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Onion Pub & Brewery / Wild Onion Brewing Co.
22221 N Pepper Rd
Lake Barrington, Illinois, 60010
United States
(847) 381-7308 | map
onionpub.com
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ChWRoCk:
Reviewed by ChWRoCk from Illinois
3.86/5 rDev -0.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
3.86/5 rDev -0.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
Onion pub is one of the few brewpubs in the northwest suburbs I frequent often as it is relatively close to where I live. Atmosphere is very split, you are either sitting at tables with a bunch of quiet old folk, or sitting by the bar, which acts as more of a louder pub/bar type setting.
They have a fairly extensive food menu, food is generally good, yet to have something I've disliked, and on occasion they do feature different seasonal specials.
The amount of beers of their own they have on tap is pretty large, sometimes I dislike when breweries offer so many options on tap because I find there really isn't one specific style I feel they really knock out of the park, kind of the case with Wild Onion. Drago is the lone bright spot in their rotational lineup that I always look forward to. However, their prices are super reasonable.
I generally enjoy coming here, usually quick to get a seat and their selection of beer and food like I stated is very large, but relative to all of the different brewpubs I've visited, this place is very average.
Nov 28, 2018They have a fairly extensive food menu, food is generally good, yet to have something I've disliked, and on occasion they do feature different seasonal specials.
The amount of beers of their own they have on tap is pretty large, sometimes I dislike when breweries offer so many options on tap because I find there really isn't one specific style I feel they really knock out of the park, kind of the case with Wild Onion. Drago is the lone bright spot in their rotational lineup that I always look forward to. However, their prices are super reasonable.
I generally enjoy coming here, usually quick to get a seat and their selection of beer and food like I stated is very large, but relative to all of the different brewpubs I've visited, this place is very average.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by AuntBea from Illinois
4.19/5 rDev +8.3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 4.25
4.19/5 rDev +8.3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 4.25
British Pub atmosphere. Our server was attentive. The food was very good. Decent selection of their own beers. I liked what I had picked. The parking lot was full but, we didn't have to wait with 4 of us. I'd go back again.
Oct 17, 2015Reviewed by mbmiche from Illinois
4.5/5 rDev +16.3%
4.5/5 rDev +16.3%
Decent food and decent distro brews. Where they really hit it is with their on-tap-at-the-brewery-only-and-we're-not-bottling-it experimental brews. If you missed the BA Drago, that is unfortunate...
Sep 28, 2014Reviewed by beatenbyjacks from Colorado
3.75/5 rDev -3.1%
3.75/5 rDev -3.1%
Lots of beer to choose from, however there was no patio. Some people love the German Beer Hall kind of atmosphere, but on a 70 degree day I want to enjoy my beer outside. I enjoyed the beer quite a bit though and they had a ton of variety.
Sep 16, 2014Reviewed by stouts4me from Illinois
3.5/5 rDev -9.6%
3.5/5 rDev -9.6%
Great building, greater outdoor patio overlooking the 'lake'. Beer pretty good, nothing outstanding, just steady quality, food very good, nice place for dinner, and drinks on the deck.
Aug 24, 2014Reviewed by USAF77 from Illinois
3.86/5 rDev -0.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25
3.86/5 rDev -0.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25
I went to a wedding reception here and had a great time. I was sitting at the bar drinking a diet coke when the smell of the beer just overwhelmed me and I ordered a few Pilsners. Their Pilsner is a really nice one and they allowed me to sample most of the rest of their Beers.
I really like this place. The Beer was fresh and delicious, obviously brewed with care. I wont go into detail about the different brews here but I consider Onion to be well worth the hour drive just to have lunch. Most of all a liquid one. I had a very good time there.
Oct 24, 2013I really like this place. The Beer was fresh and delicious, obviously brewed with care. I wont go into detail about the different brews here but I consider Onion to be well worth the hour drive just to have lunch. Most of all a liquid one. I had a very good time there.
Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois
3.75/5 rDev -3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75
Back when Illinois brewpubs were few and far between, and new breweries weren't popping up every other week, The Onion was among the last handful I hadn't been to. This was mainly due to it's obscure location in an industrial park (a la FFF) in a suburb I never had a reason to go to. Recently had time to grab lunch here over the weekend, after drinking their beers for a few years now.
Oddly we were the first patrons at 11:40am on a Saturday. The expansive parking lot was deserted, leading us to do a drive by on the front door to doublecheck the hours before parking.
The building is nice, it definitely has lots of rustic, homey ski-lodge decor, with a fireplace in the bar area and a pair of little corner snugs flanking it on either side. The bar area is to the left past the host station once inside the heavy double doors. There were a dozen staff working, many sitting at one table doing prep work for Easter brunch. The bartender came over and served drinks and got us menus when we asked for them. They had some spring specials, I had the footlong jalapeño cheddar brat, and it was good.
Beer selection was decent, seemed like less than a dozen house taps, I had a Beggar's Brown and Drago Imperial Stout. Most of the standard lineup i'd had before. Kainz Brau is a surprisingly solid Pils, Hop Slayer is also good. Doesn't seem to be much variation seasonally, and more of a focus on the commercial canning operation of their regular lineup. There's a "jack of all trades" vibe to their lineup, no specialty or niche. The bartender mentioned they do a sign-up brewery tour on the first Saturday of every month. Village Tap and Owen & Engine will still be my go-to's for Wild Onion beers, mainly for their rarer one-offs and cask treatments.
Overall good, but probably not a place i'd return to soon. Locals don't seem to have many options though. Solidly just above average sums it up well.
2018: Scorched Earth and Roaring Table are putting out much better beers in the area, while the Onion follows 2 Bros. model of opening up shop in Oak Park and widely distributing mediocre brews. Maybe they should work on improving their beer first...
Apr 02, 2013Oddly we were the first patrons at 11:40am on a Saturday. The expansive parking lot was deserted, leading us to do a drive by on the front door to doublecheck the hours before parking.
The building is nice, it definitely has lots of rustic, homey ski-lodge decor, with a fireplace in the bar area and a pair of little corner snugs flanking it on either side. The bar area is to the left past the host station once inside the heavy double doors. There were a dozen staff working, many sitting at one table doing prep work for Easter brunch. The bartender came over and served drinks and got us menus when we asked for them. They had some spring specials, I had the footlong jalapeño cheddar brat, and it was good.
Beer selection was decent, seemed like less than a dozen house taps, I had a Beggar's Brown and Drago Imperial Stout. Most of the standard lineup i'd had before. Kainz Brau is a surprisingly solid Pils, Hop Slayer is also good. Doesn't seem to be much variation seasonally, and more of a focus on the commercial canning operation of their regular lineup. There's a "jack of all trades" vibe to their lineup, no specialty or niche. The bartender mentioned they do a sign-up brewery tour on the first Saturday of every month. Village Tap and Owen & Engine will still be my go-to's for Wild Onion beers, mainly for their rarer one-offs and cask treatments.
Overall good, but probably not a place i'd return to soon. Locals don't seem to have many options though. Solidly just above average sums it up well.
2018: Scorched Earth and Roaring Table are putting out much better beers in the area, while the Onion follows 2 Bros. model of opening up shop in Oak Park and widely distributing mediocre brews. Maybe they should work on improving their beer first...
Onion Pub & Brewery / Wild Onion Brewing Co. in Lake Barrington, IL
Brewery rating:
3.64 out of
5 with
1832 ratings
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