Ravenswood Pub

Kind people, welcoming staff, great space. Good drink prices and specials, pool table, board games, outdoor area. I invited people here my birthday weekend, and it was as if I had rented a room for a party. Easy street parking, not far from the 22. Good place to go any night of the week for a drink or to watch the game.

Just because of my kickball peeps hanging here each Wednesday it makes it 5 stars. They support our league so we support them. It would otherwise be called a dive bar… but a great dive it is.

Now don’t get it twisted, the Ravenswood Pub isn’t fancy five stars. It’s the «Boy I wish this place was around the corner, so I could come down here and shoot a leisurely game of pool with my Honey» five stars. There are lots of specials, which is pretty cool, considering how inexpensive it is to start off with.
There’s also an outdoor patio, with a bags setup, and a bunch of tables and chairs. Nice dive-​y, but very clean place to have a casual night out.

I’m going to go ahead and say I found my new hole in the wall dirty old man bar. Not walking distance but a short drive this is the type of neighborhood place I like: a range of people who have been hanging out here for years and know each other, sports on the shitty TVs, a small and dirty bar where you literaly have to squeeze by people to get out, free food in the back room often, lots of characters, cheap/​reasonably priced drinks.
I came here for the first time after this place being on my list for years and I immediately liked the place. There was an abundance of free food in the back that we were told was immediately for the taking and encouraged by someone who I think was an owner. We walked in to watch a game and she greeted us with a big hello and pointed in the direction of the food. Pizza from JB Albertos, cold cuts, cookies, italian beef sammies with giardenaire (who really knows how to spell this condiment?), homeade BBQ meatballs, veggie tray, etc etc. Yes, I went back 2 times!
I like this place and I’ll be back soon. Wish it was around the corner from me. It certainly feels like I’m in my neighbor’s basement circa 1970, and I like that feeling.

«Wait where is it… Do you see an address on any of these places? … It has to be around here somewhere? … «Yup that was me the first time I attempted to join some coworkers for happy our here. Until some guy came out for a smoke we had no idea where it was! But… that’s kind of the best part!
It looks like a garage off of one of the houses around it which makes it a total local bar. If its your fist time in you will get friendly service from the bartender, cheese puffs and probably some hard stares from the old geezers! Don’t let them scare! Sit down, enjoy a drink for ridiculously cheep and well… just go with it!

Whenever I go here, I feel like I walked into someone’s basement… and it’s grand.
The Ravenswood is the perfect spot to go if you want to meet up with friends and actually talk to them. Because it’s broken off into three different rooms, it’s great for a little privacy.
And like your typical neighborhood bar, drinks are cheap and the owners supply you with snacks :) There is also a pool table– but beware. The last time I was in, there were some territorial players who couldn’t grasp that they did not, in fact, own the table.
Want to know the best part? In the back room there is a Karaōke Machine :)

Great bar– it’s like if you had a bar in your garage. Owners are chill and everyone’s just real about stuff. Hard to find that anywhere, and I appreciate that.
it’s a little far from the el, or even a bus. That’s the only reason I don’t give it a 5.

Thank you Ravenswood Pub!
We went there for the NFC Championship game and were very very very happy with them! They actually served free eats that were all homemade and delicious. The staff was super friendly… and we drank there ALL DAY for $ 60 for the two of us. Gotta love $ 7.50 domestic pitchers and $ 4 Bloody Mary’s… yum!!!

It’s eerie to feel like your squatting in someone’s backyard.
While you’re sitting on the patio of Ravenswood Pub the following conversations happen: who lives here? Does anyone use these garages? Did the bar use to be an apartment itself? Seriously, who lives here?!
Awesome place though! I wasn’t much for the inside atmosphere of the stale cigarette smoke and the old timers. But out back was a whole other story of umbrellas and patio chairs!
Friendly bartenders — and you can use a card if you go over $ 25. We were offered «snacks» apparently but turned them down. They had Shiner for $ 3.50 on tap. That’s seriously unheard of in this city!
On the way out we found out we could bring our dogs (inside and outside!). So I guess that means we’ll be back and staying longer — the only reason we all went home was to walk the poor poochies anyways! Great little hidden gem!

There’s a reason why this place recently won Metromix’s Pub Street Fight contest. It inspires love and loyalty.
It’s tucked away on quiet Ravenswood with a huge beer garden, numerous tequilas, an unpretentious, straight forward neighborhood feel, cheeseballs, solid beer list, pool table, Connect 4, enough flat screens to satisfy anyone, and generous, amazing owners who frequently participate in and organize charity events. Going to Ravenswood is like having a drink or two with family– the kind of family you actually like hanging out with.

BIG fan. Why have I never come here before? It’s right in my ‘hood! I came here today for the Free Pig Roast — Neighborhood Appreciation Day and West Andersonville Neighbors Association Fundraiser. Whew, that worked up a sweat!
I loved it. It’s like someone’s house that was turned into a bar. A real neighborhood feel, with kids running around, wizened biker guys leaning on the bar and old ladies nursing glasses of white wine. As well as couples, young to middle aged and Andersonville types (me!) made this my kind of crowd!
Pig right off the pig was sooo good. I’ll be back, as the summer is young and their patio is open!

Well since I’m a kickballer, I have to love this place. But I would even if I didn’t go every week after our games. Its tucked away, divey, and plentiful bar snacks. And the patio is open again!
They always have great specials, and the people who work there are great. They have a decent selection of beer on tap, and one of those newfangly internet jukeboxes. Normally I scowl at internet jukeboxes, but this one has grown on me, because the patrons have picked out great songs! Nothing like an impromptu dace party in the back room of Ravenswood accompanied by cheeseballs!

The beer is cheap, but the place reeks like cigarette smoke. My clothes smelled so bad when I got home.
They did have «shuffle baby» which was essentially was shuffleboard being played with little baby new year dolls. It was lots of fun, but the bar took TOO long in-​between rounds.

OMG, Crapple! This was the funniest thing I have seen in a bar in a very long time.
A date suggested Ravenswood Pub for a couple of laid back drinks. We walked in and got a few looks from the regulars. However, my date quickly made friends with them as he was roped into participating in Crapple by the bartender. You buy some raffle tickets and every 30 minutes the bartender calls a number. The winner draws another number out of a pitcher and that number correlates to some random item of «crap». This was absolutely hilarious to watch.

Yes, I’m going to write this first… complimentary cheese balls… like me showing up to any bar. I heart cheese balls… particularly when they are free.
Ravenswood Pub is a hop, skip, and jump from my place and is a nice little neighborhood bar. Relatively cheap drinks/​beers, Jason the bartender is very cool and laid back and quick to get you a refill.
Free pool table in the back and enough TVs to get your sports on in a flash. The jukebox is connected to the internet, but seems to get high jacked later in the evening and patrons may place music a bit harsh for a neighborhood pub, but no worries.
Quirky part is they have an old school phone on the wall that rings for incoming calls???
Friends of mine think it is far from the city… HA…they oughta know *evil grin*, but I think the way it is just hidden from the rest of the city is fine with me… and probably with the peeps in my hood, but if you get up the Andersonville way check it out…

The entire way to the Ravenswood Pub my visiting friend kept saying, «we have to go all this way to find a bar in Chicago?» Not exactly. In fact we probably passed hundreds of bars on the way here. But none quite the same as the Ravenswood Pub.
A non descript, smallish building that you could drive easily by if you weren’t looking for it (and to some even if you are looking for it!) the Ravenswood Pub reminded me of the bars in Wisconsin that I used to frequent– pool tables in the back, horseshoe shaped bar in the front, bathroom stalls with no doors but curtains to keep things private and a jukebox that will pretty much play whatever you’ve got a hankering for!
But the best part– aside from the cheap beer and the friendly bartender and the easy as ever street parking?
Cheeseballs! Yep. That’s right. No nuts or pretzels as bar snacks here. Just the wonderfully orange delight of Cheetos Cheeseballs! And it doesn’t get any better than that in my book!
You’ll only have to check out my fingers the next time we meet to see where I’ve been. For if they are orange– you can bet I’ve just come from the Ravenswood Pub.

This bar gets five stars for five reasons.
1. When driving to Ravenswood Pub, I initially blew right past it. My friend was like, «Ang. That’s the bar right there.» I responded, «What, that shack? Seriously?» Yes, it looks like a random shack on a random stretch of Ravenswood. Great for parking.
2. Being inside the bar is like being in your neighbor’s basement. Never before have I experienced a bar with blue carpet or that styrofoamy white ceiling tile and quite honestly, I don’t think I’ll see it again.
3. The outdoor area is ridiculous. If you’re a smoker, this is where you need to be. It’s huge. It’s obviously a converted driveway. All that’s missing is a basketball hoop and you’re right back at your parent’s house in the suburbs.
4. The bartenders are SO nice. They pour up very inexpensive drinks. I mean, really, I think I paid a few bucks for a Captain and diet.
5. Digital juke box… Holla! Just make sure to appropriately supervise whoever is pumping in their dollars and picking the music or you could be subject to someone else’s idea of «good music.»
Damn. I wish this place wasn’t so far away. I felt like I was driving home from Kenosha when I left.

I first went here in 2004. It has changed owners and, well totally changed since then. It started out as a really cool secret dive bar. Now it’s a really cool sports centered secret. I don’t live in the area anymore, but I still stop in on occasion. Lots of liqueurs and a pretty ok beer list, they have Shiner Bock, that’s the best they can do for dark beer (no one counts guiness– yuck!).
Pool table is free and there is a huge outdoor patio in the back plus a back room. This place doesn’t look spacious when you first walk in, but there is a lot of room.

I really just like Ravenswood as a «name» in general. I like the street, I like that it runs right by the Metra tracks, gaining it an almost «backwoods/​abandoned» feel. I like the name, the neighborhood named after it, I like ravens in general as birds, the list goes on…
So Ravenswood Pub, had a lot going for it from the get-​go. If you weren’t looking for it, you would never find it… a residential street and poof, a little awning announcing itself as a place for the public to come drink and eat.
And for real, it is pretty cool. I really think it may have served as someone’s house once upon a time, and the «patio» just needs a basketball hoop and some lawn furniture to be any standard backyard/​driveway.
The management seems stellar, cheap beer, no frills in a cool way, lots of entertaining options (flippy cup? sure) they support Chicago Kickball… and they whip up some AWESOME food. I am a in full support of wasting my brain cells here every single Wednesday night for the rest of the summer…
YAY! Ravenswood ;)

Wednesday nights F8cking ROCK!!!
Free homecooked food, cheap $ 2 beer specials, iced patron shots for under $ 6 and a huge patio out back which has been home to many a flippycup contests and drunken fun.
Its a neighborhood bar that is smart, and knows the business of treating your customers with smiles, great product and simple no BS entertainment.
Internet wired jukebox to let you play whatever you feel, free cheeseballs by the bowl, Rock paper scissors tournaments… what’s not to like?
Easy street parking, just a few blocks from Ashland and its busses and cabs… more good times!