Cheap cheap drinks, a large open area, and a pool table. It felt more like someone's basement than it did a bar, and that was kind of cool because it just made it feel really relaxed. Also, the place REEKED of really good weed, so maybe next time someone will just offer it up, because DAMN!!!
Enjoy Suckas'!!!
Shots (of whatever) at the Save More Lounge cost about $3, and weigh in at around 3 - 4 oz., depending on your attitude (see pic). Â The clientele and staff represent a largely gone North Side from about 20 years ago, and have been regulars here for at least that long. Â Very few places like this exist north of Madison Ave. anymore. When you want to be alone with your thoughts but in the company of others, you want a place like this.
Review Source:Such an easygoing bar! Â You choose the music, the games, and the tone of the evening. Â It's as user-friendly as you can get! Â Jason rocks the drinks and the prices are out of this world cheap. Â Would go with a small group, large group, or even on my own to just hang. Â Don't expect fancy or frilly....just an under-the-radar, make-it-what-you-want bar!
Review Source:Do you want to Save More? Yeah, me too!
Come to Save More! Come drunk though so that the smell of puke doesn't seem as bad... Went here on a Saturday afternoon. There were like 10 in my group and 3 locals. The locals are cross-eyed, fun, and like to dance.
Beer is cheap, $3 for a bud light.
They have a pool table. They have a rockin ass' jukebox.
CASH ONLY (But they do have an ATM right outside or a CVS across the street)
The ladies bathroom doors are curtains, just an FYI.
This place is a dive - for sure. But it is a huge dive! With really nice people! Of all different ages/shapes/sizes!
I went here to celebrate a birthday and ended up having a great time. I chatted with some of the locals as well as enjoyed there cheap beer prices for a Friday night.
Also - the 3 reasons I give it 5 stars:
1.) The jukebox is incredible.
2.) For the ladies room, you have to ask the bartender for a key. It is extremely clean and that's how they like to keep it (hence the key to ixnay the smelly guys).
3.) My dry cleaner dude plays reggae shows here regularly!
Enough said.
The real last Honky Tonk in Chicago is how I would describe Save More Lounge. This North Center family-owned friendly bar serves alcoholic beverages to the working class people. Save More has live bands, great and interesting clientele and has been the place of choice for many of my friend's birthday parties throughout the years. The bartenders, especially Jason, are great, prompt and most importantly very personable. That much is important, but what I really like about this bar is the very affordable drinks. You can have a great night there and not even spend more than 25 bucks. Cheap (and even cheaper) cold beer, delicious drinks and has some of the best shot slingers in North Center. Come with me to the Save More Lounge tonight and experience the real last Honky Tonk in Chicago.
Review Source:The smell of old shoes goes away the more shots of Jack that you do. Â Trust me on this one. Â Amanda, the bartender, is funny & kickass. Â There was a little old guy walking around with a Tupac coat on (awesome). Â There's a pool table in the back & a killer jukebox. Â Can't say how much the drinks are because I was out with 3 gentlemen who didn't let me pay (thanks, guys).
Will I go back? Â Hell yes.
student discount on milwaukee's beast... in a can. i'm not sure how much more needs to be said.
i don't want people thinkin' i'm a hater... i like dive bars. just not this one in particular. its too open, too bright and when we were there (around 11 or so on a friday night) the bar was next to empty.
on the plus side, i did enjoy the rack of antlers laden with bras (eh... see what they did there?) and the pac man machine filled wtih old timey arcade games entertained me for a while. i'm just not sure that that level of ambiance and entertainment can keep me comin' back.
When I was a kid, my mom always told me to avoid this place like the plague. I've seen some shady stuff go down in front of this place since I used to live literally down the block from here. Any time I looked in, all I would see is really sad men drinking away their problems and the no gooders who were just ready to start fights with you. Or hit on you. So, you grow used to avoiding it, just like mom wanted.
Well, now that I moved away from my mom and took a fondness to dive bars, I can finally say I've actually been inside. That, and the fact that my good friend also got a job being a bartender here, so on her work nights, me and a few friends would sometimes see her.
Hmm...what can is say? it's not classy, you won't find women sipping martinis here, in fact, there usually aren't very many women at all. There's the classic pool table and juke box with some pretty good songs on it, and the always wonderful display of salty snacks you can purchase to go along with whatever cheap drink you get. Or, go to CVS and pick up something...no one will really notice. What I still can't understand is the deer head covered in bras that is proudly displayed above the bar. I really don't wanna know how those got there, and i really hope no one tells me.
Drinks here are the cheapest around. cans of beer will run you less than 2 bucks each and at one point they had had cheap wines for one dollar a glass. and by cheap wines, i mean they are pretty bad, but you get your dollar's worth and a really bad headache the next day. also, time seems to speed up here, especially when you're having a drunken good time, so watch out.
i guess they have done some remodeling, as the bathrooms seemed decent and not what i was expecting from such a run down place. people tend to leave you alone, and the few that do try to talk to you are really just wanting to talk to anybody, so...yeah.
i haven't been back since the winter, but the next time i go, i hope they have some wine for a dollar ready for me.
The first time I walked in here, years ago, the guy sleeping in his bar stool in the corner fell over sending the entire row of stools falling over like a row of dominoes. Â The hipsters who hang here now think they are slumming it. Â They should have been there back in the day. Â There used to be a sign in the front window that read "Free pool 7 A.M. to noon (must be drinking)" Â The placed smelled like the inside of a bum's stomach. Â It was cheap! Â To this day, it's the only bar that I got dimes and nickles for change. Â Seen a few fights there. Â 2 doors down was Blago's state senator's office, now a UPS shop. Â Yeah, I used to go then and sometimes I go now except now that it's clean and doesn't smell so bad. Â I'm just not sure that's a good thing.
Review Source:Oh Save More, how you have spoiled me.
I've been trying to put my finger on what it is about Save More that keeps me coming back.
Is it the fantastic juke box?
Is it the wood paneling?
Is it that 190 proof orange juice bottle filled with stuff that looks like Windex that the bartender keeps behind the bar for regulars?
Now we are getting somewhere.
First off, the Save More is a dump. It's an off the deep end, 50 meter high dive bar. They have card tables and lawn chairs for seating. There are handwritten signs taped to the walls that read, "Specials: Old Style cans $1.50" and "Smoking Outside Only". Millions of bottles of dust covered booze line the mirrored bar, stickered with garage sale-style tags that list the price of each well-aged concoction. The juke box has every Rolling Stones album ever made.
Did I mention the 190 proof stuff?
Everytime I've been to Save More I've left more satisfied than the next. You get your pick of Joyce, the stalwart no nonsense "What'll it be" bartender, or you get Jason, the cool, friendly, young bartender on odd nights. Jason supplies the Windex shots readily if you get him chatting.
There's always the same type of crowd at the Save More. The no frills, retired war vets, the loner vagabonds, and the rest of the people who love them like family.
No one will bother you here if you are wearing jeans and flip flops. Sh-t, no one will bother you here if you are wearing coveralls stained with blood, wearing a raccoon on your head.
Prices are cheap. My boyfriend and I once sat at the bar on a Thursday night and drank for two hours...he was having High Life cans and I was having vodka sodas, tall ones, one after another, and our total tab was $8.00. Getting to know the bartenders helps. Jason, especially, is extremely generous if he likes you.
It's not what you expect out of a dive bar, it's infinitely worse and that makes it awesome.
I'll keep coming back because everyone is treated the same here and I like that. It reminds me of my Aunt Betty's basement and I like that. And because no one at Save More has ever told me I've been overserved or ever will.
Four stars for Save More.
Think bowling alley.
Now think of bowling alley without the bowling lanes, then you have an idea of Savemore Lounge. Straight up wood paneling from the 1970's this looks like someone's basement with a higher ceiling. Â I mean it's that faded out light brown with the faux ring pattern on it and the furniture is straightup old and should have been retired during the era of the first Boss Daley
Dive of dives, this is everyman's dead end or an economical pregame to the good show. If you live in this neighborhood, I would be inclined to disagreement my assessment. There are some senior citizens who frequent this bar, but they'll stay out of the way and your money is still good with the bartenders.
Save More has the wood paneling and smell of someone's basement. Â There is an odd mixture of 90 year olds and 30 year olds and the nonagerians don't seem particularly pleased with this.
If you are there to see a band you will not save more, instead you will pay $3.50 for a bottle of Old Style. The large sized $5.00 mixed drinks are a better bet.
Category - "dive bars." Â Um, yeah, that's about it. Â Everything you want in your dive - cheap booze, kickass bartenders, a lack of decor and aesthetic sensibility, rambling nonsensical stories from old men with no teeth. Â Shows here are fun - no stage means a better connection between the band and the crowd and more of a house-party atmosphere. Â Less structure equals more fun.
Review Source:Whoa. A long time with no new reviews for here.
This bar has changed since that first review back in 2006. It has become a bi-partite place. During the afternoon and early evening, it is an unadulterated dive bar; the proverbial "old man bar".
But at around 10:30 pm, the venue 'flips'. Lots of younger patrons seem to wind up here. If you want a venue which manages to bridge the _generation gap_, here it is.
But it is absolutely understandable why people come here to drink.
It is one of the cheapest bars in all of Chicago. And that's important whether you're struggling to make condo | cable | telephone | auto payments, or stretching your social security check.
Most nights of the week; there will be some macrobrew(s) on super-special for $1.50 or $2. This is usually a bottled beer. There is a small selection of draft beers. If you look deeply into the refrigerated case behind and beneath the bar, you might notice some slightly-upscale beers. They will be cheap compared to what they cost elsewhere, but I hope they haven't been in that case for months & months.
I think you will appreciate this bar. But as much as I would have wanted to give it five stars, I have to knock one off for these two reasons; of which only one could the venue correct [except that I am uncertain it *should* try to correct it]:
1) This is the Ashland, Lincoln, Irving Park neighborhood again, people. See my reviews of other bars here for the specifics; but the bottom line is, _there is no public transit way out of here after 12:10 am_. This venue is _definitely_ getting more vibrant at about this time. So, do you want to... and this leads to reason
2) As somebody with the interests I have; I pick up on some characteristics which can give some people the 'squicks'. The later in the evening I stay here, the more I get the vibe of something sleazy. For me, that is ok, if not altogether desirable.
I will go as far as scribing that this is a better pick-up place than Estelle's. But the pick-up here could be that of the 48-ish male harvesting the 22-ish female. Depending on your vista, that could be _very_ squicky. But after a clutch of these beers on special, decorum could be temporarily lost. Your mileage may vary [YMMV]. It's up to you as to when you leave here.
My friend's band played here in the Spring. Â Good times. Â Good prices on booze, good music (both band and jukebox). Â Lots of potted fake plants everywhere. Â Highly recommended if you like dives.
PS. Â I witnessed a near fight between 2 drunken senior citizens.** Â One of them even called the other one a "Buttinski"!! Â Come on! Â Who doesn't want to see that??
**Cooler (less drunken) heads prevailed, Â blah, blah blah...
now, don't get me wrong here, people. i love dives. this one was up there with one of the most divey dives in town. what with the bathroom key behind the bar, the random unplugged coolers and quadraphonic machine, the patron dressed as the easter bunny. i was a fan of their advertising, which consisted of loose leaf paper with sayings like "sloe gin fizz, was $4.50, NOW $1.50" and so on.
my friend steph was hit on by a very classy guy that among other things asked her if her fleece jacket was suede and if her satiny purse was NEON?! (you know, like the sign) because they were..."nice." (in the leeriest speak you can imagine.
dan was intruged by all the unplugged bar "toys" all over the place, especially the aforementioned quadraphonic machine..and an inflatable old style raft complete with billy goat head that was collecting dust one of the broken coolers.
...all add up to an enjoyable establishment...9 times out of 10 for me.
so, here's the deal. my friends' band was supposed to play there. and when they got there, the owner/manager said that they couldn't. so...that's kind of jerky.
prices were good, and it was interesting...but come on...don't screw with the talent.
This is a real dive bar, not some bullshit hipster idea of a dive. Beer is some of the cheapest you can probably get in a bar, anywhere (Tuesdays they have $1 beers or something, and there's a laundry list of choices). I went there on St. Patrick's Day because my usual bar was overrun with obnoxious drunk Lincoln Parkers who went there because they couldn't get into anywhere else, and I don't think I've ever made such a good decision. Okay, I'm sure I have. But the drinks were good, much better made than at the place I'd been before (less hurried?), the bartenders were nice if no-nonsense, and the regulars were friendly (that was kind of a surprise, albeit a very pleasant one).
For real though, just go in. I live not too far from this place, and I've always walked past and thought about going in, but not gone in because it kind of weirded me out. There's a huge section in front that has lots of bright lights, that I believe they use for storing beer, but you just have to suck it up and go in. It's worth it if only because everything you drink is going to be half the price of anywhere else.
My last piece of advice on the matter is to not go if they have music. It's a cheap cover, sure (think like $2 or something), but honestly just wait until they're done and then go and get your cheap drink on. The music is loud and, in my experience (mostly from outside), not very good.
I gotta admit this place is pretty funny. Â In fact one of the regulars took quite a shine to me and bought all my drinks. Â Then, as I was playing bass with whatever we were calling our porno-country band that night some guy kept trying to give me a dollar-while I was playing. Â That dude followed me all over the place. Â At the time I was annoyed, but it is pretty funny in retrospect.
Review Source:This is one of my favorite dive bars to go to. The atmosphere is raunchy, the beer is cheap, and the bartenders take no shit. I first wandered in here just passing by, and had I not had my husband with me, would have never stopped in. I've been frequenting this place now for 3 years, and I don't plan to stop anytime soon. Beers are about $2-$3 bucks a piece, and they have 50 cent pool everyday. The bartender (Jason) is a cutie, and always pours with a heavy hand. He'll also mix you up some killer shots!!
There's a pin ball machine in the corner, and a 2nd pool table to come soon.
You can also order food from the Horse Shoe across the street whilst you sip your beer.
Don't be put off by the lack of luster upon first glance, this place is a diamond in the rough. The only bar of it's kind that stayed true to it's cheap colors while the Starbucks and condos went up next door.
UPDATE:
Savemore lounge is remodeling! You wouldn't BELIEVE the changes they have made! Live bands weekly now (and good ones at that!), new storefront, new restrooms, new ATM, and additional pool tables! WOW! They're sinking some money into this place! I can't wait to see the finished result!
I went here with some friends because the place had a sign in the window for Bikini Karaoke. None of us could comprehend what that might be so we went. Wow. If you like dive bars (which you probably should) this place is for you. The front is an old liquor store which has been "renovated" into the beer storage place? I don't know, we couldn't figure it out either. While we were there two, yes two, drunk old men walked out telling the bartender they loved her and one of them even kicked a barstool. Who needs TVs in the corner when you have that kind of entertainment? I'll tell you who. No one.
Review Source:
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