Lauren J.
Yelp
I loved Highball Lounge (which was in this location previously) and the Kimpton Gray bar in Chicago (Vol. 39), so when I heard that Kimpton Nine Zero was getting rid of Highball in favor of a new bar, I was both disappointed and excited.
I've been to Better Sorts Social Club 3 times now. It's fine. Highball was better (vibe and on-menu drinks). The first time I went to Better Sorts was opening night. The vibe of the bartenders was super friendly and while a few things were being fixed/settled, it wasn't hectic in there at all (with it being night one). While I was drinking my $14 Mr. Bali Hai (Bacardi Superior, Plantation Original Dark Rum, Kahlua, Pineapple, Lemon), I asked the bartender if I might be able to talk to the manager about hosting a get together there the following week. I watched the bartender walk over to the manager to ask. He was NOT interested in chatting with me and the bartender said I should email him. WTF? I would have understood more if he was running around, chatting with people, checking on tables, fixing things for opening night or whatever, but he was just standing there. Not talking to me. About me bringing 20 people in there to spend money. F that. I had my birthday drinks at Highball in 2017 (I think it's the same manager I worked with then) and brought in 25 people to drink and eat. And now that I think about it, I tried to have my 2018 birthday party at Highball and got no response back from them when I emailed (granted, it was 2 weeks before they closed, but still - they were open for business and unresponsive). All in all - not happy with how management handled that. I ended up having both events at Carrie Nation.
Back on topic - My Mr. Bali Hai was good, but not great. The flavors were there, but it's like it wasn't quite right. I had the one drink and left. My 2nd time there, I met a friend after work for a drink. We sat at the bar and received good service. My friend got the Colony Cocktail (Fords Gin, Luxardo Maraschino, Grapefruit) which sounded great on paper, but we agreed it was just ok. I went off-menu with an Aviation and it was made to perfection.
The 3rd time I went, I brought 3 friends with me after Yvonne's was too packed. We each had 1 cocktail and called it a night. It was nice that we could walk in with no reservation and sit in comfortable over stuffed armchairs. Everyone thought that the on-menu drinks were inventive, but not something they would order again. I went with my tried and true Aviation and was very happy with it once again.
All in all - they know how to make drinks there. I'm just not interested in their menu of cocktails. I don't want kale, seaweed or pasta water in my drink, so that makes it a bit hard to order. Even the "basic" rum and gin menu cocktails were meh. I would go back for the atmosphere, friendly bartenders and good "staple" cocktails (they probably make a mean Old Fashioned). I don't think I would try to book another party there. Carrie Nation is much more accommodating for groups and Yvonne's has better on-menu cocktails. I'm sure I'll be back at some point, but it's not my first choice in the area.