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Queen Albert Diner & Lounge
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
8 reviews for Queen Albert Diner & Lounge
Like other people said - this place is a dive bar from Metro Manila transplanted to Chicago. I watched the past couple Pacquiao fights here too, and got there early enough to secure a large table for my group. It was *awesome* - there's more Tagalog than English being spoken, and the shouts of "sige pa! sige pa!" made the fight more fun than actually going to Vegas and seeing it live.
We ordered a lot of food to feed our large table, and everything was excellent. May be the best kare kare I've *ever* had. And they have sisig!
Some Pinoy restaurants in Chicago are good in a very tasteful and formal way (Filipiniana comes to mind, or Isla Pilipina's food presentation). This place is good in a very effortless and natural way - you can just tell how much the owners care about it and the community itself brings it all to life.
OMG OMG OMG. have you ever visited the philippines and gone to a local bar in manila and order a san miguel all peacefully, but then some dude with a toothpick in his mouth wants to fight you, and after you quickly dispatch him and his posse of bad guys, only find out later that your teacher started all that mess just to show freddie lee that you deserve a chance to fight tong po in a match with glass-shard fighting gloves? oh wait, that's van damme in kickboxer, scratch all that..
After a friend's bday party, i stopped by just out of curiousity, and it was like I was visiting the philippines...to put it in perspective, I've been DJing at asian parties and asian n filipino crowd nightclubs since 1998 and everything i've seen thus far doesn't even come CLOSE to the atmosphere in queen albert. it was just like visiting metro manila again, minus the bad guys with toothpicks in their mouths. and in true filipino fashion, i end up running into people i knew, and even the bartender knew my childhood buddies.
the food is great, the customers n staff are very friendly, the drinks are really good, and surprisingly the karaoke singing is pretty good too. On top of that, it's right in my neighborhood, on irving park west of kimball! WHAT! i could see myself coming back here n becoming a regular from here on out - i bet my tagalog is gonna get really good too. pure WIN!
I've waited strategically to write this review AFTER the Pacquiao v. Hatton fight because I didn't want you all to encroach on my Filipino-pride boxing match territory. Too late. I couldn't get in for the fight. But that's okay, my friend had pay per view...and I'm camping out here next time.
I came here for the preceeding Pacquiao fights: De La Hoya and Diaz. We arrived a little too late for the Diaz fight to experience the food, but I was immediately impressed by the atmosphere of the place.
As my friend appropriately said, Queen Albert's feels like "your uncle's basement". Yes, there's a wooden carving of the Last Supper on the wall, probably a giant wooden fork and spoon somewhere, a couch and a flat screen TV, some interesting art in the bathroom, San Miguel beer in the fridge, an awesome "big sister" there (Ate Belle, the owner) who is making sure you're having a good time, AND...after watching an amazing PacMan win, there's karaoke!
The food was delicious, and by delicious I mean greasy and rich, which is how Filipino food should be. As one of an eventual party of 12 people, we ordered almost the entire menu, so take my word for it.
My favorites from that night?
- The sinigang (meat in a tamarind soup base). I'm sorry, my mom makes the best sinigang ever but Queen Albert's was pretty awesome (sour!) too.
- English translation: fried intestine something. Look at the English fine print on the menu for this item. Don't eat too much of it, you might get gout, but mmmm.
Aside from witnessing PacMan destroy his opposition the times I've been here, it was fun to karaoke after the fight. Read: I kicked off the post-De La Hoya-match karaoke with Journey's "Faithfully"!
I also really appreciated how Ate Belle treated me with a tall glass of mango juice! (::slow blink, swoon, instant love::) since I was designated driver for my friends. Otherwise, she treated the rest of my table to a round of shots while she serenaded my friend. Classy. Thanks Ate Belle!
I didn't really know what to expect from the pictures posted on here as it really does make the place look like a typical Filipino uncle's basement - right down to the last supper paintings and karaoke machine. But as unappealing as that may sound, once you're inside that familiarity really makes the place more endearing.
I also watched the Pacquiao/De La Hoya massacre and as skeptical as I was about having a great time, it was nothing short of amazing. I did have some initial difficulty getting into the place since it was packed to the brim, but once some people filtered out, I was able to shuffle (literally) my way towards my friend's table and sit down. Once there, though, it was all thumbs up - from the food, to the fight, to the ambiance and the friendliness (and attentiveness) of the staff and fellow occupants. As Ryne noted below, one of the owners actually bought us a round of shots (and some mango juice for one of the DDs), and joined us in some karaoke. I really felt right at home at this place and was able to just have a great time instead of feeling like I was just at a restaurant with staff waiting to collect the check from their patrons.
Although the wait time for the food was long (credit due to the one chef who had to slave away to a packed house during the fight), it was well worth it. I have no qualms about heading back here again in the near future for some good food, san miguel and great times.
Watched Pacman DESTROY De La Hoya here, and it was pretty much the perfect environment for it. It isn't a sports bar by any means...it's much more akin to any party at your Filipino uncle's basement. Kitsch decorations everywhere, dozens of Filipino dishes on the menu, and San Miguel bottles in the back.
The entire place was on fire as Manny pummeled Oscar, and as we were drunk with glee (and San Mig) post-fight, they turned half the TVs to karaoke! It's a small place, so everyone was participating in the fun.
Here are the precautions: as I said, it's small. If you're going to come for a fight, you'll want to come early enough and endure through the undercard. They're pretty strict about keeping to the fire code, though I think the real reason they lock the doors is they run out of chairs and physical space. Also, the food took a while to come out, but that may have been because the place was more packed than it usually is thanks to the fight.
Other than the time for the food, the service is pretty good. Once of the owners actually bought us a round of shots (and some mango juice for one of the DDs), and sang karaoke to us/with us. She also dropped off a couple packs of Halls cough drops on our table since they didn't have any other candies...thanks Ate!
I'm happy to say that the food is worth the wait. The longganisa was nice and crispy, the tocino lacked any chewy fatty parts, the kare-kare sauce was nice and thick, and the lechon kawali were nice and bite-sized. If you recognize any of those foods, you're probably someone who could be pleasantly surprised by Queen Albert.
I would give it four stars, on account of a low number of vegetarian options, but the first reviewer gave it one star out of prejudice. Filipino food is weak for vegetarians, it is true, but every region has vegetarian options or ways of preparing dishes. On the other hand, what I have eaten at Queen Albert was really good.
It's a really great time, particularly as a bar and karaoke spot- probably one of my favorite karaoke bars in town. I first went for a party a couple of years ago, and I had a blast. Didn't even need to drink TOO much to get me to sing. That, my friends, is a sign.
I was also curious about this "restaurant" -- the sign does say "cuisine" -- because whenever I drove past it during the day it looked abandoned and forgotten. Internet searches returned hardly any information along with similar curiosity, confusion, and frustration. The website I eventually learned about points nowhere. Although it has restaurant food, it's mainly a bar so the hours are 6pm to 2am (3am on weekends). I had pretty much given up on the place until I was invited to watch the (Filipino boxer) Manny Pacquiao fight on pay-per-view over there. Apparently, it's not a mystery to some but I finally had my chance to infiltrate and gather some solid intel.
Contrary to my previous assumptions, the place is a real establishment doing legitimate business and, from what the building was trying to say, probably a bar/restaurant in one form or another the whole time. Some research at City Hall might shed some light on its past lives. They've got their act together enough to get a liquor license and put 3 flat screens over the bar and a huge one in the back above the sofa sectional section of the place.
The food was REALLY good. I was pleasantly surprised. Not as good as my mom's but better than my other relatives. I expect you'll have a similar experience, depending on how good your mom's pancit is. The in-house menus had everything I'd ever had or heard of.* I was told the carry out menus were not back from the printer when I asked Ate Belle who turned out to be the owner and who was working really hard to keep everyone fed, quenched and happy.
Although I'm second generation Filipino American, what really struck me about this place was how Filipino I felt in it. Granted, everyone was there for a Pacquiao fight so mass hysteria might have been involved, but with all the immigrants, expatriates, and those of us born and raised here around me; the standard kitsch on the walls; and San Miguel beer; the conditions were almost right to tear the fabric of time and space a new wormhole. The only thing needed would have been a Walgreen's bought humidifier running in the corner on a sweltering, already muggy, Chicago summer evening and I wouldn't be surprised if one unsuspecting traveler walked into Queen Albert's off of Irving Park and later walked out into a hot, sticky Manila night.
* I took some photos of the menu which I'm posting on http://www.flickr.com/...
Fun, tiny place for Fillipeno food! Karaoke used to be awesome when you stood up and sang at your table, and had the machine rate your performance. It has changed a bit, but it is still really fun with a small crowd. The menu is limited, but everything i have had on it is good. The desserts (I forget the name of the one I enjoyed the most, but it is kind of a fuuity soda thing with weird bready bits) are interesting and good. Both times I ate I got HUGE portions.
