Sam Maguire’s Traditional Irish Pub & Restuarant

Food was very bad and overpriced… service was very slow and they are not set up very well for bands. Bartenders have a bit of an attitude. I would never go back here again…

Went to Sam’s last night to see a friends band and to enjoy the Halloween costumes. There was a cover but that was for the band and the costume contest. We were looking for some seats near the bar but all were taken. A server comes up to us and says this table is about to open, I can save it for you if you want, how about some drinks while you are waiting that way it’s all on one tab. Perfect! Got our drinks got our table and enjoyed the hell out of the night! The server never let us run low on drinks. The only thing that bothered me was my first Guinness came in a plastic cup. Next one I told him I wanted a glass and the next fifteen came in a glass. The place was very sharp inside, old Irish pub feel. We only ordered fries and potato skins and they were good but I can’t comment on the rest of the food. I will go back soon.

Over priced! 5 drinks, appetizer, $ 75 plus tip, and a $ 5 cover charge, are you kidding me?

Sam Maguire’s, nothing special about this place, but it is one of my favorite places to come to in the summer. They have a wonderful beer garden. Typically they have good music, and during the week they have decent drink specials. On the weekends, be prepared to pay a $ 5 cover though.

Bar — 4 or 5 stars
Food — 2 Stars
We’ll call it 3. I have a friend who guest bar-​tends here a lot so it’s always fun to come when she is here and all our friends. I am not a huge bar lover but the company makes for a good time.
Once we made the mistake of eating here before the fun. Nope, not worth it even if it will get you out of paying cover. Or just get something simple.
Is my friend bartending? I’ll meet you there.

I am saddened by the subpar quality of the food & customer service received here. This isn’t the first time either. I have this unfortunate habit of giving businesses like this a second chance. Rest assured that this will not happen again.
I arrive at the pub around 10:15 PM. There is a man waiting at the lobby inside demanding my party of three (myself included) give them a $ 5 cover charge. I ask what for? They tell me a band is playing. Puzzled, I inquire further and ask where the band is at. It is outside on the patio. I go outside for a moment, and they’re not even playing music! I go back inside and tell him that I have no desire to listen to the band, and that we would like to relax in the library section. He doesn’t relent. We pay for the cover charge, as infuriating as it is, we simply wanted to eat some food and get out of the house for a bit.
I have to request to speak to the manager twice. Once was for their wretched idea of chicken strips, well done and the darkest brown you can imagine, for $ 13.99! My buddy tried one, and they did not like it. I tried one, and it was not very good at all, and I am not a picky eater. It tasted very bad. The manager took it off our bill without an issue, okay. That was good. I will not lie to you on that. I am pleased they did not have the gall to demand we pay for those chicken strips.
I ordered a corn beef on marbled rye. It was good, but it is hard to screw up something as easy as putting corned beef between two pieces of marbled rye. I should be pleased that they are that competent, right? For some reason, that feeling hasn’t washed over me, that «pleased» feeling. My other buddy got a Shepherd’s Pie. Pretty easy food to make, right? It’s meat & vegetables in a gravy covered in mashed potatoes. But, we’ve been elsewhere for it, and our visit today yielded nothing amazing, but they were a big improvement from the last time I had it and ended up sick. For the record, I believe that was under different management and cook.
I wanted to pay my bill and get the hell out, but my waitress ran away and the bartender and I couldn’t find her. So, he got the manager and I paid my bill and got out. I tell the manager that I am only going to tip the bartender and that I was severely disappointed with the quality of the food, being shook down for $ 5 per guest at the door for a band that wasn’t even playing inside the bar, that we did not hear play music during our entire visit, and the disappearing acts of our waitress. Truth be told, this was a Friday night, but with the ridiculous cover charge in place, the entire restaurant/​bar was empty. The patio was not busy either, which is hilarious. Nothing like being tired from running around all day, settling a place to chill out, and being run up some absurd cover charge for a band we were not even going to listen to.
This is Sam Maguire’s «Traditional Irish Pub Restaurant’s» death knell. Actually, maybe they do better during the days. I don’t care to find out, but I am not coming back to this shithole.

Had a terrible experience here over winter break, forgot to review until now. Truly terrible service, crowded but only had one bar staffed, hassled by bartenders.
My girlfriend and I both got hassled about our ID’s at the bar. We got hassled for a second form. The bartender was rude and standoffish about it. This was for two bottles of Old Style.
I will never be here again, and I hope the place goes out of business. Everything you’d expect from a bar in the parking lot of a mall, but worse.

Order the cheese sticks. Hand breaded, dual cheese and hUGe!
Great place to pick up a guy or gal between ages 21 – 30. Stay away during the night if you are over 35. Great date location for the younger crowd– lots of intimate places in this place. Usually a great band.
I’ve been there a ton, the service is average– not great, not bad. The price for a meal was great, drink specials are okay.

For better or for worse, Sam Maguire’s seems to be the main bar in Orland Park these days. This is probably for good reason, given the convenient location by the mall and the aesthetic value the bar provides — along with the outdoors area.
Taking a look at just the pub itself, I’d give Sam Maguire’s a 5 without a doubt. As previously mentioned, the authentic Irish pub feel is really cool. I like that there is a small library section FILLED with crazy old books. With the exception of the time that my friend Dave got a book thrown at his face, I have enjoyed this little cozy library room.
They have live music play pretty often, but I have yet to hear anything that was actually good. Not to say that I expect a big name to head to Orland Park’s Sam Maguire’s, but I don’t like hearing bad covers of Lit — other than to make fun of those people.
The outdoor area is both awesome and lame. In the summer it’s great, very large and spread out and there is a big bar out there as well. But in the winter, they vacuum seal the outdoor area and this basically traps all the cigarette smoke. So on the weekends, this outdoor area is literally like a death chamber.
I ate a buffalo chicken sandwich with bleu cheese sauce and it was very good. It did take a long time to make although I was there during lunchtime and there about 5 people in the entire place. This is only a minor complaint because not only was I drinking while waiting for the food, but I wasn’t paying. My mom (yes my mom) got a Reuben and enjoyed it.
I feel the pricing is a LITTLE too high. I guess I’m just still used to alcohol pricing down at Illinois State University, which were very nice. Also, the bartenders on the weekends always seem understaffed depending on how packed it is, and it can be annoying and difficult to get service.
The crowd is young 20’s. Which is what I am. This should be viewed as a good thing, right? Well considering every time I go, I meet every single person I’ve ever met in high school, grade school, kindergarten, and prison you really have to prepare yourself for those annoying «how have you been?» questions every two minutes. You need to feign enthusiasm for seeing that girl who was awkward in high school but now has way too much confidence in herself and needs to make sure you realize that. This place gets the nickname «Sandburg Maguire’s» for good reason.
I would recommend Sandburg Maguire’s if you’re in Orland looking to go out drinking on a hot summer’s night. You probably won’t find a better outdoor patio, maybe other than The Patio. But the Patio doesn’t have the gorgeous view of the Orland Square mall.

The only really nice thing I could say about this place is that it has a very nice patio and the inside is pretty decent too. I had the Kerry Chicken Strips and they were pretty decent. I’m giving this place low reviews for poor service. There’s been several occasions where wrong drinks have been given to me and my friends. One time we ordered Long Islands and the waitress brings out Lynchburg Lemonades and was adamant they were Long Islands. I don’t know where they hire these people. I’d never go back.

I’ve only had their food once or twice. I had a Reuben or corned beef I believe it wasn’t that great. I had their spinach dip though that was pretty good. I usually go to Sam Maguire’s later on at night. Once in a while very rarely they’ll have an ok band playing. Service is ok. The best time to go is during the summer. I do have to say they have one of the best outdoor beer gardens. Its arranged very nicely and there is plenty of seating. Its a great place to just chill and have a beer. I do wish they would have the sound on though for the baseball games. Its a good place to go to watch the Bears games though.

I would like to comment on Sam Maguire’s in Orland Park. It is located east of LaGrange Rd. near the shopping mall.
I stopped in for a drink and a cheeseburger on the lunch hour mid week. Sometimes this can be the best time to visit a bar and grill. I enjoyed my time spent here and would return anytime I’m in the area. The meal was very tasty.
5 stars.

I easily rate Sam Maguire’s 3.5 stars for their food, service, drinks, and décor. As Patricia K. says, most of the inside of the place was shipped from Ireland and it has a very Irish bar type of feel.
I have only had the soups and the Reuben and the corned beef, and each of the ½ dozen times I have eaten here, it has been very good. I like the Reuben the best, and it has always been better than most.
They no longer carry John Powers Irish whiskey which brings a tear to my eye, but they do have an extensive full bar, with several other Irish whiskeys.
The live music on weekends is great, and the crowd is a great mix.
I prefer to go for lunch if we are eating, and save the evening for drinks and checking out the bands.

SO. I went there on a Tuesday night, and the beer garden (with fancy new paver patio) was pretty full. We sat in the patio while two waitresses served the two tables around us, and never once came to our table until we were about ready to leave– and only to pick up empty bottles! Outrageous!
They had a great domestic bucket special… that didn’t include Miller Chill. (I know, anti-​Chill people, I’m a weenie, but I like it) and I’ve got news for Sam McGuire’s… MILLER BREWING COMPANY IS DOMESTIC… and Miller Chill, despite it’s authentic Mexican flavor and bottle… is NOT imported. SHEESH.
AND THE BEST…
was this guitar weilding duo that Enrique-​Iglesias-​ized PINK FLOYD… and butchered other great hits with a really annoying high pitched twangy voice. It was kind of brutal until you got drunk. Then they did a mean version of Michael Jackson.
So, Will I go back? Yea, probably.

I must give credit where credit is due. The décor is fantastic — everything shipped direct from Ireland. They also put a lot of effort into their St Patty’s Day festivities with a HUGE tent, live entertainment and a massive crowd of people. While I usually avoid such large crowds, it is a good time and I enjoy returning every couple of years.
I’d love to comment about the food but honestly, I only ate there once, just after they remodeled the place, transitioning from being the Charlie Horse. I have been there numerous times before and I have ordered food — but never received it. Twice now, I have been there on a crowded night (once was St Patty’s day in the tent) and the waitress took our order but never returned! By the time we could really say anything, the place was packed and we had already paid to get in so we just stuck it out and grabbed Denny’s at like 2am. The other time, it was a crowded night in the beer garden and again our food was ordered but forgotten.

Not a big fan. Food shows up cold. The irish onion soup is good, though. If there’s music that night, and you show up just to meet friends, expect to pay the cover whether you want to listen to their frigging shitty band or not. Last night was eighties big hair night, imagine my excitement.
This is a place to drink and listen to music, if what’s playing is what you’re into. Service was acceptable.
Overall this might be one of the better places to drink with friends and be able to hear the conversation, slightly better than a standard bar — though I tend to hate bars. Depends on the music. Also there is a so-​so outdoor location to smoke, if it’s not raining.

My reviews for this place are strictly based on stopping in for a bite to eat. I haven’t really been here to experience the pros & cons of the nightlife scene, but they serve a good lunch… standard pub & Irish fare at reasonable prices.
The man & I stopped in here last on the day after Thanksgiving, to fuel up for some shopping. It was really quiet & our server was very nice. Our food was served just as we had ordered it (even with my modifications) & my Harp was very cold. To me, this is a good low-​key lunch!

I like Maguire’s. It’s just an Irish Pub and its close to where one of my cousins live so we like to go there if we feel like having a more low-​key night, just to have a few drinks and listen to some good music. You can walk in wearing jeans and flip flops and feel ok with it. They have live bands, which is always a plus. Every time I’ve been here its been a good time.
I went there on a Street Team appearance recently for the magazine I work for, (they advertise) to take some pictures and give out some free stuff. Everyone there was really fun, out having a good time and friendly. They had a Texas Hold’em tournament going on in one room and in the next, a great acoustic duo (Stellar Road).
If you’re from the area or even from surrounding towns, you’re sure to bump into someone you know (which could be a good thing OR a bad thing, but for me its mostly a good thing). The music can get loud, but aren’t bars loud? Especially if a band is playing? Maybe I’m just low –maintenance.

This place is so adorable inside, and out, but that’s where it stops. My friend wanted to come here for Black Wednesday, so I decided to brave the crowds and meet her out. The staff are pretty much all blonde, two pounds and incompetent. I waited 15 minutes before my waitress even stopped by to ask if I’d like a drink (mind you the place was EMPTY! at the time). Service overall sucked, and the food was decent. On top of it all, by the end of the night, they PACKED this place so badly that you couldn’t even move in here. I will not be back.

Loud, overpriced and a meat market.
And the food is yucky.