Came here before a Chicago Fire match at Solider Field. An excellent beer selection. Friendly bartenders and seems like a fun spot to be. Cheese curds were good read more

Food and service was great ... beer selection was excellent !!! Will be going back again soon

The hospitality was great ! The Goat, Brussels sprouts were awesome, cheese curds ... highly recommend! Great place to meet the regulars! We will definitely be back on our next visit! read more

Great wings and even better service. A welcome refuge after our concert at Soldier Field.

This is one of my go to spots in Printers Row, a quality sports bar with a great beer list and some solid food options. I have been worried about them. Previously, business here was very strong. Always a good crowd on game days or on the weekends. With the huge development of a behemoth apartment building being construction right next to it turning their place of business into a construction zone for over a year, combined with the pandemic, I was very concerned this spot might not make it. But they are alive and kicking. Please go check them out. Solid draft list, friendly staff, good food. Everything a great sports bar needs. read more

I've been here a couple times and it's a pretty busy spot even on weeknights. Not overwhelmingly so though. Drinks are reasonably priced, service is alway decent. Last time I was here I had an order of cheese curds and pretzel bites. Both were freaking delicious. Pretzel bites had an artsy shape to them with a good beer cheese dip and honey mustard! THE CHEESE CURDS THO!!! They were like light fluffy pillows of cheesy goodness. Fried perfectly. Definitely will be back! read more

Ok. It was LOUD! It was also a nice pub. We only had drinks but the smells coming from the kitchen make me want to go back for food. Great tap along with a full bar. read more

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While in town, I wanted to check out some of my old usuals. I take a spot at the bar and admire all the tap handles. I'm handed a menu with more pages of beer than food. Ahh, yes. The selection of crafts, including down to the neighborhood level is impressive. Happy hour is $4 beer of the month. It's a Lagunitas at 9% ABV on the day I came. Unfortunately, it was ridiculously muggy that day, so I passed on that. I ordered the First Draft cheeseburger medium, no pickles, and brussel sprouts as the side. I love that they offer not just the standard fries or salad side options! Burger arrives and it's delicious. It's well seasoned, so no condiments required. It's more on medium well side, but I'm cool with that. Brussel sprouts were crispy and tasty. Cool vibe, good service. Check it out. read more

I haven't been to Chicago since COVID, but back then, I always went here for the food and good service. It was an awful experience and the food is three times the cost of what it was. The woman behind the bar (I think someone said her name was Ann) needs to realize that she is in the service industry. I got better service at fast food restaurants and here I'm paying a 8-12$ tip for someone to ignore me? read more

Been all over the country and found the beer selection to be one of the better draft offerings we've seen. Price was very average for the beers offered. Food was reasonable, portion size adequate but nothing to write home about. Fairly typical bar fare which, well, isn't to be unexpected considering that's what's they're claiming to offer. We'd give the food a 3, service 4, overall a 4 and the beer selection a 4.5-5. read more

Not a bad place with a nice and chill vibe. Recommend if you need a chill night out but kitchen closes at 10-11ish and can't bring in food which is alittle bit of a let down. read more

A great spot! The cheese curds are to die for and the hamburger was spot on. The fries were delicious. A perfect spot to grab a bite at. The staff was so attentive and wonderful. read more

This is kind of my local bar since I live right around the corner. I wish it was a little bigger, on Sundays is packed and you won't find a seat unless you show up early. They do have a huge selection of beers and prices range from like $6-$12 They have tons of monitors and the atmosphere is cool. All the food I've had has been great from brunch to dinner, although sometimes it takes a while but I don't mind since I'm usually watching a game so I have the time. read more

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Their food is just amazing. I had the Mac Daddy burger which is a Big Mac on steroids. The pretzel bites come with wonderful honey mustard and great tasting cheese. Their fries are high quality and have the perfect saltiness. The service was great but understaffed; it took a little long for the food to come out. They have enjoyable, funky music, however, during your wait. Overall great place to eat, plan on it taking a little while, and keep in mind that it is well worth the wait. read more

First Draft - Mac Daddy burger with Sweet Potato Fries - American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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$5 bombers! 'Nuff said. My friends and I stumbled in here for some drinks and man did I fall in love with this place. Possibly for silly reasons, but doggoneit, they're my reasons! There are menus under the tables! Every restaurant should invest in this genius idea of having a little compartment attached to the table for menus. It's great so we can keep them out of our way when we're enjoying ourselves and it encourages us to keep ordering those dranks. First Draft has quite an extensive beer list. Color this beer chick impressed. Most impressive to me are the $5 bombers on their chalkboard. That's cheaper than liquor stores for some cool @$$ bomber flavors. Our server told us they ALWAYS have a couple of $5 bomber options they are clearing out. Holy schnikies! Well I will ALWAYS be coming back to First Draft to check out this amazing deal. The night I went the offerings were No S'more Imperial Stout (9.1% solid double stout) and Imperial Pajamas (9.8% realllllly good imperial oatmeal stout). You can do beer flights of any 4 on tap for $14 which is a cool deal. Check BeerMenus.com for their latest draft offerings. I truly enjoyed myself here. Who knew I could love a sports like bar?! I plan to go back in the near future and also try some of their food offerings, as well. read more

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What a fun neighborhood bar. The beer selection of "draft" beer is amazing. I was here in December and enjoyed a couple off their 12 Days of Christmas list. Santa's Little Helper was a perfect draft to enjoy the ambiance and glace over the menu. Once my food order came, I switched over to a very refreshing Christmas Ale. The special of the night was a Meatball Sandwich with a side of Mac-n-Cheese. I was in the mood for a burger, but being a fan of MnC I choose the special for my dinner. The sandwich was a fairly typical meatball sandwich. It was five hearty balls on a lightly toasted hoagie bun with marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese. The sandwich was so filling, I finally had to give up on eating the bun and just pick out the balls with a fork. Very tasty. I normally don't order a meatball sandwich, but I wouldn't mind having this one again. The star of the nightly special was the side of Mac-n-Cheese. I knew ahead of time and the waitress told me, they are known for their MnC. Once it was in front of me, it had me with the noodle they use. Skroodles as I call them, the curly spiral spared noodles are my favorite. They were heavily and evenly covered with a cheddar cheese sauce. The noodles were done al dente and served up in a black cast iron dish. This was what I think of when I want Mac-n-Cheese. The staff was attentive and friendly. Which truly gave First Draft the old school, neighborhood feel. If I'm ever in the Printer's Row neighborhood again, I'm stopping by First Draft for a good cold craft beer. read more

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A very good sports bar with great food and an extensive craft beer menu. I got the platypus-ish burger, which is a turducken-esque multi-animal burger with a venison + bison + wild boar + Wagyu beef patty with goat cheese and duck bacon on top. It was delicious! The sweet potato waffle fries were also nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with a good amount of salt. I went on a Tuesday night and it wasn't too busy so service was fast and friendly. read more

I haven't had a bar that I could call home since my beloved Moonshine closed shop in late 2014 and as I lived Uptown, I frequented Uptown Lounge and while it was ok, it just didn't feel like home for me...plus they didn't serve food. Fast Forward to Spring 2016 as I moved to Printers Row/South Loop. I was introduced to First Draft by a good friend of mine. We grabbed a hi-top and had dinner as I finished moving boxes in my new place. I had a chicken parmesan sandwich that was recommended by the server that wasn't on the menu and it was good. They also had one of my favorite Belgian tripels on draft; Tripel Karmeliet! Awesome!!! I have come back numerous times since the first visit and I usually grab a seat at the bar. Servers Kelly & Chevy pretty much take care of me when I show up. They have so many good beers on draft in addition to my favorite Belgian Tripel. Some of my other favorites are on tap such as Kwak, Delirium Tremons, Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Kasteel Rouge (mix it with Founders chocolate stout which is also on tap) among many others. They have all the top shelf spirits as well. The food here is pretty good as I have tried the First Draft Burger which includes maple glazed bacon, beer cheese, fried egg, brioche and caramelized onions. Pretty good burger here! The Grilled Cheese is good as well as it includes maple glazed bacon as well...one of the best grilled cheeses I have ever had that I didn't make on my own...LOL. There are TVs from all angles for sporting events and sports talk shows....they play decent music here too! Love this place and nice to find a new joint I can call home that I can stumble to my actual home from read more

First Draft - Delicious First Draft Burger with a side of Kwak Bier! - American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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So my wife made reservations for 30 people with Alex and there was no hesitation. Other places did not even call back. When we arrived we had tables reserved and Alex was on top of her game, she introduced herself to everyone and then began taking everyone's orders. My wife had the Vegan Hero and I had the G.O.A.T., which I would highly recommend. All of the food was delivered in a timely manner which was very impressive due to the volume of meals ordered. All of the meals looked amazingly delicious and it appeared that everyone was very happy with the food. Cudos to Alex and all of the staff at First Draft for providing us with a wonderful experience. read more

Great location that's just south of the downtown central business district. Lots of craft beers on tap and the food was tasty. Highly recommend the fried cremini mushrooms with the lemony cayenne aioli ... ohmigosh. I'd drown my food in that sauce. All high top tables (as far as I could tell, but pretty spacious. Would definitely go back again. read more

You might think this is just a sports bar. But it's really a lot more. Their american bar food is on a higher level than most sports bars. It's a place you could go to actually eat, not just drink with a side of food. I went here with our production team after a late night concert and the service was great. They kept the kitchen open for our group. If I lived nearby I'd definitely hang out here! read more

Best pub in Chicago! We had a party of 40 crash the bar and they accommodated us for anything we needed. The food is also fantastic. Great curds and kick a$$ chili! Service was spot on! An extensive draft selection as well, it's a do not miss spot! read more

First Draft is great. Plain and simple. My girlfriend and I ended up there months ago on a whim and had an absolute blast. They have a great beer selection to say the least, excellent food choices (burgers especially, and overall a great vibe. We ended up there on a random night when a waitlist was too long at another place, and ended up being thankful for making the move. You would not expect it when walking by, but First Draft is really, really cool. The inside is like a classic man-cave in all of the best ways. TVs, great craft beers, and good food are great and all, but it was Chevy (the owner) that really separates First Draft from the rest. He's a very hands-on owner that makes sure everyone leaves happy (don't make that weird). @Chevy You're doing it right. Thanks, man. With that said, some feedback has to be offered in an honest review. I'd tone down the salt on the putine. It was a bit over powering. **If you have a dog, they offer a dog menu. My pup absolutely destroyed the bone marrow bone.** read more

AVERAGE food. Guacamole was good but definitely not worth $12. Luckily we got it for half price during happy hour. The salsa is tomato water. We had a person in our group who is ultra sensitive to any kind of heat and even she said it was water. The chips that it comes with are good though. So guac and chips are solid. We got pot pies which were a nice sized portion, nice buttery crust but average filling. They were fine, served really hot which is awesome, but nothing special. Drinks: we didn't try the beer but got a vodka cranberry which we didn't waste our time with. It was like watered down cranberry juice with an alcohol after taste. 75% of it was left when we got up to leave. The guac and chips were the only thing that saved this place. Oh, and the generous portion for the chicken pot pie. Maybe come for the beer. Skip the pot pie and only get the guac if it's happy hour. read more

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An easy 5 star review for this great neighborhood bar, Tons of great beers on Tap and the menu usually reflects the current beer trends. Also great lineup of breweries including Phase Three! With that said the service, food and atmosphere are unrivaled for south loop let alone chicago. Also they have TouchTunes! read more

This is so disappointing because the food is really good here its just that the service totally sucks. You're left waiting for quite some time between drinks, getting your food, and getting the bill - at least that's consistent. Many times the food comes out burnt (pizza) to the point of being inedible. Why would you even send it out of the kitchen that way? What's worse is, why would you - as a server - even take it to the table in that condition? So, clearly we brought it to the server's attention and he seemed gobsmacked that it was so burnt. He apologized and offered to replace it with something else. By that time we were so over it and so beyond hungry we finished our drinks and headed out. I was half expecting to be charged for it but fortunately, they did the right thing. One other thing, if you are expecting an atmosphere where you can have some level of conversation, it is best to sit furthest from the door. A lot of the construction workers come in after work and can get pretty rowdy. On one occasion they were getting so loud that other customers were getting pissed so the bartender had to address them. I'm all for having a good time but when it starts to negatively affect other people, it is time to reel it back in. read more

We had a great time last night at First Draft after the Bears Vs Eagles game. The waitress was great, the food was good, and we met several friends that hopefully we stay in touch with for years to come. read more

How have I yet to write a review for First Draft? First Draft is one of my favorite bars in Chicago. Living in the South Loop, it's definitely my go to. Their draft beer selection is always on point. Their liquor is also pretty affordable. But what makes this place better than most bars is their food. I love the food here. My go to is always the cheese curds. One of the best cheese curds I've had in the city. They provide with ranch and marinara sauce but I usually just use the ranch. It's a great compliment to the cheese curds. Their cheeseburger is also low key pretty underrated. Even I was shocked as to how good the burger was. If I'm ever craving a burger, and I don't want to go far, First Draft is where I'm going to go. Solid place for sure. Probably one of the better bar/food options in the South Loop! read more

Decent dive bar - good for watching games with TVs literally EVERYWHERE. I'll definitely come back for football. Wide range of beers coming out at $5/7 per pint (pours are kinda small though). It's REALLY loud at this bar so not really a place for conversation unless you feel like yelling. Servers are nice. read more

Huge craft beer selection on tap. Great service. Good vibe. We didn't eat but the food looked and smelled amazing

If you stop by there on Wednesday you get a free glass of 16oz beer with your burger purchase. They also have a happy hour with specialty prices for drinks and half off appetizers. Our server was ... too attentive.. between busser and server, they stopped by about 15+ times within an hour that we were there and we literally had one beer and a burger each. There was no need for refills or ordering extra food. I get it, attention for guests is important but it was a bit excessive. read more

Ended up here after a Bears game. Great place. Awesome vibe, great bartenders and super good food.

Had this in my bookmarks for the longest time and finally dragged a couple friends there to watch the game with me. There are so many TV's here and they're pretty nice in changing the channel of the TV around you if you want to watch something different. I will say the reason I am giving the rating is because of the service. Three of us sat down and my two friends already ordered. The waiter got to me and I asked for suggestions and of two beers which would he choose. He was impatient and said "well it doesn't matter because you're drinking it." The tone of his voice was annoyed. I mean c'mon now. You guys have SO many beers, I've narrowed it down to two and am asking what you would prefer because I can't decided between them. Help a girl out! Afterwards, we ordered our food and when he brought the pizza stand out, he said one of you guys can put the menu under the table. First of all, it's so loud in there - between the music and the amount of people talking you can't hear the best. Second, we didn't even know that there was something under the table that held individual menus. So instead, we had moved the menu to the side of the table no one was sitting at. The waiter goes "well....okay" and rolled his eyes. The beers were decently priced, but the food was overpriced for the quality. Would definitely return to watch a game and/or stop by for a beer, but not food. However, with their service I'd feel inclined to go somewhere else. read more

Chevy and crew provide a great service and experience. Will be back next time I'm in the South Loop.

Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone repairs them. Staff here are great! Admittedly, we had a few hiccups here, but staff were super apologetic and did everything they could to fix their mistakes. 5 star service for sure! read more

I've never heard of a place not owning printed menus. To see the menu, you have to scan the QR code at the table and browse through their website. Good luck if you don't have a smartphone because they have no alternatives (I asked). Besides the accessibility issues, who wants to navigate through multiple webpageseto cross-compare options? That's frustrating, and you miss a lot of the menu options. Additionally, not a single drink has a price listed. Forgive me for wanting to know what I'm paying before choosing a drink. If World of Beer can price their beer menu, can't this place? Especially if it's a digital menu anyways? And speaking of World of Beer, that establishment gives you a lot more beer for the same price. These beer pours are TINY. I might've ordered more if they actually made the experience user friendly. I don't plan on returning. read more

The dude with a plaid shirt and laissez faire attitude had service! Thanks for the trick or treat candy

I totally should have updated my review like over a year ago. But the manager of First Draft saw my first review and reached out to me inviting us back. I really appreciated this effort, and we did go back and when we got there he asked to him and he took care of our bill. I really truly appreciated First Draft going above and beyond. read more

Great atmosphere! And clean overall place. From out of town wanted a good burger and we found one it was delicious and cooked just right also got the Cubans and holy cow best sandwich ever the perfect amount of butter and cheese on it! Only reason I didn't give it a five is because the fries were quite cold but the ranch they served with them I could drink lol! read more

When I travel for work, my co-workers look to me to find a place to eat. This time, I was in Chicago and we needed to grab a bite to eat for lunch. I quickly found First Draft was just minutes away and appeared to be the type of place we would enjoy. The first thing you need to know about this place is there is a parking lot next to it. And I don't mean down the street or around the corner. Literally, it is right to a parking lot. It isn't large but it does the trick. We arrived shortly before they opened and were the first group through the doors. We were greeted and sat ourselves in the center of the dining area. The space isn't huge but I would expect that they can handle at least 100 -150 people. The bar is along the left side of the room and most of the seating is on the right side. Lots of wood and classic pub decorations makes the space feel warm and inviting. They have TVs everywhere so it is ideal for watching sports. They features a ton of tap (I think over 40). And there isn't any variation of an American light beer on tap. These are all craft beer options so if you are a craft beer fan then you are in for a treat. For food, I shared the cubano sandwich and the poutine with a co-worker. The sandwich was really good but i would have preferred a little more mustard on it. The poutine was amazing. It featured their pulled pork that is made with root beer. Their portions are quite generous. We enjoyed our lunch so much that we returned later that same day for drinks and more food after our work event. During this visit, I had their honey siracha wings, pulled pork nachos and sweet potato fries. All were amazing. They put their root beer pulled pork on a lot of their menu which is a great things because it's delicious. We also enjoyed a few beers with the food while watching hockey and basketball. Needless to say; I will gladly return during my next trip to Chicago. My only complaint is I wish they offered a dessert menu. I was told they had cheesecake but that was the only option. I could have really gone for some bread pudding to end my night. read more

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