I've always loved Emerson's and it's still great with the new management! The new menu is incredible! This is our favorite bar in the neighborhood and I'm happy to see that business is booming. You gotta try the Pub Chicken and the Root Beer Beer. The bartender, Nick, is the best! read more

This was an average bar with average food. I gave it 2 stars because the service was pretty bad and because they had about 1/2 the number of beers on tap. Selecting beers and especially beer flights are annoying when the waitress has to keep checking about what's on tap. That's also probably why the service was bad as I imagined this takes up her time. read more

Nice, laid-back atmosphere to enjoy drinks with friends, but as it gets close to midnight the servers become scarce. Ours didn't check on us for an hour, claiming she got caught up in rolling silverware, and there was also no one behind the bar when we were ready for another round. Maybe they are more attentive earlier in the night or if you order food? read more

A little disorganized coming out of the gate, but the management clearly cares. Fries were a little limp, the onion rings lacked some flavor, and they could use more creative choices on tap. They do have a wide variety of local brewy bottled choices, and promise to continue to expand their choice. We will definitely give them another shot. read more

We met up with friends last night for dinner. Service was great, food was better than I expected , since I'm used to chain restaurants. Definitely a sports bar with games on, not a big deal. Would definitely recommend. I had the Royal Burger, but could only eat half. I will try their salad next time to stay on the healthier side but it was a nice treat to have. Didn't have any desserts or alcohol so I cannot comment on that, but the menu had a variety of items read more

Decent food, good service, variety of drinks, and kids eat for free on Sunday's from 5-9. Who doesn't love that! Located in down town Mount Prospect so it's nice to walk around after dinner for dessert. read more

One of the best bars in Mt. Prospect. Good beer selection, menu items and good location in the downtown area across from the train station.

One of my favorite bars in the northwest suburbs. The location in downtown Mt. Prospect is less than half a block from the train station, great option for commuters and locals (parking is easy). Food and drinks are terrific; the beer selection changes frequently, on my most recent visit they had Zombie Dust on tap. During every visit we've had excellent service, I recently called and requested a booth for a Saturday night and when we arrived they had reserved the table for us even though it was a busy night and the Blackhawks were playing. The noise level was good for talking, and prices are reasonable. Highly recommended for a meal and a drink, especially to watch Chicago sports teams on their many tv's. read more

Went to Emerson's Grand re-opening with new owners last night and wow!!! I liked the burgers before but they're soooo much better now. They're bigger, the bun is better and the toppings include different kinds of aioli, cheeses, peppers and other yummy options. The beer list is better too! Can't wait to go back! read more

Was here for lunch during a weekday. I am glad that I popped in for lunch. I had the skirt steak and mashed potatoes. Excellent! Great location - walking distance to Metra. read more

Just tried Emerson's for the third time and my experience has gotten worse each time. The service is horrific. They don't hire waiters, they must hire friends and/or family. The food is mediocre. It is edible, but nothing to write home about. The positives are: good beer selection, nice decor and free bacon as a snack at the bar (nice salty treat to go with your beer). Go for beer and bacon if you can put up with bad service. Don't go for the food. read more

My favorite restaurant in downtown Mount Prospect. Emersons offers a huge revolving craft beer selection, great food, friendly and attentive staff, it is kid friendly, and offers enough tv's to watch sports from any angle in the place. It's everything you hope for from a local establishment when you move into a town. Do yourself a favor and take advantage of this great spot in an incredible town. read more

Stopped in last night with a buddy to use a Living Social deal voucher for two flights of craft beer and two burgers. There is a very good list of craft beers from as far away as Vermont and there are six or eight burger choices including a black bean or turkey option for those looking for a low fat meal (also you can substitute broccoli for fries for $1 more). Service was friendly and fast. I will be back! read more

It's much better since the new owners took over...They are all really nice guys each of them on different occasions have come by and introduced themselves. It's much cleaner, brighter, and just an overall better atmosphere. Service is good. Food is fresh. Great beer selection "Not Your Father's Root Beer" read more

New owners, so much better!! Food is good, large beer list, specials. Outdoor seating. Nice wait staff. Owner came out on several occasions when we were there to chat and get feedback. Worth a try! read more

This is the best restaurant/bar in town! Great modern atmosphere and excellent customer service. Reasonable prices with quality combined. I was greeted right when I walked into the door with friendly faces. Fantastic treatment and the drinks and food are amazing! So happy I stopped here. Highly recommended! read more

Came in on a whim. Service was excellent. The bartender recommended the loaded mile high nachos. They were amazing! The fresh chips were so crunchy. The rest of our meal was just as good. We are definitely going there again. read more

We've always had nice experiences at Emerson's. The food is always very good and we love that we have a great neighborhood restaurant to enjoy. However, our most recent experience blew me away. We were dining with 3 adults and 3 children and Katelyn (sp?) was great. She continually checked on us and then separated the bill without us even asking and got it right whose children belonged to whom. I then added a to go order and told her we were going to get ice cream across the street and that I would be back for the order. About 15 minutes later Katelyn showed up at the ice cream shop with my to go order! Customer service is not dead! It's alive and well at Emerson's and in Katelyn. Thank you! read more

This place has a very nice atmosphere but the service is awful. We went there before 4 pm on a friday because we had a groupon now and wanted to get an early dinner in since we had our infant with us. An hour later, we walked out since we had only gotten our appetizer at that point. We first ordered the calamari but 15 minutes later the waitress (who told us she was the manager) Told us that the calamari was frozen and couldn't be served. Apparently they weren't planning on getting busy for happy hour on a Friday or something. We decided to get nachos instead which took another 15 minutes to get delivered. Our dirty empty beer glasses sat on our table and we had to go up to the bar to ask our waitress for more. When my fiancé asked the waitress for a glass of water she looked at him like he had four eyes or something. We had finally had enough of this horrendous service so we left money on the table and left. We didnt even use our groupon and dont plan on using it either. I would have loved to order food since their burgers sounded good but I didn't have 2 hours to sit and wait for it. Judging by the other reviews, this place better get some help with service or they won't be open much longer. A good place to start would be to have Jean, the waitress/manager/whatever, lose her attitude. read more

Went there for lunch with a friend on a Groupon 10 for 20. We order more than 20 dollars worth of food + we also buy 2 special orders of wings at $4 per. When the check comes I mention my groupon and when the server takes it he is told by the owner to charge us the full price for the wings despite the groupon covering only the normally priced portion of the meal. I ask to speak with the owner as I am confused at the change in price and he flatly states that he won't change it. He tries to argue that its "only a 10 dollar difference" and isn't a big deal. I politely disagree and ask him if I had ordered them separately and paid for them separately would I have had a problem and he replied, "Well you didn't." Long story short, the food was meh. The service was fine, but the management was atrocious. I will never be returning and would advise others to do the same. read more

Went on a Saturday afternoon for the burger and beer flight groupon deal. Decent tap selection, good bottle selection. Food is what you'd expect, service friendly. No problems and would visit again. You could get away with bringing kids during the day, but wouldn't really as it's more of a bar atmosphere than restaurant. read more

I purchased the Two Burgers and Two Flights deal on Groupon. I figured why not try it, close to where I live and in downtown Mt Prospect. We went on a tuesday night around 6:30. Tables were decently filled but I wouldn't say the restaurant was busy. The Pros -Its pretty cool on the inside like its a pub style, giant bar in the center. Definitely more bar atmosphere than a restaurant which you don't see too much in the 'burbs. -Server was nice, friendly, helpful. -Burger was cooked medium like I asked. -The flights presentation were decent. The Cons -Walked in and just stood there, there was no host at the host stand. Finally the bartender told us we can sit anywhere. (Being a former casual restaurant server I thought this was weird, how do the servers pick up tables/sections?) -Sat down waited for a few minutes - not a terribly long time, but longer than I am used too. -Our waiter came over he was nice, brought menus said hi told us he'd be back with water. it was strange how him and the only other server on shift that night were both rotating around the whole restaurant and the tables outside as well. -Small water glasses that were never refilled. -I ordered the martini flight, my bf had the beer flight. ----Martini flight - the cosmo was extremely bitter, the chocolate martini was "eh," the lemon drop was not chilled and was also bitter. The only one out of the 4 that I would ever order again would be the Pom-tini (chilled, flavorful not bitter like the others) ----Beer flight - They don't let you order the premium beers as a flight which is annoying because that wasn't stated on the group on. The beers were served chilled and my bf really enjoyed the peach cider he had. I had the smokehouse burger which was good but I've had better burgers from other places in the area, the lettuce was extremely crisp and fresh which I wasn't expecting, the pulled pork on top was really good. BF had the patty melt also thought it was good not great. Beer on tap selection was strange, I get that they're an ale house but the only standard beer they had on tap was Bud Light. After reading the reviews of this place online I was hoping everyone else was wrong, but sadly the reviews win this time, spend your $50 somewhere else. read more

Great place. Great burgers. Vast collection of beers and a friendly staff. They serve 4-glass flights of beer, which is a good way to sample something new. I learned about the place thru a GROUPON and I have been back several times since. Be aware that they sometimes close a little earlier than posted hours during the week. I would call if you are not sure. read more

Food was pretty good, server was nice. The Hawks game was on but it wasn't crazy loud, we could still talk with each other. I think someone should talk to the management about the purpose of offering a Groupon. The general idea is to get people into your establishment so that they will return. You give them a good deal so that they are willing to pay full price when they come back. Unfortunately, the management at Emerson's Ale House has decided to nickel and dime (or more accurately, several-dollar) the Groupon customers, leaving a bad taste in my mouth despite the good food. The Groupon deal was for two burgers and two beer flights. However, the Groupon deal only included their basic "Classic" burger--there was an extra charge for any other burger. The Classic is $9, and they had the "Roaster" on special for $8, so we asked if that could be included with the Groupon since they were actually charging less for the Roaster than for the Classic on the day we were there. Nope, extra charge. The next part of the Groupon deal was a beer flight, which was 4 small glasses of beer. However, the Groupon only included the beers without a star next to them on the menu. We were told that if we chose beers with a star it would be an additional $2.50 PER BEER added to the cost of the flight--potentially adding another $10 to each person's bill despite the fact that the Groupon allegedly covered a beer flight. We felt like this was bait-and-switch, and an attempt to get extra money from the Groupon customers. To receive the burger and a beer flight of our choice, we would have each had to pay up to another $15 each on top of what we paid for the Groupon. There are a lot of burger and beer places out there. We won't be back. read more

First time Ive ever walked into this establishment and have to say, It was AWESOME!!! Food was great, drinks were good, service was perfect. Will definitely be going back! read more

Came in with a group, nearly everyone ordered something different. So here is the take... Fish and chips are absolutely horrendous. The breading is disgusting and far too much. Breading was literally more thick than the fish and flavorless. Had three pieces and each piece was fried to a different consistency. One was so soft fried that the breading was still slimy. Salads were good but really that's like not even trying as a business. The sweet potato fries, pulled pork sandwich, buffalo chicken sandwich and club sandwiches were fantastic given a club sandwich can only be so good and is rather difficult to ruin. Service was great as well. Consistently checked on us, food didn't take forever, and she was kind. read more

Staff is always great, food is well above your average bar stuff. Best spot in downtown MP

I've been there twice now and the wait time///service keeps getting worse. Maybe they're issuing too many Groupons??? We waited over an hour for our burgers on pretzel bread, which were way overcooked and cold. The beers were fun, but long gone before anyone came to even see how we were doing or to update us on the status of our food. read more

My husband loves this place. They are always friendly and great to take the family to. Their deals each day make it an easy choice when we don't feel like cooking and need to get out of the house. read more

Excellent staff all around! Both times I have been in have been superb! The beer selection in point for the area and they also have some damn tasty cocktails. I would highly recommend stopping in for a beer or bringing a party for dinner! The bartender Nick is extremely knowledgeable and welcoming. Always a good time! read more

Ordered a salad with grilled chicken. Something was in the chicken when I bit down and cracked a tooth which had to be extracted that afternoon. Management was less than supportive when I asked if they had insurance and said they wouldn't help out on the cost of any medical bills. Owner gave me the impression they don't even have insurance or wouldn't even notify them of a claim if they did. Don't recommend going there for food or drinks. If you do, thoroughly inspect what they serve you, and ask for a copy of their insurance certificate before you order. For a new restaurant, they must not expect to be there long considering their attitude toward customer service. By the way, the salad was less than average and my lunch guest hated the fish and chips. read more

Emerson's Ale House in Mount Prospect-so far I've been there many times in the last year had various burgers and salads and sides-all delicious!!! My husband and I also agree... Eric is an outstanding server! Also appreciate the great drink menu. Emerson's is our neighborhood go-to, haven't been disappointed once! read more

I really like the option to change out the fries for a upgrade. The side salad is excellent and they have tater tots! We always leave with a full tummy and sometimes even leftovers. We're glad you're in our neighborhood! read more

Get a beer flight and sample various craft beers. You get four 5 oz servings for about $11 so live a little and try something new! There are a decent number to choose from including a delicious root beer beer! The higher alcohol percentage is masked by the sweet flavor so the buzz may sneak up on you. 1/2 lb burgers are certainly big and tasty too. You'll be full after eating that and the french fries. Everything else on the menu is typical American bar food. Emerson's is a pretty small place. A square shaped bar is in the center and tables are along the perimeter. Definitely a nice little spot to grab some food and drinks. read more

Excellent appetizers at reasonable prices, and we received free Guinness t-shirts with our beers. Service was wonderful. I can see why it gets so crowded. read more

Emerson's is a local gem. Great food, good selection of beers (many of them local) and the atmosphere is always great. I could not ask for a better local place! Emerson's always delivers! read more

Support this family business!! The family who owns this is extremely friendly and generous. The food and drinks are very good and consistent. Can't wait to go back! read more

I come here most Sunday after hockey. The beer selection is rather impressive, and the menu gives you the typical bar food selection. Don't let that deter you though, despite the burger heavy menu, everything is prepared quite well and there is enough variety to not be ordinary. Even though its football season, the place is usually sparsely populated on Sundays, which is fine by me but surely a sore spot for the owners. I suppose you can blame all the smelly hockey guys who go, showers optional. read more

Get female servers!! Our male server was not good and ps guys don't want to go to a bar and have a male server! We had separate checks and my boyfriend ask specifically just for our check and he brought all 3 sad to say everyone left after less money for the bar. read more

Excellent burgers! Great flight choices and the best service! Maybe we just got lucky as we had Hilary as our server and she was very attentive! Can't wait to go back! read more