Ginger’s Ale House

I use to go to Ginger’s a LOT, back when a certain ginger owned the place. Now, I avoid this place like the plague.
Last time I was here (about 3 months ago) I had to meet someone and decided to have dinner and a couple of beers. Um, the draft beer was warm and the food was gross. How do you fuck up chicken quesadillas?
Blech.

Being a soccer fan in the U.S.A. means getting up early on the weekend and going to the pub. Most places that serve alcohol at 9AM on a Saturday morning can make you feel like you are doing something seedy. Gingers manages to provide the perfect pub atmosphere at any time of day. This is the real deal, folks, and the service and prices can’t be beat!
Sooo last weekend I went to grab some brunch and watch Borussia Dortmund bitch slap Bayern Munich. When I walked in at 11AM they were broadcasting rugby, not soccer, for a dozen or so fans. Instead of ignoring me, both the manager and waitress came up and asked me what game I was here to see. That’s service!
I always forget how reasonable the food and drinks are priced here, and the menu is 10 times better than what you’ll find at the Globe. Gingers has Boddingtons and Cider on draft! $ 4 brunch cocktails include bloodys and mimosas. Thursday anything on the menu is $ 6. Friday endless fish n chips for just $ 9.
Yep, it’s safe to say this is one of my favorite places ever.

Ginger’s is an average pub.
We stopped in after we watched a few live football matches at the Globe Pub (if you’re in the area, I’d make the trek over to the Globe). The atmosphere was calm, but I’m sure during a live match it’s a different story. We each ordered separate meals (bangers & mash, fish & chips, and the full Irish breakfast). None of us were overly impressed with any of the items, though the Irish breakfast did look exactly like something you would get at a typical bed & breakfast in Ireland. It was edible, but I’d rather come for a casual beer. Other than that, the bartender was nice, and I could think of plenty of worse places for a pint.

I can’t believe I’ve never reviewed Ginger’s. This is easily one of my favorite places to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, drinkin beer & hanging out with friends. I don’t really know what it is about Ginger’s that sets it apart from other bars for me, but everytime I walk in, I just want to stay and never leave. I can’t count the time’s I’ve had to force myself to cut myself off and not keep ordering ‘just one more pint’.
The food is your typical Irish pub food (fish & chips, shepards pie, etc)…nothing special but good, solid, coat your belly so you can drink more beer food. They have Guinness, Smithwicks, & Kilkenny on draft (among quite a few others but do you really need anything else?). And lots of t.v.‘s — so you can get your soccer & whatever other sports game is on fix.
The bartenders are great. They seem to import them straight from the Emerald Isle too (unless those accents are fake but I really don’t care). I’ve noticed there tends to only be one working during the day on the weekends (and no other servers), so service can be a little slow at times. Two ways to rectify that — sit at the bar, or go up to the bar if you really need something.
A few years ago my friend & I spent just about every Sunday at Gingers for months planning our trip to London & Ireland. For some reason we took a little hiatus after that trip and hadn’t gone back to often. But recently we popped in and it was like we’d never took a break. There’s just something about the bar that makes you feel at home (or back in Ireland), so I’ll be spending plenty more weekend’s there this winter!

A nice place to go see a match!
The food was good too. I had the bangers and mash. The mash was average, but the bangers were really good. A sweet little sausage I highly recommend.
I was there having a very late lunch on a Tuesday, because I’m a bum. But it looks like a place to have a lot of fun in the evening. The biggest dam Golden Tee screen I have ever seen.
Staff was very nice too.

The food is okay. Several marks above «acceptable.» They have a fair beer selection. I’ve always felt that there is an element of dinginess or not-​quite-​kept-​up-​enough to the place which is my primary downer. The kitchen makes up a decent enough bangers and mash.
If memory serves, the pot in the loo is bit lacking in privacy (from the outside world!) If I’m wrong on that, don’t bash me too hard. =P
They are generous on the tellies and they seem to always have front-​office staff with an Irish accent. How is that?

Ginger’s Ale House was an accident find. I got to Ashland waaay too early for my hair appointment at Urban Lift. In walking up the street I came across Ginger’s.
After a quick Unilocal Blackberry app check (have to make sure I’m not walking into a disaster!) I decided that was enough stars for me to sit for a bit.
Soccer on the TV, cute waitress with an even cuter accent, and a load of European beers on tap. Sold! I stayed for one and made a note to come back! This was a good find — I found a new bar and a new stylist all in one day!

Ginger’s Ale House: Possibly my new favorite place in the WORLD.
I came here to watch the World Cup finals match, as my interest had been piqued by a couple of friends who made Ginger’s their go-​to pub the last few weeks. It all started with the Brazil matches which made inner circle headlines with Ginger’s featuring a live Brazilian band, killer specials ($ 2 PBR/​$ 3 Bitburger and most other drafts for $ 4) and a lively, party atmosphere.
So Brazil was eliminated but the show must go on. Ginger’s continued to offer the live music and jovial environment for all the matches. Brazilian bartender extraordinaire, Edegar, will take extra good care of you as he deals you what I like to call the final blow: his signature caipirinha. No mixers, just pure cachaça with muddled lime and sugar. Crazy potent — as Edegar warns, these are made for sharing.
Feel like a taste o’ the Irish? Bartender Paul will show you the way at the back bar. Food is solid enough (we tried the blueberry pancakes) though be prepared to wait on popular match days. Yes, it gets crowded and uncomfortable in here (just like most of Europe, Ginger’s doesn’t seem to be keen on a/​c), but if you belly up to the bar early, you’ll get your prime seats.
What else — this might seem quite trivial but this bar is full of accents. Going international has never been easier! Ginger’s, like it or not you can count on seeing a whole lot more of me.

I’ve been to ginger’s several times for football matches and with the world cup in full force, a friend and I decided to head down here to watch the games. This has generally been a fun place to watch matches as it doesn’t get too packed and you can find a seat easily. Unfortunately that does take away from some of the atmosphere, so its more of a pick your poison. Their other benefit is them having a TV at almost every possible angle to watch the matches so that you definitely are able to watch the match and not worry about some dude being too tall in front of you
We were here for the opening match and made sure to get here early. They were open at 6:30 and it was showing already on one of the waitresses and bartenders. Most people weren’t fully awake until a few minutes into the game
While there was a good sized crowd, it was far from crowded which did make the occasional being ignored very annoying. They had two waitresses taking care of things and it was more of trying to get the happier one’s attention (this normally isn’t the case as they are both normally very nice).
The brunch menu was in full force and this time I decided to go with a breakfast burrito as I just needed eggs and sausage all wrapped up (that and mexico was playing, so it helped me get in the mood, haha). That burrito didn’t last too long in front of me. I also grabbed a boddington’s which was noticeably off and tasted like the keg hadn’t been changed. The hoegaarden that I got was much better and more in line with what I’ve had in the past.
There was a good sized crowd here for the game, so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. They were a bit under staffed and it showed. When I’ve been here in the past it hasn’t been a problem getting a drink or any food. It has that irish pub feel, so don’t expect it to be upscale or anything close, but it is a good place to watch a match if you’re a football fan

Football!!! I love this place if for nothing else if not the footie. Enjoyed without plastic soccer fans around you, making you vomit when words like ‘offence’ are screamed! If the offside rule is harder than blinking for you, then this pub, on a match day, isn’t your cup of tea.
If however you need to be watered and fed ginger’s will suffice, but you are in a heavily populated bar and restaurant area, so perhaps you’ll find a more fulfilling eat else where. The Beers on tap are good, and the Guinness is popular enough, so the tap has a good flow, which makes the pint pretty good. For a decent enough pint of Guinness, football and food that fills and you won’t cry if the bacon is slightly overdone, Gingers is your answer. Enjoy!

Went to Ginger’s Ale House tonight to meet up w/​some friends for drinks. Luckily, they had some pretty decent drink specials: $ 2 PBRs, $ 3 Bud, and I think $ 5 Carlsberg… me, being the cheapskate, went with the two buck cans… also ordered the special for Fridays: all you can eat fish-​n-​chips. Food was actually pretty good, although I did receive my order w/​o the tartar sauce… you figure i wouldn’t have to ask for it, but a lovely friend came to my rescue and got up and asked the bartender for my tartar sauce (which is the BEST part of a fish-​n-​chips plate)…
decent service… decent food… decent drink specials…
not a bad place to meet up w/​friends for drinks, although for a friday night, it seemed pretty dead. weird.

Ooohh. Ginger. Ale. I get it. That was about the only thing I got at this place. Wait. I take that back.
I got bland overpriced food. I ordered the turkey club. Granted, not a very exciting order, but it wasn’t a very exciting entrée. The turkey tasted like Oscar-​Meyer. The bacon was burnt. The tomatO (not ‘toes) was very small. The fries were good. They were a little bland, but nothing that some salt & pepper couldn’t fix. For $ 8.50, though, I was not having it.
I got a good pour of Bass. No complaints.
I got bad attitude from the bartender. When a friend arrived after I had finished my meal, he (mistakenly) wanted to order some food. When I asked the bartender for a menu, the response was, «Didn’t you *already* eat?» Yes, I did, jackass. Hand me a menu. I was not amused and he was not done. After my friend finished his meal (complete with the frozen cubed carrots and peas you tried to forget from elementary school lunch), he followed the menu and asked the bartender about the dessert menu (as there isn’t a separate one). The response from Sir Jackass, «We’re out of desserts but I can get you some sugar packets you can pour in your mouth.» Jackass!
I didn’t get a bill. Jackass just told me how much to pay. Was I charge accurate prices? I don’t know. Considering I paid [redacted for embarrassment], I have no way of knowing whether or not I was overcharged, but I didn’t leave feeling good about the situation. Ordinarily, I would have said something. But, it was freezing, I was tired and had an early morning the next day.
I got the hint that I should never come back here and that I should advise others to do the same.

A little out of way from where I live and work, but came here one night because they were holding a fundraiser Simpson’s trivia night. My buddy and I both ordered sandwiches, which were ok. The fries though — wow. I never knew what the big deal was with fresh cut fries (a la Great Steak and Potato). But these fries were fresh cut and blew my mind.
The drink deals were also pretty good. $ 4 Carlsberg/Murphy’s and $ 2 PBRs. The bartenders were also really nice and one even had a sweet Irish accent (perhaps the owner?). If I lived closer I could definitely foresee this as my regular, around the block bar.

Can I pose a question to you? If I order a sandwich off the menu with the option to «choose your side», and I inform you that I will be having a baked potato as my side.. .. would you just assume I was ordering that in addition to the french fries it comes with by default? I mean, would you? I’m a little cuddly around the edges, but do I look that greedy to you? Go on and look at my pics. I’ll wait. So, do I look that greedy to you?
I must have looked that greedy to the woman taking my order cause she charged me extra for the baked potato. When they brought out my cheese steak w/​fries (the fries I gave to a person with me) and told me it «comes with fries» but my baked potato would be out in a minute, that raised suspicion. Then after pondering things a moment, I inquired on whether I was indeed charged extra. And as I’m sure you’ve concluded, I was. They said they removed the charge –which the final total seemed to reflect– but I wasn’t shown my tab at the end; just told the amount owed.
1^st mistake — Mistaking me for a hungry hippo and assuming I wanted the baked potato in addition to the fries.
2^nd mistake — Charging $ 3 for a plain baked potato. I mean no sour cream, no chives, little punk packets of butter. Wendy’s gives you all that for $ 0.99 with some decent butter.
3^rd mistake — Not letting me look over my tab before requesting payment.
I didn’t make a fuss. I ate my food, paid my tab, still tipped, and left quietly. Don’t start nothing, won’t be nothing, right?

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
This formerly was a rocking place to come in just about any night of the week for some fun and drinks. However they have been on a downward spiral for at least two years and now it is just, empty. Weird.
I seriously do not know what happened to the bar, at one time you could call this place «Cheers» where everybody knows your name, but seems pretty much to be all in the past.
It’s funny to read someone else’s comment that there must have been a change in management, because the owner is the same, its just all his old staff have left. And no wonder, the place is as quiet as a tomb. I don’t know how he is going to stay in business, frankly.

I definitely recommend the chicken monterey wrap and the cheeseburger. However, the buffalo chicken sandwich (which I asked for in a wrap) was ridiculously spicy. I don’t know if it’s because it was all wrapped up rather than in a bun, but I had about five bites and couldn’t even finish it. Very disappointing. I like spicy… but I want to enjoy my meal too!
Service could be better. Every time I go the server introduces him/​herself quickly, but when it’s time for the check, it takes forever for them to come back.
It’s a good bar though, if you want a low-​key night out. It doesn’t get crowded so you can usually get a table. It’s definitely not one for bar-​hopping though… unless you want to hit up Tai’s Til 4 late night down the street.

I used to really like this place… always a good time and the staff was always friendly and and now it’s shite.
The food here is not very good either… I mean, the grilled cheese was edible but there is far better in this city. The Irish breakfast is sub-​par (and they are an «Irish» bar) and the fries are always 100 percent soggy. ick.
I think they got new management or something because none of the staff is the same… which is evident considering this place is dead.
There are a ton of other «soccer» bars in Chicago and is this area to have a good time and a good pint at.
I say, pass.

Used to come here back in the day to watch Bengals games on Sunday.
The food is okay, but WAY overpriced for bar food. They don’t have any good drink or food specials on Sundays which is the only day I was there. Plus, they always made us sit in the back room which smells like stale beer and is always FREEZING in the winter and HOT in the summer.
The service is slow and often non-​existent. The servers seem nice, but there aren’t ever enough of them.
Tried going here again one Sunday not too long ago and again was just extremely disappointed. No service and no one in the bar knew how to work the televisions. Also, they told us they had the Bengals game, but after ordering pricey beers, found out they did not.
Will never go here again.

Prologue: every time I put a word in «quotes,» that means it’s a new word I am using about soccer or «football.»
This is a great place to watch a «match» (still learning the lingo)…I’ve been here several times with one of my best friends to watch some serious «football» action. It is here that I decided that I had a crush on Pepe, Liverpool’s «keeper.»
Plenty of TVs for you to take in the «matches,» all of which are shown on their website (so you can plan accordingly).
Food is OK, but then again, you come for the action, not for the food. Service is very friendly, quick with the refills, and if you’re with a regular, you’re in.
Have to admit, I have had a great time the few times my friend has dragged me in. And yes, I may have even cheered at a «gooooooaaaaalllll» or two.

Ginger’s is a great place to go and have a beer… or a pumpkin martini, if you ask nicely. The staff is great and quick even on Superbowl Sunday! The food is decent, serving your average bar fare and even something for our friends across the pond with bangers & mash.
I love that you can go to Ginger’s dressed for an evening out, or you can come from the gym and no one looks at you twice. Ladies, don’t feel like you’re going to come here and get picked up. Most people mind their own and those who don’t are just looking for good conversation.
Definitely a laid back corner bar.