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Monk's Pub
205 W Lake St
Chicago, Illinois, 60606-1803
United States
(312) 357-6665 | map
monkspubchicago.com
Hours:
Monday - Friday: 10am - 10pm
Saturday: 11am - 5pm
Sunday: Closed
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Northsider:
Reviewed by Northsider from Illinois
2.83/5 rDev -33.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 4 | selection: 2.5 | food: 2
2.83/5 rDev -33.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 4 | selection: 2.5 | food: 2
I'd have to say the atmosphere is what this place is all about. Bookshelves line the walls. Wood everywhere. Very "european" feel to it.
Drink selection is 'meh'. I mean, it's decent for a Loop join, but they were out of the two tap options I asked for, and one of the domestic bottles I asked for. Erm...ok. I opted for Lagunitas Sumpin Sumpin which was brought in a bottle and FROZEN glass. Not chilled. Absolutely FROZEN...there was still ice surrounding the brim. At least my waitress was very attentive...she checked in with us every 2 minutes.
Drinks aside, the food was pretty 'meh' as well. For as pricey as it is the quality really sucks. I got the grilled chicken and didn't finish it. My wife got the surf n turf and didn't finish it. Nice place to drink after work, but not a place to seek out for craft beer or good food.
Jul 08, 2011Drink selection is 'meh'. I mean, it's decent for a Loop join, but they were out of the two tap options I asked for, and one of the domestic bottles I asked for. Erm...ok. I opted for Lagunitas Sumpin Sumpin which was brought in a bottle and FROZEN glass. Not chilled. Absolutely FROZEN...there was still ice surrounding the brim. At least my waitress was very attentive...she checked in with us every 2 minutes.
Drinks aside, the food was pretty 'meh' as well. For as pricey as it is the quality really sucks. I got the grilled chicken and didn't finish it. My wife got the surf n turf and didn't finish it. Nice place to drink after work, but not a place to seek out for craft beer or good food.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by TMoney2591 from Illinois
4.37/5 rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
4.37/5 rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
I set off on my first visit to Monk's years ago just prior to my buddy's City-based bachelor party. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it in due to time constraints. Years later, I finally stopped in after finishing up with a contract job just across the river. Once I was regularly hired to work in the Loop (within a month of that first visit), I would find myself hitting up Monk's almost every Friday until COVID decided to backhand all of our regular activities. It's a testament to the bar's overall quality that I would be so devoted. Located just under the L on Lake, Monk's has a rustic, medieval-ish feel to it, not wholly unlike the classic Barnaby's locations of yore (but with better lighting). Wood beams, sawed-off barrels, and brewery ephemera pepper the walls, along with some TVs. Spacing can get kinda dicey during the busier hours, and there have been some occasions where I either had to squeeze in somewhere uncomfortable or just come back at a different time, but there's usually a place for you if you want one. The tap list isn't the longest out there by any stretch, but there's always plenty of tastiness to be had. There seems to be a bit of quality curating at play, and flights are thankfully available (my usual weekly routine involved at least one flight after work before either hitting another place or just making my way to the train). A good amount of bottles/cans are also available in the coolers, and some rather hard-to-find offerings sometimes find their ways into the list. The staff are all great, bringing in energy and knowledge to what could be a garbage evening (thanks, drudgery of working life!). I don't remember having had any food, but it's always looked good when the plates landed in the spots near me. Pricing is pretty much what you'd expect for the Loop. Overall, I can't recommend Monk's enough. If you're coming from out of town, I would tell you to try to make it there on an off hour, just to help guarantee a seat. Otherwise, if you find yourself in the Loop, I don't believe there's a better choice for you.
Feb 26, 2021Reviewed by EspressoGuy from Canada (BC)
4.5/5 rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
I really liked this place. It's a mix of dive bar / old time pub/ hipster bar. Huge tap and bottle list dominated by Belgian and Belgian-style beers but there's plenty of other styles (lots of local!) here to please anybody ... including the two old timers beside me drinking Schlitz. Cool friendly hard-working bartenders who know their beers. My advice is to have a seat, tell them the types of beer you like, and then let them bring you their recommendations. That's what I did and what they brought me was a treat. On the food menu, vegetarian options are limited; my veg burger was fine.
Jun 02, 2018Reviewed by grover37 from District of Columbia
4.12/5 rDev -3.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 3.75
4.12/5 rDev -3.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 3.75
Great service from Trevor. No prices listed, which is a huge no-no, but we had all our questions answered and prices were very reasonable, especially bottles (Cuvee Rene and BFM √225 were both $8). Cool little place but a little too much B's on the walls to feel authentic. Lovely crowd but not overly crowded on a Friday night. Recommended, but not as a beer meccha.
Jan 07, 2017Reviewed by bowzer4birdie from Illinois
4.67/5 rDev +9.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5
4.67/5 rDev +9.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5
Easy to get to this place via mass transit (Took the Brown Line). Definitely has character to it and the feel more like a monastery in some senses than a pub (but you can glean both easily enough). The selection of beers is outstanding (especially the Belgian list). Just seems like they should have some different music playing for a place like this (they had heavy metal roaring overhead...?)
Jul 08, 2016Reviewed by FBarber from Illinois
4.78/5 rDev +11.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4
4.78/5 rDev +11.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4
Love this place. Best thing about this place is the vibe - It looks like an old English pub with lots of old world decorations. Ton of selection both on draft and in bottles. Service is always good. Food is not amazing but solid. Great downtown location.
May 23, 2016Reviewed by xanok from Connecticut
5/5 rDev +17.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
5/5 rDev +17.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
This is a great place. Tap handles line the bar along with old school art and bookcases. Beer ranges from local stuff to a good variety of Belgian beers. Prices are fair.
Aug 18, 2015Reviewed by ChicagoJ from Illinois
4.63/5 rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.75
4.63/5 rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.75
Very good selection of drat and bottled craft beers. Excellent chili and their other food is good. Used to have lunch here regularly in the 1990s when it was a dive smoky bar serving a few types of beers. They have changed recently to offer a great selection of craft beers, and they offer regular tastings and other events by craft brewers. Only drawback a bit pricey, but not overly for location and offerings. Great place to visit downtown.
Mar 17, 2015Reviewed by gtk1989 from Illinois
4.44/5 rDev +4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 5
4.44/5 rDev +4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 5
This is, to me, a great price. I do find it a bit pricy but to me entirely worth it. My friend and I meet up here since we live in different areas and have always been please with the food and atmosphere. The beer selection is good but not the greatest but since they have great food it entirely makes up for it. Overall a great place for both food and beer.
Apr 30, 2013Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois
4.11/5 rDev -3.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 3.5
4.11/5 rDev -3.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 3.5
Final destination on an impromptu bar crawl downtown, in spite of the single digit mid-January deep freeze happening outside.
The olde-timey rustic vibe is fairly played up here, with eclectic decor and design choices. It feels worn in and cozy, old wood beams and floors littered with peanut shells. The lights were up way too bright though. Everywhere you looked there were bookshelves, chandeliers, antlers, barrels, exposed wood beams with barrels on them. Behind the bar, numerous shelves held a stein & tap handle collection. Jukebox provided an incongruous session of classic Metallica.
Service was friendly and quick, they let us know right away which taps were out, and pointed us to the special menu from the GLBC tap takeover the night before. Turnover seems pretty good here. They charge tax on drinks at the bar, and don't have prices listed on their menu, kinda lame. We were once shooed away from sitting at a table with our drinks, apparently you are required to order food at a table? It's a bar, last I checked. >_>
About 50 or so Belgian bottles, and the usual craft staples with some eclectic selections. Revolution Eugene and GLBC Blackout had just kicked, we went with Ommegang Abbey and Moinette Blonde. Appropriate chalice for the Moinette, no frozen pints here. Current menu is listed on beermenus.
Food was pretty good, great crispy sweet potato fries. Burgers were alright (chargrilled is always good), though they were frozen pre-formed patties, albeit with creative topping options. It's a decent burger option for downtown, but the best beer & burger in town still goes to Bad Apple, L&E, or Owen & Engine.
Overall a good beer spot, more of an after work place as they are closed on weekends. Not too far from the train stations, though Millers or the Gage are also solid options in the north end of the Loop. Monk's has it's own vibe with a down to earth crowd, it's definitely worth a look.
Jan 20, 2012The olde-timey rustic vibe is fairly played up here, with eclectic decor and design choices. It feels worn in and cozy, old wood beams and floors littered with peanut shells. The lights were up way too bright though. Everywhere you looked there were bookshelves, chandeliers, antlers, barrels, exposed wood beams with barrels on them. Behind the bar, numerous shelves held a stein & tap handle collection. Jukebox provided an incongruous session of classic Metallica.
Service was friendly and quick, they let us know right away which taps were out, and pointed us to the special menu from the GLBC tap takeover the night before. Turnover seems pretty good here. They charge tax on drinks at the bar, and don't have prices listed on their menu, kinda lame. We were once shooed away from sitting at a table with our drinks, apparently you are required to order food at a table? It's a bar, last I checked. >_>
About 50 or so Belgian bottles, and the usual craft staples with some eclectic selections. Revolution Eugene and GLBC Blackout had just kicked, we went with Ommegang Abbey and Moinette Blonde. Appropriate chalice for the Moinette, no frozen pints here. Current menu is listed on beermenus.
Food was pretty good, great crispy sweet potato fries. Burgers were alright (chargrilled is always good), though they were frozen pre-formed patties, albeit with creative topping options. It's a decent burger option for downtown, but the best beer & burger in town still goes to Bad Apple, L&E, or Owen & Engine.
Overall a good beer spot, more of an after work place as they are closed on weekends. Not too far from the train stations, though Millers or the Gage are also solid options in the north end of the Loop. Monk's has it's own vibe with a down to earth crowd, it's definitely worth a look.
Reviewed by robbyc1 from Illinois
4.08/5 rDev -4.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
4.08/5 rDev -4.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Yes, two of the drafts were out, but for the Loop this might be the best place. I had not been here for 15 years at least, and the big long wood bar is beautiful. Slightly divey, but in a good way. Not too loud, you can speak to each other here.
Each beer we had was well served in appropriate glassware. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. And the service at the bar was attentive.
Aside from the fact that 2 taps were out, they did have an Oud Briun and Finch cans, solid bottle selection of both American Crafts and Belgians. What is not to like here, only the prices were a bit much but the loop location is great. Might be the only choice in the nearby radius.
Take another look if you haven't been in awhile.
Sep 18, 2011Each beer we had was well served in appropriate glassware. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. And the service at the bar was attentive.
Aside from the fact that 2 taps were out, they did have an Oud Briun and Finch cans, solid bottle selection of both American Crafts and Belgians. What is not to like here, only the prices were a bit much but the loop location is great. Might be the only choice in the nearby radius.
Take another look if you haven't been in awhile.
Monk's Pub in Chicago, IL
Place rating:
4.27 out of
5 with
40 ratings
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