Chief O'Neill's Pub Reviews

Great Saturday Brunch and the best garden for large groups

The brunch is worth a 4 star rating the buffet is amazing. The other meals I've had have been just ok. I will say it's a great place to have a party Or a large family gathering. The buffet brunch is the clear winner here if you to for lunch of dinner the salmon is pretty good

Looks grungy but it's quite clean inside. Very family friendly and has an excellent whisk(e)y selection. The food is exactly what it needs to be - good ol' fashioned pub grub.

One of my favorite brunches. Always bring out of town guests. Great fish and chips and atmosphere.

Great place to get your Irish on!!! Even if your not Irish. Shepard's pie my favorite.

Surprisingly elegant service and really good food. Don't mistake it as only a pub! Much better than what you'd expect.

Lots of food items to choose from. Wonderful Buffett with just about everything you could want. Lots of desserts, yummy macaroons. Great staff, very friendly. Abundant seating, indoor and outdoor. Some parking at the restaurant also street parking. All in all a very pleasant place to go for a good meal.

Great food!! I don't want to say bad service, but bad scheduling that not enough staff for how busy. Empty drinks on many tables etc. Could have been a great experience....

I'm not much of a fan of Irish food, so I can't really vouch for the quality of their menu, but the place has a wonderful and clean atmosphere. If you're in town during a warm nice day, -definitely- ask for a seat out back, the garden is beautiful and immersive.

The French toast on Sunday Brunch is a game changer.

Yummy and very friendly, in my neighborhood and decided to finally stop in for fish fry Friday, I ordered the Shepard pie and my guest the fried fish, everything was fantastic! Andres the server was very friendly and welcoming. We'll be back!

Great spot for Irish food on the north side of the city.

A bit of a Chicago institution. It's waaay up there (Addison/Elston), but then again, there are a lot of people waaay up there
The food is ok (not good, not bad. ok).
The beer, OTOH, is quite good - gone are the days when your choices were Guiness, Harp, and Bud/BudLight/Miller - nowadays there is always a decent selection of local/craft brews on tap, and a friendly bartender to serve it up.
Back to the food - what it lacks in awesomeness, it more than makes up in quantity (and alcohol-friendliness. Read "lots of fat").
All in all, a good time...

Cosy, authentic, and warm atmosphere with a rich wood interior and real fire place; great on a blustery Chicago day.

Great music, Great atmosphere, Great food, and the drinks are good too!!!

The garden here at night is magical. The food is delicious. The servers are friendly and attentive.

I plan to bring out of town visitors here!

Nice atmosphere, old style Irish pub. I think they should have a much bigger selection of beers.
They are for sure string on whiskeys but these days you must have craft beers on tap.
Food is good, the classic pub Irish food. It's not fine dining but this is what you can expect from an Irish pub.
This place is not cheap for being pub in a blue collar area of Chicago. $16 for a sirloin salad with 4 tiny pieces of meat...or $14 for a regular burger, are more downtown prices.
Staff is friendly. You may not be enthusiastic, but I don't think you can be disappointed after visiting this place...besides the bill...

Still a great place to enjoy a beer but the food menu used to be much better. They have followed the trend to one page of menu options that skews to over-priced and unfulfilling.

Went there for a family party. The service was terrible. For as large of a group we had only one server. We ordered drinks when we got there and waited almost an hour for them. When the food came mine was raw in the middle and had to be sent back. By the time I got my dinner everyone else was done so I had mine boxed. Never again.

Excellent service excellent food excellent atmosphere

Food very good, service not so good on father's day

**GET THE POUTINE**

After going to many Irish pubs/restaurants in Chicago, this one has been the best thus far. My husband and I went midday (3pm) on a Friday so I can t say much about the night life BUT if you want a good warm fulfilling meal for lunch, go here.

The complimentary rosemary quick bread was so good, I m scrambling to find a recipe for it.
The poutine is an appetizer BUT could be a whole meal. It s the best poutine I ve had.
We both ordered fish and chips. PERFECT chips. GREAT fish. The green stuff (mushy peas) on the side is not guac...apparently I m so uncultured to think it was. First time having mushy peas and wow that was a whole experience. 10/10
Our server was good too. Really, no complaints.
We weren t there for a show, just some good food and that s what we received.

We will definitely return and try other dishes.
Also, that brunch looks amazing.

Absolutely a Chicago gem. About once a year my body feels a little colder than usual and the weather outside gets me down more than that to which I'm accustomed. And it's usually then that I'm reminded of this treasure tucked away on this unassuming stretch of Elston and I feel warmer immediately.

Comfort food served right with heavy, meaty dishes (hey, It's Irish) featuring as the stars. The meatloaf, pot roast, chicken pot pie and bangers and mash are all can't miss.

More often than not, traditional Irish music is performed live by locals in a warm, family environment, typically with a fire blazing during colder months.

Tap list is both predictable and satisfying. I love Chief O'Neill's and if you're looking for an inviting dinner option without pretense you will, too.

Dripping with old world Irish character, this place is the real deal. Bartenders are nonetheless helpful and engaging.

Came in and didn't want to sit downstairs bc our table was near the door. What bothered me is when told there was available seating upstairs , no one escorted us up. When youre in the restaurant business you know that's unacceptable. I wnt upstairs and didn't know where to go. No host upstairs..the server was great...don't know his name-he mentioned it but i forgot. He was bald with grey hair and had a goatee..
Now, the food....it was just ok...nothing to rave about..but what can one expect for a 20.00 buffet..i know my standards are high bc I'm in the industry and i dine out alot...but there is alot of room for improvement here.

We were given a time limit for our party of 5 because they had a large party coming in at a certain time. We were given a little over an hour to eat. We were given the check and told we had to go because the large party had arrived. Never will I reccomend this place or come back.

Excellent service and food. Friendly atmosphere. Beautiful outdoor sitting area.

This was the cleanest, most welcoming, and comfortable place I could have ever gone for my 21st birthday. Lovely bar and a great selection of drinks. I can't wait to go back and continue to try their food and other options. Highly recommend to anyone looking for an escape from the city view. And shoutout to the awesome bartender who did an amazing job.

Outstanding everything. Food was excellent, drinks were great and half off (on Mondays), atmosphere is super nice. Cheese Fritta appetizer is absolutely amazing and the corned beef was also very good.

Buffet was very good. Bartender was very attentive at all times

Top-notch Irish fare from the Guinness to the Shepard's Pie and everything in between. You want Irish? Go to Chief's. They also sport the best beer garden I'm the city. (Yes, better than Moody's and Chief's burger is WAY better.)

Excellent staff, food, drinks and wonderful atmosphere!

Fantastic service, amazing food, and they had a live band! Definitely going back with friends and family!

Lovely Irish Pub. Great food and friendly staff. Nice outdoor garden area too!

I prefer this place a lot. theres a happy feeling. The food is good. the service is powerful and the stuff is courteous. The pay is decent. I definitely recommend.

Good food, absolutely terrible service. It's gotten exponentially worse the last few years. Went for brunch and it took 20 min to get water to the table. Really didn't want to go again but was talked into it...essentially empty restaurant, but busy patio. Hostess seats us inside. Doesn't give menus. 20 min later after asking for menus, still no server, not even any indication anyone knows we were even there. Finally walked to out and went somewhere else. Which was a bummer. I'm done with this place.

French onion soup is to die for plus very filling. Staff is super friendly

This place is cool. The food is good. Only complaint is that the vegetables in the shepards pie are always undercooked. Tastes great as leftovers out of the microwave

Fun atmosphere but takes a while to get drinks on St. Patty's.

I honestly love their food and customer service, fantastic location right next to my house. The cashiers are always super nice. Will come visit again.

I went here on St. Pattys day and it was packed. Despite the crowd food was great and the live entertainment gets 2 thumbs up! Best Irish pub in Chicago!

Reminds me strongly of the pubs I enjoyed in Ireland. Matt was awesome!

Deceivingly large space looking from outside. Went here for brunch, tasty food, nice variety, the buffet layout was great to move many people along without a line, staff was friendly and attentive, the outdoor space was quaint.

Old school Irish pub with great decor, a great outdoor area, and good beer. The food is tasty as well.

Beautiful Irish pub. Very spacious. Meeting point of many local Irish families.

Great environment!! Wonderful food!! Good staff too!!!

I recently moved to the neighborhood and I love coming to this place. The food is excellent for starters. I highly recommend the corned beef, any of the salads and the lamb stew. The interior is very unique and features a lot of old collectibles and vintage decor. In the summertime the patio is beautiful-- great place for a small party or event. During the holidays they go all out with the decor as well and they even have violinists and ensembles there at times. Service is friendly and prompt. Highly recommend!

We loveed visiting Chief O'Neill's Pub on Elston Avenue. We ordered their goat cheese fondue, and that was wonderful. We also ordered their Fritti goat cheese curds with honey Dijon mustard and they were quite indulgent. The shepherd's pie was excellent and a nice big portion and was served hot. The entire restaurant was decorated beautifully for the Christmas holidays. All of the wait staff were friendly and cheerful and our drink orders were served quickly and correctly. For a local pub with a long storied history as a staple restaurant for this Northwest Side neighborhood, I highly recommend this restaurant for a family, for a work outing, or for a intimate date night together.

Food was good. There was a piece of glass in my cocktail tho....not too good

Delicious and authentic Irish menu! Servers are from Ireland which just adds to your experience! Highly recommend the salad with apples (blue cheese is in the dressing), the Rueben sandwich meal, cheese curds and the potato side dish! Fantastic indoor seating area, bar spots, outdoor patio area with quite a bit of green space in the middle for kids to play! An area indoor to close off for events, in addition to an area on the patio which can be sectioned off from the rest of the patio for a group

Sunday brunch: friendly staff, an abundance of food variety. I love the corned beef hash and breakfast sausages :)

The food and desserts were AMAZING! The waiter was not so bad looking either LOL! But can't wait to go again.

This is one of the best restaurants I have been to in Chicagoland area, and this cute girl - Kat is the coolest server! Highly recommended!!!

The outdoor backyard patio is absolutely gorgeous. We were able to bring our dog here too! Food was yummy, I loved the spread. Only con was it was pretty pricey. For two people for brunch the bill was about $85. Brunch was about $23 a person and mimosas were $10 each. I would love to come back if the prices lowered just a tad.

They have the BEST brunch in the area. You have to try it! If it's nice out, you can sit in their backyard outdoor area. Super cute!
I also went to a wedding reception there and it was fun! The staff was super nice, good space and good food. Parking it decent. There are spots next to the building, or you can park on the street or in the neighborhood (no neighborhood parking pass needed). Try the fish & chips! Yum!

Performed for a Birthday party here, food was very good and staff super friendly.

Excellent food and service. Beautiful decor. Friendly atmosphere. I'll definitely go again.

Very good dishes, meatloaf, corned beef & cabbage tasty hearty food fun times!

I love this Irish pub! We've been there for private parties, St. Patrick's Day, and dinners on regular nights. Each of these experiences have been unique and great! The menu is surprisingly extensive for a pub, the bar offerings are fantastic, and the vibe is great!

Good spot to have a meal and a drink close to home.

Hands down the best fish fry perfect beer battered cod drove from Algonquin to try it and it was worth the 80 mile round trip. Will be back for sure

A great traditional pub. Great food, great Guinness!