Gay Bars in Chicago
Chicago’s Boystown is to Toronto’s Gay Village or to San Francisco’s Castro, or to Seoul’s Homo Hill, the epicenter of 10.0 magnitude of queerosity! Just like any other gay areas, Boystown is no different: rainbows everywhere. Bars, restaurants, cafes, boutiques and other shops abound the area between Belmont and Addison/Waveland on Halstead and on Broadway Streets. It might be a little quiet during the day but it comes alive at night when the hedonists go out and meet their friends or their potential hook ups.
Apparently, heterosexuals aren’t afraid to mix and mingle with the fabulous gender in gay bars and elsewhere. While most bars are populated with gay guys, there’s a good population of straight allies who are either with their gay BFF or tagging along their boyfriends who mix well with the crowd.
My friend Jacob (Thanks, J for contributing text to this blog post! You’re hot!) showed me some of his favorite gay bars and eats which he thought I’d like. And like I didn’t! I loved it! I had so much fun there or Chicago’s Gay Village had so much fun with me? LOL… Whatevs…..
As in many cities, an ID is necessary to get inside any of these bars. Let it be known that there are other gay bars around Chicago but I’ve only been to the ones in Boystown.
If you are visiting Chicago’s Boystown during their Pride Week (June 22-30), you should check out some of these bars. There’s always one for whatever you like: leather, twinkies, muscled, yuppies, drags, etc…
If you’re on a mission to get wasted in Chicago’s Boystown, check out some of the bars during week nights for their $1 drink, a deal you won’t say, “no.”
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1. ROSCOE’s (Gay Bars in Chicago)
3356 N Halstead St.
It’s a bar, a dance floor and a paradise rolled into one. Their pitcher of pink lemonade with vodka blew me away—for $12! Don’t be fooled by the lemonade thing, it does get you drunk! And when the alcohol kicks in, go and sashay to the dance floor. Nobody cares about your slutty moves, anyway. Everyone is a dancer here! The bar is pretty mix of homos and heteros (I talked to some) and the atmosphere is unbelievably friendly. Snap your fingers and you’ll get someone to talk to. No entrance fee, except Saturdays ($5).
2. BERLIN (Gay Bars in Chicago)
954 W Belmont Avenue
A dance cave of all kinds of dancers in their butt-grinding moves! I’d say this is a good place for hook-ups. LOL… The music is loud and awesome and the queue to their tiny washroom is exciting! Hahahahaha! And if you feel like a star dancer, climb the little stage they have there and show Madonna and Jennifer Lopez that they’re becoming so irrelevant. It also has DJs from NY and California sometimes and mini concerts. They also are famous for having Madonna night, Robyn night, and Bjork night and Kylie Minogue night. They are usually on Sunday nights.
3. MINI BAR (Gay Bars in Chicago)
3341 N Halsted St.
The hot guys are here. They are mostly talking with friends, introducing each other and their eyes wander near and far. But there’s one or some who would surprise you in a moment you least or don’t expect it. I’m talking from experience here. :)) If you wanna get wild, go to the basement and use that smooth, hard pole to your advantage. Hey, I’m talking about the pole we use for pole dancing! And oh, they have a go-go boy there, too, to fulfill your shy fantasies! We didn’t finish our mojito here—it was disgusting! But their bartenders are gorgeous! 😉
4. CLOSET (Gay Bars in Chicago)
3325 N Broadway Street
A lesbian bar on Broadway Street. It is a queer dive bar hosted by a crew of exuberant lesbian bartenders. You can find your fair share of men and women of all orientations who frequent the bar. Because of its 4:00am closing time and limited space, it is the perfect place to go to unwind after a night of dancing or for an intimate night with friends or future lovers.
5. SPIN NIGHTCLUB (Gay Bars in Chicago)
800 W Belmont Avenue
This is a multilevel utopia for the entire queer community. It is frequented by gays, lesbians, heterosexuals and is well known for hosting drag queens from all over the country, and don’t forget about the wet shower contest every Friday night for a little eye candy to start the weekend off. With two separate bars playing your favorite dance videos and 2 separate dance floors on the first floor and another in the lower level complete with a stage to release your inner diva or just relief from the work week. Wednesdaynight is Spin’s famous $1 drink night that brings in a large crowd for those week day dance-aholics.
6. BIG CHIX (Gay Bars in Chicago)
5024 N Sheridan Road
It is a small neighborhood bar just north of boystown that is frequented by young and old patrons, twinks and bears, gay and straight. The bears come out and they are hungry! Every Monday for $1 burger night. On the weekends you can find a mix of all types of people and sexual orientations dancing to some of the best music from the 90s to the present.
7. CELLBLOCK (Gay Bars in Chicago)
3702 N Halsted Street
It’s leathermen’s paradise. Enough said.
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