bar is the open mic on Monday is in the backroom. The guy Paul and the lady Amy do a great job. This place is a lot of fun. read more

The least offensive bar in Wrigleyville. We went on a Wednesday for the rock 'n roll Bingo, which was pretty fun. You get a Bingo card with a bunch of songs on it, and when they play one (assuming you can recognize it, as they don't tell you the song title), then you cross it off until someone gets Bingo. Although I wouldn't plan my week around this event, it's something different to do on a Wednesday. The bartenders were knowledgeable about the beer (good-not-great selection), and much friendlier and more patient than the typical Wrigleyville bartenders. I liked them a lot. I got the "award-winning" wings because I live for wings. They were very good, but nothing extraordinary. The beers ran about $5-$7 per pint. All in all, this place is the fastest runner in the one-legged race that is the Wrigleyville bar scene. Also, they do not appear to have air conditioning. It was 90 degrees outside...and 90 degrees inside. We were baking. The ceiling fans do nothing. Nothing, I tell you. read more

My favorite bar in Wrigleyville. It is the only true neighborhood bar on Clark street. I love the staff and the food is as good as bar food can get. What I like most about Merkles is that it is better when the Cubs are out of town!! Don't forget to try the Mozz triangles! SO GOOD!!! read more

Living near the new found "strip" in Chicago, I find Merkle's to be about the only place in Wrigleyville I can stand for a quick bite or beers pre or post Cubs games. The staff is not pretentious and always having a good time and it rubs off on the customers. read more

I wish yelp could implement a "zero star" option. I don't normally hang out in Wrigleyville, but when I do, I need to be hammered. Looking for something lowkey on a Friday night, friends and I found that Merkle's was one of the only locations around hosting trivia. So we decided to try it out, knowing it would be a younger and douchier crowd, but hey - trivia. My friends beat me there by a bit and had already ordered food when I arrived. It was about 7pm. The place was busy, but not packed to the rafters. It was at least 30 minutes before our waitress came by again - to take my order OR to bring their food. 45 minutes for bar food is excessive. For at least 10 minutes, my friends could SEE their food on the kitchen pickup window while our waitress stood by the order terminal. She would spend much of the night there...which is puzzling because if you're not visiting your tables, you're certainly not taking any orders to input. The first time she came to our table, I placed my full order, guessing I wouldn't see her again. My friend had asked for honey mustard and buffalo sauces for his chicken fingers - she gave him ranch and bbq. He waited to catch her. He also needed another soda. I finally went up to the bar with his glass to ask for more from the bartender. She saw me, and came by our table. He asked again for honey mustard and buffalo sauce to which she responded, "We don't have anything like that." Oh. Sweetheart. I gently explained to her that he wanted TWO sauces...those two sauces. Not some weird combination sauce. Rough stuff. He never got those sauces, and barely touched his food. The appetizer we ordered showed up 15 min AFTER my burger - cheese curds - and inedible. I'm not sure how one messes up cheese curds but these were the worst - more like melted goo in a bowl with some fried crap mixed in. The wayward waitress didn't return. One of my friends had finished eating at least 30 min prior - so I bussed her dishes away since no one else was. By the time I finished my burger and my other friend had completely given up on his chicken fingers, I bussed those dishes as well. She saw me do it, and said a sheepish thanks and mumbled an apology. I get it - some nights are really busy and some bars understaff. Had she come to us in the beginning and said "Hey guys, I'm really swamped, please bear with me and I promise I'll be back" I might have understood. But I saw her basically hanging around at the end of the bar, looking lost, not hustling. I've been a waitress in a bar where the only money I made was tips - you gotta hustle or just go home. She got crazy lucky my friend left a 20% tip because she was possibly the worst waitress I've ever seen and I will NEVER go back to Merkle's again. Or Wrigleyville if I can avoid it. DO NOT GO HERE!!!! read more