The Violet Hour

Do you own or manage this location? Claim your listing and add a photo, edit your basic information, and more!

Speakeasies have a sexy mystique about them--and that's exactly what you'll find at this Wicker Park cocktail lounge from Terry Alexander and crew. There's no sign except for a yellow lightbulb, and it's hard to find the entrance in the wood paneled exterior. Once inside, you'll spy a framed note requesting bargoers to refrain from cell phone use. But the decor is what's really striking: cornflower-blue walls, white crown molding, crystal chandeliers and gorgeous hardwood floors give the space an elegant ballroom-like feel. Extremely high-backed blue leather chairs clustered around tiny white nightstands illuminated by candlelight add an Alice-in-Wonderland air. Now let's get serious: The classic cocktails (gimlet, negroni, paloma) are superb. Bartenders make each with painstaking precision, using housemade simple syrups, bitters and twice-filtered ice cubes. But expect to wait a bit for each beverage as bartenders lovingly labor over their shakers--no doubt you'll find it worth it.

The Violet Hour is located at 1520 N. Damen Ave. in Chicago's Wicker Park Neighborhood