The Beat Kitchen
2100 W. Belmont

The Basics

Where you’ll find it: 2100 W. Belmont Ave.
773-281-4444. www.BeatKitchen.com

When it’s open: 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m. Sunday through Friday, 11:30 a.m.-3 a.m. Saturday.

Reservations: No need, as it’s a bar and music venue first, restaurant second.

What you’ve heard: I always heard of it being a great place for live music. One of our favorite one-man shows is Pat McCurdy, who plays there every Monday. He is always at Milwaukee’s Summerfest and has a cult-like following. Very Tenacious D. We came to see a show and had a blast. … I also heard from a few friends who would grab dinner before walking into the back to see a show. They also do a Sunday brunch that we came back for. The chillaquilles were awesome! Great Bloody Marys and $3 Guinness pints. … Heard it was a great neighborhood hangout.

Visual Aids

First impressions: Pretty cozy with a row of booths. … Definitely had the feel of a smaller, older bar that was well maintained. … Kind of an industrial feel with exposed pipes and overhead lighting for each booth. It felt pretty intimate with the high booths and low lighting, making it easy to enjoy the conversation among the four of us. We had some friends meet our party of four, and note that this is not recommended if you want to sit large parties in the bar. Booths only accommodate four. … A little small, but a great beer selection.

The atmosphere: The vibe of the place seemed to be that of the “more mature Bucktown meets Roscoe Village for a pint before seeing a live band.” … I saw a couple of people in professional dress, but for the most part, it seemed to be a hip-to-the-local-music-scene type of crowd that knows good food. … Had a very casual vibe, and I actually ran into a couple of work colleagues while hanging out. There was a local band playing that evening that a colleague of mine was in, and I had know idea, so that was cool to see them perform.

The Experience

At your service: Service was excellent and not too overwhelming. I have been to a lot of places where conversations are interrupted by the waiter far too often. Our waitress was right on the money, and she definitely knew how to flow with our conversations and keep our glasses full. Excellent service and quite a cutie! … The service was good, and I thought it was great how the waitress kept all of our checks separate, seeing there were three different couples.

Get your drink on: As for the drink specials, they had a great Berghoff Red on tap that some of the group drank all night long. Yes, we ended up staying until 1 a.m., and it could have been partly due to the Stella Artois on tap. … We also tried a cosmopolitan and a few shots, which went down fine, but this is where you can go in jeans and a hat for brewskies at night and some Bloody Marys in the mornin’!

Menu variety and prices: The menu had a lot to choose from. The salads were very large portions, and sandwiches had a lot going on with them. I would recommend the specialty pizzas and would encourage someone to be adventurous with the “Build Your Own Pizza” option. May I suggest some goat cheese? You will not be disappointed. … Everything was priced great. … Not a menu or the quality of food you would expect from a live music venue.

Description of what you did decide on: For starters, we ordered a goat cheese and sun-dried tomato pizza that had artichoke hearts, caramelized onions, roasted garlic and fresh basil. … I enjoyed the blackened tuna sandwich as my main course, served medium rare with avocado, tomato, red onion, pickled ginger and wasabi mayo. … Heather ordered the grilled steak salad loaded with vegetables and topped with a bleu cheese vinegarette dressing that was filling and tasty. The ahi tuna salad is scrumptious as well! … We ordered the tortilla soup for an appetizer that wasn’t very good, but the goat cheese pizza made up for it.

Something that caught your eye: I would definitely say all the food looked great, and I already have my next meal picked out — looks like the spicy Southwest Caesar salad. … I thought it was cool how they had the back venue space where you could get away to see good local bands. … It was cool how a dinner-and-drinks crowd could easily mix with a crowd geared up to see a show.

What you’ll tell your friends: I would probably tell my friends that we need to come back and eat outside when the weather is warm and catch a show afterward. … I would also go there for a few beers and dinner during the week. So go casual and ready to eat! … I never thought a small bar would have such a great menu! … I would definitely tell my friends, if you are looking for a casual jeans and t-shirt kind of place to have an inexpensive dinner and listen to a local band, then this is the place to go.

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