Coming to a new city you feel separate from what you know and the comfort of home. At Pippin's I felt like I was back in my home town bar. The food and service were amazing. We had the pretzel and sampler platter which were fantastic. John was our bartender and was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and made our drinks to perfection. I definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for good ambiance, great food, and incredible service. read more

The food was good as was the service, however they added a $3.50 service charge PLUS a 5% charge for food that they claimed was the Chicago food tax PLUS a 5% charge for alcohol that they claimed was the Chicago Beverage tax Plus a 10.75% sales tax. All this added $25 to an $85 bill for 2 people. When we questioned the extra fees/taxes they waived the $3.50 service fee but claimed the remaining were taxes so there was nothing they could do. The City of Chicago sales tax + food and beverage tax is closer to 11.75% not 20%. Therefore the restaurant is overcharging customers and passing it off as taxes. We won't be back and can't recommend this restaurant. read more

Dropped in while waiting for a late dinner around the corner. Sat at bar and ordered the stacked tots. Not what I expected, however good nonetheless. A little pricey at $12 but you're downtown Chicago in an upscale neighborhood. The spicy ketchup/aioli sauce makes the dish. Draft beer is cold with good local brewery choices. Staff exceptionally friendly and efficient. As a bonus, the Jameson distributor showed up and bought shots of the Jameson orange whiskey. read more

Pippin's Tavern - Stacked tots - Irish Pub Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My firm and an organization for which I serve as an officer co-hosted an event in Pippin's lower space. Everything was terrific. From our planning work with Sophia, to our interactions with the staff, up through the event itself which was outstanding. Great people and great venue. read more

Delicious food! Air conditioning was delightful I had the cod but did not take a photo it was perfectly cooked and the sauce was delicious. read more

Pippin's Tavern - Fish - Irish Pub Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Stopped to grab quick bites and we were just in time for the happy hour. Oysters were fresh but the sauce provided was mediocre. Ordered the small plate steak bite, which was $16. They weren't kidding about it being a small plate. Steak was far too peppery. The fries provided were great but there were less than a full potato's worth on the plate. The picture taken was of the plate before we started eating. The bulgogi sandwich was not my favorite- but that's my mistake ordering an ethnic food from a non ethnic place. The saltiness of the beef made no sense with the pickled hot chilis. Picked hot chili over took the picked veggies. I absolutely would not order it again. Is it a great place for drinks with your coworkers? Absolutely. But you're far better off getting food else where. read more

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Beautiful bar but very odd. Swung by for happy hour a little after five on a Friday. We had dinner reservations somewhere else so we thought why not have a cocktail and order some oysters to kill time and not really get full. After we ordered we asked to close out our tab. The bartender takes our card but doesn't give us a bill, maybe in hopes that we might change our mind and order more? We would never be able to ask because he abandoned our end of the bar to chat with the staff members on the other end. As we're wondering where oh where has the credit card gone we realize it's been about 20 minutes since we ordered and we still don't have any oysters. I know it takes time to shuck oysters, but not twenty minutes for six of them. Since we feel like we're being punked we try to get the attention of our bartender or any other bar staff. They're all in a little cluster at the end of the bar and in their own world. Finally someone comes to our end to grab something and we ask about the card and oysters. She goes to our bartender and then they start whispering to each other and looking at us. Are you conspiring to come up with an excuse about why the card needed to be held captive or why a snail was shucking the oysters? No clue because then they come over and are like here's your card we'll check on the oysters. Immediately the bartender comes up with the oysters and when he puts down the plate says "these just came out." I would bet money that they didn't just come out. They probably were ready but you were too busy chatting with people to notice. With our long lost card now safely returned, it was time to eat these oysters that somehow bent the laws of time. Well I would have been better off if I shucked them myself with a butter knife at the bar. Whoever shucked these oysters didn't have a clue of what they were doing. My first oyster was fine, tasted good. The second one wasn't shucked properly and I had to dislodge it from the shell. Annoying but whatever. Once dislodged I go to eat it and when it's in my mouth it feels off. I realize that there's shell fragments and spit everything out. These weren't worth finishing which is a shame because they were tasty, just poorly shucked. Overall a very odd place. Service was a solid C- and would only come back for a drink Lastly to the poor soul that was tasked with shucking oysters, please watch a video on what to do because whoever taught you to shuck didn't do a good job. read more

Swung by Pippins to quickly grab a few drinks while out on a weekend. We ordered the espresso martinis. The martinis were huge and really good. The service wasn't great, the bartenders were cocky. The ambiance was like that of a dive bar. It's a good place to quickly grab drinks and go but I am not sure if it's a good place to hang and grab food. read more

We enjoyed a nice meal outdoors tonight. My husband and I both had prime rib. It was cooked correctly & had great flavor. It came with mashed potatoes, veggies, and a choice of soup or salad. Our server was very attentive. Overall good experience. read more

Pippin's Tavern - Prime rib - Irish Pub Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Stopped in on a Monday evening and the place was completely dead. Maybe 1 other couple. Our waitress was great. She helped me pick out a wine and was very attentive. The food, unfortunately, wasn't very good. The spring salad was literally just leaves and dressing. The Italian dressing wasn't my favorite. The burrata was also only alright. Lacked flavor and the bread was a little stale. Overall, I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to go back. read more

Great location and atmosphere. Sat at the bar and had a nice time. Ordered French Onion bombs ( you get 3, so eat fast or order two). Try it! Bartender was attentive and quick to answer and help. Extremely busy. The basement has a huge room, maybe for renting out for parties or large group gatherings. Will definitely go back. We had beers and cider but they had a lot to offer drink wise read more

Pippin's Tavern - French Onion Bombs - Irish Pub Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This was a serendipitous visit after a hard day of shopping on Michigan Avenue and Oak Street. We were searching for a bite to eat. We walked in and we were blown away by the ambiance. It was a great looking bar area. Downstairs is a much larger seating area. It was happy hour (3 -6), so we enjoyed 6$ wine and $1.50 oysters. My wife had the Turkey pot pie and I had the Sage Chicken. Both were delicious. The service was excellent and most of the staff very pleasant. Look for Jess or Joey as bartenders. I highly recommend this very affordable and tasty restaurant! read more

Average food in a happening location. Happy Hour menu offered cheap but small charcuterie cones and draft beer. Close to Water Tower and Broadway Playhouse read more

Pippin's Tavern - Irish Pub Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Come here if you're looking for bad service and wrong food orders. Our waitress alyssa messed up the checks not once, not twice, but three times. She loitered at our table like she was being forced to stand there for hostage situation. Pro tip: don't take orders without a note pad if you aren't going to remeber them. Good ambience I guess? read more

We stopped in for a quick rest from shopping. Great service and atmosphere! Great location and a huge selection!! read more

Pippin's Tavern - Huge selection!! - Irish Pub Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I came here for Chicago restaurant week lunch. My1st course was chicken noodle soup, chicken breast that they used was dry even though it was in soup. I had the corn beef sandwich, it was good because it came out warm i didn't care for the marble rye bread the fries were cooked way too hard and the pickle that came with it was too salty. The desert was not tasty, basically a boring brownie with a weird consistency on top with walnuts thrown on top. read more

Pippin's Tavern - Corn beef sandwich on Marble rye w/french fries - Irish Pub Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came by on a Friday night to hang out with friends. Went with Golden ale made by Spiteful and a Negroni. My group was seated at high top. Friend ordered some of the bar snacks which were plated pretty but wasn't as filling as traditional bar food. Nice place to catch up with friends. The bartenders wear bowties. read more

Pippin's Tavern - Irish Pub Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Oh update Pippins.... I had so much hope and you fell flat. Why do you have TVs and no cable? Why would you make your own ketchup, ick. Why don't you have ranch? Such weird options.... The half chicken is good but takes 30+ min to prepare. The chicken sandwich is huge. Also 4% surcharge for some odd reason. Won't be back. read more

Dueling Pianos on Friday and Saturday 9pm-1am. They play every song that you request and its super fun! read more

Drinks were fine but had a lot of ice. Good espresso martini. The pasta three of us got was well-cooked, and the burrata appetizer was decent as well. With four people, two of us had the older holiday menu and two of us had the updated menu, which was confusing. Ended up choosing the Chicago Restaurant Week menu, and they brought out the wrong food for one of us and then it took 20+ minutes to get it fixed. We didn't have one server waiting on us - it looked like the wait staff was taking turns which could've been where the miscommunication on the food came from. read more

Best happy hour in the city love the charcuterie cups and craft wine deals! Would definitely recommend

Stopped in for a quick bite Sunday afternoon. We were quickly seated and drink order taken right away. Ordered the carrot salad to split for a starter. The carrots were delicious, but the grain on top was dry, hard and tasteless. As vegetarians, only sandwich we could order was grilled cheese. The entire sandwich was saturated in oil. It was slimy. Inedible. Ate the fries only, even though they were greasy, as we were starving. Server asked if we wanted them removed from bill. We didn't bother, just paid $18 a piece for soggy, oily cheese sandwich. If I have to ask to have them removed from the bill, I just won't be returning. Should have been done when we told her they weren't edible. Went home and made Lunch. Waste of $80 for one salad, two grilled cheese and two club sodas. read more

I came here with a pal because it was close to the crib and it was cold af outside. I enjoyed the service and the food. My drink was a sleeper I guzzled it down then it hit me a nice hit. I would go back it's cozy and a decent spot to catch up with with friends. read more

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This review is not based on the old Pippin's. This Pippin's review is for the new Pippin's on Chicago Avenue at Wabash. This place is a joke. It's like they're trying to be a Steakhouse but first of all, the space is poorly designed. An obtrusive egg-shaped bar disrupts everything as it takes up way too much space in the main room. The host was rude to us several times telling us we had to move down the line from the bar to accommodate his customers by the windows. We moved down to the curve of the bar and he came over and said "we needed to accommodate his big table behind us and to not get in the way" as we were standing at the bar on the curve. And the bartenders were barely visible. To see them, you had to look under their draft beer taps to order a drink. So obtrusive and again, poor design. The overall feel of the place is just cold, uninteresting and uninviting. I'm NOT a fan. And a friend I was with was scolded because he wasn't 15 feet away from the entrance to smoke outside. And then the same guy that scolded him, huddled in the same area to smoke next to him. We will not be coming back to this awful place...EVER. What an embarrassment to all the other great downtown Chicago bars/restaurants. Tourists beware. The original Pippin's was much better, even though it was a dive bar. It was a great Dive bar in the Gold Coast, which is rare. RIP. My guess is this place will not be open much longer. Look inside before you enter. This place screams "Don't come in here if you want a good experience". read more

A very nice place! We went there for drinks and appetizers, and they had a $1.50 oyster deal. Overall very lovely atmosphere, I would recommend! read more

Pippin's Tavern - Patio - Irish Pub Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This place feels like your local neighborhood pub. It's dim inside and servers are in suits. There is not host at the entrance and you just find a seat by yourself. We sat at a high top table, either the chair was too short or the table was too high. It was a little uncomfortable to eat off of and we felt like children sitting at an adult's table, haha. We got Smoked Bone Marrow for starters. There were 3 bones and comes with sourdough toast, onions and herbs. They tasted great together but we finished the bread and sides before the bone marrow. We got Bulgogi Cheesesteak Sandwich with fries and Roasted Halibut as our main dish. The bulgogi ribeye was fatty and umami; the brioche was sweet. I really liked it. The fries are giant! There were ~4 giant fries and a mini ketchup bottle. The roasted halibut was bouncy and had an unpleasant smell. The beans remind me of canned baked beans. I got Pippin's Draft Beer and I liked it (I'm not a beer person). It was on the sweet side, tasted fruity, and really easy to drink. We also got the Guinness Draught and it was bitter (for me) and tastes a like coffee. It's good for those who like dark chocolate/coffee. read more

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We worked with Sophia for a belated holiday party and it was wonderful! So flexible with menu changes, everyone loved the food, and the atmosphere was perfect for our group. Thank you! read more

Pippins is my absolute favorite place to come for happy hour. Love the oyster and wine deal here, it's the quintessential spot for a patio happy hour with a friend. Maria and Denise are a huge reason for this. Maria is the BEST. She always makes our experience fun, and Denise is a friendly face that I always hope to see every time I come back. Thank you Pippins! read more

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I want to like this place. I want it to have great food and drinks well because I live nearby. I stopped in for the first time the other night and ordered a house salad and played it safe with ordering a beer. The bartender was very nice and attentive. The atmosphere inside is clean and inviting. I personally enjoy sitting at the bar so I like how much bar seating is available. The salad was 6/10. The lettuce looked very fresh but the garnishes in the salad were weird. I would keep it simple with a basic house salad. I asked for blue cheese dressing and it was off. There were two solid balls of blue cheese just in the salad but you couldn't see it throughout the dressing. I did get a tummy ache near the end of the evening and all I had was the salad so I'm not sure. I would highly recommend removing the heavy tints from the windows so people outside notice that Pippens is on the corner. The sign outside is wooden and easily blends in. The windows are very dark outside making the place look closed or not even there. I think updating the signage and brightening your outdoor lighting would be a huge benefit as I believe you are in a great location. read more

Solid fish and chips and service. Friendly staff and tasty bites. I don't really get "Irish pub" from this place but there's an entire basement downstairs with performers that I had NO IDEA was here. Wish they had a sign on the street to let passerby's know. Really enjoyed it though and would come back. read more

This place seems warm and inviting from the outside but their service was quite the opposite. Our server seemed nice, but overall very ditzy. It took 20 minutes to receive sodas ordered for the table and the appetizers arrived after the food. They also forgot to bring out one of the entrees. Our server didn't check on us until we were almost finished eating. The person who brought out our food with the glasses was nice and had good customer service skills. The food was alright but nothing special and very mediocre. Service was terrible and would not recommend. read more

Great Chicken wings and Bloody Mary . I live in Miami Beach and love going to the old school Irish Bar .

This is a review 3 years in the making. I live two blocks from this place and have given it probably 15 tries in the last 3 years. It is a confused restaurant, they are trying to be a an upscale pub and have nailed the atmosphere but consistently fall short on the food. The food is fine , never great. I've had most of the items on the menu , I always leave thinking that was fine, never good. It's a great place for drinks. They need to decide wether to be a pub with good greasy pub food , or a good upscale Chicago pub like D4 ( which is very good), but they don't have the food to back that up. I've been holding off reviewing because I honestly thought they would be out of business by now. Great potential but please don't waste your dinner here. read more

Never have been treated so poorly at the bar in my life!. Bartender didn't acknowledge us, when we did finally ask for a drink, we were told they weren't a bartender and off shift in a few minutes. We had to flag down the bartender (who would not acknowledge us) to order food. Food came and just wanted a side of ketchup. Asked for silverware and the bartender (not sure if bartender or bar-back guy with hat and long hair) didn't even look up to acknowledge us. I was told by the bartender (same guy) "I'm not taking orders from anyone". I asked who are bartender was and he just gave attitude and said he wasn't answering anyone or taking orders and doesn't know who our bartender is. We left. Poor service is putting it politely. read more

DO NOT GET THE FRIED CHICKEN SANDWICH!!!! My friend and I both had it, definitely undercooked and horrible tasting, dealing with the stomach problems from it now. Saw multiple people around the restaurant trying to eat it and nobody could eat more than two bites. Super nice staff but honestly stay away from this place in general if you want to enjoy the rest of your day. read more

This was the worst meal, by far, I've ever had. The $18 chicken sandwich was soggy, over fried and inedible. The only thing worse was the service. Our waiter was impatient and rude. Do yourself a favor and go to the McDonalds across the street. read more

Hosted a large gathering over St Pat's weekend and it's so rare when everything goes right with these...well the staff at Pippin's ensured that myself and the group we hosted on Saturday had a blast. I got nothing but compliments on the service, how amazing the decor in the entire bar looked for the holiday, and lastly the food and drinks as nobody was waiting long. If you're looking to do a big group event with friends or work colleagues, I'd highly recommend reaching out to Sophia and her staff to plan so you too can hit a home run on one of the most fun days of the year! read more

Pippin's Tavern - Irish Pub Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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If you're expecting a traditional Irish pub, there are a couple of things you need to know. The first is that all the food here actually comes from the hot dog stand next door, so it leans toward hot dogs, burgers, nachos, and so on. Second, it's the sort of place that makes Irish coffee using instant coffee. So... yeah. Anyway, other than that, the ambiance is nice, there is an extensive beer list, and lots of TVs. read more

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I was surprised when I made a "pit stop" here for Happy Hour recently. It is really classy inside with a HUGE BAR (Large Square Sized with comfortable seats) and many tables with chairs. Think all...WOOD.....but classy "Mahogany" style wood-"Think...'Anchor Man'".... Ron Burgundy Style without the books and a jukebox played by an app! Anyway....there is a jukebox that uses an app...too bad it does not play all the time because the conversations by the patrons were pretty odd and none that I wanted to hear while enjoying an adult "Happy Hour Beverage!" Food is available via the establishment next door (Downtown Dogs)...from Burgers, Fries, Chicago Style Hot Dog, Nachos, Tacos, etc..you order and they bring it over after you order...otherwise it is really-"just a bar with beverages." FYI-Downtown Dogs-DOES have an extensive and diverse menu. read more

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Catching up on Yelp reviews in 2024. I visited Pippin's Tavern twice back in February for some drinks only as I was over at Bistronomic both times. I was there on a Sunday around noon before brunch and on a Tuesday night around 8pm. Pippin's vibe is a very cozy pub that is dimly lit and has a big bar. They have a good beer selection and I ordered their Old Fashioned, which was very good and they served it with a rock. Mine was a little different and it may have been a seasonal drink as it had ginger and it was served with a gingerbread cookie (maybe post-Christmas drink still on their menu). But it was very good, very sweet and smooth, and worth $16. Service was good and the bartenders have been friendly. Prices are normal for Chicago/River North. I haven't tried their food, but it looks good and I will have to try sometime. Overall, I really like Pippin's Tavern as it's a cozy pub. Definitely reminded me of one of my favorite Irish Pubs in Chicago, The Kerryman. So definitely try out Pippin's Tavern! read more