Bar Sótano

Bar Sótano is the mezcal and cocktail bar Rick and Deann Bayless run at 443 N Clark St, River North, behind Xoco, with the entrance in the alley off Clark Street. The bar pours mezcal, sotol, raicilla, bacanora and tequila drawn from dozens of agave varieties, mixes a list of classic and featured cocktails, and cooks a market-inspired Mexican snack menu that leans on things like fried chicken, meatballs, croquettes and oysters. The Red Line Grand stop is a five-minute walk.

What to know

• The Chicago Tribune named the bar best new cocktail bar in 2019.
• The bar is part of the Frontera Restaurants group and takes reservations through OpenTable.
• The happy hour menu dated September 16, 2026 lists fire fried chicken and creamy ancho chile dip at $8 each and dry-aged beef albondigas and pork pibil croquettes at $7.
• A service charge is added to every check.
• Chicago Magazine called the place “a Mezcal Mecca in River North.”