The food and service here are both outstanding. We ate here for the first time about 2 weeks ago. The El Coyote Burger was full of flavor, the pot roast sandwich juicy & perfectly cooked, the ribs were fantastic and they even made a turkey burger taste good. We get up this way about once a month and will be back! read more

This review has been a long time coming because I somehow forgot to post it, but my husband and I met our friends here in the late summer and it was the first visit for all of us. When we first walked inside, the restaurant felt like a typical bar and grill. However, we asked to sit outside and were pleasantly surprised by how massive the patio area is. I am so glad we chose outdoor seating because the atmosphere back there was completely different and much cooler. Even though we did not play any games or fully explore the backyard area, it was impressive how much space this place has. They clearly host a lot of events and even offer volleyball, pickleball, and bags leagues. It all gives off a very relaxed, social, and fun vibe. Our waiter was also a highlight of the experience. Since it was our first time, we had a few questions about the menu, and he was incredibly helpful, friendly, and personable. The menu itself is large, so it took us a bit to decide what to order, but the prices were very reasonable and the food quality did not disappoint. I ordered the Woodsman Nachos ($14), and they were excellent. The portion size was huge and easily shareable. They were loaded with toppings like chili, jalapenos, lettuce, and multiple cheeses. I forgot to ask for no tomatoes, which was totally my fault, but they were chopped in larger pieces so it was easy enough to remove them. Everyone in our party enjoyed their food, and when I come here again, I think I will order the Nashville chicken sandwich because my friend ordered it and it looked delicious! Overall, this was a great first visit with good food, a fun atmosphere, and friendly service. It feels like the kind of place you could easily spend hours at, especially during warmer months. read more

Hawthorne's Backyard Bar & Grill - Woodman's Nachos - Bars Near Me - West Chicago, Illinois

We were there on a Sunday afternoon during a Bears game, and this place has such a fun vibe! They give away Jell-O shots when the Bears score, and people aren't shy about cheering. Burgers were on point and service was friendly. read more

Hawthorne's Backyard Bar & Grill - Classic burger with cheddar and frazzled onions with fries - Bars Near Me - West Chicago, Illinois

Total dive bar energy, and honestly that's the charm. The patio is the star, big and genuinely delightful. Food was fine--my Cobb salad was fresh but nothing memorable. Come for the patio hangs, not the culinary adventure. read more

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Food is okay..and pricey! Service is ehhh kind of slow. However the outdoor patio makes you forget about the bad! Fun for alllll ages children to adults. read more

Very rude manager here. Insulted me and my 4 year old son because my boy fell down and hurt himself in the playground. I won't be back. I've never left a 1 star review on a restaurant before. Usually 5 stars or nothing. Don't treat your customers or someone's child like that. read more

Great patio, fabulous service, tasty drinks but the Fish & Chips were just ok. A great place for a large party on a summer day.

BBQ is solid, service was abysmal. Your staff is stretched far too thin for the crowd. Waited 45 minutes for our last round of two beer and the check. Never came, we had to go inside to pay. What a joke. read more

If I could give them zero stars I would. DO NOT BRING YOUR KIDS HERE! Even tho they say they cater to kids in the backyard, no way. The owner is by far one of the worst people ever. He is so mean, will cut you off, will say "I will sit you where I want" even if he has room then he'll tell you "we don't have room just leave." Like he did to us. Unreal. Probably one of the worst experiences I've ever had. DO NOT GO. Do not book any party with them unless you want to get mad, do not go for dinner, just don't go. Not worth it. He is so rude, do not give him your money. Thanks Hawthornes for solidifying why we shouldn't come back as well as every group of friends, baseball & football teams, and family we have. They'll not be supporting you at all. No way will you ever see our business again. Good luck if you try to go, just go past and find somewhere else read more

Everything about this place is amazing. Our baseball team had a 3 hour wait till our next game and found this place nearby. Not only were they able to accommodate 30 people, but the food was great, staff nice and had a great outdoor area that the players could hang out and play games while the parents enjoyed the live band. Highly recommend. read more

Hawthorne's Backyard Bar & Grill - Outdoor Bags - Bars Near Me - West Chicago, Illinois

Food and atmosphere is good although the other evenings I ordered a full slab and was very disappointed with the size. It wasn't the normal length or width I had been accustomed to from Hawthorn Backyard. Given that this is a BBQ establishment, the taste was good the portions not so good. read more

Overall nice neighborhood restaurant and bar, burgers, bbq, fries, the usual. Service is nice but can be slow at times even when they're not over busy. Food is okay nothing fancy or wow factor. The draw here is their outdoors is like a giant backyard with tons of outdoors games and a playground for kids. read more

Super fun place. We had a large group and Alma was a great server! Would definitely go back.

Had a great time here, food was good and staff was friendly. The outdoor patio is large and inviting, it does feel like you're in someone's backyard. It's surrounded by trees and backyard games (bags, giant beer pong, playground, etc.). There are 2 large tents that were hosting private parties. Wings $14.25 - 10 wings, sauce or dry rub option, only 1 flavor per order. Tasty, lightly breaded and crispy on the outside. Ribs $17 - Fall off the bone meat. There were 2 choices in soup that comes with the entree, I went with the tomato artichoke and it was good. This came with 2 sides, I chose smash potatoes (which is just fancy mashed potatoes) and apple cobbler (which is just sliced apple cooked in sugar covered in crumbles). They were ok, I would have preferred fries or tots, which are also option for the sides. Coors Light Draft $3.50 Bags for the corn hole game are available at the inside bar with a picture ID. .|\---/| | o_o | .\_^_/..2022 read more

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Its been awhile but Hawthorne's looks to be back on their game. I ordered a full slab rib dinner, pulled pork sandwich and brisket dinner for a birthday dinner. They did not disappoint. Going to consider trying fish fry again. read more

Good bar food. Best to go when you can sit outside. The inside restaurant is a little dark and dated.

The food was okay. Service was good. It is a sports bar. They put the ND game on for us.

Went to see a band but it got rained out. Stayed to have lunch. Large portions. Fast service. I had tomato artichoke soup which was different but not bad. Friend had the chili which had a BBQ taste. My southwest salad was excellent. Friend's Woodsman Nacho with pork was very filling. We'd go back again and hopefully hear some music. read more

The food here was very good. Went here on a Saturday at 5 with 11 men. We waited less than 30 minutes to be seated- very fair for a group this large. Our waitress was hustling- she did a great job. The outdoor atmosphere was very unique and fun! I absolutely recommend Hawthorn. read more

Awful service. Our waitress was nice, but the guy running the food to help her was nuts. He was screaming in our ears the food orders and scared everyone at our table (small kids). Then he dropped the food everywhere (instant karma). They did absolutely nothing for us to better the situation, but continue to tell us they have been having issues with him for over a week now! Why would you tell us that and then let him continue to work and bus our table when we are still sitting there?! No way we will go back. Food was blah anyways. read more

Hosted a large baby shower in one of the outdoor tents this past Saturday with a pig roast! The food was amazing! The tent area was perfect & beautiful. The staff is always wonderful from the waitresses & bartenders to the cooks & servers. The owner & his wife are wonderful people too. I can't say enough about the people at Hawthorns, the service & the place itself. All of our guests had nothing but great things to say. We were very happy with how everything turned out! Martin & I thank you all!! read more

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Ribs are fantastic and smoked. Prices are reasonable. The outdoor patio has great places and activity for kids and is great on warmer days to eat on the patio. read more

This is a nice, hometown place. The decor has a cabin-type of look with paneled walls and wood chairs and tables. There is a volleyball court and outdoor picnic tables and a traditional bar. We ordered a variety of entrees from soup, fried shrimp and blackened grouper. Everything was well prepared and delicious. read more

Arrived at 4:50 pm on a Saturday evening with a group of 4 for dinner and drinks. Were not allowed to go in the dining area which was empty, but were allowed to go to the bar area and order food. Very crowded bar and quite noisy. The bbq ribs were excellent. The cole slaw was nice, potato and salads were ok. The service was hit or miss. One great server, another was worthless. I would return read more

Sat outside by the toasty fire and had drunken gummy bear cocktails. I thought I wouldn't like the drink, but it was not too sweet and the gummy bears rocked! read more

I'm convinced that there is not a better backyard bar in the suburbs of Chicago than Hawthorne's Backyard. This place is fantastic! Now don't get me wrong, inside is nothing special; just your normal bar-bar (as opposed to a sports-bar). It's actually a bit uninviting. But the outside patio is the complete opposite! Not only is it expansive, with TONS of seating options, but there are activities galore! The night I was there they had a beach volleyball tournament AND trivia going on! Needless to say it was crowded (but not uncomfortably packed). In addition to the friendly and lively atmosphere, the menu had a little bit of everything and the service staff was on point. The food as well had my taste buds just as excited as the rest of me. To say that I enjoyed my visit would actually be understating it: this place is a blast! read more

We went there last week after a round of golf at a nearby course. We were sitting at the bar, a couple of us had menus, and one who did not asked the gentleman behind the bar if we could have a menu. He gruffly said, "well hello to you too", and threw a menu on the bar for us. Perhaps he was preoccupied but nonetheless, we were the guests. The food was good, but the service was less than the quality of the food. read more

Here for a conference, wanted some bbq . All I can say is very disappointed, lacked flavor , the "elote" corn was just butter and a little seasoning. I had to go to my hotel and use actual seasoning to make this descent to eat . A majority of the brisket was very chewy . I will say the smashed potatoes were okay . The waitress was very nice and got my to go order together fairly quick. read more

Hawthorne's Backyard Bar & Grill - BBQ beef brisket - Bars Near Me - West Chicago, Illinois

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My family and I came here after a few people recommended it. The pros: Large outdoor seating area with games and ambiance. Definitely a fun place to grab a few drinks and listen to music, play trivia, toss some bags, etc. The cons: probably the worst food I ever eaten at a restaurant. I ordered the Half Backyard BBQ Chicken for $18.50. The description states tender juicy dry rubbed chicken served straight from the smoker. Comes with two sides and soup or salad. I ordered the artichoke soup not knowing that there would be pieces of soggy bread/croutons within. The soup did not look appeasing, and wondering why soggy bread pieces would be inside. I didn't eat the soup. The main course was the chicken listed above. For my sides I went with the smash potato and steamed vegetables. The chicken was very rubbery lacking any flavor with a strange aftertaste and dry. The veggies were okay as it's hard to mess up frozen veggies. The potatoes had a strange film over them. Judging on the texture and temperature food it led me to believe that the kitchen heated up my meal in a microwave. I hope I'm wrong, but I know some places still incorporate a microwave in their kitchen. Our server was very friendly, but lacked knowledge of the food that was offered. She didn't really come check up on us, but in her defense it was very busy. Lastly my family member ordered a beer upon arrival and it took 40 mins for it to be served. They offer a large menu with plenty of different options. In my opinion this restaurant would thrive if they reduced the options of what they serve and focus on quality over quantity. In closing I will never return here again. I was very disappointed with my meal which I paid 20 dollars for and barely ate it. If you're looking for a fun place to grab a drink then this is the place. But I would avoid their food. read more

Lou, this place used to be the spot with exceptional service. As of late, quality has dropped way off. My bartender was Brenda and she was pretty rude and inattentive. Food was cold and below average, only good thing was the drink. I would hear the bartender and servers talking negatively about their tables in front of other guess. I get it,crappy customer are everywhere but don't let other customers hear your conversation. Over all i wouldn't recommend to this bar to people anymore unless you get some servers that seem like they actually enjoy being their. It's really Too bad, this place used to be great read more

Great place with exceptional service! We came in with. Group of 18 of us and though they had a private party they made sure to take care of us. We were sat quickly, and the services was even better. It was a great place for us to take our baseball team after a tournament! read more

I really like this place. It has a fun energy about it even though it is still the covid world. Our server was super friendly with great service. I started with the cream of gnocchi soup that tasted home made with kale in. My dinner was grilled salmon with a baked potato with all of the fixings and coleslaw. The salmon was a nice size piece cooked just right. The sides were tasty. My husband got the pork chops with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. All was really good! They have a lot options on the menu besides BBQ and different kinds of homemade drinks. I have been here a few times and never disappointed. I definitely want to go back when the weather is nicer and sit outside. So glad they made it through the covid shutdown. read more

Have been wanting to come here for a bit and finally made it out. The building seems almost cabin-like, with an outdoor seating on one side and the main indoor seating/bar on the other side. It was dark, but I know from pictures there is more on the outside. Walked in and was immediately greeted by a very friendly hosted us who gave us our pick of tables. The place had great music playing in the background, which was loud enough to be heard but not so loud that you couldn't carry on a conversation. Loved the interior woodsy decor and it was decorated with Halloween decorations. They offer a number of nightly drink and food specials and have events as well. Menu has a variety of options including wings, sandwiches, burgers, salads and entrees with a decent amount of sides. Prices are about average. Server came fairly quickly, but was very unfriendly, not even introducing herself. She got our drink order and apps and then was gone a long time. She came back to let us know the drink we wanted wasn't available, so we opted for her alternative old fashioned. It took a bit for her to come back and take our orders. Salads arrived first and I didn't care for the vinaigrette, so I waited for her to come back to get a different dressing. That took quite a bit of time, but was worth the wait. The creamy garlic was to die for. Salads were decent sized and the garlic was thinner than the thick mayo-based garlics that most restaurants have. It was light, but with a powerful flavor. Our appetizer was the bacon parmesan pretzel fries, which were pretzel bites covered with parmesan cheese, with bacon/green onion in the bottom of the dish with a side of dipping cheese. Pretzels were soft and chewy, flavor was great and the cheese was a great for dipping. For the entrees, we went with the BBQ Beef Brisket dinner with bean and cole slaw and the half slab of ribs with beans and mac n cheese. The bbq sauce was on the sweeter side, the ribs were fall off the bone, the brisket tender, everything was moist. The cole slaw was in a creamy sauce, also more sweet than tangy, delicious flavor and the mac n cheese was super cheesy with no runny sauce. More like a mass of curly noodles in a mass of cheese. The beans were also on the sweet side. The hostess, the busboy were both fast and friendly, but our server just seemed like she didn't want to be there, wasn't friendly, never asked how our food was, if we wanted any drink refills (she missed out on a bigger alcohol tab because of this) and was not around much. Even at the end, we had to ask the hostess for our check and pay her. Our waitress never came back and was super inattentive all night. We would definitely go back again, hopefully we have a different server or that server is better. read more

Their. Wings. Are. The. Best. I don't know what kind of magic or sorcery they are using to get the wings this crisp but...approved. We order wings from them every week and they are consistently delicious. It's a fun spot to go to, the outdoor patio is very nice and sand volleyball tournaments are a good time. read more

Hawthorne's Backyard Bar & Grill - Backyard wings with Buffalo Ranch dry rub - Bars Near Me - West Chicago, Illinois

The food was excellent as usual. Got the pork chops and they were perfectly cooked. The service was excellent.

My husband and I just got married there on 10/8/22. We rented one of the tents and it turned out beautifully. I was highly impressed with the staff responsible for our wedding. They did an awesome job keeping us on schedule. We had so many guests compliment the wedding and how well organized it was. The food and service was amazing! I highly recommend planning your wedding or a special event here, you won't be disappointed! They made our day so special and we are so thankful to Lou and there wonderful staff! Thank you! Matt & Heather Murrie read more

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First time we tried it got seated quickly but waitress never showed up so we left. Second time we tried it the mixed cocktails were very weak. Went up to the bar to get a shot and they wouldn't sell us one and this was the only round we had ordered. read more

We visited on a weekday for lunch. Our server was wonderful, and our food was excellent and a great value.

Excellent service, good food, fun atmosphere! We played bags and hung out by the fire after dinner. Drinks are nice, healthy pours. There were 2 parties going on, but our service was still attentive and pleasant. Looks like a great place to have a party' read more

Came here on a Friday night around 7pm for hub's b-day. Pro's: got seated quickly inside. Some of our meal was good. Con's: Had to ask for silverware and napkins, A/C was blowing on our table even though it was only 70 degrees outside (so-so ambiance), our drinks got low or empty and had to constantly look for where our server was to get refills. I had to ask where my cup of soup was as my husband had already finished his salad. Overall, we just had a not too attentive waiter unfortunately, but it appeared he had a larger party to take care of as well. Hubs got the ribs + burnt ends and he would not get their burnt ends again. I got the fish & chips, but probaby would not get again either. Overall, it wasn't the best dining experience, but clearly many people eat here, though maybe the fact that it was easy to get a seat at prime, dinner time was telling. Would we come back? Probably for just a drink or maybe try something else to eat. Waiters there definitely need to be more attentive and check on their tables more frequently to ask if anything is needed. read more