A true dive bar with an interesting layout and a great karaōke selection(and stage). Free popcorn, good beer selection, solid place for a night out. Leave before the bros arrive, though.
Lisa D.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
This is a small, small bar that gets ridiculously crowded on Friday and Saturday nights. That being said, the bartending staff is attentive and friendly and the general feel of the place is fantastic. There is limited seating so most people stand in groups around the bar or dance farther in the back. As a newcomer to Chicago, the crowd felt a little more«clique-y» than I am accustomed to, but overall Shoes Pub serves decently priced drinks and offers a unique atmosphere. I would recommend it if you’re in the area but it’s not worth a special trip.
Laura H.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
I love Shoes. I love their cheap beer, dive-bar atmosphere, and the fact that you can actually sing karaōke without waiting 3 hours behind some wannabe America Idol chick singing Adele. I’ve ended many great nights here and always gone home happy. Come here if you want to drink and sing your heart out, on and off the stage.
Jonn G.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Twain Harte, CA
Jim was super friendly and knowledgable. Randomly walked in here, and was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t super busy, but still enjoyable.
Alex S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
Love shoes pub! Great place to go to when it’s not busy during the week. A fun and chill hang out bar and great bartenders. Booze is good and I alway enjoy Playing darts there. Anytime I want to go to a relaxing place shoes is it.
Richard B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
Go see Jimmy at the Shoes bar, best bartender in Chicago. It can be quiet during the week, but good tunes, great beer, and very friendly, wild at weekends!
Oh M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
Divy and fun, we came in with a group of friends and were treated great. Kind of a hidden gem in a way because it is a little off the Bro Path. PINBALL how fun I like it!
Avinash K.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Elgin, IL
Really really fun place to be. Saturday night — it was pretty crowded ~ about 30 odd people. Mostly young crowd, the drinks were all nominally priced ~ $ 6 per drink. The music and DJ both were good and we had a great time out here. I am definitely suggesting this place to a few people and can be assured of future visits. The bouncer was really friendly too and we had no problems getting in.
David M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Champaign, IL
Awesome Bloody Marys!!! We came to watch some baseball, stayed because of the beer, had a great conversation with Jessica the bartender, and stayed for the delicious Bloody Marys and wonderful atmosphere. Highly recommended.
Maddie K.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Lakeview, Chicago, IL
I loved this neighborhood bar until the MC recently ruined my experience. She falsely accused me of trying to sing a song I didn’t sign up for. The wait for this song was about an hour. I requested the song under my roommate’s name(who had since left). The MC asked me to prove I should be on the stage by naming what song I requested. Over the past hour, I had forgotten what specific song I signed up for, since I requested to sing many songs while I was waiting. Sadly, I would’ve highly recommended this bar up until tonight. I didn’t wait an hour to get forced off stage because the MC claimed she didn’t recognize me as the last person who sang under my roommate’s name.(I sang with her, for the record.) Not worth the wait in my opinion. Record your song choices or risk being forced off stage(aka likely your primary reason for being there).
Came here for my birthday and had a super fun time. It’s a no frills place Karaōke on a Saturday started around 9:30. We got there a little earlier and played Cards Against Humanity(they had other fun board games to choose from as well) until it started. Oh & they have the cute vintage mics which makes it a lot of fun! $ 10 card minimum and free popcorn! Bartenders were nice and good crowd of people. Would definitely come back.
Laken H.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Brooklyn, NY
This bar was dead when I went there, but they had a pretty dope dartboard.
Caitlin H.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
I am a stickler about my Bloody Marys and am constantly looking for the best one. Found it at Shoe’s pub.
Tracy H.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Oak Park, IL
Loved this place! My friends and I were here for a few hours Sunday afternoon. We had drinks, popcorn and played a card game they had there. And someone brought in their dog, which was awesome, so we got to play with him for a while. What’s not to love? Is it fancy-schmancy? No, but it’s perfect just the way it is, and definitely more our style. Loves it.
Sarah S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
During the week, this is one of my favorite pubs in the city. It has a small and steady clientele and great bartenders who talk to each other. It is like The Cheers bar’s cool older uncle, a quintessential neighborhood pub that revolves around good beer and great conversation. Shoes is pretty chill during the week(I have broken out their Trivial Pursuit), but it gets pretty busy on their weekend karaōke nights and on Chicago game nights. Good beer selection, with local options on tap. Some specials on shots and mixed drinks run during the week. $ 10 credit card minimum.
Mat M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
Shoe’s Pub — on Armitage in an affluent neighborhood — but it’s the biggest dive bar you’ve ever been to! It’s so great and weird at the same time. I was her about 6 months ago with friends — and we did some Country karaōke. The same night, a dog ran inside the pub and started visiting people — and the older Asian Bartender chased the dog out the door. It was bizarre. Fun spot to be divey, hang out with friends and have some cheap drinks and country music.
Ryan B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
My friends and I LOVE Shoes for karaōke. We’ll usually be there for someone’s birthday. Tips will help you get to the front of the singing line faster, but you shouldn’t have a problem getting up(compared to Trader Todd’s on the weekend where you won’t be called unless you tip the guy a $ 20, no matter how early you get there). A while back we got there pretty early(karaōke hadn’t started and the bar was practically empty). The bartender had us test out the shot that was on special that night. It was great! I recommend being friendly to the staff, they’re good people!
Jonna S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Reading, MA
My family and I came here after leaving Derby because the music was too freakin loud, and we are soooooo glad we did! James the bartender was super sweet and friendly, the music was present but not intrusive, and they had a bunch of board games(including backgammon!!) for play! Absolutely going to come here again when we’re in town! Thank you James for being such a wonderful host, you’re the man!
Annie M.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Humboldt Park, Chicago, IL
I’d like to preface this review by saying I’ve made the horrible mistake of only going to shoes on Fridays… karaōke night. In an attempt to explore the bars around my place(and to go anywhere besides frat-zone Kincaids) I wandered down to Shoes. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen in Lincoln park to a dive bar, has a decent beer list(but not THAT great), but god, that was the worst karaōke night I’ve ever sat through. You literally couldn’t hear the person sitting directly next to you be because they just blast the music ridiculously loud… and these are not local stylings that warrant that volume. There’s nothing special or horrible about the bar itself(unless you’re into Indian motorcycles: which was the main reason I returned for a second trip with my dad), but the crowd and music definitely ruined the experience for me. Just totally uncomfortable. It was a nice break from Kincaids but not anywhere I’d recommend.