First time in Chicago I came here for a drink ended on the 3rd floor speakeasy part of the bar. Best time ever, great music, good drinks & awesome people. read more

Came in for apps and happy hour drinks and had an excellent experience. Not too loud or crowded and the servers stood out as super friendly and welcoming. They're happy hour specials were great, as was their beer and whiskey selection. We ordered the hummus and onion rings and they were great. I loved that hummus was even an option, it's usually hard to find healthy options like that at bars. We'd definitely come back here again! read more

Great pub to eat and drink with all ages of friend and family...parking not really an issue...prices very fair

i guess this is my rant about O'callaghans if you are not dressed to the nines or you find yourself "dressed down " on a random weekend this is the right place for you. i had something that passed for chicken tenders that tasted like rubber that was fried and hot yesterday But they do have mozzarella stix to die for. on the bright side its pretty tough to mess up mozzarella stix. They have a modern day juke box where there is a crapload of music avaialble but i took a look at the crowd and there were alot of dudes who looked like they could be extras on "Vikings" from the history channel. Lots of long flowing beards but no spears or maces. Some dude looked like he was wearing a grey onsie like he just woke up in his painting outfit seemed to order shots of wild turkey for his friends while my friend and i contemplated why we are even at this place.. I will come again to see if i can get into it. The bartenders are nice. read more

Wow ! Read some of the responses from Peter to customers comments and you will immediately know why you should never step foot into this dive ! I can tell you that I saw for myself that the bartender did not wash her hands after using the bathroom and NO - his excuse of using the behind the bar sinks did not happen and is not acceptable by the health department or on a customer service level! Disgus This place was practically empty (most people expect a full glass of beer when purchasing and you won't get that here) and it quickly became clear why in the first few minutes of entering - now reading Peter's responses (who is apparently the big shot of this dump) it explains why this place doesn't even deserve one star. Do yourself a favor and keep walking past this place - go anywhere but here ! Btw- go ahead Peter - add another rude, unprofessional response - you only help support that the truthful comments about this atrocious place are correct! read more

If it wasn't for the stench, O'Callaghan's would be a solid Irish bar in River North. I went to O'Callaghan's around 11:30 pm on a Friday with a couple of friends. The first floor of the bar was packed, so we hit the second floor, which was much more roomy and had open tables. The issue was, as soon as we got to the second floor, a smell of vomit and musk permeated the air. We had heard the bar had good nachos so we ordered them, and they were delicious, but it's tough to enjoy nachos with a nasty smell lingering around you. Maybe it was just a bad night for someone and the staff hadn't had time to clean up, I'd give this bar another shot. read more

O'Callaghan's - Gin and tonic ftw - Pubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

As an out of towner It feels like every Chicago trip has had a night we ended up here. It feels like a lifetime of stopping by after a night out in downtown Chicago My review is based solely on the late night after dinner experiences. We more often than not have to wait for a table and the wait is sometimes very long. Many times we have found open empty tables but they are not seating for some reason. The drinks are standard pub and the food is your classic bar food. I really would not call this an Irish pub at all. More like a local bar. Not much in the way of Irish offerings but a fun bar downtown. I do remember the place is usually pretty stinky with some funk in the air But it is a fun bar to attend. Its easy to get to and right down the street from the Marriott and a few blocks from the Embassy Suites. Something about this bar brings us in each trip and its always busy. read more

When your from the south, you're taught that if you travel up north, they will be rude. Well, my bartenders name was Matt and I'm convinced he is not from here. He calls me by name, accommodated my meal with a togo box right off the bat and my drink is never empty. I can hear him making conversation with others by their name and I just love it. Is the ranch great? Nope. Do I care? Nope. I'm staying for the great service. read more

Met the Bartender Ramon at a bar around the corner he told me to stop in for a drink. What a great bar everyone as super friendly and treated me well. Stop on have a cold drink and meet the locals. I will be back the next time I visit Chicago. read more

Had an amazing time at this place for The Taste of Chicago... I'd advise anyone to stop by for a pickle back!! read more

O'Callaghan's - Pickle Backs on deck - Pubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Hands down my favorite bar in the city right now. Great variety of drinks and food. The Pear Moscow Mule is so good! The staff is incredibly nice, caring and social. Never a bad time here! read more

Twas a busy Saturday night round downtown Chicago as we roamed the streets looking for some fun new places to check out .. Unfortunately, the crowds and lines were so crazzzy at nearly every place we wanted to check that we ended up at O'Callaghan's after bouncing around for nearly 30-45 min.... The lines were the shortest in our sight, so we thought what the heck lets check out this lil irsh pub! What a pleasant surprise! It wasn't overly crowded inside at all, the door men/bouncers seemed to be doing a good job making sure the small watering hole did not go over capacity... The service/bartenders were decent... the drinks alright... nothing amazing, but not horrible either. The prices were reasonable. I liked the old school irsh wooden pub look... we chatted it up with some other people who were from out of town. I would rate it an "average" overall experience, and I would definitely come back if I was in Chicago and ran into the same scenario where the lines were insane other places... so just poppin' in to hang for a bit. I would recommend others to check out O'Callaghan's - it's chill... read more

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The bouncer, Mike, here is awfully racist and rude. My boyfriend and I asked if there was cover and he rudely suggested we go to the library because we asked if water was an option (as people who do not drink) as a part of the two drink minimum. He not only called us cheap but followed up in our encounter walking back home by asked if we wanted a threesome in the bathroom. He continued to instigate and called my boyfriend cute 10 times and asked if we wanted to go to the back to hookup. After calling him out, he called me homophobic. The bouncer ruined our night and I would not recommend you go here. read more

This was the only bar that was open past 11 pm when I went to Chicago during memorial weekend. I was surprised how good the food was because it looked like a normal bar. Their chicken tenders are so good! My friends were raving about their pretzel sticks. The owners was helping out that night and was very nice. read more

Ronnie was right--the chicken and chips are delicious. I thought "Seriously? Chicken tenders? I'm [age humorously redacted] years old." But I went with it. Great drunk food--waffle-cut fries with the skins on and three lighly battered chicken strips, both in a generous portion. Only SEVEN dollars too. I got mine with some pretty good barbecue sauce, but their mustard sauce is divine (thanks Penny!). Otherwise, this is just a bar. They have some beer taps, some liquor bottles, probably one of those mixer guns (but I couldn't prove it), tables, a bartender, a waitress...yep. Nothing to recommend it besides the chicken and chips. Also, I found it laughable that their Beer of the Month special was $6.00. read more

Average sports bar! Stop by for a drink before running around river north. Great beers on tap but a bit dark for your everyday visit.

Extremely rude place. Tried asking for something and I was given an attitude. First time here, horrible impression

Oldskool Chicago bar in a touristy strip. It's nice to see relatively authentic, old places like this. It's an Irish bar, which I usually am not a fan of, however, this place does not push the "irish". Eh. Drinks are reasonable. Place is clean. I'd go back if I was in the area. It was quiet, good place to have an actual conversation with your people. read more

If your looking for a place where the employees are still forward focus of customer service and care about what they do this establishment is for you. Siren is one of the best bartenders out there. read more

Took over a hour on a slow night for a hamburger. 2 dollars extra charge for the drink tonight because I ordered ice?? No good read more

First time to Chicago with the wife and we just happened to run into this place while looking for a bar one evening. So glad we did. Awesome staff and great food. Was looking for a chill bar in Chicago with a laid back atmosphere and this is exactly what we wanted! Came here twice in three days because we enjoyed it so much! Thanks for a great time! read more

O'Callaghan's - Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA - Pubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Excellent bartender excellent martini and apps. We really enjoyed our evening. We arrived late in Chicago and this place is open until 4 am. We had a great time. Will be back. Thanks !! read more

After deciding to start a family in the suburbs, my husband and I decided we wanted to have one nice night with our friends. We came to this bar and when we went in, one of the servers asked if we knew there was an upstairs. When we said no, she said we should go up there. Once we got up, I saw an empty table so I decided to go to it without realizing our friends got stopped behind me. A bouncer saw our friend (the only black person in our group, who knows if that's relevant) and immediately stops him telling him he needs to go back downstairs. When our friend asked if he could just let me know, this bouncer immediately starts getting in his face screaming at him to get out. He cornered him and put his hands on him, pushing him down to the stairs. All because he asked if he could let me know to come back downstairs. We get kicked out and when I asked the other bouncer why, all he says is my "night is over" and to get out. The owner immediately approached us and said it's their misunderstand and the guy had a "bad day". We asked the owner if the guy could come down himself and apologize and then, the owner conveniently had other issues he had to take care of and left. If you question his reaction, you can see how he responds to other negative reviews on here as well. The bouncer certainly didn't seem like he had a bad day when we saw him hitting on other girls in the line. And mind you, our group of friends consisted of 7 people and he chose to make a scene with the one minority male. I so badly wanted to have a good night out but this place ruined it. The fact the owner wouldn't just make his employees accept ownership is infuriating and I will make a point of letting all our friends who used to come here regularly know that this place is not the "cozy tavern" they act like they are. read more

We came here on recommendation from a friend. Meh. This place isn't bad by any means...but I also wasn't impressed. I had the egg rolls and you could tell they were microwaved. Part of them were ok but other parts were like lava! So much of my mouth was burnt by the time I was done it was ridiculous. Aside from that they were pretty tasty. Even if they were from the freezer. My boyfriend had the grilled cheese and said it was your average cheese sandwich. Nothing to write home about. That pretty much sums up the whole experience...average. read more

O'Callaghan's - Egg rolls. - Pubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We were there yesterday for a late lunch, three of us ordered fish and chips, we were all very disappointed the fish had obviously been re cooked and was hard, it also had a strange taste.. my husband mentioned this to our waitress who informed us that she didn't make it lol. I gave a one star because they had Guinness on tap which was excellent. We will not be going back!!!! read more

Great neighborhood bar. Music could be a bit lower as you really need to lean in to hear anyone.

A small little pub on the Hubbard St strip. We came here as part of us trying to figure out where we'd like to hang out on a night out of exploring Chicago night life and after many, many, many drinks. The pub reminds me of pretty much every basic pub I've been to. We ordered our drinks at the bar and walked to the front to grab a table. We stayed for a bit and enjoyed conversation with some locals. I'm pretty sure we were joined by a group of swingers...can any Chicago peops confirm if this is a swingers pub? :) read more

O'Callaghan's is a fun and cool place to hangout. On our first time here, there were no seats until two opened up at the bar. I can't recall the song playing, but some random, lightly toasted guys started singing to it. Next thing you know, nearly everybody in the pub was singing and swaying along with it too. And, no, it was not Sweet Caroline! LOL It was both amusing and entertaining in a kind spirited, everybody's having fun, we're getting along with total strangers sort of way. Since then, we've been back many times and have even brought out-of-town guests here for drinks. Once some random people from Arizona started talking to us. They were bored at some of the more "up scale" places in the neighborhood, until they found O'Callahan's. They seemed to have a great time! And we were laughing with them about it! O'Callaghan's is a dimly lit and divey pub (said affectionately), which is what makes it fun. It's not pretentious; you can be yourself here. The staff also seems hip, friendly, and pretty attentive! I'm sure we'll be repeat offenders. read more

Worst experience I have ever had at a bar. Staff and security were rude and judgmental to my entire party for the duration of the time we were in their establishment. I cannot recommend avoiding this location enough. Please find nicer bartenders and bouncers or close your business. read more

Was just in an hour ago for New Year's Eve. We had a table in the back before my friend and I walked to the front to find our friend who was mingling with other patrons. Both our girlfriends and my friends brother were still at our table. One of the bouncers (blonde haired dude in the SnapBack who looked like a community college baseball player) got in our way and accused us of trying to walk out on our tab. He told me "I'm not stupid, I know what you're doing" and proceeded to say "get out of my face" when I got defensive, even tho this dude was being VERY aggressive. He told us how we looked suspicious because "we all left the table at the same time," despite us literally just standing there and talking, not heading for the door, and half our party still sitting at the table. Then, another worker stood over our table while we were trying to pay our tab even tho our waitress was there and the bouncer was standing between us and the exit I guess trying to block our way out. When my friend and I looked back at the bouncer he gave us the whole "I'm watching you" hand gesture. It was a good night with a friendly, attentive server turned sour by seriously shitty management. The manager went so far as to point out all the cameras in the bar when we got upset that they were accusing us of walking out. All over a 50 dollar tab. Who the fuck do you think I am. I will never again step foot in an establishment that treats me like a thief. read more

It's a pub with a variety of beers and bar food. We live just a few blocks away and if we just want a beer and a quick bite this is the place to go. They have soooo many beers to pick from so its unlikely you can't find something to drink. The food is basic bar food but good. I've had the grilled cheese, mozzarella sticks, fries and wings. All of which have been good. The prices here are super cheap compared to other bars in the area and the servers are super friendly and quick. We keep coming back! read more

What do you call an Irish Bar the day after St. Patricks? Empty Stopped by for a quick pint of Guiness. Looks like a fun place to hang out with friends. read more

We ended up here thanks to our rouge cab driver (i.e. lucky accident). It was the end of the night and all we wanted was a laid back/chill bar to end the night with some fried food. We snagged seats at the end of the bar and the bartender, Sam, took care of us. He immediately took drink orders. We ordered chicken nachos, which also arrived quickly in front of us. At the time we were pretty sure this was the most amazing thing we had ever eaten. In retrospect, the nachos were enjoyable, but probably not the best meal ever consumed. The chips were good and topped with guac, which is usually an extra on the order. Drinks appeared well made and we devoured the food. O'Callaghan's was just what we wanted. The four stars are based on the good experience we had on the night we stopped in. A big thanks to Sam for making it a good one. read more

I was reading other reviews about this place, and a man named Joe stated he liked the idea of an Irish pub being located in River North. I appreciate your opinion Mr. Joe, however I must respectfully disagree. I absolutely HATE that this is located here. It's such an awkward area to have a low key pub to watch a game. I was just at that horrifically upscale tiki bar across the street, and now I'm at an overpriced Bennigan's clone in one of the most expensive cities in the United States. Whatevs. Let's go on with the review. My friend group and I were insanely frustrated as everywhere involved a cover that evening. We were tired. We were out of cash. And damnit, we needed to be in a place that didn't make us feel less than for ordering beer. We finally ended up at O'Callaghans, and we were even able to score a table. That's not small feat on a Friday night. We decided to order a round as well as some snacks because we were kinda hungry. Bad decision. We ordered some mozzarella sticks and two pizzas, and I shit you not, we paid $20 for burnt grocery store Tony's pizzas. Disappointing is an understatement. The reason for 3 stars is that the server was very nice, and we met some interesting people to converse with during our time there. However the dinginess combined with the food quality (or lack there of), had us leaving within a half hour. Maybe I'm just spoiled with O'Malley's in Cincinnati, but this was a sore disappointment, and this place would never last outside of the high priced touristy section of River North. read more

Stopped in for beers nice atmosphere with brick walls to enjoys laughs and beers with friends. Service was good keeping our beers full and they were cold! read more

Nice, unpretentious Irish bar located on Hubbard with all the "see and be seen places". We stopped by here on Thursday night to have a couple of "ciders" and had a good time. It wasn't too crowded- we were able to grab a place at the bar and and relax a bit. Also not so loud that you couldn't carry on a conversation- but definitely a bustling place. Lots of choices of beer on tap. The place is long and narrow with brick walls and according to the bartender, the actual bar that we "cozyed" up to is over 100 years old. There is an upstairs, but the story is that it is for the "industry" folks who frequent this place. Too bad as I wanted to see the pool table! I hear that it is even better than the main bar area. Oh well, maybe one of my friends in the industry will take me some day! Nice atmosphere, a bartender who always could tell when I was ready for another (which seemed to be frequently the other night!), and a good crowd. Seems like a typical Irish pub to me! read more

We got here after the concert, and it was a way to ease into the night. They have decent bar food as the wings were pretty good, but I wasn't even hungry to begin with. Or course, this hasn't stopped me from eating again and again. They serve free popcorn here which is addictive and got me starting to eat in the first place. This would be a good happy hour spot, and there were still some late business guys out even when were were out there at 10pm or so on a Monday night. The prices are average and the waitress was attentive. read more

O'Callaghan's - us cheersing at a table at O'Callahan's - Pubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

In a city with many Irish bars, this is a feisty raucous bar that has strong drinks, great beer, and great food. The wait staff is friendly albeit wishing you would order a little faster. We found it easy to grab a high top on a Friday night and get some cocktails and enjoy the atmosphere. They do have TVs, not great to watch the game but a good distraction in case you need to check a quick score. read more

People seem nice in there. The fish & chips were very crunchy & thin, and not quite sure what the fish was. Not your typical Irish Pub Fish & Chips. Tots were recommended, but there were just normal old tater tots. Few selections for Irish beer (no Harp?). Overall not bad. read more

Listen, I'm a 21 year old with the mentality of a 52 year old man named Albert. When I look for pubs, I'm looking for a warm homey space to converse with my friends. Well me and my boyfriend found this place close to where we recently moved to and I walked in and it was a little to "hip" for me until I was told about the upstairs. By the way, Loved the bouncers. They shoot the shit with you like grown people should talk to eachother not sure why everyone giving a one star got offended by them. Learn how to joke around. But walking upstairs I noticed I was in pub heaven. It was quieter, music was less loud, less crowded and even when tables stated filling up it was still not as loud as the downstairs. The bartender was amazing and so nice. I didn't like a drink and he made me something else without question. He interjected into our conversation about cheese and we bonded. He really made the night worth going out. Me and my boyfriend definetly found our regular pub. And the kitchen is open so late!! Most kitchens close at 10pm but when I'm getting wasted at 12am I want a damn burger and by George I got it. P.S Peter in the comments here on Yelp is my hero I've been reading replies and it just makes me want to go back. This pub caters to all with a popping downstairs for the kids and a nice upstairs area for us older folk. Also CHEAPEST pub ive been to in the area so far, really is a super bang for your buck. Great food, great sevice, great drinks. 10/10 is now my regular spot. read more