TL; DR: Great decor and cool lights Great place to sit and have a pint. Would love to go back and have another. They have a cast cocktail menu and a solid draft list. read more

Local Option - Inside - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Fun local bar, good beer selection, interesting decor- liked the warthog over the bar. Interesting 666 vibe, especially liked the red lite in the toilet stall. read more

Local Option - Ambiance - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great selection of beer and Amaro. Music is great....Could be an awesome place if it had different ownership.

Decent drinks. Bartender kept pausing the music we played on the Touch Tunes without telling us why. Bartender took our menu after we ordered one drink (we noticed other tables still had menus). Just a lot of weird attitude. The decor is really nice, so I'll give it credit for that. read more

I am shocked by all the negative reviews about the service at this establishment. I had nothing but a great experience here as the bartender (and perhaps owner), Tony, was super friendly. He made some great suggestions for beer/food and we had some very friendly conversations. Overall, I also enjoyed the ambiance of the place. While I sway to a typical watering hole like this one, it has a lot of unique characteristics with its punk decor and old-school vibes. I didn't go crazy on the food but did have the, 'Wizard Wands' (aka cheese sticks) and they were quite good. Well fried and each had a good helping of mozzarella in them. Will definitely go back and hope that others see the great service & place that this truly is! read more

Mezcal margarita was out of this world- sinfully delicious! It's off their secret menu... had to flirt w the waiter a little bit to get him to make it for me, but he did eventually devilishly oblige. Only 3 stars because the bathrooms weren't quite as appetizing as the rest of the experience. read more

Love this place, I've been going here a long, long time very cozy very neighborhood and hip, but not too hip :-)

Disappointing experience. This place is a shell of what it used to be. They used to have great New Orleans staples like the muffuletta sandwich. They also sold their own beer. They used to play metal. Also, the prices were reasonable. Now, as of April 2023, the food menu is seriously trimmed down and no muffuletta sandwich, and the food prices are ridiculous. $16 for guacamole? $17 for chicken nuggets with no side? There is not an app or entree less than $16 that I saw. You can only sit down if you order food. Beer was also over priced and a lame selection. Telling that there were only a couple tables eating anything during prime time. I always thought this place gave the middle finger to the DePaul students as they were decidedly not a college bar. Now the place is giving the middle finger to everyone. What a disappoint. At this point, they may as well just turn into a sports bar and play top 40. read more

Came here for a beer after dinner and it wasn't that far out of the way. It was a Saturday night so I was expecting it to be pretty crowded but it was packed and unnecessarily so. The booths were closed off so everyone was crowded to the front. We swooped down on a table as soon as group left with our beers. The previous party had left their empties and with no one around we just brought them up to the bar, which seemed to annoy the staff because that's when they came in to take care of it. I ended up drinking two beers, one of them was theirs. But you ever feel judged for ordering an item at a restaurant? Like your taste is being questioned based on your drink selection? If not, then come by here and try it out. The bartender definitely didn't seem to approve of my beers, despite one of them being made in house. At this point, there are a lot of places that have good local beers, and there's definitely a lot with a metal theme, just go to those. If you want to try their beers, they package and distro now so no need to come down here to drink them. read more

Best wings anywhere, ever. However, guys, please go back to the black wall and metal Music and stop catering to the yuppy scum. THANKS! read more

I really don't think I was their main audience so take that into consideration. It has a punk grunge vibe with some very interesting dark beer (chaosmonger is a dope name). Extreme local feeling - seemed like everyone there were familiar with each other. Expect prices to be a bit high though read more

I've been to Local Option a few times now and I just love it. I've had a few of their cajun-esque dishes but let's be honest, the beer is where they shine. Local Option brews their own stuff and what they brew is potently high in percentage and deliciously good on the palate. They always have at least 5 of their owns tappings, as well as a ton of other local options...get it?! Local options! har har har. But ForRealTho, they have great options from Chicagoland breweries like Three Floyd's (yes we claim them), Revolution, Goose Island and many more. Right now, Exorcist is my favorite of their own beers they are serving up - a healthy 8.5% stout! They keep their beer list very updated on their website, so give that a look if you're interested. All the bartenders here are friendly and able to discuss beer with you so if you're not sure what you're looking for, just ask. Local Option isn't a huge place however I've always been able to grab a table or bar seat without trouble. They usually are playing heavy metal but I've never found it to be invasive to my conversations or at some outrageous level. Really it just adds to the 666 decor....there's also a giant boarhead - EEK!!! I love Local Option and I think it's such a great, non-douche-canoe option in the Lincoln Park area. Places like this are hard to find and I'll be back a million times over. read more

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I watched Terminator 2 here start to finish and then came back and they bought Predator on-demand for me to watch start to finish and then watched most of The Departed. Cool bar. Good food, great pilsners. read more

I have never written a review before, but this place made my friends and I feel so uncomfortable. I went with my husband and two friends from out of town here to get a couple drinks and play a card game that we enjoy. The staff was not very friendly to start, but we understood the environment and kept to ourselves. Then they started playing a movie that had repetitive graphic rape scenes in it on all of the TVs. My husband politely asked the staff if they could change the TVs as it made all of us women very uncomfortable. To which the staff responded "so what it's not real". We immediately left as it was clear that this was what we were going to be surrounded by the rest of the evening. Women screaming as they are violently raped by multiple men and murdered. Also the cocktails are $16. What a bummer that this was my friends neighborhood bar experience in Chicago. read more

Freshest highlife there is. Food is fresh and delicious. Excellent selection and chill atmosphere.

This is my go-to beer spot. Not only do you get the best assortment of area beers in the city, but the food is fucking fire. Kitchen closes at 11 pm. An absolute must. FWIW Chicken nuggets are legendary. read more

Local Option - My go-to spot for beer/grub in the Chi. - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

If you are looking for a place that will overchage you and then get mad when you question them on the bill, then this is the place for you. Tony Russomanno, the bar's owner, was such a condescending prick when I told him the bill wasn't right. Very unethical and would not fix the bill. Absolutely do not recommend and would not come back. Avoid this place at all costs!! read more

Amazing place. The dude who works at Big Star works here too and they don't kick me out if this place! I'm confused by the sign in the bathroom though. The sign reads "Employees must wash hands" but the big guy never came to wash them for me. I'll be back but I hate eating with dirty hands. read more

Definitely worth stopping in. It's a heavy metal/rock/biker bar with a pretty decent dinner menu option and in-house brewed beer. Started out with the 20 piece chicken nuggets which were a delight and came with a tangy bbq sauce. Then had the cheeseburger with tator tots and jambalaya for entrees. The burger was good and the tots extra crispy. I personally didn't care for the batter on the tots but could see people liking it. The jambalaya portion was huge and came with pieces of blackened shrimp, very plump juicy shrimp, and sausage. Be sure to put some hot sauce on it. Very extensive dinner menu beyond just bar food. If you're looking for a local gem, check out local option. read more

Local Option - Jambalaya in the front, burger in the back. Both delicious - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Good beer, but the food is incredibly expensive. But, still a cool vibe and worth it for drinks before or after dinner.

I had my first old fashioned here. It was so good that an old fashioned from anywhere else is just ok. The Dr. Pepper variety is my favorite! Other cocktails are also delish! And the food is great quality and always hits the spot. It's our go-to watering hole. read more

Service was absolutely terrible. came in with a group of friends and the bartender was immediately rude to us and had no cranberry juice for a vodka cran or ginger beer to make a Moscow mule (both pretty standard drinks at a bar). was told we were no longer welcome there and cancelled my order of fries but wouldn't let take my friends phone back she left up at the bar. left no tip but somehow ended up for $40 of charges on my credit card when all my bill said was the $7 for a beer? would NOT recommend or ever go back. read more

I visited Local Option last Saturday during a weekend trip to Chicago. I had the lobster roll and fish tacos which came with fries/tots. The lobster was apparently fresh according to the waiter and I really liked it. Huge pieces of lobster, tasted fresh and it was on par with some of the lobster rolls I had during a Boston trip last year. The fish taco plate only included two tacos but they were huge. I believe the fish was swordfish which is a bit a bland type of fish but it's a pretty good taco nonetheless. Tots and fries are standard bar fries that pretty much every restaurant serve. The beer selection is excellent particularly if you're a craft beer nerd. They only serve brews from microbreweries and I enjoyed a couple of different 3 Floyds beers including Zombie Dust. No tasters available is the only downside to this place. read more

Local Option - Lobster roll - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Staple in the Chicago beer world and almost as important a step back to when the 'neighborhood' was so milquetoast. Local Option gets in some great stuff and joint ventures in excellent beer. And to top that off the food is pretty good too. read more

Local Option - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here on a Monday and was bummed to hear kitchen's closed due to recently opening on Mondays again. Heard they have cajun/creole menu so it's a must try for me. Beer was great and prices were decent. Will definitely be back to try the food! read more

Local Option - Boar's Head literally..not the brand lol - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I know it's pretty well known in the area, we went for this big beer event, so i'm not sure which beers were there regularly, or which were just for the event, but either way I'm sure they have a good list. For food we had clams and wings, both good. The downsides though are it's cash only, and there's not a lot of space. Also the prices seemed a little high for the type of place it was. Service took kinda long at times, but it was crowded so I don't blame the staff. It was more just the cash only that sucked, especially when it's so easy for your bill to get high, so be sure to bring a lot of cash read more

Local Option - Mussels - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We come here every year after the Chicago Craft Beer Fest down the street. I love metal and they play some sweet stuff inside. Their food is always outstanding and beer is great. Love coming here. Wish I lived closer to visit more often. read more

Local Option - Local option is an awesome Metal beer bar/brewery - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A beardy beer bar in a non-beardy neighborhood. Local Option is located in the brometown of about every Michigan transplant in Chicago, which is pretty out of place considering how hipster it is. They've got good food, a great beer list and some super freaky art on the walls that reminds me of a Tim Burton movie. My only wish is that they'd print some tangible beer lists every once in awhile. Right now they only write in on a chalkboard in the front which is a little annoying if you're sitting in the back of the restaurant. Other than that one tidbit I'd say this is one of the better Lincoln Park bars if you're more of a Wicker Park type of person. read more

Local Option - Cool art piece on the wall - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I had a great experience here Friday evening and would definitely return, even though I am a gal who knows nothing about metal music. Trust me, this place was different for me, but I'm quite open-minded, and it helped that I felt rather welcomed there. Came for a later dinner and drinks around 9:30pm. The place was half occupied and it was more spacious than anticipated. Right away, I noticed the crowd was quite diverse, which was nice. Definitely no young college kids which was great. There were a few TV screens behind the bar, which I enjoyed to catch up on some SportsCenter. I got the jambalaya and boo got the steak tacos. These were quite tasty. Obviously, not super authentic but yummy in their own way. There were only two tacos, but these were quite massive, each being like a mini burrito. The steak was very flavorful and everything was cooked well and seasoned properly. Even the accompanied tots were above average. I was very satisfied with the meal. We tried quite a few beers, mostly of Local Option, as we have never tried them before. While most didn't suit my style, they were good beers. Very deep in flavor. I do recommend doing a bit of research on the beers beforehand, as they do offer a lot and the beer list on the giant chalkboard may be a bit hard to read. As a newbie to the place, I asked our waitress a bunch of questions, but I never felt dumb for asking, as she was very friendly and helpful. Even though she likely was judging me on the inside (as I was myself), I didn't sense any judgment for when I wanted a lighter beer. I enjoyed their pilsner (Outlawger). Overall service was quite prompt and efficient. This was a nice change of pace from standard burgers and wings and a generic local sports bar that frequent the DePaul area. Contrary to other Yelpers, I felt comfortable there and service was great. Décor is quite gnarly! Thought it was actually fun discovering all the 6's. For metal fans like my boo, he thought they played a good selection of music, so I do think this place can be suitable for various people. If you want good food & good beer & good service, then this place already surpasses many other bars. read more

Local Option - Jambalaya - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I can imagine this bar not being everyone's cup of tea (or pint of ale perhaps), but it did it for me. It's a bit of a metal bar, so if you're not into loud, aggressive music while you drink excellent beer, this place may not be for you. If you are OK with that, the place is a gold mine for the beer lover with a great tap selection and an expertly curated and properly stored bottle list that will have something for all tastes in beer. Well, perhaps excepting Bud Light drinkers. :) The staff are knowledgable and really enjoy talking beer and metal. We were well looked after and had a great time. I can't comment on the food as their kitchen was closed, but I was only there for the beers anyway! My only criticism is that they put all the tap beers on a blackboard as you walk in, and there are no printed beer lists for the tap selection. This is easily solved by snapping a quick photo as you pass the board. Voila! Instant beer list. :) Check the place out for sure. read more

Local Option - The draft beer list at time of visit. - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Was in the neighborhood and dropped in for lunch. It's like a fancy dive bar... clean dark metal-band decor, impressive list of beers I've never heard of, serving Cajun food what? Catfish poboy -- big hunks of catfish, though under-seasoned. yummy fries. Jambalaya -- few pieces of chicken, shrimp (de-veined, so not dive bar), sausage in a big bowl of saucy rice, filling but not as flavorful or substantial as I'd hoped. came with cheese bread but unfortunately it was rye and that's the ONLY bread I don't like Service is relaxed though I guess not very friendly, takes credit, lots of regulars. read more

Beer was fine, food was fine, but the service was laughable. Any question of ours was a huge inconvenience. Our waiter was miserable and disrespectful. My friend has a dietary restriction and when she asked what her best options were, they looked at her like she was crazy and gave her a curt response. I asked for a refill on water and noted that the cups were small and he said "It's not a cup. It's a glass." When it was time to pay, I asked if they took Discover and he replied "Absolutely not." I get you hate your job, fine, but don't take it out on me. I've had better service at lemonade stands. Get it together. read more

My friend and I had an impromptu lunch here on a random Saturday. Picked it purely on the basis of the four-star Yelp review. They have a nice beer selection and the server / bartender was very friendly and also very helpful. The food was mediocre at best. Very generic, not much flavor. We ordered the blue crab quesadillas as an app but the waiter had forgotten to put the order in. After our disappointing food we reminded the waiter of the quesadillas. Unfortunately, the blue crab quesadillas blew. The other food was OK I guess - freshly prepared but not inspired at all. read more

Local Option - It was ok. Didn't like the crab thing. - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Awesome selection, really neat atmosphere and the bar tender we interacted with had great taste in music and beer. This was one of the highlights of my time in Chicago. So why 4 stars? Because they were selling an infected batch of Green Flashes Silva Stout. When my friend asked for the Silva Stout, the bar tender said "it's not a typical stout, it has butterscotch notes." Yeah, that means infection. Diacetyl is not supposed to be in that, or most, beers. I have had an uninfected batch before and it was excellent. They should have returned that keg to the distributor. I find this to be an unacceptable practice and almost left after he said that, but I was too impressed with the remaining selections to not stick around for a while. I suppose this is just something to be wary of and this issue aside, you can have yourself a great time. read more

We've heard about The Local Option before but for some reason hadn't made it in. We just so happened to be walking past it one day and decided to stop. Why did we take so long to come in??! If you're looking to drink Miller Lite keep walking. As a matter of fact, the only "Macrobrew domestic lager" beer they have here is The Champagne (pronounced "sham - pag - nee"). If you like good beer you may be overwhelmed but delighted by the huge selection. We spent a few hours there and had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Tony. He's very personable with a great laid back no frills attitude. He knows a lot about beer and I couldn't believe that the owner of such a cool place was so young! We didn't eat but I've heard the food is fabulous. I'd definitely go back to The Local Option, next time I'm going hungry. read more

Not much to say, I was told this was a heavy metal bar but my head wasn't banging. The bar itself looked so but the music didn't impress me. read more

Local Option - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Our first time here! Great bar, despite my first impression. I had to use the bathroom when I first walked in. The bathroom was gross. Really dark, two open urinals, and the only light? A ceiling bulb that is red. The bar has a '666' sort of vibe going on throughout, and there's writing on the walls of the bathroom. It all left me feeling creepy. After the bathroom, though, all was great. We only drank their house-made brews and all were really good. The vibe is really cool -- we loved all the stickers, the logo, and the boar's head. The bartender was doing 1,000,000 things and was still incredibly attentive to everyone. He was bussing tables, making drinks and taking orders. The food was also great. Very unhealthy, but delicious. We had the chicken sandwich w/slaw and the Italian sausage w/green salad. The green salad was skip-worthy, and I love salads. The cole slaw was "creole" and ended up tasting weird a couple of bits in. The main proteins were great! The Italian sausage was sort of baked into a role, and then it had a thick layer of cheese baked on top of it. read more

Local Option - "Italian Sausage!" -- something that she said - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This is a fun spot embedded in a nice neighborhoody area of Lincoln Park. It kinda reminds me of what spots were like in Lincoln Park before everything went hyper-expensive and chic - The Local Option is unpretentious, fun, a little obnoxious, definitely edgy. Beer Tap: probably the best in all of Chicago. Really. If you are into the beer scene, this is definitely a spot to check out. The lineup changes frequently, so listing out highlights is somewhat pointless. I must say though that I had an Imperial Stout that blew my mind. Kinda like drinking a liquid chocolate brownie. We had a party of four, we got a booth right away, the server was helpful and friendly. The food is fine. It is barfood that is a little amped up and interesting, but it is decent, inexpensive barfood. It is fine. So don't come here with the expectation that you are going to be writing a food critique. I mentioned that it can be a little obnoxious. Someone behind the bar seems to think it amusing to really crank the music at times. Chalk it up to hormones. But come here to enjoy the beer list. They are serving stuff here that you will not see anywhere else. Eat if you are hungry. And enjoy Lincoln Park. read more

Local Option is all about perspective, and my perspective is that their beer selection is the best in Chicago and the heavy metal theme only makes that experience even better. If you like Three Floyd's beer then you'll be in good company - they always have Zombie Dust flowing and a few other to accompany it. The few others range in hard to find Three Floyd's beers that you typically only see at their brewery. They also have a large variety of international beers which the bartender usually will tell me "we're the only bar in the US that currently has this beer on tap". I don't know what type of beer network they've built, but they are killing the game! The food here is also pretty tasty. I will be honest, my 5 stars stems directly from the beer and metal environment, but I have enjoyed a decent po boy here as well as the cajun wings. On Mondays they have in house hot dogs where you get one free hot dog for each beer you have. One of my favorite memories at Local Option is when they played the entire Dark Side of the Moon album while my friends and I enjoyed a night of many beers there. It brought back many psychedelic memories to say the least.... Pro Tip - go with the expectation of getting amazing beer and meeting new people, put your social norms aside and embrace new cultures. read more

I was looking for a Creole/Cajun spot and this was just what I was looking for. It's not a large place, and you could certainly pass it if you weren't looking for it. Surprisingly, after the times my friends and I have been around DePaul campus we hadn't yet been here. There is a lot of great options for beer here. The bartenders/waiters are really helpful when it comes to making a selection, and what is on draft can be different whenever you come in. I liked my beer but the name escapes me. I did get the Jambalaya, which I have been craving, and it was piping hot and really spicy and tasty. I think the prices were just right, and I'd like to come back again. read more

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