Public House

Public HousePublic House
Public HousePublic House
Bar, Eatery

400 N State St
Chicago, Illinois, 60654-5624
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.51
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
20
pDev:
13.96%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Jordanmtate:
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Rated by Jordanmtate from Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -0.3%

Jun 12, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of cratez
Reviewed by cratez from Canada (ON)

2.69/5  rDev -23.4%
vibe: 2.75 | quality: 2.75 | service: 2.75 | selection: 2.5 | food: 2.75
What I had: Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat, Three Floyds Alpha King, and Goose Island Endless IPA on tap.

What I liked: Large selection of draughts with a focus on Midwestern crafters, pint prices are fair for downtown Chicago.

What I disliked: Wasn’t able to take full advantage of the tap list since there were no chalkboards or beer menus in sight, atmosphere was "douchey packed club" and standing room only on a Saturday night, service was fast but surly, they call themselves a gastropub but I can’t see how you’d want to eat here if there’s nowhere to sit, not my type of place.

Would I go back? No.

Overall rating: 54
Jan 30, 2020
 
Rated: 4.04 by BKotch from Texas

Jul 11, 2015
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Rated by bowzer4birdie from Illinois

4.35/5  rDev +23.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
I've been here a few times with my wife: Solid beer selection.
Jul 06, 2015
 
Rated: 3.96 by SimcoeKid from California

Jun 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.83 by StoutSnob40 from California

Jun 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.53 by Prager62 from Colorado

Apr 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by spycow from Illinois

Nov 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Flabbyjandro from Illinois

Oct 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by mattyrubes from New York

Oct 12, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Eman17 from Illinois

Oct 07, 2014
 
 
Rated: 3 by Can_has_beer from Texas

Jul 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by FrankHashimoto from Illinois

Apr 11, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by bdelonj13 from Illinois

Mar 30, 2014
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Reviewed by StlHopHead77 from Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -7.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3
Stopped in this place before the Man U and Chicago
Fire game because it was visible from our hotel.Yuppieish atmosphere with two bars and multiple taps at each table.Service was average but our server was smokin' hot.She wasn't really questioned on the beer selection so her knowledge of it wasn't clear.I ordered a Two Brothers Cane and Ebel,which was excellent,and she even managed to bring me a room temperature glass.What food I had was decent.Prices were typical Chicago on beer and food.Beer list was ok but the symbols that followed each listing were ridiculous.Ok place in a crunch but by NO means a beer destination.
Jul 27, 2011
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Reviewed by VaTechHopHead

3.78/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Stopped in with a co-worker while we were wandering around downtown Chicago looking for somewhere to get a drink and a bite to eat. The place is very nice inside, clean, and all the waitresses and bartenders were pretty good looking. The beer menu is pretty solid with beers ranging from $4/pint to $25/750mL bottles. Everything from local selections (Goose Island, Two Brothers, Metropolitan Brewing) to Lost Abbey. The food was very good but priced a bit high; around $11 appetizers and $17 entrees. As the night grew older a mid-30ish crowd started to roll in and it was a little crowded. I'd recommend going during the day if you want to enjoy the beer and atmosphere.
Jul 18, 2011
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Reviewed by stercomm from Ohio

3.08/5  rDev -12.3%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 2
Okay, had a couple hours to burn with my eldest son while the ladies shopped. He told me this was a convenient place with a good selection of craft beers but the crowd would be not what you would expect for a place with good beer selection.

He was spot on; I really liked the beer selection. Barkeep we had was very knowledgeable about the brews, after he saw our first couple of choices, offered us some samples of brews we hadn't had.

We were there on a Saturday afternoon, Bulls play-off game on. Crowd was there to see and be seen, lots of folks drinking Bud, ladies drinking mixed drinks and doing shots.

Lots of TV's, we asked for the Caps hockey game on one of the screens and barkeeps made it happen.

Not a place I would go to trade talk on beer.
Apr 28, 2011
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Reviewed by jrallen34 from Illinois

2.48/5  rDev -29.3%
vibe: 1 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 3
I don't know if I can say enough bad things about this place. Located at Kinzie and State in a super busy part of town. We walk in and its insanely crowded with 30 year old yuppies who wouldn't know what a craft beer was even it was poured to them at their reserved table. The atmosphere is is horrendous. It looks decent enough, new, dark wood everywhere, shiny new taps and, busty servers with mostly busted kissers. The music blares loudly like some d-bag club in the West Loop; I can barely here myself think. Its so crowded I can barely find a spot in the corner to stand. Tables are first come first served except for reserved booths that have their own four taps, which I'd be jealous of it they were good beer... There are several beers on tap around 20, with an extensive bottle list. The beers are decent mid shelf craft that you can find almost anywhere, but there is stuff I would drink. Sadly, though there is plenty of macro there, half their fridge space was reserved for Bud Light... The food looked good with some interesting combinations but I couldn't stand it long enough there to try it.

This is probably the worst bar in America that's trying to have craft beer, just does it all in the wrong way. Please do not go here and promote this garbage.
Mar 05, 2011
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Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

3.08/5  rDev -12.3%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3.75
Centrally located trendy new bar in River North, catering to the tourist and after work crowd. Two bars inside, opted for the island bar on the right side with more seating. Dark lighting with focused lights on the bar itself and under the bar. Decor consisted of some painted diagonal wood accents and black and white wallpaper with some random hanging frames on the back wall. 8 flatscreens around the bar was overkill. Atmosphere was loud, faux upscale, and generic. Saturday night crowd was typically dominated by groups of loud, popped collar, sportcoat-clad yuppies.

Service was quick... from attentive blonde busty bartenders in logoed tanktops, just like Hooters! First was informed of a $20 minimum on credit cards. After that was settled, they looked for the Orval tap, then in every cooler for the bottle. After asking for a glass, a weizen glass was offered to go with it. A snifter was suggested and they tracked one down.

Leatherbound menu with thin xeroxed pages... why not just laminate it? Each beer listing was follwed by a string of silly little symbols like a rabbit for hoppy beers, and a coffee cup for malty beers. Sigh.

Taps were decent, crowd pleasers mostly, no seasonals, but some quality stuff. Duplicate taps of everything, two identical tap towers. Bottle list was more extensive, and available online. Tap highlights were Founders Centennial and La Chouffe. They claimed to have an exclusive "house beer" from Goose Island on the menu, but there wasn't one available. A good 1/3 of the coolers were dedicated to Red Bull and Patron, what does that tell you?

Largely mediocre experience. Rossi's is on the same block, and about the same in terms of relevance to the Chicago beer scene. Not a destination, but if you can walk here from your office or hotel, it's an option for a quick beer.

Side note: The identity/signage/logo for this place is terrible. A dopey winky smiley face doesn't fit a semi-upscale downtown bar/restaurant, its oddly similar to Walmart's old signage. It was everywhere, on the sign, uniforms, and menus. A minor detail, but it does impact the public's perception.
Feb 27, 2011
Public House in Chicago, IL
Place rating: 3.51 out of 5 with 20 ratings