Blue Frog Bar & Grill

It breaks my heart giving this rating because as a bar itself, this place is awesome. Like AWESOME. It’s a block away from my office and I’ve been there basically every day this week before they are closing.
Amazing karaōke, pretty good beer and a great dive that we know and love.
The problem is that I’ve been in literally 4 – 5 times in the last week alone with the owners, and well, there not that nice. There not mean, by all means, but they didn’t smile at me, or give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. I was alone with them for an hour plus a day, and they didn’t attempt conversation or try to make my experience positive.
I thought that it would be nice to get to have a good experience with the owners before they closed. They had already mentally checked out.

A cool dive bar north of the loop. They have weekly specials. If you’re for a diverse crowd, keep looking. It’s very vanilla, but they’re cool & they love karaōke!

Thank goodness this hole in the wall is closing. I was just there for a friends birthday and the bouncer decided to throw me out bc I was consolidating the trash aka doing his job.
I have been to this place before. It is a Chicago staple with so much history and fun. It’s unfortunate a bouncer has to ruin the atmosphere.
The owner of blue frog is a real Chicagoan and understands how we do things. This will not tarnish the blue frog reputation in the city of Chicago but when employed individuals don’t understand the legacy of Blue Frog and let their emotions control their decision making and the way they talk to customers. That hurts the blue frog name.
Nothing but love for blue frog. Just disappointed.

Was in town last August for Toronto/​White Sox series. Nice little spot.
Some great Ballads, and a good selection of beer. We had spent the afternoon at the Navy Pier watching the air show and getting tuned. Then we went to the Ball game at 7. Had beers at the hotel bar until midnight, and then cabbed it over. You probably could have poured us out of a wheelbarrow and into the bar.
Great staff, very patient. I slipped on a spilt beer and fell (didnt spill my beer), bouncer helped me up and didnt give me the boot.
15 mins later, my buddy and I exchanged an overzealous ‘cheers’ and we smashed two pint glasses, beer everywhere.
Bouncer laughed, bartender gave us two new ones.
It was about 3am by this point, and I asked the tendee ‘what do you have to do to get kicked out of this place?’
«shoot someone» was his reply.
All in all a good way to end the evening, even if you’re 20 beers deep.
4am last call is a foul temptress.
Will go back, when in Chitown next.

I have visited the Blue Frog Bar and Grill a few times, I plan on telling you about my latest visit there.
You can never go wrong with drunk fist pumpers and karaōke right? Well this past weekend at a dive bar by the name of Blue Frog Bar and Grill I wanted to see for myself if this statement was at all true. I had been there once before and I knew I’d enjoy myself this time around, but boy was I wrong!
I had previously gone here and I raved on about how great the bar was which it is, but the group of patrons who were there this time around was the reason I disliked my visit. Originally I had a blast! I sung a few songs, got a few drinks, and overall had an amazing time. I heard about how great the food was but unfortunately I had gotten there too late, so I never had the chance to taste anything. This time around I felt as though I was singled out. I went with my boyfriend, he kept buying the same liquor but was quoted several different prices, how is that right? After that initial blow we stood by the door for two hours, and it was crowded like before. I had went on a Friday but 9pm this time instead of 11pm on my previous visit.
After standing up for hours we finally got two seats. At one point I got up to use the bathroom, after getting passed the overcrowded drunk men standing outside the door. I walked in to the door and I see one stall with a curtain for a door, and three women waiting on it checking themselves out in the mirror. The space was so little and the men were right outside the door so it was SO uncomfortable. Needless to say, I held it until I got home.
Let’s not forget to mention while standing up I got groped on, liquor poured on me, men falling into me, and also a few racial remarks. Some guy asked me «Why are you guys here? How did you even hear about this bar? I’ve never seen *N words* here!» That in itself should’ve warranted me to leave but I didn’t. At 12 some drunk guy came fist pumping almost punching me in the head so I knew that was indeed my cue to go! While waiting for my Lyft I seen 3 women fall down the stairs and the security watch laughing and finally at almost 1AM the woman called my name for the Karaōke I requested at 9pm!
If I were to do this again which I will, I’ll choose to go on a different day. I had an amazing time my first visit the second one around was just a bummer for me. It truly makes me not want to tell anyone about it but I know it wasn’t the bar itself, more so the drunken customers. I hope this gave you a little insight on my experience at the famous Blue Frog Bar and Grill

Pretty awesome karaōke bar. Drinks were very reasonable with price and, despite being pretty busy, the bar service was quick. I went on a Saturday and it sure does fill up fast — get there early!

Came here last night and had an awesome time. I have never been to a karaōke bar that had such a supportive crowd. Everyone was loud, drunk (but not obnoxiously so), and just generally having a great time. High fives were generously doled out to all performers, regardless of choice of song or singing ability. Also, at least last night, the crowd was pretty diverse, crossing age, gender, SES. pretty cool to see.
Drinks are cheap (I think? New York prices really do mess up my perception of what is a reasonable cost for alcohol) Décor is divey-​esque, though generally clean. This place gets crowded quick so the likelihood of finding a seat is not great if you come with a large group and/​or get there past 10ish.
My one mild complaint for this place is that the lyrics were surprisingly off for a good number of songs. I sang Creep, and only realized at the end (due to the polite comments from some of the other people there) that I had been reading «I’m a widow» instead of «I’m a weirdo,» for the whole song. Embarrassing!
But not a big deal and I think most people who were not me, compensated for the off lyrics rather easily.
That being said, great place for silly and fun public karaōke if you’re in Chicago.

Cheap PBR, a weird entrance across a parking lot, shower curtain as the bathroom stall door, and karaōke? Yup, Blue Frog, you delivered all of that and hours of fun.
This is a great karaōke spot on Saturdays and you actually get a few times up at the mic if you are into singing awkwardly in public like I am. The karaōke host does a really good job going through the list to try and make sure people get a chance to sing and the song book selection is quite diverse too. There are definitely your set of regulars here for karaōke too which is something I appreciate, but then our table sort of felt like the odd ones out at times for sure since we weren’t in the blue frog karaōke veteran’s crowd ha ha
Mixed drinks are strong, PBR is cheap, and the bar tender actually handles the growing crowd here decently too. At one point in the night like all bars really, the crowd begins to shift to a younger crowd closer to the 21 year old threshold, but by that time if you aren’t 21, just get some more drinks which the karaōke host endorses as the best way to karaōke and you too can feel like you are 21 again!

This place is awesome! It’s the type of small divey, feel-​good karaōke joint where no one cares how good a singer you are (official rule: no booing). It’s a diverse crowd — locals, conventioneers, savvy tourists, young and old — all there to have a good time and always finding success. You’ll want to show up on the early side on Friday and Saturday nights if you want to get up front to sing. Drink prices are good, and they are great for that area. If you enjoy karaōke and don’t take yourself too seriously, you can’t go wrong with Blue Frog.

I’ve walked past this unassuming bar dozens of times in Chicago and now I’m sad on all of the fun nights I’ve surely missed out on. Sure you can head down to Hubbard to dance at any of fun clubs, but don’t you ever just want to scream karaōke with a room full of drunks drinking really cheap (by Chicago standards) beer.
This place is a dump but such a great time! This is one of those bars where everyone will sing along while you belt out that 90s hit. Don’t be that person that brings everyone down with a super sad slow jam! This place gets packed and there is usually a line waiting so get here early and stay awhile!

I think this place is great! It’s a dive bar so if you manage your expectations, you’ll have a great time! You need to show up early if you want any hope of singing your song, unless you plan on spending your whole evening there, which is exactly what my friends I did a couple Thursdays ago.
The karaōke host made it a safe zone to sing in by saying everyone cheers for everyone. She also pointed out that no one should be expecting their big break by singing karaōke in a bar that uses shower curtains in their bathrooms. True point.
Overall, just a really fun environment. Reasonably priced drinks with decent bar service even when it’s packed.

Went there for late night Karaōke. On positive side, bouncer told us that it was probably too late to get a song in. The negatives? Very hostile staff at «last call». They took our $ for a round of drinks, served us, and then said we need to drink up immediately. As a former bartender myself, I get that staff want to get everyone out at closing. But it is inexcusable to take customers $ for a final round and then demand they leave immediately. And there is a nice way of pointing people to the door. Stay away from this place.

I’m a huge fan of dive bars, and even more so a fan of karaōke. Put those two together and voila! You get a super fun, karaōke dive bar in the heart of fancy pants River North. This place is kind of tucked away in the basement of another building, but it’s worth the effort to get here. I had a great time with a group of friends 4^th of July weekend and would definitely be back.

Within the past 6 months, Jarvis (cook), Lee (server) and Cliff (bartender) are gone.
The Frog used to have good food, good service and a good cook. Today three of my colleagues waited over an hour for our food to be served.
Two gentlemen who arrived after us waited for some time and then requested their orders be packaged because they could not wait any longer.
The service was terrible; the Frog obviously needs two servers during lunch hour.
The stoic bartender lacked Cliff’s personality and quick service.
Owner, Mimi — if you’re reading this Unilocal review, you’ve got to act. The portions are so much smaller, the food lacks quality, and the atmosphere is nothing without your former lunch time staff.
After Lee, Jarvis and Cliff left, my colleagues and I gave the Frog three more chances. WE ALL AGREED: NEVER AGAIN.
Mimi, if your husband John made changes in your restaurants, you may want to take charge. Something has definitely gone awry.

Decided to try this place out for my birthday last Saturday night, Mar 29. I love karaōke and I love dive bars and it had some great reviews. It was a Saturday night and, as posted on their website, they are supposed to have karaōke. When we showed up, they informed us that due to a «scheduling conflict» there wouldn’t be karaōke that night. When I asked the bartender to explain what he meant by «scheduling conflict» since they supposedly have karaōke every night of the week, he said «let’s just stick to ‘scheduling conflict’». We had easily 20 people we brought with us and had to awkwardly explain to the group what was going on. Everyone gave me the same confused face I gave the bartender.
We proceeded to try and make the best of it and ordered drinks. However, when one of my friends tried to order a mixed drink, the bartender once again was rude and said «What do you think I am… a mixologist? We serve beer here.»
The bartenders continued to glare at our group of 20 people which had easily doubled the number of guests in the bar that night and you’d think they’d be happy for the business. We weren’t being rude or obnoxious. We eventually left. There’s dive bars and then there are just s%#@ bars. Sadly, this is the latter. Also, you should inform the public if there is a «scheduling conflict» and having a Facebook page that hasn’t been updated until Jan doesn’t help with that.
Thanks for screwing up my birthday.

Hands down best Karaōke joint ever. The crowd participation was awesome and the drink prices we great.
Staff was fun and flirty and made for a fun Saturday night.

My friend had this place cater wings to her company party, and couldn’t stop raving about them. Last night we were in the area and decided to pop in and order some food to go. Here are the highlights:
— THE FOOD. Definition of «nom». The wings were perfect, bar bites are perfect, basically the food is exactly what you’d want from a dive bar. And best of all, it’s GREAT value! 10+ wings for $ 6? Please and thank you.
–THE DRINKS. Although we didn’t order any drinks (as I mentioned we ordered to go), I was impressed by the selection of beers and spirits they had. Duvel in a dive bar? Sold. And again, their specials they had listed on the board were cheap! $ 2 shots, $ 3 tall boy PBRs… which granted, is a PBR, but hey. Just 3 little dollhairs. Sure why not.
–THE DECOR. Remember, this is a dive bar — so it is not fancy in the least, but this is part of its charm. The women’s bathroom was my favorite part… old cut out newspaper articles/​ads from the 30s and 40s, etc. The spray painted artwork above the potty that says «Your Throne Awaits…» I mean basically this place is hilarious and perfect.
The bartender was a sweetheart, food was delicious and fairly priced, and atmosphere is dive bar perfection. We will be back — probably for karaōke!

I can’t give a 5-​star without having tasted the food… my bad.
The Blue Frog, though, is a 5-​star dive bar. Cliff is a super-​friendly bartender who made us feel like family on our first visit. Everybody in the place was very warm and chatty. The beer selection is good enough and I did, indeed enjoy the Green Line very much.
To Cliff and the gang… thanks for the great time, what a fun bunch of folks. You are the pride of Chicago. I miss you already.

A fun underground (literally) karaōke dive bar populated with generally friendly people and the most goofy, witty bartenders you’ll likely ever find. The prices age great too.
So why 2 stars instead of 4 or 5? The bouncers. Or rather one in particular. Inside the bar, my friend made a comment to me about a rude patron. The bouncer somehow heard the comment, left her post at the door, stormed over to my friend, started swearing at him and demand he apologize or face expulsion.
Is that how you want to spend your Saturday? Being threatened by a bouncer for your personal opinions? I don’t.

I came here randomly after meeting a girl at the Millenium Park concert series on a Wednesday night. We started talking about karaōke, and she was a huge fan as am I. Since I was only in Chicago for a short time, I had no idea where to go, but thanks to Unilocal!I quickly found this place. It is a classic dive bar, which from the outside looks like an outhouse, but it was so much fun. Everyone was really into the singing and the drinks were decently priced. This is a great atmosphere to belt a few tunes and let it all out. I’ll come back when I’m in town again.

Last night, me & two friends took over this crazy dive bar as there was a personal party going on for the Ford Modeling Agency.
Me and my friends were already buzzed before we got there so we knew it would be a good time
Beer, vodka shots and karaōke took place here last night! I even did a personal shout out to MCA of the Beastie Boys by doing «Paul Revere»
We had a good time to make a long story short!