Villains Chicago

I had a superb meal at Villains. A friend had suggested we meet there. After discussion with the helpful and attentive server, I decided on the hanger steak. It was perfectly cooked and seasoned. It is served with yummy and distinctive creamy spinach and baked potatoes that were smashed and briefly sauteed. Everything was excellent. The portion was generous, so I have great leftovers. We chatted comfortably over three glasses of wine and were never rushed. When people figure out how good this place is, it will get crowded, so I suggest you go soon. I’ll be returning and recommending to friends.

I saw this restaurant while standing across the street. So when given the opportunity, I chose this place. The interior is awesome. It is like an industrial, romantic date night spot. Haha… it can be hard to picture but it has an interesting vibe. I can’t say if I liked it or not.
I have to say though the food was a little disappointing. We ordered the highly reviewed corn nuts. Those were so salty. Then, we got our pork sliders. Those were alright. Lastly, we got two plates of wings. The wings had a nice crunchy texture but there wasn’t any flavor. The kicker was this place had high prices for what they were offering. Overall, I think this place is lacking good food and a cohesiveness.

Second time we go there and there were at least 5 people in the restaurant. We waited for a very long time (20mn) just to get the drinks… nothing special, it was soda. Then we waited sooo long for the burger. We were told multiples times that our food was coming. 1h30 for 2 salads and 2 burgers with nobody in the restaurant. Amazing.
The salad was good, and the burger was good too but too salty (for both of them). Those were also a little bit more expensive.
Even if it’s close to our home we will not go back.

I have been walking by the place for a month since I have basically moved next door to the joint. I noticed on the windows it says Black Market Craft so it peaked my interests. I can never tell when they are open as the windows are quite dark/​tint. I happened to be walking by the other day and the door was open and the woman behind the bar (Jamie) was saying cmon in! I told her I can never tell when they are open and she mentioned their hours are from 5pm-​10pm mon-​sat. I looked around as the décor is very dark with quite a bit of woodiness. The place consists of the bar, wood hi tops, dining tables and booths.
I sat at the bar and Jamie started me out with the AleSmith Speedway Stout which was really good and right up my alley as I have been really into stouts and porters the past year +. Due to a recommendation from the other patron n the bar, I went with the Vitus (German) and it was definitely the best beer I would have all evening. I then had the Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Stout which was pretty decent. I was then told to try the Beer Geel Vanilla Shake from Mikkeller which isn’t as sweet as it sounds but it pretty decent.
I worked up an appetite from all the beer guzzling so I decided to go with the Villains Burger which includes beef fat mayo, 4 year aged cheddar, north country bacon, smoked red onion and pickles along with a side of fries. That burger was pretty damn good and one of the best I’ve had in awhile. I came back for dinner another night and got the sweet pea risotto… wow! that is an awesome dish! The lemon, pea shoots and parmesan makes for an awesome mash! The pork belly sliders are phenomenal as well as they come in a pair. The spicy mayo and cole slaw makes it awesome in addition to the actual pork.
As I mentioned this is right next door to my residence, but I wished they stayed open later than 10pm as they would probably make some serious coin off of me lol.

I can’t speak to the food, but we went here for drinks and had a wonderful time. The beer selection is really fun and the bartender was happy to go into detail about the beers we hadn’t heard of and what he thought we’d like based on our tastes. The beer was great and so was the service :).

I am really impressed with the new management and menu changes. I live next door so gave it a few tries when it first opened and the service was so poor, food overpriced, and generally pretentious vibe that I stopped going. The beer has always been great.
A colleague was in town and wanted to sample some of their beers so I tried it again. The food was fantastic (corn nuts, pork belly sliders, sausage and chicken were all awesome). While nicer than a basic neighborhood pub, it didn’t break the bank, and offered enough choices that I could come once a week instead of once a month. The taps were varied and had some great off the beaten path beers.
Service was attentive, but not intrusive and they keep your water glass filled — this is normally a pet peeve of mine so was nice not to have to ask. I’d say they now have a new regular customer!

Solid craft beer spot on south clark, they offer small sample options too which is cool, I would have loved to stay longer if I could. We also got two apps, a cheese plate, and then pig ears, which I had never had before but were actually pretty good. Hopefully I get to come back and try some more beers next time

I really wanted to love this place – it is next door to my building, so it literally could not be an easier hang out spot for me. So you can imagine how excited I was for it to finally open!
First, I think this place may be priced a little higher than it should be. First Draft is across the street and their food is way cheaper on average. The food here is not cheap and overall my friends have called the menu a little stuffy for a place that always has pretty cool tap take overs. That I think is the true selling point of this bar – the tap take overs. They constantly feature a different brewery with rare beers and so it gives beer fans a chance to really try some beers they would never be able to normally which is pretty cool. The bar area for grabbing beers like that is great, but their kitchen doesn’t stay open late even for bar bites which I think would really help this location out. Every time I walk past it now, I never see a big crowd here, even though I actually thought their charcuterie board was quite tasty! The burger is overrated in my book and there are lots of places to get better burgers in Chicago. So really this is your place for those hard to get beers, and this place should be branded more around that and feature food and kitchen hours that go with that culture.
Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to have another bar/​restaurant in the printers row area, but I just was hoping for a little more here. But maybe I will see you all at the bar sometime trying out one of those rare beers…

Nice atmosphere, HUGE beer list — even for someone like me, who doesn’t really drink beer. Tons of different things to choose from, and they have flights.
My only complaint on the food is that the vegetarian entrée choice was not very good. The starters/​salad options were fine, but the one veg entrée, a «buckwheat cake,» was super bland and more hippie-​veggie than I prefer.
Also? The chairs are soooooo uncomfortable — our whole party thought so, not just my big butt. ;)

I came here on a pretty slow Friday night for a drink at the bar area and waited well over 15 minutes for a drink. Servers kept passing us, someone finally took our order, then they vanished for about 5 minutes. I hailed someone else, who was nice enough to take our order but then deflected back to the other waitress who again forgot about us. We ended up leaving…
We live in the building too which made this even more disappointing. Oh well, we went to Umai which always has the best service.

Great find in the South Loop: Villain’s is a really swank beer bar with new American/​neo-​French cuisine and a lovely design aesthetic. Service is terrific and helpful, steering you through an impressive selection of beers. The food isn’t bad, but it’s got some problems; the portions are small, and the potato leek soup was lukewarm and haphazardly executed. The cheese and charcuterie were well-​done, though, and the main draws — the outstanding beer list (all available in flights, as well) and the atmosphere — are almost flawless. I’ll definitely be back.

Beer and food menu have changed since I was here last and I got food this time:
Under «Bites:»
Roasted almonds — could have been store bought. Nothing special.
Pig ears — very thinly sliced, nicely seasoned, went well with the lemon aioli
Charcuterie: serrano ham and salumi were good but chicken liver parfait and country pâté had an unpleasant funk to them that I have not encountered in other force-​meat preparations.
Kennebec fries were less fluffy on the inside than last time. Coworkers still seemed very happy with the burger.
Had high hopes for the buttermilk pie, but it was served cold with warm but undercooked apple slices. Although the pie itself was pretty good, the filling was overly sweet instead of tangy and gooey and the slice should have been served heated for maximum luxurious effect. The apple slices felt like an after-​thought; a tart apple compote or chutney would have been prettier and a better counterbalance to the sweetness of the pie.
But I think the make-​your-​own beer flight option is new and awesome. Right now Villains has a whole bunch of fruity and sour options to be on trend. I got the Baird Shuzenji Heritage Helles (excellent, complex, but easy drinking), Rosee d’Hibiscus (watery body but tangy bright flavor and beautiful color), EOS Hefeweizen (like a paler Hoegaarden), and the Mills & Hills Russian Imperial Stout (roasty, malty, medium-​bodied, great) to go with dessert. Some colleagues got mixed drinks and were not impressed with the Villains Punch, the Old Fashioned, or the Fortunate Son — common complaint was too sweet or one-​note.
It was also hard to get service after food was served despite the place only being half full. Still a decent choice for after-​work beers, but spend your money on the great beer list and save the rest for food elsewhere.

This is a solid place. Not the best in the area, but for sure not the worst.
Went here and was almost overwhelmed by the beer selection. It isn’t huge by any stretch, it is just for such a small place in the Loop, it was unexpected. This place has a huge stout collection, so if you are a fan or darker, richer, and more flavorful beers, you’ll be in heaven here.
Atmosphere isn’t bad. Very, VERY dimly lit, more light comes from outside than there is light inside.
Staff are friendly but not overall attentive and overbearing. If you ask for advice or questions they will answer, but they aren’t overly friendly and helpful. That kind of if you know great, if you don’t know what you want, we will give it a shot, but not go out of our way.

Went to Villains for the first time 1÷23÷16. We stopped in before a show at Chicago Theater for dinner and beer or two. I read the reviews and saw some mixed opinions, decided the beer list was worth it so we went. So here’s my take on Villains using lists of things I liked versus disliked.
What I liked:
1. Great selection of Imperial Stouts
2. Service was awesome
3. Atmosphere and décor
4. Food was good overall
What I didn’t like:
1. While the Imperial Stout selection in numbers was impressive, I felt like there was a big drop off in quality from the good ones to the rest. I did a flight of just Imperial Stout. They do have a couple outstanding Stouts just the same.
2. Music was what you’d find in a trendy restaurant, not exactly my taste.
3. Food was just good not great.
Overall, I’d say my experience here was average. The burger is good and not great, and the fries on the side are the same. Beer list is good overall but I felt the quality was lacking in the middle tier of quality. Would I go back? Yes I’d probably return, but I would not seek it out again for dinner.

The new Villains is a 180° from their old space, under new management and reinventing a new chapter. At the bar, it was very comfortable and laid back, with some understated modern décor. It had a similar modern/​rustic vibe to the Publican, somewhat upscale, but relaxed. Friendly people at the bar, had some nice conversations.
Service at the bar was great, very prompt and friendly, the bartender made a mean cocktail too.
Beer selection was very impressive, there were a number of the Mikkeller Spontan series on draft, a number of Prairie drafts, Logsdon, and more. Lots of depth and variety. There was a reserve bottle list with some spendier stuff that I haven’t seen elsewhere. The menu was well organized, with prices and sizes listed, and they offered half pours if you just want to test drive a few beers. Just an amazing selection.
Overall a great experience, I’d return again soon to try some food, the photos here look good. Best downtown beer bar in my opinion.

I’m always excited to see a new bar/​restaurant open in the south loop, and Villains was no exception. It’s conveniently located near the Harrison redline station, so getting there is easy.
Once you’re there, the ambiance is warm and sultry, and the service is friendly and prompt. They’ve got a great a drink menu including my fall favorite Pumking.
The food menu is full of locally grown/​raised food, and features a list of their partner farms, which I love. The main problem were the prices and the variety. I think they could use a few more reasonably priced items: throw some Pom frites on there — everybody eats them and all the farms have potatoes. I get it, there’s a fancy demographic moving to the area, but until the area develops more, I think the menu could be a bit more accessible. It’s not outrageous, just slightly overpriced I. My personal opinion. And I couldn’t bring myself to order a $ 16 burger with Blackies across the street. I’ll be back again for a cocktail with friends for sure.

The selection of beers here is exceptional. Last night, I tried several options with a flight. All were delicious. I started with the Bomb and moved on to try other drinks including the Pumpkin Lager and Shipwreck Porter. Of note, the Big Worster is a fun choice, as it has 17.3% alcohol content. It’s one of my husband’s favorites. The food here is delicious but the serving sizes are generally small in my past experiences here, especially for the appetizers. The ambience and service are great. We will likely be coming back, and we recommend it.

Damn… where do I start?
The selection of beers is outstanding!!! They have a HUGE assortment of craft beers with good description of each. Even better the bartender Nic was excellent, had an understanding for the flavors of beer and selected some based on my liking. Very attentive and just seemed like a nice guy.
Now the menu… Extensive list of apps and main entrees, even lots of vegetarian options. I tried the burger for $ 18, and it was worth every penny. The components are divine, and the combination of the bread, mayo, and the meat itself… oh my good. This burger had a unique crisp along the outside and was perfectly cooked medium on the inside. It was like nothing I had ever had before… truly remarkable… the crispy outside of the meat, drenched in 4yr aged cheddar cheese, topped with a melt in your mouth bun…(potato maybe) Damn my mouth is watering talking about it…
The fries that came with it were good too, large steak fries with mild seasoning. Sorry the burger was so good, the fries were just a side, literally.
Overall, this place is on one of my top burger joints ever. The excellently prepared burger in combination with craft beers and knowledge friendly service… this is a must eat if you are in the downtown Chicago area.

The burger here is amazing, let’s just get that out of the way first. To be perfectly honest, I throw it in the DMK-​Au Cheval-Kuma’s-Bad Apple mix of top burgers in Chicago. Also appealing is the extensive list of relatively hard to find beers on draft (Ballast Point tap takeover currently, Mikkeler, etc.).
What lacks, as other reviewers have pointed out, right now are service and price point. The service was really poor, taking 10−20+ minutes between check-​ins (I’ll conservatively say the joint was 2/​3s full when we ate), which resulted in empty glasses and quite some time to actually place our food orders. That will improve with time. The price point, is kind of a head-​scratcher though, which are all probably $ 3 – 4 too high (burger, maybe more like $ 2) from what I was looking at on the menu and comparing against plates at other tables — but I can’t speak to the quality of those dishes.
Décor was cool, ambiance was good, and will say it was a bit noisy, but otherwise really liked this joint. Pretty close to the EL as well, so that’s pleasantly convenient.
Will be back for that burger, most definitely!

I’m not sure where to really go with this review and it’s taken me a few weeks to think about how I wanted to write it. I purposely waited a bit after my experience cause I was so disappointed.
As a long time Printers Row/​South Loop resident, I admittedly had high expectations for Villains. Not in the sense that I wanted a new place to go, but in the sense that this section of Clark is going through a rebirth. Places like First Draft, the new condos, and now Villains will hopefully bring this section of Printers Row up to the standard that exists two streets over on Dearborn. I’d comment on Blackies as a contributor, but that’s just hopeless.
I was a bit disappointed in my first visit. First, the menu is highly complicated for the customers in this neighborhood. I get that they are trying to be «organic,» «local,» «authentic midwestern,» etc, but come on, when the cheese plate and the burger are the only things recognizable on the menu, there is a problem. My wife order the cheese plate since she wasn’t feeling the burger but nobody seemed to really know what the cheeses were. Their response was «this is an international one.» The Fromage Gods are shuttering! While my burger was good, it wasn’t great considering the price point. Yeah yeah, I get that it that the burgers are hand made, but I’m not paying that much for bacon cheese burger.
I will say the beer menu was extensive, although somewhat unrecognizable. Across the street at First Draft you find 60+ taps of names you know and love. The same thing is true for Bar Louie, Kaseys, Hackneys, and even Flacos. At Villains, it’s a crap shoot. You order one and hopefully it meets your expectations. However, again, like the burger, the prices were high. Well, according to the management, not high enough since they crossed out the old prices and hand wrote in higher ones in pen (note my photo of the beer menu with the magically changed prices).
The service was spotty at best, which is shocking since they don’t really seem busy. I get that they just opened, but when the staff gloats that they «worked at the old Villains» and have a «fantastic chef» there is a certain expectation of competency that they failed to exhibit. Don’t hype yourself up until you’re ready! This is a tough f&b town and many of us despise arrogance in our dining and drinking experience. Take the humble road and you’ll be successful.
Finally, I wish Villains good luck. With some minor changes, they could be a wonderful addition to Clark St and Printers Row as a whole.