Neighborhood: Avondale
Bar Name: Jagiellonia
Address: 3634 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL
Met up with a buddy today and we decided to try out one of the bars in his neighborhood since we always go to my neighborhood to explore the different bars in Wicker Park. We grab a quick bite to eat at a local Mexican restaurant and have some really good tacos and then decide to try out a bar we always pass by when I’m in his neighborhood… problem is, this bar just happens to be closed for some reason even though the bar hours clearly state M-Sun 7:00 PM to 4:00 AM. My buddy mentions he knows of another bar closer to Milwaukee but as we begin walking there we see a red sign that says “Sports Bar” and we decide to try this bar out instead. We walk in and at first we see absolutely no one in the bar and then we look to the left and there are 3-4 people huddled in the corner quietly chatting with the bartender. We grab a seat by the pool table and notice there’s a Blackhawks game on and Spring Training baseball game on, however no one is paying attention to the TV’s. The bartender asks us what we’d like to drink and we notice there are 3 choices on tap, Okocim, Carlsberg and PBR. I’m about to order a PBR but I change my mind at the last second and decide to go with an Okocim, some sort of Polish beer according to the bartender. My buddy gets the same. Okocim ends up being fairly decent.
Anyway, my impression of this bar is that it reminds me of the kind of bar you find at a bowling alley, it’s fairly old and it has really dim lighting and has the cliche pool table and jukebox in the corner. Can’t say I’ll ever actively decide to go back to this bar with plenty of other options available in Chicago but maybe if I happen to be in Avondale again and want to go to a bar I’ll try this place out again.