Yacko's In Niles

This is a great little neighborhood bar. No frills just a down-to-earth place to sit and hoist a few. I don't get up this way much but when I do I try to stop in. It's off Milwaukee on Albion (around 65 or 66 hundred north) backed up against the cemetary. There's no sign just a plain brick-red shingled front and nothing from a distance to advertise that this is a bar rather than a two-flat. If I wasn't in the habit of driving through neighborhoods to check out new places I'd never have found it. And maybe that's how they like it.

   There's a great lady named June behind the bar most week-days and after a couple times in I don't believe I've seen much of anyone I haven't seen before. The clientele is older and, having never been in later than 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning (this is another local that harkens back to bygone days when there were more third shift regulars and early morning bars), don't know if the median age declines with the lengthening of the shadows. Always friendly conversation and prompt service, these guys are there for you seven days a week; including early morning Sunday fortification.

   No juke box, no pool table, no poker games, no blaring pumped in music. There's a couple TVs, a lender's library, a limted bar stock, and interaction with some intelligent people that've been around the block. If you want 90 decible music or a bartender sitting on your chest pouring tequila and mixer down your gullet, you've gone to the wrong place.

   This is a very high three stars. Gimme a burger and some fries and it's definitely a four star.

This is my favorite place to have a few beers after riding the North Branch bike trail. I used to live in this neighborhood years ago and this place and the Newark Nook are the last two real neighborhood taverns you'll find on the NW Side. Spend your money where real people own the joint and work the bar!

Best neighborhood bar ever! Owner Steve (and wife Irene) is a classic one-eyed American with Eastern European stubborness that tells it like it is. If you want a martini and a pinki finger salute, this isn't the place for you. But if you want old-school, good hearted bar stool debate, without the Southside BS that may end up in a fist fight, this is where you want to be. The service is phenominal and the prices make it worth the visit. If you are in Niles, go to Yacko's (formerly known as Babe's).
I get there every chance I can!