Latest reviews from Aurora

“A hidden place in a strip mall. Has a pretty decent selection. The only problem I have is I asked them to hold a bottle and they would not. Binny’s will in a heart beat so not impressed with customer service.“

Headbanger 2984 days ago

“Beers are average with every once in a whiel one is very good. Food menu a bit lacking but everything I have had is solid.“

Headbanger 2985 days ago

“A nice selection of different local, craft, and import brews. Had a burger that was tasty. Service was not bad. Definitely worth a stop if you are in downtown Aurora.“

Headbanger 3468 days ago

“Stopped in on a Saturday and the friendly staffer informed me they were having some supply issues. You could tell as the shelves were a little bare. Prices were very high on the items I bought. Probably good in a pinch but wouldn’t want to rely on them for my everyday needs. Hopefully the supply issues are short-term and they can get things going good over here.“

kseecs16 3493 days ago

“Was hoping this would be better. Went on a Friday night when there was a special beer release. Half full at best. Brews were ok (at best), nothing really stood out. Food was uninspired and overpriced. Atmosphere was very sterile in that suburban strip mall fashion.“

MOlsonNotBeer 3564 days ago

“Big, spacious, gorgeous building - an old railroad roundhouse (hence the name of the place) converted to a bar with an outdoor patio in the middle. The staff seems friendly enough, but, I was there on a Sunday afternoon, and it wasn’t busy, but the staff seemed overwhelmed. That being said, they were able to tend to me without problems, however, they tended to gossip a bit much about their personal qualms among themselves, and they didn’t seem as knowledgeable about their beers as I would hope (often needed to read the menus to refresh themselves on what each beer was). I wonder how they operate under busy conditions? A pretty good selection of 12ish taps, their 7 regulars, a couple seasonals, a couple limited releases, and a couple one offs. I didn’t sample their food on this visit, maybe next time.“

ARH 3591 days ago

“Like the other reviewers have stated, an enormous place with plenty of character and a fine selection of beers from Two Brothers. We visited between trains at 7pm on a Friday evening. Understandably, the place was packed so we used the alternative "beer bar" rather than the main bar. I was disappointed to receive my drink in a plastic glass and was gives the rather rude response that the "glassware" was soy and therefore biodegradable, and that the reason for the "soy" pots was that they had only been open for three years and hadn’t got round to installing a glasswasher in that part of the bar area. Why not? I’m sure that the management makes pots of dough from the place and to serve quality ales in the type of container usually found at sports stadia seems like a serious error of management. What a shame, they were doing so well.“

dubiousfrog 3691 days ago

“Very cool place. Food is good but often times not accurate. Service is their missing link. Great selection of their brew of course...10-15 selections with growlers bottles and cans to go. Servers and bartenders as of yet know little about the beers they serve which is a downer and food is good when right but often is missing " standard features"... Worth a stop for 2 bros beer...“

Awktoberfest 3977 days ago

“Stopped in while just to see what they had. A pretty good selection of craft beers. Nice and clean along with well organized. A nice selection of big bottles, six packs, and even some 12oz singles. I was happy to stumble into this place.“

BuckeyeBoy 4342 days ago

“Big place with two bars and very open. Great steak sandwich and friendly bartenders.“

Rhobbes 4343 days ago

“Visited on a Sunday afternoon. Make sure you enter the parking lot right after the Comfort Inn when coming from the south on Broadway. The building is gigantic and beautiful. I was very surpised how slow it was. I figured this place was going to jam packed. My date and I were on our first date and we were sat right next to another table. Were they anticipating a crowd? The beer menu that was on the table was stained. The table was sticky as well. The beer menu itself was kind of confusing and felt like a moron when I realized that "5 Pint" and "6 Snifter" it was $5 for a pint... I’m not an old fart, but change it to Pint.......5 if you want to be swanky and not use dollar signs. My date and I ordered a couple of beers and the Pork Belly Tacos for starters to share. I clearly told our server we’d be sharing the tacos. No appetizer plates? The "Pork Belly" was pork shoulder and it wasn’t even good pork shoulder. It was dry and flavorless. The lime wedge they sent with the plate was the opposite of fresh and hard as a rock. I’m not starting a first date by looking like a pretentious foodie and sending something back. Gotta ease her into that. :) Their beer is wonderful, however. The Monarch and the Redeye Porter were outstanding. She ordered the Chimi-Turkey Sandwich and really liked it. I had the Rueben. It said the beef was "House Corned" on the menu. It had no flavor other than beef. Their chips were super thin and really good, though. Definitely not a fan of this place. I’d watch a football game here with some beer and chips. “

Berno 4411 days ago

“The food here was pretty good and matched the well with the brewery’s offerings. I think the beer that is present now is superior to those offered when this was Walter Peyton’s Roundhouse. There seems to be a more solid selection and balance in the brews.“

pari6819 4451 days ago

“Great now that two brothers took over, i cant wait for hop juice to come out and they have their festival. Really great outdoor space, and some great local small bands. The food is 100% better than when the place was walter paytons. Service could still use a little help. The owners are very nice and they make ridiculously good beer.“

MiamiRedhawk 4500 days ago

“Stopped in twice while visiting friends, this has become their go to place. Really decent for a strip mall liquor store, nice size and clean. The selection isn’t huge but they have some really nice things here, 3Floyds, Firestone Walker, Bells... The service is really great, they are super friendly and pretty funny actually, they remembered us from the day before. Super helpful and were even willing to fetch cold bottles themselves for us. A pleasure to give these gentlemen my business.“

Atom 4632 days ago

“I visited this place when it was Walter Payton’s Roundhouse and was thrilled to hear Two Brothers had purchased the complex. This place is huge! As of right now they are serving food and have TBs on tap with a couple Roundhouse specialties on tap. I can’t wait to come back once this place is really up and running. The bartender said they should be brewing there by February or March.“

Atom 4653 days ago

“i have always said that 2-Bros food was better then their beer, still Applies. I am hoping that they use this space to allow experimental beers to be brewed for on site drinking, as right now the only beers available are ones you have had a trillion times already. Anyway, this building is outstanding, it is really really cool, and if they do a few things differantly, i can see this place being really great. The food is great, the setting is great, prices are reasonable.....just get some beers that are not boring for us to drink. please.“

Chadquest 4679 days ago

“This place is under ne wmanagement - Two Brothers Brewery recently bought it and reopened it last week. The old beers are gone and replaced with Two Brother’s standards. The food menu is a bit small at the moment but they are still in transition. They made a mistake on my wife’s food but quickly fixed it and didn’t charge for her meal, so the customer service is very much in place. Only had one beer - the robust porter. It was actually a bit gentle for a porter, lightly sweet (or maybe just less bitter than most) and very much to my taste, so I’ll be back for that one. Food was good, not great. Ribs were a little tough but the taste was good, the fish tacos seemed a little spartan for $11 but my wife enjoyed the taste, and the big pretzels were very good, if not very traditional. I’ll go again in a few months when they get their sea legs. The place itself is awesome - it’s a unique setting.“

Gruesome 4716 days ago

“(Visited 11/2010): ABC is located in the Walter Payton Roundhouse in Aurora off Broadway, not too far from I-88. They have a fairly large private lot. The brewpub is located inside on the right. The space is open, with the bar located immediately inside the entrance, and there are brewing tanks right near the entryway. There is table seating throughout the rest of the room. The interior is dark with stone walls and there is a large stone fireplace. Interesting mural too. ABC has around 7 house beers on tap, including standard offerings like a Pils and Scottish. More unique beers include a blonde chocolate ale and Cherry Imperial Stout. The beers are pretty average overall with the exception being the aforementioned Stout. Service was decent on a weeknight at the bar. There were a lot of regulars there and I didn’t have any issues getting service. Food at America’s Brewing is pretty good. All in all I would visit this spot were I to find myself in Aurora again, but it isn’t a place to which you would drive from Chicago or anything. Decent overall.“

Dogbrick 4721 days ago

“Hmmm, somehow overlooked rating this place... The feel of the place is kind of bizarre because it is built in a big roundhouse, which is kind of charming. The brewery set up is pretty cool, big and open. Main issue that they have seems to be with cleanliness. It seems like everyone of their beers has some sort of sanitation defect, generally from the lines for pumping the beer. That being said, the base beers are alright. Service is okay and food is kind of meh. Not really my cup of tea.“

NobleSquirrel 4826 days ago

“Went here with my girlfriend, that had a great local band playing RED WOODY, figured they would have only your basic beers that all irish pubs have, but they had some new beers from Stone brewery, which i really love, as well as a new brewery Argus which i am not that famiiliar with. I had the arrogant bastard in the 22oz bottle, and the girlfriend had a McCaffery’s almost like a white guinness. Food was suprisingly good. Nice change of pace, 2 bars, really a big place, they also had an outdoor patio with a tent for smoking.“

MiamiRedhawk 4882 days ago

“Neat building. The service is quite variable and so is the beer. I’ve had some that were great and some with funkiness going on...in a bad way. The Bourbon Barrel beers were both quite good, especially the cherry. I wish there food was more reasonably priced. If it was we would go more often.“

dragonlady1010 4961 days ago

“First time visiting this place, i’ve tried a couple of their bottled beers before, but had never been to the brewpub. We stopped in on a snowy Saturday afternoon (in March!?) with orbitalr0x. The building itself is impressive, and houses multiple venues. A weekend absinthe bar for example, coffee bar, and an outdoor courtyard popular for weddings. The brewpub bar was up a few stairs to the right of the hostess station. Lots of wood planks and dark colors gave it a northwoods lodge vibe. The rectangular bar was front and center, with table seating along the walls, and upstairs on a second level visible above the bar. Lighting was pretty dark, though it was an overcast day and there was zero natural light coming in. It felt cozy, and if we had more time to kill, probably would have been at the bar for hours. Selection was ok, the crazy highlight being a "jury-rigged" randalizer on the bar. They were running a dry-hopped amber through 1/2 pound of Centennial hops... it was great! We had a sample of the regular amber next to it and the dry-hopped blew it away. Another specialty was a cherry version of the bourbon imperial stout, that was aged 547 days in oak. Other than that the selection was pretty typical, a stout, pilsner, etc. Service was friendly and timely, one of the brewers stopped by and explained his randalizer, which was cool. We tried a queso fundido app that came with spicy chorizo, which was good. The crowd seemed to be fairly mixed, many just there for lunch, others drinking green st. pattys bottles of bud light :S It’s a BREWPUB for pete’s sake! There were still bottles to go in the coolers, though they seem to be dwindling in the market. We saw a couple palllets in the brewing area too, so they still appear to be bottling here.“

emerge077 5177 days ago

“this place is BIG! i was stunned at how much seating is available. ironically, i did not sample the brew. the food however was quite good. soup was clearly fresh and made in house, plentiful and cheap. club sandwich was more then decent. my fellow diner had a burger he proclaimed was excellent. service was good, prices were pretty fair....i was actually a big shocked at the size of the place and thought that might translate to much more expensive menu items. a number of seasonal brews were tapping as well as the standards. no complaints here.“

satan165 5458 days ago

“Went many times the last with Hopscotch and enjoyed the beers. Service very friendly and somewhat knowledgeable. Their bottle prices a bit steep compared to Binny’s in Naperville. Cool Payton memorabilia.“

Headbanger 5821 days ago

“I didn’t really get the chance to check out much of the Walter Payton memorabilia, but I enjoyed a sit-down drinking session with Headbanger. The drafts were fairly solid, if not spectacular. Plenty of bottles to purchase... although I recommend buying your four packs at a liquor store (Payton’s charges $25 for a four pack of the BBA Impy Stout compared to $10 at Sam’s). We sat at the bar and service was good. I probably won’t go again, but I’m glad I went. If you’re in Aurora or a huge Payton fan, it’s a must-visit. If you’re in Chicago and not a huge Payton fan, you may want to consider other options within or closer to the city.“

hopscotch 5859 days ago

“Stopped by on a Tuesday for great drink specials. They seem to have an extensive selection of pulls, although nothing is too terribly rare. The service is surprisingly bright and prompt, even when the place filled up. Young crowd but respectful. I’ll be back.“

gws57 5873 days ago

“Great feel to this joint, always a treat coming here. Service is hit or miss, sometimes great sometimes pretty bad. Beer also varies from very good to ho-hum, but the bigger (aged) stuff is usually really tasty. Black and blue cheesburger, while off the menu, is still available per request and is extremely delcious.“

Dough77 5964 days ago

“I don’t understand an ambiance score of less than 5 for America’s brewpub. Dark, wooden, well worn, cozy. A very cool, unique place. When Mike Rybinski challenges his clientèle with higher gravity offerings, the beer can be quite good. Stick with the specialties. I should have gotten the name of our waitress fabulous service, great attitude, funny, etc. I regret not taking a walk around the facility as I understand it’s quite large. The large parking lot was packed on a Saturday night early and we had to use valet parking for $5. Aurora is a quite a ways out from Chicago. The beer is not worth the trip, but the place itself is and the beer is a bonus.“

ElGaucho 6034 days ago

“I really like this place. The beer is generally so-so, but some of their seasonal and experimental beers are really excellent. Service is good, and the courtyard is a fun place to be on a summer evening. The food is a little pricey, yet is pretty good. Worth a visit if you’re in the area!“

troyc 6155 days ago

“Made a quick detour on my way from my company’s annual talk, and to drop off a National Homebrew Competition entry. Nice big, airy space yes, it’s an old railroad roundhouse, right off the Metra and Amtrak stations (so you could have a beery train ride between here and Flossmoor Station. 5-beer sampler was reasonably priced, and did NOT include the Payton Lite, thank you. Brews seem to be making progress, what with their blond chocolate ale and hemp ale. Worth a full-fledged visit.“

DrnkMcDermott 6249 days ago

“Good little bar that used to have a better draft selection(Bad Elf,BlackJack Porter, Two Bros). They say they will be rotating the drafts. 2$ all pints on Tuesday. Overall a nice little neighborhood bar.“

Headbanger 6276 days ago

“America’s Brewpub is located inside Walter Payton’s Roundhouse. This is quite a place. There is a restuarant, brewery, coffee bar, cigar bar, cognac bar, comedy club, and dance club all packed inside a rebuilt roundhouse. It seems to be a happening place! I didn’t have any food while I was there (only beer and one of their sodas), but it looked pretty good from what I saw although I think it was somewhat pricey. The place was nicely decorated and I would have given the ambiance a 5 had it not been for the horrible piano player we had to sit near! The service is average+ and they had a good selection of beers. When I was there they had their "Why Dont We Get Drunk And Brew..." Scotch Ale, Pumpkin Ale, Hanna’s Cherry Imperial Stout, Payton Pilsener, Honey Wheat Ale, Aurora Amber Ale, Dirty Summer Blonde Chocolate Beer, Sweetness Stout and one or two others that I did not get a chance to sample. The chocolate beer was quite interesting (it’s blonde in color!), but the Scotch Ale was by far the best and one of my favorites. It’s worth stopping in just to try it!“

shigadeyo 6350 days ago

“A pretty awesome place. A cool old building with great ambience, and some outdoor seating available. Went for dinner. A nice sampler, that our bartender allowed us to swap out a selection on. Food is very good with a tendency towards higher priced items for dinner, that are worth it, but still a few economical options. The lunch menu looked great as well. All of their beers were pretty tasty, but nothing really amazing. They lacked any really big beers while I was there. This is a very active lively place and with the live music in the courtyard,and adjoining cognac bar as well as comedy club offers a lot of fun opportunties.“

kseecs16 6496 days ago

“The ambience saves this place. The beers are great, but expensive. Service is nothing terribly special, and the food is better than pub fare but pretentious.“

gws57 6576 days ago

“Wow, this was a great place. My wife and I visited as our first stop on our 3-pub mini-tour for lunch a few days after Christmas. It wasn’t very busy. I was able to get a five 5 oz. sampler for only $6 - what a steal! My only complaint was that I couldn’t choose the 5 beers in the sampler (but since all were new to me, I didn’t mind too much). Their food was quite amazing as well - I had a wood-stove baked portabella mushroom pizza, and my wife got a panini sandwich with artichoke hearts and mozarella ... simply delicious. Lunch prices were very reasonable ... we both ate for under $20 total. I will definitely visit again; this is much closer to my parent’s house than I realized.“

JMerritt 6722 days ago

“A very nice place, albeit a little noisy at times. The biggest draw, IMHO, are the many excellent beers brewed by Mike. A great place to go for a noontime lunch. Being a beer AND railroad buff, I’m impressed with the building and the history behind it. They did a great job of renovation. I was there in 1976 when the Freedom Train visited Aurora and the pre-restored roundhouse was falling apart. It’s great they saved this piece of history. Between the most excellent beers, the historic building and good food, it’s now a regular for myself and a group of friends fondly dubbed “The_Cartel.”“

Woodpecker 6781 days ago

“Nice, spacious atmosphere. Nine beers tapped on my visit - most weren’t very good, but at least they had a wide span of options. The pulled pork sandwich was f’in delicious. Judging from my lunch, my wife’s and comments I heard from other tables, a lot of their food selections are spicy. I like that. Good experience all around.“

StewardofGondor 6838 days ago

“wonderful restaurant. rennovated train station turned into steakhouse/brewpub. excellent food, although moderate to expensive prices. definately worth a visit. beers are hit or miss, but for the most part good with the occasional being excellent. of their regular selections i liked the amber and sweetness stout. if you can get it their hemp ale is really good and their seasonals are usually up to par. last stop on the bnsf metra toward aurora“

SkyinBrian 6870 days ago

“Rustic charm abounds with refurbished wood and stone, leather pub chairs, a massive tapestry and chandelier, stone fireplaces and high, beamed ceilings. Interesting layout which seems to go on and on to accomodate a huge crowd. Our server started out rather attentive... then seemed in a bit of a hurry to get us out of there, which was strange being that it was a slow Monday night.

The menu was quite diverse although prices ranged on the high side. After an interesting appetizer of tortillas with Chihuaua cheese and chorizo (which was spicy and flavorful although a bit greasy), I enjoyed New Orleans Jambalya with Andouille sausage and jalapeno shrimp wrapped in proscuitto. My guests were pleased with petite-cut fillet with bearnaise and pan-seared tilapia with chipotle butter on spring vegetables.

The craft beer menu included 5 regulars & 2 seasonals which were well-made and diverse. It was a shame that they needed to "dumb-down" the menu to include a Corona clone as a "special" and automatically served their Hefe with a lemon wedge. However, their Oatmeal Cream Stout was a real treat (despite their references to Guinness similarities).

Overall, a little pricey & out of the way but a very nice experience. Proximity to Chicago’s Premium Outlet Mall in Aurora made it a no-brainer.“

frankenkitty 6929 days ago

“The neat thing about this place is that the brewery is out in the open and the aromas permeate the entire building, an old restored railroad roundhouse. The joint has music on a regular basis. For football fans, there’s a Walter Payton museum. There’s steaks, chops, fish, pasta, et cetera, for those of you who like to eat. And for me, who likes to drink, there’s some surprizingly good beers. The brewmeister’s a good. friendly guy. I recommend the amber, now brewed to come across almost like an IPA. Good barley wine, scotch ale, other brews, and a couple bottles of piss-waters for the idiots in the crowd. I’d stop back when in the area again.“

Cornfield 7065 days ago