Latest reviews from Villa Park
| 76 /100 126 S VILLA AVE “Visited in November 2023. Standalone brewpub in Villa Park, close to the O'Hare airport. It had a stone top bar on one side of a large pub which should hold more than 150 people. They had over 30 beers on tap with 5-6 guest beers, and 10 or so cans to go. The food was good, the beer was better. Recommended.“ |
| 74 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Visited in November 2023. Small microbrewery on the corner of a street. They are a Belgian brews-oriented brewery, and they had 7 of their beers on tap, with additional 80-100 bottles/cans from other breweries. Inside a dark narrow and long place, they had a long bar, arcade machines, and toys. They had no TVs blaring sports, which was good. The place resembled a dive bar actually. The beer was good.“ |
| 82 /100 126 S VILLA AVE “On way to Minn. spent night close by this Brewpub. Very large, new and clean Brewpub. Fast service and good food. Lots of choices for food and Beer. I had flight of 4 plus 2 more. Also bought a 4 pack to bring home.“ |
| 88 /100 Bulldog Ale House (Restaurant) 100 E. ROOSEVELT RD. “Previous Outback Steak House location totally upgraded to fit the theme. Friendly staff and service. A varied selection of craft & macro selections on tap, with a few local brews included. Plenty of TVs in the bar area, with a warming fire in the restaurant. Try the all you can eat wings when on special, and the fruit, Nutella, and caramel filled beignets for dessert.“ |
| 82 /100 126 S VILLA AVE “10/13/18 (Villa Park): My first visit after hearing very positive feedback regarding beer. The bar area is modern, beer offerings limited in both count and style. The two I tried were very good. The food was excellent (had the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich with curds). They have growlers and crowlers to go, I took home four offerings. The service was very friendly, prompt and the staff like interacting with customers. Crowd mostly 20s-30s suburbanites. Good music and a few muted tvs playing sports. Not convenient for me to get to, this was well worth the trip and I look forward to future visits when I see new releases worth checking out.“ |
| 58 /100 126 S VILLA AVE “This place has potential but just misses the mark across the board. Only 5 brewed beers on tap is disappointing for a place open this long, get more of your own stuff on tap. The amber wasn't very good at all, nor was the porter. The porter variant was solid. Mozie single ipa was decent, dipa was too sweet. The ipas aren't executed to the level that I'd call great. They are basically a heavy handed NE approach. The food wasn't very good and came out to fast like it was pre-prepared. The fries and curds were both cold. Has potential but I won't be back any time soon.“ |
| 64 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Dive brewery/bar that has some really solid draft offerings. Brewed beers aren't too appealing, made more for the Villa Park local, but the eclipse was solid. The guest drafts were solid with decent ticks. Old and grungy spot but its part of the flair.“ |
| 66 /100 126 S VILLA AVE “Stopped in with a big group of friends and they were nice enough to push together 4 or 5 tables for us. Our server was just okay, slower service, but it was packed. The beers are solid, not at the level of Noon Whistle, which is very close, though.“ |
| 58 /100 126 S VILLA AVE “Busy place with only a handful of htier own selections, 4 or 6 when i first visited, 3 the second time. A lot of guest drafts, but only thier beers in a flight so i had to double up on 1. Its always packed here, they have food, but nothing too special, and not great for tickers.“ |
| 80 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Old school dive bar with a local friendly character which is dying other places. Selection of their beers are smaller because they are smaller, but they have a good selection of other ales to satisfy your pallet.“ |
| 80 /100 Sal’s Beverage World (Beer Store) 298 A W ROOSEVELT RD “Found on my way somewhere else stopped in to see if I could find something I hadn’t had. The beer steward walked me around and we found 5 new ones for me. A lot of good beer cold.“ |
| 88 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “I go here whenever I’m in the area. This place is a bar with a brewery. Excellent job of making beer in such a small brewery. Taps are always changing and everything is made in small batches. This is a must visit when you’re in the area.“ |
| 42 /100 Ardmore Station Liquors (Beer Store) 405 N ARDMORE AVE “This is the type of liquor store that people go and buy malt liquor from. Suprisingly huge selection of craft beer. I wouldn’t buy anything that requires a fresh date on it. Dusty bottles everywhere. I did find a bottle of Bitch Please in 2014 (released 2011).“ |
| 64 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Lots of beer here. 6 house taps. 11 guest taps. And a bunch of guest bottles / cans. Prices are a bit steep on the larger format bottles - $30 for many of the bottles. Really cool atmosphere - definitely a beer drinking joint. No flights, which really sucks.“ |
| 78 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “has a bit of a dive bar feel. local bar with quite a nice tap and bottle selection. I would have appreciated the ability to try a flight of the house beers, but no such luck. Still, was able to have a few pretty good beers.“ |
| 68 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Good selection of bottles, a bit pricey though. House brewed beer is ok but nothing that brings makes me go out of my way to go there. Used to live down the street from here so have been going there many years. Quality of the brews has fallen off over the years or, maybe my palate has matured (?).
Love the dive bar atmosphere. Weekends can be tough if they have a band - it gets very loud.“ |
| 74 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Nice little dive bar not far from where I grew up. Very nice guest tap list (GI Barley Wine being the highlight this trip) and bottle list. I am looking forward to visiting again.“ |
| 82 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Great neighborhood watering hole with a solid brewery and great beer selection. Local-centric dive with a no pretentiousness , and folks that are proud (rightfully so) of their establishment. In house brews are very good, and it’s easy to feel like a local in this place.“ |
| 64 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Stopped in on a weekday evening. There were a handful of people in the brewpub. We sat at a table a few feet from the bar. There was a beer menu on the table, so we read through it a couple of times, and no one came over to see if we wanted to try any of their beers. After a few minutes I went up to the bar, and the bartender came over to me. He was down talking to a few of the patrons sitting at the bar. I asked about trying a flight of their beers, and they don’t do that. He said he could pour a couple of samples, so I agreed. I went back to the bar and bought a pint of their IPA. It was ok, but I was disappointed in the overall experience. The guest tap list was impressive, but we were ready to move on. Not sure I would revisit.“ |
| 90 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “The prototypical corner dive bar but this one is a brewery and has a craft beer selection that will blow your mind.“ |
| 98 /100 Ardmore Station Liquors (Beer Store) 405 N ARDMORE AVE “THEY HAVE LARGER SELECTION OF MICRO-BREW AND CRAFT BEERS GREAT SELECTION OF LIMITED RELEASE“ |
| 80 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Stopped in to try a few beers on the way to a wedding. Sign was so warn out, almost missed. Feel of an old 60s bar that hasn’t changed much at all. Was empty on my visit but service was fine. Had about 6 of their own taps plus a number of guest brews. Some snacks available. Beer made it worth the stop and at nice prices.“ |
| 76 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Visited October 2010.
I had heard that their barrel aged beers are worth travelling for but the rest of the beers are just ok. That’s pretty much accurate. The place is dark and on the edge of a residential part of town. Not a real scenic area. Service was decent as were prices and atmosphere. If I had some business in the area I’d stop in again as they seem to rotate their house beers often and they do have some good guest beers.“ |
| 80 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Kind of a dive joint, but a pretty cool place. Awesome selection of guest taps, but I mostly kept to the Lunar beers. Their IPA was a bit "different", but really good. I could not put my finger on what was unique with it, but it was delicious. I also tried their Oktoberfest and a Belgian Pale Ale, both of which were very good. No food that I could see and the bartender was accommodating, but not overly friendly. Prices on par with the Chicago ’burbs. Overall a really cool place and went twice in two days while in the Villa Park area for work.“ |
| 92 /100 Foremost Liquors (Beer Store) 536 W ST CHARLES RD “They just put in a HUGE new craft beer cooler. Currently have 250+ varieties to choose from but I swear every time I walk in there the owner is telling me about more new beer that they got in.
They don’t have everything yet, but at the rate they are increasing their inventory it won’t be long before they do. Biggest gap in the selection is probably with international stuff, but for American Craft beer they are spot on.
Plus if they don’t have something you’re looking for, ask them to get it. I’ve done this twice now for a couple tough to find beers and they came through both times.“ |
| 68 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “First I’ll say, I’m going to have to give this place another chance if I’m in the area. The place is a pretty cool corner street dive bar, my kinda of place. Just after DLD, although I didn’t go, people just getting back from it. Nice selection of in house brews and some nice guest taps and a huge bottle list! Wish I would have had more time. Unfortunately, not a great experience. I ordered the Kolsch, I get it and all it smells and tastes like is Belgian Spice. I ask the bartender if they had just changed kegs. They had and he asked if something was wrong with the beer. He tastes the Kolsch and admits its off and says sometimes when they change kegs the beer can be funky, dirty lines. So I order an IPA, now I didn’t watch him closely but I get the IPA same deal. So either all their lines are dirty or he didn’t give me a clean glass. Disappointing, but willing to go back.“ |
| 72 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Brew pub pequeño en los suburbios de Chicago.Las cervezas de la casa aceptables,gran selección en botella!!Muy amables y cerveceros..música en vivo.“ |
| 76 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Place Rating #200. Traditional corner bar setup, decent sized bar with tables filling out the place. I visited right after they opened, so was the only person in there. Service was busy setting up for the day, so pretty much left me be. When I visited, it was brew day and smelled amazing in the place. Three taps of their own (Kolsch, IPA and Steam) and a really high quality list of guest bottles and about 10 or so guest taps. Food wise, it looked like a couple of different frozen pizzas and bar snacks. Cool vibe, bet it would be a lot of fun on a busy night. I always love these combo micro brewer high end beer bar places. Fun stop, one of those places that if it was near me I would be at pretty often. 76 = ★★★ (Worth the visit, must for locals, and visitors with time) I only use the total score, not the component parts.“ |
| 46 /100 Royal Food and Liquors #2 (Beer Store) 1011 W. NORTH AVENUE “I had a later afternoon flight out, and a meeting on this side of town and wanted to visit Lunar brewing. To kill time, I hit a few of the local bottle shops listed in the area. Located in an easy access strip mall, this is your bog standard typical liquor store layout. Focus is on macros and easy to get craft selections. Service was null. I did not see anything worth buying in the store, not worth a trip out of the way. 46 = ½ (Not worth visiting) I only use the total score, not the component parts. “ |
| 78 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Very "corner bar" atmosphere. House beers aren’t bad, but not very noteworthy. The guest beer list, however, is excellent.“ |
| 88 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Visited on a mid-week, mid-day. This places smacks of a cool old neighborhood bar turned brewpub. There was a small contingent of seemingly local regulars and a very friendly barkeep. If not for the fact that we had to drive on to other destinations, I could’ve spent much time here. With an impressive lineup of house beers (the few we tried were good), but they also had a kick-ass selection of guest taps. Brewery #507.“ |
| 76 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Lunar Brewing is the kind of bar I wish I had in my neighborhood. It is not corporate looking at all. It sits in an unassuming old brick building with a single sign on it. I had no trouble finding it based on the address. I parked in the small lot in the back of the building. I don’t know how that would work out if they had been really busy.
Stepping inside you are treated to a classic long bar on the left and a few rickety tables along the wall on the right. The place was pretty dead because I like to drink in the afternoon, so there was plenty of seating to choose from. I chose the bar of course.
The place wasn’t covered in TVs either, which is a good thing.
The bartender nudged the list of Lunar and guest taps in my direction.
I started with the Space Cadet Stout by Lunar Brewing. It was different than I expected and my first impression was that I didn’t like it. The subtle hint of cherry was unusual. Luckily after a few more sips it started to grow on me and I was really glad I stuck with it.
My wife had a Lunar double IPA that I cannot remember the name of. It was very good and I took quite a few samples from her glass.
As the day progressed we worked our way through several other beers by Lunar and others. The selection is impressive and we enjoyed everything.
The bartender was friendly and honest about the beer. I liked that he could be himself without worrying about some corporate behavior policy.
Overall, I like the beer and the atmosphere of Lunar Brewing. I wish they served food (besides frozen pizza) so that I could make this a destination. It is too far from my house to just "stop by", but that is my problem, not theirs. I will definitely try to make it back to this hidden gem of a bar.“ |
| 82 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “House beer are decent, but they have some awesome guest taps.“ |
| 92 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Was first introduced to this place by a friend, and recently went back. Went there around 2-3 in the afternoon on a Wednesday. Nice place, very broken in... old aged wood and wonky stools. Very friendly atmosphere, staff is great too. One regular had brought in some homemade gumbo we got to try. Prices are a little steep, but it is a bar. All in all, a great little hole in the wall with really great beers. I recommend the Moondance IPA and the Moonraker scotch ale.“ |
| 80 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Finally managed to get to this place. A non-descript old bar building (half of which is a closed restaurant, or is that where the brew works hides?). Small signs that are already fading away. But inside I find my three favorite kinds of places combined: brewpub, great beer bar and dive bar. If they only had pinball or a shuffleboard table, it’d be my ideal place. 8-12 Lunar brews on tap, plus guest beers I’ve never seen on tap elsewhere, and an old-time wooden front bottle cooler with a few dozen more varieties. Yes, there are BMC’s, though: the bartender popped an MGD 64 for a female regular as soon as she came in the door--I do like that kind of attention, although my "regular" will always be a sample of the newest brew. A good schedule of live local music.“ |
| 86 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Awesome place, better than expected. Cozy corner bar atmosphere with good service. Big old bar with a cool wood doored fridge in the back that’s probably been there as long as the building. Good variety of in-house beers and a nice selection of high quality guest taps and bottles. If I lived nearby I would be a regular. Look for the entrance on the northwest corner of St. Charles Road and Illinois Ave. Park in back or on the nearby streets.“ |
| 90 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “This place is great. If you did not know it was there you would drive right by it. It truly is a hidden gem out in the burbs.
The beers they make are just wonderful! The staff is great and full of beer knowledge They have everything you could want from their own fine beers to micros to macros no one should leave this place with out being able to find a beer to drink. Live bands on the weekends makes this place a great hang out This is what a bar should be.“ |
| 84 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “
Lunar is a hidden gem in an area where there arent many other beer options. Their BA Batch 500 recently took gold at FoBAB 08, so that should tell you something about the quality of their brews. Last weekend I went in for a growler of Xmas in the Carribean, a mango infused pale ale. Very accessible and tasty, with real mango character. It has a quirky atmosphere with its own crowd of regulars and live music on weekend nights. Guest taps often have a few gems, and they recently redesigned their bottle list, which is a big improvement.“ |
| 86 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Stopped in with the wife and was pleasently surprised as from the outside it does not look like much. Mostly local crowd. Had 5 of their own beers on tap. Had the IPA and was very good. Solid guest taps with brews like 3F Moloko and Rogue Imperial Red. 40 or so other bottled beers available and it seems they rotate them frequently. Lot of dark wood and cool place to chill and have some good brews. Bartenders were awesome as they let my wife try several samples before choosing what beer she wanted. If I were to own a bar I would want something like this. To bad there is nothing like this in my area.“ |
| 64 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Almost missed it while driving down St. Charles Rd. This is a neighboorhood looking bar, old outdated look with a funky smell to it. I went there at noon, just had opened, so I was there alone. Seems that this place has a small stage area for small venue bands. The selection of guest brews are solid, thing you’ll find at any other good beer bars. I stuck with a couple of the house brews. Nice to have checked this out but I is kinda out of my way so I’d probably not have a chance to come here again.“ |
| 86 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “I went here two nights in a row and found it was worth it. It looks like a hole in the wall bar, but has no BMC. It is hard to find as I drove one night, right past it. The next night, a cabbie also drove right past it, even with his in car guidance system. First, I went on a Saturday night, a live band was playing with friendly locals as well as the staff. I went again on a Sunday night and also had an entertaining time. The bar was surprisingly empty on both trips. i am amazed that so few people frequent this bar. The brewpub beers were well above average and I was impressed. They also had a solid guest tap list as well as bottles. Possibly the best beer bar in the Chicago area other than the Maproom.“ |
| 84 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “A quaint little small bar...the beers i had were super solid and the bartender was super friendly!!! This place rocks!!!“ |
| 90 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “This place is great! Admittedly, hard to find - but I kind of like that. Drove past it for literally years thinking it was just another neighborhood dive bar. But it’s not. It is simply the best neighborhood beer bar in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. All of their in-house brews are good, and you could drink off the bottle menu for a long time without repeating or getting bored. To keep the college kids and beer neophytes happy they do serve macros - but the only mention is a cryptic line about domestic bottles on the beer menu. Bartenders are friendly and knowledgeable. Ambience is dark and cozy - love the wooden coolers. I give this place such high ratings because a) it’s very rare to find a beer menu like this in a neighborhood bar and b) it’s my neighborhood bar (now that I’m in the know). Also - old reviews give lots of marks off due to smoke issues - this should no longer be a problem due to the smoking ban.“ |
| 74 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “This was a cool, warm little bar with a small concert venue. When I was there in mid-2007, they were out of several of the house beers, so only 4 or 5 were on tap at the time (although it sounds like they usually have more). Service was very good, and the smoke level was low because it was early in the evening (that shouldn’t be a factor at all with the smoking ban). I’d love to spend more time and get to know this place better.“ |
| 78 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “This place was great. If you love the feel of a towny bar with a great selection this is the place for you. They had a great variety of imports and macros and their own brews were great too. The bartender was friendly and helpful. I didn’t see a waiter/waitress around but maybe it is just the bartender. Not a lot of seating and not a ton of parking but if you’re in the area this is a must visit.“ |
| 70 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Visited 9/29/07, after running around to local bottle shops in the area.
Lunar is easy to miss...we drove right past it before realizing it. Came around the block and parked in back. Nice, considering that there’s minimal on street parking.
The place shows it’s age but is not run down. A dark atmosphere with a nice selection of homebrewed taps as well as some guest taps, such as Two Brothers, Franziskaner, GI, etc. Also, a nice selection of bottles including a WAY underpriced Mikkeller Beer Geek Breafast. When I saw the price, I asked how they were making any money on it. The bartender’s reply..."we’re not". So I bought two to bring home.
Lunch consisted of Tombstone pizza but the bartender gave us the option of bringing food in from someplace else. It was nice to have the option but we just settled for some pizza.
The jukebox had a wide range of great music, from all different genres. My nephew chose some U2 while I played some Ray Charles. All good stuff on the box.
One of the "regulars", who lived in the neighborhood, had the 411 for us on everything from samplers (which were not technically available, but provided for us, none the less), to food options. They should put her on the payroll.
A nice place to stop and spend an hour or two.
“ |
| 86 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Went here for the Feb 2007 Chicago Area gathering. Nearly missed this place 3 times as I drove by. Its a wharehouse old looking building that is on the North side of the street. Drove by it 3 times before getting in there. Parking lot and street parking easily available. Its your typical corner bar in your typical neighborhood. Dark, woody and very very smoky. One person was smoking in the place and I had the smell on me for a while. There are a couple TVs and a stage in back where it looks like they have music. The house beer is much better than average. Definately check out the Moondance IPA. Wonderful. Had about 6-7 of their own beer on tap and multiple better-than-phenominal guest taps including GOOSE ISLAND IIPA. They also have an extensive bottle selection. My only complaint about this place other than the smoking is that growlers cost on average >$25. Definately worth the trip out here.“ |
| 52 /100 Royal Food and Liquors #2 (Beer Store) 1011 W. NORTH AVENUE “Stopped by after the Feb 07 Chicago Area gathering. As gws said its your typical liquor store. Not worth stopping in.“ |
| 90 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Been there twice, off hours on a weekday. Once during a Sox game, once not. Neither time the bar was crowded. Didn’t eat. Service was magnificent both times. This is a beer drinkers bar.“ |
| 78 /100 54 EAST ST. CHARLES ROAD “Talk about non descript. You should know the address because you will drive right by it. A typical looking corner tavern but clean and a treasure of beers, not just theres. Greeted friendly and helpful. $ of there own beers on tap as well as Maudite and Lindemann’s Kriek. The 1960’s style cooler held a myriad of fine brews, from local micros to well aged barleywine. This place hosts bands, regulars and even a cool nfl day as locals will sometime bring in there own buffet, in which they shared with me, a newcomer. The only draw back was it was quite smokey due to ajust a few puffers. Loved the beer, and non typical micro atmosphere, but the cigarette smoke was a turn off.“ |
