Wheel House

My sister and ventured to Wheel House during last week's big snow to grab a couple of beers and some grub. We chose Wheel House for their $5 wings special and the location.

We entered the bar and there were very few people in it while most of the others on Southport seemed full, kind of strange but we went with it.

We ordered the wings with buffalo sauce and the truffle fries. The wings were fine, nothing to write home about. The truffle fries on the other hand were delicious! They were gone in less than ten minutes and we were fighting for the last few. The prices for the food and drinks were reasonable and in line with other bars in the area.

The service was standard and the interior of the bar is greatly improved from when it was Messners.

I do not think this place is first on my Southport list (I'm a huge fan of School Yard and Mystic Celt) but I may be back if they have a great special.

Ok food and ok beer list  but horrible / negative service. This is probably the reason why the venue is always dead these days, unlike when it first opened. This critique is based on several recent attempts at this place and not just one isolated bad incident.
   What made this bar not worth it for me and my friends, was the overall attitude of most of the servers. For whatever reason the waitresses of this place act as if they are the hottest things to walk the streets of Chicago or that serving food is actually an honorable profession which warrants having an attitude ?!  
    When my friends and I had dinner here for the first time one evening our waitress came up to us with this unpleasant look on her face as if she didn't want to do her job or want us there altogether. After she gave us menus she vanished for A LONG period of time even though it was dead inside. We had no silverware, no water and had to ask for them from another un-pleasant server who also acted as if she was something special or that we were bothering her because we wanted the most BASIC of services. When our server finally resurfaced, she proceeded to chit-chat with a bartender before coming up to her tables which was us and two others from what I saw.  
    The second time was very similar, looong wait (15 min) before service was given even though it was  cricket, cricket and crickets within ( although this time there was at least some silverware on the table ). A diff waitress again had an attitude problem and appeared to be more concerned about flirting with the bar tender (who breathed out of his mouth wide open while staring aimlessly at a tv LOL ) than doing her job. She may have been intoxicated because she messed up our orders and brought another parties food and was slurring to a noticeable point as well. I dont even know anymore and dont care at this point. Our burgers came out semi frozen and wasnt cooked thoroughly !
     The place has a lot of potential based on the food/ beer list and location BUT what needs to happen is a RE-ASSESMENT of the STAFF. Most of the WAITRESSES at this bar have the vibe of your typical SORORITY girl who believes she is hotter than she actually is. Over all, there plenty of other neighboring bars where you can spend your time / $$$  and have a more positive experience. The Wheelhouse has a NEGATIVE atmosphere because of the attitude of its staff and quite frankly there is NOTHING unique about this place.

The Wheel House is a great place to have a casual drink or for some good eating. I live right up the street & it's my "go to" spot when anyone is visiting or wants to meet up. The bartenders and servers are very attentive. Mike Brown has worked there for a few years, and for how young he is, his bar knowledge is impressive. I met Anto, one of the owners, while he was checking up on our table to make sure everything was good. He's friendly, very easy to talk to. Overall great place!... &  the FOOD... Amazing!