Sidetrack

Well, for my first time in Boystown, this wasn’t too bad. There are multiple levels of this place, which helps with the crowds, and it does get crowded!
The pepople who hang out here are super nice, they have music/​music videos playing in the background, enough place to stand and not be crushed by other people, it’s a good deal. It’s not really a club (people were dancing but it was more like in their own corner/​group), so I would consider it more of a bar than a club. And there is no cover charge.
I would come back, I don’t have any complaints.

Musical Monday is fantastic!!! This place is huge and a fabulous time. Drinks are reasonably priced, the crowd was friendly and fun, and though it was busy it wasn’t cramped because of the size of the space. I went with two friends and we had an amazing time. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes musical theater and a good time.

Had a great night here, per usual on a Musical-Monday’s-eve…
HOWEVER!
If you come in with your coat and leave it resting on a banister the management/​door-​team will STEAL YOUR COAT, hide it in a closet, and HASSLE YOU when you go asking for it.
I was entertaining some friends from out of town and we left our coats laying on a bannister near our table for an extended period of time (while we stood in front of them, mind you… for over MOST of the evening …)
Due to the lesser-​than-​crowded bar, we felt comfortable leaving our jackets by our table (for the last thirty minutes of our tenure) as we danced to the musical tunes. When we ordered our cabs and began to leave we noticed our jackets had been moved. Asked a girl sitting near our coats and she said, «Oh, ask the door guys. We saw them moving them». So we went to the «door guys» and they proceeded to play Bad Cop and Bitch us out for leaving our coats on a bannister:
«Well, WHY did you leave them THERE??»
«WHYY didn’t you ask for our coat check???»
«You could’ve asked for that when you came in!!»
WHOA. They’re just coats. We’re not stupid to leave real stuff of importance behind. And how dare you play all «Bag Police» and hassle us on our way out. And not to mention the audacity of tonight’s door-​man saying «Talk to me when you’re sober»…Is that the best explanation you have for this absurd policy? (Because that just seems like a b*s*t retort to my reasonable questioning)
Well, HUN-​TEY. I am making it ABUNDANTLY clear (as I told you then) that I am EXTREMELY sober and I do NOT enter a BAR with the expectation that I have to WAIT for the STAFF to SNATCH MY POSSESSIONS and play holier-​than –thou when it is time to leave.
What kind of policy is this???
When I asked what kind of experience the management was trying to «create» when stealing customer’s possessions I was blown off as just-​another-​broad with a card.
Fantastic customer service. Truly. Y’all made it clear you give ZERO f — s for your visitors. I mean, let’s just all go stealing from our customers at our day jobs if they ever trust us. How dare anyone set anything on a rail beside their table. Lawd-​forbid.
But please. Tell me more about how irresponsible I am. I frequent bars to get lectured about setting things down. And I just love when staff cannot pay the decency of assuming positive intent and just grabs stuff without a care. Fabulous y’all. Real straight business model you got. Brava. Snatch those «coat check» dollars.
Retched.
I am embarrassed that I brought my friends to such an ill-​intended place. Way to promote a fun and inviting environment, y’all.
Stupid.

Want a variety of tasty drinks, lively music, endless space to roam about, and electrifying ambiance? Sidetrack satisfies all of those needs! I’ve never had a bad time here, even in the early afternoon when Boystown is more «relaxed.»

5 stars for the simple fact that Sunday evenings have show tunes playing on the big screens and blasting through the speakers in the lower level bars! Had so much fun singing along to my favorites and watching everyone else sing along to theirs. Think: gay bar meets a 12am viewing of the rocky horror picture show but much earlier and with a range of cult classic and just classic musicals.

I Love coming here with my friends when I’m in Chicago. Great place to go regardless of sexual orientation. Lots of space to socialize and meet new people, great drinks, and great service from the bar. Best of all NO COVER!

Great place if you’ve got a big group with you to be social. I didn’t find it conducive to a solo visitor. Really cool concept of different rooms and vibes to hang out int. I think I wandered through 3 out of the 4 rooms… didn’t check out the upstairs either. Service could be a bit slow depending which bar you order at. It’s not a dance kind of place either. I like that there wasn’t a card minimum. I’d come back with a group of friends next time

Sidetrack is a decidedly good bar. It’s not the best, but it’s very good. I’ve been here many times, and I visited again on a Friday night. The weather was bitter cold, so I wasn’t able to enjoy the rooftop, but we still went up to the upstairs portion of the bar. The bar charges no cover.
Sidetrack’s biggest strength is that it has several areas where the volume of music vary. Downstairs, I consider it to be a bit loud. And that’s fine! Because in the upstairs area, the music is more controlled and it’s pretty easy to have an in-​depth conversation.
The patrons are generally polite. I’ve heard some rumors of overaggressive tush-​pinching. The bar staff is generally helpful as well. The drinks are well-​priced, and the restrooms are clean. The bathrooms are important. Several bars in Boystown have men’s bathrooms that lack a stall door separating the toilet from the rest of the bathroom despite there being no lock on the bathroom door. I don’t consider this acceptable. Sidetrack, however has [at least] one actual toilet where this isn’t the case.
I knock this bar down a star because of a lackluster beer and liquor selection. Lack of ginger beer, an important mixer, also brings it down. However, I think the bar is a great place to go any night of the week, even on those busy Fridays and Saturdays.

Love this place and frequent it multiple
Times a week. However, some grumpy man at coat check just reprimanded me for putting my coat inside of my bag that I was forced to check like I was scamming them or trying to cheat the system. Not impressed, especially compared to service standards I’m used to

Had a very bad experience here and feel cheated. I handed the bartender a $ 20 and got change back as if it was a $ 10. I understand that mistakes happen, but the bartender got hostile when I corrected him. I should have gotten $ 14 back and instead he gave me $ 4 and pocketed the other ten. He had an attitude like I couldn’t prove I gave him a $ 20 so that was that. How do you prove you gave a bartender a $ 20? My friends weren’t watching as I paid and it was so packed that even if they were watching I don’t know how they could see what i took out of my wallet. Maybe tips aren’t what they used to be and they need to cheat customers like this. How far this place has fallen.

This is a male gay bar. I don’t give a shit what most of the female reviewers have to say. Get your own bar in Schaumburg. NO FEMALES unless you are lesbian.

Great place, always a «must» stop on the weekends when my friends and I go out. Large space, with many different areas which keeps things interesting. Drinks are reasonably priced for the amount you get. Staff is usually always super friendly. I love the themed nights like Showtune Sundays or Musical Mondays.
The only thing I wish they did was keep the outdoor spaces open longer than they do and I wish they had a dance floor area. But, for dancing and a little more movement, there are the other bars right near by.

I love this place. Always crowded, always fun. There are five or so bars within the complex, and they each have their own unique atmosphere. The rooftop is also fun, though it lacks a view.
If you’re like me and you like slushy cocktails, the options here are fun, cheap, and good.
Watching RuPaul’s drag race is really fun here, too, if you get the opportunity.

Sidetrack, or Sidetracks as I prefer call it, is a labyrinth from Greek mythology. Simply replace the minotaur and garden maze with men, strong drinks, and numerous rooms and floor levels.
This place is huge and has so many rooms. It would be easy to get lost in here sober so just imagine the difficulty getting around after a few drinks. There are places to sit, spots around the bar, areas that are outside on the roof, and places to dance.
If you want to have a good time in Boystown with a lot of options all in one bar then Sidetracks is the place for you.

Sidetrack is the first bar I went to in Chicago and the only one I visited twice. It is a pretty great bar overall. On the weekend they open up a ton of other rooms and it gets packed. On weekdays they only have the two front main rooms open, at least that is how it was when I went on a Thursday.
I like how each room in the bar looks a bit different and I really like how they have music videos playing in each room. I’m really not up to date when it comes to music videos, but this was kind of cool to see. The drink prices were very reasonable and the bartenders were all friendly. If you’re visiting Chicago this is a bar that everyone should try and go to at least once.

I really enjoyed stopping in to Sidetrack this weekend. A friend was having a birthday party, and about 30 of us gathered here. There is no food, so come with a full stomach ready to have some drinks. They have a full bar, but specialize in a variety of frozen «slushy» style drinks. The purple (grape) was a hit! They are quite strong, so watch out, or you may be riding the Ol’ Struggle Bus the next morning. The bar itself is enourmous with a variety rooms with thier own bar. The night we were there they werent playing Showtunes, something they are famous for.

What a great place to spend Sunday afternoon and night — showtunes, queens and cocktails — what more is there? We had a blast !!
We went back on Monday before our flight — –be aware they do not open before 2… LOL
However, we had a 2^nd blast of good times with the regulars.
This is a must when you visit !

Came here on a Friday night with some friends,
this bar is located right in the middle of boys town so its a great place to start your night, plus drinks are moderately priced. The bartenders here are pretty friendly, and so were the doormen. They have at least 3 — 4 bars located throughout the building so if you walked around enough you wouldn’t have to wait for a drink.
The crowd here is young and attractive, the music is great, and I need to come back to try the Candy Crushes

A bar that plays show tunes and everybody sings along while drinking? Heck yeah… sign me up!
I was in Chicago visiting a friend over the weekend, and we stopped in for a quick drink before heading out to dinner. Walking in the door, RENT was on the TV and blasting out of the speakers and half the mouths of the people there. Yeah. this is my kind of place. We bellied up to the bar, ordered our drinks, and headed to a prime people watching spot as RENT turned to Hairspray and the patrons did their best Ricki Lake impression, welcoming us to the 60’s.
As for the drinks — the first vodka tonic I had seemed a little heavier on the tonic than on the vodka. The second one, a double, was just right. I’ll keep this in mind the next time I come.

This is one place that you can honestly call «A Sausage Fest»!!!
But seriously– as part of a straight couple, we felt totally comfortable and welcomed (unlike some places that I could name).
Everyone is carded on coming in so don’t take it personally.
Nicely decorated and the rest rooms are kept clean and well stocked.
We found it easy to get a drink (or two) in spite of the crowds & the coat check was very much appreciated.
If you are curious what «Boystown» is all about, this might be a good place to start.

Une ambiance délirante et surréaliste ! Né surtout pas manquer les soirées Musicals, durant lesquelles le Public devient acteur !
J’y suis tous les jours et attends le lendemain avec impatience :-)
Philippe Lowinski