Bar: Nilda’s Place
Address: 1858 Iowa St, Chicago, IL 60622
Score: 8.6/10
Located in the Ukrainian Village in Chicago, IL lies one of the most beloved bars in the city. Seriously, when I was asking locals and my Instagram followers which bars I have missed, Nilda’s came up time and time again. I have had this bar on my radar for all of 2 years and finally was able to bask in its glory in person. The hype behind this bar was real, people were saying it would easily crack my top 5, but in all honesty I thought the bar was just fine. Look, the rating says it all, 8.6 is a killer score, but it just did not meet my expectations. Maybe it was not my style. It just seemed to lack that wow factor that I get at some of my higher scored bars.
Now that I was able to preface my rationale for the rating, let’s jump into the review. The outside of the bar is an absolute show stopper. The green awning absolutely lights up the street along with the unofficial Chicago flag (Old Style sign). The door was great as well as it had a small brown sign above it that simply stated, “sorry cash only”. At this point the energy was building up and I was excited to swing the door open. To my surprise, I was the only one in the bar. I guess the bar is known for having hours that consist of “whenever the owner wants to be open” which I actually don’t mind, but it makes it hard to capture a consistent clientele.
The inside of the bar was not what I was expecting. The bar stools all matched, but were a funky pattern, almost reminded me of something you’d see at a restaurant. The other seating consisted of a small metal 2-person table and a couch with the cushions flipped upside down. This was actually quite funny to me. I enjoy seeing something different, and damn this was for sure different. The ceilings had a ton of Puerto Rican flags, paying homage to the owner of the bar, this was a neat touch. The bar also had some strobe lights in one of the corners that made you think about your favorite college bar. The bar also featured a pool table in the back, but overall there was limited seating/space in this bar. The star of the show was by far the Chihuahua that was chilling in the bar. The dog caught me off guard, noticed it as I was checking out the back area by the pool table.
Nilda’s is definitely a unique dive bar in the city. A respectable dive bar, but just not for me, and that is absolutely fine. I am not the only one with an option, so before you go throwing stones, this bar still got a great rating, it just is not in the elite tier.
Price: $5 for a Miller can, unfortunately this has become standard in the city.
Decor: Made no sense. We had what appeared to be some patio furniture followed by a couch and everything in between.
Service: Great service, was not all too busy.
Atmosphere: Went on a Friday night, honestly it was pretty quiet.
High Life Bottle?: Honestly, not sure.
Bonus Points: Cash Only