Toby’s Tavern

when you walk in here, you think its a plain olé bar. boy would you be wrong. its a bar and also a restaurant… ah but the restaurant… evrything is prepared fresh, fish superfresh. theyve made a mistake on my order and immediately whisked it away to replace it. if its not on the menu, theyll cook it if they have the ingredients. im in waukegan and there really are no decent places to eat. really! i have much food experience including many years of restaurant ownership. these folk cook eggs fresh to make egg salad. chicken salad the same. and the prices are incredibly reasonable… ex. fish dinner.cod or catfish, about 10 oz. fresh breading, soup or salad and two sides.$ 8.99 12 – 14 anywhere else. ive not been to the sunday buffet.9.99 all you can eat. soul food and good! i work sundays so thats a pity. i see a couple poor reviews, more about service than anything. hey its a bar and grill. service is fine but its not a fine french house. they get really busy and the server/​bartender runs around like crazy sometimes. really, check this place out. ive been there now probably ten times no complaint. if you want artisan beer fughet it. but the $ 2 pbr 16oz cans cant be beat. they have fancy vodkas though. dont let a couple naysayers turn you away from this diamond in the rough

Tobys is a small «hole in the wall» type bar that caters to the 45and older crowd. They offer a small restaurant (if that’s what you want to call it) with a pretty full menu. However, don’t disappoint yourself by ordering anything other then the plain (fried) chicken wings or chicken wingettes. Anything else is gag worthy.
Now, I had been patronizing tobys for a few months, Calling only to order carry out. Most times upon arriving, and giving ample time to have the food prepared I would often still have to wait. Usually about 10 minutes so I tolerated it. But last night I arrived at nearly 10pm after calling to order at 9:30. The waitress who took my order over the phone (I remembered her voice) denied taking my order and lied to other staff about me even calling in. I brushed it off and decided to wait. It helped that the other waitress gave my friend a drink on the house for waiting. Well 10 turned into 10:30. We asked again about our food and were told that our order had been put in wrong. We were then told it would be another 15 minutes. At that point we decided to leave.
I’m very big on customer service and this was unacceptable. I will never go back.

Yep! I’m a fan! I went on a Sunday (today) for the Sunday Buffet. It was recommended by friends so often I finally had to try it for myself. Well, I met 5 of my good friends there and it was on. The customer service is the 1^st thing I noticed. It made me think of that southern feel. Everyone greets you when you walk in and you just go in grab and table and head to the buffet. It’s a simple place that’s really comfortable. The food was great! Not overly seasoned (which I’m always afraid of some foods being to salty). I had greens, cabbage, mac & cheese, fried and baked chicken. And to say that I hurt myself is truly putting it mildly (darn, I always forget to take a picture). Even the patrons coming into the establishment were kind and spoke, so it really had that down south feel. And I would definitely go there again.

Just moved here and have been looking for some good spots or the family, and this place is awesome. With the dollar beers, people and service was great, the food was very filling and I wish I could have eaten more but… The endless cat fish was too much for me. I filled up after the rib tips (yummy). My daughter Enjoyed the chicken fingers and fries. We for sure plan on coming back soon, just us adults.

The waitress took too long to bring us a menu and did not even bother to ask if wanted a drink! Then she disappeared and later we saw her chatting at the bar. We finally just left. Not a good first impression.

OK, here’s the deal on Toby’s. I only visited once, but I’m quite familiar with the North Chicago community. Toby’s is a ‘down home’, quaint, neighborhood restaurant /​tavern. I have never had the Sunday buffet, but from what I hear most everything is very good. I went to Toby’s on a Saturday night to listen to live R&B music in a relaxed atmosphere. I had no pressure from ‘creeps’ to dance, there were no drunken fights, an the cover charge (for the band) was only $ 10. My drink was reasonable ($ 3.75), the waitress was funny, the chicken appetizer was good –portion size was enough for 2 – 3 people. If you can get past the fact that the building is old, the people are common-​folk, and you may see or get approached by an old drunk guy or two, I think you will experience a decent time and full-​tummy at Toby’s.

WTF is up with the bad reviews?! I think the passerbys that gave their reviews were trying to compare Toby’s to the honky-​tonk place they percieved it to be. Well, the area where Toby’s rest is majority black (hard to honky tonk to r&b, huh) and families of Navy graduates should come here if u like no bullshit places. There are no pretty «Americana» waitresses, no bright lights and hostesses with fake smiles that hate ur guts but grin like they wanna bone you. It’s a REAL PLACE FOR REAL PEOPLE! The Live house band plays great blues and older R&B songs!
The drink prices are great for stiff and tasty drinks, the staff is VERY genuine and warm without the fluff. The wings are killer with ranch. The grill closes at 10, the bar, last call is 1:45! The patrons are usually local and loud and really don’t care about where u came from or what color u are. And NO we black ppl don’t start violence everywhere we go. This place is certified white ppl friendly (just don’t act like u own the place and u will be ok)…
Their Sunday Buffet from noon til 6 is the shit! If u like soul food aka REAL fucking food at a low price, bring ur greedy ass to Toby’s. Where u can get full without an empty wallet! And nobody paid me shit to do this review. Just didn’t like the previous rating it had.

i actually really enjoyed the rib tips dinner and raved to my friends that i’d come back for them; one agreed.
we spoke too soon. a drunk old patron came over and started talking to us and tried to scam us for money.
the waitress was very nice and attentive, but i don’t think i’d come back here.
ribs were good, though.

We’d arrived to attend my son’s graduation ceremony at the Navy Training Center and had rooms in a nearby Marriott. After returning my son to NTC before his liberty expired, four family members decided to go out for a drink and conversation because it had been an eventful day, but we were unfamiliar with the area and really wanted to avoid a place filled with noise or loud music. As we motored up Green Bay Road, we noticed Toby’s Tavern & Grill and eased into an available parking space.
Service was prompt, friendly. We ordered two appetizer plates and drinks, and relaxed for an hour or more. It reminded me of neighborhood bars I remembered in NYC. The bartender knew a number of the patrons as regulars, greeting them by name. The waitress had a sense of humor. Four of us couldn’t devour all of both appetizer plates, and the drinks were a generous pour. We enjoyed our conversation without having to compete with loud music or televised sports. After an hour or so, we returned to our rooms at the Marriott and a good night’s sleep.