On Friday 9 at 6pm, the Windy City Gay Chorus and Aria will hit downtown for Caroling at Cloud Gate in Millennium Park.
The crowd is surprisingly mixed in both age and race (although it’s mostly male), and the atmosphere more lively than you might guess for such an under-the-radar gem. Most Popular Gay Bars & Clubs in Chicago, IL Nookies Tree Restaurant Sidetrack Roscoes Hydrate Jackhammer Minibar Ultra Lounge & Caf Touche Big. It may not be as gay as the nearby Gap, but if you follow the faded red carpet up a flight of stairs and turn right before you hit the psychic, you’ll land in one of Chicago’s great gay dive bars. We’re not sure if it’s the gorgeous atrium lighting or the visual feast of vintage hotel dinnerware, seasonal gifts and flea market finds that make this gay-owned shop special, but we do know that it’s the perfect place to scoop up a gift like a vintage city map or snag some lovely Parisian bistro bowls. Otherwise, grab a table and sink your teeth into a tasty sandwich like the Blue Pig n’ Fig ( jamón serrano, Ader Kase Reserve blue cheese, locally made fig and black tea preserve, whole grain and Dijon mustard). If you’re gift hunting, consider signing up a family member for one of Pastoral’s monthly clubs featuring all kinds of artisanal goodies. Take the most adorable places for wine, cheese and charcuterie out of California’s Napa Valley and restitch them into a single Loop boutique and you get this wonderful gay-owned food store and café just a stone’s throw from the shops at Block 37. loop (downtown) 17 west gaslight club brando’s speakeasy cactus bar & grill cardozo’s pub tilted kilt pub & eatery ceres cafÉ stocks & blondes sky ride tap roof on the wit: rooftop in chicago rivers elephant & castle pub and restaurant emerald loop bar & grill plymouth restaurant & bar exchequer restaurant & pub o’brien’s riverwalk cafÉ franklin tap o’brien’s.
Grab a drink, play some free darts, and mingle with the diverse crowd of regulars. The laidback spot is primarily known as a lesbian bar, but all are welcome. This neighborhood institution has been welcoming bar-goers since 1978.
Games are designed to increase critical thinking, memory, coordination, word skills and visual perception, all of which you’ll want to have when it’s 2am at the bar and those beer goggles are screwed on mighty tight. This LGBTQ nightlife mecca has a bar or club on every corner, and The Closet is one of the originals. Not to take you away from Elder Scrolls (or Angry Birds), but consider instead directing your frontal cortex at the challenging games, puzzles and brain teasers sold at this chain whose out CEO Lindsay Gaskins lives in Chicago with her wife and daughter. There’s elbow room for all (sometimes more than we’d like) including plenty of seating around the rectangular bar or in the plush banquettes we recommend a hot toddy or Baileys and coffee for the wintry days ahead.Ĩ45 N Michigan Ave, 31 or 55 E Grand Ave, 31 Also take a look at the Chicago Gay Bathhouse and Sex Club Guide, which has plenty of advice on where to meet guys looking to hookup around Chicago.It’s not quite the bar where everybody knows your name, but this 2010 newcomer in the former Gentry space continues to anchor gay life in the heart of the city while offering a welcome respite from the busloads of tourists hauling their plump selves up and down the Magnificent Mile in search of the next great bargain. Here's a more in-depth look at these Downtown and South Side Chicago gay social establishments. It's also a bit of a distance to reach these bars, but they're both legendary nightspots that are well-worth checking out, especially given that many of the nation's gay African-American hangouts have steadily disappeared over the years.
Additionally, on the city's South Side, you'll find a pair of gay bars that cater predominantly to African-American patrons, Club Escape and Jeffery Pub. You can find extensive lists of establishments in the Chicago Lakeview Gay Nightlife Guide and the Chicago Andersonville Gay Nightlife Guide. These neighborhoods are a lot of fun, but they're also a bit of a haul - by cab or public transit - from downtown Chicago, which is where most of the city's hotels are.įortunately, there are a couple of very fun gay nightspots right in the heart of downtown, not to mention an almost endless supply of terrific restaurants, many of them with mixed gay/straight followings. Although Chicago has among the greatest selection of gay nightspots in the country, the majority of these hangouts - from bars and discos to LGBT-popular restaurants - are in popular mixed residential-commercial neighborhoods on the north side of the city.