Wrigleyville's oldest dive bar! Skip all the douchey Wrigley bars and walk down to Nisei for a real neighborhood experience. Mostly great bartenders and strong, cheap drinks. Also, the best follow on Twitter for any Chicago bar. Candy cane infused Malort for the holidays?!?! Yes, please. read more

One if the best kept secrets in Wrigleyville. Tucked behind clark, with not a lot of curb apeal, it opens up after you go in. Fantastic dive bar. Popcorn at the bar. Great selection of craft beers on tap, and a pool table. Friendly servers that make this a must-hit dive for me. read more

A dive bar in Wrigleyville. Went there w/ co-workers before and after a cubs game since it wasn't crowded either time. Not sure if it's empty cause no one prefers to go here over the other bars. They have a pool table, darts, and a/c so can't complain. But wouldn't take a date here for sure. read more

If you are looking for a great locals' bar then look no further. Classic lay-out complete with jukebox, pool table, dart boards and photo booth, but skip that stuff and talk to the bartender, Dave, instead. This guy plays the room with the good natured ease that comes from knowing your clientele like the back of your hand - drawing out the quiet ones and quieting the loud ones with style - Old Style. Love this place. read more

Last I checked this place was still open. I like to chill here and play darts (which is apparently not the game of choice in Chicago bars...annoying). Sometimes after games there are a few annoying fanboys, but most the time it's pretty empty and really relaxed. I like it that way. read more

I really like this place, the jukebox is awesome, there's loads of room to play darts as well as to shoot pool. We recently came here for birthday drinks for a friend, and had such a terrific time. The atmosphere is divey for sure, but does everything need to be a bougie affair? This bar reminds me of all the divey bars I've loved before in life before Chicago, and I'm glad it's here. read more

My husband is from Chicago and when the Cubs were set to go to the World Series, we decided to fly in from San Francisco for Game 4 of the World Series. We got tickets to watch the game at the Nisei Lounge but we ended up getting a gift of two tickets to go to the game! We went by the Nisei Lounge to see if we could go in for a couple of hours and then pass our tickets to someone else. Pat was outside the lounge and when he heard we were fortunate enough to get tickets to the game, he immediately just offered to give us a refund for our tickets. Talk about great Chicago spirit -- I firmly believe it's places like the Nisei Lounge that make the Cubbies win a World Series title even better!! The next time we are in Chicago for a Cubs game, we will definitely be stopping by the Nisei Lounge. read more

I give Nisei three stars primarily for the dart boards and the juke box...I really love playing darts and hate plastic boards, and they have the real deal. The people there are pretty much doing their own thing and it's free from annoying patrons, which can often be a problem in that neighborhood...the drinks are not over-priced which helps as well! read more

This is pretty much my go-to bar now. You have to love the dive bar atmosphere, free darts, pool table, and quality bartenders. You will always find someone friendly to meet at Nisei and if you are bored stop in with some friends and grab a board game and some beer and sit at a table. As a bonus they are one of the only bars with Sapporo on tap. read more

Really an excellent bar that bucks the trend of Wrigleyville. This is a nice, quiet, dark lounge that usually keeps out the riff-raff! The jukebox is superb and they have darts and a pool table for your entertainment. This is a great place to take a date for a drink. read more

Nice bar to chill out and have some drinks , pool table, plenty of room...

Fun bar. Everyone is quite friendly. Dave the bartender was great!

Beer+Booze+Cubs Pregame-bros= best bar in wrigleyville*. *RIP Wrigleyville Tap #PourOneOut read more

Classic no frills dive bar. Score your own darts, bartenders with personality, cheap drinks. Great Wrigleyville spot to get away from the crowd. read more

A grade "A" dive and often a great escape from the rest of the scum and villainy in and around Wrigleyville. On nights where there's no Cubs game you can get a special with Hamm's and a shot of whiskey or Malort. They got darts, Pool, board games, & more often than not - a friendly bar staff. On Fri/Sat or Cubs (or other local sports) nights it can get packed but otherwise an oasis in the sea of Wrigley. read more

this i live right by it and i never go there. i have been there 2 or 3 times and its always have pretty drunk people in there. they have pool and darts. the first time, they had prison break on the tv and it was really loud. the good time is they have a jukebox but so do almost every bar in the area. so if you go here don't expect anything unique. read more

Top notch pre-game Cubs bar, which despite only being 2 blocks from the park is completely devoid of the typical (read: shitty) pre-game Cubs bar experience. Very laid back atmosphere, nice long bar, pool and darts. Great! -1 star for kind-of expensive drinks, but then again, it is 2 blocks from the park. read more

Not a bad place. Small. They didn't have a whole lot of TVs and the bathrooms didn't have enough space to even breathe in! But they have cheap beer and a pool table, so really you're all set. read more

Not the greatest visual appealing bar, but much better than the usual bars located around Cubs fandomville on the North side. it is small and a bit of a dive. I just like the history of this place and how unique it is. read more

Great little dive bar. $5 old style. Friendly bartender. Smaller crowd before the game. Packed after. Nice private patio out back.

Nice mix of neighborhood people. Great jukebox. Bartender Jen Ream is great also. Had a good time even though she beat me at darts.

This place is awesome. A real diamond in the Wrigleyville rough. I was heading home from a Cubs game and this was the only bar playing good tunes. So I wandered in with some pals to grab a drink. This place is hilarious. Not your typical Wrigleyville bar. First of all the place looks like a Bucktown/Wicker Park pub. Great juke box, pool table and real deal dart boards. We ended up staying all day/night sipping high lifes and ripping shots of Malort. The crowd is a ton of fun and the staff was super laid back - even bought us a round of shots. I don't remember the walk home, but when I woke up I made a mental note to hit Nisei the next time I was in Lakeview. This is the only place I'll go in Wrigleyville now. Pros: Pool table, real dart boards, best juke box, gigantic long bar, great atmosphere, chill staff. Something called Malort. Popcorn & fortune cookies are actually a good combo after 17 high lifes. Cons: You will need a day off afterward. read more

Best Christmas decorations you've ever seen in a bar. They keep them up through most of the winter, but I vote for them all year. Christmas in July would be great! read more

Nisei Lounge - Christmas at Nisei! - Dive Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Quite lounge in the middle of Wrigleyville. This is a great place to stop and have a beer without all the hustle and bustle. Most of the crowd here is local which is a pleasent change from the other bars in the area. read more

Nisei Lounge - Dive Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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My friend had a guest bar tending event here. Its a great bar - cheap drinks $4 spirits, local and overseas beers, a great beer list (left hand stout, green line, Sapporo on tap as well as other favorites like Lagunitas lil sumpin sumpin). There's a pool table dart boards. Overall a fun place in a midst of bad bars. And around the corner from Dimo's Pizza (formerly Ian's pizza). read more

good divey local bar that doesnt fit into wrigleyville, and I mean that in the most complimentary of ways. very good selection of beers and other tasty alcoholic beverages (e.g. Mike's) at good prices. friendly bartenders and regulars. totally the type of place I used to hang out in college, and should frequent more often now for the health of my wallet. read more

Seemed like an alright place. I ordered one beer, afterwards when trying to pay for said beer, the lady behind the bar tried to shake me down and say I ordered 2. Pretty terrible service, I paid anyways and then saw her as she only put one drink into the computer and kept the rest of my cash. What a lousy person. read more

Can't stress enough how great this place is! The staff is super friendly and its a great chill environment. They have a wide variety of beers and apparently a shot of Malort is a must there. They also have a juke box, a pool table, and darts.. How can you beat that?! Seriously an awesome neighborhood spot to go to if you don't wanna deal with the usual "wrigleyville crowd." read more

We stopped in here while waiting for a table at a nearby restaurant. In an area with bars at every other door, this one was pretty quiet. $3.50 for a gin and tonic in a cool square-ish glass is a good thing. Interesting mix of traditional asian and thanksgiving decor. Pool tables in back. read more

Cool place. They didn't charge a cover during world series and they couldn't have been nicer. Thanks!

ill give it 3 it was decent although i thought the beer was a little expensive i thought the music was loud and obnoxious but eh thats what u get when u try out a new bar i suppose read more

The actual bar is not bad. Things to do and a good place in Wrigleyville. The manager is a prick though. I left my card there and live out of town and gave them my address and was told that they would mail it to me. I offered to give them money to do so and appreciated the convenience. After not receiving the card for a week, I called in to see what was happening. The manager told me he didn't understand why I couldn't just cancel it. As I had already talked to someone and they told me they could I was told that "Nobody mails anything any more. I have to get stamps and an envelope and why can't I just cancel the card." If anyone, who I'm assuming is normal, uses their credit card online and sets it up for any accounts then redoing all these is not that much of a convenience. So then he told me that he wont' mail it because nobody mails anything any more. I politely thanked him for receiving no help any more and would not tell anybody anything good about this place. Nothing against anybody that works there but the manager could obviously give a crap about anyone who goes in there. read more

When I am spending time in Wrigley I like to visit Nisei for a drink or two. This place is a breath of fresh air compared to the loud and obnoxious bars in the neighborhood. They have pool tables, board games and drinks at fair prices. The bartenders are always cool and friendly and I can't recall a time I didn't enjoy myself here. The only downside is that it can be very slow on some week nights. read more

One of Chicago's Best Dive Bars only steps from Wrigley. Nice pool table ($1.00), great area for darts, not wallpapered with tv's, great internet jukebox, never crowded and cheap beer. The fact that they only take cash is even a benefit in my eyes. Running out of money is a sure fire sign that I need to go home. Some people I've taken there feel that it's a little dark inside, which I can understand. My only complaint is that there is no food. A menu of greasy food would make this place almost perfect. This definitely isn't a bar for everyone, but for people who appreciate a nice low key bar where you can play pool while watching the game will love the place. read more

I had the good fortune to stumble upon Nisei while on an unscheduled bar crawl with my ladyfriend. Dave, the bartender/manager at the time was remarkably accommodating, serving us beverages promptly and even opening the pool table for free use (as it was a slow Wednesday night). I loved the authentic dive-feel of the place, but it was Dave's service and general pleasantness that made this bar worth a 5-star yelping. read more

I recently had the privilege of taking part in a guest-bartending event at Nisei Lounge. Not only did I have a blast, but the staff at Nisei couldn't have been more helpful. I look forward to working with them in the future and highly recommend any organization looking for a fun fundraiser event to team up with Nisei. read more

This is a great dive, and everyone was really nice, especially the bartender Justin. Prices were reasonable, and there was something for everyone - pool, music, NCAA games, board games, etc. If you are going to Wrigleyville but don't want to deal with the annoying and loud crowds, this is the place to go. read more

I've never felt so cheated or disrespected at a bar in my life. A big group of us went there for the Cubs game and the staff treated customers like they were below them. They made no conversation or were friendly to anyone but themselves behind the bar, and on top of that were quoting people different drink prices for everything and kept raising it. We ordered rounds of the same drinks and noticed they kept adding on a few dollars each time. Me & all my friends felt completely ripped off when we realized this was happening. We also requested a beer on their craft beer list and they told us they didn't have it and recommended a completely different type of beer in a can...we shortly noticed after we purchased the beer, that we could clearly see the beer we requested in the fridge. They lied to sell a beer they wanted to get rid of and later when we pointed out the beer we originally wanted that they said they were out of, 2 of the bartenters just laughed other loud in our faces and walked away. The ABSOLUTE WORST my friends and I have ever been treated in a bar. I have many friends in the industry, and everyone working at this bar gives them a bad name. I will never be going back to have myself or my friends treated like this ever again. read more

Absolute best bar in Wrigleyville. My friends and I wanted to watch the big Bears-Packers playoff game at a bar, but wanted to make sure we could get a table and some space without waking up at the crack of dawn. We emailed Nisei and they completely accomodated us, reserving a table big enough for our entire group. The staff was amazing- even came over and gave us all free t-shirts to thank us for choosing their bar. And they'd noticed one of the girls had a Cubs logo on her credit card, so they gave her an entry to a raffle for opening day tickets. They had darts and pool, along with a selection of board games. Also gave us a binder full of menus to every place that delivered to their bar when we got hungry. The bar got extremely busy for the game, but getting a drink was never a problem. And we alerted them the bathroom had run out of toilet paper and paper towels, and they immediately restocked it. They also put out free pizza and popcorn for everyone, and between quarters would have some Bears trivia with prizes. The music they played before the game started was great, and the crowd had a very cool vibe, not your usual Wrigleyville douchebags. GREAT drink specials- in fact I'm pretty sure they didn't even charge us for everything, because there's no way a tab could be that cheap. I liked the atmosphere, dimly lit and laid-back and divey. Overall they made our experience perfect and we will keep them in mind for ALL future events! read more