Fion Wine & Spirits

Greg is a fantastic bartender. The cocktail menu turns over often and always has a wide selection of unique flavor profiles. Fion is truly a hidden gem, without the pretension that many Chicago cocktail bars have.
They also offer hands on cocktail classes which are an amazing experience!

The bartender is to cocktails what Jiro is to sushi (watch «Jiro dreams of sushi»). He takes his craft VERY seriously.
The ambiance of this place is a bit of a hole in the wall, but if you can get past that (and I actually like divey kind of hole in the wall places if they have good stuff), you should check this place out.

I love this place. Surprised it’s not more popular!
I miss Bobby though — hasn’t been the same since he has been gone

This place is tiny, quiet, cozy, and has hands-​down the best cocktails in town. It has a bunch of interesting liquors and wines; I’d give examples but the potent, delicious elixirs make my brain too fuzzy to remember the details. River North always gets the buzz but you won’t find anything better than this Lincoln Park/​Lakeview spot. Menu changes frequently. Check it out!

Great drinks, small nice location which creates great set for good conversations. The team here knows how to make amazing drinks, if you are looking for a place to enjoy a calm evening and taste unique cocktails this is it. I’ll definitely be coming back and glad I discovered this location

Creative drinks. Bartenders always willing to make a custom cocktail for you or play with different ingredients. Small place, best for dates or small groups.

I almost don’t want to write a review because I don’t want to share this place. I want it all to myself.
Greg is a genius. I don’t always like the taste of cocktails but somehow he always makes something amazing. This is my boyfriend and I’s go to drink spot. Sit at the bar and awe at the process of Greg making the drinks. He amount of care, thought, and love that goes into them is incredible.
Love, love, love.

Nice, serious grown up drinks. This is the type of place that makes classic versions of everything – one or two drinks will probably do just about anyone in. My one complaint is that this place is so incredibly dark it’s difficult to see anything, let alone read the menu.

This could be such a great neighborhood spot, but I can’t get over the restroom situation, and I wish there were a patio/​outdoor space… though I understand the idea of a patio is easier said than done. I’ve been several times since I live in the general area, and Bobby makes a mean manhattan, old fashioned, and moscow mule. However, the recent, pretty lengthy cocktail list is just «okay». My ‘seedless’ watermelon cocktail just tasted funky, and I wished I would’ve stuck with a nice glass of prosecco instead. Lots of promise with Fion, but it seems to be just under the buzzer in terms of being a really memorable, go-​to neighborhood bar.

Wish I could do 5 stars, but I had to dock 1 (see last paragraph) and hope to go back and update it soon!
Went to Fion because they were classified as a wine bar on Unilocal,but when we got there, it was clear the standouts are the mixed drinks. We grabbed a spot at the bar as another party was leaving, which seats about 9, and then throughout the room are about 7 high tops with 2 stools each, a window counter, and a side counter for standing room. The interior is dark and is a shabby/​chic drive bar but with a old-​time speakeasy feel, probably helped by the regulars in fedoras…
When we got there around 10 on a Saturday it was comfortably full. First thing about this place, the staff are amazing! We chatted with the bar tender and the deal is that there are 2 (I think we had Mark) and each one gets to make their own menu, so you might go there and see two different ones. Each mixologist is able to create something to their tastes and interests, which is awesome!
We sampled a LOT of drinks there and the $ 12-​$ 13 price tag is well worth it! Seriously, it’s like watching art happen, plus with all of the fresh fruit and herbs that go in plus good liquor, I was good with it!
My personal favorites were the sage martini, the harder cider, and my auguas fresca. The hubby had some twist on an old fashion and even had a second one.
I’d concur with a previous review, the wine list is not something that you’d find at a regular wine bar, I think it’s morphed into more of a cocktails place.
Regarding the construction, as of 6÷21÷2014 the front is cleared and there is nothing on the sidewalks. However, and this is where I dock 1 star, the restroom area is not good. You have to go through a creepy back room that has stuff strewn throughout and then there is only 1 for both males and females, which, I can be OK with, but it’s just pretty gross. Wish I didn’t have to use it and wish that someone could just give it a wipe down every so often.

Good alternative to Duffy’s next door and the Compass bar across the street. Sometimes you just want to go someplace quiet. The drinks are good and not too pricey. Bartenders are friendly. That’s all you really need.

Whatever you do — SIT AT THE BAR.
Watching Greg the bartender (ahem.i mean mixologist /​genius) was fascinating. He is so meticulous and careful about every single ingredient he puts into his cocktails, its beautiful to watch.
After understanding mine & my friends tastes, he was able to create such interesting combinations with ‘crazy’ ingredients such as mushroom stock, cranberry purée, smashed peas, beets (not all in the same drink… dont worry).
Drinks are only $ 12, and for the experience of watching him mix + the intimate atmosphere this is a great date spot, or place where you want to sip interesting cocktails and chat with friends.

I tend to write long involved reviews comprised of fiction, reality, drama, comedy, food, and alcohol all muddled together.
For this review I decided to not bury my opinion of the place.
I will simply say that FION was the high-​point of a Chicago evening that had buckets full of all of those things.
Greg is a booze artist.
High end ingredients mixed with flair and imagination. Lots of hand crafted components really added subtle impact to what he cranked out that night.
After the first round… we just asked him to freestyle for us… and that was the last smart (and maybe conscious) thing we did that night.
His co-​worker was knowledgeable and friendly and a mixologist in his own right
(I wish I could remember his name but I think that brain cell did not survive the night (sorry dude… sincere apology)).
When getting totally faced in an unfamiliar place it is always a bonus to have regulars that are welcoming. Fion has those. Classy intelligent attractive people who were tolerant of our drunken buffoonery. They made us feel welcome, laughed at our jokes, and didn’t make fun of us until after we left.
That last is an assumption on my part… but I’d bet it is accurate considering that two of us had to carry our third down the street. I am sure we made a comical picture… two middle aged Californians dragging their Irish USC fan buddy out into the Chicago night… on our way (as urged by both the staff and the regulars) to go eat dogs at The Wieners Circle… which we had never heard of and knew nothing about.
Anyway. I loved the place and the drinks and the people… and the dog… which mirrors my feelings for Chicago.
What else do you need to know?
MP

We recently set up an open bar at Fion to celebrate our engagement with our friends and it was a huge hit. It’s a bit of a sleepy bar which makes it perfect for something like this, because even on a Saturday night you can pretty much fill it with just your friends and take it over.
We chose three hours of open bar and they made a custom menu of beers and signature cocktails as well as mixed drinks which were all included. They even printed out a menu card for our guests at no charge which was a great touch.
The cocktails were fantastic and the service was just as good. Greg whipped up excellent cocktails in record time to keep up with demand. My friends are still talking about what a great time they had. Thanks again!

Slow service.
Drinks were very good, however. I’m not sure if they’re worth the price, but it’s safe to say that you won’t be disappointed with your drinks.
I’m a big wine drinker so I was expecting this place to have a nice range of wines to choose from. The list wasn’t anything to get excited about and there really wasn’t much of a list at all.
The place could also use a nice deep cleaning. You can tell that although it’s not dirty, you don’t exactly feel that it’s very clean.

The craft cocktails here are the best. Bobby the bartender is meticulous and creates some delicious drinks.
This is a great place to bring your mom and dad when they are in town. This will show them that you are a responsible class act and not a stupid drunk douche like the kids next door at Duffy’s.

hmm. Not what I thought at all. There was construction going on outside and I walked past it, and then walked back to it. They had the door open, since the AC wasn’t working. The bartender looked like he was melting, but I guess there was nothing one could do about it.
I went there for a date– the place is good for one, dimly lit to hide flaws and on the quiet side, even the music isn’t that loud. The bartender wasn’t pushy, he came over twice in 1.5 hours to check on us and our drinks, not super intrusive.
I had the Pimm’s cup, it wasn’t great sadly. Didn’t taste like anything natural was in it, that it was made from a mix. I could taste the alcohol but not really the mix. Did that make sense? I just mean that it was rather bland.
Sadly, the next morning I had a headache from the drink. And that never happens to me, unless the alcohol is low grade/​I have drunk more than there is water in Lake Michigan. I don’t think I will be heading to Fion more often.
Update: some of the other cocktails are way better. Get those instead.

Interesting spot…
Visited Fion for a tasting event. The spot is tiny, but intimate.
The décor is a bit interesting… it’s quite dark and the tvs light up the walls… I would say atmosphere is about a 3. It’s not really warm and friendly, but the bar area is nice and the room is quiet.
The staff is super nice, definitely a 5.
Value is good, a 4.
The selection was quite nice, though I’m not sure the bartender really knew what we wanted from our descriptions… could be us. However, he did make sure that we were all happy. The cheese plate was tasty. A 4.
The bathrooms were seriously awful… they are under construction and they were worse than a high shool locker room… a 2… the only saving grace is that they will be updated… eventually…hopefully…
If I’m in the area, I would definitely go back.

$ 5 martinis on Mondays. That’s really all you need to know. Okay okay. I’ll elaborate… but just a little bit.
$ 5 martinis but you aren’t stuck with the usual suspects or even what you see in the menu. Here, you can say what type of martini you’re usually prone to and, like magic, the bartender will hook you up with a concoction that’s exactly what you described (even if you didn’t know you wanted it). I came in on a night where there weren’t very many patrons but that was a good thing for myself and my friend. We had the undivided attention of our bartender to discuss heady matters such as The Simpsons, The Big Lebowski, 30 Rock, and baseball. Priorities.
Bars have character and when you can find one that matches up with you… well, that’s pretty special. Again, I don’t know what Fion would be like on a crowded summer evening with tvs blaring and trixies trixing. But, on a quiet evening, after a night of great conversation, food, drinks, and dessert, finishing off with a night cap (or, three; c’mon! THEY’RE FIVE DOLLARS!!) whilst discussing the Babysitter Bandit and the Queen of Jordan… that’s pretty special. I wish that for you. I wish for you a quiet evening of tv discussion, cheap but expertly made cocktails of all sorts and a bartender who can cover both bases for you. I think I just wished you Fion.

Fion is a small classy wine bar somehow owned by the same owners of my favorite guilty pleasure next door. Simply put it is little more than a fancy gateway drug to Duffy’s.
I came for a friends birthday party on a Saturday and I am pretty sure that we were the only ones in the bar. $ 25 all you can drink wristbands were amazing, if your ask nice the bartender will make you something special with fresh strawberries in it! There was only one guy working though thankfully drinks were still pretty fast and accessible.
There is no bathroom so you must use the one in the attached hotel but lets be honest its probably way better than the one next door at Duffy’s.
I will definitely recommend Fion to friends for intimate parties !