This place is awesome,very roomy, never overcroweded. They don't sell alcohol anymore,but who cares? Byob is cheaper anyways. This has always been my first choice to play pool. read more

Nine ball in the corner pocket and I'll walk away a hero. I used to love to play pool; unfortunately I haven't had the time recently. When I was playing, consistently that is, Chris's was the place to go. Its kind of cool to know scenes from film The Color of Money were shot here. Almost makes me feel like a young Tom Cruise ... well maybe not. It it amazing the people you run into though. I remember one time I was playing on a slow night and this guy and I were talking about pool cues, so we played a few games and guy was really good. Well as it turned out he was Joe Gold as in Joe Gold - Cognoscenti pool cues. It was an amazing experience to talk to him and he even invited my buddy and I to stop by his workshop sometime. (see my other review under Cognoscenti Cues to read about that visit) As for Chris's they keep the tables well maintained and the equipment in decent shape. Overall, It's a nice place to shoot pool, the drinks are a bit pricey and sometimes it crowded, but you never know whom you might meet.. Pros: Lots of equipment, Meat market mentality Cons: Meat market mentality Cost: $$$ of 5 Overall Rating: 3 of 5 Recommendation: Worth the visit read more

Alright place to go to. Not it's not byob anymore. They must have changed it in recent years but it's still a good place to unwind on the weekend. The prices are really reasonable and the staff is courteous. If I had any complaint it would be the musky smell but I guess that just adds to the old school feel if you're into that. Worth coming back! read more

Chris's Billiards is awesome because it is completely genuine. It doesn't try to be anything it isn't. If you go here, you go here to play pool, and hang with whoever you went with, nothing else. Some serious players come looking to play and hustle, but my friends and I usually go to play pool, listen to music on the sweet jukebox they have there, and generally hang around. They have 41 tables, so their is hardly any waiting. It seemed to me that more serious players play up front, and folks like me head to one of the back rooms. Also, smoking is allowed here. While they don't serve alcohol, you can bring your own. They have old-school Brunswick tables which are kept in good condition, they use quality balls, and have (what I think are) relatively good house cues. There is plenty of space, and the tables are spread out enough that you hardly ever bump into anyone. While some people claim the prices are high, I think they're extremely reasonable. It's like 7 bucks per person for a table I think. Their drinks are pretty reasonable, you get a huge cup of soda for $2.50. I haven't tried their food. The jukebox is a buck for two songs, and has a damn good selection of music. Some things to know: -BYOB -bring your own ashtray -(this is pretty obvious) if you're serous about pool, bring your own cue -ask for a table in the back room if you want to smoke or hear music -I'm pretty sure they're 18+ (I've never been carded, but some friends have) read more

now, this is a real billiards hall. chris's billiards has attracted the filming of "the color of money" (starring tom cruise) among other flicks. walk up the stairs and arrive to a collage of black & white framed celebrity photos. there has to be like 50 pool tables in the place. find your favorite jams on their juke box and rock out as you shoot your games with a buddy. it has gone non-smoking, but go ahead and light-up behind one of their pillars. you'll find a buncha middle-aged fellas in the front of the facility. it's not my first choice to bring a lady to unless you arrive with her in a group. she may feel uncomfortable in the testosterone-filled room. they have a limited junk food selection at the counter, but the lady who works there on some nights is nice. read more

EXTREMELY RUDE AND RACIST!!!!! The old *white man* (EUGENE) who was nice to everyone else, threatened to call the police on us because he was being belligerent and yelling at us for no reason and we told him not to speak to us that way. He was rude from the time we got here until the time we left. When we were checking out, there were 5 white men checking out who he gave excellent customer service, but as soon as 4 latinos try to check out, he's extremely DISGUSTING. Racial discrimination much? Don't go here if you're not white. You'll be treated like a second class citizen. read more

Play for practice. Play for fun. Play for money if you can afford to lose. This is an affordable place to hone your hustling skills. Decent tables -mostly 9ft brunswick Inexpensive rates. ~3.50 pp/hr Serious/generally quiet in main room. Music in the other two rooms. No waiting-lots of tables -during the week. I believe it is byob if you are 21+ Open til 2am. 8ball round robin tournament on Wed night 9ball handicap tournament on Sunday night read more

Forget the fact that the film The Color of Money was filmed here. It's like going to buy a 1967 Shelby GT-500, two cars that are identical in every way except one was owned by Steve McQueen, and that one is more money because he owned it. Forget about it, buy the other one because after all, they're both the same. Now having said that, you know where I'm coming from. Don't go to Chris' because they filmed a portion of the movie there. Go there because it's an awesome place to play pool. Whether you're a seasoned hustler or a beginner, it provides good tables, a good pool atmosphere and it's just an awesome "old school" pool hall. If you're lucky you might even be able to see some great money games while you're there. Keep strokin' and have some fun. Pool is Cool!!! read more

It's been under new management for a while now, and they've re-clothed and repaired the tables in the front room & the back tournament room. They've started hosting more tournaments now, too. Probably the best place to shoot in the city. read more

A friendly place to shoot a few games of pool. The place reeks of atmosphere, that's a good thing. It's well lit, a comfortable place to play. Some of my favorite memories are playing my father and my uncle here. A great way to kick back before your work week. read more

Upon parking in front of Chris' I must admit that I was a bit intimidated. I mean this is where they filmed scenes from The Color Of Money with Tom Cruise and Paul Newman. Having just "rediscovered" pool I felt it would be a sin to not come here when I live less than a mile away. As you enter the doorway you are greeted by a movie poster of The Color Of Money where it predominantly says"Play pool where The Color Of Money was filmed". Cool!. Walk up the long flight of stairs and step into a time portal. I swear it was like I was transported into the 1930's. Several tables lied out in a spacious room with old lighting lamps hanging from the ceiling. Its dark with wood paneling, yet spacious. As you enter there is a counter immediately in front of you. The staff is very friendly and when I explained that I was a first time customer the employee took the time to explain how everything worked which was 5 stars big time. I took a container of ball and chalk and went into one of the other rooms (i believe there are 3?). The tables are very well maintained as are the balls and cues. Chris' seems to have quite a good mix of age groups but alot of older gents which is kind of cool. The big plus is they have these really cool jukeboxes. They are Bose jukeboxes that have killer sound. You can either select your artist and song and pay or look up a song thats not on the list (that costs extra). But the cool thing is that you can play any song in existence. I've never seen that before!!!! What a great place! They also have the standard fare of food. Hot dogs, cheeseburgers, pop etc. And for the prices of the tables? I think I paid under $4 on a weekday. Wow! Great! read more

Sorry but the place sucked. It looked shady and very dirty. The owner was rude and did not care about explaining the rates to us properly instead just asked us to leave and not come back if we were not happy with the rates. All we were doing was double checking why we were charged a particular amount. Owner did not also cater to us properly for foodservice needs instead kept us waiting while he working on something. This is not a place to enjoy and definitely avoid if you are trying to be out of trouble and harrasement. read more

The movie: Fast Eddie was up on the balcony watching Vincent hustle a few locals on a table below. When the locals got wise to Vincent the fight broke out. Fast Eddie beat it down the stars just in time to keep Vincent from getting his head handed to him and they both made it out the door to the street and the car. The world: Paul Newman was up on the balcony watching Tom Cruise play the scene where he is caught hustling by some local pool players and the actors fight their way out of the pool hall. The pool hall was St.Paul Billiards on the 1400 block of W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. At a time when neighborhoods seemed to be as stable as the cities themselves generations of locals played at St. Paul's. The balcony was up front and had a skinny stairway to the left of the front door. The snooker table was up there and from there you could walk along a narrow balcony that ran the length on the room on both sides (the room was two tables wide and five/six tables long). Time was you could sit up there and watch the action below but when I shot there they were considered too old and worn out to hold the weight. To complete the picture there was a semi-private room way in the back also up some stairs where poker games could be had. The law then said I had to wait until I turned 17 to even hang out at the hall much less shoot and I don't remember ever seeing a woman play. When I did in 1959, the owner Jake, an El Paso,Tex. native, shook my hand and welcomed me as he had done with my older brother 7 years earlier. Pool halls were big coming-of-age deals for boys back then and I did a lot of it in that room. St.Paul Billiards like the neighborhood it was in is gone now. Has been for years. The yuppies from the burbs moved in and brought Starbucks and places that served "cuisine" with them. I know Paul and Tom shot some scenes at Chris's, I recognized the long stairway as soon as I saw it in the movie. Over the years I shot there a lot and over at that hall nearby Chris's called Marie's on Montrose Ave. Chris's and Marie's are the kind of rooms you saw Fast Eddie and Minnesota Fats in "The Hustler". So was St. Paul Billiards. read more