Paulie’s Place

It’s so sad the bar will close ⁸⁄₃₁. Thanks to City of Chicago pushing out small business.

My friend took me to this Karaōke place. It’s her favourite. The place is not that fancy, drinks are very reasonably priced. Place has it set of regulars who probably come here every week for Karaōke fun. I had fun even though I didn’t do any Karaōke myself.
It was fun watching my lfriend and her friends doing Karaōke.
The crowd is fun and they do have a pool table. It’s a nice fun place for
a Karaōke night.

This is just a nice little spot. Went for karaōke on Friday night, it happens from 9 PM to 1 AM. Yeah, there’s definitely regulars, but they’re the friendly and inclusive type of regulars. This ain’t no little Korean rent a room karoake experience. This is down and dirty, singing in a big back room behind the pool table. The nice touch– when it’s time for the karaōke DJ to go, everybody in the bar is asked to come sing together. It’s sweet. A cheap, chill place to go if you’re not up for the pretension of other nearby bars.

Great dive bar with a sense of purpose.. .just too bad the jukebox is the only source of music. But then again, if it had great music too, the character of the place would certainly suffer.
I’ll certainly be back to play more pool on the little warped table, love the uneven floor!

good bar, great time. dude, you have got to go to paulie’s before you die. this place will set your character in stone.

Located at 18^th & Union, at the bottom of the Dan Ryan 18^th St exit ramp. Paulie’s is a typical neighborhood corner bar. It’s been in the same location for 30 years and is family operated. It’s definitely a low key kinda place where you can always find a seat and hear the person next to you speaking. There is a large side room with a pool table, that is also available for events.
The drinks are CHEAP! Tuesdays are $ 1.75 Millers and Wednesdays are $ 1.75 Old Style. Even the imports are not more than $ 3.75 any day.

The pool here is _​really_​cheap like seventy five cents, and everybody is nice.
The jukebox is not to my taste however, a lot of 90’s R&B and pop from what I remember, so a little off for that.

Favorite Paulie’s moment:
Weeknight, only locals (working dudes) in the bar, playing pool and whatnot. My friend and I come in for a drink. I go up to the jukebox and buy a few songs and tell my friend to get ready to rock. Out blasts «Big Girls Don’t Cry».
(It was supposed to be Judas Priest, I swear!)

My dad introduced me to this place back in the day when it was his local. I stopped by for a drink and to call a cab after the East Pilsen art festival a couple of years ago and found it blissfully unchanged since the 80s. The only downside was the street hassle, and I don’t mean from the residents: I was sitting decorously on the stoop outside waiting for said cab when a cop – a pudgy white youth at least 15 years my junior – pulled up and demanded my ID, which I produced while asking him mildly what the problem was. He informed me I «looked like I was up to no good.» He ran my ID through the machine and let me go, cautioning me to remain standing while waiting for the cab (to avoid the impression of being up to no good, apparently). I obeyed and within 30 seconds a pair of guys leaving the bar invited me home with them, which is what I figure happens when you stand around outside bars. The nice maternal bartender then invited me to wait for the cab inside the bar, looking out the window for me into the gathering dusk.

sharon and tilly are off the chain.
great bar.
i will be back. for sure!!!
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i think i need to edit this review.
this is a great dive bar at 18^th and union that vidya b. and i found when we were coming home from dim sum. cheap beers, cheap pool (it might be free) cheap drinks and nice bartenders.
the jukebox was classic and filled with random, ala the two way lounge.
before or after a sox game, in lieu of the skylark or just for fun, check out this place.

A few friends and I stopped in for a couple of drinks on our way to a Sox game last summer. The bartender was super friendly and the cocktails were strong and cheap. Went back again recently and had another good time. Very laid back. So much so that at one point the bartender even fell asleep. Definitely a hidden little gem in the corner of Pilsen.

I just discovered this gem down the street from my apartment. It is hilarious!
It reminds me of a bowling alley bar — there’s that distinct smoke/​piss smell abound. As a friend put it, «Paulie’s is so divey that even the hipsters don’t go [there].»
One very slow-​moving older bartender with enormous jugs served us as we jammed to sweet jukebox tunes like R. Kelly, Al Green, Pat Benatar, The Rolling Stones, and Selena. (P.S. 3 songs per $ 1, which is a steal). We played a 50 cent game of pool and sipped $ 3 Captain & Diets. (All mixed drinks are $ 3, beers are $ 2.)
This is no place to dress up and mingle — mostly construction workers who just got off their shift and are looking to sit down and sip cheap liquor.
I suggest it if you live near 18^th and Union or are visiting friends in the area. Grab a group of people, play some pool, and dance to 90’s hits.
Fun. And funny. Will be back.