Loves

Loves Chicago Bar, the longtime Boystown favorite formerly known as Bobby Love's, is the "Cheers" of the neighborhood, a warm, unpretentious gay bar on the north end of the Halsted strip where everyone's family. Walk in for a drink and walk out knowing the bartender's name, the folks at the next table, and half the room. Flamboyantly decorated and reliably packed, it runs on strong, cheap drinks, friendly service, and a karaoke stage that turns regulars into stars on Fridays and the first Saturday, with DJs spinning eclectic dance and retro on Saturday nights and a jukebox of country, pop, and throwbacks ruling the weeknights. Add a dart league, monthly theme parties, and community fundraisers, and you get a genuinely welcoming local, the easygoing, no-attitude counterpoint to the strip's bigger clubs.