kibbitznest books, brews & blarney - Chicago, Illinois

Ritz Xu

We found this cool place after we had lunch at pequad’s which is across the street. We wanted to have coffee after the feast. Actually this is probably the best place for coffee but this is a cool place for a date or friends gathering. It feels like a community, you can check out the CD and ask them to play. You can play games with friends. There is plenty of room in the back as well. You can liberally spend a whole day there easily. Now I know where to spend some fun time.

Kim Singletary

This place has been on my list for a minute. It's a trek for me - long drive or a bus and a train - but it was such a great place. Cozy with great snacks and drinks. What really made me smile was the staff. All of them, to a T were welcoming and kind. The place is also huge. I kept finding room after room to tuck myself away in. Happy to return in the future.

Katie C.

Great cozy bar and bookshop! They’ve got a lot of space, but it’s broken up into smaller rooms, so it doesn’t feel like a massive abyss. I didn’t order any snacks, but the food I saw coming out looked great, including a pizza collab that seems to be going on now.

My one VERY minor complaint is that they seem to advertise the games collection, and while they do have a lot of games, many of them were very old and run-down, or were large full board games (as opposed to card-based games that don’t take up an entire table), so my friend and I had some trouble finding anything we wanted to play. I’ll definitely be back, but next time I’ll likely just bring my own games.

Orphel Binuswade

Lovely, cozy atmosphere in there. Unfortunately, people working there (at least the person who mainly served us) seemed mildly annoyed they had to deal with customers. They also appeared to be out of pretty much any menu item we asked for and didn't bother suggesting any alternatives. It seemed like they just wanted us to leave. Food and drinks were decent, albeit pricy.

Alex Studd

Such a welcoming environment! I was here to kill a few hours, and I had a delightful time drinking beer and exploring the store. There's plenty of books to read, board games to play, and people watching to entertain anyone for hours! Just know that it can get busy on the weekends, so be prepared to wait for a table to open up!

Rosemary Utz

What a great space! We will definitely be back. Great crowd for Tuesday trivia night. Awesome used book selection—we left with an armful. Board games galore.

Definitely check out their beer, cocktail, and food menus. They also have scotch and cheese pairing options.

Sophie Young

The vibe is super cute and wanted to love. Drinks were great and the games were fun! but the bartender swiped my card on another tab and then gave it away to that other person who left with it. Then I stood there for around ten minutes because I couldn’t close my tab without my card that they had just given away. Only reason i figured it out was because I have text alerts and the other tab was like triple what my own tab was so thank god I went up to check! So just be careful and double check the charges when you go because that was kinda negligent in my opinion.

stennie demayo

I went here for my birthday with my friends and we had a great time. The ambiance was chill and a great place for drinks, board games, or if you're looking for a place to read.