Martyrs’

I’ve seen some good shows here and I love the close knit environment. They do have good beer and the music is always unique! It’s always gonna be a fun time going to martyrs

This is a great place to listen to music. Saw a mix of jazz and Icelandic rock here. It not a huge venue, so you can get close to the stage. Also, the beer selection is pretty good.

I went to see a band at Martyrs’ and paid my $ 12 to get in. The band was great and then they brought me the bill for 4 Makers Marks on the rocks totaling $ 55! You can get a bottle from Binny’s for $ 25 so it seems a little ridiculous for them to be charging $ 13.75 for an embarrassingly tiny glass.

I love the music here and other live performances (particularly blue grass nights and the MOTH story slam). Also, the beers are reasonably priced!

I’m not sure if it is all Iowa State alumni or just the bunch of them that were attending a performance by The Nadas, but our experience at last night’s concert leads me to believe being rude, inconsiderate, and loud is a requirement for under-​40 Iowa State Cyclones.
This was our first visit to Martyrs, which is described on most web pages we visited as a first as a Music or Concert Venue, and then as an American Bar. The stage is much larger than we expected for a bar. The appearance of interior is nothing to write home about — everything was dated and well-​used.
On-​street parking was easy to find, the employees were absolutely wonderful, and the beer was reasonably priced.
If you take away the dozen or two Iowa State alumni who came in just before the opening act and stood in front of the people who’d arrived early and gotten seats, the line-​of-​sight of the stage is very good.
And, if you take away the 60 or 70 Iowa State alumni who talked loudly during every song (except the 5 or 6 they knew well enough to sing along with), the acoustics were good.
Bottom line — great place to visit, but don’t go to actually listen to the music on a night when a bunch of Millennials decide a performance by their favorite band from college is a great reason to get together and talk. And talk. And talk.

One of my favorite music venues on the North Side! This place is intimate, yet has plenty of room to dance. I love the eclectic bands and variety, as well as the bigger acts and cover bands like Tributosaurus. The price is always fair given the musicians have to get paid, ranging from $ 7 – 20 on average. The best part is that the sound quality is amazing for its size! Bar menu is small but tasty, beer selection is good, and there’s parking on the street. Brown line stop isn’t too far away. All in all, I always have a good time when I’m there

Martyrs is a great entertainment venue, but the food definitely leaves a lot to be desired. The only things I can recommend are the empanadas. The pizza toppings were clever, but did not deliver anything other than cardboard dryness. The quesadillas were a joke; no filling and overly cooked tortillas. I was there for a story slam and the service was good considering how busy they were, but the use of paper and plastic utensils and dishes was disappointing.

I am a person who loves a live show. With that said, while a resident of Chicago, I attended a lot of live shows from stadiums to cozy venues like Martyrs’.
Hands down, the best performances that I have seen were here. The sound was top knotch, the viewing area was good without too many blind spots, and the ticket prices were relatively inexpensive.

Marty’s come for the show, go anywhere else for food. Amazingly the entire kitchen staff suffer from a rare disease called, «Can’t taste shit.»

Good intimate venue to see small bands and performances. Pretty open area to be able to have groups of friends. However, their sound system is loud! Be prepared and bring small discrete ear plugs. For the bar, its a standard one. I would stick with simple drinks.

Martyrs is the best venu of its size. Great acts, re-​entry, dank beer selection, drink specials, street parking, two bars and a pinball machine. Official home of the cover bands. I wish they had hard tickets and the room is a little awkwardly shaped aside from that a great place to see a show. Can’t speak for food, I don’t think in all my times there I’ve eaten.

Come for the rock shows… well, stay for the rock shows. Do not factor food into the equation. The four-​dollar empanada «special» was anything but – sad, tiny little fellas with hard shells and disappointing fillings. The beer list was pretty good, but a couple of selections on the printed menu were no longer available and two were cashed out during my stay and replaced with dissimilar styles. So… count on some decent beers generally but specific brews are basically a spin of the roulette wheel.
But they sure can stage some exciting rock ‘n’ roll. Shout out to Tributosaurus for a sweet R.E.M. impersonation. Also, they usually put together an arse-​kicking lineup on Saint Patrick’s Day.

If I walk into a place and see John Lennon on the wall, I get good vibes instantly and have high hopes for a place to be awesome.
I went to Martyrs’ for a story slam reading and the place was completely full. Our server stayed speedy (for the most part) despite having about a thousand guests to tend to.
I’m going to imagine Martyrs’ is a great place for vegetarians because I ate quite a bit & non of it had meat. It was eat like a vegetarian night for me.
My friend and I shared the~
+Kale, Spinach, Garlic, Balsamic Butter & Parmesan Grilled Pizza $ 12 — Individual size pizza that my friend and I ended up sharing. That along with a couple of empanadas should make a sufficient meal for 2. I really liked this pizza, it was way better than I expected.
+Butternut squash & goat cheese empanada $ 4 — I wanted more! I needed more! I loved this empanada but I prob could have ate a hundred of them. One empanada comes out to you in a little baggie.
+Hummus, veggies & pita $ 8 — Very good pita bread, came out a little toasty. I wanted a bit more pita as we ended up with a lot of unused hummus.
Everything I had at Martyr’s tasted great, service was good and it’s a lovely place to see a show. Love Martyr’s minus the seating which consists of long tables of über hard chairs. When you’re sitting for 4 hours, your booty will end up sore by the end up the night. Trust. They have some padded bar stools that looked a bit more comfortable and you best believe that’s where I’ll be sitting next time.

I went to Martyrs’ at the end of February for the first time and I believe it’ll definitely be my last unless they fix their security staff’s attitude problem.
First impression of the actual VENUE: nice wide open space. Dim lighting, very appropriate. A few tables in the corner, which were definitely being used. Clean bathrooms. Free water at the bar (LOVE it! Why don’t more venues do this?). Nice, funny staff member taking tickets.
So, again: the two stars for this review is for the security staff, NOT the venue as a whole.
The show I went to on February 28 attracted primarily a crowd of teenagers, though not unruly kids. Apparently, Martyrs’ is now enforcing a no-​moshing rule. Okay, I understand that. A lot of local venues do this.
However, to wait and let patrons know that only AFTER a pit starts is very wrong. Have clear signs.
An acquaintance was suddenly kicked out because he arrived late and was not familiar with the rule that we had figured out. I went to talk to the two security guards, reassuring them that the acquaintance who got kicked out wouldn’t be starting any problems. They then proceeded to lie to me and tell me that they warned him three times (there was only 1 previous pit). The acquaintance was stuck waiting out in the cold for HOURS. He is a high school student. I wanted to go back outside to give him my extra coat, but the staff had enforced the ‘no re-​entry’ rule… of course.
The whole interaction left me with a bitter taste.
Please, Martyrs’, educate your security team on how to better announce new rules and treat patrons of ALL ages with respect. Until then, I won’t be coming back, and neither will many of my friends in local music.

If you’re up this way and completely clueless what to do with your evening, Martyrs’ might be just what the doctor ordered. They’ve got a pretty wide variety of shows from art to cover acts and even more stuff that will make you say «sure, why not.»
I came for a pretty cool art/​comedy/​not sure-​what-​the-​heck-​it-​was show out of Austin, Texas. Unlike anything I’ve ever been to before, but that’s what I enjoyed about it.
I didn’t eat any food and the bar was a bit understaffed, but for a unique night of entertainment in a neighborhood not necessarily bustling with nightlife it’s definitely worth a stop in.

Like this venue. Great place to see a show. I’m a big fan of small, live music venues…

Awesome, unknown (to me) venue/​bar/​restaurant that is further north than I’m used to being. We saw Paul Angotti and his band play «Band on the Run» and had a great view the entire time. There’s a full stage for performers, a dance floor, and lots of room to sit at tables if you’re not dancing. I loved everything about this place, especially the paintings of Jimi Hendrix, Lennon, Joplin, etc. on the back wall.
The food wasn’t on the top of my favorites list, though the homemade salsa for the quesadilla was seriously fresh and delicious. The menu is small, but functions well with the purpose of this bar. I loved being here!

Stopped down for the Tributosaurus Neil Young show at 10p. The band was great, they did a nice selection of tunes. Maybe it was the weather but while the 7p show was sold-​out, it wasn’t too packed and was primarily older guys (like me!?) who were crushin on Neil. (Noted!)
Cool neighborhood, dinner and tunes would make for a great date night.

Looking for something new and ecletic divy, laid back bar to do on a random night? Add Martyr’s to the list!
I was here for a Rockabilly Night. People were actually doing real dancing — like Dancing With the Stars kind of moves. Seeing a crowd of all ages was a refreshing sight to see.
I know that this place hosts of all sorts of fun, off beat events. Check it out.

There’s a dancing Internet meme sweeping the world that apparently everybody knows about– The Harlem Shake. I don’t know much about trends or dances but Martyrs is a good place to feel hip and get your dance on.
They have very reasonable cover charges. I believe for the earlier shows it might be all ages with wristband for the over 21. The beer list isn’t big but has some craft beers and good options. The cocktails are well made. My Cape Codders (cranberry vodkas) were big. There’s not that many stools but we got lucky and found 2 and put our stuff down.
I talked about dancing. There’s eclectic talent and generally a bunch of different groups in a row. Some of them are really creative and good musicians. Even I got into the music and boogied for a few songs. It was fun!
Two criticisms: the doorman was gruff and mangled my hands taking my bracelet from the left and stamping the right (I have a bruise) and we left our leftovers on the bar in front of our stools, beers, stuff, and they were gone when where gone when we got back (there was a sandwich in there!).