The Filling Station Pub & Grill

I really wanted to like this place, I really tried. Unfortunately, my review falls in line with a lot of the previous comments left here. The food is just ‘ok’, the appetizer arrived five minutes after our meals. The pulled pork was tender, but the fries weren’t anything to write home about. The sampler appetizer was bland and forgetful. You’d expect better food and service based upon how long it took and the fact that the appetizer came out last.

Do your self a favor and walk across the street and go to pub 222. It was a nice day so I thought let’s sit on the patio and have lunch. I was technically working so I had a Coke. It came in a can. My first thought was their fountain machine was not working. Then I asked the waitress and she said no. The manager said to only serve cans on the patio. I asked later and found out it was $ 1.75 a can. This is an obvious rip off. The owner just wants people to drink alcohol on the patio and to make up money from those that don’t. This is the first reason never to go back. Second — the food was served in a HUGE wicker basket. It made the burger look small and the food appear to be small even though it wasn’t. Hard to even reach your food in the basket. Another terrible manager decision. This place is just not worth it. One bright side was a nice waitress but she was just ok. There are so many other places to eat in that sea so please stay away from this one

Zero stars in my opinion! I have never had such a rude immature service in my entire life. Growing up in Bartlett I’ve been to this place many many times before, it has been a couple years decided to go back for a nice relaxing dinner on their patio since it was very nice outside. As soon as I sat down the people that I was meeting with right off the bat said our server had a bad attitude. I get that everyone has a bad day but you don’t tell your customers about it. I was a server for a few years not an easy job by any means, but if you can’t handle it go work somewhere else. Being in our 20s definitely didn’t help the situation every other table was about 40 or over and did not get the same rude attitude from the girl server. 30 minutes after my brother and his friend asked for lemons they asked again nicely didn’t even say anything about her forgetting. She then begins to tell us how she was stressed and had a full patio, basically stating that she did not have time to go get A couple lemons. So honestly, I asked if she wanted me to get them from the bar. After a couple more minutes she came over and threw three lemons on a soggy napkin on her table and walked away didn’t even respond when my brother said thank you. Few minutes after that I received my drink which got slammed in front of me on the table also with no: here you go can I get you anything else would you like to order food, nothing no response stormed away. Little shocked that I was being treated like this after doing nothing walked inside to get a drink from the bar instead hoping that he would’ve been in a little bit better of a mood, I was the only person standing at the bar while he was unpacking beer I didn’t tap my fingers didn’t make a sound, just waited patiently for him to be done, when I asked him for a Corona and a Coke all he did was fold his arms and shake his head. So I asked if he was serious? He said I was rude to his server and he could deny service to whom ever he wanted. When we tried to ask the server what the issue was she rolled her eyes and walked away multiple times. I don’t really understand who lets a couple snotty twentysomething year-​old run their bar but I don’t think it’s very good for business. looking on Unilocal and Facebook I saw very many one star reviews this place is been around for a long time and I know a lot of people that like the area they should get their act together or they will eventually go under. I’m 27 years old but I guess Look Young, I have never not tipped a person in my entire life as I am a hairstylist and work for tips myself it’s embarrassing to treat someone like that that is not customer service. I understand we’re not a fancy place downtown but it’s usually great place for friends to meet up I will never go there again in my life! I will be sure to tell every single client that will sits in my chair about my unpleasant experience it doesn’t matter what kind of day you’re having I have never treated a client/​customer in this manner and I have actually been screamed and yelled and swore at. UNCALLED for, and shocking!

Great place to get a good beer, hang out with friends. Patio is amazing, great location. My favorites on the menu is the the woody, whisky bacon burger and the south west salad. The spicy avocado ranch is out of this world.

We made the mistake of visiting the Filling Station Pub & Grill on Memorial Day 2016 and won’t be returning. The wait time for food was unacceptably long, our waitress was rude, and the entrees tasted like warmed-​over bar food. I ordered a sandwich known as the Moo & Oink, which is a combination of meat and cheese that tasted like a microwaved Hot Pocket. Our waitress certainly did not help. «The kitchen is backed up,» she said at one point, «I’m just telling you so that you don’t ask me where your food is,» as if asking about the status of our dinner was an inconvenience to her. As one point, I asked to speak with a manager about the poor quality of the food and the long wait time, and I was told the manager was too busy to talk — which says everything you need to know about this establishment.

We got sucked into this place because we noticed that their patio was usually pretty full. Good indication of a great restaurant, right? NOPE! It was just plain ‘ol bar food and not very good either. Music was way too loud to carry on any kind of conversation. Scantily clad waitresses with their butt cheeks hanging out torn short shorts. Turkey burger tasted like cardboard on white bread. Over done fries. Coleslaw out of a can. Plastic tasteless shrimp.
We’ll never return.

We have had some good food here before but won’t be back. It’s a great day here in Chicago and this local restaurant had limited servers, sat us, then ignored our table for over 20 minutes. No offer of drinks, not even «we will be right with you «. We ended up across the street and were welcomed warmly.
Summers here filling station. Customers matter !!

Wow this was overall bad. A bunch of 18 year olds. We were seated across from the drink station and bathroom. The place was not crowed. She set my drink on the opposite side of the table. My boyfriends beer was flat. Waited awhile for chips and salsa. Homemade salsa tasted like tomato sauce. They get you in for the outdoor sitting everything else bad. Ps both bathrooms were gross.

I don’t even know where to start with the horrible experience I had here last night. We arrived NYE a little after 7, we sit down, it’s a good 15 minutes before being greeted (the place was dead maybe 10 people in the bar) so finally we get drink menus, the waitress was unfamiliar with the mixology of several of their house speciality drinks. After a good 20 minutes we finally got the drinks we ordered, she couldn’t remember who ordered what but we got them. She came back a short time later to take our order. Now the menu is pretty simple sandwiches, burgers, appetizers, so all we were ordering was based on the menu, for example I wanted a turkey burger plan on a pretzel bun with fries. I got a turkey burger with everything plus grilled onions. All 6 people at the table got WRONG ORDERS. It took another 10 – 15 minutes for us to get the corrected orders however mine was still incorrect but at that point I’m starving so I just ate it, more waiting and then a manager came, after listening to the problems we were experiencing his exact words «I’ll look into this and get back to you», another 15 minutes goes by… He comes back and says it’s not the kitchen (way to throw your server under a bus) and that he will comp some of the food and buy us a round. All in all he only took off like $ 40. He was unprofessional and seemed annoyed that he even had to deal with us. I wish anyone that visits this establishment the best of luck.

Still a great place to rest, After the Scarecrow Fest.

Gets pretty busy on the weekends. Prices are fair, but drinks are made weak. So many other choices in downtown St Charles to check out.

Husband and I stopped here after wandering around St. Charles for bit from biking on the Fox River Trail. We expected something along the lines of a cozy bar & grill, something that doesn’t do many dishes but does them well. Based on how many people there were on the patio, we thought it would be a good place to eat.
We were wrong.
We, too, elected to sit on the patio and ordered our drinks. That took a while. Okay, well, it’s pretty crowded I guess, so we can forgive that. Then we ordered our meal: a turkey burger with fries and a side salad. The salad came around 15 mins later and it was pretty measly. We were starving so we ate it quickly. Then we got our turkey burger. I was hoping it would be homemade, but it was very obviously store bought. The flavor was okay — but I could literally make the same thing at home (and for a lot less than $ 10). The fries were okay. They needed salt badly — kinda worried that they didn’t think to add salt to them after they ran them out to us.
The salad was $ 5, the burger was $ 10. Neither of them were worth it. I’d get better food at the cafeteria in a college dorm. We won’t be going back.

First time ever here and last. The onion roll dripping with grease. The chicken I ordered came out raw.
I was sick the whole night. Service was horrible, had kids working that don’t know what they’re doing.

I’ve been coming to the Filling Station for over 20 years, so it’s hard to write an unbiased review.
What I will say is that it’s a great place to hang out on the outdoor patio when the weather is nice. During the day you can sit and eat lunch, maybe have some drinks, and watch all the motorcycles and sports cars wiz down Main Street. For me this is a novelty!
At night it’s a great place to catch up with friends and have a couple too many drinks.
Besides that, it’s good bar food. The burgers and fries are always good.

First time we have tried The Filling Station and will probably be our last. Went there this past Saturday and sat outside on the patio.
Server was decent, I think she may have been new. All of the servers outside looked to be between the ages of 18 and 21. There was a younger guy out there that swatted flies the ENTIRE time we were out there. I think it was very disgusting to do that while people are eating and while food is being served. Most people who sit outside are aware that there will be flies around, no need to swat at them. Also witnessed a server place ice into a cup with her HAND!!! Very unsanitary.
We ordered the sampler platter. What a disappointment that was. There were 3 of us in our party and we received 2 chicken wings, chicken tenders, cheese sticks, what they call Armadillo eggs (jalapeño poppers), and a boat load of french fries. They should really look at this item and make some adjustments. 2 of each item does no good when there more than 2 people in a party.
We did not order anything else off of the menu. And don’t know if we will be back to try anything.

The setup of the bar, restaurant, and patio is great. The service and food, not so much. All of the servers were playing on cell phones while guests await service. Ordered the Cheesy Stripper, sandwich was decent but nothing special. Interested to check out this place again strictly for drinks.

Food still has not come can’t tell you if it’s any good were one minute from leaving. Terrible service Just ask again about our food. Told them we want to leave. Going to check

Went here before a concert at the Arcada, cheap and good food and it was easy to park in their parking lot and walk over to the concert.
Big outdoor patio that would be fun when it’s warm enough.
I like the story behind this place, that it used to be an old time gas station. Love all the antiques on the walls.
I had the Philly Cheese Steak, wasn’t like they make it in Philly but it was still tasty.

A bit over-​rated and has become essentially a drunk «hang-​out» over the years.
I used to go to the Filling Station quite a bit some years back, either with buddies or on a few dates. This place is a staple for the downtown St. Charles river-​walk area, or at least people say so. Of course, in your early to mid 20s — things and places aren’t always as they seem or are hyped up to be.
By day into early evening, this is nothing more than your average restaurant. When the place is empty, the dining room actually looks nice. I remember the food being «okay», but nothing spectacular where I would warrant going there to get take-​out on my way home from someplace.
By mid evening into the early AM hours — this essentially becomes a glorified pub and «hang-​out» for mostly 20’s to 30’s, though all ages are present. The dining area almost becomes swallowed up with bodies to the point where it hampers and intrudes on the few stragglers left sitting at tables, trying to finish a meal.
Many times, me and my buddies specifically remember coming here and it was obvious that not only was the place severely understaffed for the crowd at hand — it was also probably over-​capacity. Now, this is not to be confused with it simply ‘being crowded’. When there are no tables, hundreds of people standing shoulder to shoulder and wall to wall to the point where you can’t even meander around (think almost Times Square on New Years Eve, only on a much smaller level), and the noise level so loud that you have to scream in the ears of waitresses to place an order or your buddies to communicate — to me that is over capacity and simply not safe. This is in hindsight, as when you are 22, you tend not to analyze logistics, or care too much :)
Best examples for this can be found on prime drinking nights — St. Patrick’s Day (Night), Thanksgiving Eve (probably the worst in terms of crowds and poor service), New Years Eve, and even Black Friday night — also nights that correspond with many colleges being out of session beginning their holiday break. Many times people will even crowd outside to the outdoor patio to smoke and drink — even though it may be 20 degrees out! In my opinion, the outdoor seating area shouldn’t even be open past a certain date, or when there are extreme cold temperatures — as it just adds to drunken loitering which can just further compound potential problems. I realize the need for some people to have a smoke, though, so that is why this remains open.
Some of these times were also pre-​2009 when smoking was still legal inside and many of these people had lit cigarettes. We would sometimes discuss afterwards that if somebody jokingly yelled «FIRE», probably 50 people would die just by being crushed or trampled. IT WAS THAT WALL TO WALL PACKED.
Many of the bouncers and employees are also rude, or simply — A-​holes. I remember one time during an uncrowded session some bouncer or employee standing against a wall behind my party w/​some friends or co-​workers — he giggled and made some comment to the effect of, «look that dude has a Jimi Hendrix tattoo all over his arm.» The comment wasn’t in a complimentary tone, as if I had Minnie Mouse or Rainbow Bright on my arm, and I just kinda looked back and gave the guy a dirty look and thought to myself — yah man — I don’t dress like Jersey Shore and listen to Lil’ Wayne and emo like you probably do.
As mentioned above, place can become loud and rowdy. I took a few dates here where after awhile, me and the girl had to leave because we could barely converse without basically screaming at each other — we finished our conversation during a brisk walk by the Fox River. I would not recommend this place for families, or stuff like dates or just casual dining UNLESS you come early enough — say before 8pm.
I also remember bathrooms being small, smelly, and dirty with grimy floors.
Lastly, this place is notorious for people loitering in the parking lot at very late hours, probably wasted. I saw this firsthand the times I was leaving here some years back, and now many times I see this SAME STUFF passing by while driving home from unrelated agenda.
I haven’t been here in about 2 years, and have no urgency to go back anytime soon. I think the place is overrated and can be grounds for trouble on several different fronts, and I’m a bit past the stage of having poor service or standing uncomfortably in a bar if I want to get a pre-​Holiday beer with some friends — there are plenty of other places I can do that at.

Two stars. a bonus star if you can sit in the outdoor seating area.
Filling is average. Average food (at best), average service and an above average beer menu. There likely isn’t a thing on their menu that will blow your hair back. Their beer menu is decent and as I said, the outdoor seating area is a bonus in nice weather. The inside has some neat nostalgia covering all of the walls, other that than it’s.well…average.
Don’t go here looking for above average. Go here if it’s convenient and your appetite doesn’t require something tasty. Go here to have a drink. Go here to sit outside. That’s it. Cut and dry.