It all culminates in a sprawling windowless room that feels more Disney World than Chicago, albeit decidedly more adult. That’s thanks as much to its masterful mixology, its immersive Pirates of the Caribbean-esque atmosphere, and its groundbreaking premise-guests follow a series of flickering tiki torches down a River North alley, then enter an unmarked door into a long hallway lined with glowing skulls. When it first opened its hidden alleyway door in 2013, at the forefront of the nationwide tiki renaissance, Three Dots and a Dash quickly cemented itself as one of the most quintessential bars in the country. How to book: Nine Bar does not take reservations, so arrive on the earlier side (pre-7 pm) to stake out a seat. Come hungry too, ‘cause the snackable food menu is packed with heavy-hitters like mapo hot fries, a McKatsu fried pork sandwich, and crispy cauliflower in Chinese orange sauce. This being Chinatown, look for Chinese-inspired tipples and spirits, including lots of highballs, sakes, and a masterful Mai Tai made with almond cookie orgeat. Housed in what was once a dining room for the restaurant, the alluring bar is marked only by a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sign that bears the Chinese characters for “Nine Bar,” which gives way to a sexy den filled with lounge chairs, stools, a DJ booth, and flashes of neon. That all changed earlier this year, when Nine Bar emerged as the neighborhood’s first cocktail bar, a dimly lit speakeasy nestled behind Moon Palace Express. Here are the best hidden bars in the city, as well as what you need to know about how to find them.Ĭhicago’s Chinatown has long been a haven of soup dumplings and chili chicken, but craft cocktails? Not so much. Old and new, and with varying degrees of blatantly obvious popularity, these hidden haunts can be found across the city, nestled underground, down alleyways, and behind barbershops. In Chicago, a city with a long history of secretive boozing that dates back to the Capone era, speakeasies are as integral to the local bar culture as Malört. While some speakeasies are so popular that the inevitable line down the block debunks the intended secrecy, there’s still something enchanting and appealing about disappearing into a sign-less watering hole. The key difference, of course, is that speakeasies no longer operate out of discreet necessity, but rather as a fun way to differentiate, play coy, and dabble in eccentric themes and offbeat locales-like parking garages and adult video stores. It’s been nearly a century since Prohibition ended, but speakeasies nowadays are as popular as ever, and clandestine bars all over the world are partying like it’s 1933.
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