typical neighborhood place for old people, really old people. Â smells like stale beer all the time, never enough staff to get you a drink even when you walk to the bar to order, even when you reserve space for decent sized parties in advance, and the theme is dated, very dated. Â in this day and age, there are better options available even in greektown, so you might as well take them and support them instead.
the bartender is adequate, but there is only one bartender to fix all the drinks in the house. Â i went in once with a party of ten and asked the owner to change the channel on one of the television screens and he just blew me off saying he didn't know how to do it. Â i had called ahead asking if i would be able to watch a certain big ten game. Â of course i was told when i called i would be able to watch the game if i brought a bunch of alums in. Â i arrived with a party of ten rabid fans i assembled to meet at dugans an hour before tipoff. Â we missed the game entirely. Â the game was the reason we all met that night. Â i was the goat that night because of dugans. Â how hard is it to change a channel? Â i might have somewhat understood if the owner was actually helping take beer and wine orders, but he just stood around eating popcorn the whole night blaming the bartender and busboy who were running their a*s*s*e*s* off for him all night. Â pretty sad experience.
Dugan's is the only Irish bar in Greektown... It's the only 4a bar in the UIC area... and it's one of my favorite spots. It's probably one of the most laid back bars in town. Sometimes they watch the door, but most nights you can pretty much just walk in. They have free popcorn, decent specials, and a lot of different beers on tap, what more could you ask for? It can get a little loud at night, and in the summer they have the windows open. They also have a Juke box for music, and several arcade style games. I highly recommend Dugan's for a casual late night out.
Review Source:Dugan's, you grungy amazing punk. This bar in Greektown is equally good on a summer or winter Sunday when you can't imagine going back to work for another week. Its bar is in the middle of the room, which makes for great views and plenty of seating, and there are always good microbrews on tap.
The other important assets are worth mentioning, but I can't describe to you how important it is that you choose just one or the other:
1. Free popcorn - yay, everybody loves this OR
2. Nudie photo hunt - sorry our high scores will ensure you never make it onto the board.
If you are wondering why you should not eat free popcorn out of a communal bowl while punching furiously into a shared screen displaying pictures of slightly different naked people, I recommend picking up some tums and chicken soup on your way home from the nude poisoning you are about to endure.
But, Dugan's rules! Yay for Sunday fundays.
If two girls with accents are working the bar when you come, leave quickly. That's the feeling they give you. Ãœber b!tches who act like they're doing you a favor by even taking your drink order.
No thanks.
I will never, ever come back here. Plenty of other dives in Chicago where they actually appreciate your business.
Nothing special, but not a bad place to grab a beer. They have a rather extensive tap list with a lot of local beers and microbrews from around the country. The bartender was friendly and gave me a number of (unrequested) free samples to find the beer I wanted. My girlfriend ordered a Bloody Mary which was strong and which she seemed to like -- and our total bill for two beers and a Bloody Mary came to $14. Not bad at all -- especially since the bartender gave us free shots.
Free popcorn and they also appeared to have free hot dogs, though I didn't take advantage of either. Not too many people there while we were there on a Sunday afternoon - a perfect place to spend a couple hours (and not far from Union Station, if you're waiting for an Amtrak train as I was).
Just went back to Dugan's for the first time in a couple years, was in the 'hood on a Thursday night and it was convenient for a couple beers with a friend. Â A little disappointed to see that their specials aren't as great as they used to be, but there were about 20 people in there, and everyone was having a good time. Â The bartender could have been a little more attentive, but it wasn't a big deal since we were looking for a dive to just chill at. Â The free popcorn is still awesome!
Review Source:If you don't have cab fare to take you to a neighborhood with better bars, and you've forgotten that cabs are now required to take credit cards, you could still do worse in the West Loop than a few pops at Dugan's. Â
There's nothing wrong with a laid back bar, and I like the idea more than most people, provided that I have some good company in tow. Â But there's something suspect about any place serving alcohol that can't draw a crowd at 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday night. Â The back room, where some friends were hosting a birthday party, was lively. Â The rest of the bar saw tumbleweed blowing across the floor. Â
Still, you have to weigh your options if you're confined to the area. Â For a shot of normalcy--and none of that Protestant nonsense--you've got Dugan's.
Im not a cop or retired cop but I still drink here regardless. Â Its an "Irish Pub" located in the heart of Greektown. Â Used to be my hang out when I lived in the neighborhood but I have moved away . Â I do go back when in town and in spite of the price hike(s) its still a good spot. Â White Castle Wednesdays anyone?
Review Source:Appalled is the word that comes to mind. Â My group had horrible service on a Friday night while celebrating a birthday. Â Bartender chose to call one of our friends (rhymes with witch)
When we brought this to the attention of the owner we found out that it was the manager swearing at us! Â Unbelievable!! Â He chalked it up to drinking and us causing the raucus. Â WHAT?? Â Really, an owner condones their staff and manager to swear at paying customers. Â
Too many bars in Chicago to damper our lives.  If  you visit this joint, please note the surly bitter betty attitudes.
This is definitely the best normal bar in the West Loop area. The bartenders are incredibly friendly and the place has FREE food. That's right, free food. There is always free popcorn, usually free hot dogs in the evening, and free pizza on Fridays! And the funny thing is, the free food at Dugan's is better than the food at Haymarket. Ha!
Dugan's is just a real, neighborhood-ish bar, sandwiched in between the theme parks of Greektown and Randolph street. It's worth a visit. Or ten.
I/we went to this bar LATE in the night after we saw one of the best bands ever! RUSH!! :)
We really wanted a snack and drinks but being a Tuesday night almost everything was closed in Greektown. We walked in after freshening up in our hotel room across the street and it was somewhat empty which was fine after a fun/loud concert. This is a great place to stop in if you are in the area. The bar staff was SUPER nice. They have free popcorn and they put out a table of free food toward the back. That night it was hot dogs so SCORE there were our munchies. LOL.
Great music selection in the jukebox. Good people watching spot as well. I find it a little funny that they stick an Irish pub in the middle of Greektown but hey a bar is a bar. Right!? We were informed of one sweet tip/perk when we were getting our tab which I will keep for myself. :)
I will def check them out again next time I am down for drinks. It is not a far walk from Union Station so that is also a plus.
Cheers!
Dugan's, Dugan's, Dugan's... where shall I start? As an Irish pub in Greektown, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Some people enjoy this lack of consistency. For me, it's along the lines of "one of these things is not like the other." However, it's not going anywhere or should for that matter. I can give my Procrustean side a rest and hand it an honest review based on its performance.
I went in on a low-traffic day. This is very fortunate, because it won't house that many people. Overcrowded bars are not for me. If I have no elbow room, I'm off to find something better. During St. Patrick's Day, I looked in the window and wasn't about to set foot in it. Â
There was nothing remarkable about the bartender. However, it's the first time I was offered a White Castle slider by one. I have zero idea what that's all about. Either you have food or you don't. Bringing in food from somewhere else misses the mark (i.e. the bar that offers microwaveable pizza to drunks at 2:00 in the morning). Surprisingly, they didn't carry the Sam Adam's seasonal (currently Noble Pils). They also had changed the tap on one of the Bell's beers, which is a small irritation. If it's not on the drink list, take it off immediately. I ended up playing the "guess which beers we still have" game with her. Sigh.
The bar is set up in a fairly common manner. I think it would be cool if other bars had a copper top, but that's about it. As I think about it, Dugan's is an OK bar but not nearly as good as they could be.
The best thing about this bar are the bar tenders and the prices... It's hot (as in warm) most of the time, the crowd is ok most of the time. It's a solid bar with a lot of room and outdoor area for all the smokers..
They don't have food but they do have popcorn.
When you're in the area, must stop by! They let you take dogs sometimes too!
You can get beer in pitchers, need I say more?!!
Well, I will. This is a great place for drinks if you are in the neighborhood (say, after a nice dinner at one of the gazillion Greek restaurants near by). It's cheap, no frills and again, beer in pitchers! Don't judge, once in awhile I like to regress back to college days when all I could afford was pitchers of Bud Light.
When I worked not far from here I used to stop in every few months. Now I am far north and rarely in the 'hood so it was fun to stop back in last weekend. Everyone's still friendly and you can still get drunk for cheap. Win and win!!
After a recent visit to the west loop, I came to discover that there are quite a few great hot spots in greektown; hadn't really been in the area socially since my days working with Amtrak. Dugan's has that neighborhood feel with a small-town atmosphere. It's usually crawling with law enforcement personnel and city officials, so if you're looking to find some useful contacts, this is the place to frequent. It's the only irish pub in greektown as a matter of fact.
Their somewhat-communal main bar area was an absolute plus if you're all about meeting and mingling with new people. The bartenders were really friendly and approachable; the decor was a bit plain, but unique enough to grab my attention from time to time. They have a pretty great BEER LIST that will keep you on your bar stool far longer than earlier planned.
They have an area in the very back where, I assume, they open up for private events and parties, so that's always a plus. All in all, I had a great experience at Dugan's and will probably return with friends in the near future. I live northwest of the city, but I found that the commute was well worth it! :-)
Little loud and a little divey.
We were looking for a place to hang and this was recommended by our waitress as a walking distance bar to check out. She said it could get ruckus but thought it was a little early until that happens.
We should have known it was not the bar for us when we saw the college age co-ed in the large open front window dancing while her male companion cheered her on. Â We tasted a couple beers but despite the large selection on tap, we were hard pressed to find something we wanted an entire pint of.
Sam left her wallet on the bar after showing her ID and had to go back to retrieve it. All was there when she returned, so it turned out well in the end. Our next choice of bars would make up for this one! ;)
DUGAN'S...... a girlfriend and I went here after eating at Greek Islands Restaurant. It is just steps from there, and very welcoming. The crowd is not your typical 21 year old crowd, which I am glad for. They play great music, and have a wide variety of beer. They have a big popcorn machine, which is a MUST have when you're there. The bartenders are always friendly, and seem very genuine about it. I think they enjoy their jobs.
The drink prices are reasonable, and the atmosphere is beautiful. Try it!
Haven't been here in awhile, so when a friend suggested it for some drinks the other night, I was happy to see that nothing had changed about this place.
Bartenders are still friendly, drinks are reasonably priced and that popcorn machine is still against the wall putting out popcorn and that popcorn smell that means you have to eat some, Â There were also pretzel rods on the bar on this night, as well.
Must have been the night for firefighters as the bar was full of them and my friend was asked if he was with them (hmm . . .I wonder if he had said "yes" what that would have gotten us?)
Jukebox was playing good tunes and had we had more time- we just might have taken up a game of darts in the back.
Always a good choice to grab a beer in Greektown.
Perhaps I've been tainted by the bars of Ickyville, but for the most part, Irish pubs scream "dude, bro" and then do a fist pump at me. Â
Not so much with Dugan's. Â A much needed after work happy hour brought us here, and will most likely bring us back. Â The ambiance is not really my style, but I believe we've covered that. Â They have a decent beer selection including specials every day of the week, even Fridays. Â Today's beer was $3.50 Smithwicks by the way. Â The popcorn is fresh, and someone came by to give us fresh bowls so we didn't even have to interrupt our rantings. Â There was also free pizza. Â It wasn't the best pizza in the land, but being free increases the flavor of anything. Â Also, I went to college in St. Louis. Â Imo's sets the bar low for free pizza.
It's an Irish Pub. It's Chicago. Its not supposed to be sparkling clean, its not supposed to be a beacon of good taste, its not supposed to be mild mannered. Its a place to tell dirty jokes, drowned yourself in a pint of Guinness, and relax.
Its nice to see an Irish pub in Chicago that is not inhabited by jock douche bags.
Dugan's - bastion of Irish pubdom in Greek Town, nominally at least. Â It's the only real bar in Greek Town, as long as you don't count Jak's, which is more of a restaurant than a bar in my eyes. Â Spectrum and Muses? Â No. Â Just no. Â
Anyway, Dugan's is bigger than it looks. Â It consists of seating in the window area, then the bar, then more seating with an open area and juke box and then a back room with another bar that's open for parties and after big events in the area like the Old St. Pat's thing and the Randolph Street fest. Â It's usually only crowded after those local fests or for parties in the back. Â
The crowd in here is eclectic: North Siders, South Siders, West Loopers, a few out-of-towners, a few suburbanites and younger and older folks. Â It has more of a feel of a Sox bar than a Cubs bar. Â It's just a smidge grittier than your typical West Loop or North side bar. Â Sometimes you get a sense of danger in here, for whatever reason.
The biggest problems with Dugan's, outside of it being dead a lot of the time late-night, are that it has seemingly no air conditioning, such that it's boiling in the summer, and the bathroom situation. Â The urinals are high up (not quite as high as Casey Moran's where you're peeing uphill) and jut out. Â When the door opens anyone outside of the bathroom can see you. Â Pissing on parade. Â
I've had some good times here, but it's a miss more often than it's a hit.
Coming here after Jak's Tap was like getting out of jail and finding freedom again. By far my favorite "downtown" bar. Not touristy, pretty chill, from what my friend tells me it's a sox bar, free popcorn, and the beers are a steal!! They had my favorite beer on tap, rogue juniper pale ale, for $4.75! That's cheaper than buying the bottle at Binny's!! The bartender was also real cool and gave me a free shot.
Good times.
Just a plain ol' neighborhood bar, but with some nice extra touches.  For example, the beer selection:  I chose a Guinness before I noticed the Young's  Double Chocolate Stout and the Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald.  Also, they have a big popcorn machine full of FRESH popcorn.  Yum. Â
The two ladies working on Saturday night were very friendly (one of them very cute too). Â We commiserated with them over the cadre of obnoxious frat-minded patrons who clustered around a video-game screen shouting "GO GO GO GO GO GO GO!" over and over and over...Ugh. Â Those poor girls had clearly had their fill of those shenanigans but they didn't mention whether those guys were regulars. Â If not for those guys, this would have been a B+ experience.
Sports on TV, decent 90s/00s music, everything else that I mentioned...it's not a destination but it's a fine choice if you're looking for a place to have a few drinks, say, after an event nearby. Â I would go back.
This is one of those situations where other idiot patrons really sour you on a place.
On the opposite side of the bar from where my friend and I were perched there was a group of wankers huddled around one of those video bar games. Â I'm not sure what the game was, as I had little incentive to minimize the distance between us. Â Whatever it was, it clearly required a lot of team support as every so often, one of the jack-offs would reach some critical point and the rest of his posse would yell "GO! Â GO! Â GO! Â GO!" Â in a loud, rhythmic cacophony.
I wanted to give the poor bartenders a big hug. Â I have no idea how they calmly continued to serve these jerks rather than ripping the electric cords out of the back of the machine and strangling them with it. Â Seriously, not even my lovely chocolate stout could dull the pain.
Despite the friendly bartenders, good beer, and free popcorn, I probably won't be back. Â What if the aforementioned asshats are regulars? Â I can't risk a return to the Frat Party from Hell.
This little establishment is the anti Greek in Greek town.............not that it is a bad thing because Dugan's is an Irish Pub/Bar.....I always get those confused.
I've passed by this place many times, but never went in until I was on a double date with another Yelp couple........yikes.....am I getting a bit too much into this Yelp thing?!?! Â Nah.......We had a great dinner down the street and decided to have a few after dinner drinks. Â
This is an Irish pub/bar with real Irish bartenders.......at least that is what I thought I heard over the blaring music (hint.......it's a bit too loud...turn it down folks). Â Funny thing about the bar, they actually printed up little folded cards that say "Dugan's on Halstead" on one side and on the other it has a penguin (like those shown on old Guinness Ads and is written, "Gone Puffin' Be Right Back" which I assume allows one to walk away from their bar stool and drink without it getting taken or taken away.
The place was packed and I've heard through the grape vine this is a big place for folks in the industry to hang out. Â This particular evening was full with what appeared to be to me folks after work and lots of Chad's......or something from the West Loop that looked similar?
No food, just liquor, but there is free popcorn at this location.............which I STRONGLY recommend considering before eating.........a past review tells a store about these machines. Â Not that they have this problem, but one never knows.
This is a nice break from the more casual Greek watering holes in the area and now that I've tried it, I'll be back again.
There used to be a time when there were only two kinds of people at Dugan's: Cops and criminals. Â But now the West Loop has gentrified and accordingly, we now may find some young professionals gathering after work for cocktails, groups having pre dinner drinks before hitting the Greektown dining destinations and the occasional old school Chicago "guy".
A few things have stood the test of time: Â decently poured, relatively inexpensive drinks, free popcorn and a low key, no frills environment. Â The people watching is no where near as interesting but, hey, thats progress......
A couple of summers ago I frequented Dugan's all the time, but was always too drunk to note anything that would be useful in a review.
Last Tuesday (Christmas Eve Eve), my company decided to have our holiday party somewhere around the office (rather than getting hammered IN the office like we seem to do quite often), and after looking at the specials at nearby bars, Dugan's won with $4 Ketel drinks and $3 Goose Islands.
After yet another horrendous lunch at Beer Bistro, we wandered over to Dugan's around 2:30 to get things started. We were greeted by the bartender, Ali, and immediately apologized for the debauchery that was to come. She assured us that there was no need to apologize, and gave everyone a free drink token.
One coworker and I parked ourselves in front of the Photo Hunt screen and had at it. My Ketel & sodas were flowing, and we even created a new drink that we dubbed "The Flamer"--Ketel, soda and a splash of pineapple juice. Add a cherry/orange skewer and it's a "Super Flamer." Yeah, drinking is awesome.
And that popcorn? An absolute lifesaver. I don't even want to think about how drunk I would have been had I not shoveled bowls and bowls of it into my face. I woke up the next morning and there was popcorn all over my condo, inside my boots, in my purse.
I have no idea what our tab was at the end of the night, but everyone had an awesome time. Eight hours later I emerged from the bar drunk, happy and ready to stay out for another eight. Which I did, but let's not talk about that.
Scared straight
That may seem obvious since it's an Irish pub, but there is a lot wrong with Dugan's.
Considering the significant police presence the amount of crime in the bar itself is pretty surprising. Maybe the thieves have just gotten bigger balls. Their balls are about the same size as the dirty old men that will hit on anything under 40 that walks in, even if she's wearing a flannel bathrobe.
This is an alcoholic's haven. You can feel the misery the minute you walk in, the stale air [even with the window open] hangs heavy. Try not to touch anything on the bar other than your drink; there's not telling when it was last cleaned.
I'm not sure why they have table tents with menu items listed. Last time I inquired about some onion rings the bartender told me they haven't served food since 1977.
I recall the jukebox being surprisingly cool.
Overall though this place gives me the creeps and actually helped me cut back on my boozing
:shiver:
We were in the cab. Â The fella I was with pointed to Dugan's & said, "I've always wanted to go there." Â I said, "Then let's go."
Half a second later, the taxi had come to a screeching halt & we were entering Dugan's.
If I could remember more about it, I probably would give it more stars, but, alas, it had been a long day & several drinks, one of which was a Mind Eraser.
Which is probably why I don't remember much more than talking at the corner of the bar to an interestingly colorful gentleman who had about as much to drink as we had - combined.
We'll see next time we randomly drop in what it's really like.
A few pints of cold beer, couple o'shots, and a gyros from Greek Islands split 3-ways (messily) at the bar on a Sunday afternoon.
The bartender was sweet enough to change one of the TV's over to ESPN classic so we could watch the USA vs. Barbados soccer game. This made my friend's boyfriend so happy that he covered the tab. Â I love it when that happens.
Dugan's has free popcorn if you're not feeling what Greektown has to offer.
I wouldn't mind this place if I didn't have my phone stolen here.
And my friend's phone.
And her bus card.
This place is full of creepers and old greek guys trying to get in your pants without buying u a drink. Don't get me wrong, I have a ton of awesome memories with my friends here but this is an unsavory dive bar so watch your back.
This has become one  of my favorite places to drink near home. I don't go out as much as I would like, but if I did, this is a great "No Frills" bar. Lot's of seating, Open front windows, FREE POPCORN! It gets noisy when they crank the jukebox up, so I'd suggest getting the window seats if available.
It's right next to Greektown, so if you have a nice Greek dinner, you can change scenes within the block to a great bar!
An Irish pub in the middle of Greektown? I was skeptical...
However, Dugan's fully exceeded my expectations...a lively crowd, great music, and free popcorn gets me everytime! Like Nish N I wouldn't go out of my way to go here, but if I was in Greektown again looking for a drink among the limited nightlife I'd head back to Dugan's.
So after a swell time at Venus, our dimiNishing group wanted to go out for a nearby nightcap. In Greektown, that ironically meant an Irish pub down the block, by the name of Dugan's.
It's sort of what you'd expect, a bunch of broguish characters, mixed in with a few suits, drinking the night away. This isn't a fancy place by any means, but if you want to have some pints with some friends, it's definitely a cool enough spot to get merry.
The bartenders - both female - seemed to be out of place and at the same time perfect for the guys I noticed at the end of the bar ordering 2 shots of Jaeger each for themselves, this being around midnight on a Wednesday.
All in all, good times, and I'd imagine as the weekend draws closer the place would get more rowdy and drunken, with a solid dose of testosterone thrown in for good measure.
Note: Their popcorn must have crack-based butter on it, it's very addictive.
Overall, probably 3.5 stars, wouldn't go out of my way to go here, but if it was your local watering hole, you certainly could do a lot worse.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,608 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,970 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,309 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,906 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,985 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
