Bristol Lounge

Please note, the star count should not be construed as any sort of encouragement for YOU to go to Bristol Lounge. This gem is a gem because neither YOU or any other YOUs will be found there. Hell, my own continued presence was to the detriment of the night.

Go there and you'll know what I mean. Just make sure that you don't.

Danish bar?  I don't know where other reviewers have received their information, but their sources are mistaken.

Bristol is a Polish bar.  The bartender (I think there's one, I swear, she's the only person I ever see manning the booze) is Polish, the beer is Polish, the music on the jukebox is Polish.

And I know this, because I'm Polish and I speak it fluently.

This place is awesome.  My boyfriend and I love coming here and drinking Okocim (a Polish brand of beer) with raspberry syrup.  The bartender gives you a bowl of chips to munch on.  The TV is usually tuned to something Polish.  The jukebox has a pretty good selection of older music, but honestly, you need to listen to some Polish jams when at Bristol.  I recommend a band called Budka Suflera (family friends of mine)--they're very popular with the Chicago Polaks, and they just fit the overall atmosphere of this place.

They also have darts and a pool table, AND...the best part of this bar?  There's a door that looks like it may lead into a back room of some sort, but when you open it, low and behold...A POLISH GROCERY STORE.  It's like entering the wardrobe and finding Narnia, especially when you're drunk and jonesing for a ham sandwich.

WARNING:  I have encounter many VERY drunk Polish men at this bar and have been able to talk them down, but the few times my boyfriend, a non-Polak, came to this place, he was confronted by hostility.  

But if you go with a good attitude and prepare yourself, you'll be fine.

Also, they don't accept credit cards at the bar, but the bartender will keep a tab for you and you can pay with your credit card at the grocery store next door!

EDIT:  After I first posted this review, I was robbed at Bristol.  It was not the fault of anyone at the bar, therefore I am not lowering my rating, but please keep in mind that Bristol is NOT in the best neighborhood.  Keep your purse close!

If I had to pick just one reason to come to this dive bar, it would be for the outstanding Polish food.  I got the zupa ogorkowa (literally sour pickle soup, but really dominated like rye, dill, and potato); specials vary by day and included catfish and zupa pieczarkowa (mushroom soup) on my last visit.  Much like neighborhood taverns in Poland, the room is warmed by a reddish glow- from the Okocim sign, the bar light, and the red and white checkerboard floor.  I was pleasantly surprised by the jukebox featuring some of the most enduring classic rock (Zep, CCR, etc.), Polish standbys (start with Czerwone Gitary), in addition to the most comprehensive helping of Jethro Tull I've seen (four CDs including a compilation with lesser known masterpieces like "Song for Jeffrey").  Despite my poor command of Polish I was amused by the daytime Polish television feature on "Seks-Telefonu" and the broken English of the pool players "You want to learn, or you play just for laughing?"  Other highlights of my time here have included hearing a Polish Hip Hop tune which samples Lionel Ritchie's "Hello."  If all that's too much for you, there's a small patio outside which might look more promising come May '09.  In one of Chicago's best neighborhoods for local dives, this place holds its own.