Halligan Bar | Lincoln Park, Chicago

The memories are a little hazy, but I believe that during my bachelor party bar crawl we had most of this bar singing along to “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver. I take that as a positive sign for a bar. Generally, it skews towards the post-college crowd. Good-looking bartenders too, which is always nice. They actually know how to tend bar too, which is even better.

It gets packed in the Halligan Bar evenings and weekends, but that’s why you come to a bar like this, isn’t it? It has a huge selection of drinks, with the obligatory house martinis and all sorts of daily specials for beers and assorted liquors. It’s got an Irish firefighter theme going, so Guinness and shots of Jameson are special every day.

I like this place more than I think I should, but when I want a loud, crowded bar that isn’t annoying, Halligan Bar is perfect. There’s nothing really outstanding about it, they just seem to have all the right pieces in place. Definitely one of the most reliable bars in Lincoln Park.