I can't say enough good things about this addition to the Bowmanville neighborhood. The service, particularly if you sit at the bar and engage with the bartenders, is so friendly and personable. Their beers tend to be on the hoppy side which isn't my taste, but they're always willing to help me find something I like. And then there's the food. Oh my goodness the food. Truly the Porchetta noodle soup is one of my favorite dishes in Chicago. Broth out of heaven. I tried it my first visit and haven't been able to get anything else. My fiancé meanwhile has sampled his way through the menu and everything (truly everything) has been fresh and delicious. Can't wait to bring our pup back to relax on the patio in the springtime! Highly recommend. read more

Half Acre Beer - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

They wouldn't allow us in because my 2 year old nephew isn't vaccinated (nor is he allowed to). Kid friendly my a**

Great beer, great food, great ambiance. Had a couple beers here, as well as their pastrami grilled cheese. Beers are solid and all very drinkable. The sandwich was delicious and had a great balance of grilled onions and melted cheese. The pickle served with the sandwich was very sweet, which I liked, but could be offputting to some so be wary. Overall, no complaints here, it was exactly the experience I was looking for read more

Half Acre Beer - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Very good beer as usual. Food is good as well. Be aware that as of now there is STILL NO INDOOR DINING. Not sure why but, you're gonna sweat ballz on the patio. That's it for now. read more

A must try if in the area. Great outdoor seating, great drinks, and yummy food.

Weird rules when we visited. Had to stay on the waitlist for over 2 hours to get a table while they had all the empty tables outside. Then they had their 2 hours limit for our table but people at other tables had been there for more than 3 hours. People working there are really by the book, pushy in terms of ordering drinks (coming by every ten minutes to ask us if we need another drink). They did take care of the dog by offering him water. Also beer and food menu is shorter now! read more

My son was in town to try some breweries. Went to half acre, in the back outside on Saturday 5 PM. Just wanted to sample some beers. Was turned away because we just wanted a beer and not food. They were very rude, I live here and was very embarrassed. We will not be coming back. read more

Just remember--they are known for their beer, not their pizza! You cannot go wrong with any of their drinks, and in the evenings you can order pizza from the kitchen inside. While the pizza is not up to the normal caliber of great Chicago pizza, it does serve as a great complement to the beer. read more

Half Acre Beer - Pepperoni Double Mozzarella - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great brewery with cool ambience and plenty of seating. Had a seasonal IPA with a chicken sandwich that was just outstanding. On the way out you can purchase a 4-pack of any seasonal selections on tap that day. Fun and lively spot. read more

Obviously great beer so my review on that is a 5/5. They have a great space on Balmoral, no question there. I do miss the vibe of the Lincoln Ave location though. Not a fan of them having reservations like some kind of downtown steakhouse, especially after visibly seeing 99% of their tables wide open. Granted we sat for 20 mins and had a beer but we're rushed through for whomever had that actual reservation. Why not allow space for walk in's? Also, why are they carding people yet still allowing kids in? Not sure where the line would be drawn there. read more

The beer is amazing!! I love the Bodem!!! The food is really tasty too!! This is my wife's favorite brewery in Chicago! It is a great atmosphere in here too! The tour is super fun!!! If you love beer; you gotta go to Half Acre!! It is a Chicago beer classic!! Who doesn't love drinking a Daisy Cutter???!!!! C'Mon!!! Soo Good!!! read more

Came here on a Sunday during the day and was told there was an hour wait and there were people ahead of me. Not sure where those people waiting were? Also I counted 10 empty tables on the way out so not sure how there was an hour wait? read more

I'll start this review by saying that we didn't actually go in- because we were denied. I just had my first baby 6 weeks ago to the day, and as new parents, my hubby and I were excited to get out of the house and enjoy the nice Chicago day. We looked up local breweries and decided on Half Acre because it had an awesome patio. We packed up the baby and gear, hopped in the car and drove over, excited for a beer and lunch. When we approached the host, we were unfortunately told that no children were being admitted in at this time. I asked, even a 6 week old sleeping baby in a stroller? And yes even him. While the guy was beyond friendly, and even handed us two stickers to redeem free beers the next time we could come without baby, it didn't make up for the fact that we went out of our way to drive over there and the website said absolutely nothing about not permitting children, or newborns, at this time. And while the free beer was a great gesture, we don't have any family here and amidst COVID aren't comfortable having anyone over to the house to help out yet, especially with an newborn, so we happily bring Henry with us wherever we go and won't be able to redeem said free beer, well, ever? As new parents, and people in general, this was very disappointing- especially when you're so excited to get out, pandemic, baby and all! I would have liked to see this information posted somewhere online so we didn't feel like lepers leaving the establishment. read more

Love this place. Plenty of selections of good beer, I figured out that you are better off getting a 20oz vs a 16oz for just a $1 more. The food I got was a pastrami grilled cheese. Highly recommend! Their to go packs are reasonable too! $11.00 for a 4 pack of 16 oz cans. read more

See all

Great beer, good atmosphere, friendly staff, and really delicious food! I'm glad it's in my neighborhood because I'm definitely coming back.

I've been drinking their beers for years (pun intended), just had lunch here for the first time. Wow, I loved it! Wonderful and friendly service, beers galore and the food was delicious. Porchetta ramen was great. Apple crisp, yum. Baguette to go was finished within the hour. Thank you for opening this near our home! read more

Half Acre Beer - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Obvs, the beer is delicious. What you didn't know is they got some kitchen wizards here, too. The peanut butter pie? Sh*t yeah it's good (and pairs super well with stout). Get it for brunch & it'll have a nice touch of cinnamon added to the caramel drizzle. The sticky buns? Also great! With a surprising bit of citrus, no less. But good god--THE BISCUIT. Do not leave without eating the biscuit. For really reals. And and the service was great, too. Shout out to Ian! read more

Half Acre Beer - Alive in its Jaws - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This was a great place to have lunch with the family. The patio table offered good shade, and all 3 of the kids found the kid menu acceptable which never happens. Loved the Octoberfest brew and wish I had more time to try the others. Will definitely be back read more

First off, Alex and Nora are the besssst beertenders there! They were beyond attentive and helped guide us as we're here on vacation from Miami. The beer was great! And so was their vegetable tempura type appetizer. The vibe overall was awesome and was one of our favorite bars on our bar hopping around Chicago adventure lol. DEFINITELY recommend you atop by!! read more

Half Acre Beer - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

We had a wonderful time at Half Acre last weekend! They are following COVID-19 precautions to protect both their staff and guests! The manager/owners was super accommodating to our group! Every single staff member was very customer friendly! Thank you for making our experience a wonderful one, especially by being able to celebrate a bday! read more

I came there with a couple of friends to have some beers and the service was horrible for me. We had an extensive wait on beers that was longer than usual. The waiter kept claiming that there was something wrong with the printer, but I saw that he was diligently serving his other tables in a timely manner. He only knocked off a round from the tab when my friend said something about the service-better him than me to bring it up because I was a bit vexed to say the least l. Good beers, but I will never be back. read more

My friend and I loved our experience at Half Acre. We stopped in for some beers and ended up sharing some food too! It's not every day that you get GREAT brewery food that isn't just fried in grease and thrown haphazardly into a basket. We shared a few things: -Short ribs?! Excellent! Tender and flavorful. -Clam Chowder?! Treat yo' self! I am lactose sensitive and this was totally worth it! -The burger is refreshingly classic (I'm sick of burgers having too much weird shit on them)... theirs is simple and executed well. -The chicken sandwich is delish, crispy with a spicy kick. -There's even a beet salad--I will never pass up a beet salad. If it's on the menu, I'm gettin it! Everyone knows and loves Half Acre beer, I had been to the Lincoln Park location a few times for drinks only... but I never expected it to be one of my new dinner spots. We will be back soon. read more

We were excited to try this place after seeing it on Check Please. Keep in mind, we do not drink and came solely for the food which looked and sounded fabulous on the show. We ordered the Salt Cod Brandade and the Asian Noodles. Both dishes were bland due to a serious lack of seasoning. The Cod was ok but basically consisted of little bits of cod mixed with chunky mash potatoes served with thin slices of toasted baguettes. The Asian Noodles was not edible unless you like drinking noodles and vegetables boiled in water. The saving grace was the waitress, she was really nice and attentive. She asked how everything was and when we told her the noodles had no flavor, she graciously offered to take it back which we really appreciated. If you like beer and I think that is what most people come here for, I can see this being a good place but the food, not so much. The place itself has a great vibe and a outdoor patio. Note: the entrance is not on Balmoral but on the backside of the building where there is also parking. read more

My husband has always been a fan of the beer, even more so since we moved by their tap room. Their patio is lovely in the summer; laid back, offers shade, and dog friendly! Even better, even though I'm gluten free and can't enjoy the beer, they make their own soda (hibiscus and lime) and carry some fun options (I.e. horchata root beer). Their kitchen was able to accommodate my bun free request on the porchetta and the presentation was spot on. I definitely see it along our regular summer spots. read more

Half Acre Beer - Porchetta Sandwich no bun (to accommodate the gluten free!) - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

I love this place! The service was on point. The small/limited menu was plenty enough to keep the entire party satisfied. The atmosphere was relaxed and fun! read more

With my wife Wednesday night we stopped at Half Acre for there market and to check out the pizza by the slice. We tried a couple slices and dammit they were so good I was told to go back for a couple more. My wife being a connoisseur of ranch we had to get it. There's a small up-charge for it but it's made in house and worth every penny. The hot sauce though I could take it or leave it. The ranch is a stand out. Once again Half Acre just can't do no wrong. read more

Half Acre Beer - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is my new favorite beer bar, and I am not easy to please when it comes to food and booze. 5acre has THE BEST BEER ON TAP!! There's beer that will please every flavor palate. I love rich coffee flavored high percentage alcohol beers, and my husband loves hoppy/piney high percentage beers. We both left here VERY happy/drunk. The service is great and so is the food, however the food is very pricey for the portions. If I'm spending $16 on a Sammy I'd better have a doggie bag to bring home. We will be back again and again this space has good juju and overall it's worth the $$$!! read more

I'm kinda like an SNL Superfan when it comes to Half Acre. So to have them open a tap room and restaurant right behind my house has been about the coolest thing ever. And it's a beautiful space, airy and not too loud, with several different spaces within the main room you can choose from to sit for a minute or for hours, all framed by a conversation-worthy ceiling wood structure made in the brewery's in-house wood shop (!). They have about 20 taps for their beer (no guest beers, that requires a different license I believe). A barrel-aged beer has been on every day since opening day two weeks ago, including Benthic, their amazing massive (13% abv) coconut stout, for a day. They've had their triple IPA on every day, I think. Then many taps of all the pale ale, lager, and IPA goodness you could want, from classic dry American pale ale styles to lactose and tart peach pale ale. Last week they introduced what I was told will be an all-year oatmeal stout, as well as a Balmoral brewery-only IPA (Young Cobra). You can drink here all day and night and never get bored. You can also come here every day they're open for just one pint (like I often do) and never get bored. Dark Matter coffee is available hot or in cold brew cans, and there is usually a house soda (cucumber-lime-mint I think last week). I hear they'll have DMC on tap eventually. The mostly new bar staff are simply awesome. If you were a regular at the Lincoln location, you'll like seeing Rog and Josh here at Balmoral, and often that very attractive bald Italian man. The new staff I've met, Bri and Travis and Kevin and Michelle and (another) Josh and some whose names I have yet to learn have all been great to me. Gotta say, Bri is especially cool. The food menu aims to be less like bar food and more like real restaurant food. What I've tried has been very good. They make their own three kinds of bread (in the tap room, but not during open hours, though you can sit at the bar at the bread station and ogle the ovens). There's a duck liver pate, delicious roasted brussel sprouts with bacon and dry Italian cheese, intense sandwiches with porchetta or roast beef (share them...), salmon with harissa my wife adored, very tasty roasted (and cut up) chicken, even a bread pudding to go with your barrel-aged stout. Havent tried the ribs, lasagne, and a few other items. My only request? I, and especially my teenage son, would like to see Lincoln's brisket burrito carry over to Bowmanville. Its just so good, it deserves to be at both locations. Worth pointing out that there's no hamburger on the food menu. So rebellious for Chicago! But with food this good instead, I dont miss it. Finally, some intangibles...Half Acre has been a great neighbor for the few years they've been in this space until their public opening. All the blocks in the neighborhood get beer for our block parties, the brewery gives to all the local neighborhood organizations, they open up the big brewery space for voting, they're very intentional about having all the semi truck drivers stay off our residential streets, and they have a great plan for keeping cars and people away from our blocks. They're been packed for two weekends, but the only sign of it from my house were the small groups of beautiful people quietly walking toward the brewery, which made me and my wife chuckle. We haven't become Wrigleyville. And we won't. I'm looking forward to when this space will be open a few more days a week. What a treasure the Bowmanville spot is for people who like good beer made by good people, with good food, in an elegant space. read more

We came here on a weekend evening. There is a large outdoor patio and an indoor space with seating. We sat in both areas. I really like how much room there is. Sometimes we would avoid going to the main location because we were worried about not getting in, so it's nice this space is much larger. You can sit at communal picnic benches outside and order beer from a window. People bring their board games and dogs, so it's pretty casual and a nice spot to hang out. As usual the beers are delicious. We weren't inside too long, but it was clean and modern. Looking forward to returning soon. read more

Half Acre Beer - The bar in the patio area - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Huge patio space! They don't have heaters so many people brought blankets. A decent beer selection and they will usually have a food truck on site! Parking available read more

Noticed this opened up recently and it was my turn to pick the restaurant of the month so I took our group to the new taproom. Entrance is on Rascher...lots of parking. Beer garden in back, food inside only. We were greeted right away by staff. Everyone was so welcoming. No reservations, you seat yourself. Found one open booth in the back reserved for groups of six or more. Perfect for our group. Otherwise, all tables inside were taken (5pm on Sunday). Ordered the beef sandwich and a side of roasted potatoes. I thought food was priced a little high, $15 for a sandwich, no side (for this price it should come with a side), but that was a pretty tasty sandwich. Wasn't sure what to drink with my meal. So many options, went with Lagertown/octoberfest and Dungeons IPA, both were delicious. Would've been nice to have a little help pairing with our meal. Overall, good food, good drinks, good service. Can't wait to go back. read more

Great beer ! Service was not the best- pretty much was ignored even though I sat at the bar-but!- the beer is excellent

Excellent beer selection, very nice tap room. They had all the usual suspects as far as their beer that you can get anywhere then there was about a dozen others that you can only get there in the tap room. Same great quality that you come to expect for Half Acre. Food was better than bar food but not spectacular. read more

Half Acre Beer - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My girlgang and I visited Half Acre Brewry a couple of summers ago in the beforetimes and had a wonderful visit. I mentioned that I had seen it featured as a set location in a Netflix series I watched called "Easy," and my Chicago friend who we were staying with said let's go. We discovered at the time that they offered brewery tours first thing in the morning on the weekends before they opened to the general public. We also discovered when we got in line that you have to register for these tours ahead of time. We pleaded our case (ignorance) and the guy reluctantly let us join the tour. To be clear, we don't recommend you try this at all. Don't be like us--register ahead of time. The tour was chill and informative and gave us a good look at the space and the process. At the end, we were handed Half Acre branded pint glasses to take home from their showroom before we were escorted to the tap room to have a free beer. Can I get an AMEN for a free beer?!? After our girlgang had a great experience, I took my family there during our Fall Break visit. The food and service was on point! We sat up against the back wall along the gorgeous natural wood shelf and shared hot pretzels with beer cheese. The kids enjoyed their root beer while we sipped on our beers. read more

Half Acre makes some of, if not the best beer anywhere! Their new facility serves up some unique and favorite brews while offering some tasty food items. Go on a sunny day to utilize their outdoor patio with a great music selection! Cheers Half Acre! read more

See all

We beat the rush and didn't even have to wait in line for the opening like the Lincoln st spot, and offered cold beers on the patio upon arrival. Killer setup outside and inside is just as efficient on space. Food inside only and well worth stepping out of the heat for. Shared the Porchetta cubano and the Roast beef & onion with my wife - both incredible sandwiches. The underdog roast beef pulls a slight edge in rating. Roughly 20 beers on tap and incredible setting and service deserves 5 stars! Return visitor no doubt. read more

Half Acre Beer - Beers and food! Porchetta and Roast beef - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Yes I'm a fan of the beer and I can get it anywhere so why come up here? Pizza night of course Great bunch of people working here which makes it worth the trip alone. Although it's a bit disorganized which might be a real problem when it's busy. Also the mosquitos were a bit out of hand Pizza- I appreciate the attempt and the quality of ingredients. Just not a huge fan especially at the price point Come for quality beer and great servers. read more

Incredibly rude staff. Went down the street to Empirical Brewing. Much better experience.

I don't drink beer. So this is not a beer review. But, if you like burritos... you MUST visit this place. I'm sitting here, stuffing the weekly steak burrito special in my face and humming with such joy. So flavorful, full of steak, good spices... YUM! Their broccoli mac and cheese was meh... but it wasn't lame enough to take away the amazingness of this burrito. Gracias, Half Acre. read more

Great beer, great people, great atmosphere! The brewery has some of the best pale ales in Chicago. On top of that, there is a ton of room, you always get greeted like a regular and some things to snack on(didn't explore the food too much). If you think it's a little isolated...it's actually much better for the beer garden and all the bars in Clark Street are a short 15 min walk. Do you like beer and drinking it in Chicago? Well then, go here. read more