The Hideout

Great, cheap bar! I love small venues like this where the artist and audience are right on top of one another. Also, their dance parties are among the best in the city and the block party is always a blast.

A cool little place that is randomly in a seemingly deserted area (although it’s really not). I came here for an event and was surprised at how adorable this place is. It feels like someone turned a summer camp cabin into a bar and put a staged the back where you can put on wacky talent shows. Or something to that effect.
Staff was nice and he bar is decent. There are enough tables to chill with other people. It felt very warm and home-​y being there and just gives off an overall chill vibe. I’ve only been here once, so I don’t know how The Hideout is on other nights, but from what I experienced I enjoyed my time here.

This place is pretty great. I came here on a Wednesday night. The music was strange, but I hear they have a bunch of different bands, comedians, and other acts. There’s not much around it, but it’s a cool place for this sort of bar. It’s almost decked out like a cabin. The people are very nice, and the drinks are cheap. It does the low key vibe perfectly.

I’m not gonna lie to you, Unilocal!readers: I’ve done the Hideout more than once as a live performer, at Claire Zulkey’s terrific Funny Ha Ha show. But even if I hadn’t, this would still be my favorite bar in Chicago. Nowhere else even comes close. The staff is the friendliest around, the atmosphere is just perfect, and there’s always something happening worth seeing. It’s got booze and beer — nothing fancy, but plenty to get you drunk, and the stage room is a perfect music venue. The way it’s tucked away by the city vehicle yard just keeps away the poseurs. I love the Hideout. May it last a thousand years.

The Interview Show was great! Love the dive bar atmosphere, and the location in a deserted industrial zone.

The Hideout is an amazing venue. Great booze selection, great atmosphere and great musical guests. Have been to a couple shows, the Christmas-​time sale, Hideout fest, and it never disappoints. Reasonable prices, solid service, good people. If you have the opportunity — check it out!

What a great spot, awesome music in a venue that is so quaint and unique. I highly recommend you put it on your bucket list and keep revisiting it. They just opened up a pop up spot on lower Wacker until November 1^st check it out it is awesome!

Stopped by this small bar as it is usually a host to all kinds of street fests and musical acts. This time they were hosting the Renegade festival
This bar is cash only and don’t come in to only use the washroom. Low ceilings and few lights during the day time gives this place a cool relaxed feeling. They do have an ATM inside if you didn’t bring cash.

One of the grooviest bars/​venues in Chicago. Hidden away in a semi industrial area; but if you follow the neat signs you’ll be just fine.
No complaints on drink prices, the bartenders aren’t generally chatty but quick to present you with your drink. The bar area does get pretty packed when you are attending a show here– not the biggest bar room area, but there are a few tables you can sit at if you are lucky.
Not sure what the men’s pisser situation is but the women’s restroom is really nice. Never dirty.
I LOVE the stage room. There’s about 6 tables on each side of the room you can lounge at. The string lights on the ceiling have been one of my favorite things about this place, as well as the Hideout sign above the stage. Not to mention the killer fish décor hanging on the walls. Who doesn’t want to go between staring at a mounted fish all the while watching whatever band you came to see perform.
Hideout will forever have a special place in my heart and puts on some solid shows. I always look forward to psych fest!

When we pulled up to The Hideout at the end of Wabansia, I thought it could be mistaken for someone’s house with beer signs hanging off of it. It looked delightfully sketchy and I thought, «This is a place I will enjoy being drunk in».
I used to work around the corner, so I was used to that part of town where I hoped I wouldn’t be found later in an industrial dumpster. But it was kind of a thrill.
I came here with some friends to see Tim Heidecker live. A ridiculous man in a ridiculous place with my ridiculous friends, it was a formula for success. So this venue is small and intimate, which makes it feel that much more special and like anything goes. But when it comes to a comedy show like this, it puts most of the audience on an even playing field for the comedian to see you and call you out… which I loved. Tim was insane and the crowd was losing their minds over his antics. It was such a casual atmosphere that Tim hung out at the bar with the crowd the rest of the night. Or maybe he’s just usually so chill and cool as hell. I got to talk to him briefly… actually I took a photo with him, blurted out something random and panicked.

This is an awesome bar to see excellent shows and meet great people! There is ALWAYS something happening so check out their calendar, I’m serious, it’s worth it!
If you haven’t been to their soup & bread event on wednesdays (during the winter only), you HAVE to go! It’s so awesome-​you get all you can eat soup, bread, and sometimes dessert for a donation-​based fee. I mean who doesn’t love to get cozy with soup in the dead of winter!
(Also, parking is easy to find for those that are driving, but kinda hard for those taking public transportation. Guess that’s why it’s called the Hideout-​it really IS out in the middle of nowhere)

My favorite music venue in the city and as a music photographer I have been to all several times over. The staff is amazing and friendly. The sound techs are amongst the best and it is my understanding from local and traveling musicians, they treat them very well.
Whenever I have friends touring Chicago, or friends looking for a venue to see local music the Hideout is the first place I recommend. It is one of the few venues in town where you can easily and reliably seen quality artists.

This is one of the top 5 bars in Chicago. Period. There is no TV, so you don’t ever have to worry about the game being on. The normal over abundance of assholes seems nonexistent here. Robbie Fulks plays every Monday for ten bucks. Why would one go anywhere else?

Funny strange. Funny ha ha. Dumb Luck.
Unbelievably, I’d never been to The Hideout, or to their festival. I’d always meant to go; for some reason it never happened. So when friends wanted to meet at a restaurant near there after work last night, and I happened to be in the area an hour early at 6:30, I said, what the hell. I can sit at the bar for a while. Feel the aura of the place. Funny strange that I was dressed like a square, in a suit (sans tie) because I had just come from a client’s office. I knew that I would be under-​dressed, in a different sense of the word.
Very friendly bartenders, no judgment in their eyes at all about my looking like «a suit.» One Jack on the rocks, water back, and I was feeling alright. The space is old school fantastic – no pretense, no interior designer, just the feel of Chicago talent seeping out of the walls, floor, ceiling, and current inhabitants.
But the place wasn’t empty. There was an event going on in the smaller-​than-​I expected performance room in the back. It turned out that there, in my presence, were hysterical writers, comedians, readers, individuals performing in «Funny Ha Ha,» which apparently was a show ten years ago, now back by popular demand, seemingly both by the artists and by the public.
Turns out that it was a benefit, and the person at the door must not have been there when I walked in. The charity, I hadn’t heard of before: «Tail Waggin’ Tutors,» which gives students with reading difficulties a chance to read outloud to dogs. I would have thought this was just part of the act, but the emcee said this this was for real. It turns out that the dogs provide a friendly, never-​judgmental atmosphere for the kids to practice. What a great idea. (Don’t try this with your average, judgmental cat, ladies and gentlemen, lest it hiss or passive-​aggressively walk away!) I gladly went back to the door and chipped in my $ 10.
No wonder the place was packed at 6:30 in the evening. What conviviality, Positive energy. Wonderful senses of intelligent humor. No dumbing down to the lowest common denominator of the masses. And there were masses – shoulder to shoulder SRO in the room.
The only think that was dumb was my dumb luck for happening into the place at the perfect time. My only regret was having to leave early and then ending up waiting at the restaurant until after this show would have been over.

The Hideout is aptly named. Lucky for me, I read the Unilocal reviews beforehand so I was clued in that it was in an industrial area. Seeing the blue sanitation trucks all parked in the city’s fleet management fueling station was a trip and I even registered Ada Street restaurant when I was making my way to the Hideout. Now that I know where it is, I will definitely be back.
I knew this was a different kind of venue as the first thing I noticed was a group of bikers (cyclists, not motorcycle riders) outside, clustered around a picnic table. Seeing a bunch of wiry guys wearing spandex was probably the last thing I would have expected in such an off-​the-​beaten-​path setting. I made my way inside, and to the bar. I was still wondering whether I was in the right place up to the point when I spotted a few friends, and the organizer from the Illinois Humanities Council (for that evening’s event) standing with a sign-​in sheet. Since the performance space was filling up, I made my way to the back of the house to grab seats. The program itself– a panel discussion of education and equality– was thought provoking and it was interesting to hear the owner’s backstory. Since the event had to do with education, the owner divulged that he had taught for 20 years and bought the Hideout in 1996. Overall, the space had a feel of a den. I would even go so far to say it functions as a salon, only with alcohol to help lubricate the exchange of ideas.

The Hideout is one of several redeeming places of Chicago for me. You can go and be yourself among a bunch of other people who are doing the same. Granted, those other people might be weird, but if that’s not your scene, you probably won’t like it here. It’s in an old house stuck in the middle of an industrial area, and it suits that location in a way.
I’ve seen a couple of shows here whilst drinking organic cider under the ceiling covered in twinkle lights, and I will definitely be returning for more.

Love The Hideout! The difference between The Hideout at 4pm and 8pm is insane. I went this past Wednesday to meet some friends for their Veggie Bingo. Veggie Bingo starts about 6pm during the summer on Wednesday — it’s over for this year though. You can find more details on it in the separate listing here:
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Being the beastly girl that I am, I got to the bar about an hour before my friends, plopped myself at the bar and started guzzling down cans of PBR. It was a HOT day and I cannot even explain how amazing that first sip of an ice cold beer in a can was. Melted my ice cold stone heart a little bit. As I sat there drinking, messing around on my phone, I looked over their beer menu written on a chalkboard. They had some pretty good selections for cheap prices. Now I got a non-​tall can of PBR for $ 3. I was kinda sad that they didn’t tell me any specials and about half hour later they put up a sign with some tallboy cans for $ 3! Another strange thing was I got my first tallboy for $ 3 and the second I was charged $ 5 for the exact same drink. Eh, whatevs.
At 4pm, it was just me and the workers hanging out which was cool. Now for Veggie Bingo we went into a big room in the back and when we left at 8pm, the inside and entire patio was jam packed. I’m talking people sitting around everywhere outside — at the tables but also also on the sidewalk, on the grass, on ledges. This place is clearly the hip to be spot and I definitely didn’t guess it when I first arrived.
The good thing about going when I did was I snagged a parking spot right out front — score! I had a really fun time and plan to go back next year for Bingo. I’m sure I’m going to pop in way before then though because I enjoyed the bar.

This is a place for pretenders. But don’t take that the wrong way. It’s a place to make believe that, for a Friday or Saturday evening at least, the rest of the world doesn’t exist. The Hideout is for 20– and 30– somethings what the backyard treehouse was for 10-​year-​olds: a place to escape. Yes, it’s primarily for brunettes wearing Warby Parker glasses but the bar and the attached venue transport you to a world where only the occasional drink and the music matter.
What else should you know? It’s in the middle of an industrial park, there’s enough beer on tap to keep you interested and the cover runs $ 8 or so for weekend acts. It can also be tricky to catch a cab home before close, so your best bet’s to head to Nelson or North Ave. at the end of your evening. Don’t worry too much about the hipster reputation either – so long as you’re capable of enjoying music and reasonably priced drinks, you’ll find this exactly the escape you’ve been seeking.

The Hideout is super divey bar that has been around since pre-​Prohibition. It is located in an industrial area, and I didn’t even know it was there until living in Chicago for almost two years. They have tons of events every month ranging from concerts to random benefits. It’s a pretty unique place off of the beaten trail.
Last night, I met up with some friends to play veggie bingo. Cards are $ 3 each or $ 10 for 4, and it benefits local community gardens. They have free hot dogs donated by Hot Doug’s and grand prize of lots of local veggies! The hosts were quirky and funny, and I overall had a great time.
The bartenders are quick to pour drinks and very friendly. Keep in mind, this bar is cash only, and if you’re taking a cab, you probably need to have the address handy because it’s location is so obscure.

What a great venue.
They have cold beer.
They have good music.
They have been there a long time.
Their block party this past year had some great music and interesting displays.
It is distinctly urban, behind the city fueling station.
It is exactly the same as the first time I was there 15 years ago.
It is good.
Go.