With so many high-energy dance clubs, overcrowded trendy lounges and loud sports bars in the city, there's just gotta be a place where couples can go to get away from it all. From sexy, subterranean spaces to cozy, chill-out clubs, NightWatch picks the best bars around town to take a date. Bartenders put on their favorite rock CDs from the '70s and '80s, but the volume manages not to disturb the lovebirds. N. Clybourn Ave. If you're in the mood for amour, a nice selection of fine wines, French cocktails and champagnes await you at this popular Parisian palace.
Bartenders also play soft, French grooves.
At the Cotton Club, couples can chill out to live jazz and blues. Photo by James Crump Coq d'Or. Located at street level in the Drake Hotel, this dimly lit speakeasy-looking lounge is lined with red leather booths. Martinis are its specialty and a pianist plays on weekends. It gets pretty darn boisterous in the back of this South Loop club, but up front, in the Cab Calloway room, couples can find refuge as they chill out to live jazz and blues.