L & L Tavern

Dark. Brooding. Cash only. During the daylight hours you can often hear a pin drop among the silent patrons and the absence of any background music. Enough light gets in through the front windows to read at tables, making this a perfect place to finish a work day or read alone. None of this is to suggest the patrons or staff are unfriendly, I’ve had plenty of lengthy conversations with a stranger in hushed tones and enjoyed jeopardy with the barkeep. The occult enthusiasts will also love to know the bar is widely spoken of as haunted? Google it, not my bag. If you love a dim narrow dive on a cloudy day, you can’t do better then this

I hate that saying, "it is what it is," but it is what it is! No pretension. close to Wrigley, a true dive bar. No $15 drink shit. Go, meet all slices of life, observe, fun! I used to live above this place. Miss ya, Kenny!

The vibe in here is fun and energetic, despite not being a huge place. There are lots of drink options in the cooler, and the bartender was super friendly. Definitely a great place.

A special Chicago landmark & institution! If dive bars are your thing, look no further. This bar has hole-in-the-wall charm combined with an eerie beauty (the location was originally a bank in the late 1800s). Drinks are very affordable, and you'll be bound to be talking to a stranger in no time! What a great place -- don't ever change!

Heard from the bartender that Dahmer and Gacy definitely frequented the place. Good drinks, cool atmosphere, very affordable.

If you love dive bars then the L & L is a great stop. I don’t think much has changed on the inside in 40 years. Bartenders are always friendly and welcoming.

Bizarre from start to finish. The drinks and setting were fine, but the bartender — a blonde, Eastern-European-looking woman — created one of the strangest bar experiences I’ve ever had. After serving us, she pulled up a chair behind the bar and sat directly next to where we were sitting at the bar, holding a long, hostile stare with us without saying a word. We had no idea what we’d done — if anything — to upset her. One friend finally broke the silence and asked, "Are you ok?" She instantly shot back, "Are YOU ok?" When we uncomfortably finished our drinks and didn’t tip for her "service," she confronted us on the way out, as if looking to escalate things. Even for a bartender having a rough night, this was off-the-charts bizarre. We came in to relax; instead we left wondering why we were treated like unwelcome intruders. Chicago has plenty of great late-night spots—this isn’t one of them.