Two Way Lounge

Baby baby Two Way
As a poor college student just looking to chill and get cheap drinks ding ding ding this is the place to go. Monday and Thursday are dollar draft beer days so that’s when you’ll see me there. Let’s see, I’ve come here alone, with my friends, with my boss, I’ve even brought my mother. Bringing the mom was stretching it, but hey. she had a good time defeating the pool table.
Most of the people are everyday regulars and have been going for years. hey Alfredo, Mike, Rick, Gloria and others! B and Amanda are the bartenders, who are completely awesome and respected. Shawn is the… bouncer? He’s a sweet guy, you’ll see him dozin by the door with a do-​rag on. The Miller’s own the place, they come into my place of work, Thread’s etc, and buy funny things probably once a week. We do a lot of trading money back and forth. Sometimes they bring Shawn along with them.
It’s really as unpretentious as it gets. Sometimes it’s rowdy in there and can be filled with drama but mostly everyone’s just trying to get their drink on. Besides, when there is drama it’s entertaining… unless you’re involved. Which just might happen, it’s an unpredictable place! There’s one pool table, a jukebox and plenty of seating. There are literally two ways of entrance, the name is just too clever Miller’s. Also, I want the painting in the girls bathroom. I laugh every time I go in there.
If you want to dance and meet a soul mate, it’s not the place for you but if you want to get wasted and have some good stories the next day join the party.
Just make sure to tip Amanda and Ms B!
P. s. it’s cash only

Trashy staff, similar patrons. I was already IDed at the door, but I was followed by another staff member and hassled. I was told I then have to pay a cover for giving him a hard time. I will not come here again.

It’s a dive, but everyone is nice and Amanda will do her best to get your order, even when she’s the only one working with a full bar. It’s cash only but they have an ATM, or if you’re a citi person a 7 – 11 is across the street.

What can I say, I love dive bars. This is as authentic as it gets. I almost hate categorizing this place as a dive bar. it’s just the 2 way. It’s in it’s own category.
You won’t meet the people that frequent the 2 way anywhere but the 2 way. It’s an anthropological experience.
They have your cheap beer, your dirty bathrooms, your jukebox, your pool table. If you’re looking to escape the bullshit big city hipster juice bar monotony, come to the 2 way and cleanse yourself. Baptize yourself in the dirty draft old style. Drown your sorrows in shot after shot of malort. Let your mind take a vacation and let your body settle into a barstool at the 2 way. This is as good as it gets, my friends.

Came here last night with my roommate and my friend («friend» used loosely here, although it has been fun recently). The lighting in the bathroom is not flattering but the mirror you look at when you are ordering your drink is wonderful and the reason I really just opened myself up that night. Great time. Nice bartenders and excellent jukebox. Might be my favorite dive in chicago.

A
Shady
Dive with a
Loud jukebox and
Cheap beer. This bar is not faking the sketch.

Dive Bar. Weird crowd. Good things never happen here.

STAY THE FRACK AWAY. Seriously creepy old dudes frequent this place. My friend got roofied here. Enough said.

It’s rare these days, that when a place is labeled a Dive Bar, it is in reality a dive bar; or at least one not specifically designed to be a dive bar. But Two Way is definitely a dive bar – a friendly one at that. With dirt cheap beer, the bartender knows how to keep ‘em coming. Moreover, it’s awesomely dated and dilapidated décor is not purposefully designed; it literally is just dated and dilapidated.
To echo a review below, this place can «out-​dive» some of you who love dive bars. But you should definitely give it a try.

I love this bar!
The drinks are cheap, the patrons are nice but sketchy and the jukebox has a great selection of music!
Sure its a dive bar but its a fun dive bar! I’ve always had fun times at this place and so will you!

I can’t believe this place is so highly rated on Unilocal ! If you like creepy and divey this place is for you. If not you will just want to not make eye contact with anyone and not touch anything. My bf works across the street and I stop in here on occasion waiting for him to finish up. With that being said I would never ever ever make a trip to come here. The prices are cheap, but it is so shady in here I’d rather pay a couple more bucks to be in a nice establishment.

This place is exactly what you think it is. Whichever entrance you choose, it takes you into an awesomely disgusting Dive bar. Frosted mugs and pitchers of beer, open space for a random late night dance party, and people from all walks of life. Awesome. I think the later you go there the better. The fun potential might also increase with the people you bring along.

Well I’m at Two Way as we speak: the 40-​something, Caucasian ‘bartender’ has a bum eye, is wearing a du-​rag (earnestly), and is not sure what bourbons the bar carries. This bar is absolutely brilliant.

I love dive bars… like really, really love dive bars… usually the divier the better. Well, I was finally out-​dived by a dive bar. This place smelled terrible and the clientele was just totally creepy. We stayed for a very quick beer before hustling our way out.

As others here say, and more will attest, this is a true dive bar! Locals that hang out by their end of the bar and only razz people on the weekends — but mostly they just stick to themselves. A great mix up of different types of people, the juke box is always well fed.
Beer, Old Style pitchers are $ 8 i think, which is a good deal. The mixed drinks are hit or miss both on the prices and on the quality. Some bartenders will make what you ask for and charge you less than what it should be others will just give you something close to what you ask for and charge you the right price.
Go to the whistler if you want a fancy mixed drink.

While the Two Way Lounge is my favorite bar in Chicago (Big fan of the Dives!), I am only giving the Two Way 4 Stars because my friends and I miss $ 1 drink nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The place used to get absolutely packed and it was a great place to meet new people. However, they still continue to have amazingly cheap pitchers!!!
Depending on what time of day you go to the bar, the crowd can be completely different. At happy hour, it tends to be an older crowd of regulars who gather to drink and play pool. At night, it can be a younger, hipster, crowd dancing like idiots to 80’s music.
I love taking over the jukebox here, as they have a pretty wide array of music to choose from. It is exactly what a dive bar is, so if you’re the fancy type, this isn’t your joint. I LOVE THIS PLACE!

Funny where you’ll end up when you’re drinking. We left the whistler and one of the people in our group saw another one of his friends there and we went in for a little bit. This is the type of bar my old man would go to-​cheap beer (Old Style) at really cheap prices and really cheap specials. However, that’s about the extent of it all. The place is really no frills but with a twist; to the point that it’s weird to see a bunch of older looking guys playing pool and seeing a couple of youngsters splitting a pitcher to ‘Let’s Get Retarded.‘
The cheap alcohol is really the only noteworthy thing about this palce, like I said before incredibly cheap pitchers and their special when I was there was 3 bombs for $ 12. If I was looking to get ‘#$ked up for less money this would be it but other than that I probably wouldn’t come here again.

This place is great — divey and cheap. Complete with a juke box that ranged from Britney Spears to Journey. Heck, it even played latin music and people were dancing along.
My friend took me here and we shared a pitcher of Old Style beer ($ 7). Lots of specials here for all days of the week.
Great neighborhood bar.

Ended up here late last night, just to have a few drinks before heading home.
Man, this place was packed, and the median age was well below mine. It was a nice blend of hipsters and locals alike.
The jukebox was great; the drinks were dirt cheap.
I was at the jukebox playing some tuneage and apparently in my drunkenness, I dropped my wallet. I had no idea.
Several minutes later, a hipster dude with sideburns tapped me on the shoulder after recognizing me from my driver’s license and gave me back my wallet. I was so grateful that I offered to buy him a drink. He refused. I persisted. He said he only did what any decent person would do in that situation and he hoped someone would do the same for him some day.
Finally, he acquiesced and let me buy him a drink. All he wanted was a $ 2 Old Style.
I’d say I got off easy.
Five stars for the kindness of hipsters.

Part dive, part hipster haven
The first time I arrived here my friend told me two things: (1) this place is cheap and (2) the hipsters start rolling in around 11 – 12. Two Way gets its name because there are «two ways» of entering the bar — off Milwaukee and off Fullerton. Personally, I think the Fullerton entrance seems a bit dodgy.
The Two Way is nothing fancy, but then again it wouldn’t be a dive bar if it was. It, of course, has one of the key staples of a dive bar — wood paneled walls, for that must-​have basement feel. They also have a pool table, dart board, and a few booths and tables. The jukebox rocks, it’s the kind where you can get almost any song. However, for a dive bar it seems very well kempt, particularly the ladies room, and well lit.
If you don’t like Old Style this may not be your place. All drinks are cheap, but Old Style drafts in a frosty mug for $ 1 can’t be beat! It’s great leaving a bar buzzed and realizing you managed to spend under $ 10 to get that way! They have other kinds of beer, but for $ 1 Old Style is the bees knees and anything else is dead to me.
Back to my friend’s second point, «the hipsters arrive between 11 – 12.» That couldn’t be more spot on; during my first visit I noticed that it was 11:45 and as if on cue the door opened and a steady stream of hipsters started filing in. It was comedic, like a coach bus of them pulled up out front or something, there had to be at least 20 who came in all at once. I would’ve guessed they were part of some type of bar crawl, but I don’t see bar crawls being very hipster-​ish.
While I’ve only been here a few times, I’ve always enjoyed myself. Cheap drinks, laid back atmosphere and a convenient bus trip from my house (#74 w00t) are a just few things Two Way’s got going for it. It’s also on the tamale guys hit list, which doesn’t hurt either. Just bring cash, they don’t take plastic.
TIP: If you miss the tamale guy and are starving, El Charro next door is 24 hours.