Lounges in Chicago

The Aviary is the most extraordinary cocktail experience in America — Grant Achatz's West Loop cocktail bar where liquid nitrogen, theatrical service, and the most inventive cocktails in the world create a drinking experience unlike anything else on the planet. The Aviary's consistent ranking as the world's best cocktail bar and its extraordinary culinary approach to cocktail creation make it a venue of genuine global gastro-cultural significance.

Cindy's is Chicago's most spectacular rooftop destination — a rooftop bar atop the historic Chicago Athletic Association hotel with panoramic views of Millennium Park, Lake Michigan, and the Chicago skyline. Its combination of architectural grandeur, exceptional cocktails, and the most photographed view in Chicago makes it consistently one of the city's most popular reservations and one of the most impressive hotel bar experiences in the United States.

Drumbar is Chicago's most celebrated rooftop cocktail lounge — an intimate 13th-floor rooftop bar at the Raffaello Hotel with sweeping Magnificent Mile and Lake Michigan views, earning consistent recognition as one of America's best hotel bars. Its combination of exceptional cocktails, intimate scale, and the most coveted views in Chicago make it one of the city's most sought-after reservations.

Fulton Market District's extraordinary concentration of restaurant and bar concepts has created Chicago's most exciting new entertainment destination — a former meatpacking district that now houses more Michelin-starred restaurants per block than anywhere else in America. The district's lounge scene, developed alongside restaurants from Smyth to Elske to Giant, creates a cocktail culture of remarkable sophistication in one of the most rapidly evolving urban neighborhoods in the United States.

J. Parker is Chicago's most scenic Lincoln Park rooftop lounge — a hotel rooftop with panoramic views of Lincoln Park, Lake Michigan, and the Chicago skyline that serves as the perfect summer evening destination for Chicago's most beautiful neighborhood. Its craft cocktails, beautiful views, and proximity to Lincoln Park Zoo and the lakefront create one of Chicago's most desirable evening experiences for visitors and residents alike.

The Aviary by chef Grant Achatz is one of the world's most acclaimed cocktail bars — applying the kitchen techniques of three-Michelin-starred Alinea to drink-making. Cocktails arrive as complete culinary experiences with housemade ingredients, theatrical presentation, and preparations requiring tools rarely seen outside a professional kitchen. A must for serious cocktail enthusiasts visiting Chicago.

The Aviary is one of the world's most innovative cocktail bars — Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas's West Loop cocktail experience that applies the same molecular gastronomy philosophy as their Alinea restaurant to the art of cocktail-making. Guests receive cocktails in extraordinary sculptural vessels, experience ingredients from unexpected angles, and pay prices commensurate with a fine dining tasting menu, creating one of the world's most talked-about and discussed bar experiences.

The Violet Hour is Chicago's most influential cocktail bar — a Wicker Park establishment that helped define the modern American craft cocktail movement and has been cited as one of the world's best cocktail bars since its 2007 opening. Chicago's extraordinary cocktail scene (the city produces more nationally recognized bartenders per capita than any city except New York) and The Violet Hour's consistent innovation create a cocktail lounge of genuine American drinks culture historical significance.

Three Dots and a Dash is Chicago's most acclaimed tiki lounge — a River North underground speakeasy-style venue that has consistently appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars list for its extraordinary tropical cocktail program. Its sister bar Lost Lake has both elevated Chicago to one of the world's great tiki cities, a remarkable achievement for a Midwest city known for brutal winters rather than tropical climate.