“A neighborhood bar for everyone”
There aren’t enough good things that I can say about T’s Bar & Restaurant. I’m usually not a huge fan of gay bars and come from a city unlike Chicago where they’re all pretty much the same and geared towards gay men. Instead, T’s is all about the ladies! Whether you’re there to play or just observe, you will not be disappointed with the selection.
Located at the southeast corner of Clark Street and Winnemac Avenue in Andersonville, T’s is a lesbian’s dream when it comes to eye candy—I swear that all of the city’s attractive lesbians can be found at T’s on any night of the week. T’s front room is used as the restaurant area and also has a full-size bar. The back room sports a jukebox, pool table, smaller bar, and some tables but is mostly an open space meant for the crowds that pack the place on weekends. In summer months T’s offers a huge outdoor patio that is often packed full, leaving the inside of T’s almost empty. On any given night, and especially weekends, T’s is typically 90% women with 10% being the gay men who love them. However, the quality of food attracts straight couples during the quieter weekday nights when T’s mostly acts as a restaurant.
The menu has gotten better over the years and the macaroni and cheese is to die for—one of the best in the city. The three-dish noodle delight comes in a huge bowl served with a Caesar salad that is just as delicious. Their typical bar foods like burgers, blackened chicken sandwich, cheese fries and nachos are just as yummy. On the lighter side, they do serve some tasty salads as well. If you’re looking for a great dessert to finish off your meal however, T’s is not the place to get one. They usually only have one dessert, which changes often, isn’t made at the restaurant, and are not very good. My suggestion is to skip dessert and go straight for the drinks, especially the double pint beers that, depending on the night, you can get for a steal of a deal.
My absolute favorite T’s special is the Monday night specials. Burgers are $5 (real or vegetarian), almost half the price of what they normally are. On Mondays double pints of beer are $6, another crowd-pleaser. The double pint deal continues on Tuesday accompanied by an all-you-can-eat fish fry for $12.50. On Wednesdays, you can drink any glass of T’s wine for $5 and stuff your face with ribs on an all-you-can-eat basis for $12. Thursday’s cosmoritas and margaritas are $5, and weekend specials are $7 double pints and $5 burgers.
Many Chicago bars offer fundraising events for local businesses and charities and T’s is no different, though with a twist: T’s offers guest bartending every Wednesday, when anyone capable of simple bartending is welcome to do it and the bar will donate 10% of all sales from the night to that charity. All you have to do is pick a Wednesday.
I like that T’s is big enough to hold the large crowds that gather here on weekends without ever seeming too crowded (excluding Gay Pride weekend). There’s also nothing better in summer then sitting outside on their outdoor patio. Being in Andersonville, T’s is in a great neighborhood and within walking distance to Swedish bakeries, GBLT bookstores, antique shops, and the beer lover’s paradise that is Hopleaf just a block up Clark. The servers and bartenders never forget a face and if you frequent the bar often enough they will greet you by name and rush over your favorite drink. It doesn’t get any better then that!
If you like T’s, you might also want to check out Spyners Pub, The Closet and Crew Bar + Grill. For more information, check out T’s Restaurant & Bar website.
