CHICAGO BAR ROUNDUP: Best Intentions, Gus' Sip & Dip, Queen Mary, Bar Bambi
Chicago is my favorite non-Houston city in the country, and over a handful of previous trips I've managed to explore quite a few of its beloved and eclectic eateries and drinkeries. But a town of this caliber has so many more to offer, and I was able to knock a handful of others off my wishlist this time around. So you know what that means... it's time for another world-famous Adrian Reviews Bar Roundup *BWAH BWAH BWAHHHH* (that was obviously reggaeton horn onomatopoeia, in case that somehow wasn't clear). Presented below are four establishments along with, as is tradition, their placement on the latest (2026) edition of North America's 50 Best Bars rankings, an invaluable tool that has never steered me wrong. As for the allegations that these were all on the same day? On the advice of counsel, I invoke my Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and decline to respond.
Also... I'm sorry in advance, I know this is way too long and no one will read the whole thing. I promise to keep these shorter in the future. Feel free to just read the first one and skip to the end for a new ranking reveal if you'd like.
Best Intentions (#16 in 2026):
First up is coincidentally the highest-ranked of the bunch, which is somewhat surprising at first because it is fashioned as something of a dive (despite the tongue-in-cheek "Fancy Cocktail Bar" placard above the cooler that adorns the top of this page), outfitted with plenty of neon beer signs and kitschy memorabilia. It's downright unassuming from the outside as well; it took me a moment to find it after being dropped off in Logan Square, as you can see from the picture of the exterior below (I was tempted to Photoshop a cool sign on the brick above the door, but then I remembered I don't know how to use Photoshop). Despite the low-fi environment and come-as-you-are mentality, they mix up some serious drinks, including a couple of extremely unique items that we will soon shed light upon.
Before fulfilling that intriguing foreshadowing, though, one of their proper cocktails. Pito In A Baby Carriage included Santa Teresa 1796 Rum, Jagermëister, Suntory Toki Whisky, Tempus Fugit Crème de Noyaux (a 19th-century French liqueur distilled from apricot and cherry pits), and Regan's Orange Bitters No. 6. As you might surmise from that ingredient manifest, this was quite spirit-forward, with fruity undertones and a prominent almond flavor. It was actually poured at my seat, which I thought was neat, and then topped with fresh ground black pepper, which added just a touch of piney heat. Really complex and high-quality stuff, very much adding to the "don't judge a book by its cover" thing they've got going on here.
Perhaps the most interesting fact about Best Intentions is that they are the only bar in the world (literally) to have Angostura bitters on draft. You can order a shot for $5, or have it incorporated into a mixed drink, but to get the purest experience I opted for the former. Colored the deepest red you can imagine, this was intensely herbal and warm, bitter (duh) with a sort of root beer finish on the back end. I asked the bartender how this arrangement came to be, and she said "we just kind of asked and they eventually agreed, but it's such a pain in the ass that they decided never to do it anywhere else again." Apparently the importation process from Trinidad and Tobago is quite arduous, with the product being marked as "highly flammable" and requiring special handling, so they only ship it two or three times per year (in large quantities). Anyway, this was super cool, and alone would have made the trek to this neighborhood worth it.
But the best thing I tried the entire weekend was the "damn-near famous" Wondermint Malted, their signature frozen drink consisting of Death's Door Wondermint liqueur, Broker's gin, Luxardo Angioletto, and house-made acid phosphate, which adds acidity without the fruitiness of a lime or lemon. This was their version of a grasshopper, essentially a milkshake but a crafted cocktail as well, so much more than the "adult milkshakes" you see at a lot of places where they just pour some bourbon into the mix and call it a day. Cool and minty from the schnapps and nutty from the hazelnut liqueur, they make this from real dairy and malted milk powder to lend a wonderfully creamy texture. It was served in a styrofoam cup with a mint leaf garnish, and while this was probably not the ideal choice at 11:45 AM, I honestly could have stayed there downing these all day until I threw up, which would have been worth it because they are so delicious.
We grabbed some lunch here as well, including a Steak Sandwich, with well-seasoned, medium-rare sliced ribeye, tender and pink in the middle. The La Brea telera roll runneth-ed over with lemon & salt-dressed arugula, and some Blakesville goat cheese and pistachio-ginger spread granted some funky and interesting flavors. Add in fresh Fresno and Thai chili peppers for heat, and you have a banger of a handheld. A more-than-decent burger and crispy fries were both served in brown paper bags, reinforcing the unpretentious energy that reverberated throughout the room.
In case it wasn't clear, I really, really dug this place; it's a bit more chill than the bars I usually write about, but can compete with anywhere when it comes to absolutely world-class drinks. Spoiler alert for the end of this page (if we ever make it there), but it's going to rank quite highly on my Best Chicago Cocktail Bar rankings, to debut in a mere five thousand more words from now.
Gus' Sip & Dip (#27 in 2026):
This was the bar I was most excited to visit on this trip, largely because of the quirky name, but also because it has drawn rave reviews since opening in River North in 2024. It almost didn't happen, as there was an hour-plus wait that prevented my planned stop on Friday night before a dinner reservation at another concept from Chicagoland hospitality titans Lettuce Entertain You, they of the witty nomenclature. Fortunately, I happened to be in the neighborhood again the next afternoon, and it was much less busy during the daytime. Who'd have thunk it? The vibe here is classic Midwestern tavern with a 1950's bent, with brown leather banquettes surrounding an oval-shaped bar in the middle of the space. They do elevated riffs on well-known cocktails, and the best part is that every drink is somehow always only $12, which is quite frankly shocking in our current world of ever-skyrocketing prices.
The Cameron's Kick was something of an odd place to start for me, as I tend to mostly stay away from brown liquors produced in the British isles (their American bretheren featuring the all-important "e" are far superior, in my opinion). But this concoction of Kilbeggan Irish whisky, Singleton single malt Scotch whisky, lemon, and orgeat was basically a whiskey (I mean whisky... ugh) sour, with the dreaded peatiness mellowed out by the brightness of the citrus and sweet nuttiness of the almond syrup.
Another pre-Prohibition sour was the Clover Club, with Tanqueray London dry gin, raspberry eau de vie, lemon, and egg white. Sweet and tart, this poured a gorgeous deep pink-red color with a foamy head, and the garnish of three fresh raspberries popped on top. Originally hailing from Philadelphia, apparently this is inspired by a 19th-century elite men's social and literary society, which sounds just painfully obnoxious in retrospect (I think it was really just a book club?), but at least they came up with a cool title.
I've had a lot of versions of my favorite cocktail, but I was floored to learn that a Wisconsin Old Fashioned is an actual thing. Comprised of Peyrat cognac, orange, cherry, and 7-Up, this was much sweeter than the normal version, with some bubbly fizz from the soda. I'm not sure what they're doing up there in the Badger State, but I can't say that this is an improvement. The purpose of a traditional OF is to showcase the bourbon, but this was almost like a boozy soft drink (an oxymoron, I know), with the brandy not exactly singing. It still tasted good, don't get me wrong, and was actually pretty quaffable, but they might want to come up with a new name. Wisconsin Cocktail For Drinking With Cheese? We'll workshop it.
We didn't try any food, but the "Dip" of Gus' Sip & Dip refers to their signature dipped sandwiches, such as the delectable-sounding Wagyu Beef Dip with whipped horseradish and au jus, which I will definitely be trying next time. Overall, while I tend to prefer more innovation in my mixology, they do a great job serving up refined classics, and it's hard to beat that price point. Surprisingly few of the Chicago's most-lauded cocktail bars are in the otherwise awesome River North area, so this is definitely worth a gander if you're staying in that part of the city.
Queen Mary (#80 in 2026):
Next on the agenda was a stop in Ukrainian Village (also I think Wicker Park? not entirely positive about the overlapping geography here), at a former 1940's-era Polish pub that was restored and reopened in 2015 as a naval-themed cocktail bar. Handsome, dark woods with maritime accents gave a moody feel to the dimly-lit interior, though we sat on the patio (crazy that you can do that in August here without becoming drenched in two minutes), which was obviously much more "I'm on the deck with my boys, mother******" than captain's quarters of a merchant marine vessel, which is what it felt like inside.
It had been years since my last Pimm's Cup, but after the so-called Pimm's By The Pitcher here, I'm up to two in the last month. This was a large format mixture of Pimm's No. 1, lemon, blackberry, ginger, orange, cucumber, mint, génépy (an herbal liqueur from the Alps), gin, and bitter lemon soda. There was a lot more going on here than usual, both from the variety of fruits as well as a few bonus spirits. It leaned more sweet than bitter, which I liked, and somehow that grocery list of produce came together in pretty good harmony. It is a bit disappointing though, that neither here nor Bar Madonna used some sort of "Pimm(p)'s Cup" word play, as that would have drawn a chuckle out of me and increased sales to boot. I've had my marketing hat on lately, but surely I can't be the first person to have thought of this?
I merely dabbled in the PC, though, as a single drink a review does not make. So I let my companions enjoy most of the pitcher, and moved on to the A Meadow, which reminds me of trying to tell someone you listened to the "A Forest" record by The Cure: a great song, but grammatically frustrating. This had Suntory Toki Japanese whisky, Gentiane des Pères Chartreux (a French liqueur from gentian flowers), chamomile, myrtle, bee pollen, honey, and asparagus (??). Potent and layered, you could definitely taste both the herbal components and the sweetness of the products of my most-hated insect, though I can't say I really picked up on the stalky green vegetable.
One more for the road: Torrent & Pandemonium was a more fruity and tropical libation with Denizen 5 yr aged white rum, Novo Fogo cachaça, lime, kiwi, pandan, crowberry, aronia berry, and Bittermen's tiki bitters. I know there are a lot of berries out there, but I'm fairly certain that they just made those two up. Nevertheless, this was refreshing and fun, with the national fruit of New Zealand the most prominent of all those flavors. Memories of an unbelievable bright green kiwi juice that I had shortly after touching down in Auckland years ago came flooding back.
Nibbles, which I again did not get to sample, include charcuterie and tinned seafood conservas, in keeping with the seafaring motif. While definitely not bad, you can probably skip this spot unless you are super into boats or nautical spirits, though as a neighborhood tavern you could certainly do worse (no offense to the bar down the street from my house, but I'd kill to have this nearby).
Bar Bambi (unranked):
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how this spot came across my radar. Usually I'll do copious research if I know I'm visiting a city, and add locations to my Google Maps "travel plans" (which means mandatory) or "want to go" (aka if there's time) lists, and somehow this made its way into the latter despite not appearing on any rankings or guides that I can find now. But I clearly had learned about it somewhere, and it happened to be down the street from where we ate dinner in West Town, so we set off on the ten-minute walk (I know, such a peregrination would be unheard of in Houston, but in other cities they do these crazy things) down the very meta W. Chicago Avenue for an impromptu nightcap. While it seemed a tad pretentious and very crowded (I was told that the music was "not good" by a friend who braved the throngs to check out the bathroom) indoors, we grabbed a four top on the empty al fresco area, though this ended up being quite the trendsetting move, as the remaining tables quickly filled up once people heard that a world-famous food critic was there.
Let's bang these out real quick, as we've reached record word count. Speaking of banging (sorry), the Adult Bookstore was a clarified drink utilizing Patrón 100 tequila, Campari, vermouth blend, strawberry, tomato, basil, and cream cheese. Sort of Caprese-salad adjacent, this had some fun savory notes alongside the bitterness of the amaro, and came in an interesting white ceramic cup that I hadn't really seen before.
Continuing the vaguely NSFW-named parade was the Skinny Dip, which integrated Havana Club rum, bianco vermouth, fig leaf, Thai banana, and "cream" soda (not sure why the inverted commas, but I'm a slave to menu transcription). They're big on molecular mixology techniques here, and the carbonation on this one provided a bit of tongue-tingling effervescence. Y'all already know I love bananas, and I'd say that I like-but-not-love Thailand, so that geographical/produce combination earned high marks from me. There was also a honeycomb-shaped tuile on top, intended to be consumed in one of those bite-sip patterns that are all the rage at these types of places.
If I'm honest, I can't recall a tremendous amount about the Mandela Effect, as it was not my order, but the cross between a gimlet and spritz, with Citadelle cornichon gin, St-Germain, basil eau de vie, apricot, lime, Perrier, and yogurt, stimulated a rousing conversation about The Berenstein Bears, Sinbad starring in Shazaam, and other examples of what is easily one of my top ten effects (others include Dunning-Kruger, Doppler, Southwest, and Streisand).
I don't remember seeing any grub on the menu or at neighboring tables, but after mountains of dumplings and noodles at Lao Peng You, I wasn't exactly looking for it either. Apologies about the atrocious sign photo, as I nearly forgot and had to snap one from the Uber driving away in an extremely lame version of a Fast & Furious stunt. I'm a bit torn on this one because the drinks were undeniably good, but something about the vibe just seemed a tad off for me.
A momentous day in the Windy City (or multiple days, again, you cannot force me to testify against myself), with four cool yet very different spots filling in the gaps between some of my prior excursions. But, as the proverb goes: a man's work is from sun to sun, an amateur restaurant/bar critic's work is never done. Next time I plan to check out The Meadowlark, Nine Bar, Lemon, and any other suggestions you might have. Feel free to drop in the comments!
RANKING UPDATE: Though all of the aforementioned establishments were solid to excellent, none quite top my previous favorite bar in Chicago, so will not be added to the recommended cocktail bars section of Beyond Houston page. However, what will be added is the following hierarchy...
Chicago Cocktail Bar Rankings:
- The Aviary
- Kumiko
- Best Intentions
- Gus Sip N' Dip
- Bisous
- Bar Bambi
- Kitty's Cosmopolitan Club
- Queen Mary
NEXT UP: Thai food, either in Chicago or in Houston, depending on how fast I can clear my alarming backlog of reviews to write.