The Grafton

Great selection on micro brews on tap and they have tons more of bottled beers behind the counter.
I think this place is also kid friendly too. Didn’t seem to bother me as much. It’s not like I had a sailor’s mouth on this visit.
Plenty of board games are available to choose from. I like how The Grafton is pretty much near all the shopping and restaurants on the same block.

I have been a regular here for many years. The craft beer and whiskey selection is amazing, and the food is fab, but here in Lincoln Square, we are lucky to have many options that fit that description. What brings me back every week is the amazing staff. Kelly, Courtney, Emma, Melissa, Jenny K, Eric, Megan, Hobbes, as well as James and Ben who ran off to run Only Child Brewery, just to name a few who have been so wonderful over the years. Add to that a smattering of interesting fellow regulars, musicians, and neighbors. The worst part about the Grafton is having to leave! I’d recommend it to anyone and everyone.

We love Grafton’s! My boyfriend just moved to the hood and this is the place after a long shift. We always have Kelly and Dustin.

$ 17.50 for one drink? Their menu lists the whiskey I ordered at $ 8 per shot or $ 13 mixed. So imagine my surprise when it was $ 17.50 for that one drink. I seriously feel like I was robbed. This place is unbelievable. If you’re ok paying nearly $ 20 for a mediocre drink this place is for you. Last I checked I ordered a Manhattan in LINCOLN SQUARE, not Manhattan.

Baked Buffalo Mac n Cheese…. Nice spot in Lincoln square. Nice beer selection. Menu was Fuego, took like 10 mim to decide what I wanted exactly. I’ll be back

It’s just a wee taste o’ the Irish. With an emphasis on «wee.»
We came to the Grafton around 10pm on a Friday and it was not busy at all. Great! The service should be good, especially if we sit at the bar. Not so much. The bartender seemed disinterested in us and was much more interested in the two women next to us. In fact, a little bit later, they all took shots together. Why not? Not a terrible thing to do with customers but it did reinforce his general indifference to bartending.
After a bit, I decided on a Guinness in the hopes that it would taste like what I’ve had on the Emerald Isle itself. Oooof. I don’t remember that metallic taste. They might want to be careful with the beer oxidizing. Not a good experience.
I may be back in the future to give The Grafton a second chance. Maybe it was a bad night for the bartender and maybe the Guinness wasn’t quite up to its usual standard. I’m interested to hear the traditional Irish music too. For this time around though? Ouch.

The Grafton is… Okay. I’ve been here 4 times and every time I come in, I wonder why I did. The beers on tap are good, but the food is not very good (and inedible, at times). Everything is very inconsistent. One time I ordered a salad and it was the best salad I ever had. A few weeks later I came back and ordered the same salad and it was inedible. I came in with my mother one time and she ordered a grilled cheese, and she claims it was the worst grilled cheese she ever had (it’s like they put the bread in a toaster, and then slabbed some cheese on it. The cheese wasn’t even melted). How do you mess up a grilled cheese??? I will not be back.

This is a family friendly neighborhood place. Being next to the Old Town school of music means it draws a lot of interesting and friendly people. You can always strike up a conversation with a stranger here. The staff is just great. Ben– the manager– knows what he’s doin. I have been drinking here for years and everybody who works here treats me great. They actually spoil me. There is a real camaraderie among the staff. You can see it. Most important; they make a great Manhattan. The food is reliably good. If you are a beer fanatic you will find the selection is one of the best in town. If ya need more… you should move to another planet! Better bring your own candles too! !

If you like to have your candlelit dinner ruined by screaming kids — this is the place for you!!!

I hadn’t been back to the Grafton in several years but for some reason tonight was the night for my honey and I. It just felt like the right choice and boy oh boy were we glad that we made it. My fish and chips was awesome. The batter was very light and the fries with the garlic salt were lovely. He had the burger of the month and really enjoyed it. They’ve got a great beer selection and many options for things like whiskey flights etc. The fire in the back gives a lovely winter time glow to the place. The place was packed, but our server was on top of it and we never felt ignored. We’ll be back!

The Grafton is a great choice when you’re headed out in Lincoln Square whether by yourself or in a group. The food is always very fresh tasting and great drink options are plentiful. Good beer list? Check. Traditional spirits as well as loads of whiskey options? Check. They’ve even added a mead flight. The fact that they have music nights and a toasty fire blazing in the winter months is an absolute bonus. Cheers!

Went here with a friend because she kept raving about it and I’m SO glad I did. Had the PERFECT fish & chips, and her Irish Stew was perfection. Amazing beer list/​whiskey list! Staff was super friendly and the food didn’t take long at all. The atmosphere really makes the whole experience.

Being from Boston I take my Irish bars pretty seriously. Came in here based on a recommendation from a local Irish guy we met in another bar. I asked the bartender if this was an Irish pub, he said not really. I asked if the Guinness was good, he said it’s ok. The Guinness was decent, but the vibe of this place was very odd.

Table ordered four burgers: two medium rare, one medium, and one medium well. All four burgers came out the same. No pink in any of them. My «medium rare» burger was still delicious, even if it wasn’t cooked properly. However, why ask and pretend? How come they can’t cook the burgers to order?

The Grafton just can’t get table side service right. Went over a couple of Sundays ago and the waitress was more interested in the Bears game than taking care of us. Actually walked away from our table twice in mid-​sentence and then placed our service set-​ups (utensils and napkins) as far away from us as possible. Her behavior was pretty antic and weird. I’ve gone over with an entire Old Town dance class and our reaction to lackluster service was, «Do they really want our business?» Bartenders seem cool and friendly and eager to help.

Last week I thought I found my new favorite place. Tonight, I’m not so sure.
Food & drink (yes, only ONE drink in almost two hours time because that’s all I was offered) are wonderful, but the waitress tonight was not. If it has been a first offense, I might let it slide, but it wasn’t.
Guy at the door, guy who brought food and the one who cleared plates? Great. Waitress we started with last week before her shift ended? Super. This one we endured tonight? Made my friends and I not want to go back. The only reason she got a tip was because it was included in the bill. What a shame.

What is it about autumn and winter that makes an Irish-​style pub exactly the right place to be? If you come on Sunday evenings, there is a free traditional Irish music concert from 5−8pm. That certainly sets the tone at the Grafton on Sundays. But even without that, it’s the atmosphere — the wood, the gleam from the golden lamps, the congenial crowd, Bill the friendly bartender, the drinks, and the food. Oh yeah, the food. Did I mention the food yet?
I admit to being a fool for the hot toddy/​hot whiskey. Served in a glass mug with a slice of lemon studded with coriander seeds, this drink takes me back to nights spent relaxing in the small pubs of rural Ireland. But you don’t have to settle for that. There is an extensive drinks menu, of beer, of whiskey, of all the major drinking groups. You will find something you like as much as I like that hot whiskey.
There is a full menu, too, but this time, I can only tell you about the vegetarian selections, of which there are ample choices. There is plenty for the meat lover, of course, but it’s really nice that The Grafton realizes that we vegetarians like to hang out at the pub, have a few drinks, and enjoy a satisfying meal. I had the grilled veggie wrap, and my friend had the veggie heaven, which was a black bean burger. We both loved what we had. My friend recommended extra napkins for the veggie heaven; she remarked that the black bean burgers don’t always hold together real well, and you do need to wipe your hands a bit more.
I really enjoy going to The Grafton, and I especially like going on Sunday nights. Good food, good drinks, good service, good music — I think I’ve found my favorite casual spot on Lincoln Square.

This place was great! We went here because we were looking for a great pizza joint near where we wanted to go out for the evening. Ironically, we never ended up having pizza but we had some great small plates to share that our server helped us select.
We sat outside, which was awesome, drank great wine, ate good food, and really had a pleasant experience with our server. He joked around with us while keeping it professional and showing us the best options for what we wanted on the menu.
We will definitely return.

It’s really a 3.5÷5, and only because of the buffalo mac.
I’m drooling, even if I just ate like 20,984,840 cookies, if I had a plate of buffalo mac in front of me, I would definitely eat it. It’s deliciously cheesy, with blue cheese crumbled on top with strips of chicken in an awesome buffalo sauce. In all honesty, I wish their portions were larger because I could easily eat 2 plates of this. Highly recommended, get it, get it!
Now to the dessert. It was a bummer. They have a dessert called The Grafton Delight which consists of a brownie with ice cream and whipped cream on top, along with some other things.
The top was good, but the brownie was absolutely awful. It was burnt and hard as a rock. I had to cut it with a knife and even then I still struggled. Would not get it again.
Our server was a total bad ass, I liked her. Good, quick service.
I will probably be back for that buffalo mac oh yessssss.

Boyfriend visiting for St. Patrick’s Day festivities and wanted to get some Irish food for dinner near my apartment. Picked here due to the high rating. Great crowd — Busy but not overly crowded, live music was really cool and the perfect level of loudness towards the back of the pub, which is quite spacious and has a very comfortable atmosphere. (There’s also a really great fireplace area in the back which I must come back to enjoy sometime; also drinks, which we did not partake of in this visit).
Service was really friendly and great, and the clientele seemed to be early 30’s (like us) and 40’s mostly — but a good mix. Very chill. The food though — THAT is the thing that will make me come again. From St. Patrick’s Day 2015 menu: Potato Skin Appetizer — so good! Homemade Beef and Guinness Stew is great! But the CROWNING GLORY is the Corned Beef and Cabbage. I’m not big on it though my boyfriend is a huge fan, but we both agree this was AMAZING. We were in heaven: It was tender and succulent and the spices and flavors were just right. Very, very satisfied with our experience. Also, we found out that it’s only served 2 days of the year: Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day, and on the day itself. A very lucky find.
I recommend everyone to try sometime!