Lighthouse Tavern

Very nice little divey bar in Rogers Park just off Sheridan Rd. and Chase. Seriously, you wouldn’t know this place is there unless you were looking for it. Cash only, but there’s an ATM inside. Super cheap drinks and a cozy, welcoming vibe. Be sure to go here when the jazz trio is playing: they’re the best part!

This is maybe the best bar in the whole world. I walked in a stranger and walked out as a friend.

Not impressed at all. The Gin and Tonic was weak and the tonic was flat. My wife’s beer was good until the mold spore from the tapper ended up in her mouth. It’s too bad. They have a great location and the night we were there they had a great little jazz band playing. We stayed for two songs then cut.
Based on this experience I will not be trying them again.

I like this place. It has the right feel of cozy and welcoming, spacious even though it is small (the giant bar might contribute to that feel) and very friendly bartenders.
I discovered this place because they have a piano night every so often with Barrel House Chuck and Robert Harvey playing boogie woogie and blues on keys and they are both excellent.
Anytime I’m up here I try to stop in for a drink as they always take care of me and I feel welcome.
Big ocean/​nautical theme going on if you are into that sort of thing. Almost gave it an East Coast feel.
They are kind of tucked away — you need to know they are at the corner of *that* building in *that* spot. They recently put a sign out to help and I hope that doesn’t jar the cozy cheers feel of the place.

I love this bar! It feels like the Cheers bar. Everyone is really great and super nice. It’s easy to miss though. The first time I found this wonderful little gem, I thought it may have been someone’s basement bar. Turn towards the lake, this place is amazing!

I’m from downstate. Sometimes I crave a really solid neighborhood bar. The glitz of chicago has it’s place, but so does the Lighthouse.
This is not a dive. They have craft beers. They have knowledgeable staff. They are nautical and reasonable with prices.
There is no food, but you can order in.
I reserve a 5^th star for lack of parking and only taking cash.
Otherwise, this is a laid back, nautical, neighborhood, homerun.

Just moved to the area and decided to stop in for a drink. The atmosphere was so great that we stayed for multiple rounds. The bartender got our names and noticed we were out of towners and welcomed us to the neighborhood AND bought us 2 rounds of drinks. Truly a Cheers type of place, my wife and I will be back here for sure. The locals recommended many local restaurants and were honestly excited for us to come back. Loved this place and will for sure be back

Decent beer selection. Very small. If you don’t live in the area, you would miss it. They don’t have a big sign at all, so I guess it only caters to local neighbors.

Great place! Small, cozy feel. Good crowd, and we had a pitcher bought for us on the first visit. Bar tender is a really nice guy.

This bar is great for what it is. If you are in the neighborhood and want to hang out for a few drinks, you can do it here. It is small, but not usually that busy. If you don’t know where it is, you will never know it is there, as it is on a dead end street by the lake. The bartender was friendly and I will definitely come back here to hang out with visiting friends from out of town.

Awesome neighborhood hole in the wall bar. Located in the rear of an apartment building makes it slightly hard to find, but worth looking. I’ve only been in this establishment for the after work crowd and it was an awesome mix of friendly (and intoxicated) old men. BTW the Tuesday/​Wednesday bartender is great, and if your good at math you can easily figure out how long he has worked there.

Non douchbag bar is right! Great mix of good people. Bartender is extremely friendly. Love this place. Just the right mix of cool and dive.

I just moved to the neighborhood in October, and in trying to get the lay of the land, I heard about this bar. None of my friends who lived in the neighborhood had been here, and only half had heard of it, so I decided to scout it out since its only 2 blocks from me.
I instantly saw why so few of my friends knew/​heard about this place. It’s hidden almost down an alley at the back of a building that appears to have no business containing a bar. Shaking off the feeling I may soon be stabbed, I went in… and I’m glad I did.
The space is small, but didn’t feel crowded. Heavy, HEAVY, nautical theme that’s aging, but not so in your face as to detract from the experience. Its obviously a place that caters to regulars, but hey, what RO-​PA bar doesn’t? Half the place was 40 – 50 yr old gents watching football while the rest was the local hipster set, who actually seemed to mix ok.
The bar is small, but well stocked. A nice mix of mostly German imports and mid level locals were on draft. Bottle beer selection looked ok, and mixed drink options looked respectable. The highlights for me were that the bar tender could actually pull a Guinness pour the way its supposed to be pulled, something that I hadn’t found yet since the move. The bartender also randomly ordered a pizza for the whole bar on him, and random patrons actually asked me to have some. How many places have you been of late that do that?
Not trying to oversell the place. Its shabby, and super hole in the wall, but in a good way. Like your favorite uncle’s basement den you hung out in on holiday’s while the adults had there time upstairs… except now there’s beer.

New management. Better than it used to be. Still a little freaky tho.

Divey-​est dive bar. I am sort of sure that there isn’t even a sign on the awning… Anyways, it’s great and a big mix of ages and friendly people. Just remember to close the door behind you as there is no hydraulic door closure thingamajiggy. :)

Need sage advice? Meatballs of wisdom? This is the place. A sampling from last night: «Self pity. That’s a room with no doors,» attributed, with permission, to Ulysses Scott, one of my favorite regulars at the neighborhood gin mill, The Lighthouse, Chicago. Need guidance? Talk to Scotty.

I had been curious about this place since jogging by it in the summertime. Contending with a severe case of cabin fever one winter evening, I finally decided to ‘enter the void’ and found it to be pleasantly relaxing. The regulars were colorful, friendly and most curious to know what brought me into their universe. Donald was the most skilled bartender, and I not referring to mixology of course, but at being what all great dive bars require: an unlicensed therapist.

Lighthouse Tavern, you harbor some of the creepiest old people ever. Maybe it’s just me, but every time I have set foot in this bar, I have had to watch a very old man make out with a middle aged woman. Drunk old people making out is not cool. Not cool at all.
This bar is mega-​divey. It really looks like someone’s livingroom that they just so happened to put a bar in the middle of it. The drinks are cheap, but the beer is limited. Also, make sure to bring cash because they don’t take credit cards. I think the bartenders there are great though. They do make you feel at home.
So if you are looking for a small bar where you can find a relatively strange mix of people that may or may not have mullets and make out with old people, this is your bar!

Ah… the lighthouse. This place is the most neighborhoody old man dive bar ever. That’s a good thing. How do I love thee? I’ll count em:
1. Cheap drinks– not the greatest beer selection, but you can’t have everything.
2. Employees– the bartenders are great. They’ll remember your drink after your first visit.
3. Patrons– Fun mix of people who live in the neighborhood, people who used to live in the ‘hood and people who somehow stumbled upon this little Eden of drunkenness. The last group usually has this delighted little smile on their face as they walk in the door.
4. Location– it’s great having a bar nearby that you can crawl home from. Or walk barefoot if you lose a shoe.
Bonus– now that I quit smoking it helps that it no longer has that stale smoke mixed with stale beer aroma. Just stale beer.
One caveat– I have noticed the occasional brazen little critter walking on the bar. Hopefully you’re not squeamish.

Lighthouse Tavern, where have you been all my life? I just recently stumbled into this Rogers Park dive with a friend of mine who lives a mere two blocks away. Why we had never discovered this place before, I do not know.
The Lighthouse has been under its current management for 20 years, and it shows. Every poster, banner, or piece of art that has ever hung on the walls is still there, though some have been covered over by other pieces over the years. And all of it has a yellow patina, courtesy of 20 years of Marlboros. There’s a lot of old «nautical» stuff — maps of Lake Michigan, photos of guys in seafaring garb, some carved pieces. More recent additions to the décor include a shitload of sports memorabilia, much of it Sox-​based. That’s right Southsiders, here’s your Rogers Park hangout! On top of that, add a bunch of standard bar kitsch from the 70s and 80s side-​by-​side with photos of regulars over the years, and you have an idea of the décor.
There are two beers on tap, Old Style and Miller Lite. But they’re $ 2.25 a pint, so how can you lose? Frozen pizza are available for 8 bucks, served piping hot from the pizza warmer. The urinal in the men’s room doesn’t flush, but it is regularly restocked with ice. And the proceedings are overseen by barmaid Eileen and her crusty old husband (?), whose name I didn’t get.
The Lighthouse is the kind of place that if you didn’t know where it was, you wouldn’t know it was there. There’s no name out front (that I saw), just a lighthouse on a red/​maroon awning. But now that you know where it’s at, you owe it to yourself to go there.