Meet us where the locals hang out
This is the kind of place where the drinks are cheap and infused with house-made concoctions.
For instance, the Duffy’s Tavern Bloody Mary mix with tabasco, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, pickle juice, and Guinness is so popular that the pub started selling bottles of it next to their house-made, Veggie-Infused Vodka, which includes tomatoes, garlic, cucumber, celery, and more.
Pro Tip: There’s no kitchen at Duffy’s, but you can bring food in from neighboring restaurants along Madison Street.
Duffy’s is open Tuesday through Friday from 1pm to 1am, Saturday from noon to 1am, Sunday from noon to midnight, and Monday from 1am to midnight.
The drinks are cheap here. Expect about $5 for a pint. Keep an eye out for drink specials like dollar-pint nights (some Wednesdays and Thursdays).
Bottles of the house-made Bloody Mary mix are $18 and bottles of the Veggie-Infused Vodka are $20.
Owner Jim Sullivan will likely greet you when you walk through the door at Duffy’s Tavern. He’s the one who loves to infuse cocktails or, as he calls it, “hacking whiskey” by changing the liquor to give it a different taste.
Recently, Sullivan partnered with his friend Greg Stinton from Small Batch Barbeque to create a “Smoke, Fat, and Whiskey” night of smoked meat paired with hacked whiskey like a candied whiskey spiked with, you guessed it, candy.
Partnerships like this are important to the businesses that line Madison Street in Forest Park, and Sullivan knows the importance of community for a bar like Duffy’s that has been around the block.
The bar was first opened by the late Mike Trant in the late 80s. He named it after his wife, Sheila Duffy, who helped him run the Irish Pub. It was a good fit for the two who went to Ireland many times to visit the family farm where Mike’s family lives in Listowel.
It was the kind of bar where Mike gave keys to the regulars in case they got to the tavern before he arrived. The same welcoming, neighborhood vibe that Mike instilled remains alive and well at Duffy’s today.
Duffy’s Tavern is just a half-mile walk from the Forest Park Stop on the “L” Blue Line Train. Located at 7513 W. Madison Street, it’s just ten miles west of downtown Chicago.
