Pub II

Absolutely terrible experience. Unless you are «in» with the managers/​bartenders, specifically DAN and CHANCE (who drink regularly behind the bar… shots.), you will be neglected and potentially kicked out if any ounce of dissatisfaction is shown. It is an unfair establishment to anyone who comes to be served on realistic terms.

Food was alright drinks were cheap but someone needs to tell management about the broken gumball machine.

We stopped into Pub II with friends for lunch on a Saturday and had an okay meal.
Décor: It’s a college bar and there isn’t much more to say about it haha. There are a bunch of tables of varying sizes and even some booths around the exterior. There is a solid outdoor area, although it was too cold for us to be out there, and there are plenty of TVs so you won’t miss a moment of the game. It’s decently well lit and the same from a cleanliness standpoint.
Bathroom: about on par with the rest of the place.
Staff: Our waitress was pretty nice and pretty quick with our orders and food delivery.
Food/​drinks: Being somewhat hung over we didn’t drink — just ate. We started with the Cheese Curds, which are outstanding, and then move onto our meals. We had burgers (pretty terrible due to being WAY overcooked), chicken wings (pretty tasty), and pizza (decent). Overall, everything was just ok, nothing amazing (well, other than the cheese!). If you’re looking for a place with a somewhat robust menu, then this is it. It’s a jack of all trades, master of none.
Value: The food was pretty cheap.
We had a decent meal, but I’d explore other options (for eating) before returning here.

Wish Tess still worked here!

This is one of the best affordable dive bars that I have been to. We were in town for an event at Illinois State and tried the place for lunch. It was so good that I brought friends back later in the week.
Good service, good food, big portions and the cheapest prices I have ever seen.
I will definitely be back.

Good pub food fun place to go with a group. But I’ve never been here at night. That’s where most of the negative reviews come from. Went with a group of guys after a business mtg. We all liked it…

Usually I love the pub. But tonight I went with a friend who is not 21 for dinner and to watch the Hawks game. The bouncers would not let my friend and I in, and were very rude and disrespectful to us. I explained that we were not planning on staying late and that I had been to the pub before, when I was not 21 and was allowed in. However they would not budge and turned us away. However there were little kids inside the restaurant and I saw them letting in other individuals who were not 21 (I know this because I know those individuals as well). If they are going to make a policy that individuals under 21 are not allowed in during busy times, then that policy needs to apply to ALL individuals and not just some. Very distasteful business practices if you ask me. You just lost a loyal customer.

Easily the most overrated place in all of BloNo. You’ll hear ISU folks (students and alums) talk about this place like it is the best place since sliced bread, but the terrible food, terrible service, and mediocre atmosphere says otherwise. The Pub still lives in the past through their ranking from Playboy about 20 years ago as a «Top College Bar.’ Inside looks about how it probably did 20 years ago too.
Unless you’re 21 and at ISU, you can pretty much skip this place.

Pub 2 cheese balls never disappoint. The drinks are always good and cheap. It’s a classic ISU themed stop with a lot of entertainment.
Sometimes when I order a burger, it’s not as fresh as it could be. You can tell the meat has been cooked awhile ago or the bun is a little stale. But you can’t be surprised since the prices are low.

I recently visited pub II and it was an experience in the best way. Staff was incredibly friendly, booze was perfectly priced and of course the cheese balls held up to their legendary reputation. I would recommend anyone that is coming through the area to stop by, and those who live around here that for some reason have neglected this experience, to drop what they are doing right now and head on over!

I have been to all the bars in uptown Normal, and Pub II is the bottom of the barrel. Their drinks are watered down, there atmosphere is terrible and their patio is not as good as people are saying it is. The best part about this bar is the multitude if TVs. I would only suggest going here if you wanted to order a beer and watch a game. (Or talk to Jake from Sate Farm).
The waitresses are not very attentive and the bartenders are not very good.
Lunker’s has a better atmosphere, cheaper drinks and karaōke on Wednesdays. Brewe-​has has better food, better people and offer cheaper drinks.

This is a staple for ISU students and alumni. I have tried to like this place but just can’t seem to. The food is mediocre and the staff has always been arrogant. On any Saturday or Sunday around lunch the place still smells of booze and regret. The wait times for your order are extremely long even when they are slow. On our last visit we asked for refills and could see our waitress texting on her phone instead of getting the refills. We also had our waitress tell us «I don’t eat shitty food» when one of our party asked for a recommendation. The one upside to this place is the beer garden. It is one of the nicer beer gardens in town. I would not recommend visiting here. There are a lot of bars in town with better food and friendlier staff.

All you need to know about The Pub is that it’s a staple spot at ISU and you should stop in out of pure respect. The end.
Alright, alright, just kidding… there’s more. The three C’s (which hopefully aren’t your grades if you’re a student at ISU) — Cheeseballs. Cheap beer. College town. All which make up the one and only Pub.
Whenever I’m visiting ISU’s campus I always stop in. Their fried cheeseballs are amaze-​balls! Crispy on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside, all cooled down with a delicious side of ranch.
The best partner in crime to this tasty app is a cold beer of course. I can always count on the pub to have a good drink special. Last time I was in I enjoyed 24 oz domestics for only $ 3!
The only other menu items I’ve had here is their cheese pizza and the breaded mushroom app. Nothing fancy, but a great bar snack nonetheless.
The Pub is a great spot to catch a game (if you get there early enough). They have TVs everywhere lining the walls. The only issue is that it can get crowded real quick. Be sure to get there early if you want to snag a table!

I loved Pub 2. In college. My husband and I had a craving for their cheese balls the other night so we decided to go back. The beer special was good but that was all that was good. The waitress wasn’t too busy with tables, but her friends were visiting so she spent most of the time talking to them. The cheese balls took forever and when they came, half of them had been in the fryer a tad bit too long. Then our burgers took even longer to come and they were so burnt they were basically meat chips. We returned them. Then the waitress came back with our bill and the meat chips had not been taken off our bill. We pretty much had to persuade the cook why our burgers should not be on the bill. Sad to say it will take some convincing OR a reeeeaaaallly bad craving for their cheese balls to go back.

My friends and I came here on a quiet evening when not many people were there. The service was slow, the waitresses and bartenders mostly stood around talking to each other and ignoring their customers. The bouncers were rude. We were keeping to ourselves, playing darts. We ordered a round of expensive shots and the bouncer that brought them to our table told us we needed to drink them and leave. Bar close wasn’t for another hour at least.
We said we would drink our shots and finish our pitcher of beer and then leave. They didn’t like that. We tried discussing it with them but they just brought more bouncers over and tried to bully us into leaving. They spilled our shots on the ground (which we had already paid for) and one of them grabbed me and physically drug me to the back door, knocking my legs against stools as we went by. I had bruises on my legs and arms from where he grabbed me. He threw me on the pavement outside. It was winter and he hadn’t let me grab my coat.
I think their staff are just jerks and get off on bossing customers around. I suppose it’s sad that that’s the highlight of their life.

Great food, too bad the wait staff cant even acknowledge you.
Also the bouncers are rude, you can be polite to them in every way but they will still be rude. I get it that its your job to be tough but dont be rude to customers. Also when you are closing dont tell customers to «hurry up» or «lets move it».
Btw be prepared to be rushed out by the bouncers when close is 20 min away. if close is at 2am i should not be told to leave at 1:30 or 1:40. To them close is for their staff, not the customers, 2am close means the staff is out of there by 2am.
Overall the food is good, not worth the waiting time.
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Great drink specials on beer. Service is great or just okay depending on the position of the moon. Food has always been fast to come out 10 – 20 mins max. Tons of tv’s to watch your favorite sports team inside or outside. Delicious wings, pub burger, and cheeseballs.

Food is cheap but service is HORRIBLE! Went there last week with a group of 12 people at 7pm for dinner. We purposely went there early to beat the night time crowd. We sat at our table for 20 minutes and a waitress never came over, so went to the bar and ordered a drink and asked for a waitress to come over. She came brought us menus, left for another 10 minutes, got our drink order, brought them after another 10 minutes then took our order which took another 20 minutes to get to the table. Food was missing and she never came back to check on us or to see if we wanted another drink. Waitresses were too busy talking among themselves or serving their friends beer.
Management really needs to hire better and manage their waitstaff.
If you want good service, go anywhere else!

What can I say about Pub II that hasn’t already been said?
From a non-​college student perspective:
1. I can’t believe we had to wait in line to get in… I never had to wait in line to get in when I was in college.
2. Super crowded inside.
3. Several ladies behind the bar working — that was appreciated, it never took too long to flag one down for a beverage.
4. Which brings me to my next point — cheap drinks! We drank there for a few hours, including a round or two of shots (we took a cab) and the grand total including tip came to $ 21. Not shabby at all.
5. Frat-​tastic. That’s all.

Some of the best Pub food in town. everything is c heap and yummy.
Be sure to go for the burgers and cheese balls with a nice cold beer. You will be surrounded by college kids and early 30s people who haven’t settled down lol.
this place is so much fun though. It get’s a little annoying when you sit outside during the summer and the flies and bugs are everywhere. But it’s worth eating outside.