The Rail Bar & Grill

Food and drinks were fine.
This next statement is just for the record.
A phone from our table was stolen. Not by accident. It was returned to us after 34 minutes of calling it continuously. By someone who, «found it on the floor,» though there is no way that it was on the floor and said person was, «just around the corner,» at Sunnyside and Damen. It is really just unnerving and upsetting that an establishment we frequent could be so disturbing. Though it isn’t known exactly how this happened, we want whomever reads this to be aware that this is the kind of place this situation could happen.

I always pass this place and see their specials. I came in a random day and got the endless pasta (don’t remember how much) but it was well worth it. The plate was huge when I was done I couldn’t eat more but the waiter offered another plate. I said no way I was stuffed. The pasta was good, not amazing but good. I had a glass of wine that was also on special and the waiter recommendation was great. I’ve heard people talk about the wings, I definitely want to go give them a try. I went on an off night and it wasn’t that packed but I have gone by and seen this place pretty packed.
I would definitely go back and try some more :)
Lots of TV’s it seems like a good place to catch a game.

Currently sitting in the bar watching the Bulls and the Blackhawks play. What is playing over the restaurant speakers? The Cardinals vs Vikings football game… There are quite a few Blackhawks sweaters around the bar and those who aren’t watching the Hawks game are tuned into the Bulls. Only a handful of people are watching the two out of state teams play. When we asked if they could change the sound to a Chicago team, they said no… So much for the Chief Blackhawk and Bull head in the window… Chicago bar my @$$

Best neighborhood sports bar in Ravenswood. 15+ TVs with sports on all the time. Kitchen open late which is a plus. They have great food and drinks specials everyday too. Love their wings. I usually sit at the bar and the service has always been friendly and accommodating. Sophia is the main bartender and she is so sweet all the time.

This place is a local favorite. Great food (the chicken foccacia sandwich is amazing), TVs everywhere (even by the front patio for cubs games!) and really good music. The beers are reasonably priced (which is rare in Chicago) and the staff were all super friendly. Especially Jaime, who listened to me cry and consoled me with beers after yet another disappointing Bears loss (classy move considering shes a Giants fan!). It’s also steps from the brown line, so there’s no excuse not to make a regular stop!

I have been coming here for a few years, probably since it’s been open. On Mondays wings used to be 10cents like milk used to be $ 1/​gallon. But who cares that now they are 25cents since you get a great place to enjoy them. The beer selection is awesome. The liquor selection is great. Plenty of tvs for sports. So after all this time what made me to decide to write a review? Well how about the service? Our last visit we met Jamie aka «Jaime», she was great! Drinks never went dry, had some good jokes, and food order on point. Thanks Jamie, aka Jaime…

Bunch of sad bastards rating this place anything below 5 stars. Do you want cheap daily deals, the greatest wings in chicago, tvs everywhere and a decent pint of guiness? This is the spot. Music is a gift too.

Friday AYCE Fish Fry $ 6.75 is amazing, and great pitcher beer deals. Super chill and never really crowded. Wings are great and huge, everything else is solid, above-​average bar food. Our favorite hangout.

Ended up here on a Sunday night when CoCo’s Vietnamese was unexpectedly unavailable due to what looked like a wedding banquet (wish I had gotten an invitation…). There was plenty of seating and TVs, so probably a solid spot for a sports fan. The food was mediocre — thin flank steak on top of salad still had starter fluid fumes. The lettuce was standard chopped iceberg, Place to go in a pinch or when you just want to drink and watch the game.

Tried to go to the Rail at 1230p on 13 Dec 12. It was closed. What’s up with that? Sign says 11a. Nice business. Try Wild Goose instead. They need to update their signs.

Some of the most inept service I have experienced. My order was wrong, and we had to ask for everything at least two times. My friend’s burger was cold by the time she got the sauce she asked for-​twice-​and water finally came at the end of the meal. Our bill, however, was quick and full price-​even the very late sauce was 50 cents extra. We had to ask to see the manager to get our bill adjusted. Definitely NOT worth the hassle!

Ok, this place is really great for cheap food and drinks. The food is pretty run of the mill, the beer selection is good and you can’t go wrong with a Bloody Mary when you’re making your own. Where this place gets amazing is the price tag, the cost to value ratio is crazy. There are really good food specials pretty much every week night, $ 3 nachos on Saturdays and ALL YOU CAN DRINK Bloody Mary bar for $ 10. The Bloody Mary bar is really the star of the show, tons of choices for mix, lots of delish garnishes and like 30 hot sauce choices.
The next really awesome thing about this place is that it’s almost always empty, at least on weekends (it probably gets busy during sports no bar can escape that). Service is always friendly and quick. Today our server just noticed we were watching a sporting event that was on a TV behind us and offered to change another TV in front of us to the channel so that we didn’t have to crane and turn to see it.
I always enjoy myself at this place.

Let me start by saying I’ve been coming to this bar off and on for about 7 years and have always been satisfied with the cheap wing nights, food, and tap lines that aren’t cleaned (according to past servers and taste). Having never really made a review, I felt compelled after my last trip tonight. My buddy and I finally had our last visit here. I consume three things here on average (occasionally other items): wings, beer, jameson.
For the last 2 – 3 months, the shots of jameson have tasted watered down… enough so I can almost swish it around which is saying a lot for someone who does not drink often anymore and because i always make a face after taking a shot of jameson.
We finally asked our server about it tonight. It tastes like a 50% alcohol/​50% water mix. She said that she hopes the bar does not do that, but she doesn’t know. Needless to say, that was not the answer we were expecting. It feels quite insulting whether the shot is $ 4 or $ 10…false advertising? It is unfortunate that it has come to this. I don’t think I’ve tasted a watered down shot from a bar for about a decade.
Too bad, especially because I have friends moving into that area and now I have to tell them the Rail is deceiving and we can’t go there. I had a connection to this place. The servers have been nice and even the owner has been nice, but fortunately, there are many other bars who don’t clean their tap lines who serve similar food and don’t water down their liquor. Looks like we’ll be taking our business elsewhere from now on. Thanks for the memories Rail.

My new favorite bar! Music-​on point. Atmosphere-​like a casual neighborhood bar with a good vibe. Tons of space, so you can sit at tables or the bar, plenty of standing room to mingle as well. Service is quick and friendly, the waitresses and bartenders are quick to make reccomendations for drinks and food that are actually good. I must say the bar food is excellent. I would come back just for the chicken fingers and spinach artichoke dip. Yes… come visit this place you won’t regret it for a low-​key evening.

This place has gone down hill progressively.
The food is terrible and the service is worse. My partner and I love to watch the staff though. One guy, presumably the owner is always flirting with the more attractive of the waitstaff (pray she’s not your waitress, or she’ll forget about you).
Exceptionally bad (not that I’m surprised, it is a bar) is the Brunch. Wait in line someplace else… it will be worth it.
And finally, because I don’t like to leave on a negative, some of the waitstaff have been decent and I’ve enjoyed drinking and eating hot wings there.

Here is what I like about the rail, it’s the rail.
I’ve been in Chicago for 8 years now, and I’ve been to the rail about a dozen times. Every time is pretty much like the last. That is pretty amazing for a Chicago bar, that is not a dive bar, and a not a party down bar. Just a good honest bar, with decent food TVs with sports and pretty good service. Sure could it be better, maybe, more trendy, better food, over the top service, but then it wouldn’t be the rail. That would be a shame. I’m not a regular but it’s a good spot to stop in and enjoy yourself.

Good space not crowded. Fairly good daily deals.
Crappy onion rings, let’s call it what it really is, flavorless donut with maybe onion.

Oh, forget it. Progressively got worse with each visit. Convinced the staff is the dumbest group of people under one roof. And the brunch? GOD AWFUL. Really shouldn’t have paid for it, but I did. Listen to all the other reviews. Trust me.
How is this place still in business?

I live right around the corner from Wild Goose. We wanted to go for Monday ten cent wings the wait was just way too long. So we decided to look at other Monday wing night specials and found the Rail which was just an extra five minute walk and only 15 cent more per wing.
We sat ourselves right away. They weren’t all that packed for a specials night. Our server seemed like she did not want to be there at all. I realized she had at least 6 tables so her lack of enthusiasm was understandable. What wasn’t is her not so friendly attitude. I asked for water as soon as she approached our table and twice after that. Never got it. I ordered a ginger ale in the beginning and she remembered that. No free refills on regular soft drinks on wing night really sucks.
We got our wings about ten minutes later. On the menu they call them jumbo wings. I would say they are smaller than a majority of the regular wings I’ve tried. They weren’t hot at all. I could tell they were sitting under a heat lamp. I found a piece of hair on one of the wings (gross :/​). The wings weren’t awful, but the service was. Just based off that don’t think I’ll be stopping in again.

We live in the neighborhood and love having a place close by to grab some food.
I think the menu is solid. I love the seasoned fries. The Friday fish fry is decent.
When they have specials they charge you for soda refills!!! So what is the point of the special if I have two diet sodas that cost me $ 6!!! UNREAL
That being said… the service is absolutely horrendous. I don’t know if this is social hour for the staff but they generally stand at the end of the bar or talk to their male friends sitting at tables next to the bar rather than come back to their tables. Getting a refill on a drink is impossible. It’s never that full and there are always 3 – 4 waitresses so I can’t understand how horrible the service is. Perhaps because I never order beer and it reduces their tips they feel others are important. Understanding that all customers are important is probably why you still work at the Rail.