Tonic Room Reviews

They have a nice size stage and a very good sound system. Intimate setting for live music. Not much seating, and room for dancing. Saw Upstate and Josh Friddle.

It is a rather small bar, but the live music was great and very loud. The bartenders are very nice and attentive. No issues at all.

A straight up, no frills music venue to catch some live acts. Solid beer list and pretty dope bartenders. Very impressive sound system for such a small place.

Excellent music in a small venue with outstanding service,

Great access to live local music. Small venue, tight space but it added to part of the vibe. Felt like I was back on the south side for a night, which for some is a compliment and others an insult. So depending on your perspective whether a night at the tonic room is for you.

Tip: Bring cash. Require $15 minimum if you use a card at the bar and charge more at the door if paying with a card

What a great live music bar! It is just small enough that you feel very cozy but big enough to dance around and have a good time. The bands that play there are top notch and always have a reasonable cover! The bar has great drink specials and parking can be easy to find up and down Halsted.

Overpriced dive with the worst internet in Chicago.

Small venue and a great place to see a show. I saw Radium Wild play here and it was one of the best nights of my life.

Great place with some awesome live music with reasonable drink specials!

Nice small but friendly place. Went there for a show, absolutely fantastic venue!!

Not a bad place to see a small and intimate show. Unfortunately the sound guy was pretty terrible. Decent bartenders and a good beer list. The bathroom door has no locks.

I love concerts at The Tonic Room. It's a super intimate venue where you'll be right up close to your favorite artist, and they have solid deals usually on cocktails.

It can be a tight fit though, if the artist is well-known.

Classic dive bar with great live music! Friendly, low key bartenders with solid service.

A small club with lots of heart. Matt ran the sound like a champ and Barry made some tasty beverages.

A good place to play. A good place to chill.

Great place to see or play a show, one of my favorites.

Disgusting, unusable restrooms; no doors on stalls. I asked the staff about this, received cruel, dismissive response. This place caters to insufferable bros with zero self respect. If that describes you, then the Tonic Room has a lot to offer!

Went here for my brother show small venue but had a great time

Small but cool for live music. Bartender needs attitude check.

Music was great, but the bartender accused me of taking someone else's card after I asked him for my check. There was a confusion after asking him for my check and an extra check laying on front of me. Needless to say that I emptied out my bag to show him that I didn't have it on me. Embarrassing but he then found my card after I told him to take my i.d in order to find my card.

Great local bar and live music venue. It is small, which leave for an intimate show.

A nice little space..better if you know the band who is performing, but live music is great in itself!

Excellent Live Music - in particular an East coast band called West End Blend playing May6th

Saw this amazing new Chicago based band Blue Beam. $5 Golden Dagger beer specials were also great.

I love the tonic room. Great music, great drinks,. Absolutely love it. And the Patio is to die for. Good Times!!!

Tonic room is a great place to see live music and get a drink. With extremely fair prices on drinks and great food within walking distance. A personal favorite as a musician and an audience member. The building has some really cool history and is said to be haunted if you're into that sort of stuff.

Small bar that had great live music. Can't wait to go back.

Cool divey music venue. Kinda tiny and drinks are expensive, but worth it for a good show. Clean bathrooms!

Nice little dive bar . With live music and open Mic night on Mondays.

Filthy, over crowded, and no place to sit. Drinks are a bit pricy. Plus a ten buck cover. LOVE the mud men, and their show. They would be so much better with decent lights on a real stage

Atmosphere is tight, staff is lit, vibes are heady.

Dead as a doornail and boring as hell, most likely will never go back!

Rock solid bartender in an intimate venue featuring good music.

Awkward setup with the stage in the corner by the door, but good drink prices and excellent music.

A classic venue that's been around for a long time. Parking is a hassle on a weekend, the physical space inside is very small. But you'll notice how I still give it 5 stars. Know why? Because if you're in the city, those parking and space issues are just part of life. Let's get onto the meat & potatoes.

This venue isn't anything special; but their philosophy and mission of having live music IS something special. They provide a stage for bands and performers to create magic. It's not a big stage, but it's about the opportunity.

I just recently saw The Mudmen, a Chicago-based Pink Floyd cover band. To call them a cover band is kind of an insult though, because their musical aptitudes and technical proficiencies were precise enough for them to be the touring band for David Gilmour. The show was incredible because of the band, but also the sound guy at the Tonic Room was on point! I moved around the room frequently, enjoying the show while I was analyzing the sound mix. It was pretty good from all locations.

Sometimes a space doesn't have to be huge or beautiful. It just needs to be in the right place and offer opportunities. The Tonic Room is about exposure for bands, and that's what it does best.

It's okay. It starts to get cramped around 20-30 people, and although I do kind of like the layout, I know many bands have had a helluva time getting paid. Overall, underwhelming.

Good local bar. Drinks a bit expensive. Music sounds good but good. Small place with little seating. Good for dancing to some bands.

Nice quiet bar with a friendly staff and live music.

Super crowded didn t enjoy coming in the door guy was rude and the bathrooms where nasty. Stayed for about 10mins

Beer line up is just ok. The bartender was cool. This is just a weird spot to have as a venue. The "stage" kind of wraps around the front and side of the place. Right when you walk in the door, BOOM, there's a loud band playing right in your face!!

Local bar with live music, nothing special to report but it was a good time on a very cold night.

Swell place to jam to music, they removed the seats so there s more room to jam now.

I went to the Tonic Room with a friend on a Wednesday night to check out a small band he knew named Great Peacock. With drink deals and perfectly chosen live music for the intimate venue (probably fits 40 people) it was a great spot for a weekday and would be a solid option for the weekend as well. Good idea for casual dates, drinks with friends, and solo musical escapades.

Saw great live music in October 2016 (there was a band from Alabama)!

Great place! Awesome shows, great beer selection, and nice vibes. VERY small, though, so don t go here if you don t like crammed spaces.

Cool place to hangout in the Lincoln Park area. The place is a little small bit they have great events, for example tonight there is am hip hop event with Peter cottontale.
It's right near the red line and easy to get to.

Pretty small and very loud, but a good place to see local bands take the stage (more like raised platform) and build their fan base. Fun time at helping Phriendly Orchestra and a nice spot to grab a beer on Halsted.

Cool little place to see good local musicians. Check it out.

Right, never been here without a buddy's band playing on the stage in the corner. That being said, the place is filled with excited people and music snobs when I visit. Decent prices for a drink is a plus for the tiny space. I'm sure the venue is nice when well-lit, especially in the daytime...

The tonic room is a very quaint neighborhood bar. dimly lit it makes for a great conversational place to graba couple drinks with a significant other or small group. They do book live music but the narrow hall makes it a little difficult to navigate around the small space.

The Tonic Room is so much fun. I went here one Monday night just meeting a few friends for a beer and ended up staying all night. On Monday Nights it is trivia night and it is hilarious!! We had a blast and came back the next night. I highly recommend this bar for a Monday night fun, laid back night.

Fun bar. The 'stage' is set up a little funky but it makes for a very intimate performance. Definitely worth checking out.

My first time here, went for a concert the crowds were nice people.

Superb music. The bartenders are nice. Friday and sat are busy. You cannot get a seat if you arrive after 9 on these days. They don't serve food so you can get along something.

Small bar with big aspirations. Decent drink prices considering the location, very eclectic live music choices. I'll be back.

Saw Lucas Carpenter, Chris Leamy, and Mark Rose. Excellent venue!

This place sucks! Do your self a favor and find somewhere else to hang out at!

Great place for live music, small and cozy, great to come listen to some jam bands and hop up if you are inclined to play. Friendly bar staff, with some solid drink specials