Located on the corner of Division and Wood Phyllis’ Musical Inn maintains bragging rights for being Wicker Park’s first live-music venue. The Inn opened its doors in 1954 as a polka bar and though the musical stylings have changed with the times the interior retains much of the original charm.

Upon entering party-goers will be met by colorful murals and the well-worn wooden cocktail tables, at the back of the bar you will find the minimally elevated stage (all the better to enjoy the gritty rock music regularly played in the venue). Most nights you will find the small stage occupied by live bands, filling the small venue with original music as the owner tries to keep covers down to a minimum. Garage rock isn’t really your thing? Don’t worry, Phyllis’ caters to all kinds of tastes. The bar attracts its fair share of jazz musicians and on Tuesday nights you can experience open-mic with a mix of spoken-word, slam, and rap. 

Worth a mention is the lesser-known beer garden that occupies almost the entire lot next to the building. Bar goers can lounge on a variety of benches and picnic tables or, if the fancy strikes you, perhaps shooting a few hoops with the basketball net.