Lange’s Lounge

Free pool, cheap drinks. Can’t really ask for much more in a typical dive bar. This place is divey to a tee. Awesome bar and their service was great too.
Located right on Southport, Lange’s is a hidden gem in the Southport Corridor.

Great old school bar… simple. Same owners for over 30 years– pool table darts, etc.
They do not serve food here– so either eat elsewhere or be prepared to place a delivery order.

A friend suggested Lange’s to me a year ago and my first thought was «Southport, forget it, Chads and Trixies.» I’m glad I went because I’ve never not had fun here. Cool jukebox, nice and attentive bar service, decently priced drinks. The bonus is the Tamale Man who comes in almost every time. This is bar to drink in and converse and enjoy some music. That’s it and it’s what I like. Lange’s is a fish out of water in Lakeview the same way that I am. We’re going back tonight.

A nice bar that is not pretentious as many other ones along Southport can be, they had baseball other than the Chicago Cubs on and they have one old, small pool table that fits nicely in this small bar. I was not has crowded this warm summer Sunday nightI went as many of these other places often can be a pain.

Is imagine this bar has looked the same for decades. Single pool table, two bartenders doing theater in the round and plenty of conversation. It’s a quintessential neighborhood bar and I hope it stays exactly the same.

The bartender was unbelievably unfriendly and meanly sarcastic. It made me leave the place right away. Unfortunately, being disrespectful to customers is something most people will not tolerate.

A divey, old-​man bar in the heart of Southport Corridor. The prices are pretty good, they have a decent juke box, a microwave, a pool table, Golden Tee and great bartenders. I’ve had some good times here and I like it.

Friendly bartenders and Golden Tee. That’s really all I need, and Lange’s gets it done. The beer selection is not the best in the world, but Harpoon IPA is good. It’s definitely the diviest bar on that section of Southport, so that adds to its charm.

I have finally figured out how to work the type of juke box that is in Lange’s. Perhaps that’s because I finally tried it while sober.
I got 18 choons for five bucks. Not too shabby. Alabama Song, Back Door Man, Good Girls Don’t, Star Star, You Dropped a Bomb on Me, PYT, Backstabbers, Bennie and the Jets, Precious, Have a Drink on Me, Take Me Out, etc. I rock. No Beatles. No Zeppelin. No matter, I suppose. It’s a singles juke box. No complete albums. Albums, sadly, just don’t matter anymore.
Divey cheap beer, pool and choons. Not bad. Not great but not bad.
Four stars.
P. S. Kind of a bad bathroom. Lilliputian urinal.

This bar is like someone’s sad basement (wood paneling and all). Everything about this place is cheap but it wasn’t in the fun way. It is a basic hole in the wall place that is selling a means to get wasted (old style, Natty light, etc.) and not really making any bones about it. If that is what you are looking for then you have found your lounge. Otherwise there are many other dive bars in Chicago that are more fun but it is open until 3 and is different than any other bar in the area, so it has that going for it.

First time I went to Lange’s was last night. Talk about a diamond in the rough — or should i say, a rough in a sea of diamonds? or at least a cool bar in a sea of douche bag cubs /​«irish» bars.
Idioms aside, this is not a bar you’d expect in the fancy Southport neighborhood, but I had a lot of fun. The (lone) bar tender handled requests quite well despite all of the people at the place — he was able to remember who was drinking what in our party, which is maybe insignificant but goes a long way. Interior is typical crappy dive bar — wood paneling, promotional posters, etc. The bar is in the center and is formed like a giant square — which is kind of interesting. There’s also a pool table, and someone there was pumping the juke box full of great 80’s metal (Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Europe, etc).
They have Hamm’s, Old Style in BOTTLES, and shiner bock as well as a handful of tap beers for $ 5. So it’s not as cheap as something further west, but probably cheaper than most on that block. They also accept cards, which is uncommon for a bar like that.
I’m a fan of Lange’s and if I’m ever forced to head back to that neighborhood, I’ll recommend: «Let’s hang at Lange’s.»

Stop #4 and it’s about to get messy…
When you go to Lange’s as intoxicated as we did… you’re going to have a grand olé’ time.
Lange’s is a dive bar at best… but a good dive bar.
Cheap beer. Pool table. Juke box. Cross eye’d locals.
If you mix all of that together you’re going to have a REALLY good night or a BAD bad night, the choice is all yours.
We decided to dance with the cross eye’d locals and let them give us a pool lesson… Ahhhh, good times!

They have Harp on tap, a Golden Tee machine, a pool table (lopsided) and a jukebox. Sometimes, if you’re very lucky, you can catch Mike D. there causing all manner of trouble.
Four bloody stars.

Lange’s is a great place to hangout. From the smoke still wafting in the air to the hard rock tunes on the juke box, it doesn’t get much better. It appears the this low-​key dive bar went through a slight renovation which takes it down a star in my mind. It’s still pretty sweet though and a great place to hang out late night or after a game at wrigley or dinner on Southport.
Enjoy!

Dear Lange’s,
You will always be a 5-​star bar in my heart. I fondly remember visiting you when you were a smoke filled old man bar playing bad music of the 80s and 90s. Boy, have things changed… except the restrooms. Those are still gross. The smell of cigarette smoke still lingers heavily inside your four walls. I miss the good olé days but was happy to reminisce. Until next time, take care old friend.
Warm Regards,
Joanne W.

I think they allow one dive per square mile in Lakeview. Lange’s claims the Southport section.
My brother and I came in for a nightcap, and we had the misfortune of doing so on the day of a Cubs game. Never mind that it was 11:00 on a Thursday night and the game had ended seven hours earlier; these assholes were still out in full force, taking over the jukebox, the bartender, the bar itself.
I’d been going to Southport bars for years before giving Lange’s a try. I’ll have to wait at least until September to give it another shot.

A friend and I had some time to kill before a movie at the Music Box, so we stopped into Lange’s Lounge for a drink. I was happy to order a can of Hamm’s. My friend ordered a mix drink.
Echoing some of the other comments, it’s a small bar without a lot of seating. We picked some bar stools next to a window and tried to distance ourselves from the jukebox speaker, which, in my opinion was cranked up a little too loud for 8pm.
Most of the patrons were older guys who had clearly gotten off work around 5pm and headed straight for Lange’s to throw back a few (or a lot) of beers. Unfortunately, one of them decided to take an interest in my female friend. This guy was obviously pretty hammered. He attempted to make conversation with us, but got a little too touchy feely with my friend, who was understandably uncomfortable. The bartender told him multiple time to quiet down.
After about 20 minutes of his constant staring, constant apologies and constantly telling my friend that she looked like his daughter, we decided it was time to leave.
Yes, we had a bad experience. But coupled with the lack of atmosphere, the too-​loud jukebox and the general feeling of despair, I don’t think I’ll be returning to Lange’s any time soon.

Wiled the night away with a good friend and $ 2.50 Hamm’s cans. All the while enjoying the ham-​fisted pick-​up of Southport’s more desparate 20-​somethings. Great people watching.

Definitely a dive bar, but they’ve got a decent juke box and extremely friendly staff. If you are in the neighborhood, it’s a nice place to escape a lot of the other really crowded spots…

Southport is lined with tons of trendy, overpriced and cliched bars. This is an aberration to the rule.
The place is very small, has one pool table, a large bar and sweet bartenders that drink with you!
If you are near the Southport Brown line stop and looking for a quiet, neighborhood, dive style bar then this place is for you. Its kind of like the north side version of the Two Way without the hipsters vs locals turf war. Instead you have the locals and upcoming yuppies in a turf war that doesn’t get as rowdy. I have to go here more often after I move from Albany Park since it will be much closer and much better than the flip-​flop frat bars that define this area.
I heart dive bars.