Social Twenty-Five - Chicago, Illinois

overlooked & underrated

Easily one of the worst bars I’ve been to - the staff are rude, the place is trashy (with actual trash everywhere); it’s probably the single most basic environment you could imagine. Unfortunately there are no redeeming qualities, and while I was having a great night with my friends, the 18 1/2 minutes we spent there were a joke.

Desiree McCowen

My friends and I experienced RACIAL DISCRIMINATION at this club! It was my cousins birthday, and we ended up at this place. Upon arrival, the doorman (tall heavy set white guy) told us that it was 20 dollars per person to get in. We decided that was reasonable, and waited outside for the rest of our group to arrive (other beautiful black women)...

While waiting he tells a group of white guys that ladies are actually free entry...when we ask him about it he switches back to the lie he initially told us, $20 per person.

We decide to brush it off, and just pay the $20 since it was my cousins birthday, and we just wanted her to have a good time.

When the rest of our group arrived he changed the "entry requirement" now it was "VIP TABLES ONLY". however they let multiple groups of white men and women in with NO MENTION of VIP or a table! This was clearly discrimination!

This was the only club in the area playing hip-hop music, yet they discriminate against people of color?!

Reading the reviews of this establishment further confirmed what I've already concluded. Social Twenty-Five is a disgustingly racist club. I will be reporting to the Better business bureau!

Kay Russell

This place is not very professional. They seem to only pay attention to belligerent customers and ignore actual paying customers. They don't respect the time or money of patrons. They said there was a guest list, but that was a lie. They tried to extort us out of $40 after the commotion had died down. It also seems like they weren't letting in black women. They let everyone else inside - even those that they didn't check the "guest list" - without a hassle. I'm never going to even try to spend my money here again.

Adri Takacs

We had a blast! The bar itself is super fun! They had a live band that did a really great job playing throwbacks and current songs. Everyone seemed to be having a great time dancing. Unfortunately, the drinks were not that great. For about $12-15 a drink...I was not impressed. Worst Tom Collins and whiskey sour my boyfriend and I had ever had. If they could amp up their drinks, the bar would be 5 stars!

Lauren Goebel

Extremely saddened that it's 2018 and we're still living in a country that is explicitly racist. I've come to this establishment probably 4 or 5 times and never had any problem. When I showed up this evening with black boyfriend, whom was dressed very nicely and well put together, we were turned away because at 10:30 pm it was "guest list only." We were told to come back at 2 am. A group of WHITE people were behind us were able to walk right in with no questions and no mention of this so called "guest" list. We watched many other groups like them, male and female go in right after us as there was NO line. My white female friend had gone in 5 minutes before us with no issues. She mentioned to the bartender that we were outside but not being let in because it was "guest list" only and he looked confused. He said he had no idea what this "guest list" was. I'll add this to the list of racist bars along with Bottled Blonde and Boss Bar. The bouncer knew exactly what he was doing and will continue to do it. We stood outside for about 5 minutes waiting for my friend to come meet us and watched him turn away all non-white people.

Jai Kalra

Its a great place. Re all reviews: YES, RACISTS, YES.. it's hilarious if you're non white, chances are on the weekends you'll be pointed out straight to the queue, and have you watch from there how white people walk in.
But hey! How come a door guy making like $14 an hr get the balls to do that and still get to keep his job?
Bingo - they are instructed by the owners/ upper management TO DO SO/ find reasons to REJECT non whites. Good luck

Sugar

I go to Social 25 every Saturday I get the chance. The live music is always great and the DJ who follows the live music on Saturdays always kills it. Before/during the live music, they have sports games on the TV and during the DJ set they have music videos synced up with the set list which is really cool.

I have read a lot of reviews labeling this bar as racist, which is something I personally don't see. I have been there over 15 times since moving to Chicago almost a year ago. I can't speak to people of color's experiences as I am Caucasian, but there tends to be a wide range of ethnicities in the crowd, of varying ages, with a good mix of Middle Eastern, Asian, black, and Hispanic patrons. I have gone into the bar following some Brazilian guys and walked in with a black couple and neither group was given any trouble. I also hung out there with some Polish guys once and they had a blast. The ratio of men to women is also very good/even, tending to be more females. I have noticed while waiting in line before that people will try to bypass the line and will almost always get rejected, though sometimes they let groups of girls in, but only the girls, which is typical of a lot of busy bars. From what I have seen, if you are polite and respectful to the staff, they are the same to you. If you are accusatory or rude towards them or have an attitude, they will not be polite. Also, they are very mindful of keeping people who are too drunk out of the bar so if you are tanked, you better be able to keep your composure well if you want to get in and stay there for a while.

Here are some tips to have a good experience at Social 25:
-Saturdays are the best
-Get there before 11 to catch the live music and there will also be no line
-If you get there after midnight there most certainly will be a line and the wait can be over an hour
-Dress decent, doesn't have to be a suit or a fancy dress or anything, but no sneakers or T-shirts
-There will be up to a $20 cover on holidays so be prepared for that
-Be polite and keep your cool with the staff, even if you are upset about something
-I always go to the bartender closest to the door upstairs, there is usually some room at the bar and she is always nice and has a smile, she also pours the drinks strong which is good when you are paying the typical high downtown prices

Joseph Blewitt

This is a classy place for sure, but the decor, the layout, and the crowd are so nondescript that I had to do a Google Image search to refresh my memory about Social 25. I wanted to make certain I wasn't accidentally reviewing one of the 20 other identical bars operating in a 2 mile radius.

The drink prices were standard and the service was good. The upstairs was comfortably crowded (it's not an oxymoron), and the downstairs was dead/"private." As a disclaimer: I went here after the St. Patrick's Day parade, so my experience here might be a rare one, but I wouldn't protest if the group wanted to go here again.