Does self-serve beer mean the end of bartenders? In the past few years, a version of that rhetorical question has popped up in the headlines of articles about this technology-aided barroom trend. The short answer: No, at least not in the near future. Back in 2009, the now-defunct River North sports bar Bull & Bear installed the first self-serve beer taps in the midwest at five of its tables; its sister bar Public House followed two years later with 12 tables featuring built-in taps. In the years since then, a few more local establishments, including Fatpour Tap Works and El Hefe taqueria, have added tabletop taps, and a four-tap self-serve beer wall opened at O’Hare. Bars dedicated to the pour-your-own concept have opened in several other cities—but it wasn’t until this year that Chicago got its first entirely self-serve bar.
Navigator offers cocktails of the more traditional variety, mixed to order by a human. For most of my visit the bartender was hanging out behind the bar unloading the dishwasher or looking bored; he seemed a little surprised to see me approach. The brief cocktail list keeps things simple, but I was intrigued by a couple of whiskey-based ones served in smoked glasses. The smoked rosemary aroma of the Rail Tie came through so strongly that the lack of the purported hickory smoke in the Nav was surprising; the bartender said that it was probably because he’d mixed the Nav first (the bar has only one shaker so he had to make one drink at a time). Unfortunately both drinks were syrupy-sweet, but the bartender, who came over to ask for feedback, said he’d pass along the criticism to the higher-ups.
Navigator Taproom 2211 N. Milwaukee, 773-270-1690, navigatortaproom.com
