Green Door Tavern

I love this place. Not just because it’s so quirky and such a neighborhood staple, but because the food is actually pretty decent here too. And it’s refreshingly well priced for the neighborhood. The speakeasy comedy club in the basement is an excellent addition.

This is a hidden gem in the basement of the green tavern! The best ! Check it if you are lucky to get in behind the bookshelf is another bar call the Drifters. If no luck you still can party at the green door tavern and keep it smooth! We had the beat best time! Come early!

Ooooooof. Let’s start with the basics.
We came here to meet a friend from out of town. The place wasn’t super busy when we got here (6:30) but when we left it was pretty packed (10:30)!
There is a a speak easy underneath we didn’t get to experience but were told about and it had a 2.5 hour wait.
So, two of us got here earlier and grabbed a bigger table. It wasn’t busy so this was easy. What wasn’t easy was handling our server. I don’t know what it was, but the whole night she was really off. She took our order, said weird things… Then came back to take our order again. Just drinks and then she was back to take that again two minutes later — there were two other tables.
As our table grew it got worse. Drinks were forgotten, brought over wrong, spilled on people’s heads… and then getting the bill was pretty hard. She was saying things that didn’t make sense. She didn’t know what anyone had ordered and after we told her, the bill still came out missing both our entrees (only 4 of us ordered food). Food was mediocre — bar fare and kind of plain.
It was kind of a mess and it became comedic by the end of our night for the table. At least we had a table I guess?
After the third beer I wanted wasn’t available, I ended up just not ordering and left.
Wasted $ 100. Won’t be back.

When I travel I always try to check out bars with a lot of history behind them – this one obviously delivers. We were treated to a private tour of the downstairs speakeasy, very cool of the employee that invited us down to check that out! This place should be one everyone’s Chicago drinking/​history tour list.

An historic post-​Fire building, easily identified by a large sign overhanging Orleans Street; and, yes, the door is green. The interior is a large dark room (rather brighter in a dining area overlooking Huron Street), walls covered with advertising signs and other memorabilia. Lovely old back-​bar, partly obscured by decorative clutter. Comfy wooden swiveling barstools with backs and arms. Full bar. Three TVs, pool table. Restrooms down 14 steps, not accessible. The men’s room looks relatively clean, but is smelly.
I probably wouldn’t recommend a place so saloon-​ish for children (good heavens, am I turning into a crypto-​Dry?), but, to my surprise, there was a large family party having a good time in the dining area.
Three blocks from the Chicago Avenue station on the Brown and Purple Express Lines. One block closer to the station’s Superior Street entrance, which, however, has no elevator. About a mile from Rock Bottom, one-​half mile from Clark Street Ale House.
Very respectable menu of craft brews and imports. I tried a fixed flight of four draft samples at $ 11:
— Coronado Brewing Co., Coronado, CA. Orange Avenue Wit, 5.2%. Clear gold, with a light head fading to halo. Virtually no nose. Bright, low-​IBU taste, with an orange and antihistamine taste, and a bit of bitterness expressed only in the fade. Refreshing; this would make a good summer beer.
— Metropolitan Brewing Co., Chicago, IL. Magnetron Schwarzbier, 5.5%. Fairly clear dark brown with orange-​red highlights. Light head. Roast malt nose, with a slight «summer sausage» note. Classic Schwarzbier roast malt taste all the way down.
— Surly Brewing Co., Chicago, IL. Coffee Bender Brown Ale, 5.1%. Slightly cloudy root beer color with orange highlights; light but enduring head. Coffee is present in the nose, but to me the dominant note in both nose and taste is cigarette tobacco.
— Solemn Oath Brewing Co., Naperville, IL. Punk Rock for Rick Kids Belgian Pale Ale. Also reviewed under First Draft. Copper-​gold, light head. Hint of «fruit cocktail» in nose. Light and sweet taste, again with a fruit cocktail note, and some out-​of-​balance bitterness in the fade.
In addition to the four-​draft sampler, I tried a pint of:
— Ballast Point Brewing Co., San Diego, CA. Ballast Point Pumpkin Down Scottish Ale with Pumpkin. 5.8%. Clear red-​brown, almost no head. Weak malt nose. Sweet malt Scottish ale taste, with only slight pumpkin or pumpkin pie spice character, though this seemed to grow with continued tasting. Flavor is sweet malt all the way down. Doesn’t really work very well either as a Scottish ale or a pumpkin seasonal.

Good old school bar right in the heart of River north. Nice to be in s place that’s laid back and friendly. In addition there is a speakeasy downstairs that’s fun for a change of pace.

This is a fun, touristy place to go in Chicago — historical space with decent drinks and food. Lots of secret rooms and fun events, with a serious old tavern vibe. Prices are great and I will definitely go back for drinks with friends.

A Chicago classic! Great neighborhood bar with great food and a fun atmosphere. People are friendly and just looking to have a good time! The inside has a unique and interesting décor. Definitely stop by this place if you are in the area.

What a cool experience. Unfortunately we came a little late and while everyone was winding down and people were leaving. the bartenders welcomed us and showed us their cards: (of) drink selection was wild. Loved it. The mixologist shared some of her experience and explained what the vibe is like on a busier evening (not at 12am on a Wednesday!)…she poured us the most delicious hand crafted cocktails and I honestly didn’t from andy thing I didn’t find mysterious and delicious. We hung out here far past ‘closing time’ and never felt rushed or unserved. We had an incredible time and loved the sweet girls that served us. Thanks for a great experience — be back in September to see the big show!

Got thirsty when walking around Chicago under the sun. Luckily happen to hit this place, which looked like something very traditional from the outside. And indeed it’s a very decent traditional bar also inside!
I stick with the liquid stuff i.e. cannot comment the food. There was quite good if somewhat limited beer selection. Drafts such as Boont Amber cost $ 6 so quite reasonable.
I guess they have had their share of «Behind The Green Door» jokes so I decided not to go down that route myself…

Traditional Chicsgo watering hole.
One of the last wood buildings built in Chicago. The settling and lean to the building just add to itd charm.
Soon to celebrate its century mark, this old chicago bar is always a treat. Food is very good and very well priced. Service is always friendly and prompt.
Great for getting together with friends.

Food: 5 stars
Prices: Reasonable
Atmosphere: 5 stars
Service: 5 stars (bartender Kathleen is the BEST!)
Get the chilaquiles from the brunch menu… probably the BEST brunch I have had… EVER!
My new favorite Chicago spot!

My brother will probably give this place a 3 or 4 because he has visited a few times and it has been a hit more then a miss.
I went here recently. I wasn’t feeling 100% but my brother wanted lunch. We decided to go here.
I was talked into the soup and sandwich from the waitress. I ordered a grilled cheese and cup of chicken noodle soup. What I received was a bowl of chili and a luke warm cheese sandwich with dried out cold cheese (previously melted) sticking out the sides. The waitress did apologize for misinforming me of the soup choice and brought out a ridiculous amount of fries. I appreciated the attempt, but why was my grilled cheese cold when brought out to me? If you’re going to charge $ 9 for a grilled cheese at least serve it hot…

Extensive list of whiskey, beer and drinks. We didn’t get to try the food. When we finally got seats, we certainly admired the décor.

We came here for Burger Week, and felt like we hit the jackpot. This Bootlegger burger was fabulous as well as the fries. We all raved about how tasty it was and for the price that it was at for burger week made it that much more phenomenal and well worth it. I’ve always wanted to check this place out and am glad to know it’s here. I would love to come back and check out the other menu items if the burger is any indication of how the rest of the items will taste.

Immediate reaction: It was ok, so much history… had the angus grass fed burger and the meat to bun ratio was amazing aka mucho meat. Nothing to write home about but def slightly above average bar food… huge whiskey menu and they have rip van winkle (a great 20 dollar shot) that is called that cause when you drink it, it’s lights outs :)

My favorite bar in the neighborhood. Seems to a be a staple for most of the people around these parts and for good reason.
Love:
1. Beer and bourbon selection
2. Prices are reasonable and comparable across the board
3. Staff are killing it here all so friendly and helpful and quick
4. Juke box
Like
1. TVs aplenty
2. Location is perfect
3. Food is pretty tasty for bar grub
Not my favorite
1. Can be completely jammed on the weekends almost hard to move. Good for them, bad for me.
Come check it out. Worth the trip.

I love Green Door as a bar. $ 4 shot wheel, good strong drinks and a decent beer selection. The vibe and history of the place is what makes Chicago awesome.
I’ve had the burger before and that was awesome. So why only 3 stars… I was torn about it. This time I stopped in and had the BBQ Boar sandwich. The Sandwich was only meh. Decent and edible but lacking any real flavor. The bbq sauce was very one note and bland. It could use a little more spices… either sweet or spicy. And the boar while I give them credit for having something different than pork it was really fatty. A couple bites I had to spit out the chunks of fat.
I will say I thought it was strange that the kitchen was closed by 8pm. I know it’s Sunday but while I was sitting there I saw them turn away 3 people who wanted to order food. I clearly got my order in right before they closed.

I stayed in Chicago for 5 days and got to explore a whole bunch of bars/​taverns in the city. Although they were all great and tons of fun, the Green Door Tavern was by far my favorite!
It’s quite small, so if you have a large group it might not be convenient. We were a group of 4 and didn’t get a chance to sit down until 1 hr later, but it didn’t matter! the vibe of this place was so great we ended up making friends with locals.
Our bartender, Buddy (or Duke? as his shirt said) was amazing. Friendly, funny and accommodating; he even referred us to a great restaurant nearby.
The tavern however, does serve amazing burgers (tip, if you check-​in through Unilocal you get $ 5 off)
Overall, great place to come hang out, have a drink and watch the game on one of their multiple screens.

Yikes! We happened upon this place and wish we hadn’t. Had the doorman/​security/​PR guy not been so coaxing we would have passed this up.
We waited a bit for service at the bar as some yahoos were allowed to stand and chat blocking the ordering area. When we did get attention we ordered a couple of vodka drinks. Such a weak pour… we each got about two counts in our glasses… that’s a ½ ounce pour, folks. Either the bartender was off or cheap management — not sure which but I won’t be back to find out. The total for two drinks that my grandma would like was $ 10 — hardly worth the wait or the price.
We found a table in an otherwise deserted area of the bar. My partner’s drink was obviously about 95% cranberry juice and the sweetness was getting to him. We, being brainiacs, decided to combine my vodka tonic and his vodka cran. We made a little mess on my grandma’s table cloth and within minutes the nicest lady came by with a dry towel and wiped it down for us. Nice touch!
As I mentioned earlier, the doorman/​security/​PR guy made the evening fun! He was hilarious and was relentlessly doing great PR work for the bar. I wish he had better material to promote. His cab-​hailing abilities were unrivaled! He was faster than Über!
Sadly, he wasn’t enough to make me want to come back here. I hope others have a better experience but for my money and time I’d rather go somewhere that I’m appreciated.