This place is consistently fantastic. If I lived closer, I probably would gain 20 pounds eating The Ferdi

It's a cute classic dive bar! We got to play some pool and wanted to shout out Richard and Josiah for there tips while playing. Also Richard is so kind and made sure we got to our next place safely!! Definitely recommend going there!! read more

Perfect for a pre-game night out. Great happy hour and the bartenders were speedy and friendly. Think local hole in the wall dive bar, but definitely a fun time. With the $5 drink specials and Saturday singles event you are sure to start the night off with a good time at TOMs. read more

The Original Mother's - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was in Chicago for just one night. I had heard so many great reviews about the ambiance of this place so I decided to go. I ran into an encounter with someone named Matthew who claimed to be the general manager. When I say his demeanor and attitude was way less than appropriate...I'm being lenient. He seemed drunk or high off of something and he was angry and aggressive towards everyone. I overheard him saying things about people that I can't even repeat here. I am from another state and I would never want anyone to experience the treatment that I did in this place. So unprofessional. I will never return. I DO NOT RECOMMEND! read more

I *initially* recommended this place to a group because I loved the live music and piano. BUT THERE IS NO MORE LIVE MUSIC! The stage was gone, the pianos were gone! Instead there was vulgar music playing from a DJ in a sparsely populated room. It was dirty and foggy and bare. On a Saturday night, the few people that were there were creepy. The drinks were expensive, and despite it not being crowded the service was slow. (the bartender himself was very nice and moving quickly, so take it easy on the staff. This was an issue with management not having a bar-back). This was a phenomenal spot with the pianos, but until they bring the live music back, you're better off at any of the other neighboring bars. read more

Freaking Loved My First Time at The Original Mothers ‍ Greeted very warmly at the door and just adored the Bartender Peaches who made delicious drinks and serves them with love. Kaleen Dolan and Chris Heroldt were playing Dueling Pianos that day and these two are phenomenal musicians who bring fire and joy to the stage. They are dedicated to making the show about what their audience would love and can quite literally play anything. Love the addition of having a Drum Set to Pianos and Darrell Cole was rocking it. I genuinely cannot wait until I can go back again. read more

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Maybe the NYE Champaign Toast was the friends we made along the way. Still had a great time tho!

I have hosted many events at OM in partnership with my company, and they have always been successful! Communication from the management team is always timely and helpful, and I would 100% continue hosting events at this venue! read more

I'd say this place is between 2-3 stars. I came here for the first time last night with some friends, as we wanted to dance. I didn't know until we got to the door that there was a $10 cover. We had already decided we were going there and walked from another bar in the rain so paid the cover. Usually when a bar charges cover there is a live band or amazing DJ, so now my expectations were high. Drinks were average, bartender was nice. Drinks a bit pricey for what you get but I guess that's expected in this part of the city. The DJ sucked. First the music kept going out - I don't know if that was the fault of the DJ or the bar's sound system. But we went back to the front bar for a bit because it was silent in the back. The music finally started again and it was a fun dance floor - but the music played sucked. It was random as well, the transitions weren't good, and I didn't know half of the songs, which has never happened to me at a bar or club before. If you're going to charge cover, have a good DJ or a live band or some great drink specials. It was a fun crowd but plenty of bars have that and I don't need to pay cover. read more

This is a bar-bar and it works perfect! Loud and people everywhere. Sat at the bar and had drinks and conversation. Busy but the bartenders are on top of it. Second or third time there and will go back! No pics, sorry. Just go and drink. We did not have any food. read more

I had the best service there on my weekend trip there! the whole environment was welcoming and fun! I would recommend stopping by! Ask for Bri! read more

Had a great time, we wanted a bar we could dance at without having to go to a no shit club and this was the perfect place! The vibe was good, the drinks were good, and the music was really good as well! I would most definitely come back! read more

Love that they've converted downstairs to a dueling piano bar. Great for the area. Extremely talented players but Kaleen Dolan definitely stands out. First class performer and that voice!!! You won't be disappointed. Check them out. read more

This used to be one of the go-to spots on the roster for a night out. We stopped going for a year or two and then happened upon it the other night. No cover at 1am, and it had turned into a piano bar. Which I'm all for and the people up there were pretty good. The next weekend tried to go in at midnight and they were charging $20 per person and as a familiar Mother's attendee, I can say that it's not worth that $20, maybe $10 on a good night. We obviously didn't go in after that. read more

Sophia, the events/marketing director for Mother's and their sister bars, has been lovely to work with for finding a venue/planning an event for large groups (200+) at the last minute (like, the day before the events are supposed to occur). Our group has always been very satisfied with the venue, the service, and their flexibility. Thank you!! read more

Visiting a friend but not my first time in Chicago and have heard great things about Mother's. WRONG. So wrong. Nearly 10pm and there's maybe 20 people in the bar on a Friday night. Okay, no big deal. It's early. But then charging my friends and myself $11 for the smallest vodka tonic in the history of vodka tonics. Seriously? Just came from Three Dots and a Dash where a specialty cocktail with three top shelf liquors cost $14, and then come here where a bottom well vodka tonic cost me just $3 less in the smallest plastic cup? Get out of TOWN. The whole scene here in this bar is a joke along with this price gouging; due to what, the coronavirus? We will never know. read more

The Original Mother's - iPhone 6 Plus for reference. - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I love this place! It's underground and really big. Each little area is different and cute and there are multiple hats. I love the dueling pianos and makes it such a good vibe read more

We went around 11 on weekend and there weren't many people around. There's a good selection of drinks, tried the beers, not sure about the cocktails. There was a pretty huge dance area(sort of like a stage). Would have stayed a bit longer if the dance floor wasn't so dead. read more

Great time here!! Jason was the best. Gave our party of 40 great service. Can't wait to come back again!!

I planned a birthday party and the staff at Mother's did an excellent job of serving, handing out wristbands, getting catering out and making it a stress free experience! read more

Best bar and manager in the city hands down. We love Jason, he is so friendly and welcoming every time we arrive. Mother's is the go to when you have a big group and everyone is ready for a dance party. Go for a good time, the best for late night as it's open until 4a on Friday and 5a on Saturday read more

The Original Mother's - My friend Madison doing the worm! - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It sure what's up with the low ratings, but this bar's chill as heckkkkk. Bouncer's on point with that kindness, bartender's on point with that hospitality, we played ping pong and danced to awesome 90s music - matter of fact, I think I need to message them to get that playlist. Specials on deck on Wednesday evening. read more

The Original Mother's - Inside mother's - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The bartender here was awesome. The bar also plays good music BUT it is artic cold downstairs. Everyone at the bar was wearing a coat, it was seriously that cold in there. read more

I had an absolutely amazing experience here! the staff was incredible! The atmosphere was great too! They even had cup pong table! it was so much fun!!! read more

Great place to get some decent priced drinks , here some fresh voices and play beer pong. In the middle of a great strip. Cant miss it. Could be a little cleaner.... but it's a dive bar read more

I attended the "I Love The 90s" concert playing at Mother's. The concert included Rob Base, Color Me Badd, Young MC, Ton Loc, and Vanilla Ice. Everything was cool with the concert, but a problem arose right before Vanilla Ice was to come on. Some guy started talking to me, or so I thought, and I turned toward him to try to hear what he was saying, but I could not hear him over the prerecorded music that was playing at the moment. The next thing I know, security came over and told me I had to leave the bar. I tried to find out why, but the security guy refused to tell me anything, saying he didn't know, and it was some issue with the bartender. The only thing I can figure is that someone had offered me a stool to sit on, as I was standing outside the VIP area. They had pushed a stool outside the rope and told me I could sit down, so I graciously accepted. Perhaps the man that tried to talk to me had an issue with that, but unfortunately, I couldn't hear him, or even tell for sure if he was talking to me or someone else. I feel that I was unjustly ejected from the concert over some sort of misunderstanding on my part, but because the security people did not properly communicate with the staff, and the staff did not properly communicate with me, an incident happened. read more

Me and some friends were in the city for a night out and stopped into Mothers. There was a $5 cover charge which wasn't bad at all and went downstairs to the bar. The front end of the bar seems to be like an average dive with classic 80's music playing and wasn't too crowded. The back end of the bar is more of thier "club" side. The bar wasn't too busy but there was a dj. I'm not sure about the mixed drinks but the tap beer was warm and over priced even for the city. As it got later in the night there started to be a lot of standing water (or drinks?) on the dance floor and it was impossible to dance and have a good time with out getting splashed and it began to smell like spoiled beer. The front of the bar was fun but with all of the options of bars around we decided to find somewhere else to go and dance. read more

Actually attended a event here what a couple of Associates so my experience is limited to the event itself instead of a night on the town or clubbing I know that security is really tight here and I don't know how a lot of things that's improper to go on is very dimly-lit several spaces for View and also they have a cabaret show feed for the females I'm with several not quite exotic dancers cuz they know strip all the way down but they do give you a nice much safer tease type show the bartenders here are amazing and some of the Delicacies that they are for I remember them being very very delicious and put full I saw this is a very popular Street of division so parking is almost impossible so you have to be prepared to find somewhere to park the music for the night was definitely not what I'm used to listening to but that for that particular event it was appropriate read more

The Original Mother's - Love the hand - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

NOT good. Open late, but, would you really walk in? Fuck no. Why? Its usually dead. Warmer seasons and tourist times are best, they have a big dance area and during those times, its used. Otherwise, its dead. Tourist trap that was once decent only on two nights, thong contest night and karaoke on Thursdays. There isn't any reason a Chicagoan would be there. There isn't any reason why a Chicagoan would take a tourist there. But, tourists that don't know any better. Go for it. Sing your ass off and be a merry motherfucker. Cover: Most bars know better, if business is sucking, don't charge cover. Wait till the bar starts getting busy, people on the street noticing coming and goings, then charge a cover. These monkeys charge at their discretion. Door staff is honest, they'll let you know THAT its dead. If you still go, college nights would be the best nights. read more

I confess that I am writing this review for shi** and giggles. To say this place would be a glorified trailor park with dj'd music would be an insult to people who live in trailor parks and I dont want to do that today:) When you great yourself upon coming down the stairs, you may take notice of the plastic cups that were once filled with drinks strewn everywhere. Some creative individuals who have had too many vodka soda's are now playing beer pong with the unused cups. It has that trashy college dorm room feel in the first room. But don't you complain. You know you like it :) If you are here you are probably not terribly concerned with drinking good wine from a glass....lets just go with this assumption.ow many women As a guy I have noticed that depending on how many fake or real bachlorette parties there are then that will be the deciding factor if it will be a night where there is 70 percent women and 30 % guys or not. How to spot a fake bachlorette party : Just girls parading around asking guys they happen to find to buy them drinks, you asking which one is getting married and none of them have an answer. real bachlorette parties: Women of various ages, some of them will have to be related from different sides of the family, they have rented a pimped out limo and they are forcing the DJ to put on some craazy 80's music, and the girl who is supposed to get married gets insulted when you make jokes about marriage... Anyways back in the day my friend who shall remain nameless met a girl here who won the best thong contest. They are married with 3 kids and live in the burbs. True story You never know what can happen here :) By the way if you cant dance this is a good place to dance and if you can dance this is also a good place to dance. Multi purpose. Now that I have said this I dont think Nigel Lithgow hangs out here to find people for "so you think you can dance". I think at 36 years old I have outgrown this place and I dont belong in here. I like to have conversations with people and remember them the next day. I hope that by reading this review, your life has been changed forever NOT :) I gave it three stars because I dont want to be a jerk. read more

I ordered a grape bomb and they gave me cherry vodka without even letting me know. Not pleased. $50 down the drain. Not a pleasurable shot. At all. Who wants to drink a medicine ball? Not I! read more

I spent a lot of time in this place a couple of summers ago. Great place to meet people who aren't from here or a great place to meet potential one night stands (just kidding LOL!). The guys at the door sometimes get their rocks off by giving you a hard time at the door. Sometimes they charge a cover and sometimes not. Drinks arent bad here and reasonably priced. This place has plenty of space and usually gets packed, especially on summer Saturday evenings. The servers are really nice here, which is always a plus. Usually this place is hit or miss, but if you are in the "viagra triangle" this is one of the most popular places to make a pit stop in. read more

It's not a nightclub.. I don't think. However I did see signs for a MEN show on Saturday evenings, "great for bachelorette parties and girls' nights out." We came for a film festival. I think it's a good setting for little things like that. As a bar, it's a good divey bar, lots of PBRs, beer pong table in one corner, that sort of thing. I'm not sure why everyone's hating on this place. If you were looking for a classy lounge and $15 cocktails, go somewhere else. read more

Goddamn, what have I stepped into? What is this basement of debauchery, this basement of the stickiest floors that my poor shoes have had the misfortune of stepping into. My shoes deserve better than the spills of Bud Light and Coors that surface the establishment. Mother's reeked of former and current frat boys, of state college partygoers, of general carousers, and while at times I'm a fan of some of this, at this bar it was more cringe-worthy than enjoyable. There's karaoke here, but all the people ever wanted to sing were country tracks. One lady did Pony by Ginuwine, and that was alright, but the rest was not listenable. They also had beer pong here, which I thought was cool. I wasn't able to play since the tables were hogged, but this was the first time I ever saw this being done at a bar before. Sort of explains the college vibe I explained above, though. Would I ever come back here? No. Only reason I did was to meet up with a buddy. This is not my type of place to sit back and chill. I respect white people culture, but I do not wish to ever be a part of it, not like this. If you're into everything I put on this review, then by all means, spend a night out at Mother's. read more

WARNING: Do NOT watch "Magic Mike" prior to "Men the Show." Seven of us booked our tickets one month in advance for our friend's bachelorette party. Tickets are sold at $21.50 each for reserved seating and seats are assigned depending on when you purchase them. We were able to secure the front row. Their website was NOT specific on how assigned seats work so there were women cramped by the door waiting to rush in and grab whatever seats they wanted. We weren't allowed to enter the room to the show until around 7:45pm and we found out each row of reserved seats were actually labeled with the party name. PHEW! The ticket receipt states show time is from 8:00-10:00pm, but that is one big, fat LIE. The show didn't actually begin until around 8:30pm and it ended just shy of 10:00pm. The show is also one huge misnomer. There were five strippers in total but very little technique and dancing was involved. It's definitely NOT what we saw from "Magic Mike." This "Men the Show" was one $10 20-second lap dance after another in addition to $20 20-second lap dances with a t-shirt and $10 Polaroid pictures with the strippers. Lots of women got onto stage without the right amount of singles and were turned away. We enjoyed parts of the "show" when our friend was under the spotlight and when each new set of strippers came onto stage. Eventually, our group as well as others grew bored of the repeated lap dances. Several girls in the neighboring seats left early and the seats were immediately taken by those who purchased the $16.50 general admission (standing) tickets. We also bought one open-bar wristband and shared the drinks among ourselves. Each wristband was sold for $20 and we gladly helped ourselves to the full bar. I don't think it's necessary for each girl to buy one, although we did find a lot of drunken ladies slipping and falling as they drowned themselves in all sorts of pleasures. P.S. No pictures allowed during the "show" unless you want your cameras to be confiscated. read more

I celebrated my 25th Birthday Party at Mother's, and I couldn't have been more pleased with my experience! I had a list of demands, and Sophia worked with me every step of the way to make sure the event happened just the way I imagined. She helped me organize the entire night with such professionalism and attentiveness. I appreciated how flexible the venue was when more people than I anticipated came to my after-party portion of my evening. They greeted me straight at the door and were straight there to answer any questions I may have. Excellent staff! One bartender event let me take a body shot off of him :) The start of the night was our bartender, Kayla. She took care of every single one of my guests, and the next day, she was all we could talk about. She was so great! Overall, just SUCH a great experience at Mother's! I wish I would host celebratory events all the time, just so I could keep on organizing events with the staff here. Thank y'all!! Until next time ;) read more

BEST BARTENDERS EVER! Remember, bartenders do not receive any of the money that you spend on drinks. So make sure you tip! You will absolutely get lit and have an amazing night. read more

Came here Monday night from Nashville with a group of friends.. 6 of us are all bartenders in downtown Nashville and after bar hopping a bit we ended up back at mothers! The bar was pretty empty and I was perfectly OK with that! I make drinks for thousands of tourists all weekend long so the last place I want to be on my vacation is in a busy bar!! Our bartender drew was great! Props to you, drew for putting up with us! Thanks mothers for the good time and hospitality! Will come back for sure! read more

The Original Mother's - Nashville visits Chicago! - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Been goingg to this place since the eighties when I was a bartender in rush street. Love the atmosphere the people and the music. Always a fun night at Mothers. read more

I went to this place on Friday night and my friends and I were made to feel really uncomfortable by two men who were recording us with flash on for an extended period of time. When we asked them to stop doing so and delete the video the situation escalated because one of the two men started yelling at us uncontrollably. The mother's staff approached the situation and kicked us out and allowed the two predatory men who yelled at us to to stay. I am LIVID by the injustice. The staff actively chose to not protect us and protect the men who made us feel so uncomfortable and violated. All women that come here deserve better. read more