Ravens

Yeah also had issues with the bartender playing favorites with regulars. Really drunk guy who had been sitting at the bar all night got mad at us for no reason and got the bartender to stop serving us. We were in the back chilling minding our own business and had only had one drink. Won’t go back.

Lisa L is correct… Ravens is one of the best dive bars in town and lots of booze goes down the hatch there !!! If you can’t handle your booze and behave at the same time, you probably need to stick to Wrigleyville. Also, you need to work REALLY HARD to get kicked out of Ravens… and if it happens, well, you were just being a complete asshole.
*Pay no attention to «internet commandos» who make absolute fools of themselves at a bar, sober up and cry like babies on Unilocal

This is an awesome no frills dive bar. Don’t be a belligerent asshole and you’ll have a great time :)

Bar tender refused to serve us after one single drink. Then he kicked us out before asking us «how was the Cubs game?» WTF? All because we let some Jena blocks fall over? Isn’t that that the point of Jenga? Fuck you Ravens!!!

Short Story: if you are friends with the bartender, you’ll like this bar. If not, avoid this bar at all costs.
Long story: I came here with one local friend, a visiting friend and that friend’s girlfriend. When I arrived via cab, I asked to use the bar’s phone because I had
left my phone in the cab. I called my wife, she called my phone, the cab driver answered and returned the phone to me (for which I tipped him handsomely).
Later, my friends arrived and we played multiple games of Jenga. After 6-​ish games of Jenga and at least 2 rounds of drinks (I paid $ 7.00 for each of my $ 5.50 beers, which is almost a 30% tip), our final game of Jenga ended with the tiles plummeting towards the entrance of the men’s bathroom. At that exact moment, a patron exited the bathroom and exhibited disdain towards us, as though we had purposely spilled the Jenga tiles towards him (which is ridiculous on at least 2 levels — we didn’t know him and thus wouldn’t have intentionally targeted him, and the point of Jenga is that you don’t know which direction the tiles will fall). I sarcastically said «Look at what you did!» which the patron decided to interpret as a personal attack,(despite the fact that the timing and direction of the fallig jenga tiles had absolutely nothing to do with him). Said patron returned to the bar, without trying to decipher the intent of my remark, and he was visibly annoyed. The patron spoke with the bartender and from then on the bartender would not serve us. The Jenga tiles had crashed many times without any great reaction (and we cleaned it up each time — after all, you can’t play another game without resetting the tiles), but after this specific time, the bartender decided we had had enough. The bearded bartender refused to serve us, even though the aforementioned patron could barely leave the bar in a straight line! After being refused service, some of us became
belligerent. We were asked to leave the bar. We reluctantly did so, and the bartender followed us out. While a friend went to the curb to hail a cab, I tried to civilly
corral my most belligerent friend to the curb. During this process, the bartender and my friend were arguing. My friend simply asked why we weren’t being served anymore.
The bartender responded with myopic, unrelated remarks like «You spilled jenga tiles» (apparently unaware of the fact that the game isn’t won until pieces fall), «how did the Cubs do today?» (an obvious attack on us as fans that had nothing to do with our actions in the bar) and «I hope you found your phone», as though all of his wrongdoings were justified because he let me use the bar’s phone for 2 minutes after which I tipped him almost 30%. You’re not allowed to be annoyed by unruly Cubs fans coming to your bar unless your bar is in Wrigleyville (which it isn’t). We were the only people in the bar wearing Cubs gear, and we were not nearly as belligerent as Cubs fans are alleged to be in Wrigleyville. I know this, because I work in the bars in Wrigleyville. It seemed to me that
this bartender was very close to the person who came out of the bathroom and saw jenga tiles in his way (and was met with an obvious kidding remark). It was only then that the bartender decided to stop serving us and insult us with irrelevant remarks, use a previous favor to justify his prejudice, and accuse us of causing a disturbance despite the inherent
disturbing nature of a game. This bartender was petty, biased and opportunistic. If you’re not a regular, don’t bother with this dive. Apparently, they’d prefer it that way.

The bouncer at this bar is fantastic. He gave me $ 1 in quarters last night to get jelly beans. Also, big fan of the giant Jenga.

Horrible! I walked in this place and had the worst service I’ve ever had in my life. What a bad experience on my birthday.

By far, my absolute favorite bar. They welcome regular locals and new folks alike. They have a good liquor selection and good taps. Also, it’s open until 4 AM!
Find a seat, grab a beer and a shot of Malort. Next thing you know, you’ll make a couple of new friends.

Greatest dive bar on Clark btwn Fullerton and Belden! Have a frosty libation whilst feasting your eyes upon Dave… swoon!!! Avoid the popcorn – trust me.

This place is filthy and the bartenders are rude and unfriendly, especially the chubby one with the bushy beard. They also have a rodent problem, keep a lookout below the popcorn machine and you will likely see mice. There are plenty of other bars in Lincoln Park to visit.

Well, I liked it. The bar and the bartender. They were a friendly stop on a Sunday evening. The bartender taught us a new game which we played for the duration of our stay.
I see the wear and tear, the slight campiness, the potential for food born related illness from the popcorn, I still liked it. I would not hesitate to come back.

Great location, close to LP Zoo. Friendly bartender ! David hooked us up — of course a nice Michigan Man would take care of his Michigan gals!

Had a great time at Ravens learning about Chicago from the bartender and the other patrons. It’s a simple dive bar, but they do it well.

Aw, snap! Another great dive bar that has been here FOREVER.
I don’t get down this way too often, but on a balmy, wandering evening we stopped in. I like the way this bar opens up onto a courtyard in front, that is outdoor seating in the summer.
Standard dive bar fare, cheap beer an lotsa booze. Ravens is good people.

Charming little bar tucked away down a couple of steps.
Great bartender, good beers on tap.
Cash only.

Bring cash and the outdoor patio is perfect.
This is ZERO frills, but also a nice break from the super-​polished joints in Lincoln Park. Good beer, free popcorn, and zero pretentiousness.

Five stars because I just got the name. *Ravens* It’s literally a *crow*bar*
That joke just murdered me.

The bar is kind of smelly. The crowd at this bar is on the more older side so not really anyone in their 20s

There’s like a time portal thing when you enter Ravens. This might be a first stop to what could be a bar hopping type of night. The plan might be «Oh let’s get a drink here first and then go elsewhere.» That, my friends, is a lie. I should know. A friend and I spent six hours here without realizing how fast time flies once you come across: friendly bartenders, random younger patrons talking to us «pumas» (that might have been inferred), weird conversations, and fun music. It’s been almost nine years since my last visit, and I forget how fun Ravens can be. Stress the «can be».
And, the women’s bathroom is a little so-​so but not as bad as Shenanigans downtown (bleh).

I went here for a pre-​party thing for a friends birthday. It looked like a little hole-​in-​the-​wall with people having a decent time on the patio. We went inside and I saw some lincoln-​parkers fratting out with a rousing round of giant jenga. Strike one.
As we waited for our friends we sat there soaking in the ambience. The staff was nice and the drinks LP-​appropriate.
Our friends arrived, ordered drinks, and sat down. Not 30 seconds later, a rat the size of a house cat makes its way from the back of the bar (unbothered by the screams) and walks right under our table and hides between our friends backpack and the jukebox for a minute. Then it saunters towards the bar. The barback, now cued to his presence, calmly walks out with a broom and pan and tries to round him up.
And that was our cue to exit and never return.