Chicago is a dive-bar town to its bones: 1958 Old Town institutions, Ukrainian Village photobooths, and Swedish glogg poured under fish-shaped neon. Grimy, warm, and gloriously unchanged.
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A cash-only 1958 institution across from Second City, its walls covered in irreverent nude celebrity paintings. Dim, ramshackle, and beloved by comics, cabbies, and Roger Ebert alike.
Pip’s Tip Cash only, open till 4am and 5am on Saturday. Across from Second City since 1958, walls covered in paintings.
A cash-only, art-crowd dive with a curved wooden bar, no-frills cheap beer, and a vintage photobooth. Once haunted by Nelson Algren and Liz Phair, still the heart of the neighborhood scene.
Pip’s Tip Cash only, daily 4pm to 2am. Art-crowd dive in Ukrainian Village with a curved wooden bar.
A Swedish-heritage dive from 1934 with a fish-shaped neon sign and a boat-shaped bar, famous for warm spiced glogg in winter. Cheap pours, a beloved jukebox, and old check-cashing charm.
Pip’s Tip Daily noon to 2am. Swedish heritage since 1934, and the fish-shaped neon sign is the landmark.
A dark, red-lit Division Street mainstay with a killer punk-and-soul jukebox, stiff cheap pours, and zero pretense. A regulars' bar and Nelson Algren-era survivor.
A cash-only, gloriously cluttered corner pub packed with kitschy antiques, a fireplace, and a pool table in back. Cheap beer, a great jukebox, and a low-key regulars' vibe.
An artist-friendly Pilsen dive with cheap cans, a strong jukebox, a basement photobooth, and legendary tater tots. Grimy-cool and always packed with a young creative crowd.
A dark punk-rock whiskey den open since 1993, stocking hundreds of American whiskeys yet still a proper cheap-beer dive. Loud jukebox, DJ nights, and horror-movie screenings.
A downtown holdout in a sea of glossy bars, this century-old family dive pours some of the cheapest cold beer near the Loop. Cash-friendly and beloved by musicians and service workers.
A no-frills, cash-only Polish liquor-store-slash-bar where you grab a cheap cold bottle from the cooler and drink it right there. A back patio and old-school neighborhood grit.
A late-night industry favorite open till 4am with cheap drinks, a loud jukebox, and a rowdy after-hours crowd. Grimy, dependable, and perfect for the last stop of the night.
A cash-only 1958 institution across from Second City, its walls covered in irreverent nude celebrity paintings. Dim, ramshackle, and beloved by comics, cabbies, and Roger Ebert alike.
Dive bars are one chapter of Pip's Lifestyle, find the whiskey bars, lounges, steakhouses and the Domino Club below.
