Late Bar

The last great place to go at 3 a.m.
Super friendly.
Good music.
No cover.
Decent drink prices.
Great overall.
So glad Dave is doing so well.

I stopped in here with a friend after a few visiting a few nearby dives. This place was pretty chill, certainly not crowded. It was 90s music night and there were $ 2 glasses of champagne which I thought was rad. We stayed for a few glasses and chatted, overall a totally fine bar!

2 couples (in our late 20s) out on a Friday night… We went to this bar based on positive Unilocal reviews. The bartender seemed very judemental. The music… well It flat out sucked. It was something like 80s punk no-​name bands. Not even one-​hit wonders, it was worse than that. The bartender told me the DJ does not play top 40s music. It was dead in there as well. Unilocal lists it as a dance club but it was far from it. We will not be returning.

Late Bar is located in the vastly underrated and as of yet relatively hipster free neighborhood I used to call home, pre-​Naperville — the always delightful Avondale. We had some friends in town this weekend and I didn’t know where to take them post-obligatory-Kuma’s-dinner. I was too tired for Wicker Park, too full to sit at a place that also served food, and too easily annoyed for any downtown bars. We decided to go out on a limb and rock out to some new wave tunes in a bar where you can also actually converse without screaming. I usually refuse to pay cover at a bar out of principle, but it was only $ 5 so I survived. But still. Cover. Ugh.
The place is pretty small but has a lovely, dark, dreamy vibe with large white paper spheres dabbling the ceiling, a glowing backlit bar and baroque edged frames adorning the walls. The bar is cash only (woh wohhhh) but we all survived (and didn’t spend a TON of money as a result). I was only going to have one cocktail, so I made it a fancy one — the Soda Jerk ($ 10) which is a shot of delicious coconut (you can choose other flavors too!) liquor poured into a glass of sweet, decadent craft cream soda. It was so rich and delicious tasting that I was able to sip just that one drink during our time here. There are some people dancing, but I admittedly have no idea how to dance to new wave tunes and elected instead to sit at the bar and gaze at my much drinker crew from afar. I think the bartender picked up on my «the only sober gal» vibe and very kindly chatted with me — about the FitBit I was wearing, the price of shots at the bar ($ 7!!! For a SHOT! Things have changed since my drinkin days!) and was entirely pleasant during our visit. I also like that this place, like Neo, is so 100% judgment free — no frattiness, no one making fun of dancers, a very diverse crowd of polite, albeit snooty, patrons.
I think Avondale is absurdly undiscovered, so I’m happy to see Late Bar doing well, and hope others follow suit in this neck of the woods. We’ll definitely be back for a fun night that’s just a little left of center.

I don’t know why this place isn’t packed every night. Maybe the cash only rule at the bar? Hopefully, they can fix that. I love the music and videos. The drinks are very reasonable. If you go on a busy night, the crowd is pretty cool.

Update: I was extremely drunk when I left the other review. Of all things after my crap treatment there, I get on Unilocal… smh. But! I meant every slurred word!

The bartender Amy is a sweetheart, and she does the bar well. However, the metal music at the end of the night is scary and doesn’t fit the vibe. I’m sure if they play more chill music, people would enjoy their conversations and not feel like they have to yell across the table.

When you die you go to the Late Bar.

I love Dave Roberts, and I love his bar. It’s that easy. He plays the kind of music that I like to listen to, and often I’ll come in, sit at the bar with some work, and feel more comfortable here than at any of the shitholes in my neighborhood. It’s worth the journey to come and be around my friends. I never get bothered by weirdos, either.

This bar reminds me of SF bars and m
Race the bartender know here stuff. The horchata martini was a little sweet for my taste but she made me the most amazing vodka club soda with passion fruit, I loved it! Fully carbonated. Great music, cook décor and parking (I dad a dd by the way;) will be back

Jazmyne is the best bartender ever!!! I live for this cutie patootie! All t no shade!!!

It’s an alright bar. I liked it. The dj and music videos is fun. They played a lot of old goth music and a mix of dark favorites with videos to match. There were a lot of songs I had forgotten and others I had totally missed so it was like finding something unique again for the first time. Friendly staff and the drinks you’d expect.

Late Bar is pretty cool. I went Friday night and the DJ was doing music video pairings with songs. Not sure if that’s their normal thing or not. I really liked both the lady DJ and lady bartender. They were cool chicks.
Important to note, they do not have any Tupac songs — however they have tons of The Beatles, Guns n Roses, Queen… well pretty much everything I requested aside from my man 2 Pac. I probably annoyed the poor DJ with my constant running up, jumping on the stair and trying to hand her the song request all cutesey like so she’d be more apt to play it.
Drinks are super cheap and overall Late Bar is super chill. We went around midnight and there were only a couple other patrons so not that poppin’. Word on my street is the party kicks off a bit later here though.
Cash only! ATM right inside though. Clean bathrooms ftw.

I love to go dancing, but I’m not in my 20’s anymore… or my 30’s. It’s not so easy to find a place with a mix of age groups in a setting that doesn’t make me feel like I reeeally shouldn’t be there.
Late Bar is one of those places.
I was there on a Saturday night. Not packed, but enough people on the dance floor to keep it full and moving. The new wave music was right up my alley. Cocktails were surprisingly good. Was there with a group of 8 friends. Everyone had a blast. Will be back again soon!

I would normally give this type of place 4 or even 5 stars, but it smelled so bad when I walked in. It was on a Saturday for 80’s night. They were playing good music from the 80’s and everyone seemed to be dancing or bopping their heads. I ordered my drinks very fast and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. There were some people that were very rude as they approached the bar if you’re sitting down. It’s like you’re wallpaper or something that they can’t say excuse me as they push you out of their way. The bartender served a girl a couple of shots and didn’t even bother to wipe the bar down so I kept smelling the tequila for about 30 minutes until she finally decided to wipe it down. I will definitely try to go again at another time and give it a shot since I like the music so much.

Kind of an awkward spot, but I think that is because I might have come here on an off night during a relatively cold winter weekend??? It was not packed at all, and the «DJ» was playing Prince and no one was on the dance floor. Oh well.
The people seemed friendly enough. Will have to go back on a more happening night!

How I love this place!
Great New Year Parties! Champagne for all, dancing all night, great crowd!
I will be back again and again and again. Though it’s cash only — cocktail drinks are cheap, strong and tasty!!! Saturday night is 80’s night — is my fav.
See you all there through this year!!!

Long time ago, back in my college heyday, I hung out at this little olé place called Holiday Club. And I preferred to go there on Saturdays because DJ Dave spun New Wave 80s until 2am. It’s like he spoke my language, the same language that no one else my age understood. Sure I was a grunge alternative music loving kind of gal, but my heart fluttered at the sounds of Depeche Mode, The Cure, OMD, New Order, etc.
Then he was no longer there and I was sad… until i found out he opened up Late Bar.
Hell…fricken…YES!!!
Open up at ten, plays New Wave on Saturdays, music videos, rockabilly nights. I’m in heaven!!!
Downside: Cash only. :(

GREAT! Wild, fun dancing for SOUL TRAIN nights.
It’s got the requisite array of booze. It’s DARK, which is good. The bathrooms are clean, and the drinks are reasonably priced. What more do you need in a bar? Go.

It’s hard to walk the line between general appeal and pleasing the purists. The crowd was okay: it was mostly mainstream, varied in age and happy. Late bar is clean and sanitary for your protection. Those who are scared in here make me laugh.
What I didn’t get was the music…80’s wave. Great. I am for it, I am what some would call a Dark Waver, and I am ready to dance. So… play some dance music…*sigh*.
This is always an issue. Does the dj play the chart hits or something really kickin’?
Suggestion: Do not play «Pictures of You» by the Cure for a dance song. I like the Cure, but the kind of dancing one does to this is poser and stupid and not really dancing but a type of pacing. I can’t stand it.
The other thing is I’m so sick of hearing the same songs over and over, songs I used to love have lost their meaning. Songs I hated before, I now loathe. You’re a dj, for gawds sake, so show us your chops and play some offbeat, really dance-​y stuff.
The dancing is the only thing I’ve been disappointed with in Chicago. I guess I’ll hit Latin clubs next time…