Max's Place

A place to get drinks in the gay bar scene. We came to get a few beers. Good music and atmosphere

This place is a gem. The back patio is adorable, the drink prices cannot be beat and the bartenders are so sweet. I will absolutely be bringing back friends :)

One of my favorite bars in Chicago! It’s the perfect mix of dive-bar and local hangout. They take credit cards now, and touch tunes are always playing. They even recently added a patio. Tons of beer selection, and a full bar!

Let's just say the bartender made two drinks looking at ME knowing.... I was another color and didn't ask or acknowledge!!! And lastly I'll say yes I was black and everyone else was other than ........... Won't be coming there again from carols it doesn't make you a difference but someone needs to know.

Amazing bar, really affordable drinks, lovely and personable bartenders. Jukebox available and snacks for munchies.

Once again Teresa made my night: fast, adorable & fun!!!! Love this place! Love Teresa!

Nice bar . Love it...but for some reason the bartenders cater to the coke head crowd that have hot flashes and open the doors when its 28 ° outside ...they have a patio ..if your hot take your ass out to their patio ..we shouldnt have to be cold while were enjoying our drink and music because you have a drug problem or hormonal issue ...seriously!😒👎

Fantastic place to grab an affordable drink after a long day. Theresa is one of the kindest, most personable bartenders! Come check the place out if you like good music, friendly vibes, and a welcoming atmosphere. LGBTQ+ friendly. Love Max's and will be a customer for many years to come!

Love this neighborhood dive! Great patio (although now they don't allow smoking??) and friendly bartenders. Lil gay haven in uptown

Back in the day, this was not a bar I would have gone into. It definitely had a "The Hills Have Eyes" vibes to it, where I could hear the banjos from Deliverance strumming. It was very closed off and I don't like places I where I can't see what is going on in there and if there is an escape route. For me, the old Max's made the old Carol's look upscale and that is saying something. Fast-forward to now and there is a new look to the place, at least on the outside. I can't speak on the changes to the inside because I never went in there. But the new façade is very inviting and guess what, they have bubbles. Big win for me. Stopped in there while walking down Clark Street to just see what was going on. Met the bartender Nick, who was nice. One of the owners was there as well doing some touch up work and was also nice to speak to. Took a look at the outdoor patio area and it looked cute, definitely a good outdoor spot when the temperatures are warmer. The drink prices are pretty reasonable and they let you bring in food, so for me this is a place that not only serves the community but the businesses in them as you can order your favorite take out. I know that there are some folks who are not feeling the new look, but y'all best get to stepping because I for one am happy with the transformation. Welcome to Sheridan Park, Uptown, where friends really meet friends

From the outside it looks like this place is out of business, but it's still a dive bar to the max. It's a classic old institution that looks as if it hasn't changed much for sure. Max's Place is the kind of bar with an Old Style sign and not much else to get your attention from the outside, but check out the inside though. Good selection of cheap beers. There's darts and a juke box as far as entertainment. A lot hasn't changed about this bar. It looks like it could have been like this about half a century, except for the modern TVs. The bar has otherwise kept about the same for years. Even the prices are like these were from the past. You can drink on the cheap for sure. Beers are the PBR kind of stuff in cans. There's also a limited but cheap selection of good liquor. It's about $5 for a cocktail. There's not much in the way of food. Chips and not much else. This is also cash only. Bring some money but you don't need a lot. It's cash only because it's how a dive bar is so just remember to bring a few bills for some good times. This is also close to Carol's Pub so you can also hit that up as well.

Recently sold to a multibar consortium, and repurposed into just another regular gay bar. A flagship example of a gentrifying neighborhood. I give them one extra star for keeping the old lady on staff.

Nice neighborhood watering hole. Friendly staff, great patio out back, and lots of old school dive bar vibe.

Freaking awesome dive bar. Cheep beers, old school atmosphere, cheep beers. Unobtrusive facade, keeps the non-curious out. GO here!

Nick's the best. I heart that this place is blowing up. It's great to have Max's as a solid neighborhood option.

Milwaukee neighborhood bar meets chicago gay bar. Where everybody knows your name. Wear your shorty shorts boyzzz!!!

YES THEY ARE OPEN! CONTRARY TO WHAT BING PLACES SHOWS It's a great old style dark wood bar (real wood) no crazy bright lights which adds to the deep coziness. Great super friendly service, good low prices for the brews and wonderful people. They are encouraging more LGBTQ2+ community to join the family there. Uptown now has the 2nd largest queer population in the City of Chicago and is growing. It's conveniently located a few blocks west of the Wilson Redline stop in the east Ravenswood/west Sheridan Park neighborhood. if you're leaving a Cubs game and want to avoid all of the over crowded armpit bars just hop on the northbound Clark St Bus #22 to Wilson stop. A few doors north there's El Ranchito an awesome 24 hr Mexican restaurant and Gorilla Sushi 1 door south of the bar (next door) and several other eateries which is great because you can bring in outside food as long as you take the refuse out with you to dispose. They have a great jukebox and a nice patio in the back that's open year round. So bring your jukebox money, cash only (there's an atm inside), and have some great times, just look for the Old Style Beer sign hanging out on the front. These guys are the best!

Really want to love this place, but they have only 2 decent bartenders. Great to have a local gay dive bar, but I want to be respected as a customer. Most the bartenders pour short and ignore customers who are not part of their social group. The big guy with the long hair and beard is the worst. I won't come in when he works, but he seems to be there most often. He ignores people and pours short. Seems to dump a lot of draft beer down the drain too. Really a shame.

I don't come here very often, but when I do, I make sure it's on days that Vic is working. He's the best bartender, attentive, and plays the best music. Super chill guy and Max's is lucky to have him

We met the new owners here on an off-chance a while back. One of them half-jokingly remarked, with a nod to the then-haunted décor, that we'd be lucky to make it out alive. He seems to have missed, however, that it was precisely this otherworldly magnetism--rendering you and your friends into Mulder and Scully for one rainy Chicago night--that once gifted Max's Place its weird and almost unexplainable charm. Some small mementos of this former life remain, but the increasingly normal tchotchkes and removal of more controversial items, like the allegedly necromongering "Titty Machine," seem to now predestine this storied bar to Andersonvillian averageness. Will the Meat Man even come back?

Dive bar that is friendly, comfortable and funny as hell!!! Round for the bar! $13.75. Meet interesting characters like bill. He wears a change dispenser. Plenty of parking. Darts and old school juke box.

Exactly what you expect of a place called Max's. (Unless you're picturing "The Max" from Saved by the Bell, in which case you should check out Saved by The Max--currently in LA). The $2 PBR drafts and $1 Old Style drafts Monday and Tuesday from 5 to 7 are unbeatable. I was a little caught off-guard by the fact that Fox News was on one of the TVs, but no one was waxing political; people were mostly just talking about "Old Men Rule" t-shirts and their dogs and their friends' dogs and dogs they've seen in dog parks with their dogs or their friends' dogs. But I'm guessing people talk about more than just dogs. I'll give a conversation topic update next time I come.

Been wanting to come here awhile but forget about the place because unless you walk by you wouldn't know it's there. Cool vibe, low key. Love the old decor. Took off a star bc drink selection is bare. However, I heard new owner took over so excited to go back.

If you're looking for a classic Chicago dive bar with lots of history, cheap beer, friendly bartenders, and interesting patrons... this is the place. Not many others like it. Highly recommend it!

This place was SO creepy. My friends and I decided to pop in for a drink before dinner... and let me tell you, we are group of open-minded people in our late twenties, not ones to be particularly judgmental, but let me just try to convey to you this brief, but unforgettable experience. We walked into this dark, gloomy bar and were overwhelmed with a scent like that of a gas station bathroom. At the bar sat three old men. One of whom lost his words and slowly, like a witch, performed a come hither motion with his finger while staring me dead in the eyes. One of his friends, who may have been born and bred deep in the Appalachian mountains, spouted exciting sounding words in his mountain language. The third man, sporting greasy chunks of matted hair, a couple of brown teeth, and the skin of a worn leather sack just smiled hugely at us. We left immediately. I bet they were really nice though.

They still have cheap beer. They moved the juke box. Still the best dive I've been to. Ever.

They always have a full roll of tp and a toilet which is something less than nasty. These are my two main criteria for a dive bar. The clientele is amazing, as well as the servers. It's tied for my preferred place to get drunk before/after cubs games, and sometimes in between.

Great "Old School" neighborhood mom & pop bar. Fun, cute, and attentive bartenders, great daily specials, and a nice mix of regulars and new faces. The place is spic and span clean and always a good time. And I especially get a kick out of the padlock on the toilet paper dispenser in the men's room - lmao... Only wish they would upgrade to a new digital jukebox as the current one is old, cumbersome, difficult to navigate and out of date. Highly recommended!!!

Yee Haw! They have both kinds of music here, Country and Western! Also, Busch and Old Style on tap. Does it get any better? A rather raucous crowd of lively and interesting locals. It is a mix of the spill off from Carol's Pub that either don't want to pay the cover charge at Carol's or are in the mood for Western if the band at Carol's is playing Country... A great little neighborhood dive in the little known about 'country' part of Chicago. Also one of the few bars left in the city that still has Old Style on tap. It is a certified 'tough' dive due to my first time in here a street hawker was trying to sell sweatshirts and some of the patrons ran him out screaming "Get out of here with your stolen sh*t!" I love this place and am so glad I live so close to it! Go Here!

There are plenty of dives in Chicago: good, bad; clean or sterile, dirty or disgusting--these states sometimes cultivated, even affected, and sometimes present through decades of casual, comfortable weather and wear--while some cater to specific crowds, geographic or demographic, and some posit a dive status quite obviously and entirely curated for maximum hipness. Max's is not like most dives in Chicago. Max's is like the hole-in-larger-hole Irish-styled pub off the main square in Indianola, Iowa, where a "dive" is just "the bar" and has none of the special cachet often attached to such establishments in our city.* None of this is, by any means, meant to disparage the Place: Max's is cool, and different, and seemingly of an endangered species in the ecology of Chicago dive-bars. It's also an eminently supportable venture: it's been owned and operated by the same family for more than thirty-five years, and the family boasts--with no pretensions, but with an eye towards civic mythology-- that they purchased their beautiful oaken bar from some haunt once owned and frequented by Al Capone. They'll tell you about the lean years, the temporal cross-sections of the neighborhood, the "family" (whether kith or kin) that has attached itself to the place over time, and they'll even tell you that you should just fork-over the additional fifty-cents for the shot of Knob Creek (100 proof), since their well-whiskey is Jack Daniels (80 proof) for $4.00 and they know they shouldn't be selling Knob for that cheap but their mother just doesn't want to change her prices. And if you're real nice, and it's real cold, you might even find yourself drinking a shot--care of the gracious and garrulous proprietress--on the house. * [Note: Here, and throughout, I intend as little colonial-esque fetishization of alterity as possible (which naturally doesn't mean I can escape it). Max's Place is a bit difficult to localize in pat and easy terms; it defies quick description even despite--and perhaps because of--the commonalities it has with a lot of places across the country (but not with a lot of places in this, or similar, cities). I hesitate to deploy the term "authenticity"--fraught and appropriated as it has become: a new-ish badge, belying a certain sort of benightedness, and nowadays so very threadbare--so I simply won't: as I said, Max's is cool and different and in the best sense makes one feel a bit like they've stepped through the wardrobe.]

Yelping is all about expectations right??? Well the previous reviews of this place are accurate by-and-large. A tight space bar with a variety of "type" of patron. Sneak in this dive if you are looking to have a drink and wath a little tv or even read a book. Max' has a neighborhood bar feel and what appeared to be several regulars. They were not busy so the service was prompt and friendly. I only stuck around for one drink, but this place would be an appropriate after work drop in. They don't serve food that I noticed but did have a few snacks for sale... In lieu of hot food, the snack pile could use some upgrading.

The fact that carols averages fewer stars than Max's speaks to expectations and the price of popularity. These places are both classics, and we've had good times

I visited this bar after thumbing through the slim and light "Chicago's Best Dive Bars." The author rated this bar as one of the most depressing, and the bar's exterior sign corroborates. It looks like a giant middle schooler nailed his doodled binder to the wall. Walk through the door on a Friday or Saturday night, though, and you might be shocked by a hearty and friendly welcome from the new (since January '08) bartender, Roger. If the heart of every bar is its bartender, then Max's Place received one of those special pig heart transplants that doesn't violently reject its host in an explosion of horror and... oinks. Roger is hands-down the friendliest bartender I've met in the city. He appeared legitimately happy to meet me, told me the names of the regulars at the bar, talked to me about life and jobs, and gave me a chip for a free beer since it was my first time there. Roger's infused new life into this bar, yes, but the depression in this place is still very palpable. $1.50 drafts, decor I'd classify as "rundown motel room (complete with clock radio!)," and plenty of those smelly, swaying patrons who only come out of their drunken daze to vocally answer questions that no one asked. It just wouldn't be a dive bar without those things. On the night I was there, Roger noticed that one particularly smelly, mumbling drunk was spending a little too long in the bathroom, and went to check on him. He found him out back, passed out in the alley. Roger steered him back into the bar and poured him a cup of water. Roger and I were both relieved to find out that he wasn't drunk at all, just "tired." If you've been before or have yet to go, I'd give the place a try. I can't make the promise that Roger will retrieve your drooling body from the alleyway, but I give you pretty good odds that he will.

Great family owned, neighborhood place! Come chat with Cindy or Tina. Very friendly ladies with great stories to share.

Delivered 50 cases of Busch cans a week back in the late '80's and early '90's. Max was always the friendliest owner I had on my route. Great customers, smelled like hell, but back then you could smoke in bars. Going there again to meet old customers on 6/May/17 on my way to see the Cubs and Yankees. Maxine, the best.

One of the best dive bars I've ever been to. Great deals, clean, friendly staff, good music. Absolutely by far the best place to go to have a drink!

It's hard to believe places like this still exist. I stopped in late one Friday night, because I had locked myself out of the house. I used to live around the corner from this joint. It's about a half block south of Carols Pub (a real armpit of a bar that somehow has become popular with hipsters and yuppies) go figure. Max's however, is not popular. It's dark, dingy, smelly and mainly frequented by Townies. People come here to get away from mainstream society. It truly is, a different world. You can get smashed here for about $15 bucks, including tip. I highly recommend it, if you're depressed and want to continue the cycle of depression. The perfect place to go after you just got dumped or your wife told you she was seeing someone else. If you're in a really good mood and wanna have a great time... go somewhere else. If you want to forget about the past and not think about the future...go to Max's.

Charismatic dive bar located in just the right spot to stop you having to go to Carol's. The beer is possibly too cheap. The bar tenders are always friendly and cheerful. When I last visited, Friday at 8pm, the bar tender shouted at all the locals to "wake up!". Some of them did indeed wake up for a moment, and the rest of us giggled quietly. It's a relaxing, homey place to drink cheap beer. Just like a dive bar should be.

After living near this place for over a year and a half, I finally wandered in just to check it out, and it's definitely become my favorite bar in the area. I dislike Carol's, and Nick's on Wilson is a bit too far to walk if I just want to get out of the house in the winter. However, Max's is perfect. You walk in, the beer's cheap, and everyone's friendly. There's one of those video touch-screen game machines at the bar, which is a nice touch if you're bored. But really, if you strike up a conversation with the people next to you, that won't be a problem. It's a good crowd, and certainly my favorite place to go in this neighborhood.

you want dive? you want blue collar? you want to hang with the big boys and be called 'baby' by the big girls? that's right, this is a real dive. beer on one side, stools on the other, and a bar in between. be prepared to hear a few of chicago's common languages and rub shoulders with chicago's common people. buy a round for your new buddies for the cost of the exact same beer at a regular bar.

It was a lot better before people started pumping money into the jukebox. After that everyone started yelling at each other in Spanish and getting roughty. The beer was super cheap. Would not accept a credit card.

Awesome neighborhood bar with super friendly bartenders and cheap beer. Great place to start and/or end your night.

This is just an amazing dive. Love the decor, def a place to get drunk with your friends. The jukebox always has different things coming through it and everyone is always nice. A bit cramped but usually you can find a spot at the bar. No PBR at all but it's really no bother. Beers are cheap and that's about all I got. 5 star dive.

This place was a ton of fun. The drinks were cheap, the bar was almost empty and there were decent choices on the juke box. The atmosphere was nice and divey complete with a man asleep at the bar.

Great dive bar! Thoroughly enjoyed talking with the owner. Great juke box and good patronage!

this hole in the wall seems to have the resilience and longevity of a T-300 battle chasis terminator, and has been around for a considerably long ass time. I know because I grew up on the street just a block away. It's the equivalent of Moe's Tavern, you get what you came for which is cheap liquid spirits and some intriguing characters, juke box action, and well there's always something going down on Clark Street.

I live in the neighborhood and am so happy I found this bar. The staff is great, especially Cindy the manager, and the drinks are cheap. They have free Wi-Fi for customers and accept debit cards now as well.

greatest bar ever . good to see are home town bar with people friends and family been gone for years and come in yesterday and feels like home ....miss u all thank u . nice clean great fun .....sfd jimmy bennett ...

This place is a great place to have a great cold oldstyle.i mostly go on the weekends its layed back.great music.all types country rock r&b jazz motown.also the staff is great always walk out enjoying my time

This could possibly be the best dive bar ever! Thank you to the cool bartenders for not only tolerating our drunk asses but also taking pics for us!

This bar is terribly awesome. You wander right into the 1970's and last time I was hear I was hit on by a toothless chicken hawk who bought us round after round calling us all "Happy Ladshhh." I left feeling cheap, dirty, and drunk on a weeknight. I'm not going to knock off any stars for this since I understand the bar can't choose who drinks it. Skip Carol's up the street, which pretends to be dingy and creepy. This place is the real deal and bring a couple dollars because this place hasn't seen inflation since 1985.