Best gay club chicago
LGBTQ+ nightlife in Chicago: gay and lesbian bars, clubs, and more
Chicago’s nightlife is a lot like the city itself — inclusive, diverse, and welcoming to all. It’s also a whole lot of entertaining. Our gay and lesbian bars have a small bit of something for everyone, with late-night lounges, dance clubs,burlesque and drag shows, and long-standing neighborhood watering holes in almost every corner of the city. And each comes with their own unique history and vibe.
Check out some of the foremost gay bars and clubs to experience Chicago’s queer nightlife scene.
Jeffery Pub
One of the city’s oldest gay bars, Jeffery Pub is a neighborhood institution. The South Shore staple is also one of Chicago’s first black-owned gay bars, making it all the more meaningful for the spot’s many regulars. Don’t miss the live entertainment, like karaoke nights, Silky Soul Sundays, and a lively dance floor featuring everything from pop to house music.
Big Chicks
This lively and colorful spot is part LGBTQ hangout, part art gallery. The walls are plastered with the owner’s personal collection of paintin
Wide Selection of Drinks and The Best Customer Services at The Closet
The Closet often hosts big parties. One of the establishment’s most popular annual events is the Pre-New Year’s Eve bash. It is also one of the bar’s busiest nights of the year as each year features a distinct theme. Such events, combined with a lesbian uncover season following softball games, video bowling, darts, bingo, karaoke, and other assorted games, is why The Closet Bar, as tiny as it might be has been a famous destination for more than three decades.
In addition to being a popular entertainment and lesbian pick-up joint, The Closet Bar in Chicago is also a popular destination for drinking enthusiasts. If you would like to indulge in a delicious drink, you will be happy to learn that the establishment offers a wide selection of tasteful drinks to enjoy. The drink selection is quite extensive and there is a adj bit of everything for everyone. You will be hard-pressed not to verb something you like as you scroll down the menu. It is also worth noting that the drinks are quite reasonably priced.
Downtown: Everything’s waiting for you
For the first hour of a recent Saturday night at Downtown—a new bar in the space once occupied by Gentry and, ever so briefly, The Lucky Lady—I was the only lady in the room. Among the lounges that dot River North, Downtown stands as the sole gay bar save for the stalwart dive Second Story in nearby Streeterville. As a veteran of many a Boystown bar hop, I had decided to visit both spots and evaluate the possibility of a new gay district on Chicago’s nightlife horizon.
With three male companions in tow, I headed to Downtown first, since I’d heard happy hour is bus-tling (my next check in will be for Talentless Tuesdays karaoke in the basement). Relieved to uncover the drink list unencumbered by craft cocktails or hundreds of beers to sift through, I ordered my old faithful, Maker’s and Diet ($8), and huddled with my group under the dramatic barrel ceiling. “Oh, yeah. There’s a lot of Grindr action going on here,” my friend Tim muttered, peeking at the so-named smartphone app th
O'Hare could become the first American airport with a gay bar onsite
Sidetrack, an iconic Chicago bar in Lakeview, is placing bids for a specialty bar at O’Hare International Airport
Marked with its giant rainbow pillars, Chicago’s Boystown has long been a haven for the LQBTQ+ community and its allies. While not the only gay enclave in the Windy City—Andersonville also deserves props—Boystown is HQ for political activism and moving the social and political needle forward, with prosperous businesses supporting the cause. In the '80s, Boystown was shaped by gay bars, with Sidetrack on North Halsted at the helm, and now it might take flight as the first gay bar might reveal in a U.S. airport. (And no, the Delta Sky Club doesn't enumerate as a gay bar.)
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Chicago’s largest and arguably most iconic gay bar, Sidetrack, has put the wheels in motion and applied to open a specialty location at O’Hare International Airport. This would make the City of Big Shoulders h