Little Jim’s Tavern

Dark, total dive bar. Expect weird stuff to go down. Got hit on by a crazy… ?woman? Who turned aggressive. Veered at with a compliment in the bathroom, and hugged on by a incoherent man… all in one night.

I would only give this a 5 without a doubt if this wannabe rodolfo or Rodriguez… Who knows Hispanic bartender that’s just the biggest asshole and always drunk…
This guy goes on pretending to be owner, ignores patrons, has his faves… Which is cool but for the owners be sure to know he’s loosing you a lot of business and he’s giving a lot of free drinks to his friends…
Yeah…

Great atmosphere, drinks, crowd, and awesome staff! :) I stumbled into this place while visiting Chicago for the first time, amazing hospitality. Recently moved to the area, and will definitely be going back for a couple of drinks. :)

I had a great Beer at this bar…

Even –as one poster noted– if some dicksucking took place in the restroom, it wouldn’t help this ancient dinosaur of a troll/​toad/​dragon bar. Lord, just ring down the curtains, close, tear it down, plant a green space there, or turn it into yet another coffee shop or greasy spoon. Anything!

The bouncer grabbed my ass while I stood next To him. I don’t know what made him think I wanted him to do that. It was weird.
*********Anyway********
Little Jim’s is a dive bar in boyztown that is a change of pace from the unce unce unce unce dance clubs in the area. Very laid back vibe, and I did notice that there are a lot of regulars here that kinda made it take longer to get a drink because the bartender spent a lot of time chatting with them instead of helping people who wanted a drink. I had one and got sick of trying to get the bartenders attention who was standing literally right in front of me. I’m not going to beg anyone to take my money. I watched the halloween costume contest and it was a joke. The people who placed or won were regulars. They knew everyone who got a prize. I was asked to enter the contest but I declined because I knew what would happen. Total waste of time I knew it would be. I found it laughable some of the more greatly detailed costumes didn’t even place 1^st-​3^rd place, but people who just put Xmas lights on wings won? #GurlBye
Oh yeah: Cash Only.
It’s about to be 2015– get fucking credit card machines. Lame. Step into this century please and thanks!

Its a great «Troll Bar» and I agree with the previous reviewer «Igor» was a creep (he charged me $ 2 extra for my drink for no reason) and the drinks are too expensive for a «loser bar» but there are not too many dive bars left so I welcome its existence. These type of places were great at one time with a much richer tapestry of clientele, charcaters, hot hustlers, drunk hotties, and cheap drinks, but its all gone and its probably not going to get any better so enjoy it for what it is, an elephant’s grave yard. It would help if there was some cock sucking going on in the washrooms, it would fit the ambiance and be good for business. BTW Frankie was always nice to me.

Cheap drinks, little to no crowd (young at least).
We were looking for a cheap pregame in Boystown and Little Jim’s was suggested. Their drinks definitely didn’t disappoint, as they were only $ 4.25 for a decent well pour.
The bar was pretty empty though at 11PM on a Saturday night. Luckily we had a good group and we took our few rounds and quickly headed out.
A couple notes: they’re cash only, the jukebox isn’t fully-​functioning, and the bathroom isn’t the cleanest. It seemed more like a regulars bar, as the bartenders were chatting it up with a few of the patrons for a long while. Service didn’t suffer and he was back to get our orders whenever we ran empty.

My name is Danny, I’ve been working in the the service industry for over 14 years. I’m very passionate about customer service and hospitality. After a busy day at work I also enjoy a cocktail in a laid back quiet bar.
Litte Jim’s has been my after work hangout for eight years.
I enjoy the atmosphere as well as the people. In those eight years the service was always plasent up until now. Igor a recent addition to Litte Jim’s has made it impossible for me to enjoy the establishment. Now when I ever go there I hope he’s not working, when he is he’s absolutely rude, sometimes even ignoring the bar patrons.
He’s made snide comments about the drinks I order, he always has a nasty attitude.
One week ago I confronted him on his attitude, asking what his problem was, which led to an argument in which he called the police.
I hope the new owner reads this and understands my situation, unill then I’ll be finding a new friendlier quiet bar then Litter Jim’s.

Interesting little bar. It is what it is. One bartender was snotty and the other was pleasant. Age range is wide. 21 – 70 the night I was there. It’s a hookup bar late night. I don’t understand why females feel the need to go in here. This is a male enclave!

i hear people call this place little germs. not a very nice name. oddly i find myself here almost every time i visit chicago. i have a love of dive bars and lil’ jims is just the gay version of one. its way more laid back then the other places. less pretentious. i never feel like someone is judging me here and that makes me happy. there always seems to be someone willing to chat and have a beer. or just talk up the bartender instead
the drinks are super cheap. the customers are nice and chatty. what more could you want?
love. juston

Entitlement is such an ugly color for a bartender to wear.
I was in last Saturday night, met up with a friend and caught up with her for a while before she left. I was waiting for some friends to head over and meet up after they were done with their shifts at work. During that time I chose to pace myself on drinks and didn’t order anything while socializing with my friend. Once she left, I remained as my friends would be there soon.
While waiting, a guy came in and ordered a draft beer. He didn’t realize this was a cash bar, so turned around and left, making the statement that he needed to go find an ATM even though he was clearly standing next to one in the bar and couldn’t have missed it. It was obvious that he had no intention of coming back even though the draft had been poured. The bartender in question made some comment about him coming back or not. I found it rude that the guy just left, and said «Yeah, I don’t think he’s coming back.» The bartender gave me a rude look and told me «I don’t need your snotty comments.» Dumbfounded at how he just spoke to me, I replied with «You don’t need to be rude, I was standing up for you since he just lied and left.» He rudely replied with, «What’s rude is you sitting at MY bar for about an hour now and not ordering any drinks. I don’t need you here.» WTF?
I would understand if the bar was packed and every seat at the bar was taken, but that wasn’t the case at all. There were open seats on either side of me. The fact that I was pacing myself from earlier drinks before my friends arrived was none of his business. I was so offended that I quickly messaged my friends, and we all agreed to go elsewhere that has classy bartenders without a sense of entitlement or piss poor service. My friends and I LOVE to drink, and we spent plenty of money and tips elsewhere.
As I was leaving, I had to ask the person working the door for the bartender’s name. I was told his name was Dan. Red shirt, blonde buzzcut, chain wallet, tattoos. Absolute prick. My money will be better spent elsewhere.

What a clown! Sounds unlikely that Darien is in the service industry as he would know better then to walk in and ask for and fully expect a free birthday drink. A regular might be treated differently but Darien isn’t a regular and sounds pretty self-​absorbed.
So, Darien, did you go over to Tulip and ask for a free birthday dildo? And a free coffee across the street at Queerabou? And a free anything at Hydrate?
It’ll be fun watching you try to obtain legal remedy under these circumstances although diminished mental capacity be be a factor in your favor.
Little Jim’s is a pretty laid back neighborhood bar with a diverse clientele of ages and backgrounds and a friendly staff that always has your back. And great daily specials, too. Deff not a trendy ‘tude bar like so many others on Halsted — places that Darien might feel more comfortable in.

Went to the bar last night! Trying to be funny asked «what the birthday shot was?» Igor responded because I asked, there wasn’t one! Now, to be fair I am in the industry and that answer is unacceptable! You could easily say our policy does not allow for that, that would have been fine. I am gay, and sometimes gay condesation goes to far. It reaches the point of just rude. Personally, I’m sick of it! Came in the next day to talk to a manager about what happened. Then, came in later that evening and the same thing happened, maybe they don’t appreciate business. However, legal options shall now be ezplored. I and you, should not accept this kind of blatant disregard for human dignity. By the way, I have no idea when the McRib is coming back! Ask my lawyer!

Oh Lil Jim’s. I had so much fun drinking cheap whiskey and miller lite. Everyone was so nice and helpful making sure I didn’t stumble out too drunk. The bartenders are super nice and got me a cab.

It’s cheap and trashy, but atmosphere isn’t the only thing that’s cheap — so are the prices! Some bars claim to have low-​priced drink specials, but they just water the drinks down. Little Jim’s actually has low prices for very strong, well-​made drinks. Plus, with the amount of desperate, creepy men here, you should have no problem finding someone to buy you a drink anyway.
The bartenders also really know what they’re doing and are really friendly and cool.
Sure, this dump smells like a toilet that hasn’t been cleaned (or probably flushed) in almost a year, but the gross smell adds to the ambience. If Snooki took a shower and went to rehab, she would lose all of her appeal. That’s how I feel about Little Jim’s. I really hope this place stays around for a while! As Boystown becomes more and more superfical and touristy, it’s good that there’s still a nice, trashy-​as-​can be, gay dive bar on Halsted St.

This is a true Chicago neighborhood bar that happens to be gay. Great drink prices, friendly staff (love Bryan on Sundays) and a nice mix of age and race. When I go back to visit my hometown, I always stop in for a drink down memory lane.

I have to say over the years I’ve had a lot of unusual experiences here, like the night I found. Out my ex was a hooker. But I have come to appreciated LJ ‘S for what it is an unpretentious neighborhood bar that just happens to be gay and in Boystown. It’s not fancy they don’t put little umbrellas in your drink. Its just a shot and a beer kinda place. The clients and the staff (especially Brian) are very friendly. If you want to dance go across the street.

Ross B. is right. This isn’t the kind of place you go to with your funny girlfriends to just dance. So what I’d like to know is why I got dragged in here? More than once? I’m still confused.
Regardless, it happened. It was in the past. The porn du jour featured a 4-​on-​1 prison rape scene the first time I was dragged in here. The next time I remembered not to pay attention to what was playing on the monitors.
And one time I got stuck sitting next to some other girlfriend at the bar who had been dragged in there as well. She was texting furiously the entire time. And eventually she explained that she was in the process of texting two different men, both of whom she was sleeping with but couldn’t decide which flavor she wanted that night as one was south side Polish and the other a slightly overweight Wrigley boy with a youdontwanttoknow. As she was detailing their assets to me, the friend who’d dragged her in there turned to me and lisped, «_​_​_​_​_​is going to get her kitty punched tonight.»
And that is why I have a love/​hate relationship with dicey bars.
Love: you have no idea what a drunk stranger might say and may the angels shine upon you that it’s funny enough that 10 months have passed and you’re still laughing about it with your friends.
Hate: TMI, PEOPLE! TMI!

Little Jim’s is where you end up after you’ve been everywhere else. It can be high noon on Halsted Street, and inside Little Jim’s it’s dusk. I hate to think what the smoking ban will do to this bar — I believe nicotine is one of the primary components of its architecture. If you are easily frightened, do not go into Little Jim’s.
Buy me a drink sometime and I’ll tell you about the guy I met here who stole my pants.