Mickey’s Tavern

The best side street neighborhood hidden tavern you will find in the city. It was very difficult to find and I finally fond it after many drunk travels in this neighborhood. Enjoy it now as it lasts as it looks now because developers have their eyes on changing this place. The place is old and is a typical neighborhood bar that has survived transitions and former Mayor Daley’s attempts to destroy small taverns. Many other structures use t be taverns in this neighborhood and it is good to still see a few side street bars survive and flourish thanks to influx of youth in the neighborhood and economy. They have chunky candy bars that go well with a cold beer

Mickey’s is a dying breed in Chicago. The neighborhood bar deserves more. More customers, more business, more admiration. That. That is what Chicago is all about, and Mickey’s exemplifies it. Just a great dive bar that you can walk into on a snowy February night, or a football Sunday. You’ll get the same friendly service either way and maybe even a friendly conversation with the guy/​gal sitting next to you. Hey, even better… they do $ 2 Miller beers on Sunday. Do I need to say more? Mickey’s is not a bar, it’s a destination. Maybe I’ll see you there. Just make sure you leave the North Face vest or ironic mustache at home.

I should preface by saying that I’ve never had a horrible experience here, and have had a couple of really fun nights here, but the less-​than-​stellar moments are what stand out most for me whenever I walk by.
My boyfriend and I live right across the street from Mickey’s. The night we moved in, one of the first things we decided was that we absolutely had to check out this place. My boyfriend is not the big spectacle, thumping music, big party type, so we were excited to have a low-​key, neighborhood bar right on our doorstep. On a Tuesday when night his Dad was visiting, we walked over to Mickey’s for a couple of beers and as soon as we walked through the door, the jukebox cut out, a stray bottle fell, and everyone stopped talking to look at us strangers. Not really, but that’s how it felt. I expected to feel a bit like a stranger on our very first visit to this small, dark, out-​of-​the-​way watering hole, but I wasn’t really prepared for quite the reaction we got. Of course, about an hour in when we let on that we moved in across the street, it felt like Cheers inside that place.
On another quiet weeknight when we’d had a couple of friends over to watch a game, we decided to head over to Mickey’s to finish the game over some beers and maybe play some of the arcade games. We were the only people there when we walked inside, which wasn’t suprising. What was surprising was how disappointed that night’s particular bartender looked that we had walked in and disturbed her. The subsequent awkwardness was palpable.
What was really the final straw was on a night I had orchestrated for my boyfriend’s birthday. We did a bar-​crawl of sorts and Mickey’s was obviously on the list, as it was so close. It was our second stop, so our group of about 15 was ready for some tunes and drinks at this point– there were a few other patrons hanging around that night and seemed entertained as we worked our way inside. It wasn’t until, over the sound of all the bar stools scraping along the floor, I made out the bartender mumble to herself «I don’t f#$@ing believe this crap» as she glared at us coming inside, that I really lost my respect for this place. First, I was embarrassed, because I usually talk Mickey’s up to friends and I felt bad that the welcome we were given was pretty poor. Second, I just thought it was bad business. It’s one thing to maintain your status as a low-​key, unpretentious saloon, it’s another to make sure the people trying to give you business will never return again. And I’ve walked by on plenty of weekend nights and peeked in the windows to see standing room only, so I know we were not by any means the rowdiest crowd to ever have breached the doorstep.
I’m a fan of nostalgic, no-​frills taps where you can get to know your neighbors. I’m also a fan of friendly people and a welcome atmosphere. I can’t say I’ll visit Mickey’s again. Perhaps I’ll start trying my luck at the Corner, where I’m usually greeted most evenings as I walk home from work, regardless of whether or not I’m giving them my money.

This bar could and should be filled with the requisite Ck’s that inhabit this area of Bucktown, however since it’s literally right next to ⁹⁰⁄₉₄ but just a few feet away, maybe that scares some. Anyhow, I personally enjoy it for the unpretentious atmosphere, cheap liquor specials, and the awful jukebox.
Enjoy Suckas’!!!

Totally chill. Tucked away so none of the usual area yuppies cone here. And cheap!

Nice little spot nestled up next to the freeway. Jukebox is interesting, some Traveling Willburys and other nice classic rock /​forgotton songs. Drinks and beer are cheap and they’ve got Letterman nice and loud on the TV in case the jukebox runs out of songs…

Places like this are going away. It’s a corner bar tucked away in a neighborhood that reminds of the way things used to be, even if you’re not old enough to remember drinking in the 1960s or 1970s… back when there was always somebody’s dad who owned a saloon and sponsored 16-​inch softball teams in the summer.
The bartender was quiet when we came in but warmed up quickly, and soon we started talking about everything from parking prices to how «the Feds have been nosing around lately, checking up on Daley.»
One of the regulars waxed eloquent about his dislike for cyclists and their behavior on the road. He said he wasn’t above bumping a back tire with his car on occasion.
The barkeep seemed just as interested in us as we were about the joint, and upon finding we were new to the neighborhood, the next two pints of Old Style were on the house. And free hotdogs on Sundays.
Feels like home.

This is the kind of place your grandpa probably drank at. A classic corner bar.
One of the casualties of the smoking ban was the loss of an amazing ceramic ashtray at Mickey’s that was the size of a frisbee and featured a bear standing in a stream with a salmon in his mouth.
Becky is one of the regulars here and she puts on a «Vinyl Night» every 4 to 6 weeks on Saturday evenings. She brings in an old school turntable and hooks it up to a pair of those Realistic brand speakers you used to see at Radio Shack. Her vinyl selection is deep with 60s-​80s pop and rock and she invites the patrons to both look through her records and pick out what they want to hear, or BYOV. She’ll spin pretty much anything that isn’t screamo or death metal. I’ve brought in Whitesnake and she played «Slide It In» right after Dolly Parton’s «Jolene».
(I should note that Becky isn’t a pro DJ… she’ll play a song, pull the needle and then you’ll have anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes of dead air until she fires up the next tune. This just adds to the charm of the whole scene for me.)
One of the old regulars is Pearl. She’s probably in her late 70s or early 80s but is a real firecracker. On Vinyl Night she’ll bark out requests for the Andrews Sisters.
On non-​vinyl nights the jukebox at Mickey’s offers an interesting mix of tunes from the 50s through around 1992 – pretty sure the newest song available is the Scorpions «Winds of Change: Russian Version».
As for the booze, the sign outside reads Stroh’s but the only tap beer available is Old Style. I’m not sure how often they clean the line here, but I usually wake up the next morning with a dull headache after drinking their draught. Stick to the bottled beers or mixed drinks, which are fairly priced and fairly stiff.

Approved for Tuesday Steak Nights. You bring in your meat and they cook it for you. You get a choice of potato or fries. They also give you a nice salad. You get all this for less than $ 4.
Where else are you going to find a deal like that? Nowhere, that’s where.
Paid a visit up north to my old stomping grounds and discovered the beauty that is Mickey’s on a Tuesday night. One TV showed the Bulls game while the other showed the Obama speech. All of this was blanketed by some choice 80’s tracks on the jukebox.
The local crew were varied and polite and everyone brought in their meat to be served up. I guess I found the spot to be in on Tuesday nights.
Go for the great service, cheap drinks and friendly (and cute) barstaff. Walk away wishing you lived closer so you could call Mickey’s your local bar.

If you are looking for a dive you have found it. The regulars are stupendous! The details of how divey this place is are worth the trip themselves. Please go to Mickey’s it is pretty effing great.

I wandered in here accidentally last night and had, hands down, one of the best bar experiences of my adult life. Upon entry, I was greeted with an enthusiastic «Hello!» by the regulars. I sat down at the bar and the ‘tender introduced himself and his brother (sitting at the end of the bar), and offered the beer of my choice for the price of the special. A kind regular stepped in a bought me a Sierra Nevada. My vegan ass was invited to help myself to the complimentary hot dogs being warmed in the crock pot behind me. The patrons were playing video poker, conversing, and picking stone grooves from the jukebox. It was heavenly.
If you don’t come from the friendly faces, come for the black velvet painting of the tiger. I think I’m in love.

I’ve decided this is the only place I really should be drinking these days because it is right on so many levels. For one, it reminds me of the old school bar my grandma used to have in Humbolt Park circa the 50’s and 60’s and it reminds me of all the places my dad would drag us to in Wisconsin in the 70’s (Old Style signs and mounted fish) but the drinks prices are almost like petty theft. I bought a round and when Tony the friendly bartender gave me my change I told him I wanted to buy the whole round and he replied «you did» so I basically spent $ 14.00 for four drinks that would have been about $ 30 bucks anywhere else in the neighborhood. Or at least on Damen.
This is the kind of place where there is no attitude, no posers, no emo-​boys, nor a Trixie in sight. Just neighborhood people, old and new, having cocktails. There is Cubs stuff everywhere, an ok Old School juke box and random snacks that change depending I’m sure on what the owner feels like buying. It doesn’t get any more real than this, real Chicago that is.

Despite it’s status as a full-​fledged Cubs bar, I love this place! The crowd is friendly, the bartenders are really nice, the drinks are cheap and the owner Jeannie is beyond fantastic.
Extra star for the old timey ladies room & the coolest ashtray I’ve ever seen (you’ll know it when you see it, trust me).
If this place was a bit closer to my house, I’d be here way more often ~ give it a run, you’ll be glad you did!

One night I was at this place on a Friday, and there was a free buffet set up. The place was jam packed with a friendly working-​class crowd. I noticed that a lot of people had a stack of wooden tokens in front of them. To my surprise, I recieved one. I asked the bartender what the deal was. She said the bartender bought everyone a free beer when he got off work, and the token was for those of us who were not yet ready for the beer! So I guess all the regulars were buying each other rounds. That’s pretty cool. And oh I had one of the best martinis I’ve ever had for $ 3! (It was a special)

This is that bar you always see when you get on ⁹⁰⁄₉₄ South on Fullerton.
People reminice about the «corner bar» in Chicago, and this is it. Preserved, because of it’s unideal location. My pal from college was a regular here… when she was 15.
The bar façade looks like a mantlepiece in your Polish grandpa’s basement, the jukebox is adorably pitiful, and there’s electronic gambling machines in the back that regulars actually use.
If you’re going here make sure you’re going with someone who already knows the staff. They were really cool to me, but another pal told me that they were getting the stink-​eye for wandering in here on a random night… ‘course, you go anywhere long enough you’ll start to rub off on the staff.

Expect no frills from this small hidden sports pub in Bucktown. This quaint neighborhood bar decorated with Chicago sports paraphenalia is a great place to watch games and mingle with old men and local construction workers. They even have free hot dogs and food on big game days. If you wanna a place to hide and drink Old Style bottles then this is where you need to go.