Where does one go after a long day of pushing boundaries and shifting old paradigms? For the world of Chicago tech, where startup founders and employees like to work hard and play harder, having go-to bars for fun and casual meetings is key.
Fortunately, Chicago is a city of great bars. Here are four spots where we know startup people like to kick back.
1. Forbidden Root (West Town)
A photo posted by Brew York (@brew_york) on Aug 22, 2016 at 2:40pm PDT
Forbidden Root's interior boasts a unique blend of rustic and industrial décor. That look suits the place well, as unique is the best word to describe their in-house-brewed beers. Using ingredients such as lavender, black currents, juniper, basil and marigolds, this brew-pub produces a number of one-of-a-kind beers certain to surprise even the most traveled palate.
Plus, the food is pretty good.
“It’s close to our office and they’ve got a great menu," Blitsy CEO Ross Petersen told Chicago Inno.
Don’t let the pub part fool you. Forbidden Root's menu is short, but it manages to cram an impressive variety into a single page, and not a bit of it is your standard pub fare. The whole thing is a beautiful exercise in contradictions – a place where one can easily find an executive grabbing dinner after a board meeting sitting next to a tattooed heavy metal fan and neither one would seem out of place.
2. Headquarters Beercade (River North)
A photo posted by CW (@thedarkerbrother) on Jul 30, 2016 at 7:45am PDT
Despite an impressive drink menu, the original Headquarters has been surpassed by its progeny. The newer location in River North has a full menu. Everything here, save the booze, is geared toward that part of you that never grew up. Menus are enclosed in old comic books. Checks are delivered in pulp sci-fi paperbacks. And there are video games, so many games, all on free-play.
Rather than sports or news, every TV in the joint is showing some '80s film or another, whether it's Spaceballs, Indiana Jones or The Karate Kid. If you’re over 30, this is where you go to remember, and where you will one day bring your fresh-out-of-college hires to learn about what game were like back in the old days.
Maybe that's why so many local startups showed up at Headquarters Beercade last March for Chicago Inno's Tech Madness event.
A photo posted by ParqEx - Parking Marketplace (@parqex) on Mar 3, 2016 at 7:50am PST
3. The Loyalist (Near West Side)
A photo posted by Emma Janzen (@emmajanzen) on Sep 9, 2016 at 8:25am PDT
“The Loyalist has become the perfect after party spot [where] we throw our famous monthly startup community party,” said Opternative Community Manager Eric Pitt. And it’s easy to see why.
Located downstairs from the building's Smyth restaurant, this venue is dimly lit, which, given the underground setting, evokes the speakeasies of old. To further obfuscate its origins, you’ll find a vault door in the wall. Bank? Moonshining den? Al Capone’s suit closet? Whatever it was, it now offers an impressive array of cocktails that blend a variety of flavors to create a balance that’s complex without being overwhelming.
4. Gilt Bar (River North)
A photo posted by Christine Motz (@cmmotz23) on May 21, 2016 at 6:39pm PDT
“Our first and foremost favorite place to hang [and] enjoy after work drinks is the kitchen in our office,” ReviewTrackers Head of Communications Mandy Yoh at Review Trackers, though she ranked Gilt Bar as one of their favorites when they venture out into the wild.
Reminiscent of the kind of place where the industry leaders of old did the business deals in smoke-filled rooms, this venue offers Prohibition-style cocktails made right, such as the Sazerac, the Pimm’s Cup or the Moscow Mule. In one word, this place is a classic. Likewise, the food menu holds no big surprises. They serve a little of everything, all very straight-forward. It’s a great place for a real throwback experience, or if you want to take your granddad somewhere to remind him of his youth.
