Operating since 1907 in Uptown, the Green Mill is the jazz club where Al Capone kept his regular booth (still there, still pointed out by staff), where the Uptown Poetry Slam was invented by Marc Smith in 1986, and where the best live jazz in Chicago happens every night of the week in a room that has not been renovated because renovation would destroy the point. The crescent-shaped bar, the low ceiling, the deep booths, the neon sign outside — everything conspires to create a room where the music is not background but the organising principle. When a band is cooking, the silence between songs is so complete you hear ice settling in glasses.
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Bourbon neat or a gin martini — classic drinks for a classic room. The beer selection is adequate. Do not order anything blended or complicated; the bar is here to serve the music, not to compete with it. The cover charge varies by night and act but is always modest relative to the quality of the performers. Sunday night poetry slam has a separate energy entirely.
Wednesday and Thursday nights from 9pm for the best jazz programming without weekend crowds. Sunday evening for the Uptown Poetry Slam, the original and still the most vital in the country. Friday and Saturday are packed — arrive by 8pm or accept standing room. The late sets (after 11pm) on weekends draw the musicians and the serious listeners.
Cash cover charge at the door, typically $6-15 depending on the act. No talking during performances — this is enforced by the staff and by the crowd, and offenders are removed without ceremony. The booth where Capone sat is to the left of the stage. The room holds about 200 and fills completely on weekends. The Uptown neighbourhood is rougher around the edges than the North Side tourist zones; take a rideshare if arriving late. This bar has been threatened with closure multiple times and survives through community devotion — drinking here is a civic act.