J Bar

I am only giving this place 3 stars because the location is not the easiest to get to & it’s a little bit small. However the size is also something I really enjoyed about it.
This place was a nice little upscale lounge. They played house music when I was there so the music was good. The lighting was dim which I liked & the people were dressed nice. The staff was friendly & the place looked crowded because it’s a small place which helped create a good atmosphere. The prices are what you should expect at any night club.
It reminded me of a smaller Spybar. I have been here multiple tines & have enjoyed each of them. I would recommend this place as a good spot to start your Saturday night.

Tried this place for the first time on Fri. ⁹⁄₂₁ around 8pm.
Service was very good. The atmosphere and vibe was really nice! Very comfortable and the music was good. Great place to get the night going.
Ordered the beef sliders and corn dogs and both were good. Drinks were also good but small and not very strong. Overall ok but pretty expensive. I guess its normal for downtown as the cocktails were like $ 13 a piece for a small glass. :(We (TWO OF US) had two appetizers and drinks and the bill was $ 275. Maybe some of the drinks were even more expensive than $ 13.
I would go back, but be a little more attentive to what is ordered, since the vibe and service was good.

Nice spot…
Me and my wife got there around 10p. The place was empty and the music was nice and adult… a little Rick James, MJ. Our server was a black girl named Tiffany (i think). She was cute and attentive. The Long Islands were a litte pricey ($ 12) but they were strong. The burgers were absolutly bangin’! Get it medium with some swiss and you wont be sorry. The crowd was also nice… young and fun-​loving. No one was making any trouble. I’ll be back…

This was a totally random experience. But in a good way.
We came for the $ 5 Friday burgers (regular $ 12). I knew they were associated with David Burke’s so I expected a good burger, and was not disappointed! It was full of flavor, cooked to order and had a nice substantial bun. We expected fries to be extra, but they were included! It’s really the greatest dinner special in River North. We also got the bacon on a stick — essentially small hunks of pork dipped in honey and/​or maple syrup and served like a lollipop. They were good, but I was craving actual bacon.
The beer list is very limited, the most interesting thing they had was Stella, and they were out of it! It’s certainly not where you come to drink beer, but that’s what I had started the night with so I didn’t want to switch. Which brings me to my next point, it’s a full-​on club. It’s small and dark with mirrors all over the walls, very random. There also happened to be a stand up comedy show that night, which explained the random crowd. However, service was excellent, our waitress was attentive and our food came out quickly.
Overall it was a random spot, but you really can’t beat $ 5 burgers.

They have the best deal on Fridays. The normally $ 12 burger was a measly $ 5 AND it comes with fries. The meat was very juicy, but my fries were slightly undercooked and limp. The big surprise of the night was the bacon, served as a lollipop with a side of maple syrup and ground pepper. It was sweet, salty and yummy.
When we walked in I thought we had walked in on a video game convention. You had to be there, it was an altered universe. It turns out they were hosting some local comedians, some of whom were quite good. Our waitress was very nice, despite attempting 3 times to get our bill correctly.
The 3 burgers, bacon, 2 beers and one cocktail was only $ 18 per person for 3 people. I will definitely return for the Friday special.

I give one star for the music and the drinks, they were good. AND THAT WAS IT.
Last night I went out there for a friend’s birthday. It was Friday night going into Saturday and I got there a little before 1am. It’s a small place, literally small. The music was good and pumping, and my $ 9 jack and coke was tasty tho pricey.
BUT it was maybe a quarter before 2am, that they put the lights on and the asshole at the front door who checks id’s RUDELY kicked everyone out. RUDE. We sat down cuz my boyfriend was in the bathroom so we were waiting for him. And the aforementioned asshole wouldn’t even let us sit inside the establishment and wait for him. He said «I asked you to wait outside.» RUDE.
Fuck this place. Don’t go here. Music and drinks were good. But they treat you like garbage.

We decided to skip the Burkehouse and go for bites and drinks at Jbar. For a Thursday during prime dinner hours, the place was expectantly desolate, but I could envision on a weekend, the place quickly filling to capacity with the trendy touristy crowd.
We both ordered the «Burker” — 40day dry aged burger with fries.
It had makings of an excellent burger, how could I say no to garlic spinach and bacon mayo? While the meat was superbly prepared to my medium needs, I thought that it was still lacking. The potato bun, while neccessary to affix all of the components, added to the overall dryness. Maybe it needed another slather of mayo?
I ordered the Mojito Diego with mint foam. While it topped my list of pretty, fancy-​pancy cocktails, it was too muted and weak. The foam was a nice touch but where was the rest of my mojito? I would’ve been better off ordering something nonalcoholic.
$ 5 half-​pound «burkers» on Fridays– if you’re in the area and looking for a deal, why not? Overall, I think I’ll look elsewhere.

I’m a little biased because I knew the manager when I went. Couple free rounds of shots and beers and any place is a fun time! But objectively, the place is a little small, but the music was pretty good! Kept us singing and dancing. Was a little dead for a Friday night but heard Saturdays is bumping. But that’s probably true for most downtown bars/​clubs. Solid place.

Checked this place out due to getting a bottle deal on Poggled. Mandatory coat check ($ 3) when you go in. Not a big deal for me, since I normally like to check it anyway if I know I will be staying a while. The crowd was a mixture of age groups and ethnicities, which I have no problem with. This is Chicago, if you can’t handle some diversity, then get the hell out.
The photographer got a little annoying, cause due to the small size of the place, it seemed like you were in every picture.
This next comment may be a little over-​critical, but I don’t care… the DJ sucked. I guess I just didn’t dig the overall vibe of the place, cause when I start noticing how bad his transitions were between songs, it’s probably not a good thing.
They aren’t too quick to clean up bathroom incidents either, because for about an hour there was a pile of what could be depicted as ‘Used Lucky Charms’ sitting in the Men’s room.
J Bar… no thanks.

Keeping this one short because that’s what I think of when thinking about a night that started visiting this miniature lounge.
While Jbar has a lot going for itself, small things like having a pillar in the middle of the floor make me feel like I am having a drink in a basement. Not a bar.
I met up with some friends for a night out and started at Jbar, from the short walk in… I have to admit the excitement levels sparked. Through a frosted door and a small hallway, you walk straight into a bar that is large enough for a private party but not somewhere I would go if I was tearin’ it up, so to speak.
There’s several couches scattered throughout for lounging with a cocktail and minglin’ with a good crowd. The bar to me, is where this bar is at. While I do like to sit on a couch, it just wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. At the bar, at least you could joke around with the bartender or just kick back a frilly drink and chat the hour away.
A small part wants to call this a starting point if you’re going to be hopping around from place to place within the River North. Jaunt in, have a cocktail and make your way out to another place that is literally right around the corner.
Prices are pretty much standard here, the service… again…the bar is the go to. Overall, I would say if you’re looking for a spot to host a party, this may actually be someplace to call upon.

I’ve been to J Bar on several different nights, and for different occasions, and have always had a great time.
While the space is small, it’s nicely laid out and well styled. The drinks are very good (read: strong!), and the staff is super friendly and helpful.
My favorite night is definitely Wednesdays for the party hosted by @superfun — great crowd, music and vibe.
Weekends are much calmer (with more tourists checking out the lounge) but still fun.
Shoutout to Andy D. and Mamadou (sp?) — great management team!

J Bar is a nice quaint spot. I was just there on Wednesday and it was pretty crowded.
It had a great mix of people. Few slobs and not stuck up wannabe Chicago socialites.
Music was pretty good. A lot of rap.
I would definitely return!

came here with a group of friends… had the 40 days dry aged burgers and a couple drinks.
the drinks are soooo weak.
don’t get me wrong. i am so light weight that i usually feel the alcohol effect immediately. Had «The James» and something else… thinking since the James is the signature drinks, it should be good. but it’s way too sweet and weak. Same disappointment with the other drinks
Had the 40 days dry aged burger… I went to David Burkes a couple times and that’s where I fell in love with steak. I found the steak quality not as good last year when i went back. though I heard they were better this year, so thinking since it’s the same kitchen, the burger should be ok…
one of my friend and i ordered ours medium rare, while one of them ordered hers medium-​well.
The consistency were all luck. My friend got hers medium rare, juicy and red, mine looked more like medium-​well, like my friend’s.
But the medium well was mostly cooked medium well, but then somehow part of the edge was really red though.
The whole time i stared at my friend’s medium rare patty coz i like my meat red :(
My fries were undercooked too… so i just stole my friends’
o…well…not too sure if i would rec’d it… maybe their kitchen didn’t care about the order coming from the bar?! or the quality of the whole restaurant group in chicago is really declining?
service is not bad though… at least the bar tender didn’t have those «high-​end» hotel bar attitude… hence 2 stars instead of 1.

I could never say anything but great things about J Bar. I have been here several times and it gets better every time! The staff is exceptional and never disappoints. The best part of the club is the music! The DJ plays the best music! I was there on NYE with a guest DJ who killed it and the regular DJs have yet to disappoint! Throwbacks, hip hop, and current hits… always something to dance to!
I highly recommend checking J Bar out! You won’t have a better time anywhere else!

Cheesecake Lolly Pops! Delish!
So I wound up here to start off NYE 2010– and the place was JUMPING!
We couldn’t get a table because it was so crowded… They acted as if we couldn’t order food from the bar?! We finally found somewhere to sit, at like a reception desk area and ordered appetizers… We had some type of bacon appetizer, sliders, and something else that I can’t remember now. We also tried a shrimp app, and some type of tuna app… I’m late on this review, so I can’t really remember what all we ordered.
We had a bottle of Reisling, which was chilled to perfection… Not too cold and not too warm.
What I do remember is that the hostess who was at the bar was a BIOTCH! And– for the record she was UGLY too…
I’ve been here before and I would come again…

I’ve only been here once, but it was a great experience. My friend had bottle service for her birthday, so I definitely had a good time. ;) This place is small, but it wasn’t overcrowded or deserted either. There was a good continuation between the bar/​dance floor/​tables, and the music was great. They played a lot of 90s R&B and hip hop, which always wins me over.
For my friend’s bottle service, she had Kettle One, and to me, it stood out they had pineapple juice and ginger ale for mixers, cause those are my two favorites for vodka and I’ve never seen them included, so props for that! Also, her birthday cake slice was DELICIOUS. I don’t know if that is only a specialty for bottle service customers, but I wish I were eating that cake right now… it was very similar to opera cake. :) They also had this funky little tree made of delicious chocolate truffles on sticks that looked like lollipops.

Mandatory coat check: 3 $
Drinks: 5 – 9 $
Seeing my friend get wasted on her 25^th birthday: Priceless
My friends and I went to J Bar (right next to the steakhouse, we went inside there on accident and was totally lost) a couple nights ago for the first time to attend one of our girls birthday. The place is small and classy, more of the downtown lifestyle around this area. Of course it’s expensive! Duh you’re basically in the heart of downtown. It was nice and our friend was DJ-​ing that night so we knew the music was good. Security really don’t know anything though. They couldn’t move a couch to save their lives and panicked at even the littlest sign of trouble (basically everything that night) really they were just a bunch of guys thinking they have all the power in the world. But overall a good night

This place is small but awesome. Classy. The management and staff were really cool. They make sure you’re taken care of. And the DJ would listen to people’s requests, which is kinda rare, especially when he doesn’t even know you. I’m a big pregamer, and I’m gonna have to say the drinks were made strong. You totally get your money’s worth.
But because this place is better for private parties, just get bottle service and you’ll be set. J-​Bar… we will meet again.

After a long day of St. Patty’s Day drinking, we somehow pulled it together, classed it up and headed to J Bar for cocktails. J Bar is long, narrow, dark and sexy with a mirrored wall facing the dance floor. Mixed crowd, which was refreshing… met a group of cool Barcelonians which was fun. Tourist-​heavy for sure. The drinks were of average price compared to other swanky cocktail lounges.
I may have really loved this spot except that the music ruined it. Bizarre mix– I don’t want to hear ABC by the Jackson 5 while sipping on a designer cocktail at a sultry lounge! Subsequently, the sexy factor plummeted.
Also, there’s a required coat check for $ 3 which is sort of annoying.

Why do I let my friends take me to places ilke this?
To me, a good lounge has at least three of the following: sexy décor with intelligent design, impressive and original cocktails, an awesome bathroom, sexy lounge music and a good crowd.
J Bar did not have any of the above.
I met up with a dear friend of mine for a few drinks and catch up. The space is small, bland and doesn’t have much going on. The drinks were watered down and the music was so loud I thought I was at a euro club. There is zero sex appeal here in my opinion.
The bartender was really nice though.
Not my scene.