Best Cocktail Bars in Illinois

Chicago holds every bar on this list. At the 2026 Spirited Awards, six of the best cocktail bars in Illinois were U.S. Central regional Top 10 honorees for Best U.S. Cocktail Bar. They include Sportsman's Club in Ukrainian Village, whose unofficial mascot, the spaghett, is High Life plus Aperol, and The Bamboo Room, the rum room inside Three Dots and a Dash. Charis Listening Bar in Bridgeport made that year's regional Top 10 for Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar. The Aviary, Grant Achatz's bar on Fulton Market, was No. 13 on The World's 50 Best Bars 2014. The Bamboo Room takes reservations through OpenTable. These are the bars we would start with.