08/04/08

Best place to go before and after a Cubs game!!!!

by tammyisabelle

I have been going to Todd's for about 2 years now and I love it and wish I found it sooner! The staff is super friendly and the drinks are awesome, esp the Mai Tai! Head there before any Cubs game and have a drink or 2 before the game and hop on the Tiki Bus and get dropped off right outside Wrigley. Head back to Todd's after the game, show your ticket stub and you get a free serving of wings! Love it. They also have really good specials, and unlike most Wrigleyville area bars, they don't pull the not valid on game day stunt. I can't recomend this place enough, it is just far enough from the swarms of people after the game that you can sit with your friends and enjoy and beer and wings.

• Pros: staff, food, location
• Cons: hard to find parking

07/28/08

Avoid this place.

by laurenreview

Crowded with a lot of strange people. KARAOKE nights....This place isnt the greatest, its actually frightening. Pizza was OK.

• Pros: I HAVE TO THINK HARD AND LONG ON THIS...

07/27/08

Do not go there!

by anna1984

Why would anyone vote for this place to be the best Karaokee place in Chicago area???? Parking is a problem, the dj. showed very little interest and absolutely no enthusiasm. The environment feels uncomfortable..more like a tavern than a nice place to sing. Their list of songs is quiet short. Half of the songs I wanted to sing they didn?t have????? I recommend the suburbs. Jedynka club on Wednesdays has the best Karaokee! Prizes to win, great audience, excellent system.

This place is a disappointment. Do not go. .

• Pros: none!
• Cons: no parking, smells bed,

02/17/07

Good Food, Great Atmosphere!

by nacho_libre

I am not big on Karaoke, so I don't go in the evenings. I love the Key West atmosphere, the food is great, the drinks are good, and the Mega-Touch games are always a good time. The food and drink are pricey, but I still recommend this Oasis of Key West atmosphere in the midst of the Chicago cold.

• Pros: Great atmosphere
• Cons: High Prices

10/25/06

LOVE IT

by tuffcritic28

My friend and I got into a cab one night and asked the driver to take us to a karaoke place and this is where we ended up. We had the best time and kept coming back after that. If you are looking for an upbeat evening with a friendly eclectic crowd and great karaoke, Trader Todd's is the place to be!

• Pros: karaoke song list
• Cons: sometimes too long of a wait to get your song in

06/12/06

Trader Snobs

by daimyophoenix

This place boasts itself as the "Best Karaoke in Chicago". That's laughable! 3,000 songs? I'm new to Chicago so maybe that's a lot, but where I'm from every karaoke bar/company has a MINIMUM of 20,000. Most KJ's carry 28,000 - 30,000 songs to choose from. On top of that, the KJ was a pompous idiot. He tried to deejay between songs only to cause an even bigger flub of the already horrible sound system, he'd have the wrong song lyrics playing on the TV screens. Also when the kj started the rotation over I was supposed to be 4th in line. Well time went by and after spending about 32 bucks on drinks (4 drinks) I still wasnt up to sing. When i approached the dj he told me that there was a lot of people there and he couldnt fit me in. It seemed to me that the way you get the chance to sing their is if you bring a party with you. The kj didnt even sing one song which is very odd for a karaoke bar.The bar tenders reminded me of something off of revenge of the nerds and the bath room smell didnt smell like a place where you would pay 8 dollars for a drink either.

11/01/05

best birthday I ever had

by howelady

Thanks to everyone a Trader Todd's for the best birthday ever! Toby is the best KJ ever and finally got Biz Markie for me! I had blast...did anyone find my shoes???

• Pros: fun, great karaoke, unpretentious

10/12/05

Tropical food, drinks and party spirit just blocks from Wrigley Field.

by Contributor

The Scene
A Parrot Head's paradise, this casual, colorful Lakeview bar with floor-to-ceiling windows spills out onto the sidewalk in the warmer months. At calmer times, the buzzing of the blender plays backup to Jimmy Buffett on the stereo or the Cubs game on TV; evenings are reserved for karaoke. Patrons range from 20s to 40s, but all appreciate a good, laid-back time.

The Draw
Tropical drinks all feature fresh-squeezed juice--the only downside being that a single bartender does all the squeezing and mixing. Top specialty choices include the "Painkiller" (two types of rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice and orange juice) and the "O-Mai-Tai" (four kinds of rum, orange juice, pineapple juice and grenadine). Take a pass on the Singapore sling (gin clashing with cranberry juice, lemon and lime juices and cherry brandy). Appetizers are hit-or-miss: tasty jalapeno poppers, but over-breaded conch and crab fritters.

09/14/05

Trader Todd's upsets on multiple levels.

by nbondi

Contradictions do not make for good bars. If you're going to have a divy atmosphere, cheap drinks and drunken bartenders are a must. Divy atmosphere + dime-a-dozen wrigleyville servers + overpriced drinks = super smelly crap. I will say that the non-stop promotions and "party" atmosphere do prove to be tempting...more a nod to the successful marketing crew behind Todd's than the smelly frat party that is Trader Todd's. If you want a Dive with excellent karaoke, cheap drinks, and great bartenders, check out the Blue Frog at LaSalle and Huron.

• Pros: fun crowd, good food specials
• Cons: over-priced drinks, bad service, it stinks. literally

05/01/05

Huge disappointment

by shell0225

I called 2 months in advance to reserve a party of 30-40. When I showed up, they had given all my tables away because they wrote down the wrong time for my reservation. They managed to scape up one table for all my guests, and it was so crowded we couldn't even move around. We had to pay for all our own drinks, which were not good and very expensive. The karaoke selection was mediocre, and the books were out of order making it difficult to find a song. At the end of the night our waitress was very rude to us despite our constant tipping. They booked 4 other parties in that cramped space for the same time that night. The manager said she would send a gift certificate/apology, but I never received those either. Overall I think this is one of the worst bars I've ever been to.

• Cons: too crowded, poor service, overpriced