River North's Underground Tiki
Three Dots and a Dash in River North is Paul McGee's serious-craft take on a fundamentally frivolous format. The room is in a basement on Hubbard Street; the entrance is hidden in an alley; the cocktail programme is one of the most disciplined tiki bars in America.
The drinks programme is tiki at proper serious-bar standards: a deep rum list, fresh juices and house syrups, considered glassware (the carved tiki mugs are the bar's signature), and a kitchen that handles bar food at a level the format rarely receives.
What to Order
Three Dots and a Dash — the bar's namesake cocktail, a Don the Beachcomber-era tiki classic. The carved-mug presentations for a celebration. The rum flights for the diner who wants to commit; the small-plates programme handles the food side.
The Setting
The basement room is dim, well-staged, and unmistakably tiki without sliding into kitsch. Reservations help; weekend evenings can run busy.
Best Occasion: Birthday
A Three Dots birthday is one of Chicago's most photogenic celebration moves. The carved-mug presentations, the basement-bar atmosphere, the rum programme — combine into the kind of evening birthday celebrations are built around. The room handles a group of any reasonable size.