Swig

Good dive bar vibes! Ordered standard drinks (they make a mean mule) and bar food. Portion sizes are beyond generous and priced at an extremely reasonable price!

Been coming to this bar for years. My absolute favourite. I've met all my best friends here and we always come back for the bartenders, music, and ambiance. Not sure what some of the reviews are going off about. I tried to enter sept 4th but was told they were at full capacity with their private party. I respect that, so I just went to another bar. I also had friends in there but capacity is a legal matter (esp with covid) not a discriminatory matter lol.

FoodMushroom and zucchini friedThis was good. The Mushrooms were big and lightly breaded which I like better. The zucchini was thin and heavily breaded but still edible. Mozzarella sticksThese we good. Everything came out very fast. It was fresh and crunchy with a side of marinara. DrinksWe got Tito's and soda. Just a heads up they do not lemon or limes in the drinks due to COVID they are trying to limit the amount of hands touching food items for drinks. Our drinks seemed to have more soda than the Tito's in my opinion. Set up I did appreciate how everyone was spaced out. We sat at the bar. They had hand sanitizer at the bar every 6 feet. The bartender wiped our area up right when we decided to sit.

Came in with a friend after dinner. The ambiance was moody and quiet, which was kind of what we were looking for since we had met up to catch up. Not much more to report. They make a solid gin and tonic.

Fun dive bar where drinks are cheap and company is good. Nice bartender too. Easy place to go with lots of friends or for bar hopping.

Yesterday around 12am at The Swig I had one of the most blatantly racist experiences of my life as a man in this earth. Yesterday I was denied entry to this bar due to a "private event". Not a big deal until the same bouncer allowed 5 of my (non-black) friends in without so much as a word (we walked in two groups maybe 15 feet apart). People get denied from bars, bars have the right. That's not why I'm writing this review. I quietly left my friends inside and the bouncer at the door without saying so much as a word because I didn't want to be thought of as "causing a scene". The rub: As I'm waiting outside for my Uber, still dazed at what just happened and trying to rationalize it any other way, a young black couple comes to the door and is IMMEDIATELY turned away due to a "private event". At this point my jaw was on the floor. Why? Because I was standing 5 feet from my best friends, on different sides of the same door, with a man between us blatantly rejecting anyone of color. We all immediately left. No one may ever read this review, or care, and I'm normally not the one to ever leave a business review, especially a negative one, but what enrages me is The Swigs blatant racism toward people they have never met and couldn't me more "wrong" about. I was going to move past this and not let it deject me but then, for some reason I googled "racism at The Swig Chicago". Give it a shot. The first 3 links are articles revealing apparently this place has had to fire bouncers in the past for "uncondoned" discriminatory behavior. Do not be fooled: The Swig hasn't changed its ways and I'm willing to bet that repeated episodes of racism aren't the fault of "rogue bouncers" but instead a calculated business decision. Sad. Being black in America is already quite hard. Places like The Swig make it much harder.

Swig is such a cute, eclectic and fun neighborhood bar in wicker park. Aside from the amazing management, I love how accommodating the staff is. On Thursday's they have various Dj's who keep the vibe alive. It's a great meet up spot to gather with friends and unwind after a long work day.As a young a black woman, it's important for me to feel safe and accepted in bars. Seeing so many diverse faces in the establishment being treated fairly and with the same respect was refreshing and representative of it being a great place for all walks of life to feel comfortable.

Swig is Swig. I don't think it's changed much in forever! The fact they still have an oversized drum set painting on the wall is great and fine by me. Standard dive bar, you will have a decent time. Read my review of the revel room for more details, it's a similar vibe in this area! Good night.PS. The old fashioned I had at Swig hit the spot. I just need people who are smoking outside or sitting by the open area smoking to stop. It kind of smells like smoke in the bar. Go stand in the street and smoke your cigarettes! Only smoking cigars is cool. Haha Sorry. Maybe you should turn this place into a cigar bar? Now that would be cool. Cheers, Swig~

Wow what a big difference, new owners, brand new remodeled bar, pool and game room, soon to have slots and the plans for outdoor bar and patio sound great. Service was great, tap beer was cold and fresh.Food was good also, I had brisket sandwich and plan to try more.Signature cocktails looked good too.Summer fun place !

Drinks were relatively good price. Good bar to go with close friends for a more intimate night out.