What a wild night I had. It's a local, divey type bar and last night it was full of people. Someone was celebrating they're 30th and they had a DJ playing some pretty awful music, but it was fun to people watch. The bar tenders were very nice and relatively quick, despite the crowd. The locals we met were friendly and the drinks were decently priced. I will go back again to experience it without the large party with the bad music!
Review Source:UPDATE: Although the vibe is still pretty much the same (no kitchen, high tables), a few additions have been made since my last review. Most importantly, the owners increased the depth of the bar overall, which allowed them to add new ADA-accessible bathrooms with multiple stalls and a third ramped exit. They also added a rear "dart room" that has extra boards and doubles as a meeting/party space. They've increased the numbers of TVs to include two projectors with 6-ft. pull-down screens. Lastly, where the staff used to park their cars in the rear on a gravel lot, the owners had the area partially fenced in and finished with slate pavers, which can be used to hold patio parties in the summer (if their licensing permits).
The drinks have also increased a bit as well, but that's partially due to the expanded drink menu that include many craft beers. I'd still say it's less expensive than a lot of other bars on Lincoln Ave. I love the place.
I felt like my experience at this bar was kind of boring. We tried some type of pumpkin beer and it was pretty awful. The bartender didn't say one word to us and the ambiance was a bit distasteful. Just a bunch of older men and some random women in their 30's looking desperately for some attention. I would skip this place and find something better in the neighborhood. Daily's is a good option for beer and good eats.
Review Source:The best of all worlds: you've got your dark sticky bar with your dirty bathrooms, your crazy toothless guy trying to talk to you about baseball (FYI, I know nothing about it beyond "it's like cricket, but in a circle"), and you've got your decent craft beer list. Finally, you have your very chatty bartender, who talks about beer with the passion and discernment of someone on the early stages of the path to chronic, debilitating beer-nerdism.
I was, in equal measure, amused and terrified by the large bearded men who stood near the door occasionally burst into song and dance with triumphal joy. They seemed nice.
Ricocchet's is a nice little Lincoln Square dive-y kind of bar. Â With a great beer selection (impressive for a dive!), a jukebox, and darts...you're pretty much set for the night. Â We came on a night when someone was having a birthday party and it was a little crowded so we only stayed for 1 beer and ventured onward, but I think on a regular night this would be a great place to belly up and hang out with friends.
Review Source:Very welcoming and friendly. Always very clean, which is a plus. Beer selection has improved in the last 6 months and I cannot wait until the kitchen is finished. The service is great and drinks are very reasonable. One of my favorite places to sit and relax while I am in Lincoln Square.
Review Source:In the interest of full disclosure I help run a weekly event at Ricochet's . . . but now why would would we do that if we didn't love the place to begin with?
Ricochet's becomes a home base for all who know it. It's a stronghold, true neighborhood bar and a cornerstone of the Lincoln Ave strip near the Western stop. It's the easiest place to meet for a drink, the juke box is way above par, you can get lost in darts, PhotoHunt, PBR on tap, conversations with the down-to-earth staff or any game on the big screens. In other words, it's a real bar.
And word has it food is coming soon...
Ricochet's has hung on as the area gentrified from working class to somewhat hip. Â I wouldn't call it a dive-bar more than true to its roots type of place while still recognizing the necessity to embrace the changes going on around it by certainly remodelling, cleaning it up (including the restrooms). Â Yes, no food, but you can bring in your own and they even let in the Mexican Hot Tamale solicitor and make the rounds. Â True Chicago style, and compassion.
Beer is basic, and the wine is boxed. Â A nice earthy place reminiscent of the old neighborhood bars. Â Some of the old time locals resistant to change are a bit judgmental of the newer patrons, but if you ignore their alcoholic asses you won't have an issue.
Ricochets did a great job with the remodeling. I love the extra room in the back, dart boards, and the projection screen for games. I wish they would have more tables, or even figure a way to put booths into the bar. I heard they were going to be serving food there eventually and would visit more often if they did! I get a great deal of grief for being a fan of this bar from my family that was raised in the area, but for a "dive" its great! Drinks are never over priced.. its about $4 for a Jack & Coke, $6 Patron and reasonably priced drafts, with a generous pour that will keep me returning.
I haven't seen these hipsters that "Lincoln Squar-ians" have been warning about in reviews.. but I sure would like to :)
P.S The bathrooms are kept very clean as well!
2.5 Stars
We were warned. Late in the afternoon, a few of the regulars warned us that the hipster eclipse was coming, and soon at that! These guys were spot on! Within an hour, Ricochets was littered with these skinny jeans (legs rolled up), 2 sizes too small button up plaid shirt wearing, skeletons. Look outside, yep- 10 speeds chained up everywhere! You need some WD40? Just ask a hipster, as they were spraying this shit all over the barstools, because they were "sqeaking." A guy at the bar recommended taking a nail gun to all of their bicycle tires. {Think Bubbles forming}
All in all, it is what it is. Crappy beer selection. Prices are really high for a dive bar that doesn't serve food. But, don't fret, because there are a few good things about Ricochets:
Steel tip darts, with plenty of room.
Good service. Natalie was awesome!
The washroom. What the hell!?!? This restroom was spa like. Seriously, I think they sunk more $ in the restroom in comparison to the entire bar. Interesting.
I'm in no hurry to return. Well, unless I bring in James "Shake & Bake" to rough up a few hipsters...
I totally dig Ricochet's.
In search of cheap drinks and a good place for a group, a friend recommended Ricochet's. Â She couldn't have been more right.
Most nights, I prefer to go to chill bars that have cheap drinks and a decent jukebox. Â Ricochet's is perfect for those nights. Â The servers are friendly, there's a good beer selection, and everything is cheap. Â I went twice in one weekend and felt like a true regular.
Best place for a chill night out drinking. Â I frequent many north side bars and this place is by far the best when you want a chill night. Â No hoods, no punks, no thugs.... just the locals.
  If you looking for loud, rowdy, and crowded, then this is NOT the place.  Wrigleyville is probably what your looking for. Â
  This place is were you go when you want to enjoy some drinks and chat.  I usually meet my dates here, drink and chat then move venues depending on the night.  The crowd is older, regulars and this place has a "Cheers" kinda vibe.  Â
  The place is pretty small but I believe they were expanding.  The jukebox is okay, mostly classic rock, but NO Rap or crude hip-hop.  This is probably why there isn't any thugs. ( a good thing).  The dart board is old skool, metal tip and cork board.  Every so often there are private partys but it adds diversity and usually ends well for me.....lol
My husband and I were looking for a Lincoln Square bar to watch Monday Night Football last week. We went by a few places on Damen that were standing room only, then settled on Ricochet's. They had Stella on special ($4) and a BIG projector screen in the back. The bar seating was full, but the back area was wide open. The crowd was mostly older than us (which isn't hard to be), but it was great. No one proving their testosterone levels, no one talking over the game then yelling when they realized the Bears just scored, and at 5'4, I didn't have to watch my team Bear Down! between shoulders.
Note: They don't have food at Ricochet's but you can bring anything in. We went to Costello's and grabbed some (amazing) subs. Some people were ordering in pizza. It's cheaper this way too, and the wait for food is probably about the same - less if you plan ahead.
This tiny corner bar really doesn't do anything better or worse than most bars. The bar staff are attentive, but i attribute that largely to the fact that as a small bar, it doesn't have thousands of boozehounds pressing to the front that a place like say John Barleycorn would have.
However, Richochet's real charm is that it is one of the few bars I know of in Chicago with steel-tip darts and a cork dartboard. Not those crappy plastic darts that fall apart four throws in. Very old-school. I love it.
Probably my least favorite bar in the area. It's not TERRIBLE by any means, but I go to Ricochet's only as a last resort. They have a couple TV's and the bartenders are usually nice. And there are a couple dartboards, so that's good. But the bar itself is pretty dingy. It's not quite "dive bar" worthy, but it's also not very nice either. And the prices are certainly not dive-bar-like! $5 beers? If you're going to pay $5 for a beer you might as well go over to Fiddlehead or Bad Apple and get a unique bottle with some high alcohol content or something.
But I think I'm in the minority. They seem to have plenty of people in there most of the time, so good for them!
This place seems like an inside joke that I'm just not a part of. Â When we arrived around 10:30, the bar was pretty packed with a small party and people at the bar. Â This definitely seems to be a neighborhood joint and I kind of felt unwelcome just because I don't know the bartenders or the regulars that hang out here.
We opted to move to the back, which was quite chilly because of the open door to what I assume is a smoking patio. Â No one seemed to go out there at all, but it was open the entire time we were in the bar, which was kind of annoying. Â We at least got a table, though, and had a good view of the dart boards. Â
The beer selection was decent but the prices left a bit to be desired. Â Their "special" at the time was Bells Amber bottles for $4. Â Kind of expensive, considering some bars offer the same beer on tap for $4. Â Blah. Â Service was kind of hard to come by the busier the bar got - it seemed like there was only one person working.
All things considered, this place could have been worse. Â There was parking up the block on Lincoln in the big lot on the corner which was nice and we were able to sit down, which was also nice. Â However, it's a bit small and seems to get crowded as the night goes on. Â Definitely not a place I would like to hang out for an evening with friends. Â Also, people kept playing terrible music on the Juke Box. Â You've been warned.
I wish I could give Ricochet's more stars because it really is my go-to bar in Lincoln Square. Huettenbar is too expensive and crowded, the other places are more food oriented. Ricochet's is really the only straight up bar in the Square.
I love the way it looks, the low key vibe, that unless it's a Saturday night you can always find a place to sit. I hate that despite all these appearances of a "dive bar" prices are higher than I'd like. I think it's $4.50 for a bottle of Amstel and I've never been there for any beer specials. I'm the oldest young person I know though, maybe kids these days are ok paying $5 for a bottle of beer.
I guess my only complaint is the price and that it gets crowded on weekends. Shit I'm old.
Ok if I am being perfectly honest I don't remember A LOT about Ricochet's. Â It had been a long night and there had been many drinks. Â What I do remember is that the drinks were cheap, strong and plentiful. Â And I think that if you can go to a bar on a Saturday night, find a table, listen to the Talking Heads and then dance to the Talking Heads you have probably found a good place to stay. Â And the fact that it is mere blocks away from my home makes me think...yea I will probably come back.
Review Source:This is a neighborhood bar, so don't expect anything spectacular. If you want to chill out and get a drink and just chat with people about work, sports whatever, then Ricochet's is a good place to go. It's nothing special, but it doesn't try to be, so I rate this place for what it is and not what it isn't. Â Decent service, cold beer, pool table, dart board, small greasy television sets. I went here one day when the Cubs won the division, and the bartender gave my brother and I free beers because we were wearing jerseys. How much more hometown can it get?
Review Source:I have a love-hate relationship with Ricochet's...I love that I can walk there, that I can usually find a spot to sit, and that generally the people are nice and quirky in a good dive bar kinda way. Â I hate the way they charge $3.50 for a draft PBR. Â I mean, isn't that against dive bar code? Â I also dislike the lack of a lock on the men's room for my male friends and if you're unfortunate to be sitting over by there. Â Another funny note - if you're on a bender, and you're working up a guy and things are going really well and you are thinking of doing something you maybe shouldn't do...well girls, just head for the bathroom. Â The poster size Anne Geddes poster on the wall of three infants in a bathtub cherubically staring at you as you re-gloss will make you pause. Â Best birth control ever.
Review Source:Crowded when we first walked in, but the bartender got to us quickly. That was nice, then someone opened the bathroom door and OH MY IT STINKS IN HERE.
It honestly smelled like someone had dumped in the middle of the bar. We moved to the back of the bar and landed a table only to be next to the women's bathroom. Ugh.
Not my style being married, but there were cougars on the prowl. Rar!
Richochet's you are still not my friend, your TVs are too small and your dartboard scoreboard from the early 1980s must be replaced! Â You are close to home and always affordable, but for heaven's sake: get a lock on the door for the men's bathroom!
There are some plaques appearing to be from Windy City Darters on the wall so on a scale of 1-10 you can't rate the darts here as 0. Mad respect for supporting leagues, although I have yet to play anyone there from the league. The boards are not so beat up and don't have cancer, so still a legitimate option for darts practice.
Neon beer signs are around, little lamps on the tables and there was a juke box playing old timer's 1970s music from the thirtysomethings populating this bar. Mayfest is coming in three weeks, Richochet's will be the most packed bar on the planet: do not try to throw darts there then!
I've lived in Chicago for almost a decade. I've done the LP bars, I've done the Old Town bars, I've done the Loop bars, I've down the Evanston bars. I've done the Lincoln Square bars, I've done the Lakeview bars, I've even done the Wrigleyville bars (I'm a Sox fan). Ricohet's isn't the bar you go to be seen or the bar that is going to be playing the latest Lady Gaga remix - it's a bar you go to pony up to the actual bar, get a drink, and actually have a conversation with who you're with or the bartender. I don't go to Ricochet's to have some fruity 'Effen and Diet', I'm having a shot of Powers and a beer. Ricochet's is like Scotch or Bourbon - an aquired taste but once aquired, a staple.
Review Source:This is right by my place and I've stopped in once or twice and had a fine time. Â My friends and I usually go for the pitcher of Leine, which is nicely priced at 10 bucks. Â The atmosphere is super casual, and doesn't seems to get too crowded, even on weekends. Â Bonus: They have a couple board games, which I'm a total sucker for (see: Guthrie's), so we play loud and annoying games of Yahtzee, and no one shuts us up. Â I appreciate that. Â Particularly because I was kicking my buddies' asses.
It's a pretty solid dive, overall - there's usually one lackadaisical barkeep working, but the wait's never too bad. Â A nice place to chill with a few friends and drink normal-priced alcohol.
...more of a 1.5.
Went here for drinks with an old coworker after we got done with our dinner elsewhere. Â We basically went because it was nearby. Â When we walked in, the place was silent. Â We felt bad asking if they'd mind if we sat at the bar because we knew we'd be talking but everyone was rather welcoming and friendly. Â Drink prices aren't bad at all but the place doesn't have a great vibe to it. Â It reminds me of what I'd expect driving through a smaller town, complete with really bright lights on inside (a fooler if you look in through the window, as it always seems so dark in there).
I think board games in a bar is brilliant. Â Unfortunately, that is largely overshadowed by the overall ambience to the place or lack thereof. Â
My beefs:
-The lighting is only a shade dimmer than the office where I work, which is odd. Â
-It's very, very small, and some of the precious little table space is eaten up by those big machines that play the card or matching games, therefore obscuring people from talking to each other.
-The crowd is pretty old.
-The jukebox has a bizarre selection. Â Furthermore, when the song "Hot Pants" is selected, I expect to hear James Brown, G*dd*mnit!!!!
Anyhow, I got nice and loaded there anyway but would prefer elsewhere.
I love that everyone seems to know everyone and even if they
don't know you, they pretend to. So yeah, they don't have a huge beer selection on tap but at the prices they're served, who cares?! The bartenders are attentive and like to involve you in great discussions (usually with the rest of the bar).
I usually come during the week after my last class to wind down... and it is so worth it.
No pretension, absolutely bottom cheap prices, friendly friendly crowd.
Give it a chance... you just might end up loving it.
Without getting into a big, long thing about the incident, I once thought I was going to get hit with a bottle by a man twice my size after my friend rejected his drink offer while she and I were sitting quietly in the fairly empty RIcochet's (on a weeknight no less). Â Another time, I'm pretty sure the bar tender called me "girl," but that could be my own paranoia or desire to find fault in this place after the first incident. Either way, there's nothing special here, so why would I go back and risk further idiotic moments when I could go somewhere else and create a whole new batch of idiotic memories?
Review Source:This is a great place to go to get a pitcher and just hang out with friends. They have snacks for those hungry drunks and trivial pursuit cards to settle the awkward conversations. The regulars are generally pretty nice folks too.
I guess my only issue is the jukebox, which I never bother putting money into because I don't think my songs will ever get played. But I have the same issue with the Holiday Club and it doesn't really sour my feelings on that place.
I was not a fan of Ricochet's when I first moved to the Square, and would frequently stomp my feet when asked to meet others there. Â "That is the most nondescript bar in all of Chicago" I would yell, and you know what, I don't know if I'm wrong, but I think it makes me love it more. Â
The clientele is varied and interesting, everyone is friendly and few are skeezy, there is zero pretension, and the prices are good. Â As I ordered the other night, the bartender casually told me about how polar bears can smell cranberries from up to four miles away.
Where else are you going to get that?
The jukebox satisfies my need to get Eddie Money songs stuck in others' heads, and the darts entertain us for hours, even if I can't seem to hit the dartboard itself.
Yet another spot to get loaded with friends for an inexpensive price. Ricochet's is your average bar, but made to make anyone feel like this could be "their" bar. Â No pretenious people or prices for that matter.
A few friends and I were planning on attending Mayfest, right around the corner from Ricochet's. Except the babies, crowd and rain deterred us. Â We found solace at Ricochet's.
Service is cute, quick, and friendly. I ordered a jack & diet coke...three and a quarter. Good deal.
Go here for a good time with good friends. Â If you feel yourself getting a little too plastered, head to the coffee cafe just across the street.
So awhile ago, you could mosey on in here and get a whiskey drink for $2. I was floored. 2 BUCKS? Hello, new favorite dive-ish bar.
And the pool table is fun.
And the mix of people you'll find (or did find) in Lincoln Square is always a pleasure.
And once, near close, my friend and I found ourselves suddenly engaged in a very interesting political discussion with the rest of the bar. About 20 people. Seriously, it was awesome.
(Last I heard the drink prices went up - there goes the neighborhood!)
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