Aviary

Chicago


The Aviary is a James Beard Award winner for best cocktails in the nation. The ethereal drinks are like nothing you've laid lips on before. Some arrive with Bunsen burners, others with a slingshot you use to break the ice. They taste terrific, whatever the science involved. It's wise to make reservations online. Drinks range between $21 and $29 each.

Various tasting menus let you sample the wares; some come with avant-garde, small-plate food pairings. The man behind the scene is Grant Achatz. Aviary sits beside his hot restaurant Next, though the bar is more in spirit (pun!) with his Lincoln Park restaurant, Alinea. Note the bar's entrance is actually on Morgan St.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Chicago attractions

1. Mars Gallery

0.22 MILES

This pop-art gallery is pure fun, from the colorful, cartoony prints and paintings to the building's offbeat history (it was an egg factory and then a…

2. Kavi Gupta Gallery

0.29 MILES

Gupta represents contemporary, mid-career artists who work in various mediums, including painting, sculpture, collage and film. Intriguing new exhibitions…

3. Carrie Secrist Gallery

0.29 MILES

Secrist's contemporary gallery has been around for more than a quarter century. The big, open space hosts about six different exhibitions per year, both…

4. Haymarket Square

0.43 MILES

The odd bronze statue of guys on a wagon marks the spot where the world’s labor movement began. So the next time you take a lunch break or go home after…

5. Mary Bartelme Park

0.49 MILES

The neighborhood's stroller-pushing families and dog-walking hipsters get their exercise in Mary Bartelme Park. Five off-kilter stainless-steel arches…

6. Batcolumn

0.56 MILES

Artist Claes Oldenburg – known for his gigantic shuttlecocks in Kansas City and oversized cherry spoon in Minneapolis – delivered this 96ft, baseball-bat…

8. Old St Patrick’s Church

0.64 MILES

A Chicago fire survivor, this 1852 church is one of the city’s oldest. Old St Pat’s is best known for its World’s Largest Block Party, a weekend bash in…