It's no question that Chicago has a passionate, dedicated community of soccer fans, and the city's soccer bars count on them.
WBBM stopped by a few of these bars to see how they're preparing for the World Cup and what sort of watch parties fans can expect.
Soccer House, 501 N. Ogden Ave., West Town
The idea for Soccer House grew out of Garret Drexler's many travels to different soccer bars when he worked for the U.S. Men's National Team and Major League Soccer, among other organizations.
"I always thought there was a way to do it maybe a little bit differently, where we embraced the sport completely," Drexler said. "Instead of being a bar that shows soccer, being a bar that's dedicated to soccer."
And that's how Soccer House was born. Located at Ogden and Grand, the former home of Twisted Spoke, the bar opened on April 18. Drexler said it features a merch shop and a menu inspired by soccer from around the world.
Carolina Garibay
"It ranges from things like German pretzels to Choripán, a smoked Argentinian sausage sandwich. It's really good," he said.
But the big selling point at Soccer House: its upstairs patio, which features a 135-inch TV screen.
"What we wanted to do with the rooftop was really recreate that fan fest experience, where tons of people show up to a park to watch one giant screen, and everybody's focused together, and everybody's watching together," he said.
He said the goal is to embrace the aspect of community that is woven into soccer culture.
Carolina Garibay
"So much of what's fun about soccer is how communal it can and should be, and we really want to bring that to the front here at the World Cup," Drexler said. "We want to bring the good feeling of people just coming together and enjoying soccer together."
Soccer House takes a limited number of reservations for its lounge area. Bar and rooftop seating is first-come, first-served. Drexler said he recommends arriving early for matches you want to see the most, especially U.S. and Mexico games.
Doors open one hour before first kickoff.
Recess, 838 W. Kinzie St., West Loop
Joe Steigerwald, Marketing Director for Atomic Hospitality, said Recess is almost like an adult playground.
"It's all about having fun and letting out your inner child," he said.
And for the World Cup, Steigerwald said Recess is leaning into that even more, with everything from events and activations to a special menu with World Cup-themed cocktails and other items.
Recess is partnering with Chicago Fire for its Soccer Celebration. The highlight of the event is a huge screen on its patio, which Steigerwald said is Chicago's largest.
"We have a large pergola in the middle of our patio, so with that, every side of it is going to have an enormous screen of Jumbotron to watch the game," he said. "No matter what, you're going to have a fantastic view of these games."
Carolina Garibay
And when matches aren't happening, Recess will be hosting several other events and activations with Chicago Fire, such as DJ sets, partnerships with local artists, World Cup trivia night and even a car giveaway.
"We take a lot of pride in having strong relationships with a lot of Chicago businesses. We're not an entity that just wants people to come to us. We want to go out to the city as well," said Dan Moriarty, Chicago Fire Chief Marketing Officer.
He said the idea is to keep the celebrations going throughout the World Cup, whether or not matches are taking place.
"We know that games are going to pull a lot of traffic, and there's some days where you're going to have games from 11 in the morning to midnight," Moriarty said. "So, how are we doing stuff around that to really keep the energy and make this a soccer celebration versus just being a watch party."
Carolina Garibay
Table reservations are recommended for all Soccer Celebration matches.
Seating is limited and expected to fill fast, so it is recommended to arrive early. Reservations start up to one hour before kickoff and are good through the match, with a maximum table time of three hours.
Standing-room space will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for every game. Opening times are broken down by week on the Recess website. Fans can get their free pass to Soccer Celebration access here.
Cleo's, 1935 W. Chicago Ave., West Town
Anyone who's a soccer fan in Chicago has likely heard of Cleo's, a longtime bar that managing partner Scott Floersheimer said has built up a pretty good reputation among Chicago soccer fans.
He said the bar's popularity comes down to the experience the bar provides, especially during the World Cup.
"We have a lot of staff meetings. We make sure all of our TVs are locked and loaded. We go through all of possible ordering, what we need as far as specialty beers, liquors, wines," he said. "We design new food menus, and the biggest thing is we hire extra staff to make sure we can give people the experience they want."
Cleo's opened nearly 17 years ago, so it has a few World Cups under its belt at this point. Floersheimer said this year fans can expect themed menu items and drinks, like Portuguese and Spanish beers and liquors and different sausages and sandwiches.
Carolina Garibay
Floersheimer said he's particularly excited that this year's World Cup is taking place in the summer because it means fans can enjoy the bar's large patio.
"We hold about 100 people inside and about 150 people outside in our beer garden," he said. "To have the experience to be outside or inside, there's nothing like it."
He said ultimately, he wants people to have the best viewing experience possible at Cleo's.
Carolina Garibay
"The dedication to creating such a strong experience for the soccer clientele that we're most proud of, that I believe we hands down deliver the best in the city," he said.
Cleo's does not take reservations. Floersheimer said he recommends arriving right when the bar opens for best seating availability.
Other recommended bars:
The Globe Pub, 1934 W. Irving Park Rd., North Center
AJ Hudson's Public House, 3801 N. Ashland Ave., Lakeview
Piccadilly Pub, 4749 N. Rockwell St., Lincoln Square
The Embassy, 1435 W. Taylor St., Little Italy
