Veggie burger was great. Friend had the bison burger, also great. However service sucked. Waitress came steadily until the place started picking up & then i had to flag her down. When we asked for another round she took 15 min, only remembered when she walked by our table to see empty glasses. When i decided to give this place another shot, i called at 11:50 pm with a question about burger night specials on Monday, young hostess girl gave attitude and said, "we're about to close...". You close at 1, when you call even chain restaurants they stop seating right before the time they close. I didn't even plan on coming in at 11:50 when I called I only had a question for a future visit. But the attitude was unwanted. Which reminds me, when I came in for my first visit I requested a booth, saw one open, and again young hostess girl looks around, says something under breathe to other young girl & rolls her eyes. Really? Owner needs to check staff bc a huge part of returning to a restaurant is coming to a place where the staff is pleasant. It's not just about food and drink selection. Â I'd rather go to brick house tavern where at least I know service will be top notch. 3 stars for the burgers, & they had a nice craft beer selection. Other than that idk if ill return for the attitude.
Review Source:I really wanted to rate this higher as it is super convienant but I have had more than one bad experience. The food is mediocre but don't go into a bar expecting anything exotic. The "bar food", like burgers, are fine but be careful. I went in one day and on the sign outside it had jambalaya as a special. For some reason I thought that jambalaya was considered a type of soup. The soup of the day was five fifty on the menu and I figured I'd give it a try. What showed up was the lamest excuse for jambalaya I have ever seen. No ham, sausage or shrimp. Just overcooked rice, okra and a very tiny portion of chicken in rubbery cubes. I ate about three bites and would have sent it back but I figured for five fifty I won't make a fuss and I learned a lesson. well the bill came and they wanted fifteen dollars for that mess. I told the waitress how awful it was and how if I had known it was fifteen dollars I would have sent it back immediately. It was about a dollars worth of ingredients and I have had much better from a grocery store. She said she would talk to her manager and see if she would do anything. now I had gone there with my son ans we spent about 50.00 total on food and beer. Well the manager refused to even discount the bill. Okay fine. My mistake. Well about three weeks later I went there with my wife and daughter. I had bought one of thiose restaurant certificates where you pay $10.00 for a twenty five dollar coupon. Now the coupon said you had to spend forty bucks and liquor didn't count. So our bill was $52.00 with 12.00 of that beer. I gave the the server the certificate and of course the manager said we didn't meet the criteria. I said 52 minus 12 is forty but she said the bill included tax so I was actuall a few dollars short. They actually nickle and dimed a local customer over a few bucks. So i ordered a desert and that was that. Needless to say it left a bad taste in my mouth. I understand rules but I thought a restaurant tries to cultivate return business not go out of their way to give a return customer grief. The servers both times apologized up and down and said they have had similar experiences with the manager. She is just not very nice. If all you want to do is drink beer and have some bar food it is fine. Heaven help you if you have any issue though.
Review Source:I can't wait to try this place out when the roof-top deck is in full swing. During the winter it has proven to be a very good place to watch a Blackhawks game at. The menu is typical bar food with a little bit of flair added but not enough to really distance itself from being bar food (which I don't think is their intention). They have trivia as well, and some challenging and fun questions. I look forward to the summer and them getting pushed to a 5th star.
Review Source:We live in Oak Park and this is one of our fave restaraunts. However, today around noon I brought my parents here and we sat at a booth in the bar area. The bartender was our waitress. She brought us water and promptly forgot about us. We sat there a long time and she never came back, even after us staring at her, waiting to order. We ended up getting up and walking out and she still avoided our eye contact. I'm very disappointed because we've had great experiences in the past. We would've been understanding that she was busy but her lack of acknowledgement of us, even while walking right by our table, was unacceptable.
Review Source:Another rare avenue I have visited ever in the Chicago area. There are quite a few charming businesses on thisstretch of Oak park apprpriately named Oak Park Avenue. This place has a cool rooftop I am told in the warmer months. The place is huge and modern with a large menu. I thought this would be more of a craft beer place, but from visiting it appears more of a resteraunt. Plenty of large screen TVs and plenty of seating makes this place on par with any fancy snooty place in downtown Chicago.
Review Source:Came here on a Monday night-- place was only maybe about half full, but it had a good vibe going. I ordered the reuben with waffle fries, both were excellent. Service was timely and friendly.
The only weird thing was that a homeless guy wandered in off the street and started talking to my friend and I. It wasn't like he could be confused for a friend striking up a conversation-- his clothes were really ragged, and it was really uncomfortable. There was a server standing not more than ten feet away, doing nothing. We gave him a couple of bucks, and he then went to talk to the server, and then he went to the bar to talk to more people. Why didn't they politely ask him to leave? That was odd.
Lived in Oak Park going on 17 years, was thrilled when this place opened because I thought it would be what it has never been, a bigger version of Poor Phils. Â Namely a place to get some good beer and bites ... I keep going back hoping it will be both at the same time, but it never is. Â Beer offerings are "better" than when they opened, but with Kinderhook across the street offering good beer on tap ... why settle for bottles at AAH? Â
As for the food ... the specials are really good, and the burger special monday particularly, but there, too, sometimes the food makes you forget about the uneven service, and sometimes the attentive service can't make up for the inconsistent, sometimes mediocre food. Â
The potential for this place is so great, with the space, huge bar, rooftop seating ... ... but just doesn't quite seal the deal.
Best chorizo burger of my life! Â The chorizo was mixed in with the ground beef creating a juicy explosion with every bite. Or server was great. She even let us move tables after dinner so we could hear the trivia master better. Try the goat cheese fondue! It's cheesy, marinara-y goodness. Not fondue-like, meaning there was No flame, but the cheese and sauce were great with the bread. My waffle fries were a bit cold but I'm not one to allow a fry to go to waste so...ya know. I had them anyway.
Trivia night is fun here!
As the parents of a newborn, we have a newfound appreciation for Avenue Ale House because not only is it kid-friendly, but it's very baby-friendly as well. Â They have a baby-changing station, they're always willing to accommodate us when we bring in our stroller to park it next to our table, and there's enough background noise to muffle our little guy's infrequent fussing. Â
We like their food and it's polished for a bar & grill. Â Their wraps and wings are great and their burgers (with bacon, bbq sauce and blue cheese, yum!) are awesome. Â Their shrimp pasta dish was surprisingly good, and we've enjoyed everything we've ordered there. Â
They have really upped the quality of their service. Â Their servers are friendly and attentive, and we even suspect that one of their servers came from an upscale restaurant because he beautifully folded my napkin and placed it back on the table when I left for the restroom. Â
We've pretty much become regulars, so look for a hungry couple with a stroller and a cozy red-headed baby.
OVERALL: Â As my 3-stars indicates, it's "A-OK." Big, dark, decent beer selection and a large menu.
FOOD: Standard bar food--burgers, flatbreads, onion rings and fries ... blah blah. It's not bad, but it's nothing special either.
SERVICE: Fine. Servers are competent, seem to know what they're doing and don't hate their jobs.
ATMOSPHERE: It's huge. It's kind of dark. Typical.
PRICES: Standard. Can't complain, but you also won't find any huge bargains.
KID-FRIENDLINESS: Good! They have a nicely sized kids menu, the place is huge so a loud kid won't really bother anyone save for the ultra-cranky, and this place is one of the few in the area to have a hot dog on the kids menu--a score with my nugget.
A couple years ago, this was a pretty good place. We live in the neighborhood, and probably came by every couple of weeks. burgers and entrees were reliably good and I'm not sure if there was a management change or something else, but it has gone downhill so far that we've stopped going.
The last few times, we've experienced some of the following
--a burger so rare that the outside was barely brown (ordered medium)
--French onion soup that was cold with congealed cheese on top
--one time they simply forgot to bring our kids order. Once they "remembered" it still took like fifteen minutes to get it. Imagine how that went over with the 3 yr old.
--atrocious service every time. Rude, inattentive. The place is never even busy.
--when sitting in the back, you can see the counter where orders come up. They sit there FOR EVER before being taken out. One can only guess how bad things are in the back. No wonder people are getting food poisoning.
Way too expensive for terrible service and indelible food. Maybe restaurant impossible should come in!
My husband, one of our friends, and I were there last night for NYE. Walking in at about 9pm there were but a few people there. We were asked if we wanted the drink package for $50.00 each and because I called prior I was told it included unlimited appetizer buffet and drinks, champagne toast, and DJ. We sat at the bar and was asked if we would like a drink. We found out at that time that the drink only included "well" mixed drinks and domestic beer. This was unfortunate because my husband only wanted Crabbies beer. We ordered what was available to us. Our friend joined us shortly afterwards. Soon after that we started looking for food that was nowhere in site. My husband walked to the buffet table 4 times and one hour later food arrived. Now lets recap. The party started at 8:30 unlimited drinks and food and food was brought out at 10pm. Isn't that against the law?????
The line for the buffet was one the was rapidly increasing to the point where some people were unable to eat and had to order from the menu. Yes these people were those who had bright pink wristbands. Luckily my husband and I were able to share one tiny plate of food. After waiting yet another hour for food to be replenished, my husband and his friend asked one of the servers when more food would be brought out. She mentioned that food was only set to display from 10pm to 11pm. Knowing that the buffet was so limited she offered to bring out food for us. Moments later another small plate appeared with cold food.
As for the champagne toast it didn't exist. The DJ gave us literally a minute by minute countdown. Not the second countdown like it should have been. My husband, our friend, and I didn't leave the bar before or during the countdown. And can say that no one at the bar was issued champagne. I walked to the dance floor and stayed there until closing time.
This morning I called Avenue Ale House to voice my concern to he owner Fred and he told me, "I don't have time for this. My server who was there last night told me that everything we offered was available plus I have cameras. What do you want me to do?" I asked if he can simply look at the cameras he said he had, and call me back. He again stated that he doesn't have time for that. And hung up on me.
It's great to know that a local restaurant is not willing to check into a customers complaint or even say that when he has the time, he will follow up with me. I guess that is why this establishment is losing its customers and business is decreasing steadily. Defiantly not worth $100.00
Dine here every week and often have my fav's delivered. Actually, it comes out a better deal if you have it delivered. I believe there is a coupon they offer. Â Best time to visit is in the summer when the roof top is open and you can enjoy a cool Sangria. I'm not a fan of the bar, but I come for the food. Â Their hot wings are amazing, although I always order the Avenue Chopped Salad (less chips, less bacon, less blue cheese-I think the chef already knows me). Â The citrus dressing they use in their salad and the California wrap is one I want the secret recipe to. It's so good, I always order extra. The service is decent. Here I would give only 3 stars because it does need improvement, although this past Monday I had a truly great waitress. If you happen to get off the Blue Line at Oak Park Ave and are a bit hungry, I would recommend stopping there for a meal.
***Ceceila is an awesome waitress there. She was really great. One of the few times my salad came the way I ordered!! YAY!***
Because it was a weekday in the suburbs, my friend and I didn't have a lot of very exciting choices. Â We went here after dinner for a few drinks and to get semi sloshed. Lots of TV to catch the game, wide expansive bar area. Not too many people at this point.
We had a few rum and cokes, gin and tonic and hard cider. Â My rum and coke was just right, he said his gin and tonic was "ok".
I suppose it wasn't too bad of a place. Highlight of the evening though was Trivia night (we didn't know but yay!). Â
Probably won't be heading this way anytime soon but it wasn't a terrible experience.
Don't do it! Just don't.
My experience at this place was mundane, at best. Â The wings were dry and tasteless. As far as the spinach dip goes, you could probably get better at TGIF, and the pita served alongside said dip, stale. Â
Then, there's the service, make sure you're in no hurry, because even with a mostly empty bar and tables I still had to wait 20 minutes for a beer, because our waitress was too busy chatting it up with her girlfriends/coworkers. Â The rest of our table also ended up doing meerkat imitations looking for our waitress.
My understanding is that they have a rooftop deck when the weather allows. Â My advice to you is to wait until it's warm before wasting your time and money here.
I used to go to the Avenue Alehouse every Tuesday for trivia and loved it. Â Then all of a sudden about 2 years ago the food became hit or miss. Sometimes I got my favorite sandwich and it was delicious and sometimes it was inedible. Â Eventually due to the inconsistency with the food I stopped going.
A few months ago, I decided to give the place another shot. Â I went back and got the new buffalo chicken dip and it was AMAZING. Â I was so excited I called all my friends and said the alehouse is back! We went back for some drinks, got the SAME buffalo dip and it was all greasy and disgusting. Â I was pissed.
This week was the final straw. Â I took my girlfriend there for a date. Â I got a turkey burger which did not look or taste like a turkey burger. Â My gf still thinks it was just a beef patty. Â I asked the waitress about the $5 burger deal and she said "yea, any of our burgers are $5." Â After ordering the nasty turkey burger I got charged $10 because my waitress was a moron and it was a special burger you had to order. Â Then, I went back with my buddies for trivia last night and one of us got FOOD POISONING and the food was inedible. Â
My advice, AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Â There are plenty of places in the Oak Park/Forest Park area that will deliver good food consistently. Â For example, Duck Fat.
The location is great right off the highway and easy to get to, which is very important for transplants of the area.
The menu was ordinary and so was the food. I did enjoy the fact the Olympics were on two screens for our viewing pleasure.
The bottom line is..............Service sucked. Unless it's just for a drink and app I will not be going back to have a seated meal. The rooftop didn't open because of earlier rain on Saturday which is fine, but I would like to see what that's like.
I was really craving some mac & cheese but didn't want to go far to get some. I toddled down to the Ale House with a friend in the middle of a weekday. No wait for a table, and our server was mostly pretty attentive. But he kept asking for my leftovers in a way that could be construed as joking but didn't really sound like it. This was by far the best service I've ever gotten in this place.
Review Source:Oh Avenue Ale House, let me count the ways you disappoint me:
1. Frozen burgers that are never cooked evenly
2. Grilled Calamari so salty that I felt like I was eating a salt lick made of MSG
3. Buffalo Chicken dip served half cold with chunks of cream cheese
4. Milk and Cookies dessert consisting of store bought, stale cookies and milk blended with ice.
5. The SLOWEST service I have ever received, 10 minutes to place an app order, 42 minutes for that app to arrive, 30 minutes to place entree order and 30 minutes for that to arrive, did I mention my entree was a soup and salad? Â
6. Whoever answers the phone to take orders (there are a few different people who this pertains to) desperately needs to clean their ears out and go back to school, they are about the slowest people I have ever encountered.
I used to love this place, but I will never return again. Â On the plus side, they do have excellent waffle fries, pretty decent clam chowder and the managers are always quick to comp the poor service and food.
I visited Avenue Ale House this afternoon. After apartment searching in the area, I was quite pleased with the overall experience. I went with a friend at around three in the afternoon, so it wasn't busy at all, but it looks like it would be lively come evening.
The ambiance was great. The environment was clean. The finishing on the tables and bar really matched the atmosphere they clearly sought to maintain. However, the miller banners draped across the ceilings were tacky.
They have an extensive beer list, which was refreshing to see. My friend a Mathilda, and I had a Red Rocket ale. Both were bottled, but bottle/glass service wasn't provided. However, both are good beers.
For lunch my friend had a Western Burger, and I had a Bison Burger. The Western Burger was ordered with Waffle Fries, and everything appeared to be to her liking. It was very dense and filling. My burger was pretty mediocre. I'm a big game fan, and I've been looking for a good bison burger in the area. This was not it. I ordered it medium rare, but it came nothing short of medium well. I would have said something, but the server never really came back to check in. It is prepared with roasted red peppers and a chipolte mayo. The flavors mesh well together to support the bison flavor, but they could be layered better. Also, the burger was overcooked, so it's difficult to provide a decent commentary. My burger came with a side of sweet potato fries. They were good, but under seasoned.
The portions were big. I only finished half of my burger and a handful of my fries, but I took the rest to go. That being said, we were able to feed and drink for less than 20 a person, so pricing was fair - especially since there was enough food to cover two meals.
Service was adequate, but nothing special. Our server greeted us quickly and made sure we had everything we needed. My only complaint would be that she waited until we were nearly finished with our meal to return. I don't remember her name, but she did a decent job.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience here, and I definitely forsee myself returning in the future.
I really love this place!
They have amazing specials, every day of the week!
Their food is amazing. Our server told us they just got a new chef, which has his own special menu and my fiance and I both ordered from this menu , and we were so glad we did!
But first we ordered  the Grilled Calamari, which was very flavorful and grilled to perfection. We also ordered the baked goat cheese, which was just alright. The goat cheese seemed a little bland to me, but the bread and the sauce was delicious!
I ordered the Linguini, which I thought was just delightful! The sauce was perfect! Not too thin, not too thick, and you are given the perfect amount. The sauce/noodle ratio couldn't have been better! The noodles were cooked just right, they weren't too soft or too hard. (i feel like I'm Goldilocks!) The red peppers complimented the sauce perfectly, and every bite made me close my eyes and say "Mmm". It wasn't just an entree, it was experience, I slowly finished it, enjoying and savoring every bite! I hope it makes it way onto the permanent menu!
My fiance ordered the Caprise Burger, which included pesto and brie cheese, I had a  bite...it was juicy and full of flavor. The pesto did over power the cheese just a little, but it was still amazing and my fiance enjoyed it very much.
Our server, Claire, was great! She was very friendly, but not that T.G.I. Fridays cheesy fake high pitched voice friendly....she was genuinely kind and took the time to tell us about each special and gave us amazing detail about each beer/entree/desert selection. She was attentive, but still gave us our space. To me, she was the perfect server, we just loved her!
There are plenty of T.V's everywhere, so no matter where you sit, you can catch the big game.
They also had live music, which I thought was a nice touch!
This was our second time here, the first time we went on a Monday at like 11am, the food and service was amazing, but it was empty and I wanted to return again before leaving a review, and I'm glad we did!
This is going to be a regular spot for us, we will be back! :)
I waited 7 minutes to get service sitting at the bar. Â It was 7:45PM there were two bartenders on duty and it was not busy at all. When I was finally served and complained about the wait the bartender blew me off.
I posted this same complaint on their Facebook page and they just deleted it. Never tried to contact me. Their twitter link on their mobile site went to their web developers twitter page. I tried to email a complaint and it bounced back.
Horrible service. Terribly incompetent. Â I would not want to put anything in my mouth these people touched.
I love that Ale House has a roof top patio, but that's really it though. I typically get the Jamaican burger or the the brat. Both are decent. Actually, I wish more places had patios and brats, but Ale House's versions are nothing to get too excited about.
We have had delivery twice, but each time our food came soggy. Â Won't do delivery again. It tastes better there.
Every (by every I mean six times) I've ordered a burger here, it is either dry and hard like a hockey puck or red and fleshy and mooing like a cow. And every time I politely ask that they take it back to fix it, the servers acted like I just asked them to lick my shoe. For a neighborhood bar and grill, you oughta get a burger right. Obviously, I've given them ample opportunity to get it right, but still no. The waffle fries are good when cooked right, but not better than Chick-fil-a.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the roof deck is a nice place to hang out in Oak Park on a sunny afternoon to watch a game. But only if you can get the attention of the wait staff. FYI - you might have to flag them down air traffic control style.
I had been to the Avenue Ale House several times before writing this review, and it really is a great place to eat, meet friends and watch a sporting event. Â I usually go on Saturday afternoons to drink Stellas on special and watch over 10 screens of college football. Â My usual is the Ale House Burger, which tastes great. Â They have a wide selection of wraps as well, if burgers aren't your thing. Â They also serve sweet potato fries, which were cooked very well.
The decor is very fun, with booths and counter height tables, as well as a larger eating area in the back. Â The bar is exceptional, with a wide selection of beer. Â However, the best thing about the Avenue Ale House is the rooftop patio, though given that its winter right now, its a feature one looks forward too as the weather improves.
The service was friendly, though sometimes slow. Â The food was great and very filling. Â Make sure you check the website out, to see what specials are available that date. Â The restaurant is very large, so there is no fear of a long wait. Â However, parking is scarce at times in Oak Park, so plan on searching for metered parking or flipping for the valet service.
All in all, I love the Avenue Ale House as a comfortable pub to go and enjoy a fun evening of sports and camaraderie.
For a shot in the dark meetup spot with my out of town family, I was impressed with this place. Â We were there one early Sunday evening, so football was on and I got there early and ordered some artichoke dip to tie me over.
The great place of the location is that it's a half-block from the blue line and strikes me as a place that cater's to us Chicago folk with their robust beer selection and diverse menu options. Â They had 3 types of cider and a myriad of local craft brews to choose from.
I ordered a burger for dinner, the name of which escapes me, but it was good overall if just a little overcooked. Â The artichoke dip was a bit disappointing. Â I would have preferred it be a little creamier as opposed to it's dry consistency.
Service was decent and accomodating. Â Considering local alternatives, this seems to be a standout place to meet my out of town relatives.
I think this place is confused about it's personality. Â I feel like they are trying to go for the casual, laid-back sports bar and grill thing. Â Then they are serving $25 entrees on the menu. Â Granted, you can get a burger. Â For $9. Â The food isn't impressive. Â It's ok. Â It's not bad, just not worth that much money. Â Especially if you just went there to watch a game, which is what most people want to go there for. Â The beers on special are still $4! Â That's not a special....just so you know. Â I LOVE the rooftop seating and bar. Â I want to bring friends there to hang out on a nice evening or afternoon, but they all get mad at me because they end up with a $50 bar tab by the end of the night. Â Then they go huffing and puffing back to the city complaining about our pretentious suburban bars. Â It's hard enough to get them to come out here in the first place. Â
Summary: Great atmosphere, ok food, good drinks, expensive.
Strolled in here just as the sun was going down and we were seated immediately in front of the windows, with a lovely view of the closed grocery store across the street. Ah, the good life :)
Our waitress started off pretty attentive and then she got pretty scatterbrained and disappeared for a long time. Whatever.
Some other guy brought our food and we were pretty impressed by the quality.
My turkey burger was char grilled perfection with great flavor throughout and the avocado on top complimented it very well. The waffle fries were frozen food aisle mediocrity and if I can offer one piece of advice it would be for the Ale House to consider giving spud a makeover.
An added bonus on this evening was a pretty good coverband. They had great voices, great sound, and the volume wasn't completely overwhelming. Great atmosphere, good food, great evening. Jazz up your potatoes, give the staff a pep talk and you'll be 5 star worthy indeed!
The Avenue Ale House has never let us down. Â
The food ranges from good to really good... always consistent. Â (The teriyaki wings are a personal favorite.) Â Service is proficient. Â Beer selection is good. Â -- Â Good place to watch a game or meet friends for dinner. Â
Parking can be a bit of a pain for those of us too cheap to use the valet.
Avenue Ale House is one of my favorite spots for a drink and some above-average bar food. Â It's a great place for lunch, dinner or just to watch a game. I've been there many times and the service has always been fast and friendly. Â On some nights you can enjoy live music. Â In the summer you can enjoy a beer on the rooftop garden. Â
The only reason I didn't give it a five is because during my recent visit, I was a bit disappointed with their salmon.
This place could be so much better. It's fun to sit on their rooftop deck- nice place. The food is so-so.A little bit better than regular bar food, but could use some help.
The one annoying thing about the Ale House is that the service always seems to be pretty bad. Usually there is nobody standing up front when you walk in and you have to wait. Then you usually have to do a lot of waiting in between drinks, to order, etc. etc.
Seems to be the consensus here- looks like a cute place from the outside but it always seems to disappoint us a little.
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