My husband and I were looking for a Lincoln Square bar to watch Monday Night Football last week. We went by a few places on Damen that were standing room only, then settled on Ricochet's. They had Stella on special ($4) and a BIG projector screen in the back. The bar seating was full, but the back area was wide open. The crowd was mostly older than us (which isn't hard to be), but it was great. No one proving their testosterone levels, no one talking over the game then yelling when they realized the Bears just scored, and at 5'4, I didn't have to watch my team Bear Down! between shoulders. Note: They don't have food at Ricochet's but you can bring anything in. We went to Costello's and grabbed some (amazing) subs. Some people were ordering in pizza. It's cheaper this way too, and the wait for food is probably about the same - less if you plan ahead. read more

Extremely rude bartender. Looked super high and was super aggressive. unwelcoming angry dude with giant pupils. No thank you.

I've lived in Chicago for almost a decade. I've done the LP bars, I've done the Old Town bars, I've done the Loop bars, I've down the Evanston bars. I've done the Lincoln Square bars, I've done the Lakeview bars, I've even done the Wrigleyville bars (I'm a Sox fan). Ricohet's isn't the bar you go to be seen or the bar that is going to be playing the latest Lady Gaga remix - it's a bar you go to pony up to the actual bar, get a drink, and actually have a conversation with who you're with or the bartender. I don't go to Ricochet's to have some fruity 'Effen and Diet', I'm having a shot of Powers and a beer. Ricochet's is like Scotch or Bourbon - an aquired taste but once aquired, a staple. read more

This is a neighborhood bar, so don't expect anything spectacular. If you want to chill out and get a drink and just chat with people about work, sports whatever, then Ricochet's is a good place to go. It's nothing special, but it doesn't try to be, so I rate this place for what it is and not what it isn't. Decent service, cold beer, pool table, dart board, small greasy television sets. I went here one day when the Cubs won the division, and the bartender gave my brother and I free beers because we were wearing jerseys. How much more hometown can it get? read more

Yeah I went to this place once with a few friends. It was good times! We played darts for a while and had a couple pitchers. After a few hours the joint got pretty packed. Lots of jukebox playing and people trying to play darts. All in all a good solid time. read more

Worst bar. I'd rather get into a car accident on the way there as opposed to actually getting there and hanging out.

Great place to go if you want a quiet place to be able to hear yourself speak. The draft list is not too shabby either considering this is more of a dive type bar. They have Left Hand Milk Stout on tap, so I'm good! I have been here a few times now and it never seems all that crowded. So, if you are trying to get into Bad Apple, Half Acre, or any of the other more crowded places around here and can't, definitely try this place. It's low key and good for a more quiet night out. read more

Ricochet's wins in its simplicity. Bar, darts, a few TV's, enough said. Ricochet's flies to the top by offering up two of my favorite things at an incredible price: Maker's Mark and ginger ale. All for $3.50 A bargain, a steal, a real American deal. That's why I love it. read more

We were there yesterday. They have free Wi-Fi, bartender is friendly, nice selection of beers on tap and bottle. I would go back again for a beer and hang-out for a-little while, Overall, not a bad place. read more

Very welcoming and friendly. Always very clean, which is a plus. Beer selection has improved in the last 6 months and I cannot wait until the kitchen is finished. The service is great and drinks are very reasonable. One of my favorite places to sit and relax while I am in Lincoln Square. read more

This use to be my absolute favorite bar but than they lost the pool table...please bring it back!!!! This place is definitely a Cheers episode...everyone knows everyone and the family owned bar is still run by them and their offspring...the drinks are cheap which is great for a grad student's budget!! The service is friendly and sociable. read more

Great place to sit at the bar and watch a baseball game. They don't serve food (except for bags of pretzels and chips), but you can bring outside food in. So go across the street to Costello's and grab yourself a sandwich, and come over to Ricochet's for some beer. Oh, and the bathrooms are extremely clean and nice (can't usually find that at a "dive" bar). read more

This place is a dive in a hip, cool Chicago neighborhood. Not much else to say about it and for once a chicago bar could use more decor and money spent in that area. read more

They have good beer and wine. The bartenders are cool. It's pretty rad.

I have a love-hate relationship with Ricochet's...I love that I can walk there, that I can usually find a spot to sit, and that generally the people are nice and quirky in a good dive bar kinda way. I hate the way they charge $3.50 for a draft PBR. I mean, isn't that against dive bar code? I also dislike the lack of a lock on the men's room for my male friends and if you're unfortunate to be sitting over by there. Another funny note - if you're on a bender, and you're working up a guy and things are going really well and you are thinking of doing something you maybe shouldn't do...well girls, just head for the bathroom. The poster size Anne Geddes poster on the wall of three infants in a bathtub cherubically staring at you as you re-gloss will make you pause. Best birth control ever. read more

Reason why I came because majority ruled the group that I was apart of. This place is a Bra/Chad type bar with plenty of jerks to go around. That's not really enough to deter from a place since they are pretty much unavoidable. But the place is all wrong, really not the type of place for a large group of people since the place is pretty small and towards the back they have dart boards that get in the way. The bartender was overwhelmed and I was quite surprised they only had one working for a Saturday night, probably because its a smaller place. My biggest peeve is the lighting. A bar shouldn't be this bright. It's like working in an office building. Hopefully I won't come back here but you never know how the group will go. read more

Ok if I am being perfectly honest I don't remember A LOT about Ricochet's. It had been a long night and there had been many drinks. What I do remember is that the drinks were cheap, strong and plentiful. And I think that if you can go to a bar on a Saturday night, find a table, listen to the Talking Heads and then dance to the Talking Heads you have probably found a good place to stay. And the fact that it is mere blocks away from my home makes me think...yea I will probably come back. read more

My roommate started going here, so I started going here, and I must say, it feels like home, if home were a bar under the el tracks. Nice casual atmosphere, cheap drinks, cute bartenders, all adds up to my kind of evening. read more

This place could be regarded as a utility; just that, no more, possibly less. It just exists as a convenience. There is no spark to it. What it lacks in vigor and vitality it most certainly possesses in eratic (occasionally psychotic) personalities encircling the bar. For example, on my last visit, a gentleman wearing a fedora and a trenchcoat ordered 4 bags of pretzels and a coke. Each bag was opened and pretzels were separated into some strange pattern. Each patron stared intently at this guy, possibly all wondering if he had also been carrying a gun. A few nice bartenders, some good beers. But a few real boozehouds look like they've been there since the Truman adminstration. read more

Best place to play darts and get pitchers of beer with your friends, hands down, compared to anywhere else in Chicago.

Ricocchet's is a nice little Lincoln Square dive-y kind of bar. With a great beer selection (impressive for a dive!), a jukebox, and darts...you're pretty much set for the night. We came on a night when someone was having a birthday party and it was a little crowded so we only stayed for 1 beer and ventured onward, but I think on a regular night this would be a great place to belly up and hang out with friends. read more

With the beautifully renovated restrooms, this place is jockeying for best bar in LS. However, not sure why they feel it necessary to blow you away with the bright lighting in there and after some research, found they use better smelling hand soap in the women's restroom. They make up for the bait and switch on the bathroom soap with great darts and they play WOF every weekday with sound. Speaking of which, what is up with contestants these days buying every vowel possible as soon as they get some cash? read more

I was not a fan of Ricochet's when I first moved to the Square, and would frequently stomp my feet when asked to meet others there. "That is the most nondescript bar in all of Chicago" I would yell, and you know what, I don't know if I'm wrong, but I think it makes me love it more. The clientele is varied and interesting, everyone is friendly and few are skeezy, there is zero pretension, and the prices are good. As I ordered the other night, the bartender casually told me about how polar bears can smell cranberries from up to four miles away. Where else are you going to get that? The jukebox satisfies my need to get Eddie Money songs stuck in others' heads, and the darts entertain us for hours, even if I can't seem to hit the dartboard itself. read more

I felt like my experience at this bar was kind of boring. We tried some type of pumpkin beer and it was pretty awful. The bartender didn't say one word to us and the ambiance was a bit distasteful. Just a bunch of older men and some random women in their 30's looking desperately for some attention. I would skip this place and find something better in the neighborhood. Daily's is a good option for beer and good eats. read more

i love this bar. this is big bar with a lot of stool around the bar. they have some tvs and a few dart Board in the back of the bar. i have been there a few times and they bartenders are nice and friendly. a new thing is they have a guy that checks ids at the door. big beer selection on tap and in cans. mix drinks are a good price. this is my favorite bar in Lincoln Square if your in the area i would Differently go read more

Great dive bar, not too busy, updates darts, good service, and IMMACULATE BATHROOMS. Prices not amazing but on par with others in Lincoln Square. I will be back ! read more

I hate to be a Negative Nan, but I find this bar mediocre and annoying. I used to live across the street from it (above the Hansa Clipper, but that's another story) and would meet friends in there a lot. I was intrigued by the bar because it looked like the kind of place that I am comfortable with, clean but slightly dive-y. As it turns out, I was there on average maybe twice a week. However, you'd think after a while the staff and the barflies would start to warm up to us, talk to us, (we tried talking to them,) maybe comp us a drink every once in a while, (we tip well). No dice. Instead we were charged way to much for Bass Ale on tap that had suffered severely in taste due to the fact that the lines probably hadn't been cleaned since the Eisenhower administration. I understand from the older residents of the 'hood that the guy who owns it is quite a cheapskate, and it is evident from the fact that the bartenders are required to use a jigger to make mixed drinks. A jigger. Ew. When I started to branch out to other bars in the neighborhood, Ricochet's was long forgotten, only to be a footnote and an inside joke between me and my friends. There are so many better bars in this neighborhood! Why go to the mediocre one of the bunch? read more

This place is great! Great people, darts, good beer selection, and britten the bartender is amazing!

Ricochet's is sweet, they have some decent beers on tap, entertainment of various types and awesome music (Bowie and the Beatles were among the artists on the playlist). Also, its reasonably quiet, which I like, because I am a crotchety old man. read more

Rick is the best - so helpful and accommodating in planning a surprise birthday party for my hubbie in the back room. Love Ricochet's - a great, old school neighborhood spot! read more

i felt ripped off and cheated ... so did my date... i had been to this place when they first opened a few times and liked it ... not so now and ill never return .... ingredients listed on the menu where not on my plate .... the frito bandito resembled something jr. high school kids would make at a slumber party (rice in a taco shell covered with way too many frito chips ) .The shrimp taco should have been described as an oversalted cabbage and cream taco with a few shrimp ... the chicken taco was just fair (but salty) beer selection was good ... jj and dd read more

an ok dive. we went to watch the game and play some checkers.

I have been here a few times already. Every time it has been a different kind of crowd. Always have had a great time. Beer selection is great. My drinks were not under poured. The bar seems to be very clean especially the bathrooms. I have been there during shift changes of bartenders both day and night time bar keeps were very nice. I will definitely be back with my friends. read more