Chris’ Northland Tavern & Grill

This place is pretty fun! I would recommend setting the right expectations, but if you do, you’re probably going to have a good time. And if you need clarity on what I mean by expectations… it’s the kind of place where you can buy lotto tickets from the bartender. Our bartender was also fab. Super friendly and took razzing from the patrons with a laugh. My husband says he always loves a place that will gladly make a Bloody Mary at 7 pm!
We went on a weeknight and had the after work crowd who was very lively and playing great songs on the jukebox (old school stuff, not club music). It’s a pretty standard pool hall with zero frills and I found it a fabulous place to grab a cheap pitcher and a zing zang bloody. Chris’ Northland Tavern is a taste of old Wicker Park… before all the boring yuppies like me moved in, and I loved it!

Awesome local dive with great people watching. I’m new to the area and to Chicago in general, the bartender is kind enough to introduce me to regulars which is nice. Jukebox, pool table and 3 or so big TVs with reasonably priced booze. What more could you ask for?

I met a cousin at Chris’ yesterday and it was my first time there. We had a very friendly bartender who recently moved here from Canada and she was great. However, around 7 PM or so, this extremely loud and obnoxious worker came in. She seemed as though she was the proprietor, or at least behaved that way. She was talking on the phone extremely loudly and generally being loud and obnoxious. It was nearly impossible to carry on a conversation. It was so annoying and disruptive that I never intend on returning. Too many other decent options in the neighborhood to tolerate this kind of nonsense.
Get rid of this maniac bartender and keep the Canadian!

I love a solid dive bar & this place doesn’t disappoint. just the right amount of grunge but surprise, the bathroom is clean! the day bartender was friendly even tho I could tell he likely doesn’t suffer the fools I bet mosey into this place often.
the best thing was at 2 o’clock in the afternoon the only telly w/​the volume up was tuned to Giada’s Italian cooking show. the handful of dudes watching in rapt attention were discussing vintage coins without skipping a beat.
awesome

Yo bruh, lets go shoot some pool son.
Aight word.
The lady who obviously runs the show got super mad at me for asking for a new glass while she was on the landline phone. Who has a land line phone anymore? She does. Its a cool neighborhood bar and the pool table is usually empty, but if you see some sketchy looking wanna be thugs on the table, be warned, they are not wanna bees 9 times out of 10. The regulars who come through are vocal so be ready for that.
You can also get food delivered here from any of the surrounding restaurants, which is pretty cool. I want to do that, wouldnt it be funny if I ordered like a whole 10 course meal from Hollywood Grill and ate it all there at the bar? Not so much funny but sad and depressing? OK good talk.

A great place to have a few, with a few, for a few. I entered the bar this afternoon and every TV had the cubs game on. And it’s across the street from the Hollywood Grill. Sweetness. Six beers, 25 bucks, ’nuff said.

Stumbled in because we were starving and needed a beer. Best Tater tots ever! Bartender was super amazing and nice and helpful for my group from California, I believe her name was Michelle.
This will be a stop needed for every time I’m in Chicago! Great little place!

I love this small neighborhood spot.
The drinks are reasonably priced, the people are friendly, and the staff is great.
The rules are lax which I always enjoy. I’ve been able to bring my small, well behaved dog which I love. The bartender was even happy to see her and there was a little Yorkie for her to sniff and play with.
This is definitely a nice change of pace from the other places in the neighborhood.

Chris’s reminds me of the bars in my hometown. In my hometown, it would be like a shot and beer joint with a closed down factory across the street. In Chicago, it’s like a shot and beer joint with a closed down factory across the street that was converted into lofts so that some douche could talk about exposed pipes and brick in his retrofitted urban pad.
As is to be expected in a shot and beer joint, there’s a simple draft list. But hey, you don’t need anything too fancy. After all, you’re just washing down a shot.
I walked in on my long walk home, and I must have been the only non-​regular in the place. If you’ve never walked into a bar and had people stop talking, you’re either not ridiculously attractive or you’re simply not a familiar face.* Memories are short in bars, though, so just order a coldbeer and act like you’ve had one before.
A very kind barmaid was nice enough to offer my parched face a water with my beer, and she refilled it without my asking when it became ice cubes and nothing more.
Although once a social smoker, I don’t partake anymore. However, Chris’s does not frown on its regulars lighting up. Some will in turn frown on this, but any bar that lets this pass is alright by me. I think American culture takes a step back every time a state tells its residents they can’t smoke in bars. The way of the cowboy has given to the way of the yuppie.
If none of this works for you, you will not see a single hipster here. That has to be a bonus for most people.
*I am both ridiculously attractive and an unfamiliar face to the regulars at Chris’s, so their minds were pretty much blown.

A nice dive in the hole on Ashland. This place serves adequete food for its look. This place is small and has one pool table. the bartender was very friendly and attentive. They had many beers though most are in a bottle. nothing really much more to say about this place and chalking down another bar.

Man, if I were a cop I would just sit outside here and wait for the drunk assholes to get in their cars and try to drive home. Been back here a few times and it has been a consistent experience. Also, don’t bother playing pool because you will be hustled.

This place is a dive! Lucky for me I love dives and I had a great time here. The bartender is the sweetest lady I have met and her drinks were on spot!

Ashley G. knows whats up.
We came here after escaping the deafening shrieks emanating from the mic at Louie’s Bar. We just wanted a cheap beer and Northland did not disappoint. The folks were unpretentious and friendly. Carolina, the bartender was an absolute peach! I didn’t smell a hipster the whole time I was here!
I’ll be back the next time I need to escape a nearby douchey Wicker Park bar.

I stumbled upon this place by accident when my wife had to use the bathroom. Great neighborhood shot-​and-​beer bar with happy locals and a friendly bartender. Mostly middle-​aged crowd shooting pool and, when I walked in, jamming to Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Smoking appears to be tolerated (shhhh) a plus for a non-​smoker like me who appreciates smoke-​filled bars. I hope to come back someday.

I’ve been informed that Chicago is a meat and potatoes city, not amused by hyperbole and haiku, so I will rephrase in simple prose for you.
Chris’s Tavern is a great middle of the road dive, not overly funky, but still inexpensive and fun. If you want a dive complete with a standing army of locals and regulars, but don’t like the urine/​stale beer of a real dive, this whitewashed version is great. Cheap drinks, bar food, pool and a test-​your-​strength game are sure to entertain.

What a dive! I love it though. The girls here really know how to throw back and have a great time. There are pool tables, and barfood that is not too awful. Really though, its the overall experience that makes this place great. From the sugary sweet bartenders (that might as well yell «Norm!» at every patron) to the local booze hounds decorating the bar rails. Who doesnt love a good dive bar! Its awful and dirty and my friends wont go there with me. the perfect get-​away.

I recently moved to the neighborhood and I’ve been here twice from what I can remember. It’s a comfortable dive with a pool table, good juke box and inexpensive drinks. The bar tender Carolina was very nice. There are plenty of cabs at North avenue as well. For a low key night that won’t break the bank this should do the job.

This bartender was soooo nice! Chris’ is definitely a «divey» type establishment, but if you want a no-​frills beer, classic jukebox music, and a few flat screen TVs to watch baseball, this place is off the main North/​Damen/​Milwaukee corner, which depending on what you like, may be a good thing.
Don’t come here to see and be seen, but if you want to have a conversation and a quick pre-​meal drink, this would be a good choice. And you’ll pay far less for a beer than anywhere closer to the main Wicker Park intersection.