The Closet

The bouncer and staff here physically beat and knocked a guy unconscious, causing sever injuries and potential brain damage; Yet, this bar has still NOT addressed this issue nor followed up with the person who was physically assaulted.. After seeing all the other negative reviews for this place, Im surprised this chaotic behavior has allowed this place to remain open as well as why this place is still open and has the support of EastLakeview business when its obviously not a space safe for our community. Shame.

Don’t go. Nasty bartender. Girl was laying on my shoulder and bartender rudely pointed at her and kicked us out for “sleeping”. Bad place, door man even apologized on the way out for her behavior. Lots of other good options in Boys Town, spend your money elsewhere.

Strange to call yourself the best gay bar in Chicago when your employees feel okay with beating someone up for no reason. Leaving your customers bloody with lacerations and stitches is never ok.

Not a safe place. My friend got beaten up by the bouncer and had to get stitches. DO NOT recommend. Plus one of the bartenders has herpes

Looking for a good time? Come to the closet- where you get verbally abused and physically assaulted by staff. Choking and having your face bashed into the ground sounds like a good time to me! Trash.

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! GO TO SCARLET A FEW BLOCKS AWAY!! This is 100% the WORST bar I’ve ever been in. The vibes are dark and depressing. The bartender is a ZERO hates their life and oozes negativity! I had to sage EVERYTHING after I left this place. Will never return or even come close to this place!!!!!! The bartenders will steal from you if you’re not paying attention!!!

Great music and service. Try the Ketel One bloody Mary with a beer back.

Not a safe space for LGBTQ patrons. Bouncers are very aggressive and have hurt individuals recently during pride weekend no less.

Abusive and violent staff. Crappy drinks. Not worth it. They need new management.

My go-to for a drink and chat in the neighborhood. Generally a chill sapphic vibe, lightly enforced by stern bartending. If you provide a tip and don’t ask for bud light it should be ok. Fun music. No issues as a trans person. Probably the least-obnoxious queer bar in the neighborhood. I have not attended later than midnight, so no idea what it’s like then.

The door guy took one look at my face and didn’t even let me speak before he said “you’re too drunk, get out of my door” even though I’d literally had four light beers in five hours. Confusing and upsetting. He was such a jerk. He almost let my friend in then realized she was in our group then said “oh you’re with them? Too drunk, get out”. Made no sense, we were not obnoxious or rude in any way—like I said, we hardly even got to speak. then he let a group of like 7 equally as chill people in after us. This was the worst bar experience I’ve ever had in Chicago and made my out of town friends think Chicago gay bars are awful. Do not come here.

Vibe is nice. Chill place to grab a drink.

FIRE THE BOUNCER WHO BEATS UP CUSTOMERS AT RANDOM.. THIS IS NOT A “SAFE SPACE”

I read about how rude the bartenders here were, so I was apprehensive about going. Still, we found ourselves in the area one night, so we thought wed check it out.There is a lady bartender here that is EXTREMELY rude. Like if you didnt do exactly what she wanted you to do, she would yell at you despite your best attempt to be polite. It really put me off of this bar. I met some cool people here and otherwise enjoyed my visit, but the bartender ruined it.If you are visiting from out of town, do NOT go here. This bar will give you a bad impression of Chicago. Instead go to a place on Halsted or in Andersonville, or go to Berlin. You dont deserve to be treated as poorly as the bartender here will treat you.

Came here while bar hopping with friends. This place is open later than some of the other nearby bars so we were able to easily walk over when some other spots had closed. The place seemed to be full of regulars. Everyone was really nice and there was good music.

Come on a Thursday! Natasha curates a great dance playlist but the vibe is chill sit down or play darts. She is a great bartender and TJ is a sweet door guy, he will take a shot w you

What a terribly disappointing experience. Friends and I were really excited to give this place a try after walking past it dozens of times, stopped in the first time and last time. We walked in with a group of 6, 3 of us had to use the restroom, when we came back we were berated by the bartender. Apparently there was a sign posted only one person allowed in the bathroom at a time, its a dark bar we of course didnt see it posted. Instead of letting us know, again first time ever at the bar, the bar tender wouldnt hear an apology and didnt serve us half our order. We were really looking forward to a good experience but with the attitude we received from behind the bar theres no chance well ever visit again.

Hadnt read any of the reviews until now, but they are spot-on, and dating 5+ years back! (Crazy to me that none of these issues have been rectified by management/ownership). The female bartender/bouncer aggressively repeated to put a mask on to enter, impatiently waiting while putting my vaccine/license away. Then come to find out no one is wearing masks inside. Bartender works the guests by himself, completely ignoring me (female) and turns away my $5 tip for tap water, and instead charges me $10 for bottled water, while walking away as Im saying I only wanted tap. Yet he was overly friendly and attentive to the male guests. What is the thought process here? Make the experiences so uncomfortable that only certain clientele come back? Very disappointing.

I am very disappointed with this bar. I have walked past it many times and have been excited to go. Today I finally went and right when I walked in, I was immediately yelled at and waved at by the bartender to go away from the bar. My server seated us very nicely and served us drinks but when my boyfriend went to the bar to try and pay the Bill he was rudely waved away again. I was very underwhelmed by this bar as I expected way nicer service! I felt like I was not wanted any place near anyone and I was just being served since I was at the bar. In such a hard pandemic I would have hoped the mood would be more happy.

Visit was horrible. Customer service was horrible especially the person at the bar who refused to give her name but was a female with short hair. I will never go again and will post video of bouncer not treating customers with respect. Date of Visit was 2am on 10/27.

Has always been my favorite watering hole.You can’t go wrong here. Clientele is very friendly. Everyone will stop and make a point of talking to you. Bartenders are just as friendly and fabulous. I’ve been going here since I came out. I’ve never stop coming here because I love it so much. Make a point to stop in here. It won’t disappoint! Enjoy

Honestly this bar is horrible. The staff are always rude. They chastise other customers, Ive seen it happen multiple times and even to me for no reason. You pay for your drinks throughout the night, then when you ask for a glass of water, you know - tap water, they tell you you have to buy water. Im just floored at how poor their basic customer service skills are. Theyve lost my friends ID. Horrible, everytime. Dont go, go to Charlies or Hydrate.

Dont go here. Kicked out our entire group for walking in. Bouncer was so rude and hit one of the people in our group. Like we get if you dont want us in but dont let us in just to make us leave because too many people there was like 8 of us. We went somewhere else.

I love going to this bar. I enjoy the the people for one there my people. I dont feel uncomfortable at all and men walk up in this place, but its executable, were all in the family, regardless of gender. this is one of my favorite places to have a beer.

This bar was an unexpected dive amongst the boystown gay bars. Before 2am its pretty empty and calm, but quickly fills up once the other bars in the area begin shutting down. The staff may not be the friendliest in the world, but they get the job done. I reserve this spot for nights I dont plan to go home prior to 4am.

This lesbian and gay bar is one of the more tame in the area. The environment in fun and music is good 90s 80s dance but its not crazy loud and super crowded like some of the others. Drinks are affordable and the bartender is very chill. Note that this place is cash only.

Its small, but it is one of the few non-dance clubs with an extended license. Nominally a lesbian bar, but when the other bars close it becomes very crowded with a very mixed crowd. Many of the staff from other bars come here when they are done, so it almost become like an industry night in the last hour they are open. Its a low key bar, with little in the way of decor. Very bare bones.

Listen y’all, if you’re looking for an extravagant movie set gay bar, this is NOT the place for you. The Closet is a local gem filled with genuine happiness and affirmation. If you love a good dive, early 2000s music videos, having conversations with other locals and not getting pushed around by sweaty men, this IS your spot. Love this place!

The bald bartender was so awful. He served 2 patrons 3 different times before I had to yell at him to ask for water, which he tried to charge me $10 for

Stopped in May 21st about 8pm before meeting up with friends. I thought the bartender was rude and very unfriendly. Theres a lot of options nearby, Id skip this place.

Rude female bartender. Im assuming they where female. Very bad vibes while walking in, and immediately called out for vaccine card and a loose mask. Like chill, appreciate the business these days.

Always a good time, especially late at night. It doesnt try to be anything that it isnt, but generally the crowd is always down to have a great time. Its the place to be if you want to make some random friends for the night, and the bartenders are awesome.

The music is boring but cool concept!

I used to work here and all I can say its is disgusting. The management doesnt care and they uphold mean angry attitudes. Also if you are trans STEER CLEAR.

Here from out of town its a Friday at 2 am and there is 1 bartender. Standing room only. What are you thinking? U make more money if you serve more alcohol. Wont be back.

Longtime customer of the Closet. This place has its own unique vibe. Friendly to regulars and first-timers alike. Nothing much to look at but a great show eery time Go drink there.

This club looked like a small rent-a-wharehoue, the drinks were super overpriced, the bartender hardly made any contact with new comers so I hardly felt welcome. Im sure there are better gay clubs in the area but this was a really bad first time experience

This place is perfect. Wonderful staff, always something fun on the tv. Great for conversations, dancing, darts, or writing the next Harry Potter in a corner by yourself.

Small bar, the crowd was mixed. The bartenders were really nice and friendly. A great dive bar to grab a couple of drinks. FYI, cash only bar.

I had a blast coming in here. Shoutout to Adrian for taking care of my party. Great bartender, tasty drinks. I will no doubt be back!

JUST DO NOT COME HERE!

Wonderful staff and regulars. They were very nice to a lady from Bay area. Cute drinks, jukebox and clean. Stop thru.

Drinks are def watered down however the vibe is still super nice!

Nice bar and bartender. Quieter than some of the others in the area we visited on Halloween, which offers a good change of pace.

Extremely cheap for Chicago. Very cute little gay bar. Great atmosphere.

Bartenders are kind of rude, but drinks are pretty cheap for the area

Employees were super nice and I loved the atmosphere. They played some good music too!

The bar tenders are wack, especially the old woman one. rude for no reason.

Must of come on the wrong night. Nothing special. Rude bartender. I was a touristjust trying to have a drink and some fun. Nothing extravagant

Perfect bar to whine down. Love coming here before going to the club. Great staff, good drinks, and amazing atmosphere.

This place is small but always a place to function and they include anyone and everyone. They also do music requests.

Always guarenteed a fun time when you go to the closet. However, you may not always remember the next day. Dont go till after 1am. That is when everything starts. p

Im australian, Ive never been here, but its called the closet & I thought if that writing a short story in class today and thought, if theres am actual gay bar called the closet Ill make it my life mission to get there. thank you.

Female bartender was extremely rude in how she talked to me will not be back trust these reviews and just don’t go

Its been years since I visited the Chicago area but I have to say I had a great time here. Keep up the good work!

Youd think this was a fun place, but it is not. Lots of sensitive and unattractive people who never figured out how to make a living.

The bouncer denied entry to a valid Pa ID. I’m old! :P

Meh…garbage and unfriendly bar staff. Kinda killed the vibe tbh. (This was on a Thursday night btw)

I’d skip this place, too many other options that treat their customers better! Truly awful place.

The closet is a great place to go to meet new people the servise is amazing and the drinks are the right price u pay for what u get love this place would always go back

Best gay bar I kissed so many men here

Love this place! The atmosphere is awesome and the staff is on their game.

Great, friendly atmosphere! Every time we go there we have a blast!

Best place to close my night out. Remeber to have cash because it is cash only.

This one woman bartender was awfully rude and aggressive for no reason, to the point I thought I was on Candid Camera

Super friendly to out of towners! Had a great time!

Horrible establishment! I will never come back

Fast service and nice that theyre open late.

Nice.

Crowed bar that stays open till 4 am.

Rude bartenders son of Hitler

It was ok no crowd at all

Dont waste your time!

One of my local favs.

Still the same after 30+ years.

Met my partner there

Nice atmospere

Love this place

Great place

The worst place ever

If you have mobility problems and you are Latin and you have the opportunity to visit this place, dont take advantage of it, four of us entered the bar, my boyfriend had surgery on his knees a few months ago, when we entered the bar he tried to sit in one of their chairs and he couldnt settle down due to discomfort in his knees, the woman behind the bar forced us all to leave because he couldnt settle in the chair, he hadnt had anything because we had just arrived, she didnt let us explain, she just said that he was very drunk when I hadnt even had a beer!! That lady is the worst thing that can exist in customer service. Worst experience in Chicago