It's your basic neighborhood bar with good beers and your general cocktails. Â I asked them to make a Spanish Coffee and they didn't know what it was nor could set any drinks on fire. Â I appreciated that they took the time to ask. Â My cheeseburger was fantastic! Â It had a great bun and the perfect ratio of meet to bun which never happens.
Review Source:Stopped into this bar after having dinner next door at Butterfly.
Nice selection of beers and the night we came in they had a decent Ketel One drink special.
They were playing good ass music...lots of 90's hip hop and we all had fun rappin along.
Australian waitress was awesome and I don't like anybody...she joined in on our inappropriate convo and added her two cents. Loved it!
Solid Bar. Would definitely stop in again for a drink.
You ever get that feeling you're over dressed? We decided to grab dinner here after we semi wedding crashed an event to see a band. We felt outta place but the wait staff did an awesome job to make us feel welcome.
The beer menu is solid. They have a good selection on tap and bottle.
The food is nothing mind blowing, but is really good, fresh food. I had the bleu burger and 'tavern fries' (which are just reg fries with parmesan and garlic sprinkled on them)
Pickle was good which always makes for a 'cherry on top' moment when I finish my meal.
Third Rail Tavern had great drink specials for a Saturday night. Â $6 "ladies night" cocktails - you call it - for ONLY $6? Â Whaaat?
I followed my friend's footsteps and ordered a hurricane. Â For some reason, I was charged $9 and she was charged $6. Â I figured, the hell with it, I had to drive home so my one drink wasn't worth quibbling over. Â The service was really on point and pretty quick for the drinkers. Â This bar was much busier than Crossroads down the street.
The food is good too - it took a lot of self control to not steal my friend's sweet potato tater tots!
I came to Third Rail a few years ago before a Bulls game and had kind of forgotten about it until a Friday night a few weeks ago. Some friends and I were looking for some beer and bar food on a Friday night and everything seemed packed and I remembered Third Rail so we stopped in. It was a good experience.
They had a lot of beer on tap with a fair amount of variety. The only thing disconcerting part of this was that the waitress was totally confused about what beer they did and did not have on tap and it took several trips to the table for her to sort out. We finally ordered our drinks and our food at the same time (we were hungry). We tried the wings, sliders and "tavern style" fries. Everything was so delicious! I was expecting the food to be average at best based on the lackluster performance of our waitress but it was so good! I would definitely come back here for some bar eats.
Awesome place! Owner is a HUGE Romney fan and we had a great time closing down the bar on election night. We were so fed up with election mumbo jumbo that we turned Obama's acceptance speech off, blasted tunes and had an all-bro dance party instead with the muscular bartender, his brother and their buddies.. tater tots were burnt.
Review Source:this a great neighborhood bar. their beer selection is pretty good. their daily specials are not bad too. once you go there they make u feel like they want you to be there. the entire staff is nice, everybody greets you from the moment you walk in at that door. their menu is pretty good too. and the food is great. i've been there few times i've gotten my food just the way i've ordered it and the way i expect it to be. wish i can see more places like this around where the manager actually takes the time to thank you for paying them a visit. keep up the good work folks, you keep that service attitude up and the good food and drinks and you'd have me coming back
Review Source:Two little saucy chickas wandering around the West Loop on Valentine's Day lookin' for a spot to grab a drink...and we walk into Third Rail Tavern. What a great place to end up for the night!
Rick (the bartender) is on top of his 'ish...Is your drink almost empty? He'll likey be looking at you for that nod that you're ready for another. Since the bar wasn't very busy on Valentine's Day (who woulda thunk?!?), he was able to chat a little, which was nice. I love chattin' with bartenders, they know a lot of everything!
Third Rail has lots and lots of booze...you name it, they probably have. They also have one hell of a beer list, check it out here: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thirdrailtavern.com%2Fbar.html&s=2d4327e837e1b49480b7d3e4f179c91aa179056108d605b1783a444969658e6a" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.thirdrailtave…</a>
I didn't eat the food here...although I did somehow manage to score a pickle and let me tell ya, it was the most amazing pickle I have ever eaten. (If you read my reviews often, you'll know that when i'm intoxicated that whatever I'm eating is the most amazing thing ever...I've even made a list for it <a href="http://www.yelp.com/list/places-to-take-an-intermission-while-out-drinking-chicago">http://www.yelp.com/list…</a>)
I do wish they posted their specials on their website... cause they really do have some good ones. $4 you call it, on Tuesday, BTW.
Clean bar. Clean bathroom. Friendly staff. Amazing bartender (at least the night that I was there).
Quaint bar with good grub. On Sunday, Feb 19, they had the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich served with choice of French fries or house salad posted on their Specials menu.
I ordered it with the French fries; and boy, am I glad I did. It was delicious!
Breaded chicken breast, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese sandwiched between a hamburger bun for under $8 and a Pepsi with free refills.
I thought the service was great.The bar manager stopped by our table and he was pleasant to talk to. He made us feel right at home. I'll definitely be back!
If you go at a time when it's standing room only, you might feel cramped. The bar is long and narrow. Stools line the bar and there a is a row of about 4 hi tops along the wall; not much room for large group or a crowd of people unless you're attending a private party.
The reviews really say it all about this spot but my review will solely be for the delicious martini that comes with a tootsie roll pop. Yep I said a tootsie roll pop! Not only is the drink huge and comes in its own martini mixer, but a cherry tootsie pop is a sweetly added touch. I wasn't expecting this to come out of such a dive but I was definitely impressed!
Review Source:GLAD TO HAVE THIS AS MY LOCAL.
I'm not much of a bar guy, but Third Rail meets or exceeds all my expectations as a place to hang out on Saturday afternoon, to grab a quick burger on Tuesday evening, or to watch the Bears on Sunday.
There are several good draft microbrews (I've been drinking Bell's Two-Hearted), and the tap is backed by a huge list of bottles, a pretty deep shelf of call brands (including my favorite Laphroaig), and a fairly tasty menu of bar-food standbys (burgers, wraps, etc. - try the tavern fries). There are daily drink and/or food specials, and they seem to be able to make all sorts of trendy or frou-frou mixed drinks and shots.
Prices are neighborhood-moderate ($5 pints); bartenders friendly; and you can run a tab, of course. There's waitress service at the fifteen or so tall tables, a few of which are perched in the Madison St. windows looking over the streetscape. There's outdoor seating in the summer. Tidy, well-supplied, and well-lighted bathrooms.
For sports types, the walls are lined with monitors (classic old Chicago photos fill the spaces in between), and you can usually get the accommodating bartender to tune the nearest one to your game, although you may have to live with the sound tuned to the big game on the other TVs (Hawks, Bulls, Bears, etc.). But when they're on their game they kill the commercials and fill the time with recorded tunes. The place does get crowded before games at the United Center a mile down Madison. Best time to arrive? 15 minutes before game-time, after everyone going to the game has left.
I have to admit I've never been to Third Rail after 10pm, so I have no idea what the late-night scene is like. Could be an entirely different animal than I've experienced.
Third Rail looks like and has the feel of the old Chicago corner tap, slightly modernized. Great place to hang out.
It was probably the week Third Rail opened that I was last here. That is until last week when I dropped in with a buddy for a few rounds. Lucky for us Wednesday turned out to be $4 draft night (everything but the Delirium and Matilda). That was just fine as I found the Bell's Winter White quite to my liking.
I had no food here, but the things I saw looked and smelled good. There are plasmas everywhere and great sightlines for gamewatching. That's pretty important around here. They were quick to change the Blackhawks game, that seemed to be on every TV in the joint, over to the Bulls just in time to see them rally from 23 down to win in double OT on the road. We even saw our Mayor Quimby-like Alderman gladhanding and babykissing.
Glad I got reacquainted with Third Rail and I'll have to put it in the WL rotation. Keep it in mind if you're in the hood.
There's something to be said for a low key bar with a nice outside area and friendly bartenders who know how to make a drink AND don't forget about you when a) the bar becomes packed with late-night drinkers (I prefer to be in bed by midnight) and b) you get the hiccups after you've paid your bill and are desperate for sugar and water.
I wandered over here from West Town Tap on a Friday night. Â The bar was half-full but packed by the time we left. Â I asked the bartender if it would be wise for me to order a martini, and to my shock he responded yes, since he is a martini-making expert. Â Many have made this claim; few have surpassed my expectations. Â But within a few short minutes, I had the most perfect French martini sitting before me, with quite the generous sidecar. Delightful.
Next time I'm in the west loop, I will definitely visit Third Rail again. Â It's a fun place to hang out, and I've heard the late-night food is quite satisfying.
Third Rail Tavern is alright - stopped in for a few drinks and a bite to eat over the weekend. Â It was clean and the staff was nice enough, but it sort of lacks character. Â It just sort of looks and feels like half the other bars in Chicago that have opened the last few years. Â Also, they have flags for Illinois, Kansas, and Arizona State. Â Huh?
The menu was pretty standard bar food, and it was all pretty good. Â They have something they advertise as Tavern Fries - they're supposed to be french fries with garlic and parmesan. Â Neither I nor my friend tasted the garlic though.
A pretty good selection of beers.
Went here last night and was joined by Betsy B (<a href="http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=vyBg4PXQKSak0Y4tfuLtWw">http://www.yelp.com/user…</a> ) my one true Elite friend on this board who is apparently lobbying for me to be an Elite member since my reviews are awesome but alas it hasn't worked out because I've been banned from the Yelp message boards and apparently that plays a part in all of this insanity but I digress as that's a whole other story.
Anyway, the four of us went to Third Rail for a quick bite and some beers last night. We generally go to Beer Bistro for this type of thing, but Third Rail had $2 burgers so we figured why not. The place is SUPER dark inside which definitely lends itself to being more of a bar than a pub or restaurant. Their menu is pretty small but since we were there for the burgers, it was a non-issue.
I have to say that for two bucks the burgers were really tasty - good enough at full price too!. Since its a Thursday special all condiments and sides, etc are ala carte where normally they're included - our bill came to around $60 total with 4 burgers, two sides, and probably 8 beers - totally reasonable.
Everyone else ordered their burger on sourdough thinking it was a sourdough bun but alas it was plain bread so they looked like weirdos eating and the server must have thought them to be part of some strange anti-bun cult.
Overall I'd come back here if I'm looking for a few local drinks with the possibility of grabbing something to munch on but there are better options in the hood that offer the same type of menu in a better atmosphere.
My first time to the Third Rail was last night, and I know I'll be back even though it's an hour away.
They have a great beer selection, including Fat Tire on tap. This is one of my favorite beers of all time, so if a place has it on tap they are a winner in my book.
I also had a grilled cheese (custom - cheddar and swiss on grilled sourdough) and it was the BEST GRILLED CHEESE I've ever eaten...ever. The pub fries were also delicious - the parmesan cheese made them irresistable.
I was here for a meetup event and the staff was very welcoming, coming by often to see what we needed.
Plenty of street parking - paid on Madison or go to one of the sidestreets for free parking.
We tried to go to West End, but they don't open until 5 pm, so we walked the 5 blocks over to Third Rail and were glad we did. We were having a going away party for Kristian, and there were probably 15 people from work who came over for a drink.
We arrived around 4:30 and pulled a couple of tables together. There were several other people in the place, but the bartender came right over to us to take our orders. Her service was EXCELLENT, and after she left at 5, the new bartender was just a GREAT - very attentive and friendly. She did an awesome job as the place became more crowded, and still provided us with friendly and efficient service.
I happen to really like the place. Plenty of tvs and a warm/friendly atmosphere. Great staff, huge beer list and really good food. I love the boneless hot wings and fries..... This spot is a winner!!
2 Fat tire draft 11.00
5 Paulner Heffe 42.00
3 Dog fish Head 90 24.00
Bells Amber Ale 5.50
Bells Third Coast 5.50
3 Matilda 25.50
3 Bass 16.50
2 Ketel One 15.00
3 Fries 12.00
4 sliders 8.00
2 Boneless wings 12.00
Delerium 8.00
Hummus 5.00
2 Tavern Burger 4.00
New Belgium 5.50
3 Tavern Burgers 6.00
2 Peak Organic
Sub Total $240.00
Total - 245.02
We left Market because if poor service and rode the bikes around the corner to TTR. Thanks for being there! The beer was cold and came quickly. The wait staff fast and attentive. We started with a humus plate, the humus itself tasty, the pita chips fresh and the accompanying celery and carrot stick tasted like they were just picked from a garden. Just one very minor suggestion...don't place the hummus on a be of lettuce. I'm not ordering the appetizer to work at eating it. Again a nit, but thought I'd share.
The menu is simple, but the BLT (me) and the Turkey Club (her) had the some of the freshest components I've ever had on a sandwich. The tomatoes were so big and tasty  you had to pull them out separately and eat.
I've had several friends brag about this place, good wait staff and excellent bartenders...I'm glad the boneheads at Market gave us the chance to find out.
My coworkers and I have officially become regulars at Third Rail. Lunch, after work drinks...we are known by name at this point.
Get the burger with Merkt's cheese on it. It's awesome. I usually go with the plain fries, but the tavern fries (parmesan and garlic) are good too as are the onion rings. The buffalo chicken wrap is good and huge, and the sliders are juicy and good too (with the Merkt's on them).
They have hired a couple of new waitresses who have a bit of an attitude problem, and one of them is just plain dumb. When only one person at the table orders another round, you shouldn't look at us dumbfounded trying to figure out whose beer is in your hand when you drop it off.
A different newbie knocked my purse on the floor the other night and didn't even apologize. I also asked her if there was a way to get just a small side of fries with my sliders (otherwise you get a huge plate of them for $6) and she said "I mean, I can bring you fewer fries, but it will cost the same." Interesting that, being new, she didn't even say "I don't know, let me ask about that." When the owner delivered my two coworkers' food, one of them asked him if I could get two sliders and "mini fries" and he says "Sure, I'll throw some fries on there, no big deal." And of course he didn't charge me for them.
Love this place and most of the staff, and once the new waitresses figure out how important we are (kidding) all will be well again.
Their 'winter' atmosphere is great--cozy, dark, and full of nice smelling candles. They could stand to turn the music down a notch, though.
I am still a bit miffed that they raised the price of the Goose Island seasonal special from $3 to $4. Doesn't seem like a special at all, anymore...
I stopped by the Third Rail last night to meet a friend, grab a bite to eat and catch up.This place came recommended to me by someone who hasn't steered me wrong yet and this was no exception.
The Third Rail is beautiful. Â Long (at least 40 feet) dark wood bar, high tops scattered about, a tin ceiling and exposed brick walls make this a great place to sit and have a drink with friends.
My friend was running late so I had some time to sit and chat with the bartender who was great and who made me feel welcome right away (I hate walking in a bar by myself!). Â She introduced me to some of the other people who were seated around me so within minutes I felt right at home. Â When my friend finally arrived- they treated him like he was a "regular" at the place which is just what I would expect from a neighborhood bar like this.
The menu, while smallish in nature, delivers some pretty decent food. Â We both had the patty melt, some of their special Parmesan cheese coated fries and the onion rings. Â The sandwiches were great-served on marbled rye with lots of cheese and sweet grilled onions with the burger being delicious and cooked perfectly.
There are daily specials- last night it was $3 Goose Island Beers, $4 Jack Daniels and half price appetizers up until 7pm. They have a wide range of vodkas and their beer list has a good selection of  both imports and domestics.  I would have expected the place to be busier on a Wednesday night but most of the crowd left before 8 so there were only a handful of people in the place which was fine with me as it wasn't noisy and there weren't people yelling over my shoulder for a drink.
I found the music to be a bit eclectic- it was all over the place in terms of genre, artist, etc. which I liked. Â When I asked the bartender about it she explained it simply, "It's the owners ipod on shuffle". Â Actually wished I had met the owner as his taste in music was right up my alley. Â
So will I be back? Â Absolutely. Â In this area of the West Loop- there are lots of choices in bars, but while I once felt a bit like Goldilocks deciding where to go, I may have found my new favorite. Â The WestEnd? Â Too loud. Jaks Tap? Too quiet. Â But the Third Rail? Â Just right. Â See you there.
I ordered a side of fries, which I heard were absolutely delicious with the parmesan & the garlic, but all I received were regular ol' fries. Â Imagine my disappointment. Â After all the hoopla.
The company was good, though, as we met some of our friends who are regulars here.
I'm sure I'll be back at some point, but if it wasn't for my friends, probably not.
This place is classy and polished. I love the ambience of the mirrors and lights. Everyone here is dressed like they just came from their office jobs. Or they changed out of their suits into their striped shirt/ party dress. Great place to people watch!
The bartenders are awesome. I actually would have felt out of place without them to chat with since I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts!
Third Rail is ok, but it looks strangely like Beer Bistro. Â Same setup, pretty much. Â Same atmostphere(minus the beer advertisements).
All that's missing is the beer. Â Only four beers? Â Seriously? Â I had read other Yelp reviews before I went, but figured they may have upgraded in the last few weeks. Â My beer was $5. Â My wife's wine (cheapest they have, according to the server) was $8.50. Â The food was cheap, and it was ok - nothing special, though it was a step up from normal bar food. Â
I think this place charges too much for their beer and tries too hard with their food. Â
I think something will have to change with this place - they seem to be having some sort of identity crisis, as it's not clear what they want to be or what crowd they are targeting.
Maybe I'll try it again sometime, but for now if I'm looking for a beverage and a snack in that area, I'll go to Beer Bistro or Jak's.
Ya know...we ended up there by accident. Â Planned on going across the street to Phil & Lou's, but they were closed for a private party. Â
This review is all about the food and the single Third Rail Cosmo I drank. Â Burgers were great, they really were. Â Love the buns that they use, cheddar was great and the side of fries (parmesean & garlic) were so tasty! Â Loved 'em. Â I tried the onion rings as well which were good, a little too big and overly breaded for me, but my husband liked them. Â We started off with the boneless buffalo wings, we got the hot, didn't find them to be very hot, but they tasted great. Â Didn't like their bleu cheese dressing though, way too sweet.
The Third Rail Cosmo was good. Â Not great. Â While it's cute that it has a tootsie pop in it, I'm not the tootsie pop lovin' type...and I wasn't expecting it from a bar like Third Rail and I didn't really like the touch, but hell, maybe someone else would. Â It's more of a trendy clubby touch I think...
I liked the look of the bar, liked the dark look...the liquor layout on the bar was fun to look at. Â Our watiress was very nice and attentive. Â I felt comfortable being there and I would definitley go back. Â Definitley happy that Phil & Lou's was closed to the public that day or we may have never tried Third Rail. Â I imagine my next trip will be more of a 4-star experience, so I'll give it 4-stars today. Â I'll just order a beer next time.
A great addition to my neighborhood-- I will never recommend it again though. Â The bar is beautiful, they line up all of the pretty liquor bottles with colored lights behind them, I like it. Â The lighting is low, the food is good. Â A little pricey for neighborhood digs, but whatever. Â Totally solid joint that would've gotten 4 stars until, the story.....
My friend Suzy and I went to third four times during the first couple of weeks they were open. Â We ordered a lot of drinks, tipped well and met and chatted with the bartenders, managers, and owners. Â We were all on a first name basis-- great, right?
Well, last Saturday at 9:50 we decided to begin our night. Â We rushed through the freezing, slippery, ice and snow to go to the bar that we felt most comfortable in my new neighborhood-- Third Rail Tavern. Â We walked in, found a place at the unusually busy bar, and ordered our drinks. Â We were settled in.
Within moments, one of the "Third Railers" that we were now on a first name basis with, came over to talk. Â He shared with us that there was a private party going on for his best friend's birthday (who we knew as well)... Â So we went over to the Birthday boy to give him our best birthday wishes.
After our birthday wishes, we were pulled aside and told that we were not invited to the party, but it would be over in 10 minutes, at 10 pm, we could wait outside or come back. Â So, at this point we had to ashamedly grab our coats, and do the walk out with our heads down as everyone watched. Â
This is not the way to treat regulars at a new bar! Â If they had stopped us at the door, I would have had no problem coming back in 10 minutes..... But making us do a walk of shame out of our neighborhood digs, NOT COOL. And the disgusted faces we were getting from people as we were walking out, you would've thought we had leaches crawling on our faces. Maybe my pride is bruised easily, but I will not be going back to Third Rail on a regular basis anymore.
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