The Beer Bistro

Best service in the West Loop– best bar, best crowd! Wonderful service! Please don’t crowd the best neighborhood bar ever. Try the sliders– tip your waiters.

I shouldn’t review this place, because it is a (relatively) unknown gem on Madison. But dang!
Always the perfect balance of solid jams, jolly patrons, and incredible staff. Oh and, above all, the best beer selection in the West Loop.
Have been back and will back

I’m not coming back. We were basement seated for overflow… which really meant poor and forgotten service. We came for burger night and get a quick meal before Hawks game night. They didn’t have the capacity to serve the crowd. And what an embarrassing statement. Pics for proof, 2 of us ordered tots with a burger. Don’t over do it people– don’t over eat– we got 8 tots. 8 cold tots that felt like they were scraped from an old mans boot. We’re in the West Loop food Capitol of Chicago, the Midwest– and you serve this garbage? Freezer burned cold tots, 8 of them, on the side of a mediocre burger? My advice, just do beer and drop your garbage eats if you can’t do it right, or even a half a-​you know what effort.

Have been here for beer a few times. Added the 50c wings into the mix and they were also great! Overall the beer selection is great, the staff is super friendly, and the environment is quiet enough to have a conversation but loud enough to feel busy and fun. It’s a great spot in West loop for a casual drink and I will be coming back more often! Also noticed last Sunday that they were sending a bus back and forth between the bar and united center for a Blackhawks game which is super convenient. Only knocked down a star Bc I just wish the tvs were bigger and better placed for watching games

OK so many bad things to say about this place, I am not sure where to begin. The food was disgusting. I ordered nachos and a pretzel. The nachos were seriously disgusting. Not impressed. Bunch of stale chips with shredded cheese nuked in the microwave. UM I COULD HAVE STAYED IN AND DID THAT BY THE WAY. The pretzel was also not very good and the cheese was somewhat cold when served. The waitress was nice but at the same time, she would just come to the table and kind of stand there with a blank stare and wait for us to say something. A little awkward if you ask me. I had heard good things about this place so I was excited to try it and I was really disappointed :(Based on my initial experience I will NOT be back. I can’t get over the food selection. It was vile. I was starving too so its not like I was hoping for something out of this world. I sent the nachos back but still was charged for them. Oh well, lesson learned.

I like this place, the staff is friendly the food really is at least a step above average. The smoked wings, ehh I’ll, stick with the regular ones on Sunday’s for 25cents. When it comes to the ribs however get down on them on the weekend they are right on… the are cooked/​smoked perfectly. Don’t forget about the basket of bacon, can’t beat the price for a salty treat before a Blackhawks game. Speaking of which they have a shuttle that’s usually very open with space to take you to and from the game. sarge the driver is a heart no bullshit guy, I have grown to love him over the years. You will too, I this this is under rated slightly for the food and the beers are always good. If you are in the neighborhood this is well worth you time. Eat and drink well my fiends …

A nice spot to hang out with a few friends to have some good conversation, and tasty drinks. I highly recommend the Mango Madness drink. That is my absolute favorite.

This place is a regular bar, with regular food, good wings though, and regular staff.
I went in with my wife on a Sunday when the Patriots were playing and they refused to put the game on. We sat in the back and the no one around us was watching the nearest television. I asked for the Patriots game to be put on as soon as I sat down. Fast forward 90 minutes and the manager never had a minute to change the channel. He had time to come to my table when I was tired of asking the waitress to put the game on, but even then, he didn’t «have time». When our waitress asked her manager, she exclaimed «I don’t care about that game».
Let’s just say this isn’t a Patriots bar in the slightest. Go somewhere else; I did, across the street to Vincenzo’s where they immediately put the game on!

Very good beer selection. Good food. A bit empty during the day. Best in the area with selection

I absolutely love this place. Ashely the server is great so friendly and is one of the reasons we frequent this place. There is a little angry man that brings the food to your table he wears a hat. He’s unbelievably rude for no reason, he made everyone we were with so uncomfortable. Other than that it’s wonderful

Extremely rude staff. A man in a red shirt who I assume to be one of the cooks, asked us «Do you guys realize how much food you ordered?» Of course we did. We drank and wanted a good amount of food between us to sober us up. He then said he was surprised we finished it all like we were a group of morbidly obese people. He was 100% condescending. Absolutely ridiculous. Won’t be back to this trashy establishment.

Decided to give this place another try. We came here for the Bulls vs CAvs game. We got the special $ 5 burgers with your choice of fries tater tots or chips and they were delicious today. The burger was not dry at all and on top of that the waitress we had today was very friendly. GO BULLS!

Easily the best selection of beers around. This place has a great, relaxed atmosphere that’s perfect for a relaxing weekend afternoon or for some good beers pre-​post Blackhawks, Bulls, etc. The food is solid as well (not outstanding), with good specials during the week.
If you’re looking to pound cheap, crappy beer with a lot of craziness, this is not your place. But, if you just want high quality beer in a laid back atmosphere you can’t really do much better.

I think this may be our go-​to when we’re feeling lazy and dont want to worry about cooking! We came here last Tuesday night and they had $ 5 burgers and a specialty beer for $ 4. Their specials are amazing! $ 5 pizza’s on Monday, $ 5 burgers on Tuesday, 25cent wings on Sunday’s, etc. They also have an extensive beer list, which the fiancé really likes. Our bartender was SUPER friendly and we had a great experience sitting at the bar. I would highly recommend checking them out!

I typically won’t write a negative review about a place if it’s due to below average food or slow service. Those things are tolerable if you have a kick ass server. But there’s just really nothing worse than a place with average food and sub par atmosphere having horrible awful indignant servers and bartenders. Instead of writing a story book I’ll just list off bullet points of what is so wrong about this place:
–After sitting down, we didn’t have a server come over for about 5 minutes. Even though we were told to take a seat anywhere. There was only one other table and 2 people at the bar. So it wasn’t like the server was busy.
–The menus were grimy and greasy and felt as if they hadn’t been wiped down in months.
–The server, according to our receipt it was Chelsea, acted like it was a chore to wait on us. And she kept on calling menu items hers. As if she owned the place. My friend asked her what the soup of the day was. Chelsea said, «I don’t have a soup of the day. I won’t have it for awhile». I asked her if she was the owner. Because clearly she wasn’t saying «I» unless she was. Note to millennial server, stop using I. Use we and us. You don’t own the joint.
–I ordered a cup of tomato bisque to start off. It was really good. The few spoonfuls I had of it. But just a few moments later I got my main entrée. I was like, well, so much for having a chance to enjoy the soup.
–I ordered a burger with no bun, cheddar and mushroom cooked medium rare. I emphasized to Chelsea to ask them to make sure it was medium rare. It came out medium well. The fries were also cold. As in cold cold. As if they’d been sitting around for awhile.
–No condiments were on the table or were brought by the server or food runner. I had to go to the bar and ask for some.
–We asked Chelsea if she could split the check by items. There was only two of us. She informed us that she couldn’t. Which was fine. So we gave her two credit cards. I pointed out twice which one was mine and which one was my friends, but Chelsea ending up charging the wrong amounts on the wrong cards. I had to go inside and tell her. To be fair, she did apologize.
–Now here is what sent me over the edge and what really instigated a negative review. As me and my friend were sitting on the patio, this totally adorable teeny tiny itty bitty 9 week old cavipoo comes by. Of course myself along with everyone else wants to see this little bundle of adorable. As we were oohing and ahhhing over the bundle of cuteness, the bartender storms out and informs us that it’s against health code and that we can’t have a dog on the patio. Really??? You seriously want to go there? In the west loop that’s filled with dogs and dog lovers? You want to tell a customer, who isn’t even the one who owns the dog, who is standing up to just cuddle the bundle of adorable cuteness, that «it’s against health code»? That’s the card you want to play. Attention beer bistro. You already have sub par food and awful service. Do you really want to make a customers experience worse by telling them that can’t hold a 3 pounds bundle of cuteness that isn’t even theirs? Not a good move. Especially I the west loop. I can promise that I’ll spread the word to all my dog loving and dog owning friends while I’m out walking my dogs and at the dog parks and at the dog stores in the west loop. For the dog lovers out there that want to find places that are accepting of dogs, here’s a great list of food establishments that welcome our furry family members:

Really good place to go for craft beer in the west loop, there were so many beers that i hadnt tried before, lots to choose from, not too loud or packed, cool area, i hope to be back!

Good food

This is a nice neighbourhood bar with friendly bartenders. Food is bar food, simple as that. Good beer selection. Nice atmosphere.

Get ready to get blown away! Whether it’s Brunch, lunch, dinner the food is always on point! The specials are unbelievable and the staff is always cheerful… Make sure to stop in, great stop prior a game or concert at United Center — Beer Selection is OutstandingBeer Bistro Rocks!

This is kind of a temporary review, we haven’t tried that much. They have a really extensive beer list, which is definitely worth coming for if that’s all you want.
Food-​wise, we’ve had mixed experience. We got a pretzel that was just the worst. It tasted like it was literally made of sawdust, very weird. Also got hummus with veggies. The hummus was fine, but the vegetables looked about 5 days too old. On another trip though we got their chocolate chip skillet cookie, which I thought was one of the better I’ve had.
So who knows, it’s a beer place and they have a lot of beers. Go for it. Though it is definitely a «bar» not a beer snob place. When we sat inside at night it was really really loud, and there will be the requisite number of dudes in sleeveless shirts staggering around and yelling at each other. It was much nicer sitting out on the patio the second time.

Beer selection: 4 stars. Would be 5 stars but they always seem to be out of at least a few.
Food: 1.5 stars. Bland and mediocre. My friend ordered a burger medium rare & got medium well. Nachos were so bland they almost felt like a parody. Veggie burger had a super bland patty & attempted to over compensate for that with a bunch of toppings that don’t really go together. Another friend really enjoyed the sliders, so there’s that I guess.
Service/​Ambiance/​Prices: 4 stars. It wasn’t too crowded on a pretty big game night & the waitress was perfectly fine. All the prices as very reasonable for the neighbourhood.
Overall: 2.5 stars. I’d go again just to drink & watch a game, but not order food.

I met a group here for some after work drinks on a night that was apparently also a «game night.» Two levels, although my group was asked to cash out and leave the lower level once the game had started and the crowd had thinned a bit so I’m not sure both floors are open all the time.
Drinks were good and reasonably priced; I had a dry hard cider ($ 6) and a strawberry martini ($ 10). Decent beer and wine list, few other interesting cocktails. The American pub grub-​like menu also looked tasty and seemed like a good value. Appetizers under $ 10, including a baked goat cheese with marinara, pizzas in the $ 12-​$ 17 range, and burgers and sandwiches for less than $ 15. My other half and I wanted to try their slider special (order 1 of each and get a free basket of fries or tots), but the waitress informed us they don’t mix and match pre-​game, which seems to me like it would actually be the BEST time to offer that special, but anyhow… the turkey sandwich I opted for instead was good — chunks of shredded turkey, good amount of meat, apple slices, and a pretzel roll.
We were slightly disappointed in the service. It was busy at first before the game for sure, but it seemed like our waitress couldn’t leave the table fast enough after getting a drink order, several times missing that someone on the other side of the table also wanted to order something because she tore off like a bat out of hell the second she heard one beer order, and if you’re that busy, asking if anyone else needs anything would be more efficient anyways. We had to rush to inform her we also wanted to order food; she never even asked if we would be eating, even though it was early evening. We had to flag her down for water refills, utensils, she never came by to ask how everything was. Drinks and food came out at an appropriate pace, so the issue was not the bar or kitchen, it was in actually getting to order anything at all. In fact, the only time she stopped longer than ten seconds was to ask us if she could cash us out and move us upstairs, which she followed up with a trip by our new table to make a comment along the lines of us not having found everything ok, seemingly implying to us that she didn’t believe she was tipped well enough. Tacky. Don’t get me wrong, she got a tip, we didn’t spitefully leave a penny or anything, she just didn’t provide service that would be worth more than 15%.
The space was nice, food and drink was tasty and affordable, and I’d be willing to give the service a second chance on a non-​game night.

Beer Bistro gets two stars for good beer selection and good food. They have an overwhelming amount of beers available which is awesome for beer lovers! I tried a variety of sliders (pulled pork, chicken parm, fish, and meatball) and all were very good. They are decent priced as well.
I was there for a birthday party on a Saturday night and our server was not happy to be there. A friend of mine waited over 20 minutes for a beer he ordered while the rest of us got our drinks significantly earlier. I also felt like a child who got yelled at because I asked to try a beer that I didn’t realize was bottle only. She could’ve been a little nicer about it instead of yelling out an «absolutely NOT!». I ordered a raspberry beer that cost about $ 10 for a bottle and I left the bottle on the table w/​my husband while I walked to say hi to a friend, mind you… the bottle was ½ full. I came back and the bottle was gone. My husband tried to tell the bar back or whoever that we weren’t done with it, but the person wasn’t interested. I explained to the server ½ of my $ 10 beer was gone and she offered nothing in return except I’m sorry.
Things like that irk me. I liked the place enough to go back, but service is so huge. If you are in the service industry and can’t be nice (to someone who wasn’t rude) there’s a problem.
Worth checking out, but I hope you have a better service experience than I did.

If you’re up for a challenge, the Beer Bistro on Wednesdays is where it’s at. This friendly West Loop bar serves up a list of over 20 beers for only $ 3 a can! Are you like me and love trying new beers? Well you’ve met your match. It’s the perfect place to let lose mid work week and enjoy a cold brew. Or 2… or 3…
The Beer Bistro truly has a great vibe to it. The staff is very down to earth and every time I’ve been here it’s been nothing but great service. High top tables line the walls and they have 5 big flat screen TVs so you can catch the game. The décor includes vintage beer signs and Hawks apparel including a signed jersey! So if you’re a hockey fan, you’re in luck. This place loves the sport and even has hockey night specials on Jack & coke, Jaeger, Captain and Kettle One. If it’s the weekend and you’re looking for more of a party scene, the downstairs (or beer cellar) is a great space and you can even rent it out for your own private party!
Now of course with all this beer drinking I’m always sure to grab a meal while I’m here. If you’re looking to split an appetizer I highly recommend the steak quesadillas. Filled with juicy steak, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, topped with guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo this app will have you coming back for more. It’s big enough to split between you and a couple friends, but if you love it as much as I do, you might just consider ordering it as your meal!
If a good sandwich is calling your name (and you want to stick with the steak theme) I recommend the Bistro Steak Sandwich. It’s my go-​to lunch order at the Beer Bistro and I have to say, it’s quite tasty. The bread is nice and soft and the steak is sautéed with onions and mushrooms and topped with provolone cheese. Plus, it comes with chips or your choice of fries or tater tots (for an extra 99 cents), but honestly I’d stick with the chips. They’re not your ordinary snackers — these bistro chips are deliciously baked, light, crunchy and topped with garlic. A fantastic change of pace from your typical pub fries.
If you’re like me and love a good deal, the Beer Bistro does a fantastic job of supplying their patrons with food and drink specials throughout the week.
I think the Beer Bistro says it best:
«Need a place to drink and eat before a United Center event? How about any damn day of the week? We are here for YOU!»
So check em’ out! You won’t be disappointed.

Convivial… superlative beer selection… good food… friendly staff, among whom some are easy on the eye… good location… silly sweet girl martinis so it’s not just a dude place.
Oh, Beer Bistro, how I love thee! This is my go-​to West Loop spot when driving home from the far west burbs on the crazy nights I work. Beer Bistro, as the name implies, has tons of good beer. The rotating draft selections, about 20 deep, are always great. Then they have a dizzying array of bottles and cans. Love «Overrated,» an IPA can from Minne-​Snow-​ta. Ditto for Ommegang Rare Vos.
Their wings are fantastilastic and a steal at $ 0.25 on Sundees (my pops pronounces it this way, which I get a kick out of). Their Monday $ 5 pizzas actually equal or best some actual-​pizza-​joint-​pizzas. WTH?
Beer Bistro is just on top of its game. Unpretentious. Knowledgeable staff. And Candice… oh, Candice with your evil Megan Fox eyes!