WICKER PARK — An upstairs cabaret with plush velvet couches and Prohibition-era cocktails opens on Saturday, offering burlesque performances and live jazz in Wicker Park.
Bordel — located above Black Bull, a Spanish tapas lounge at 1721 W. Division St. — incorporates art and performance with a craft cocktail lounge in the vein of clubs such as PDT in New York City or Canelaria in Paris, according to a news release.
Both Bordel and Black Bull are owned by Daniel Alonso.
Bordel's two stages will host performances from local jazz musicians, flamenco artists, burlesque entertainers and a rotating group of musical curators including a weekly Wednesday night password-only jazz party from Speakeasy.
Speakeasy has been described by organizers as "a night where you can have a cocktail and a conversation without losing your voice, or you can go to watch an amazing band and dance."
Bordel's opening on Saturday will include an 8 p.m. performance by Annalee and The Midnight Sons, a local band releasing their first album, the Kickstarter-funded "FACETS."
While food can be ordered from Black Bull downstairs, Bordel's beverage program, led by Brian Sturgulewski, serves up cocktails from small batch spirits and fresh ingredients.
The list of libations on Bordel's drink menu includes punches, aperitifs, swizzles, "strong but not silent" stirred cocktails and "shaky, shaky" cocktails with citrus, Alonso said.
For interior design buffs, Bordel's walls offer a large-scale collage composed of European "pulp imagery" from the 1960s and '70s and handmade baroque wallpaper made by local artist Erik DeBat.
Bordel Chicago, 1721 W. Division St. above Black Bull. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday-Friday; 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday. Ph: 773-227-8600.
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