The Onion Pub & Brewery
| Address: | 22221 N Pepper Rd, Lake Barrington, IL 60010, USA |
| Phone: | +1 847-381-7308 |
| Site: | onionpub.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | Closed 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–8PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
MA
Marilyn Driscoll
Drive by this place at all cost! This was our 1st and last time at this hole. We had high hopes for The Onion Pub, however our hopes were dashed as soon as we were seated. We went in late Saturday afternoon and we hoped to have some good beers, food and conversation. What we had was a disinterested hostess that sat us in a depressing back room between the kitchen and toilets, that truly was gods waiting room. Our fellow diners were a Korean war vet and his wife, 6 golden girls, grandparents making string ties with their bored grand daughter and a woman and son that were obviously kitchen staff family members, not the Saturday crowd we would have chosen, but the Korean vet and his wife were pleasant company and we did enjoy talking with them. They were the only thing we enjoyed about the experience . Our waitress was one of the worse, she told us about the soup of the day but did not wait around to see if we wanted it, we ordered two burgers and we had to tell her how we wanted them cooked, I asked for mayo on the side for the fries and she came back with a teaspoon of mayo and sat it down on the table, returned shortly while my husband and I were in conversation and banged a bottle of ketchup down between us that we did not ask for, I set the timer on my phone to see how long the mayo would sit on the table before the food arrived, since you dont leave dairy out in a hot room, it was on the table for 12mins, my husband asked for another since this was sitting too long, and she brought back the same teaspoon of mayo. We had to beg for the beer menu, I had heard this place had a great selection, she proceeded to scratch out the ones they did not have. We decided on two big boys, the beer was good but not worth a return trip, no mention of flights or any of the things on the website, maybe you had to sit in the bar for that, but since we were not asked where we wanted to sit, who the heck knows. We asked for well done burgers, what we got were two thin black orbs, I had to check to see if it was a blacked burger, McDonalds at least has the good graces to have burgers that are burger color, not the color of the bottom of my shoe, they were barely edible. Ive done better on the grill at home. We were not made to feel welcomed at all, I dont know if it was because we are not 30 or a young family and just two 40 somethings that are not obese or unattractive that just wanted a few beers and a meal. After our meal the waitress did not ask if we wanted the fries wrapped, I would have said no, but its standard to ask or ask if there was a problem when you see the diner has not touched them. I was expecting something like the Cary Pub, or Emmetts, what we got was a sad hospital cafeteria.
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A Private User
Not impressed by "new" menu. My husband and I have been to the Onion on numerous occasions, each time wondering to ourselves why we keep going back. Their own brews are great but pricey (and no longer a 1/2 off special on Wednesdays) but their food is mediocre at best. We were even looking forward to their recently revamped menu, but when we went for dinner we were not impressed. With their great decor and location in Barrington, we were expecting something unique & fantastic. What we got was a menu the same as most other pubs/beer bars-- but with a higher price tag. Salads are $8 for a large but to add "grilled" chicken is $5 extra. But dont expect warm, grilled chicken strips on your salad for that $5; my salad came with cubed, COLD chicken. $13 for a salad with leftover chicken that they couldnt even bother to warm up?? Ill spend my money elsewhere.
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Zach Parpart
Overall the food was good but didnt wow me. The beer selection, while decent sized was also just ok. I tried the 6 beer flight and found two that were to my taste. While sampling those I tried the cheese stuffed fried pickles (one if my favorite foods) and was the reason I stopped in. In my excited haste I popped the massive thing in my mouth fully accepting that I would be burned by delicious molten cheese. I was not expecting to be stabbed by a tooth pick hidden within the pickle itself, would have been nice to know that while trying to swallow Id be stabbed. The waitress was attentive to our needs but was not overbearing. She showed up when needed and disappeared when we didnt. I will probably give them another try because the atmosphere was fantastic but the taste of everything was not wowing.
MA
Matt Thode
I have been a huge fan of the Onion Pub in the past, but I have noticed that the service has gone downhill immensely in the past year. I have eaten here 3 times in 2014, and every time I feel like the bartenders, hostess, wait staff thinks they are doing me a favor by showing up. Typical bush league mistakes...taking 20 minutes to show up at the table, rude hostess, waitress smells like cigarettes, bartender wont give you the time of day, etc. I think this attitude probably comes from the top down. I called this place on New Years Eve and a person who I assume was the manager yelled at me that they were closed. Who closes on New Years eve, and who yells at their customer for asking about it? I will not visit this establishment as frequently until the service improves.
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Alexander Kohaniuk
They used to have a great menu, then they changed everything about a year ago, and now their food selection is mediocre like a cheap dive bar. No longer serve our favorite Polish sausage. The beer that they brew here is pretty good, their signature Oatmeal Stout has a lot of rich flavor. Atmosphere is also just OK, recently they started being gimmicky by playing loud obnoxious music (high treble) through their speakers which they didnt do before, we had to ask our server to turn the volume down. Not what it used to be where its just the regular atmosphere you can relax in. Overall it used to be at the same level as Emmits in Palatine, but now this place has gone downhill with the food and atmosphere. They need to improve and go back to their roots.
MA
Matthew J T.
Was not impressed with the food. We had visited many times over the years and the core menu never changed. Feel like bar food not a quality restaurant. The seasonal menu did but wasnt anything special. The vegetables always felt like what you get from the freezer section in the local store. We did have growlers from here. The beer was good. We stopped refilling when we found out they do not exchange the growler when you refill, they rinse it out. I love my beer and have many growlers from different places, all change out the growler and send the returned one to be sanitized. This is what did it for us and we havent gone back. I will continue to buy the beer in the store but that is it.
MA
Mariusz Zielezny
Wood beamed interior with fireplace makes this place look and feel warm even in winter. Our choices were beer samplers and dinner. I got an Onion Pub Burger with cheese ( you can choose almost any kind of cheese ) pickle and fries. It was only $11 and the portion size was so large, I had problems finishing it. Tasted great! Beer sampler comes with 10 glasses and it was the first time I received a beer with a slice of orange. A very unique experience and unusual good taste. Never tried this anywhere else. They do have a variety of collection beers to go. From cans to growlers. Growlers are not expensive starting at just $10+ and $5 glass.
