Lounge entertainment in Chicago
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A
Violet Hour
This nouveau speakeasy isn’t marked, so look for the poster-covered, wood-panel building and the door topped by a yellow lightbulb (U2 found it for their recent record-release party). Inside, high-backed booths, chandeliers and long velvet drapes provide the backdrop to elaborately engineered cocktails in which homemade bitters are applied with an eyedropper over six varieties of ice. As highbrow as it sounds, it’s quite welcoming and accessible.
reviewed
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B
In Fine Spirits
For a cocktail lounge that shakes and stirs chichi artisanal drinks like the Tiki Bebado (with ‘fresh-cut Brazilian mountain cane’), In Fine Spirits is surprisingly low-key. And the drinks – all 30 of them, many made with locally sourced booze à la North Shore Gin from suburban Lake Bluff – kick ass. Wine and bourbon flights and a small menu of flatbreads and appetizers round out the offerings.
reviewed
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C
Coq d’Or
This classy joint in the Drake Hotel opened the day after Prohibition was repealed. It offers a taste of old Chicago – burgundy-colored leather booths, a tuxedoed bartender and bejeweled women in furs sipping Manhattans. A piano player starts tickling the ivories around 7pm.
reviewed
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D
Rodan
This sleek, cinematic spot for 30-somethings slides from restaurant mode to bar mode around 10pm. Arty videos courtesy of Chicago artists are projected on the back wall, and the space often hosts interesting live collaborations between electronic composers and video artists.
reviewed
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E
Terrace at Trump Tower
Trump’s view-a-riffic, 16th-floor al fresco lounge is for when you want to live large, with a glass of champagne in hand, looking at the Wrigley Building and the river from a bird’s eye vantage point. It only seats 75 (no reservations), making it cozier than you’d think.
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F
Signature Lounge
Have the Hancock Observatory view without the Hancock Observatory admission price. Shoot straight up to the 96th floor and order a beverage while looking out over the city. It’s particularly gape-worthy at night. Ladies: don’t miss the bathroom view.
reviewed
