The neighborhood Cheers... Been here at least 30 times and it is very popular with the fulton river community... This place can be your night out, or the place you go to after your night out. Very friendly staff, that once you get to know them, are even friendlier. Have a burger craving late at night? or just grab a beer to close out your evening? Just walk on by!
Review Source:Even the Fulton River district, home to many of Chicago's trendiest restaurants, needs a friendly neighborhood bar. Jefferson tap fits that bill well. Drafts are decent, but for the beer snobs among us they have a good selection in bottles. Menu is standard bar food; pizza, beer, and wings. None of them are among the best in the city by any means, but they're all very good and fairly cheap. The best part? There are specials every night of the week, including Friday and Saturday most of which one would actually want to eat or drink. It's also a great place to watch games
Would I take the train an hour or put up with rush hour to eat here? Probably not. But for a neighborhoody, super casual bar and restaurant, J tap is pretty tough to beat.
A nice little gem tucked away on a dead-end street. This place is more upscale than neighboring Dugan's. Lots of barfood options in generous portions, reasonable wines and beers. Although, I didn't notice any nightly beer or wine specials placed out on the tables (other reviewers mention they exist). The second floor is spacious and great for hosting an event such as a  debate watching party with plenty of big screens. Our bartender/server could not have been any nicer/ attentive.
Review Source:Jefferson Tap is a decent blue-collar / neighborhood bar similar to Dugan's on halsted. I like that it is a little off the beaten path but I definitely would not agree with the "Gastro-Pub" label it somehow received on their Yelp page.
They have an above average beer selection and a juke box. I was expecting something a little warmer and less cookie-cutter sports bar but I wouldn't be opposed to heading back for a game, beer and to try some wings.
This place is a great neighborhood spot and it doesn't disappoint. Â I've been here about a million times and have had almost every item on the menu. Â The food is reasonably priced and delicious, it's very consistent too. Â The staff is all very friendly and pretty quick, even when it's busy. Â Drinks are on the higher price point, but they always have a beer of the month and a daily special so you really can't go wrong. They have lots of TVs and unless there's a Bears game they keep music on, but will turn TVs to whatever game you want to watch. Â We've never been there where we couldn't watch a game we wanted to, even this past weekend when there were 3 people and we all wanted to watch 3 different games!
If you are looking for a great meal, beer and to watch a game this is the best place in the neighborhood!
A great spot to hit up LATE on a Friday or Saturday night when all the other bars are closed but you're not exactly ready to go home...and somewhere like the Hangge Uppe isn't quite what you're looking for. Â They've got friendly staff, good drink specials, a laid back crowd, and a kitchen that is open late and serves up some not-so-good-for-you fare...perfect for soaking up all that excess alcohol in your system! Â If you're in the neighborhood, definitely give Jefferson Tap a try!
Review Source:This place is a great neighborhood bar. They have specials everyday that changes frequently. My favorite part of this place is that I saw Chef Anne Burrell from Food Network when I was there the other night with the bf. I was super excited but was too scared to go say hi. She was just chilling with her friends so I guess it's good we left her alone haha.
The best part about this place is it opens late and they have pretty good sweet potato fries that come with their burger. It does get super loud though past midnight when everyone is drunk.
1 extra star for super friendly waitress and laid back atmosphere.
Easy to find, pleasant looking neighborhood, and a nice outdoor seating area, which you might want to take advantage of as the inside is an AT&T dead zone. Â At least they have free WiFi. Â I'll preface my review by mentioning that I've been here once, as a visitor, on a weekday, during what most would consider the Happy Hour window (they were surprisingly dead), and as a "stumbled upon" find. Â I planned on just a pint or two, but had a bit of food as well.
Staff was pleasant, so no concerns there. Â Draft beer selection was a bit generic and limited once you take away the Bud/Bud Lite/Bud Dry/Bud Whatever taps. Â Food was fine for "pub grub", with (for my specific dish) the burger cooked to my liking, the vegetables all fresh, and the tots not over fried and otherwise hot. Â
Am I running across town to make this a destination? No, but if I'm a few blocks away its fine for a causal stop by.
I love the J. Tap. Â It's a great neighborhood bar-- decent prices, good bar food, and great drink selection/specials. Â They have recently remodeled and the front is all opened up which is a huge change for the better. Â They also have a jukebox. Â Yay!
We've been here for lunch, dinner, cocktails, late night cocktails, drunk munchies, and even hosted our wedding after party here. Â Aside from one time when we got an overcooked cookie skillet (yuck!) we have always had a great time.
This place is perfect. It's a bar, and the staff, food, and beer are all excellent.
I walked in and they had the Eurocup on. They had  ESPN2 showing the simultaneous second game too. I was asked what I wanted to drink and eat and I got a beer and my food and no interruptions as I watched the game.
I was never ever asked, "Have you dined with us before." Thank you for not asking this idiotic question.
The cajun chicken sandwich and seet potato fries were great.
The Heineken on tap was fresh and the glass was clean.
After the games ended they put on Jeopardy! If you don't like this bar you probably want to go someplace where they'll make sure you have dined with them before.
Finally made it to J Tap - a favorite of many of my neighbors. Â We came here to START the evening, although most end up here because of the 5 am closing time - a very good thing to know!
We ate - the food was fine - and I had several Tree-Tinis. Â I don't recall what the spirit is in this drink, but the cucumber and mint was very refreshing. Â The staff was nice and we met some cool people on the patio which made the start of the evening more fun.
It's not a destination but I will keep it on the radar for the last call.
Great neighborhood vibe in the West Loop that has an expanded "bar food" menu, good beer list, and plenty of tvs to watch a game. Â I wouldn't make it my Friday or Saturday night, but great place to go after work, on a weekend afternoon for lunch, or to start the night at.
One thing (sarcastic)...I want my Stella in a Stella glass! Â It's ok though, I'll look past it.
I thought the atmosphere is what will bring me back here instead of the food. Â The food was decent but nothing spectacular, standard average bar food. Â I ordered the buffalo chicken wrap mild and it was extremely spicy. Â My friend ordered the fish tacos and she actually sent them back because they were too spicy to eat. Â They fixed the issue no problem which was nice. Â
The actual bar has a cool vibe. Â The windows on the second floor all open up so we sat against that wall and it was like a a balcony looking over the street which was really nice for the unusually cool St. Patrick's Day weekend. Â They had a big projection screen up showing the NCAA basketball games and plenty of TVs situated around the room. Â I wish the outdoor patio seating in front was a little larger, there was only room for a few tables. Â We were there on St. Patrick's Day and the place was pretty dead which was kind of refreshing after being around crowds all day and they accommodated our large group easily. Â
Probably wouldn't come here to party or for a night on the town but for a casual drink or 2 I'll return.
JT is listed as a Gastropub ?? Â Really? That's a bit of a stretch. Â The food is your typical bar pub fare, nothing out of the ordinary here and the wings we ordered "Hot" were anything but and average at best. Â
The space is set up in a bit of a convoluted fashion and acoustically it's really noisy. Â
Not many redeeming qualities of JT unless of course you live in the area. Â Which I don't.
What a dump. Â Not even enough character to be an interesting dive. Â Why do people go here?
POSITIVES: Â Only casual bar in the immediate area. Â Cheap beer. Â
NEGATIVES: Â Horrible, warmed-over appetizers. Â Burgers are also boring. Â Cheap beer. Â Terrible atmosphere. Â Lame patrons. Â And everything else about this place.
People, if you are looking for a dive bar, there are plenty of alternatives -- even around the Loop. Â Look around and be original. Â Unless you live in the immediate vicinity, there is absolutely no good reason to go here.
I met friends for a birthday party/drinks. Â We had a great time for the following reasons: it wasn't so loud I couldn't have a conversation, the waitress was great at making sure everyone always had a drink and she was able to keep the couples on different tabs, we had a big table so we could talk comfortably.
Just a fun bar. Â It is a good place to meet up with friends for a low key night. Â It definitely isn't the type of bar that turns into a dance party at 10pm.
Jefferson Tap has moved up in my book with its consistently good food, cold beers and solid service. Â
A friend lives nearby and this has quickly become our "go to" place when we want a quick bite and a cold beer.
It's still a little hard to move around in the place when it gets packed after 2, but hey, that's just part of the fun of the place!
With rain drizzling down onto my face and with my feet getting soaked regardless of my tries to skip the puddles. Â Who would have known what would have been waiting for me behind the doors, under the pink sign. Â Was it the warmth and shelter? Â Was it the 4 other gals back from the G.C. days of High School? Â Or was it the crispy, yummy, and golden nuggets o' Tater tots? Â
Well the answer to that is all three. Â Meeting up with some high school gal pals, and being slightly late for the rendezvous, a plate of tater tots awaited to be devoured. Â Along with the Margarita drink specials with yummy rimmed salt, and old school gossip, I dipped the tasty yummies into a sour cream/bleu cheese accompaniment. Â
The nacho plates were okay, not sure the cost, but 2 margaritas later and the tater tot plate licked clean, we said our goodbyes, and wished each other farewell. Â
After the encounter, I have tried my best to find tater tots that remind me of my H.S. cafeteria line specials. Â None to be found yet, and I'm itching to come back here again.
I think this place is UNDERrated. I'll keep this simple. When you want a damn good char-grilled burger, a nice cold beer and a place to sit outside on a nice warm, sunny afternoon - this is definitely your place. Their burgers are pretty top quality meat and are full of flavor (especially when you get them with grilled onions and mushrooms)! Even their turkey burger was impressive! And for the summertime they have $3 Nude Beach beer bottles on special which is a really tasty wheat beer!
I didn't give it five stars because sometimes there service is a bit slow and most of the time they overcook their burgers. So, if you want medium - make sure to say medium-rare!
Oh MAN, this is the place to go if your a yup-yup-yuppie who needs a "down home" hangout. Â I am neither, so I go to Jefferson's for utility (because it's close to work) but I wouldn't really go here otherwise.
The food is severely overpriced for what you actually get. Â And it's just about one step up from bar-food. Â They try to make it something else but, let's me real, mozzarella sticks are mozzarella sticks no matter what you name them. Â The beer choices on draft are good but typical. Â They do have a lot of seating (with a full dining room upstairs and a huge bar area) but both times I've been there it's so loud I find myself wanting to get outta there.
I'm just not sold on this. Â Does everything taste good? Â Yes. Â Will your bill cause you to whimper a little. Â Oh yeah. Â You're paying the price for the pretty exteriors.
I wish this place was closer to my house. Very cozy, classy sports bar tucked in a random alley in the west loop. My friends and I had been at Carnivale for dinner and decided to stop by to catch the basketball game. Felt a little weird being all dressed up from dinner to come into a neighborhood bar, but people were understanding and I'm pretty sure we didn't get any nasty looks... I think. Crowded, but we got a seat pretty quickly as people funneled out from the dinner rush. Staff was friendly, drinks were cheap and good, bathrooms were clean (yay).
Would come back if I were in the area, which unfortunately isn't all that often. Good to know it's there though!
Here's what I learned about Jefferson Tap...
1. You have to take the Green or the Pink line to get there. The green line is dirty and men tend to threaten their girlfriends while riding on it. (Yes I witnessed this)
2. It is in the middle of nowhere. Seriously there isn't much around.
3. The sign outside is pink. I love pink!
4. The special menus for food are on the tables even when there's not specials that day.
5. They have good quesadillas and okay guacamole. You can add a thimble full of guac for a couple extra dollars.
6. You can get water in this bar.
7. The waitress we had was really nice. But when the place gets busy she tends to slow down a bit.
8. Go early. It really does get busy.
Definitely a cool bar in the midst of pretty much nothing else, which probably explains why this place can get pretty packed. It felt great to come in out of the cold to the coziness of this "neighborhood" bar and grill. Definitely an after work bar that people in the west loop take advantage of.
The specials that they have on their website aren't the same as what they offer once you get there so that is a bit annoying but luckily the drinks weren't super expensive anyway. Our waitress was pretty attentive and didn't seem to mind grabbing separate checks for a few card paying peeps.
The food is OK. I wouldn't go here just for the food but I would eat it if I was there and hungry. Make sense? The fries were the best part, the turkey burger was oddly shaped and again seemingly mixed with bread crumbs to increase the size (why do they do this, turkey alone is fine by me).
If I ever find myself in need of a quick drink and snack while in the west loop, I will surely think of Jefferson Tap.
Nothing flashy, nothing standing out saying "This is a cool bar with filled with pretentious yuppies." Â Yes, it is a cool place filled with yuppies. Â However, not pretentious yuppies. Â The service seemed rather quick and nobody acting a fool. I enjoyed some drinks, enjoyed the music they were playing that wasn't turned up so loud you couldn't hear the person next to you and had a good time. Â
Comfortable environment and look forward to going back. Â
Jefferson Tap, you earn a 5 "I'll wet my whistle" star rating out of 5. Â Not bad...
I came here once for a Chicago Greendrinks event. Â
The atmosphere was neat, I LOVED the wall art!
Although the drinks were pricey, the bartenders were friendly.
I ordered the Veggie burger, which was pretty good. Â However, our server was NOT. Â The only reason why she came back to our table at all was because of our male friend sitting there. Â Seriously, not cool.
Overall, it was a great networking and entertaining experience. Â I don't know if I'd come here for fun, but definitely like this venue for Greendrinks.
I've been here a few times after work since it's near my office, and tonight we came after work for my birthday eve celebration.
This is a great bar - it gets full but not too packed, the prices are right, and the servers are friendly and attentive. Â It's a genuine neighborhood bar, and I like it because it's at the end of a dead end street so it's not an obvious choice but once you're inside you're so glad you came. Â I love bars like this, and I'm sure I'll be back.
We went after midnight on Friday night. Â Our bartender seemed very cool and the beer selection was amazing. Â Great jukebox and fun crowd.
However we didn't realize until the trip home that we got taken advantage of on our tab. Â I drink in the city enough to expect high prices, but I've never been charged for a round of shots that came "on the house".
Female manager/server/"second in command" or whomever was not working but at the bar - completely unfriendly, borderline bitchy.
I loved so much about this place but it left a horrid impression after 2 hours of us spending (more than enough) money. Â It pissed me off. Â
Maybe in a few months I'll give it another go, but only if someone else is buying.
After a year of living a few blocks away, I finally made it over to here for dinner while Doctor Who recorded. When we got there, the place was busy, but we managed to find a table outside. It was nice to sit outside and listen to the random conversations ranging from moms in strollers, general douches, and Trixies of the West Loop abusing the word "like" over drinks. When we got helped, the waitress was great. She was very attentive and got our drinks right away. We started dinner with a goat cheese marinara. It's pricey, but totally worth it. The goat cheese round smoothered in spicy tomato sauce was excellent. The crostini were crisp and buttery on top while the bottom was soft which is just how I like it. For dinner, my bf and I both had the classic burger with cheese. The burger was decent and tasty. I also enjoyed the coleslaw too.
When it started to drizzle, we headed inside to the bar and dining room. The small dining room is lined with six tv's and lots of tables. It looked nice and would be good to take my dad when he needs sports, tv's, and beer. Overall, I liked it and will probably return again.
I don't like sports bars, so I won't use their atmosphere in my review.
This is a place that tries to be both a sports bar and a restaurant, and manages both amiably well, though not quite perfectly.
The clam chowder was quite lovely, though if I were to make a comment, it would be "more clams, less carrots". Another might be, "stop trying to be corn chowdah".
My corned beef and cabbage was nice and cooked quite well, though I would've preferred less beef with more cabbage. Mark these words, I complained about too much meat in my dish.
The lobster salad was nicer, but a little overpriced for what you get -- a thawed lobster on a bed of mixed greens.
The chocolate cake was horrendous -- the icing tasted like solid high fructose corn syrup, and the sponge cake portion was too dry, with no chocolate taste in either part. Two bites, and I was done.
My wife and I went to Jefferson Tap for the first time yesterday to grab some food as we just moved to the area earlier in the week. I enjoyed it alot as I liked the laid back sports bar type atmosphere and the food was very good as well. I had some pizza and my wife had an appetizer which were suprisingly tasty for "bar" food. They also have a decent selection of beers on tap. We sat in the downstairs part of the bar and I heard they have an upstairs, but I can't comment on that as it was closed.
Overall, I was pleased with this place and definitely plan on coming here often. It's a nice short walk from my place and the food and atmosphere are great.
______________________
Edited on 6/27/07
After many more visits to Jefferson Tap, I stick by my 5 stars. The experience is only bettered during the summer when they set up their patio out on the sidewalk. It's a great place to stop by during happy hour and get some drinks and enjoy the warm summer weather.
I live around the corner from Jefferson Tap so I end up here quite frequently. Â It's a nice bar with good drinks and decent food and is obviously convenient for me.
I celebrated the Superbowl here this past Sunday and I've gotta commend the staff for their stepped up service. Â They threw a pretty good party and it was quite well organized given the short notice and full house. Â There were a few issues with the heating/cooling and the mandatory coat check was kind of a mess, but I was overall impressed with their handling of the massive and - by the end of the game - frustrated crowd. Â Nice work Jefferson Tap... I wouldn't hesitate to come here for a special event again.
I wasn't impressed with this place. Â The food was just average. Â It was very noisy, and there was smoke everywhere. Â Service was pretty slow, but the waitress was very friendly and nice.
We started with the chips and salsa - the salsa was nothing special - the usually watery and bland variety.
I had the chicken and avocado wrap. Â There was WAY too much cheese in there. Â It was more of a quesadilla than a wrap.
I probably will not go back there. Â Oh yes, my cocktail was very strong though.
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