Sidebar Grille

Honestly the worst service I have ever experienced at a restaurant/​bar. Sat at a table for more than 25 min without so much as a hello. Made eye contact several times with multiple waiters and waitresses and was completely ignored. Will never return back here, and if this overpriced establishment wants to stay in business, I suggest they hire staff that is not uncivil and more mannered. Unfortunately, this has been a recurring issue, and I’m almost embarrassed that I have returned on more than one occasion.
Honestly, deserves 0 stars, but it wasn’t an option.

Great location, fair prices considering the location ;) We came in for drinks on a Friday night before going to the theatre. YUMMY luxardo cherries in the old fashioned. When my beau ordered the Sam Adams seasonal, the server was very careful to inform him it was the SUMMER seasonal. LOL — thank goodness it wasn’t the end of the keg of winter seasonal. Nice little menu of appetizers, sandwiches, salads. We had the nachos and the chips were homemade and hot and the toppings fresh and good.

Love this place. Management is amazing. Bartenders are amazing. staff is amazing. I come here the time. Highly recommend it

Identity crisis. Is this a sports bar, club, or? After work on a Friday, I just want to get my drink on and hang with friends. Have a DJ here — seriously? At 5 pm on Friday? This isn’t the suburbs.

I’m between a 3 and 4 star rating. The only thing that keeps it at a 3 is the price… I would easily rate the food quality a 4.
I’ve eaten from here twice with my girlfriend (she lives next door). They have tasty sandwiches, interesting entrées and a host of snack type foods like wings, sliders, etc.
It’s great for lunch but they close early and are a bit on the pricy side (given the type of food they offer).
Expect around $ 30 min for a lunch for two.

I honestly don’t know how I have 3 check ins here. I promise, or thought, my first time was just a few weeks ago when I booked a team lunch here. And upon entering, it definitely looked unfamiliar to me so not sure what that’s all about… Anyway, I called to make a reservation for 7 people on a weekday for lunch and they accommodated without a problem. They don’t take reservations during peak lunch hours but if you say it’s for 11:45am instead of noon, you’ll be all set. It wasn’t packed anyway, so I doubt it’s ever really an issue getting a seat for 2 – 4. I ordered a Caesar salad with steak. Odd combo? I was trying something new… why not… and it turned out quite well. Surprisingly, the salad came with a good sized portion of steak — uncut. I was expected a few slices, but nope, it was a hunk of about 3 oz. I had leftovers for dinner. I also ordered the tater tots that comes with warm cheese to dip on the side. Caesar steak salad with tater tots and cheese. Yup, that was my yummy, healthy lunch! I’d recommend it to anyone.
Some coworkers had burgers and sandwiches which were all huge and folks at it all so it must have been good. They don’t skimp on portions here. Even the half sandwich and soup combo looked plentiful.

Nice place for lunch. Great atmosphere. Little busy today but overall, I like this place.

Came for lunch with a co-​worker really trendy cute atmosphere. I had the sidebar Cobb which was delish! Drinks are somewhat watered down which can improve. They are also one of the place with Friday drink specials. Overall a decent pick for lunch in the loop.

There very definition of a Loop post-​work bar. They serve meh, with sides of meh, and beer and booze at meh prices, all of course packed to gills with after-​work amateurs. Their service, albeit pulled in a 10 directions at any given moment, is the highlight as they were quiet calm and attentive.

I came here for the first time last night with a friend for happy hour. Even though it was very busy, we were quickly greeted by a waitress to take our drink order. It was very loud, but that’s to be expected on a Friday after work. We order the hummus and guacamole plate, and the buffalo chicken rolls to share they were delicious and came out quickly! Will definitely be back!

Love this place ! A very simple menu, but great choices and very well priced. They have one of the best Salads I have ever had, the southwest chicken salad and I also tried their hummus and guacamole platter which was huge and so colorful. I would come here for both drink and food. Our waitress was great and had an overall great first experience !

My office ordered lunch from here and the first salad we took out had a fruit fly in it. We didn’t think much of it, but kinda gross. My coworker continued to eat her salad and found two more bugs in the salad! Then as I was looking at my southwest chicken salad a black bean had legs! Sure enough it was what looked like a baby roach. The person who picked up the phone was rude even though she gave us a return. Would not recommend.

My colleagues and I were working hard and decided to try something different from our average Protein Bar/​Naf Naf/​etc loop flair. We called Sidebar and ordered lunch. It was a pleasant exchange, which I can appreciate especially during the workday lunch hour rush.
I had the grilled buffalo chicken sandwich. didn’t wow but was more than sufficient. My colleague had the buffalo chicken wrap and thought there was way too much sauce and she would next time prefer it on the side. last but not least, my colleague ordered the grilled chicken sandwich with tots. she said the tots were everything. but then again tots are everything… duhhhhhhh! They really should be on everyone’s menu.
I’ll update my review once I get to try this infamous HH for some afterwork shenanigans. can’t wait!

Right by the Clark and Lake Blue Line this is one awesome bar that is very very convenient for me. I really like the food and there mule drink which was really yummy. The lettuce cups, tacos, and there sub sandwich aj jour was delicious as well. Oh those lettuce cups with the peanut sauce almost forgot to add the sauce was great! 5 stars from the Richlatino Chicagorican Fedora Hat wearer that speaks Spanglish not Spanish that can guarantee making this one of the stops when traveling in Chi-​Town Downtown.

After reading everyone’s reviews, it seems as though happy hour at Sidebar is where it’s at. I on the other hand, was here for lunch and I had a pretty average experience. Nothing amazing, but nothing bad either. Just an A-​OK lunch.
The owners of Sidebar also own a handful of my favorite north Chicago bars — The Crossing, West End, Gaslight, and Schoolyard to name a few. With that being said, I guess I expected a bit more from them. It’s possible I just wasn’t impressed with the lunch menu and crowd at 12:30 on a Wednesday, so I’ll be sure to come back for some cocktails.
My friend was able to snag a table in the back, so I met her there. Our waitress was nice and asked if we were ready to order right away. We’re a couple of chatty Cathy’s so of course we weren’t. Finally we decided to each get a cup of their chicken tortilla soup ($ 6) and then split the southwest salad with chicken ($ 12).
The soup was really good with chicken, tortilla strips, and chihuahua cheese. The jalapeño slice on top gave it a nice little kick. The salad was definitely shareable, I just wish they would have split it onto two plates for us when I said we’d be sharing. I mean, for a $ 12 salad I’d say that’s not too much to ask. You get your choice of either chicken or portabella for the salad and we went with chicken. Avocado, tortilla strips, black beans, corn, chihuahua cheese, tomatoes, and southwest dressing complete the rest. We asked for our dressing on the side which seemed like a good idea, because we didn’t even come close to using it all.
For me, the salad was alright. Nothing amazing, but definitely good. I’m not sure what it was missing. I think maybe just more of everything. More corn, more beans, more avocado. The dressing was good though. They actually gave us the southwest and a darker dressing. Not sure what it was, but I mixed the two which was pretty tasty!
When all was said and done, I paid about $ 16 for lunch. To me, it wasn’t worth that much, but it is the Loop. The ambiance here is pretty upscale for what seems like a sports bar on the outside, but I’m not complaining. I will definitely be keeping Sidebar in mind for an after work spot!

I went to Sidebar for drinks after work. I got there about 4:15, sat myself right near the bar and sat there for 10 minutes before getting up and walking to the bar where I waited another 5 minutes for someone to notice me and I was finally able to order a beer. That’s 15 minutes for a draft beer at a place that maybe had 20 people in it total, and open seats at the bar. I asked if they even had waitresses and the bartender said yes. The bartender was hard to hear, he didn’t speak very loud, which is a huge problem when you ask what the local beers are and he rattles them off so quickly.
I wouldn’t consider the place to be busy the night I went. They did have reserved tables, but overall, there weren’t that many people there. When I left, the place was getting more packed, but even then, it wasn’t that busy to relieve the bad service.
The service was horrible. The waitress really didn’t seem to care about our table. Our waitress checked in with us every 30 – 40 minutes, she would take our drink order and come back 10 minutes later with our draft beers. We only had 2 people at our table. She never even asked if we would be ordering food, in fact, she never greeted us and never mentioned that they had $ 4 local drafts. I knew that was the special thanks to their website.
The food was good, but the menu is small and pretty pointless. The menu doesn’t give much detail about what you are eating.
We had the hummus & guacamole which were both very delicious. It came with pita, veggies & chips. I would have liked if the menu said what veggies were included. There were veggies that I’ve never seen before so I’m not even sure what I was eating. The hummus was roasted red pepper, but again, can’t confirm that because the menu just said «hummus».
The tots were good, salty, but good.
I also got a pretzel to go. I had seen another table order pretzels and they looked like pretzel balls. That’s what I wanted to order. I asked the waitress and she said «no it’s just A pretzel» I ordered it anyways. It was pricy for a pretzel, I think it was like $ 3 or something. For $ 3 I expect a stellar pretzel, this pretzel was just a basic pretzel.
When I was ready to close the tab, I had to wait about 10 minutes to even find my waitress and flag HER down. I needed to order another beer, a pretzel to go and I needed my check. I didn’t even get past ordering my beer before she started to walk off.
Sidebar is nicely decorated, it looks very «high-​end», but they have good drink specials. The bar stools were very sturdy and comfortable to sit on. Some of the tables are awkwardly placed.
I would suggest eating before going to Sidebar and sit at the bar for drinks, you may get better service at the bar.
Overall, I’m giving Sidebar 2 stars because the service was horrible, but the hummus & guacamole, tots and free wifi are worth 2 stars. I don’t feel that patrons should have to hunt down their waitress to order or close a tab.

Met there for dinner last night with a couple of friends. It was very crowded but we were seating quickly. Our server was friendly and courteous. I had the chicken nachos. I had to send them back because they weren’t made to my order. However, the cook came to my table and apologized.
When they finally arrived made to my order I was surprised and they size of my platter. They were delish! The salsa was different from any I’ve had.

Been here a few times and it’s always average at best. Today the tots were way too salty to eat. Sliced pickles are a nice touch. Iced tea out of control strong, water tastes likes it’s from the tap. Heard great things about the fish tacos and rice. Companion ordered the buffalo burger. Looked a hell of a lot better than what I ordered. Seems less crowded than I remember it. Our server was attentive.

This place is lively and the cocktails are great! Just what I was looking for on a Friday afternoon!

Conveniently located on Lasalle right around the corner from the Clark/​Lake station, Sidebar is a decent place for a happy hour with your coworkers. It definitely has that after work get-​together vibe. It’s somewhat dark and feels sort of old school, and from the crowd, just a teeny little bit old boys club. This isn’t a bad thing at all, but a personal observation. The service was efficient but not necessarily super pleasant. They had some drink specials like a strawberry mint smash, and a pineapple mojito. I went for the classic vodka and soda. You can never go wrong with that. They have a decent selection of appetizers. I’m not a meat eater but the wings were devoured by my coworkers. They have a nicely presented colorful hummus and guacamole plate. And, who doesn’t like tater tots? They were crispy and brown and were gone in the blink of an eye. So, if you work nearby Sidebar is a decent choice to let off some steam with your work pals. For that you really can’t go wrong.

Ended up here for lunch on a recent trip to Chicago. Excellent food! I had the portabella mushroom salad and it was fresh, tasty, and somewhat healthy (i took off the nuts). Excellent portion size too. My group also ordered the grilled cheese with tomato and avocado and it was delicious, gooey, and tons of flavor.

I have been here twice and both times the server and/​or bartender was rude to my friend and I. I do love the buffalo rolls and their draft selection.
I was charged $ 2.50 for soda water which really pissed me off that I was charged for water. I’ve never seen or heard of that unless it’s been bottled.
So if you’re thirsty don’t order carbonated water.

I went here for trivia on Monday night and had a great time. When we arrived, there was plenty of space for our group, but the place was fairly full when trivia started at 6. This is the perfect night for a weeknight trivia, since you can go right after work, eat, and not be home too late. The menu looked decent, but our group didn’t get past the beef sliders, which are $ 1 on Mondays. They were pretty simple with just meat and cheese, but what did it for me was the toasted bun. Our group probably had six sliders each person.
The highlight of the night had to be the trivia. It was no nonsense, no frills. However, we got through 50 questions in the span it takes some places to do half that. The questions were great, relying on actual knowledge, rather than guessing like some questions trivia writers make. They also tried to give everyone a prize, regardless of how well they did. We got a free order of wings. However, the prizes couldn’t be redeemed the same day. Regardless, everyone in my group who lives in Chicago was sure they would come back for trivia and sliders, so that was no problem. I hope I can get back on another Monday, so I can play again.

I was just at Sidebar Grille this past Friday for a going-​away party for a business-​partner. The place was packed — and the group I was with had a party set for 20 – 30 people. The staff was great, and took very good care of our group — considering how busy they were. Great drinks and a lively atmosphere. It would be a go-​to spot if I worked in the loop.

Sidebar is one of my favorite bars in the loop. It’s conveniently located near the Clark and Lake el station, so it’s super easy to get to. There bar is actually really big, but it gets crowded so if you’re going with a large group be sure to make a reservation.
It’s a great spot for happy hour; they have specials Monday thru Friday. I usually go with a large group of coworkers and of course make a reservation in advance. They also have group trivia on Monday nights and give great prizes to the winners. The service is always excellent, even when they’re busy.
Today I went for lunch, and had a great kale salad. Slightly pricey for a salad but really fresh, delicious, and filling. This is now my all purpose loop bar/​lunch spot!

Good place to go after work for happy hour in the loop. I’ve never ate here only been here to meet people for drinks. Some of their special drinks are awful, but they have good beer and other specials. I would definitely go back here. the food looks and smells great. But never tried it. I’m sure one day i will.
It does get loud and it does get crowded

After attending a work happy hour here, I can describe my impression in one word: HEADACHE. This place is so loud, it’s not even funny. I had to be shouting the entire time, so the headache came with a complimentary dose of strained voice. Basically, for anyone looking to plan an event, I would stay away from here just for that reason. It was simply impossible to communicate or talk.
Food wise, it was fine. The pizza was probably average level. They had some decent beers on tap, so that part was good also.

Best Happy Hour everrr! Seriously, this was such a blast.
My husband and I may have been the only ones not coming here post-​work, but that didn’t stop us from pretending like we fit in. The drink specials were what lured us in pre-​HOB concert since the drink prices there are outrageous. They have a really good selection of craft beers and I went with Half Acre’s Daisy Cutter.
We’d already ate prior to coming, but the mini skillet cookie was calling my name so I ordered that too. The mini was tiny (womp womp) but SO tasty. Next time, I’d make sure to save enough stomach space for a big one. It was all melty and gooey – as if, you’d just taken the cookies out of the oven.
Like I mentioned before, this place was packed, but our server still managed to handle the crowd and was attentive and still had a smile on her face. Imagine that! Less busy places could take note of how this place handles happy hour.
Only downside was the bathroom situation. Of course there was a huge line and I found that I spent a good portion of my time here waiting for the facilities. Luckily for us, a nice server told us about other bathrooms downstairs. It was a bit of a walk from where we were sitting, but worth the trek so party time could resume.
I’m not in the area often, but I was really wowed by their specials that I’m planning a trip back soon. Thanks for a great Happy Hour!