With the United Center being the home of both Chicago’s famous Blackhawks and Bulls, there are plenty of places around the area to get a drink in before and after the game! A lot of bars specialise in craft beers, have great bar food, and more than not operate a shuttle system that takes you to and from the stadium. Pretty sweet, right?
The Beer Bistro
Now this is a place that knows beer. With possibly the largest selection of brews in Chicago, The Beer Bistro is a mecca for beer lovers and fans of Chicago sports! With 20 different beers on tap, 91 bottles and 66 cans – I will be gobsmacked if you don’t find something that you love here! There mammoth beer selection is all served by helpful staff, and they have some awesome daily specials! Sundays get you 50 Cent Wings, Wednesdays offer $3 Craft Beer Cans, and you can get appetizers for $5 on a Thursday. All this and a free shuttle to the United Centre…Perfect.
Park Tavern
The Park Tavern is an official Blackhawks Bar and in their own words ‘gives a whole new meaning to the term Sports Bar’. Whether you want to sit inside in their laid-back gastropub style setting or outside on the 10,000-square foot patio (the biggest in Chicago), you’ll love the food, drinks and atmosphere in this place! They also have daily specials – my favourite? The Friday Beer flight and a Burger for just $16. Throw in a free shuttle to the United Centre and back, and you’ll see why this is a popular place!
WestEnd
In the heart of Chicago’s West Loop is the appropriately named WestEnd Bar which brings in people from far and wide before any Hockey or Basketball game! The 5,000-square foot bar is enormous with a few different sections than can be hired for your private events! There is a tonne of great food here – with more daily specials then you can shake a stick at! The Beer and Bar list is pretty great too! Beers start at just $5, which for one of Chicago’s best bars, really isn’t too bad! Add this to the list of places with a free shuttle too!
The Ogden
There may be plenty of sports bars in Chicago to enjoy some drinks before the game, however The Ogden may just be the best of them all. This legendary spot is just two blocks away from the United Center and is also the official place to watch the Blackhawks games when the team is on the road! They have a really respectable beer list with 19 on tap, 19 bottles and 18 cans. However, the food is what makes this place stand out! Come hungry and with high expectations and you won’t be disappointed! If you don’t have a ticket to the game, the atmosphere here makes it the second best place to watch the match!
Image: The Ogden bar, theodgenchicago.com