Lizard’s Liquid Lounge

This place is great. I don’t know if it classifies itself as this, but it looks like a Metal music bar on the inside. Red walls lined with artwork. They play a variety of music on the juke box. Bartenders are incredibly nice and the beer is reasonable. Definitely try it, unobtrusive on the outside and a lot of character inside.

Good beer, nice and friendly staff! Would go again. Also go to the bbq restaurant next door, they have vegan/​veg options!

This place is fantastic! If you don’t like this place or have something bad to say… you have no soul. It’s chill… it’s fun… people are nice. Every night there’s something different music, crowed, its just a cool place to go. They have a good selection of drinks there’s a bit for everyone. It’s dog friendly, on occasion you’ll have a cute pup come up to you. The people are great there, everyone is nice. They have great art work all over the place, so much fun to check out. Liz is an excellent bartender, she has great jokes and stories for you, strike up a conversation with her, seriously! Super nice. Check out the bands that play there. almost every other night there is one. A lot of them play for tips so hook em up!
On top of that, in case you’re hungry, they don’t serve food… buuuuut… Smalls Smoke Shack next door will bring it right over to you if you order. Its such a beautiful marriage. You can’t lose here! Get over there, have fun, have a few drinks. Such a great local bar, I can’t say enough about it.
do it!

Great bar to go and relax. All good people just there to chat. No one is trying to do anything crazy and a very laxed environment.
Murray is a great guy! They take care of you there like they have known you for years.
Always love to go here for a few drinks.
Have a good time!

A great dive-​ish bar with friendly bartenders. Had a BDay party for a good friend last week, and it was a blast, they really accommodated a bunch of wildly partying people.
That’s it. It’s simply worth a visit.
Great selection of boozes, clean bathrooms and friendly bartenders.

I thought I was coming to update my review and was surprised to see I hadn’t reviewed it before! After our first visit a few years ago it easily became my favorite bar. Great service and prices, cool atmosphere and added bonus of smalls being right next door. Love this place so much I asked them if I could host my birthday party there. They were so welcoming, reserved tables for my group and made sure everyone had a great time. Thanks so much for helping make my birthday perfect!

Great place. Pool, darts and karaōke. Live music also. The owner and staff are very friendly. Nice and relaxed atmosphere.

its good to chill

Other than the strange voodoo and nicki-​manaj-​nightmare-​like décor…
This place isn’t a bad dive bar.
Dive is the key word.
I stopped in here after ordering food from Smalls next door and they let you eat at the bar. Pretty nice. The owners of Smalls and Lizard’s have a pact to allow people to eat in the bar since there is adequate seating. And who doesn’t want a frosty adult beverage to wash it all down?
The major loss of star were the surplus of dogs in the place. I don’t mind a couple in a place, but they were almost outnumbering the people inside. Not the most appetizing to have strangers’ dogs walking around while you eat/​drink.
But if I lived around the area, I could see myself coming through every now and then.
(P.S. Stella’s were $ 4 that night, and who can pass up a sale??)

I didn’t know one of my favorite city bartenders worked here!!! To my delight he does!
I have always enjoyed myself here and the drinks are reasonable and the inside is super cool and unique.

Well only came in here because we wanted to keep are food from smalls next door. This is not my cup of tea. Thursdays margaritas are $ 4 not the best but of. Not sure if I will return. Old school bar

Ask for Liz and mention Trinity College Dublin! Best Irish-​run bar in Chicago!

The Triple L is HeLLLa good!
This dog friendly bar has a free pool table, cool juke, you can bring your own food or order in food, game nights, darts, and dog friendly. My tiny Yorkie George doesn’t drink. He’s not 21, besides, it’ll stunt his growth. But he loves socializing the way a flower craves sunshine.
I also like the name, it sounds like place in a David Lynch film. Or the main setting of a nouveau noir flick where you’d meet a character with plenty of secrets and money to burn.
Anyways. Get the LLL over! George will save you a chair!

This divey, BYOF paradise is easily accessible, laid-​back, full of bartenders who chat with you, and offers a parade of people watching. Everyone in there seems game to just hang out. Suffice it to say that Lizard’s is not the type of place anyone would take their OKCupid date, and that’s part of its charm: unpretentious, comfortable, and deep-​pocketed when it comes to free drink tokens.

I agree with the 2013 reviews before mine. Informative website.
We placed our order at smalls and headed to Liz’s place. I guess the owner was the only person working behind the bar last Friday around 6pm. She appeared busy. She was running two wells and the bar stools were near full with customers. So we weren’t greeted when we entered the establishment.
Everyone was casually dressed. Eclectic interior but cozy. Very clean. Diverse music but option to choose songs on Internet jukebox.
Had I known the pool table was free on weekdays from 4pm-​7pm, I would have played a game. A dog friendly bar but no canines were present that day.
We seated ourselves at the center of it all. Enjoying every view of artwork displayed. Well layout compared to Burt’s Pizza. Since there was no waitress when we were there, it was no problem for us to go up to the bar and order our drinks.
Saw some customers at the bar requesting smalls menu. So yes, you can order food in the bar and have smalls deliver it to you. We opted to place our order at the shack first then seat ourselves at Liz’s. The delivery guy called out the name of ordering person. Best to hold on to your receipt. Honor system.
My first draft, Burning River, was not available so I had a Carlsberg. It was a good pour. Clean glass, good lace, good temperature, clean tap, good taste.
I wish we ordered fries as an appetizer while waiting for the fried chicken. I needed something to munch with my beer.
Since I’m not a beer connoisseur, I rely on
for suggestions. There is a good variety of bottled imports and crafts to try but did not know their profiles so I chose to look them up myself. I did not know there is free WI fi. Had good cell signal.
I tried the Franziskaner Weiss bier next. It came with the original drinking glass. Glass was pristine. There’s an art to pouring. I almost forgot to swirl the bottle to get all the tasty sediments into my glass. It had good citrus notes and carbonation for a wheat beer. But it was my choice and knew it would not pair with the food I ordered. I should have stuck with PBR.
Old beer glasses and food containers were removed at reasonable times. Not piling up. Recyclable containers strategically placed for empty beer bottles.
A flat screen TV above the bar was turned on to baseball. Someone requested to watch a Sox game but there was no sound. Maybe speaker tables for rent in the future, a suggestion.
A very comfortable atmosphere. Good beer prices. The next shift bartender thanked us for coming. Well appreciated. Wish Lizard’s Liquid Lounge was in my neighborhood.
Street parking. Right next to a business space which use to be Jun’s Model Barbershop.
The owner? gave us two wooden tokens for free drinks the next time we come back. Will do.

I’ve been coming to Lizards since they opened 5 years ago so this review is long overdue! It’s my favorite bar and here’s why: In the big world of Chicago bars, Lizards has it’s own unique personality and atmosphere with it’s artistic and down to earth vibe. Not trendy, nor pretentious it is a sincerely friendly place… it’s the kind of bar one can go by themselves and feel that they are mingling at a friends party. The owner, Liz Kavanagh, may well be the center of the social universe with less than six degrees of separation between her and the entire city. This talent she has for making a million friends has created the foundation for a great establishment. She’s always planning new and fun events between music, visual art, performance, swaps, games or watching sporting events. The ‘Liquid” selections are vast and varied and always growing! They have a great menu of Martini’s which on Wednesday are only $ 5 as well as a different bargain every day of the week. Now there is a fantastic barbecue place called «Smalls» next door. One can order out and bring their food into the bar.
But really, the most uncanny thing about this place is the incredible diversity of it’s patrons. It is a crazy unlikely mix of artists, hockey players, lesbians, fireman, business men, truck drivers, musicians, local bar flies, computer geeks, mixed in with the occasional hipster, of all ages and ethnicity both gay and straight. And everybody really get’s along! Never seen anything like it. On a small scale it is a beautiful example for world peace!

I don’t frequent bars very often, but when I do they usually fall in either the bar with a ridiculously awesome food menu category, or super laid-​back bar where you can spend hours just hanging out with friends in your most comfortable clothes category. LLL is the latter.
They don’t serve food, but make up for it with charm, very affordable beers, and a free pool table. There is fun people watching and fun dog watching too. They had TVs on with some sort of baseball game on that people were really into. Darts that nobody was playing, and most importantly, Gangnam Style on their jukebox. LLL clearly keeps up with the times. unlike some people (insert horses and bayonets joke here).
Tip: If you find yourself here, go to the corner by the pool table with the books and find the children’s book on Christopher Columbus. You’ll find the most hilarious angry writing through half of the book. I’m just sad that the guy didn’t keep going throughout all the pages — he stops halfway through. Totally worth checking out if you find yourself at LLL.

Finally made it into Lizards… Inside it’s pretty cool and big! Great Flat Screens and pretty good music to boot/​My bartender was very cool and introduced herself right away which is a rarity in this day and age… Would definitely go back! PS– Mini La Pasadita across the street… GTFJD

If your looking for a friendly welcoming corner bar, this is it. Bring your dog if your dog is into hanging out and getting treats. Most weekends there is Entertainment such as: Eclectic Live Bands, DJs, Burlesque Shows etc… They even have a Dart & Pool Leagues, Board Ga mes and a monthly Scrabble & Trivia Night. …Something for everyone. No Kitchen but, if you get hungry, there is a take-​out menu folder and a take-​out restaurant just around the corner on albany that delivers food to the bar at no charge.
Also Daily Drink Specials.

Friendly atmosphere, cool interior, heavy pours and an awesome owner. While I enjoy hanging where I tend bar, there are times I don’t want to drink where I know every person in the room. This is when I sneak off to Lizard’s. I almost always find both a seat at the bar and a good conversation. I really do like this place.
Lizard’s used to be «Lost and Found» which apparently was one of the oldest and most storied lesbian bars in the city. This explains the chilly reception I received when I walked in there 4 or 5 years ago. When Liz bought the place many of the old regulars left. But many others, feeling people of all genders and orientations can enjoy a beverage under the same roof, stayed. The result is an interesting, diverse and eclectic crowd.
The owner is a veteran bartender and fantastic behind the rail. She’s a real presence… fun, engaging and liberal with the bottle. On Tuesday and Thursday Ruth is calmly happy, smartly funny and filled with positive energy. They have live music frequently and a monthly pub quiz that is both challenging and silly. There are a few nice tv’s, a pool table and a shelf full of board games. Good food can even be ordered from Cody’s, the burger and hot dog stand next door, and they walk it right over to you.
Lizard’s is a neighborhood place that’s cool enough to travel to even if your friend’s band isn’t playing there.