Super legit, in an I-can't-quite-explain-why-I-like-it sort of way. Kind of like Map Room without the beer selection, but way more fun to hang out at. Also, re: my beer comment, Lemming's beer selection is perfectly fine and changes frequently, but is not the largest you have ever seen. That's OK, there is no way you will get bored with it. Really pleasant place to hang out, and they have board games. Crowd ranges from pretty empty to very packed, but is a good time whatever the situation. The sort of place you could spend hours.
Review Source:The same night when I had to wait for 40 miserable minutes in a dark small room with 10 other people at the Violet Hour, this place comes to mind.
I was only there for an hour or so because my friends were finishing up their sumptuous meal at Takashi.
I only had a beer and spoke a few words with the bartender.
I liked the place :) :)
It was just a good place to chill when it was starting to become pretty cold outside.
I m going to go back again soon and pay more attn when I get there, but
Lemmings...was...chill
I can only afford an Olympian at a place like this, because even the Oly' will cost you more than it should. That said, the place is cool and the bartenders are really nice and play some good music most of the time. They have a pool table and 2 video games in the back for some wholesome fun...
Enjoy Suckas'!!!
Holy Schlitz!
That's a thing here, apparently.
That's not why I came, but I thought it was worth mention for that schlitz fan out there.
Lemmings. What can I tell you about Lemmings that hasn't already been said? Hmmmm... How 'bout, it was one of my fave computer games back in the green screen days on the old Hewlett Packard. Mmmmeeemmmmmories!
Now, about the bar? The art, I'm going to assume gets swtiched out every so often because I've been here before and don't remember whose paintings on the wall. On my last visit, they were stick odd paintings of people who were either holding guns or looked like they had been shot in the face with a gun. Normally, this kind of art would be right up my alley but something about these ones just made me feel a bit queer. It was the day after my birthday, so maybe my ballz are just getting to old for this kind of edgy ish.
The beer- they had a decent-ish selection, but it wasn't really anything special. Still a fantastic place to have as a neighborhood bar.
The crowd- I wasn't thinking this was a sports bar, but apparently any bar with at least one tv on a march madness weekend  is a sports bar. Lots of cheering about things I don't understand or care about. I felt confused... another sign of my elder age.
Overall, I like Lemmings and I know I'll be back... even though it was damn hard to get a drink here. Stupid Final Four!
i think that lemmings is your average neighborhood bar. Â the staff is really cool and their bar is warm and inviting. Â i can't explain how though - there's something about the ambiance that is so laid-back and homey. Â i always end up here more on the earlier side, like 8p, on weekend for some reason.
if you're hungry, dont come here. Â for thirsty people only. Â if you have a pizza from next door, they welcome that. Â they only really have chips and popcorn.
drinks are super cheap. Â i wouldn't say it's too divey, kinda like danny's.
Have a shot of Malort. Â No, seriously. Â Do it. Â You'll love it. Â I promise.
Call it a dive bar. Â Call it a neighborhood bar. Â Depending on who you talk with, it could be defined as either. Â No matter how you define it, Lemmings is a comfy, non-pretentious bar with plenty of room a few TV's, a pool table, music and a pinball machine.
Count on Lemmings for real 16oz pints (no cheaters).
3 Floyds Gumballhead = $6
Pabst = $2.75
Cheap beer? Â Busch Cans = $2.50
Quite honestly, I didn't spend a huge amount of time at Lemmings last Friday night. Â But based on my three hour stint at this bar, I can tell you this: IT'S HOT AS BALLS IN LEMMINGS.
Dress accordingly.
Drink prices aren't offensive, but aren't cheap, either. Â The good news is that the bartender will give you a tall cocktail instead of a shortie for the same price. Â I'm fairly certain you get the same amount of alcohol, but I feel less like a lush when I don't pound down my cocktail in 2 minutes, which is what normally happens when I have a short glass. Â And they have a pretty heavy pour, so that's good.
Aside from that... HOT. Â My God. Â It's not a good thing when your friend comments that your boobs are damp when she adjusts your cleavage for you. Â (Don't ask.)
Lemmings might be a more appropriate name for some warehouse bar in Wrigleyville, with the name of the rodent redolent of mass suicide and stupidity. Â
I first stumbled upon Lemmings when in search of a bar with the following criteria: good craft beer choices, few hipsters, not too crowded, and not a dive. Â Lemmings was the winner. Â
I'm still getting acclimated to this bar, and it's deserving of a much longer and detailed review, but initial observations are very positive. Â A recent highlight was a Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout at the extremely reasonable price of $6.50. Â That's a 9.1 ABV beer, so while the beer itself is something to sniff at, the price is not. Â The same offering was $10 at Northside just a few blocks south. Â
Looking forward to many return visits here.
Love the bartenders, love the music, love the environment, love the cheap drinks.
Bartenders are always super friendly. I'd suggest a weeknight, from 5-9. Sometimes, it can get pretty damn crowded on the weekends.
Finer point of this place: Never, ever full of hipsters and/or snobs. Great place to have a conversation with a stranger.
Well.....what to say.
Lemmings is a typical bar that you'd find on a college campus...and like. Â Don't get me wrong, Lemmings is ok. Â The drinks are reasonably priced. Â I just didn't love the atmosphere. Â It is quite dive-y which is ok, but what I was more annoyed about was that the night I was there, we had a relatively large group and there was no where to go. Â Now, it's not that the bar was overly crowded - because it was not. Â It's just that, aside from the bar area, there was nowhere to sit. Â We could stand near some tables, but all of the tables were pushed against the wall. Â It was fine, but required our group to split into mini-groups to talk which wasn't really what I had had in mind.
Also, the spot is a bit dingy, which I suppose is ok for a dive. Â
In general, this spot was just ok. Â It didn't have really any supreme stand out qualities, but it didn't have any huge detriments, either. Â I'd probably go back, but wouldn't necessarily seek the place out.
I like Lemmings. I have a couple of friends who ARE regulars here, and it's definitely the sort of place where you'd walk in and have everyone shout your name a la Norm from Cheers... If you were a regular. If not, you'll still be treated like a valued customer.
Like a lot of Wicker Park bars, there's no food. Don't come here looking for a meal (Although Claudio the Tamale Guy frequents this place, so be sure to grab some tamales if/when you see that famous blue cooler).
The people are friendly, and this is the perfect type of place to go to get a beer after work during a weekday where you can sit down and know that the music won't be oppressively loud, and the beer selection will be fantastic... And you'll be able to play pool... Guaranteed. I've never seen the pool table packed for more than an hour at a time.
It's a great little hole in the wall... A great place to get a great beer (or even a Schlitz). Stick around, and everyone might know your name some day. And you want to go where everyone knows your name (I admit it's corny, but the correlation is definitely there).
After watching our beloved Illini shoot the lights out against evil Gonzaga, Lemmings was the spot for celebration, of sorts. It seems to have a pretty cool vibe - when we arrived, still early in the evening, it was dark, not too loud, with also not so loud music playing, and ample tables. We found a spot, set up shop, and got drinks. The general consensus seemed to be that the drink selection was good, with lots of craft beers on tap, plus the standard PBR and Schlitz. Even as a non drinker, I can't wait until the hipster beers go back out of style. This place, by the way, celebrates Schlitz's entire catalog. Everything in the place (with the exception of a busty mannequin torso, wearing bandoliers of large caliber ammunition) seemed to be Schlitz paraphernalia of some sort.
As the evening wore on, it got a little louder - and the music was very eclectic, ranging widely. Kind of out of place for what I thought was a little more of a low key joint with art for sale on the walls. I'm waiting for the day when I can go to a bar and not yell my voice out, but I don't think it will ever happen. This is better than most though.
What made it was pushing in to the 11PM hour, when a DVD of what I think was a collection of trailers for 50s and 60s slasher films and bad softcore porn made it's way on to the TV above the bar. Scenes of topless women, awoken by frightening noises, jumping out of their beds and in to the beds of other topless women (for safety in numbers, I assume), someone feeding a fist full of hot dogs, one by one, to a monster that lived in a wicker basket (the movie was "Basket Case" and is totally on my Netflix queue), and plenty of over the top fake gore were endlessly entertaining. Some of the reaction quotes were real gems...but not really reprintable.
I can't pull my "will I go back" thing, because I don't really do the bar thing on purpose, but this place had a good vibe and wasn't too annoying - plus good...bizzare...entertainment. So...A-OK.
While I'd love to report that I followed others in here and proceeded to order exactly what they did, that's not really the case: Lemmings is a fairly benign pub featuring a variety of brews, including, on this night, a fairly delightful kolsch number that my buddies and I devoured relatively at will. It was the perfect bar to teeter into at late-thirty, and we stayed for a few rounds before we wound down for the evening.
There may be few surprises in store for you at Lemmings, but then again, I find that it's only occasionally amusing to surprise the tipsy anyway. We saddled up at a nearby table and kept the cold ones coming. And say what we will about leaders vs. followers, I can't imagine that it would have been anything other than fun to reminisce with some old friends here, which, come to think of it, is precisely what happened. Thanks Lemmings, I'm sure I'll get back one of these days. Perhaps even on my own.
Lemmings is a safe haven from the Can's customers of Bucktown/Wicker Park. Not only can you can you stop in on a Saturday night at 9pm and have the place mostly to yourself, you have your choice of great beers on tap (Bells, Rogue, Metropolitan) and friendly bartenders; imagine that! Â Yes, the music did change to something a little more "clubby" at about midnight, but that didn't phase me.
If you are around the Damen blue line stop and are looking for a bar that is not horrendous (this is hard, I assure you), go here!
Oh, I love Lemmings! We've been together through Bloody Mary soaked Sundays to after work drinks with my only sibling to birthday celebrations with friends.
This last trip to Lemmings brought it all together with a Summer-Friday, late-afternoon, post-work, sibling-bonding happy hour. Bartender Chris whipped up a truly delicious bloody mary with a wee beer chaser for me and a whiskey, with a side of rocks for the sib. Nice touch, that.
The service was fantastic, the music was great and by the 3rd round, we'd all made a few new friends. Yay Lemmings!
I'm not a big dive bar fan, so I was surprised that I liked this place as much as I did. Â It is just comfortable, completely unpretentious, and easy. Â We rolled in on a Friday night, quickly got a seat at the bar, and the bartenders were friendly and attentive. Â Played a little Connect Four, which got more complex the more we drank... "dammit stop playing these mind games!!!" Â I think there's a pool table in the back? Bonus!
All in all, great people, great local bar.
It's official - I love this place!
I recently celebrated the dawn of my 28th year of life (yes, a belated "Happy Birthday to me") at Lemmings. Â I had people coming in from all over the city and suburbs (yes, I'm that cool) so I wanted a place with the following:
1. Â Solid beer selection
2. Â An easy walk from the El
3. Â Assured cab-access for rides home (I want my birthday party-goers to be safe, yo!)
4. Â Space (you know, to mingle with my posse)
Lemmings provided all that and more. Â What more, you ask? Â Champagne! Â That's right - a little birdie told the bartender the cause for our celebration. Â He immediately got out a bottle, many glasses, and popped open champagne in my honor. Â Swoon!
Connect 4. Beer. Jenga. Beer. Trivial Pursuit. Beer. Â
Just an average night at my old Bucktown favorite Lemmings. Â And it's not just a name. Â You head into this delightful favorite and people will follow. Â Oh yes, people will follow. Â Excellent beer selection, bar tenders are generally nice, pool table and pinball in the back and a wonderful selection of Zapp's potato chips (which 3 pints in start to taste like gourmet french fries....awesome.)
This is a great place to go any night of the week if you want to drink with some friends at a friendly establishment. Â Lemmings you have my heart.
I walk by here all the time. And always smile at the witty stuff they have written on their outdoor chalkboard. Â So after the yelp winterscape I decided on grabbing another beer here.
As I walked in I realized what a nice size this place was. I was a bit inebriated already and didnt wanna scope the plce out so I sat at the bar to see what they had on tap. Hello Gumballhead. If a place has that on tap that's what I'm drinking. Â Had one... Or maybe more? Â The bartender was nice, very laid back place. I'll be there again soon. Â
I think I saw a pool table in back too :)
From Wikipedia, [with slight additions by yours truly]: "The behavior of lemmings is much the same as that of many other rodents [Bucker Parkers] which have periodic population booms and then disperse in all directions, seeking the food [tamales] and shelter [4am bars] that their natural habitat [Lemmings Pub] cannot provide [after 1:45am]."
Of course, the beer selection hits that oft sought after "balance" between domestics (PBR, Miller Lite) and crafts (Rogue, Bells, etc), keeping the hipsters happy at any price point. And, the general population as well...of course. Bartenders were busy but smiling, the bar is cleaned up well, the bathrooms didn't scare me off, and there is a pool table in the back...
Bonus points for juke box selections: End of the Road (Boyz II Men) and Regulators (Warren G). Billie Jean for good measure. Cheers to whomever had the guts to play that trifecta.
There is a $25 min on credit cards....which shouldn't be too hard to hit. The price is right, the vibe is chill, and you may just look up when the lights go on and think "Wow, is it time to go already?" This rarely ever happens to me, so I attribute partially to Lemmings, and to the company of good people.
Cheers!
ps. Does anyone else things Bell's Oberon smells like cotton candy?
Sometimes you just need a chill bar...where everyone knows your name. Â No one knows my name at Lemmings, but I have a feeling that if I was a regular they would. Â
My party of 4 headed here after a delicious dinner at Blu Coral cause we weren't quite ready for our night to end yet. Â And my friend's sister was throwing her friend a bday party at Lemmings so we thought this may be the perfect spot to end our night. Â Why is it that I'm always going out to celebrate random peeps bdays?
We made our way to the bar to get a few drinks and then my hubby robbed me of all my quarters when he discovered the pinball machine in the back. Â That pinball machine kept the boys occupied for at least 20 minutes while my friend and I found ourselves a table for some girl talk. Â My husband and his friend made their way back to us after pinball, but it's worth noting that there is also pool here and apparently board games as well. I heard a fun game of Operation was played after I left at midnight in fear of turning into a pumpkin. Â
I usually prefer lounge type atmospheres, but if you just want to grab a few beers in a laid back atmosphere Lemmings is your place.
I don't know about the Schlitz. I generally don't go to bars to drink cheap, crappy beer.
I've been here twice and both times had a fine time. Decent brew selection, not totally jammed with fools (at least it wasn't 4 years ago, the last time I was in), and they even have games behind the bar you can play (Parcheesi and stuff like that).
On top of that, the tamale guy stops in regularly, which makes this totally worth my time, even if it was packed with obnoxious scenester kids listening to Postal Service and commenting on each others hair that is carefully styled to look like it's not styled.
TAMALE!
I come here for the ART.
sigh.
I don't have a problem with the bar - it's generic, inoffensive, it has schlitz ... but oh! those paintings? I know they probably change which artist is being crucified on the wall on a regular basis, but these were like... the visual equivalent of fingernails on a blackboard. Save us!
CALL THE APOSTROPHE POLICE!
Unless a lemming actually owns this bar, in which case, false alarm.
I really like this place. They've got a respectable selection of beers including Left Hand, Rogue, and the ever popular Schlitz, the atmosphere is laid-back and social, and they've got a decent selection of board games. It's like Guthrie's South.
This may be my new favorite place to hang out. The beards aren't as serious as the Green Eye but the drink selection doesn't suffer. All the employees were really friendly. Strange thing, to see hipsters smile. Good to know some people aren't totally concerned with cool (ala trying to look unconcerned).
Lemmings has all the symptoms of a relaxed evening- good music at an unobtrusive level, exposed brick, a pool table, a chalk bored that lists beers AND prices, plenty of seating, plenty of candles. It would appear that Chinaski's being closed and forcing me to go someplace else turned out to be a good thing.
Wow I shouldve stopped in here sooner- i guess i just assume everything on damen above north is for looloos.
Anyway, it was totally empty n a Saturday night, and I love that. Great playlist, exposed brick, pool, just fills your basic needs of "i need a bar that isn't full of douches that all of my friends can find a table at."
good good.
Was out of the hood for awhile and now I'm back and Lemming's is in my "rotation," even on the weekend - I have no problem coming here on a Saturday - the crowd is manageable and there doesn't seem to be a trickledown of Cans patrons (thank god). Table by the window is my favorite.
Not a destination bar by any means, but a great neighborhood joint.
Great Wicker Park bar! Â
Even on a Friday or Saturday, not very crowded. Â Great beer selection (including small microbrews) and decent prices. Â
Nice TVs for any sporting event and they even have board games! Â I love a bar with board games (a few versions of Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble and such). Â Good snack food (albeit a bit pricey) and a pool table in the back. Â This is a great spot in Wicker Park considering all the other places are insanely packed.
Okay, Okay, Okay... I so wanted to hate this bar. Â I never like places w/ board games. Â Or at least I thought I never liked places w/ board games. Â I guess that was then and this is now. Â
They have SO much more than just board games. Â They have a pool table and a huge beer selection. Â The bar tenders are fast and friendly.
The place just feels like the type of place that you want to be a regular.
MONEY
Good stuff this "Lemmings" place.
Fine selection of brews I seem to recall, good atmosphere and laid back. Â Nice interior decoration going on, quite timeless. Â Pretty smart looking really but still quite a relaxed little oasis amidst the mean, and ever changing, streets of Bucktown.
I also do appreciate the board games on offer.
No complaints!
It's been ten years since I was here last, and the place has not changed. Maybe the price of a can of Schlitz went up .50. Relaxed, friendly bar. Very chill and attitude-free, in the midst of oh-so-trendy Bucktown.
The lose a star from the shit that was smeared on the TP in the women's room. Ew. Horrified by that.
I cant knock this joint. Â Went here on a Saturday night (big mistake for most places). Â
There are few things I look for in a nightspot.
1. Â Music. Â Probably one of the most important things to me. Â It seems I cant find a place in the city that plays good music...most of the stuff played here was bad. Â There were a few songs I liked, but it was all popular stuff from the past 10years or so.
2. Â The seating situation. Â I love being able to sit and have an actual conversation. Â Even better if the place has really comfy seating. Â
No comfy seating here, but on a Saturday night we were able to grab a table and talk under the dim light (love the lighting in the place)
3. Â Beer selection. Â Gotta give at least 3stars to places that have good beer. Â Sipped on a pumpkin ale that made me feel like it was actually fall. Â When I was 16 the purchase of eggs made me feel like its fall, but now pumpkin ale does the trick.
Wow that last sentence was random
Random things: Â there is also a little back room w/ a pool table. Â And my friend the Tamale guy (see review) made an appearance. Â
I'm more interested in checking this place out during the week...when the douche bag factor is lower.
Always seem to have a good time here! It is laid back.. not too noisy or smokey.. but still a great time! There is a good beer selection and they even have dice and cards available behind the bar for your amusement. The bartenders are just great!
I have to say though.. one of my favorite parts might be their chalkboard sidewalk sign. I love walking home and seeing what witty thing they cooked up that night!
If this place were just a few blocks further south, it would not be nearly as good. Â Not its fault - how could Lemmings know the Bucktown neighborhood would become such crap around it?
As others have said, good music, board games, good weekday crowd. Â I will add: good Scotch selection and free WiFi.
Nice place: decent vibe, decent selection, same feel as other bars in the family, as noted by other reviewers. Â Just nothing really special about it, except maybe the cool bartenders from Green Eye & Underbar.
Generic Bucktown pub: nice, but nothing really special; kind of hip, but not pretentious; the crowd is laid back and not super self-obsessed, like in Wicker Park. Â People tend to keep to themselves. Â I'd say this is a great bar to have a drink with a friend and a good discussion.
This place is a breath of fresh air from the stank raunchiness of the Wicker Park usurper crowd. Come sit down at the bar in here and enjoy a nice glass of bourbon with a bunch of regulars who range from the bizarre to the frighteningly normal before it's too late!
They have billiards which is always a huge plus and I believe on Thursday nights before 9:00 the pool table is free for anyone who wants to come on down rack a game or two.
They usually have decent music playing (Pixies, Sonic Youth, Rockabilly, etc.). Their prices on bourbon are on the high end of average, so this is a good place to start out for a couple of drinks before moving on to a more cost-effective alternative such as The Beachwood.
Consider it four stars well-earned for the folks down at Lemmings, keep up the good work and I might just make it five stars!
One of my favorite mellow bars in Bucktown or in all of Chicago for that matter. Â The scene is always laid back and the barstaff is just plain awesome - super friendly and helpful. Â They have a nice selection of beer here so don't just stick with a Miller Lite. Â
I cannot say enough good things about Lemmings. Â I just wish I lived closer so I could go more often!
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