Was in town on a tour and was told to check this place out. First off the beer selection was less than exciting. Mostly bottles. The decor and atmosphere is really the bright spots of this establishment. We all had a very bad experience with the bartender. The bartender had an English accent that changed as time went on. When we asked where he was from he got very offended. So i decided to order my next beer with my normal Irish accent hopefully to cheer the guy up. He spoke up and it finally came out that he was pissed about the tip we gave for the first round, which was $4 on four beers. Which I thought was standard on bottled beers. Also he gave no input on the local beers. If this was my pub I would fire this wanker or send him to some personality classes. This visit totally ruined our Chicago pub experience. Not only were we upset but this stuck in our minds from pub to pub. read more

Went in just to drink some beer. The bartender was super knowledgeable about beer selection and gave us a lot of good recommendations on our flight. They have a wide selection of beers on tap and in bottles: probably a dozen on tap and tons of cans/bottles. Didn't get any food so can't speak to that. read more

Only gets its stars for the beer. Stay away from the rot azz food. A guy walked into a freezer and cooked our lunch. Don't do it but order some tasty beers! read more

When visiting Chicago and staying downtown I normally go to monks pub once during my trip. During my visit to the pub this time, the first night was nice. The younger man working behind the bar was extremely helpful. The woman who took over for him was clearly not as happy to be working but that wasn't a big deal. The next night we have had a group of 10 who wanted to get beer and some bar food bites around 9:30 pm. Yelp told us Monks pub was open until 11 pm, longer than most places in this area. We were all excited so we ran over. To our surprise, both bartenders behind the bar would NOT let us order food at 9:40pm. We ordered food past this time last night? Since I've worked in this industry, I went to the cooks and asked what they were willing to make us so close to the time the kitchen was closing. They made us a list but the bartenders were extremely unhappy they told us this. I then argued with the bartenders about the food once we were given it. If your kitchen closes at 10. It closes at 10. Not 9:30 or 9:45. Thank you to the kitchen for willing to give us food past 9:40 pm. read more

If you find $30 floating in an inch deep puddle and don't mind spending it on two mediocre beers and pork sliders that wouldn't even be considered tasty if they were pulled together using the only salvageable ingredients found two years into a worldwide apocalypse, then baby, you found your place. Now if you like that kind of thing, then please, don't let me detter you, but I also hope that you enjoy a waiter that checks in on you dos amount of times - once to take your order and twice to bring you the check that holds his inevitable, hardly - and I mean hardly, hardly, hardly - earned tip. If all of this wets your whistle and piques your interest then you've found the Rolls Royse of dark and dungeony nightmare pubs. Peanuts were good: one star. read more

I went here last Thursday lunchtime to watch the second half of a soccer game. I asked the bartender if he could put on the relevant channel and he abruptly said he had no idea if they carried the channel or not. I asked if he wouldn't mind checking to which he responded that if it was for soccer there was no way he would put it on. I asked him why and he said he just wasn't going to put it on. I understand that soccer isn't to everyone's taste, however there didn't appear to be anybody watching the regurgitated ESPN highlights so I doubt anybody would have minded. Far worse, however, were the bartender's manners or lack of. If its policy of the bar not to put on soccer then that could have explained to me in a polite manner. If it was just the bartender's policy then that's something completely different. I work weekends as a bartender myself, I would never treat a customer with such disdain. Working so close to here, Monday to Friday, would have made Monks an ideal place to get lunch on a regular basis as well as a couple of drinks after work from time to time. That will not be the case, however. I will not be back. read more

This place is great for after work happy hours! They have a great variety of drinks with at least one special each day. They provide complimentary shelled peanuts that the drunkards' can un-shell, eat and toss the shells on the floor (yes throwing things on the floor is fun!). Besides the free peanuts, they have a full menu. When I was there with my coworkers we got the Monk's Snack Attack platter and their loaded tots and all of the appetizers were really good (at least to a buzzed person). The service is decent considering this place gets packed really fast! If you do not get there by 6pm you can be 87% positive that you will not have one spot to sit at and will have to stand around in the crowded room. All in all a great place to get a few drinks after work and then go somewhere more civilized and spacious. read more

places for a low key burger and beer are pretty few and far between. monks is a solid after work bar and a nice option to have for lunch. i don't think that i would spend more than an hour or two here, but it's great that a place like this can survive with all the corner bakeries and mcTapeworms around. keep it up monks. read more

This is a good place to go after work for a drink but be warned, it gets crazy busy in here! The drinks are OK, don't get a martini here though, it's not "that" kind of bar! Good for lunch too. Reasonably priced and decent service. read more

A fantastic beer selection, and really friendly & helpful staff! Can't wait to come back and explore more.

Let me preface this review with a simple fact about me. I have a strange fixation with dirty martinis. That being said, I don't care where I go if they have a bar and olives they should be able to make a passable one. A coworker and I came here after work to get a few drinks. My martini was served with the olives on a cocktail straw (what not even a toothpick?) and was pretty much straight vodka. We sat with empty drinks for 5 min before doing the obnoxious head nod/shake/wave to ask for another when we were seated at a pretty empty bar. A plus, they serve peanuts. Negative, they don't serve fresh peanuts. We had a half full bowl with mostly broken shells. I have no idea if the table service is better, but when I'm seated in front of your face I kind of expect a little more, like attention. However, I do like a place where throwing things on the floor is encouraged and will not get me escorted out. The decor made me smile. We didn't order food so I can't review based on that. But I can tell you the hot pocket I ate when I got home was great. It's an OK, laid back place to go in the loop after work but I doubt I will be back. read more

During the weekday - we wanted to go to two other places, but they were JAMMED PACKED for happy hour. It definately doesn't seem like we are in a recession. So, we headed to Monk's and there was one table left. Got buckets of beer, smaller version of the original burgers, and yummy curly fries. Before we got the food, we were STARVING, so there were baskets of peanuts. Laid back atmosphere and our waitress only came by like 3 times - to take our order, drop off the food, and then the bill - kinda would have liked to fill our water sometime! read more

My old friend Paul (and by old I mean over 50, for those who need an occasional reality check) always likes to drag me into this joint whenever he is working in the Loop. Maybe because he likes to be ignored by women, including his own wife. If you know what you want to order, do so quickly. If you don't know what you want, or if you just like to waste the server's time just for the hell of it, then you will wait all day to be served and it will have served you right. I have to give it three stars because they do actually make a decent burger. No chi-chi rich west loop burger by any stretch of the imagination, but just a damned good solid diner burger: meaty big & bouncy. Bouncy = pliable and pleasant to chew - not rubbery. Got it? Good. Now onto the fries: greasy but yet cut thick and somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Slaw is awesome, they've got that one down pat. Paul always orders the fish and chips and then pimps fries, pickles and sides of beef off my burger basket because his old lady is a nurse and won't allow him or their three boys to have beef in their house. So I feel sorry for the Paulster and let him pick at my food - there is nothing sorrier than a man who is not the king of his own castle. And besides, he always pays for lunch. The beer here is a bit pricey, but then again, this ain't no Old Town Ale House. It ain't no party or no disco, either, but if you want a quick no bullshit lunch, then by all means drop on in and indulge. read more

Decent food in a dive type environment. Prices are reasonable for downtown but the place can get crowded fast. I would not recommend for a work time lunch in less you have well over an hour to spare. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit. read more

While a friend of mine calls it a "dream place", I really think it's only a 3-star at most. I liked their beer selections and the decor. I also liked the fact that you toss peanut shells on the ground - although I didn't really like the peanuts... I ordered sliders and wings for our table, but neither was very good. I was very disappointed at the sliders. It was like you wake up at night, feel hungry, decide to do a quick burger, and throw in whatever you could find in your fridge - sloppy bread, some meat, some random cheese, now you have some sliders... Our waitress was also impatient, she kept coming back to our table and finally told us she had to leave (meaning we have to pay) early. While it is understandable that she wanted to get paid, it was not cool as we were still hanging out. read more

We had a great time at Monks. We ducked in out of the rain and had a few beers. Sam (waitress with pink hair) couldn't have been more attentive. We''ll be back! read more

Only been here once. The inside looks really cool and it is definitely different from other places. Good place to get a couple drinks after work. Nice wait staff. I tried the burger and it was pretty good. Their fries are really yummy though! mmm. read more

This place makes me feel like Harry Potter or a wizard lives here :) It's dark, with little sunlight, with book cases covering the walls, and dark wood fixtures. My favorite thing is the basket of peanuts that they bring you, where you then fling the shells on the floor. This is definitely not an upscale bar, but it's quite fun for happy hour. I have to say that the food I've had there is not very impressive. Maybe it's my fault for ordering a salmon salad in a dive bar. The salmon tasted like it had been sitting in the freezer for years, then microwaved. It was cold inside and hard outside. So gross. Bad salmon aside, this is a really fun place to stop in. Fun crowd, and a low key place to unwind. read more

Monk's is a good choice if you are looking for a casual neighborhood pub for drinks after work. My biggest complaint is that the drinks are a little weak - last time I had to ask the bartender to make my drink stronger twice before it tasted like a real vodka Diet, and not just a glass of Diet Coke. I've heard the food is good - they definitely have a good selection - but I haven't tried it myself. read more

Just finished taking my national certification exam. Was nervous as hell and needed some beer to unwind. Amazing selection of beer. I'm a fan of sours and there was more than I could try in one setting. Bartender was super friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. Loved the food. If I actually lived here would make this place a regular. read more

Went here for lunch one afternoon with a couple co-workers. The atmosphere and idea is really neat. I didn't see anyone with the free peanuts, might just be a late night thing. They have a decent menu and an ok selection of beer. For lunch I ordered the fish and chips, within moments the food was already sitting on the table. I couldn't believe how fast they brought it out. I wish maybe they would of taken a tad more time, maybe the food would of been better. Decent place but not all that. read more

Not a bad spot. The name is definitely fitting. It's dim, very medieval looking and has lots of beer, so it's pretty much up my alley. I left a star out since I haven't tried the food there yet. Perhaps it's time to pay this place another visit! read more

HUGE beer list and awesome burgers. I love this place during the winter. Has a very medieval, rustic feel to it and it's nice to warm up with some suds on a cold winter day. The wait staff and bartenders are nice and down to earth. read more

f-ck this place. last Friday my coworker ordered a beer that didn't have the price listed. the bartender told her, "just so you know, it's a little more expensive." thinking she meant circa $10 (like any normal bar patron would), my coworker said sure. she ordered two more, and after the third one the bartender informed her, "Just so you know they're like $20." hold up, WHUT. so DUH that was my coworker's last beer of the night then my coworker got the bill - the beers were listed at $28 EACH. $28. for a beer. if $28 is "a little more expensive" for one beer, let's hang because that's straight up A-list hollywood prices for f-cking hops. as if that wasn't outrageous enough, the bartender (insert italics here) *added her own 17% gratuity* she was uninformed at best, totally deceptive at worst. we would have raised hell, except it took so long to get our food and it took her so long to get that insane bill and my coworker was so upset, we just left. hope the bartender enjoyed her ill-begotten paycheck that night, because it's the last time our office will have friday after-work hangs there because you know, we're not millionaires. read more

What's with the recent rash of $8 hamburgers? I like Monk's burgers, but I think I need to re-calibrate within my mind the average price of a hamburger in the City. That way, I will no longer balk at $8 hamburgers. Either that, or I need to not eat at places with expensive burgers or simply order something else. That's exactly what I did on my latest visit to Monks - and I highly recommend the grilled ham and cheese sandwich. It was not greasy at all and not dipped in butter like the ones at Silver Cloud. I always like Monks though, like many decent loops spots, it's really busy between noon and 1pm. Still, if you can get there at a decent hour, the wait usually isn't too bad. The service is pretty good most of the time, and if you go after work, you can still just throw your peanut shells on the floor (which has become less commonplace, presumably since people started slipping and suing). read more

I went here a third time today and actually ate. We all split mozzarella cheese sticks, which were tasty and went quickly. I had the portobella mushroom sandwich and it was very good, but I think I'd skip the hummus next time. The flavors combined with red pepper was not the best to my taste buds. Everyone else enjoyed their food and it all came out really quickly even when it was pretty busy. Good job filling my tum, Monk's. Being there and not coming out covered with smoke = awesome! read more

Monk's is not my favorite place. Smokey, hard to get a drink and very greasy food. It is tough to find something on the menu that is not fried - even the veggie burger is fried! You do get a basket of peanuts on your table and you can through the shells on the floor which adds some fun to this otherwise dismal place. read more

This little pub is a gem. It has that old classic I am here to enjoy the booze appeal. The burgers are great and they have Stella on tap. That pretty much completes my review. I mean honestly what else is their to say! read more

Great beer and great food. Serves mainly burgers and sandwichs. Open late unlike most places in Chicago. read more

Monk's Pub - Cashmere Hammer Nitro followed by Extended Aged Stout - Pubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

had a fantastic time, the sliders were great. and Trevor the bartender was incredibly knowledgeable great prices as well read more

There are three reasons you should come here. First, if you like beer. Their selection of beers and ciders are great. Second, the bartenders. The knowledge of the beers are amazing. You can give them ideas on what you are in the mood for and they come up with something amazing. If that wasn't enough (it should be), then you get to throw peanuts on the ground. Their food is good. Certainly not best in category, but good enough you'll be happy you chose it. Great after work spot. read more

Didn't even get a chance to experience this place. Our party was greeted extremely rude and given attitude with every order. We walked out after the bartender told us we were waisting his time. Will never go back! read more

Went in for a burger for lunch on the recommendation of my brother- he doesn't get to pick lunch spots anymore. I didn't expect much considering it was a lunch crowd- loud bro-ffice crowd, but I was hoping the burgers would make up for it. We both got their signature "The Total Burger" ($11), and I was not impressed one bit. It's supposed to be a quarter lb been pattie, with tomato, lettuce, onions, cheese, mushrooms and bacon. What I got was a quarter lb pattie, was wilted lettuce, a few bits of mushroom and some frigid bacon. I don't expect fresh crispy bacon from a place that busy at lunch hour, but cold limp sad bacon? No way, not for $11 bucks, plus what of the tomato and onions? The fries were run of the mill fries too, nothing you wouldn't get at any old burger joint. Service was quick and friendly enough, and I did not get to experience much interaction or the peanuts that everyone tends to highlight. Basically if you want a comfortable, tasty, well valued lunch- this is not the place. In the evening, after a few beers- more likely. read more

Very unfriendly staff, would give them zero stars if I could. Yelled at us over peanuts, shouldn't treat people this way let alone customers. Worst first impression, would never set my foot in this bar again. read more

I recently had a lunch with 4 coworker's at Monks. They refused to split the check. To me this is the equivalent of poor service. The waitress knew how to split the check, and their check out system had this function, however it was their policy to not split the checks. I challenged this with the waitress, but again she refused to split the check. What poor horrible service. How can you expect people to want to come to your bar as a group when you are unable to split the check? In addition, despite the fact that we only had 4 people on the table, they added on a mandatory 17% service charge. I have seen this added if the group size is 6-8 people, but not when it is 4 people. This really shows their faith in their wait staff if they have to add a mandatory service charge when only serving 4 guests. Definitely will not be going back to this place. Elise read more

Good beer selection, crappy service. Sat for 20 minutes before receiving any attention. Another 20 minutes before drink orders were served. In an hour and a half the server visited us 3 times. Poor service. Maybe just a bad day? read more

So I went went here for the first time this past Tuesday and I ended up there last night too. This place had me as soon as I saw the peanut shells on the floor. Is it the best place ever? No, but it's a good standard dive tavern type place. There are quite a few Belgian-style beers to choose from (including some from Begium) and standard pub food fare. I tried the Total Burger and California Burger and there were both good, not great, but good. Tasty fries. The music is a good mix of rock with some 80s b-sides thrown in for kicks- yea! The decor is like being trapped in the hull of the Mayflower- but without the seasickness and scurvy. The whole place is wood top to bottom with barrels around the walls and books and stuff everywhere like it was also the reading room for the monks after they were done brewing beer. The service was great both times I was there. It's more of a happy hour place than anything else, decent location. Definitely worth checking out! read more

Went here on a date recently. Nice interior, cozy ambience. Waiter was kind of a dick about beer selection to my date, who ordered a Bud Light. I get it, it's a craft beer place, but you don't have to be so smug about it - a simple "I'm sorry, but we don't carry that" would've sufficed. Burger was tasty, and was on the table pretty quickly after ordering. Would give it more points if not for the snooty waiter. read more

For years, Monk's has been one of my go-to, reliable pubs. The Loop generally lags behind other neighborhoods in its bars-per-block ratio. And what "bars" exist are actually liquor licences held by fancy restaurants. Monk's is an honest-to-goodness pub, complete with free peanuts at every table! A large beer selection, plus regular "tap takeovers" and other events, add to the pub-ness. It's dim and wooden inside. Good service at the tables or the bar, and a full menu round out the experience. If time or distance doesn't permit you to drink in one of the neighborhoods, go to Monk's, you won't be disappointed. read more

So, I just got back from Monk's. We had a birthday lunch for one of my co-worker's there and the birthday girl decided we'd all have a round a Patron shots. Sweet! We get our shots, shoot them down, and ... NOTHING! As in, we got some Patron-flavored water - NOT Patron shots, as anticipated. We flag down the waitress (surely this must be some kind of cruel joke), and she looks at us wide-eyed and says, "I don't think they're watered down; I had them chilled for you." First of all, "chilled," means that you shake up the Patron with ice to "chill" the liquor - this wouldn't leave your liquor tasting like water. Secondly, she never asked us if we wanted it "chilled" or not. There was no option there. We asked to speak to the manager. The woman who seated us comes to our table and we explain the problem, expecting that she would rectify the error. Nope. She opened her eyes really wide and said, "I'm not giving you a round of free shots." No, lady, I don't want free shots, I just want the shots that I paid for (I should have said)! I don't appreciate the crazy eyes or the tone that she gave me. (Side bar: Remember that chick from Survivor who got her 15 secs of fame from her crazy eyes? Whenever she'd get really upset, she'd get all psycho and would peel her eyelids back so far that her eyes looked like huge melon balls in her head. Remember her? Yeah, THAT'S what she looked like.) I have no problem paying $18.75 for a round of shots of Patron for three people -- I do, however, have a problem paying $18.75 for a round of shots of NOTHING for three people. Not to seem like a sourpuss, I will still concede that their burgers/sandwiches are awesome. Their waitstaff, however, could still stand to be more attentive. We were only asked whether everything was okay once (and this is where the "you call these shots?" struggle began) and none of us ever got a refill on our drinks (I'm off the shots rant - I'm talking actual beverages here.). How sorely disappointing! Their beer/food is still worth going for, but don't get any shots if you don't want to pay shot-prices for watered down shots (excuse me, "chilled shots") and don't expect to be treated like you're a valuable customer, because at Monk's, well, you're just not. read more