The Heavy Feather

Oh la la! The bar program is to be worshipped. The 70s funk ambiance takes you to a whole different world you forget you are still in Chicago. Perfect place to disconnect from the stress and have wicked cocktails.
Talk to the bartenders. They are very friendly and talkative when is not super busy. They are certainly interesting people. You might learn a thing or two about what makes good a cocktail.

Speakeasy-​esque as it’s hidden. A bar within a bar. Massaging, booming floors provided free from the folks at the Slippery Slope, the Heavy Feather is a laid back lounge set with wooden railings and a stuffed wild looking beast.
The place is cool. There are 2 places in Logan Square that you have to wait in line for, this is one of those places. At 9pm on Saturday, it wasn’t bad. I’m not sure if there is a line within a line to get up here. I imagine that could happen. Anyway, not complaining, just an FYI.
I came with a few friends and I always take a small sip of everyone’s drink to assess. Nothing super crafty stood out from the list and the drinks were ok. Not bad and at around $ 10/​$ 12, I was ehhh.

This bar has a great vibe to it ! The bar is filled with plush booths, and chairs that make it the perfect place to lounge around with your date or friends. The bar plays a variety of mostly oldies from the 70s, and the volume is low enough that you can engage in conversation. I’ve had 3 different drinks from this place, and they all were excellent. The bartenders are talented at making high quality craft cocktails. Each of their standard cocktails on the menu have a picture, a list of the ingredients, and the price. Most of the cocktails are $ 10, but a few are $ 12. I only had the $ 10 cocktails, but all of them were well worth the price because of the taste and strength of them. I highly suggest checking out this place if you are looking for a chill cocktail bar to visit.

Really cool bar. Very 70’s feel. Disco playing. Old school cocktails. Kind of weird that you have to walk through slippery slope to get there but worth it.

Coming from The Slippery Slope to this was quite the change. Essentially you go up the stairs and find The Heavy Feather. Different atmosphere indeed – super chill, nice lighting, interesting décor – and a reserved, calm crowd. It looks like a louder version of a speakeasy and I was expecting someone to be typing a newspaper article with their typewriter. They have milkshake drinks which I thought were unique (didn’t feel it went well with the atmosphere but heyyy it works). It’s definitely a nice date spot for sure. I got the Boulevardiere with bourbon and cognac I believe. The cocktail was done really well. It’s an overall chill place and a good place to relax a bit if you’ve got enough of your dance on over at Slippery. I appreciated the smaller and more intimate and interesting space of the place. I’d check it out and try one of their milkshakes. They looked delicious!

I wish I didn’t have to walk through the Slippery Slope to get to this place. I like the vibe and atmosphere. The sunken bar is cool and the cozy, but makes it a little awkward when standing and ordering a drink. It feels like you’re hovering over the people sitting down. The booths big and cozy. I only had a couple of drinks, so it’s hard to judge. Both were pretty good, but not mind blowing. Their menu is full of classic cocktails, so I’ll have to go back and try them all!

I’ve been here a few times and really like the vibe of the place. The music and drink menu take you to an other era. Unfortunately, I don’t think the drinks are to my taste. The four or so I’ve had off of the menu were way too sweet for my liking and I had a hard time finishing the tiki-​esque drink on the menu. It was also a little strange ordering a drink hovering over the people sitting at the low seats at the bar.

Drinks here are really boozy and strong. I like the atmosphere because it can be casual for friends, but also perfect and intimate for a date. Can’t find it? It’s above the slippery slope, go inside and there are stairs on the left side that leave to the Heavy Feather. Enjoy.

Think of the last season of Mad Men with the final episodes in the early 70s. Remember the colors and the decorations? This is that place. It’s so amazingly retro and at the same time hip. I felt super happy seeing the bar, which was so vintage looking I can’t tell if it was built for this bar, or it was bought from a reclamation store. This place had an amazing energy and playing music that was very true to the 70s. It had Gil Scott Heron playing, so you know, it was awesome.
What I loved most though were the retro glasses the drinks were served in. The drinks are well priced and very original. If you like your drinks with a 70s chic flare, this is for you!
I would add though that there is some spill over from downstairs. People were dressed really casual there, which was too bad it would have been more fun if people at least took their baseball hats off.

Overrated. It has great drink selections and a good speak easy décor, but the number of people and noise level was out of control. What could have been great was only average due to the over zealous packing of people in the place.

This place is ok. :) could be better. Loud music all night. We almost lose our voice talking. lol good vibes though and people. Exquisite vintage wooden décor. Just not the place to lounge to catch up with friends. They also don’t serve any food lol just drinks drinks drinks. Good for a stopby drink before hopping to another bar.

One of the newer cocktail bars on the scene in logan square with a kitschy twist. Came here for a friend’s birthday and got here at 830pm on a Saturday night and it was packed. We were lucky enough to grab one of the booths near the back because this place quickly filled in by 9pm. The cocktails were good, we ordered quite a bit and the scene was definitely happening. I liked the atmosphere and the area, prices were a little steep though, $ 12 for a cocktail is just too much of a splurge every weekend but once in a while it’s nice. And love the complimentary coat check.

I love this place!
I typically start off with a beer downstairs (at Slippery Slope) and then head upstairs to get a classic cocktail at this place. Every time I take a friend here they always seem amused by the «secret» spot status that this place demands just by location– I mean… a bar inside of a bar but hidden upstairs? It only makes sense.
The cozy eccentric design of the place reminds as if Elvis during his Hawaii movie runs showed up and Frank Sinatra stopped by for a shoutout. Even the bathrooms are adorable. It really engulfs you in atmosphere.
I even noticed the hidden little fake (but hidden) twinkle candles hiding out behind the bottles at the bar. Very cozy, warm, sophisticated, and fun!

I wanted to visit Heavy Feather after reading about it in Eater’s Coast to Coast Best Bars or something like that. It was fun going through Slippery Slope to get to Heavy Feather, but was about the best of it. The cocktail I tried here was alright, and I wasn’t completely sold on the vibe. I would still rather stick to Violet Lounge for delicious cocktails, and other lounges in River North instead of venturing all the way out to Logan Square for this bar.

The Heavy Feather has been mentioned or categorized in other publications as a «Fern Bar.» For those of you who are not aware of what that means, it’s basically a term used for a singles bar where people meet for sexual hookups. My visit here got me feelin’ like, «Where’s the ferns?» I mean, where’s the beef too? Shoot. I didn’t see anything I liked. Look it up. Fern bars are supposed to be decorated with ferns. However, this would explain everyone’s trouble with choosing a decade to describe this bar. Prepare yourself as I channel my inner Heather Graham from Boogie Nights.
In 1965, of all places, T.G.I. Fridays opened the first fern bar in New York. Along with the rollout, birthed the lemon drop martini. I did not see this on the menu, but it is on there. I would have ordered it. The drinks seem to be made in a Speakeasy fashion. Speakeasies started in the ’20/‘30s, obviously as a place that sold liquor illegally. Later on, it evolved into a term coined in the ‘80s to describe controlling the tone of your voice as to not bother the neighbors when you were running a bar without a liquor license. Last, I have a hutch, and a lamp, made in the ‘70s that I could easily put in this bar, and it would match all of the wood fixtures perfectly. I think that’s where the local drunks are pulling the ‘70s vibe without realizing it. I’m not sure what’s going on with the taxidermy animal on the wall. I think it’s a bear? I like it. It would seem to me that lots of bars generally did this in the ‘80s.
I’m hoping this sorts out any confusion in terms of what decade is happening in this bar. I took a star away from Heavy Feather for not being sexual enough. I read vibes, man. It’s unusually dark in this bar. Ladies, get on that. The lighting will hide your crow’s feet and hopefully your age. Bonus if you’re a cougar on the prowl. I really wish there were other party favors offered here. The atmosphere definitely provides the right setting. I just don’t think people who come here get it. On my next visit, I better see people openly making out.

This place is as good as it gets as far as cocktail bars are concerned. The drinks are all well crafted and thought out and they clearly spent time and effort into the décor. There are comfortable chairs at the bar but the place will fill up late night. Shoutout to the excellent bartenders and for making a memorable night. Drinks are well priced for the quality and strength (about $ 10 each)

The recently opened Heavy Feather is located above another bar, Slippery Slope, in Logan Square. And while this makes it a little difficult to locate, you will find it worth the extra effort.
Stepping into The Heavy Feather feels like walking onto a Mad Men set. The vibe is markedly retro, thanks to the dim light emanating from dull gold fixtures and the turquoise faux-​leather quilted seating. In fact my favorite design element is the row of rolling office-​style chairs lining the bar, covered in the aforementioned upholstery. It definitely makes for an inviting, relaxed bar environment.
The drink menu is as retro as the bar’s design. It consists primarily of classic cocktail variations — Old Fashioneds, Grasshoppers, Amaretto Sours. I started with the Negroni, which features two gins, two vermouths, and an apricot liqueur in addition to the Campari. It was a really balanced variation on one of my favorite drinks, and the liqueur smoothed out the sometimes-​syrupy Campari taste. My second drink was a Polished Nail, their take on the Scotch-​and-​Drambuie-​centric Rusty (or Coffin) Nail. It was a solid cocktail as well, though not as memorable as the Negroni.
The bartender on duty during my visit was really great. He was chatty without being intrusive, which is sometimes a difficult tightrope to walk, and he was very informative.
As you can see, I am a fan of this bar. It’s the perfect spot for a weeknight drink in a relaxed environment. Do yourself a favor: throw on a sport coat, smoke a Lucky Stripe, and swing by The Heavy Feather.

This is located on the 2^nd floor above Slippery Slope, so you need to get into Slippery Slope first to get in here I believe. In any case, the interior was very cool — straight out of a 1970s lounge and dark. I really liked both of those aspects. Mixed crowd and pretty comfortable. Music was pretty good and drinks were pretty good too. Not out of this world drinks, but they were good. Cool spot. We went early and were surprised upon leaving around 10pm how many people were in line on the stairs to get in.

The concept is really cool and the drinks were good, but I think the allure may wear off with time. The music was selected to match the theme, making it appropriate, albeit somewhat kitschy. Although I think the drinks were inventive and delicious and the place was definitely cool, I don’t think it’ll be one of those places that will change the Chicago cocktail scene. I hope I’m wrong, because it’s a unique spot to check out, but I think there are other places in the neighborhood with more staying power.

We went the night after the 4^th of July. They had just opened & it was a pretty relaxed vibe upstairs. The first thing that caught our eyes were the amazing rolling desk-​chairs-​ala-​1970 that served as the bar stools & ran the entire length of the bar. Such a brilliant & cozy choice.
We ordered classic cocktails off menu & they were excellent. Both of our bartenders were super friendly & obviously very accomplished. We loved everything about the place so far, including the cool oil weeping lamps that everyone’s parents had in their living rooms in the 70’s.
Our one criticism came later into our stay when we noticed a lot of revelers from Slippery Slope downstairs coming up to join our much more subdued gathering upstairs while carting their bottled beers & bottled cocktails that are decidedly cheaper than the fine drinks we were enjoying. Hopefully, in the future, there is a way to keep the beverages purchased/​consumed mutually exclusive between the two spaces. It seems they really are trying to make Heavy Feather a more adult affair than the dance party below but I think a more enjoyable evening could be had by all if the bottled cocktails & beer specials didn’t mingle directly with the much pricier made to order drinks at The Heavy Feather. If leaves those of us paying more leaving feeling a little duped.
I still think we’ll come back again once the hype calms down & maybe there will be a person at the bottom of the stairs inviting people to come upstairs, relax & enjoy an expertly made to order cocktail.