Cobra Lounge

 

Just a block or so from the L, this place is attached to/combined with the Cobra Lounge, a music venue I am not familiar with, but one with a pretty boss name. The bar area is a relatively small, slightly cramped space near the door to the street (though I will admit that I didn't do any exploring into the music area or what was beyond the other doorway, so, as far as I know, there is plenty of space elsewhere), the décor reminding me of a somewhat bland Italian restaurant, the usual dark woods replaced by Dietz family grays and whatnot. The place was a little busy at the time, but nothing too terrible. The range was somewhat limited in number of taps, but each had a different style, which is always nice to see. The ESB was my go-to and it did not let me down. Due to the crowd - and, I think, a shift change - I didn't have too much interaction with the bartenders, but what little there was was fine. Pricing is on the shorter side of high-ish (which means ever-so-slightly higher than nearby, not sure why I didn't just go with that), and I didn't try any food during my brief sojourn. Overall, not really my kind o' place, as it feels as though the brewing operation is secondary to anything and everything else going on there, but I would not warn people away by any means.

 

 

Interesting decor, unique lighting and a cool Van Gogh print of a smoking skeleton. Live music in the back. Metal bar with an edgy cliquish crowd and middling beer selection. It felt like the redheaded stepchild of Reggie's and Delilah's.

The brewer was formerly at Moonshine, a forgettable short-lived brewpub on Division in the mid-00's. Very average beers here, not much to see in the scheme of things. A decent range of styles, but nothing stood out. Four tasters were $10, I tried a raspberry berliner, porter, bitter, and a collaboration saison with On Tour, which was probably the best beer.

Service was kind of lame. The music wasn't loud and I was basically shouting at the bartender who may have actually been deaf. Guy was about as helpful as a bag of hammers, but he had cool dreads and a kvlt battle jacket.

I'd return if there was a decent show, but would never go out of the way to try the beer. If you're trying to visit newer breweries in town, this one is very skippable.

9/19/18: Went during a slow weekday afternoon for a couple of beers while hitting a few breweries in the neighborhood. The bar area is large, has a back room and also an area for outside summer seating. The Chicago house music mix was very chill on a summer afternoon. Bartender was very friendly and liked discussing the brews and slight changes since a new brewer recently took over. They have large signs with good descriptions of each of their brewed offerings. I came for two after scouting their website before arriving, but unfortunately they were out of one of the two I came to try. The beer was good, the service very good. I did not try the food as I arrived mid afternoon. Overall a good experience, and I would definitely stop in again to try more of their offerings.

 

 

 

 

 

The Cobra Lounge/All Rise was an interesting place at an interesting location. On a busy street near the United Center makes it somewhat tough to get to. The place looks more like a strip club from outside and its not really tied in with a neighborhood. The inside was very dark with red lighting....Grateful Dead like posters illuminated with black light. The beer quality top to bottom was good. The girl that was serving us at the bar had a personality of a door mat...not very friendly. The selection of beer was great had 11 beers to offer. Didn't try any food to comment.

Best waitress ever -- passionate about the beer and food and making sure we were taken care off. Appreciated the variety of beer, well executed. Menu had some good veggie options, not so well executed. Nice that there were two rooms but main bar way too dark and having giant tv of cage fighting watching men beat each other into brain damage was a total buzz kill. Not good beer vibe. Owner didn't give a crap (waitress asked if they could change the channel) -- next time he wants to watch tv and not care about his customers, I suggest he stay home. Popcorn wasn't good but a great touch.