The Revel Room on Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park opened in 2013 with a look that's half neighborhood bar, half something more deliberate: dark red leather booths, vintage portraits, a stopped clock above the mirrored back bar. On weekends the back "Silver Fox Den" opens up with intimate booths and a library wall made from finished wood blocks cut to look like book spines.

Monday nights they run karaoke. The seasonal cocktail menu rotates and leans toward whiskey. It draws a crowd that wants to dance a little and sit down a little, which the room accommodates well enough.