3 Chicago bars are among America’s best, according to Esquire

May 28, 2023

Chicago has plenty of bars – from speakeasies to gastropubs, wine bars and more.

Of the many establishments, a few of them are especially extraordinary, at least according to some. Three Chicago bars recently made Esquire's list The Best Bars in America - all for different reasons.

Esquire editors appear to have been so impressed, they highlighted one Chicago spot right off the top. Meadowlark, described as an old library-like spot in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood in the article's introduction, offers an Avian-themed cocktail menu, with "each drink meant to resemble a specific feathered friend."

Here's what made Meadowlark as well as the two other Chicago establishments stand out, according to the reviews.

"Like Ever, chef Curtis Duffy and Michael Muser's epic tasting-menu experience, After feels like an inner sanctum of gustatory delight, albeit a bit more chill—you can get a beer and a cheeseburger, after all. It is a sublime combo here, but do allow the moody, elegant surroundings to lift you toward a higher plain. The bar bites are in another orbit (get the duck wings), and beverage director Luis Rodriguez's glorious creations are some of the best kitchen-meets-bar libations around.

What you’re having: The A5 Vesper—Monkey 47 gin washed in Wagyu and served with caviar on a puffed tendon." —K. S.

"This is a wine bar, but as the name implies, this is not a place to take wine too seriously. You can, in fact, get a Miller High Life if you wanted, or a negroni made from mostly local ingredients. That said, the wines are seriously good and off kilter in a good way–let the simple descriptions guide you ("light and oceanic," "str8 blueberry pie") towards whatever mood you’re in.

What you’re having: if the weather is nice the pro move is to grab a bottle and head out to the vast back patio and be comforted by the rumbles of the elevated Blue Line train." —K.S.

"The sign outside is marked with a single bird. Inside, the dark exposed brick, chesterfield couches, and golden light create a tried-and-true library vibe. What feels delightfully uncommon, and why the thirty or so seats are filled by 6:30, are the inspired drinks from beverage director Abe Vucekovich based on . . . birds of the Midwest? There are sixteen cocktails—many with strange, high-flying ingredient pairings, like chartreuse and sotol or brandy and mezcal—that are all mesmerizing and listed in a field-guide menu complete with Audubon drawings. Future menus will be inspired by eclectic themes such as the World's Fair and CBGB.

What you’re having: Finish the night with a Turkey Buzzard. Like the bird, it's ugly on the surface— blackstrap rum, agricole rhum, amaro, mole bitters—but entrancing once you get to know it." —K. S.