The Bedford

American restaurant · Wicker Park

The Bedford

American restaurant · Wicker Park

1612 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622

Highlights

Nestled in a retrofitted 1920s bank, this chic lounge boasts cocktail perfection in a stunning vault setting, with a vibe that's effortlessly cool.

1612 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622 Get directions

bedfordchicago.com

$$$ · Menu

@eater

"In November 2020, police broke up a 300-person party at the Bedford, where participants ignored the city's Thanksgiving advisory." - Naomi Waxman

Chicago’s Bars Are Open but Illegal Parties Are Still Cropping Up Around Town - Eater Chicago

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@eater

"The Bedford, a former restaurant and club that’s been closed since 2017, hosted an illegal pandemic party. The venue is a converted bank space where designers left the safety deposit boxes and safe doors intact for ambiance. The city issued multiple citations and cease-and-desist orders for violations including overcapacity, no masks, and lack of business licenses, ultimately ordering the space closed for hazardous conditions." - Ashok Selvam

Chicago Restaurant Space Used for 300-Person Pandemic Party - Eater Chicago

View Postcard for The Bedford

Gabriela Nubling

Google

This place is something else, love the decoration! The safer area is really cool! Like all the drinks that I tried and our waitress was super sweet! They don't have a great food menu so I don't recommend for eating!

Alexandra Hazen

Google

Awesome place! I really enjoyed the ambience and interesting that this place used to be a bank. Where else can you sip cocktails while in an old vault? The cocktails are good too. I had the "dark & stormy" and the "airmail" cocktails. The bar tender was also really nice. This is definitely a place I would like to come back to. Perfect place to bring a date. Dress code is dressy.

Hugh Allspaugh

Google

Great space. Feels like a speakeasy and the vault is very cool. Nice atmosphere and the Chardonnay was superb. Food was good to very good but not amazing and portions were small. Staff was really friendly. I will go back but not for dinner (we went early on a Friday night). This place must be jamming later. It feels like a great spot for drinking and laughing after 10:00. Had no idea it was there. A hidden gem for sure.

Ian Adams

Google

So to start with, The Bedford is in an old bank...and they still have the vault and huge vault doors. Good cocktails and a really cool vault in which to drink them. The fun part is finding the open safety deposit boxes and all the notes people have dropped in them - some funny, some inspirational, some love notes. It's also nice that there is basically no cell phone reception and so you have to, you know, talk to people. I've never had the food but it didn't look nearly as inspired as the drinks or make me want to not sit in the vault and enjoy a cocktail.

Aaron Melamed

Google

The space here is pretty amazing. They have a bank vault. A mother f****** bank vault. And you can drink in it. The rest of the place works well with the whole "used to be a bank" theme. The atmosphere is very nice and classy. I have never tried the food but the drinks are pretty good but a little on the pricey side. There is some space to dance but not a lot of it which was kind of a bummer since the DJ playing that night was really good.

Nathan Davie

Google

Went on a Groupon and wasn't expecting it to be amazing. We were pleasantly surprised, the ambiance is very cool, in an old bank vault. The food was fantastic, they had $1 oysters and half price on all their champagne on the night we were there, great deal. The dinner itself was perfect, the scallops being the highlight of the meal.

Laura Castallante

Google

Had a company event here in the vault. So very cool! You are literally in the vault of the bank with an actual vault door (open of course) to walk through and hundreds of safe deposit boxes on the wall. Appetizers were tasty and staff was friendly. It's easy to miss the building, it's on the corner and had only a small black awning to mark the front door. Definitely worth finding, though!

Daniel Craemer

Google

Woah! This place is awesome! Located in the basement of an old bank, you can sit inside the vault with all of the safety deposit boxes still lining the walls. Super comfortable and intimate environment. Great drinks for the price too. A must visit for a cool 'speak easy' bar.