I've been here twice. Once on a Sunday afternoon for $3 bloody marys (the plan was to get there about 2pm and stay for an hour--when I left it was 10pm) and once three weeks ago Saturday as a pit stop between destinations  for my friend's birthday.
It's certainly an old man bar. Free pool, dusty, dark, cheap domestic beer, a surprisingly clean bathroom, popcorn machine, juke box, "professionals" at the end of the bar, you know the drill; and the first time I went here I really couldn't wait to come back. Now I think if I go back it'll be for day drinking, not night drinking; and I think it would depend who's working the bar.
So let me explain, we show up about 10-ish to have a beer--beers ordered, settling in, everything is fine and then all of the sudden we realize we're listening to these commercials that are backed by a dance beat. The more we're listening or rather trying not to listen; they become louder and more annoying. Â
At first we thought it was the radio; commercials, and then songs, and the commercials, and then songs-- but no it was commercial after commercial. So in order to stop it I decided to play the juke box, and this is where the problems took place.
First off the juke box is awesome. You can find almost everything you want to listen to and by judging the quality of the extended dance remix commercials; I figured the sound wouldn't be that bad. I also have to explain something else and this is the most important thing. I completely understand I'm in a neighborhood bar with many different types of people. Although some of my music tastes are, I'm not planning to piss everyone off by playing music that's obnoxious, offensive, alienating, etc--actually just the opposite. My goal was to play stuff that's decent drinking music, maybe something a little timeless. Ray Charles, James brown, some rockabilly--key works here: non-threatening and fun. So I make my way to the jukebox.
Before I know it there's a person who I'm guessing is a regular lined up behind me. (sidenote, why did they wait for me to play music before doing so themselves?) I play my songs and walk away--the guy behind me starts to add his list as my first song is playing. The second song comes on (I mentioned Ray Charles previously, it was Ray Charles) the bartender perks up with what sounds like irritation and dare I say disgust, and addresses the dude playing music "YOU didn't play that did YOU?!"
"No I did." I reply.
The bartender grabs the remote for what I think is the TV and says "yeah I didn't think he would play that".
By this time the guy leaves the juke box, she still has the remote in her hand and walks over to play songs. I have two more songs and instead either the song the regular played or the song the bartender played comes on.
She's still adding songs and my friend walks over and asks "you didn't just flip over my friend's songs did you?"
She doesn't say yes, and doesn't say no but instead says "sometimes I flip over songs if they look like they're going to be crazy devil worshipping music". The next two songs I played we're from a band called the Reverend Horton Heat. Now I can't prove she bypassed my songs but the whole thing is a little coincidental and if she did then she should have at least gave me my $2 back.
I want to like this place. I really do and I would come here often. It's close, it's comfy, it's reasonable, surprisingly they have three good beers on tap, but if I'm given the vibe that I'm not exactly welcome then why would I come back?
Dive bar to the max and not in a good way. I went during a fairly quiet time ( I used to walk by very early in the morning on my way to the Blue Line and it seems to attract a rather rowdy crowd until the wee hours of the morning). The drinks were stiff and cheap, so that's a plus. Bartender was friendly. The only problem was the lecherous old men who seem to hang out, but I can't really fault the bar for that.
Review Source:Came to this spot the other and all I can is this......Simplicity is bliss at this place! Â Nothing fancy about this place at all. Â This is the kinda place where you come as you are to enjoy some cheap drinks. Â Bonus for us transit riders...very close to the irving park blueline but from what I saw it would be kinda hard to catch a cab around this place though.
Review Source:I gave this one an extra star just to counter-balance whatever reviews brought it down to three stars.
This is a perfect working class neighborhood bar. Nothing fancy, just the essentials at a fair price provided by a friendly staff. Sports on tv, good deals on decent beer, free popcorn and other salty snacks, FREE POOL TABLE.
If that isn't your idea of a four-star bar I probably don't want to go drinking with you.
Are you looking for a place that has an instant lotto ticket dispenser BUILT INTO THE BAR by the taps? Â Are you looking for a place that's kitty corner from both the blue line AND the Y? Â If so, this place could be the answer to your prayers. Â This place is like a Turkish bath house, but without all those pointless amenities. Â Bus stop shelter out front doubles as a smoking hut and place to watch other people scream into their cell phones. Â Open 'til 4/5am in case you didn't get enough booze elsewhere. Â Excelsior!
Review Source:I love Joe E's it's one of a handful of places on the North side Chi where I can go and have many beers for cheap and I don't have to worry about annoying, drunk, obnoxious yuppie fucks pushing me out of the way at the bar or stepping on me or spilling their fucking vodka cran on me, the juke box is not all country as some would say, Jennifer one of the Bartenders at  Joe E's is awesome she is quick with a drink and is never too busy to assist you, they have several HDTV's so you can catch the game(s) there is more to this place than meets the eye like I said before I love Joe E's and if some people don't like it then that means they don't belong.
Review Source:.Cchicago use to be fool of bars like this in the fifties and sixties before yuppie scum and hipster geeks took over many drinking establishments. I was really found of thisd place and wish there was more diversity bars like this-of age and race-instead of the usual young twentysomething long haired fucks of the Northside filled with arrogant white college kids.
Review Source:I need a drink. I need to hang out with some friends and get drunk. I dont need anymore bullshit in my life. Where can I go thats not full of hipsters or yuppies or douchebags?
HEY! Joe E's! perfect. The so groddy even the hipsters wont risk the "im being ironic but im actually just cheap" place.
Went in 3 days ago and the bartender was sweet. I just wanna chill out. I like this place. not perfect but this is what bars looked like in the 80's. nice.
Came in here with my girl, CB, all decked out in our Derby hats, 'cos we missed the 2:43 Metra to Arlington. We were greeted very warmly by the barmaid, and given a free Mint Julep. Bonus!
After that, the stars flew away. Looking around the bar, it was full of barflies. Like Mickey Rourke as Charles Bukowski But Not Nearly as Charming barflies.
Aforementioned barmaid, pleasingly sassy when we walked in, turned into annoyingly loud  to one of the patrons . . . I got the feeling that this was their usual Saturday afternoon schtick . . . especially when they started dancing to a blasting country tune.
Oh, the music. The Cubs scored, or something, and the music got cranked up. Then stayed cranked up thru a couple of irritating country-type songs. Painful.
We only stayed there for two Mint Juleps 'cos the drinks were . . . drinks . . . and our train didn't leave until 3:43.
But wow . . . . I don't recommend this even as an ironic dive bar 'cos it's depressing and annoying.
As stated previously, the place isn't exactly glamorous; as should have been understood, that's not its job. Â Crowd is kinda skanky: either young punk assholes (I was told to 'keep my comments to myself' after complimenting someone on their song choice; nice!), creepy hooker-looking chicks or old drunks, to be honest. Â It's a dive, yeah, but it's spacious, they have a pool table (usually infiltrated with regular/tablehog/hustler-types, admittedly), a CD jukebox, really nice bartenders and oh, yeah: THEY'RE OPEN TIL 4 and have a to-go license (though pricey: $10 for a sixer of whatever American swill you want) and they take plastic. Â So, if you're a late-nighter and/or after-hours type, you're nearby and you don't mind the, um, interesting crowd, this is your place. Â Strangely, they have a parking lot in back, but you can't actually enter from the back door; however, you may meet a guy selling Xanax back there. Â Charming.
Review Source:Really crappy bar but don't let the low rating fool you. This place is great for what you need when you need it. A few steps off the blue line (irving park) it is as other reviewers have said, a hole in the wall.
But also as other reviewers have stated, it is open late and booze is cheap! While I agree that the older crowd tends to be the patrons at this establishment, the people are friendly enough and let you and your group do your own thing. I love the punching machine and free pool table, give you an outlet while you are drinking.
However I am NOT advocating this place as a place to spend the entire night. Like my other reviews of my neighborhood bars, it is a place to grab a cold one after a hard day or one before you hit the town. It is a place you can loiter if you have some time to kill but by no means is this a place you want to make you final destination. Unless you are 70 yrs old and hate our life.
This is a REAL dive bar. Â Like there will be times when you won't feel safe, but hey, that's part of the charm, right? Â I will say this for them
They make the strongest Jager-Bombs in the city.
They also have really cheap deals most nights. Â There is a punching machine and a pool table. Â But if it's before 2am you can find me a the Indy Tap.
Joe E's lounge is indeed unforgettable, but so is breaking your leg or seeing a dead person.
This is an old man bar without the character that is prevalent in most
hole-in-the-walls in the city. Though I didn't see one, I get the impression that fights break out a few times a week.
There are two big upsides to the Unforgettable Lounge though. They are open until four and they have cheap beer. On the Tuesday that I was there, domestic bottles were $1.50 and there is a night (Saturday I think) where Old-Style buckets are $5.00. It's not clear whether a bucket consists of five bottles of beer and some ice or they just fill up a bucket with Old-Style and give it to you.
My boyfriend and I live in the Old Irving Park neighborhood and have often been to this 4am hole-in-the-wall. And I'm talking HOLE-IN-THE-WALL. Not this trendy "dive bar" frequented by yuppies in Wicker Park or Logan Square. I've seen old men falling asleep (passing out?) at the bar. The bartenders sport their favorite Chicago sports team's jerseys, and you never know what walk of life will pour through the door after 2am. That said, Joe E's is one of the only options, unfortunately (and hopefully temporarily) for us in Irving Park. It's a 4am, so that helps, and drinks are cheap!! Plus, if you get there pre-late nite, they're very accommodating with the free popcorn ;)
Joe E's is a weird place.  I won't deny it. But until Old Irving is built up and we're offered more options, it's a decent  choice with affordable drinks.
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