After the Fox

Impromptu dinner at «after the fox» for our first time was elevated experience. Wife and I dined on lobster and strips, finished with key lime pie and a tiramisu. Before our second round of manhattans; we engaged in a great conversation with neighboring diners– great folks, huge win. Outstanding value for both meals; we’ll both be back with more guests to spend more and more money in this great little cozy treasure of a restaurant. Can’t wait till next summer so we can dock the boat right in front. Thanks for a fun night!

The Good: The food at ATF was surprisingly good. My steak was cooked perfectly, soup was tasty and my wife had a great looking Caribbean Snapper.
The Bad: We waited nearly an hour for our meal. To be fair, they were insanely busy and our waitress was a nice gal, but she could use a few pointers on multi-​tasking. We asked for salt, a leftover box and our check. We waited about 10 minutes for her to come back with it all. In the meantime, she entered our area twice. Both with empty hands.
The Ugly: The view from the deck was lovely but they had a SERIOUS spider issue. I had one drop down onto my arm from our table umbrella. I looked up, a half dozen more were above us. We waited for a group to leave, without an umbrella, and took their table. LESS THAN A MINUTE LATER another spider was crawling on me. The deck was covered in webbing, and as the sun went down the webs were teeming with them. Guests that were taking our previous table began complaining as well.
GROSS.
Good food, terrible wait, horrifying pests. Worth the money? Not again.

Great food and the bartenders know their stuff. We try to eat here at least once a week and have never had a bad meal.

I would highly recommend After the Fox to everyone! Absolutely love the fish fry on Friday’s and the prime rib on Saturday’s! Especially love the fact that they offer 4 to 5 different kinds of fish on Friday as well! The bartenders and wait staff are also top notch.

Very good food and great outdoor deck for a nice summer evening. I had the fish and chips. Very good!

used to have luck with their food and breakfast buffet, but the last time we went was very disappointing, we won’t be back for a while.
The buffet was simply bad, the food was not fresh, a lot of the containers were empty, and this was shortly after the buffet started in the morning.

So, we’ve stopped in here before for the amazing Friday fish fry. We decided to come out today to watch the boats go by on the Fox and have a couple cold ones. The service here is always the best. The blackened grouper sandwich was so utterly off the charts that I’ve decided to make this place a regular stop. So why only 4 stars and not five? Because I’m a beer snob and the draft beer selection is pretty generic. But the food, service, and atmosphere is as good as any place you’ll find in Mchenry or on the Fox.

Great joint for prime rib… when they have it. They need to stock up when it’s on special along with baked potatoes. Might need to reserve a steak in advance next time.
Overall friendly place, great location and good food.

Love the food, people and location. Highly recommend steak and seafood items. Great drinks and great prices. We enjoy the historic atmosphere and watching the boats go by on the chain while we eat.

Outstanding blackened grouper sandwich and today, we had a great prime rib sandwich that was cooked to perfection! So reasonable and friendly quick staff and patrons. Don’t miss it!

Really cool laid back place to eat and drink. Had a couple drinks with my friends and met some cool people.. Food was ok, but the bar tender rocked, definitely a place I plan to hang out in the future.

Went here for dinner a few weeks ago. I had the beer battered cod dinner, with sweet potato fries. Perfectly cooked cod, which a lot of places never can do right. They had reasonable prices. A big sea food menu. Can’t wait to come back for more!

So many good things to say. If you love frog legs then this is the place to be on Saturday nights. Never had them, here’s the place to try them. Yum. Crab legs are great, expensive, but again a special Saturday treat. On the cheaper side– Love the pork chops. Ribs are tasty and tender. The grouper sandwich is huge and flaky. I had this the other night for the first time as a whim and I was so pleased with myself. Fish fry is good but once you have the grouper you have the grouper. They have a side dish called party potatoes that are a party oh yeah cheesy crunchy goodness. Unfortunately they don’t have them every night. It keeps things interesting. Great cole slaw, creamy crisp and refreshing. Outdoor seating area in the summer, small so gets full fast. Great view of the river, unfortunate view of marina across the way. Friendly staff family bar atmosphere. Good times.

A really nice restaurant/​bar in downtown McHenry. Overall the atmosphere is nice, and it’s right on the Fox River so the views are great. The staff is also great. Really friendly and attentive. The food (especially the fish fry on Friday nights) is outstanding.

the service was terrible here. our waitress was rolling her eyes and really slow and there weren’t many people there. even if they were understaffed that night, that doesn’t give her the right to act like that and least of all, expect a tip. that’s something that’s earned and after the fox will not be earning my business again, because they don’t care about customer service, unless you’re a local, it seemed to me. I certainly won’t be trying any dive bars in mchenry after my experience.

I’m so disapointed in this place and don’t think I will return. I decided to support local businesses and have some people come here for my birthday this year. First of all, we attempted to move the front tables ourselves and the owner yelled at us for doing so while indicating that they are new and really expensive. It completely changed the mood and everyone felt a sense of akwardness for a moment. We did get over it and stayed and had dinner and drinks. The service was slow, and one of my friends overheard one of the older locals complain about us being there. After the place cleared out, we were still there ordering many drinks, but it didn’t seem that they wanted us there, so we decided to take the party back at my house. I assured my friends that this was a great place and most of them drove over an hour to be there that night. Too bad they didn’t get the experience that I thought they would get. Additionaly, the waiter made it clear her shift was over and implied for us to close out our bill. She wasn’t very friendly.
My husband and I started to eat here almost once a week, and now I no longer want to go there… It’s a shame because I really liked their food, but I don’t want to go somewhere where I don’t feel welcome. I just moved to McHenry about 6 months ago, and really thought I found a place where we could potentially feel like locals, especially because I live walking distance. McHenry has failed me once again. Next time I’ll take my business to the new Buffalo Wild Wings close by… It only takes ONE bad experience to never go back. Hope the locals are happy now… you won’t be seeing my face there again… and once your place shuts down because you don’t welcome any other generation, I will NOT feel bad… can’t live forever… ya know.
I do want to express how nice the cook is. I think his name was Kyle, and he introduced us to himself one time, asked how our meal was, and pointed out the owner. Kyle, if you’re reading this, this review has nothing to do with you and you should open up your own restaurant…
**UPDATE — We have since gone back and the owner was extremely friendly and food (as always) was up to par. I guess I just wouldn’t come back here with a large group.

First time we were there we were ignored so long, the people behind us were already served!
Decided to try it again, and really enjoyed the fish and burgers. Especially grouper. I like the hometown atmosphere, and that it doesn’t get all wound up. The entertainer on Wednesday is so much fun. Unfortunately, the one main server just isn’t very friendly. She’s adequate all right, but has no personality or sense of humor.

After the Fox is a regular for us. Fish Fry on Fridays along with plenty of other seafood specials. Not all fried fish and I like that. If your not a fish fan then order from the regular menu because the burgers and steaks are good. Well stocked bar and good service.

It looks like a dive bar, but the food is good and the staff is friendly. I wish they had a better beer selection, but the mixed drinks are good. The menu is pretty small, but you get huge portions of tasty food at a moderate price. A nice place to kick back and relax.

I absolutely love After the Fox. It looks like a dive bar, but do not be fooled. It isn’t a fancy Chicago Martini bar, but it is a nice family place that has quality food.
The servers are always nice and offer great advice on meals. Also, seating outside in the summer is just adorable. You are right on the fox and there is a good breeze.
One of my favorite dishes to order there is the Blackened Fish Sandwich – one of the best fish dishes I have ever had. It is juicy and so flavorful. Drinks are cheap as well – and they do not skimp on the booze! This is also a great place to have a drink or two.
Please try After the Fox, you will not be disappointed.