Fountainhead

FountainheadFountainhead
FountainheadFountainhead
Bar, Eatery

1970 W Montrose Ave
Chicago, Illinois, 60613-1021
United States

// CLOSED //

Monday - Friday: 4:00pm - 2:00am
Saturday: 12:00pm - 3:00am
Sunday Brunch: 10:30am - 2:30pm
Sunday: 2:30pm - 2:00am
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.29
Reviews:
27
Ratings:
81
pDev:
8.86%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mcintire78:
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Rated by mcintire78 from Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -0.9%

Oct 08, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.2 by slasich from Pennsylvania

May 16, 2020
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Reviewed by ChicagoJ from Illinois

4.79/5  rDev +11.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5
11/21/18: Second visit to Fountainhead, first was for a Founders release in February 2017. This visit was for the GI 2018 release of all variants except Reserve. Arrived 90 minutes before first tap and scored last seat at the bar. This place has tremendous whiskey offerings, and has great craft beer releases and regular pours on tap. Bartenders are knowledgeable and provide excellent service, even with the enormous crowds. I didn't order food but the food I saw looked and smelled great. If I still lived in this neighborhood, this would be a regular bar, but I will continue to stop in while close by or for special releases they offer for excellent beers!
Nov 23, 2018
 
Rated: 4.28 by DoubleDaisyCutter from District of Columbia

Dec 19, 2017
 
Rated: 3.16 by Angerhaus from Rhode Island

Mar 21, 2017
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Reviewed by KarlHungus from Minnesota

4.08/5  rDev -4.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 3.25
The atmosphere at Fountainhead was dark on the night of my visit. The lighting was so dark the menus needed to be read by smartphone light. The décor, and layout of the place was quite inviting, but the experience would have been more enjoyable with better lighting.

The beer and whisky selection at Fountainhead are among the most impressive I've encountered in my travels. The beer list was too long to count while remaining a sociable person to my companions. It appeared to be well chosen style wise too. There was something for any style of beer drinker. The quality of the tap beer my group had was spot on, and poured into clean glasses. However, the first beer I had, a cask of ESB from a Chicago brewery, was clearly past its prime. Enough oxidation had happened to it that it should have been taken off.

The service was fast, friendly, and seemed to know the beers being served.

The food was forgettable. It was by no means bad, but it was by no means good either.
Mar 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4.32 by cryptichead from Illinois

Jan 08, 2017
 
Rated: 4.43 by Eman17 from Illinois

Jan 02, 2017
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Reviewed by Barnoloid from Illinois

4.1/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
Have been just a small handful of times but really find this to be a solid spot to visit for a bite and a few drinks. The beer list is expansive, with some reserve type offerings at a reasonable cost. Draft list is varied with cask offerings as well as a few nitro pours. Had a nice local pale ale on cask which was a pleasant way to start my sunday. Vibe is fairly lively, with a very varied crowd. Brunch on the weekends here is an underrated option.
Sep 29, 2016
 
Rated: 4.33 by needMIbeer from Virginia

Aug 13, 2016
 
Rated: 4.35 by Gambyt20 from Illinois

Jun 29, 2016
 
Rated: 4.19 by Stezz420 from Illinois

Jun 06, 2016
 
Rated: 4.21 by Gorf_Minor from Illinois

Jan 08, 2016
 
Rated: 4.68 by kylehay2004 from Illinois

Jan 02, 2016
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Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

4.14/5  rDev -3.5%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 5 | food: 3.75
A classy establishment with a massive selection of whiskeys and spirits. You’ll find mezcal, amaros, a million bourbons and else. Massive bible menu with a ton of bottles and rare stuff. Their menu is cool: “Our Beer of the Month”, “Our Fountainhead Drafts” (Dark Horse and Cleetus Scary Jesus Rockstar), “Our Barrel Aged Drafts” (Anderson Boont, Jolly Baudelaire, Almanac Reserve Citrus), “Our Draft Meads”, “Our Nitro Drafts”, “Our Trappist Draft” (La Trappe Tripel), “Our Other Drafts” (16 total, including stuff from Bruery, Perennial, Against the Grain, FFF Alpha King). Quality stuff indeed. And check out “Our Large Format, Rare, Barrel Aged & Cellared Bottles” (Chris Fambroise, De Cam Oude Lambiek, Eclipse ’12-14. Super pricey but outrageous.

Good service, knowledgeable , but I object to their serving spirits in Single/Double/Neat or Rocks because it is confusing. I ordered doubles thinking I would get neat pours and ended up paying an insane amount of money.

Great place, though. Very well worth a visit and a detour.
Dec 18, 2015
 
Rated: 4.05 by chitowntink from Illinois

Dec 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.93 by Chief99 from California

Oct 18, 2015
 
Rated: 4.28 by StoutSnob40 from California

Jun 13, 2015
 
Rated: 4.57 by SimcoeKid from California

Jun 13, 2015
 
Rated: 4.31 by aussiebeer from Illinois

Mar 31, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by brandoman63 from Illinois

Mar 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4.43 by little_star from Illinois

Feb 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.31 by djgoodwi from Illinois

Feb 18, 2015
 
Rated: 4.21 by beinerso from Utah

Jan 26, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by feeger22 from Illinois

Jan 07, 2015
Photo of KeithE
Reviewed by KeithE from Illinois

4.59/5  rDev +7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5
Great neighborhood tavern with a fantastic selection for craft brews both on tap and in bottle. Tap beers are always changing and they carry a lot of small batch beers. I highly recommend this place for it's really great beer selection and it's unpretentious atmosphere.
Dec 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by dexterk1 from Illinois

Dec 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by waitwhatamidrinking from Illinois

Nov 13, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by sweemzander from Illinois

Nov 07, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Nuggetz from Texas

Nov 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by spycow from Illinois

Nov 01, 2014
 
 
Rated: 5 by Jordanmtate from Illinois

Oct 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by spointon from Illinois

Oct 06, 2014
 
Rated: 3.6 by amysepkovich from Ohio

Sep 12, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by birdsellam from Indiana

Sep 03, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Keelin from Illinois

Aug 13, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Dash_The_Viking from Illinois

Jul 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by alexm1309 from Illinois

Jul 16, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by bowzer4birdie from Illinois

Jul 10, 2014
Fountainhead in Chicago, IL
Place rating: 4.29 out of 5 with 81 ratings