Entry No. 138 — the Chicago file — filed under: pilsen
Simone's Bar
Simone's opened on 18th Street in early 2010 and built its interior out of salvage; the house line is that the bar is "literally made of repurposed items," which covers the bar tops, the booths, and most of what you'll be leaning on. It's a 3-Star Certified Green Restaurant with rooftop solar panels and fully compostable takeout containers, and in summer Chef Rafa grows the pizza and salad herbs up there — alongside a rooftop chicken named Conchita who sometimes takes a walk on the patio. The kitchen runs 11:30am to midnight every single day, which is a real commitment for a bar with a dance floor. The calendar is relentless: $5 Lotería on Mondays with proceeds to a local nonprofit, free trivia Tuesdays, karaoke Sundays, drag brunches, and cumbia and perreo nights that go until 3am. All ages until 8pm, 21-and-up with ID after that.
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The story
Nearly everything you touch at Simone's was something else first. The bar top is a lane pulled out of a bowling alley. The tabletops are graffiti-scarred chemistry desks from a shuttered high school science lab, and the booths in the columned lounge are woven from old seat belts. The DJ booth, built out of dismantled pinball machines, hangs over the end of the front room inside a cage. Behind the band of graffiti along the back wall is the Art Lab: a second bar and gallery of about 1,000 square feet, a mechanic's shop until the design team at AlterEgo Form rebuilt it out of church pews, machine parts and the rest of that science lab.
The people behind it have a long Chicago paper trail — the Northside, Danny's, Streetside, the Logan Bar & Grill. Russ Grant and his wife, Desiree, are two of the primary partners; Michael Noone, a founder of both Danny's and the Francesca restaurants, is another, and the paperwork still reads 18th St. Café LLC. The name is a twist on Simeon, "one who hears," which the house treats as a job description. The salvage isn't only decor: solar panels and an herb garden sit on the roof, takeout leaves in compostable containers, and the bar holds a 3-Star Certified Green Restaurant rating built on seventy-plus environmental steps.
The result behaves less like a bar than a community center that happens to pour. Chef Rafa grows the pizza and salad herbs upstairs in summer, next to a chicken named Conchita who now and then wanders down to the patio. The kitchen runs 11:30am to midnight every single day. Mondays are $5 Lotería from 7 to 9 with proceeds to a local nonprofit, Tuesdays are trivia at 8, Thursdays lean jazz, and Sundays open with afternoon DJ sets and close with karaoke sign-ups at 9. Weekend nights the cumbia and perreo go until 2 or 3am.
What it's like
Walk in — the corner door at 18th and Morgan opens straight onto the front room, where the service bar is an island with stools on all four sides and there's no reservation to check in for. Grab a table or a seat belt booth, order food and drinks together, and expect the room to be loud in a conversational way until the DJ starts. Before 8pm it's all ages and reads like a restaurant: pizzas, an Impossible burger, kids at the next table. After 8pm it's 21-plus with valid ID and the volume climbs. Parties of six or more get an automatic 18% gratuity, and staff will split a check across three cards, not seven. If you're singing on Sunday, sign-ups start at 9 and the list fills fast; for Lotería, bring $5 and show up by 7.
The move: Get there Monday around 7 for $5 Lotería, split a pizza and something off the vegan side of the menu, and stay through the 8pm flip when the room goes 21+ and the music takes over. If it's Sunday instead, arrive before 9 to get your names into karaoke.
📍 Before you go Phone (312) 666-8601. Kitchen 11:30am-midnight daily; weekend dance nights run to 3am. No reservations for parties under 20 people — walk in. All ages until 8pm, then 21+ with valid ID. The wheelchair-accessible entrance is the side door on Morgan St. The #8 Halsted bus drops you two blocks east; weeknight street parking in Pilsen is manageable, weekend nights less so.
- 📍 Chicago
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 960 W 18th St, Chicago, IL 60608
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Punch House — Three blocks west in the Thalia Hall basement, Punch House is the dim, fish-tank-and-punch-bowl opposite of Simone's bright salvage — one bowl there, then walk east in time for Lotería.
- Knee Deep Vintage — Same 18th Street block as Punch House and open until 8 most nights, so you can dig through 70s tees and 90s denim and still be seated at Simone's before the room flips to 21-plus.
- Gulliver in Wonderland (Hector Duarte's House) — Hector Duarte's mural-wrapped house sits about a mile west on Cullerton — Pilsen's outdoor version of building-as-artwork, before you sit down inside the indoor one.
More weird in Chicago
Good to know
How do I get there without a car?
The #8 Halsted bus stops two blocks east at Halsted and 18th, which is the easy option. The Pink Line's 18th St station is about a mile west along 18th — a pleasant walk past the murals, not a quick hop. Weeknight street parking in Pilsen is manageable; weekend nights, considerably less so.
Do I need a reservation?
Not unless you're bringing a crowd — small parties walk in, and the bar doesn't take reservations for them. Larger groups and private events go into the Art Lab, the back room, which carries a $900 food-and-drink minimum with no room fee; email [email protected]. Saturday nights are the hardest to book because the 9pm productions use both rooms.
What does an evening cost?
Ten-inch pizzas run $15–17 and appetizers $8–13. Cocktails are roughly $9–15 — the Capri Spun arrives in a juice pouch for $15 — with Mexican beers around $6–9 and wine from $9 a glass. Lotería is $5 to play. Groups of six or more get an 18% auto-gratuity, and a check splits across a maximum of three cards.
Is it wheelchair accessible?
Yes. The accessible entrance is the side door on Morgan St rather than the corner door on 18th, so approach from that side. Call (312) 666-8601 ahead if you want someone watching for you on a busy night.
Can I see the rooftop garden and Conchita the chicken?
No — the solar panels, the herbs and the chicken are on the roof, which is a working space rather than a guest area. Conchita occasionally comes down to the patio in warm months, which is your realistic chance of meeting her. Otherwise the green program shows up as compostable takeout containers and the salvage you're leaning on.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · blockclubchicago.org
last checked: 2026-08-26