"Overall hands down my new favorite place in Wrigleyville."
(in 13 reviews)
"try the maudite on tap and la fin du monde in a bottle."
(in 7 reviews)
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The Yard
Rating Details »
Categories: Pubs, Sports Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Lakeview3441 N Sheffield
(between Clark St & Cornelia Ave)
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 477-9273
- Nearest Transit:
-
Addison (Red)
Belmont (Purple Express, Brown, Red)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Mon, Sat, Sun
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
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"I went back here this past weekend and watched some NFL games. They have a bunch of TV's and 3 different rooms to watch the games. AWESOME!!…" read more »
26 reviews for The Yard
Review Highlights
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The environment is AWESOME in the summertime. Between this year and last they pured a concrete patio, installed benches, flat screens, and fans in the two horse stables (yes, that's what they were) as well as added a full outdoor bar with taps.
For the size, this is hands-down the best patio in Wrigleyville.
I first showed up at the Yard when they were a Texas bar, as an alternative to the jam-packed Brownstone. Since then the lack of support from the UT alumni forced Don to change to an Illinois bar (Don't we have enough of those?) But - If you give Don a call, and if Illinois isn't playing at the same time, he'll put the UT game on for you.
The beer selection is great - read the other reviews if you want more details
So atmosphere (A), beer section (A) and why isn't this place packed? I'd have to say the food.
Goodness Greaseness is the food here heavy. Mini-burgers can range from deliciously awesome to dried out, but the rest of the menu is pure emotional fulfillment: mozzarella sticks, fried mac and cheese, mini corn dogs, etc. If you can wrap it in doughy bread and fry it, they'll serve it. If they bumped the food up to the level of BOB (Bar on Buena) I'd come here when a game wasn't on.
It's sad that every review both raves the Yard and mentions how dead it is sometimes. Stop in and ask Earl to tell you a story - he's got some good ones.
I came here for the second time last sunday during the Bears game, and what can I say.... it simply rocks the house!! The best part about this bar is that it's tucked away from all the other Wrigleyville booze establishments (think Barleycorn, Rebel, etcetc), and significantly less crowded. In fact, I was surprised as to how empty it was!!
Me and a couple of my friends planted ourselves at the bar and we had a bartender sportin a Steelers jersey. I must say, she was probably the coolest bartender i've ever had!!! totally rocked. She was just like one of the guys, shouting during the plays, doing impressions of Frank Caliendo and Madden w/ us, and just havin a great time.
The drink menu is amazing... lots of belgiums like Delerium Tremens, Duvel, St. Bernardus (which btw will totally get you drunk), along w/ tons of other drinks from Ireland, Germany, and all over the place really. They have food specials pretty much every day of the week, sundays being $4 burgers. Don't forget to check out the back patio where you can get these villa style private booths which are super cool.
Overall hands down my new favorite place in Wrigleyville... a must go for any occasion!!!
Braving the chill winds of a Tuesday night, some friends and I made our way to The Yard. I've been trying to find a beer-slinging establishment in Chicago where you can order a yard of beer (tall thin glasses that are about a yard long and hold loooots of beer). I'd read right here on Yelp that I could drink a yard at The Yard. I am sad to say, that this is NOT true. Last summer the glasses were either all broken or stolen and too expensive to replace.
With that said, the bar itself was pleasant enough. Only one other group of three or four guys was drinking at a table while we were there at around 11pm on a Tuesday. Pretty good beer selection. Our bartender was fantastic and tempts me to give this review four stars. She was very attentive, helped make recommendations when solicited, and an all around charming lass.
When all is said and done, The Yard is a fine bar and I have no complaints about it, there's nothing about it that makes me want to travel three or four miles to drink there. It would no doubt be five stars if they still served yard glasses. *on that note, please send me a message if you know anywhere in Chicago where I can drink beer by the yard!**
I don't like sports bars. There were seven televisions. But they have a great beer selection, the crowd was not raucous and these things make up for a lot of faults.. The menu for beer however includes the seasonal beers, so half the things I asked for they didn't have. I like that they tell you where the beers are from, but really, separate the seasonals and add the name of the brewery, please. The server was very attentive and helpful.
A great bar where you can hang out and watch some sports on the tvs, drink some good beers on tap (probably the best selection in the area), and hang out with some good people. --Set aside the one or two college aged frat guys who stumble in from bar celona or central or any other deucebag hang out in the area-- This place has some great times. Theres a great staff, and donny (who is one of the owners) always has some good words or an O-bomb for you. The regulars there are pretty decent also. A couple guys, who i see there alot, are always pretty funny, even though they put FreeBird on the radio a couple dozen times a night.
which, coupled with some good wings and burgers and spaten, is alright.
I'm glad I went to this bar on a night out in Wrigleyville. If you like the outside atmosphere of Wrigley, but do not want to be in a "shoulder-to-shoulder" bar", then this is a good place to go to and chill. There's a LOT of good beer on tap, and the bartenders/ employees have great personalities. The service alone will make you want to go and stay for a few or a lot.
You will probably be one of the 20 or so people in the bar if that, but that's not a bad thing. It is a very good change and a sigh of relief from the crazy madness of highheels/mini skirts, popped collars, and fake "club-like" dance floors. The music that is played is good, and it is consistantly held at a good decible...not heardrum blasting. I was able to have a good convo and listen to music at the same time. They do have a back beer garden area, but the couple of times I went it wasn't open. I don't know why considering that it is a gorgeous beer garden (equipped with a tv- perfect for game nights and private cabana-like rooms); however, it could have just been the day and the time I went. This is definately a bar to bring friends and easily make them while there.
You know, I had never wandered south of Lucky's (next to Bar Celona) on Clark until we decided to go to the Yard. I'm so glad we did. A friend heard that even on Cubs game days and Saturday nights (or a Saturday night Cubs game day) there's usually never a crowd in this place. I'm always up for avoiding piece of shit Cubs fans whenever I can. I know, I know, I shouldn't hang out in Wrigleyville. I just don't see why they have to be out barfing in the streets and annoying the hell out of real people who just want to get some food at Goose Island or Irish Oak or something. Sorry, that was a tangent totally unrelated to this review. Anyway.
So someone let us know that this place isn't really packed so we decided to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised when we were able to enter and actually walk around and stand at the bar without touching other people. I saw some people talking about the bouncer in their reviews - I thought he was a nice guy. Maybe it's because I'm a fine lady, but he was nice to us and kind of funny.
Yes, they have Oberon on tap. I love any place that has Oberon on tap. They actually had a huge selection of tap and bottles, import and domestic. I was surprised because I expected this to just be another bar in Wrigleyville that sold $5 pints of Old Style on game days. I'm not sure if they have specials, but every pint seemed to be around $5 and beers like Fin du Monde (bottle) were $8 or $9. Pretty standard for this kind of fare.
This bar was actually full of Cardinals fans (or there were just no Cubs fans, I'm not sure) so it was pleasant. A table freed up and we were able to sit. I realized at some point, though, that there were a lot of tables free. The place had sort of emptied out around 10:30 when fans from the game were done eating and went home. The music was a bit too loud, but that's OK. All of a sudden, I noticed this bar must have gotten a second wind, because a bachelorette party entered (why?) and then it seemed full again. Every table was occupied and there were a lot of standing patrons. Around 1 the bar emptied out again... the bachelorette party moved on and all of the icky chads that were trying to hit on them followed them to the next crappy bar.
We got to control their juke box for the latter part of the evening (yeah, we're those dicks who play our songs next) but everyone really seemed to enjoy our choices because everyone was singing along (yes, we played Tenacious D and Queen). The bartenders were nice and always ready with a refill upon request. I'll make my way back here in the future because this place is way better than any of the crapholes on Clark.
As far as Wrigleyville goes, this is really as good as it gets. I came here on a Cubs home night, extra innings with the Cards, and I still got a table with my friends. I was really pleasantly surprised. It wasn't completely dead, but not anything like all the gross bars up and down Clark that are packed to the brim with sloppy drunk idiots. It's a good space, tables, a corner booth and good length bar.
The service is a little hit or miss, there is a very friendly and wonderful bartender named Lesley. The other guy who was there, who seemed to be in charge was not so friendly, and wasn't very patient but did serve his ultimate purpose of getting me beer. And speaking of beer, this place has an AMAZING selection of reasonably priced, GOOD beers. I drank a few Kwoks, so yummy. They also have cheap Bud and what have you. They didn't serve something you would expect them to have specifically because it was a Cardinals game day (i don't remember what), which I think is awesome, F-you St. Louis.
The Jukebox is awesome and when you play things on it, they come on, like pretty much right away, I love that!
Overall I'm going to make sure I spend a lot more of my time in Wrigleyville in this bar.
First time at this bar. It was a Cubs game night. Houndstooth was packed. So we basically looked for the closest option where A) we could get in and B) no one was vomiting off the front stoop.
I would recommend this bar to dudes just wanting to sit around and enjoy a good beer without any fuss. They have a ton on tap that I had never even heard of. The waitress referred to them as "fancy" so she won my heart over right away. "Fancy" should be used much more often.
Dudes, I hope you aren't looking for chicks though. Because if it weren't for the bass with that obnoxious vibrating like a high school boy's car with cheap subwoofers, you could kinda hear the crickets in there before we arrived.
I wouldn't really recommend it to girls in heels or those wanting to have a dance party. *However* if you can get them to turn on the juke box and proceed to rock out to Jesse's Girl and Journey throughout the night (Exhibit A from Saturday) then you can turn it into whatever kinda place you want. :)
After the madness of the Pride parade this place was a nice change.
I came to have a drink with some friends and loved the fact that it wasn't packed, there was no loud music and it had a very chill atmosphere.
It was great for taking a break and then heading back to have a crazy night out.
After going to my FIRST ever Cubs game, I was so happy to spend some time with friends at The Yard.
Two great things:
1. Even after a Cubs win, the place didn't get lousy with drunken fans. It was relatively calm (!!) and the jukebox was playing fabbbbbb music.
2. The staff was WONDERFUL! The ladies that work there were super nice and tons of fun.
Definitely recommend if you are looking for Wrigleyville fun without the insanity.
Go Cubs!
I'm not going to lie - I don't like Wrigleyville. I didn't grow up in Chicago, I'm not a baseball fan, and I don't really care for bros. However, I am willing to run the gauntlet in order to go to The Yard on Monday nights. 20 cent wings and great beer choices? Plus it isn't packed with douchebags staring at the butch girl in the bar? I'm there. They have 16 beers on tap, and 40 bottled varieties. The awesome thing about the special is that the wings are cooked fresh when you order, and they are actually quite meaty - plus you have three choices for sauce (Asian, BBQ, and Buffalo). Most places only give you Buffalo and they look like they came from an emaciated emo chicken.
The servers are always super friendly and fast, and reguarly check to see if I need anything else. Plus, even though I only go Monday nights, they have some other good specials, which I'll list at the end of the review.
The downsides? The food that isn't on special is pricey, and the only beer menu is on the wall - I wish they had one at each table. And I wish they served Leinenkugel! And some may not like the fact that it isn't packed, but I enjoy a place where I can bring friends and have a conversation without being jostled and drowned out.
Specials!
Monday - .20 cent jumbo wings, $ Stoli, $5 Bombs
Tuesday - $1 1/2 lb Burgers, $3 Three Floyds, $4 3-O Bombs
Wednesday - $3 Apps, $3 You Call It
Thursdays - $2 1/2 lb Burgers, $3 Bells' Oberon, $11 Pitchers
Sunday - .25 cent jumbo wings, $5 all Belgians, $3 Drafts
My friend Michelle and I have decided to make Erin (I hope that is her name) at The Yard the new Natalie.
Natalie, our favorite waitress over at Lucky's back in the day, is tough to replace. The girl knew everything. She knew exactly what we were going to order (like having our wings cooked extra long to make them crispier). She knew we always wanted a basket of both ranch fries and cajun fries. She even knew Michelle always arrived a few minutes late for our wing-night dates.
My friends and I have been checking out a few other spots in Wrigley for good, cheap food, cheap drinks, and a small-to-medium crowd. I am a hawk for finding specials, and a couple Thursdays ago a group of 5 of us were trying to grab a cheap bite to eat before going out. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a huge billboard for $3 burgers and $12 Oberon pitchers and we were sold. We walked in and found plenty of tables, and within a minute or so Erin (the waitress - I will feel terrible if I am wrong on the name) came over with some menus and took our drink orders. Two of my friends were visiting from out of town and were in a pretty jokey type of mood and she rolled with our conversation and was a lot of fun. One notable part of the conversation was when I ordered my burger and asked her to make sure it did NOT have mayonnaise on it, and she told us she was from NY and mayonnaise is such a "Midwestern thing", which I thought was funny. Thankfully someone understands!
Three of us went back in last night and she remembered us, asked how we were, all that good stuff. Same great service, same friendly smile. She checked in with us fairly frequently, too, just to make sure we were doing ok. Most waitresses don't seem to go that far out of their way to make sure their patrons have everything they need. My friend and I actually ran a couple work-related ideas by her to get her opinion and she was happy to let us pick her brain and offer her thumbs up!
Good food. Good specials. Definitely our new spot. The place itself has never been overly crowded, and apparently they have a beer garden as well. If the weather ever gets better we'll check it out.
Michelle and I made it official last night that Erin would be the new Natalie and The Yard will be our new grub spot in Wrigleyville. I just really hope we got her name right - the only evidence I have is from the name on the credit card receipt!
Love this place, wonderful service. They have a really great outdoor beer garden area. If you are a Wrigleyville fan but don't necessarily like the crazy dance party scene on Clark this is the perfect bar setting. Its not too packed on game days and the jukebox rocks. Not to mention our bartender Hannah was amazing, great drinks!
I can see the future..... and it does NOT include this bar.
Went after the Cubs home opener, after a stop at a couple other spots on Clark. When we rolled in, there were maybe 6 people in the bar and the doorman litterally jumped in front of us to get our IDs. I get it, they have to check, but it is not like this place is the hottest spot in town. Take it easy big fella!
I was served a Guinness in about 45 seconds. Not the way to pour it, any bar with this on tap should know this.... I can see if it was busy or they were shortstaffed, but we werent going anywhere. WTF?
There were no paper towels in the bathroom, and I let them know. Later when my buddy went in they were still not refilled. WTF?
Again, there were 6 people in the bar.
The music was brutal as well, but it was largely because some jackhole insisted on playing Creed and Michael Jackson.
Food was OK, the menu was very limited. The mini burgers were nothing special. The mac and cheese bites were the same as every other bar.
The other review say that this is a great place "to go to not be around people". Hmmmm. Wonder why that is?
This new spot, next to Dark Horse, is a great alternative to Wrigleyville bars. I checked out this place on a Sunday for a Bears game (after every other bar was jam packed). There was plenty of seating up front and in the back beer garden. They had great beer specials ($6 YARD of beer, can't beat that!). The staff was nice, but could have been a bit friendlier (we were there for 3+ hours and although the server was attentive, they weren't much of a conversationalist).
Only down side: very limited food menu (we actually left to get something to eat elsewhere). But a friend had their Asian wings and loved them!
Love this place, though I doubt it'll stay open for long since it's always pretty dead when we go in.
They do 10 cent wings on Mondays, which makes it a nice place to go watch MNF. They also have an amazing beer selection.
It's very hole in the wall-ish for Wrigleyville, which is great. It'd be a perfect place to watch a game if they had Sunday ticket (which makes no sense, since they already have DirecTV).
Basically, it seems to lack an identity. It's psuedo high end male-oriented with the dark wood interior, classic rock, and selection of beers, but it doesn't really cater enough to that particular crowd to fully grab that niche. Then it seems to cater downmarket as a sports bar a bit with its specials and sports flags everywhere, but then it doesn't have Sunday TIcket.
I'm sure they'll get it sorted out at some point. For now, though, it earns four stars on the basis of beer selection and service (the people are great) alone.
Stopped in for a quick drink on a wed. night with a friend of mine. The bartenders were very fun. I was giving my friend grief because she didn't want a second beer (I wanted to stay out, she had to work the next day) and the guy behind the counter found her a "mini-guinness" glass (which ended up being about a half a beer) to poor for her.
We both thought it was pretty funny and the guy made sure we had a good time.
This is a good place to go to not be around people. If you want to go out, get a table, and watch a game well then YARD can do that for you. Can't say I know how it gets on a Fri/Sat but it's small and offers nothing more than beer, food and tv.
The last time the bar was full (full=5) of people watching a game...a friend and I had a table and off in the corner the only other occupied table was some couple making out...strange
I will be back to try out that $2 burger special sometime.
What a great place to warm up and enjoy a beer on a chilly Sunday night! Stopped here after seeing a movie at Century Cinema since we were actually able to score a parking spot nearby. Great selection of beers, especially the Belgians! Sundays they have half price beer specials. Wings were 25 cents a piece. They went great with the cold beers. For $18 we had two beers a piece and a dozen bbq and asian wings (asian were not as tasty) but wings were very crispy and hot out of the fryer. Bartender was knowledgeable about the beer choices and was helpful without being intrusive.
I'm sure the atmosphere would be very different during Cubs season but I wouldn't be in Wrigleyville then anyway (go Sox!)
This place is GREAT !! Planned a 40th Birthday Bash here recently and they were nothing but helpful in every way. Donny and the waitresses were very pleasant and the service was awesome. All the guests were commenting on how great the food was. And don't forget out back in the beer garden there are old stables set up as cozy little nooks.
BEST SELECTION OF IMPORT AND DOMESTIC MACRO BREW BEER IN WRIGLEYVILLE. ive been going since they opened up on the first day and got hooked, they have almost every type of unibroue beer straight from montreal canada. my fav! try the maudite on tap and la fin du monde in a bottle.
good job guys.
I've been coming in on Thursdays for $2 burgers and $8 pitchers of Blue Moon and have had good service and good food every time. It was a pleasant suprise to find a nice bar with open tables, good food, and decent beer specials that wasn't neck-deep in dudes and bar sluts. I'll definitely be back!
I went to this bar recently and had high expectations for the place. I had heard that they had a very large list of beers and wanted to try some of them out. It was not crowded at all being that its a new place, which didn't bother me a bit.
However, my waitress didn't name any of the numerous beers that they serve. Additionally, they did not have a menu for food because the place just opened. She then named each of the menu options to my GF and I. Yet, she Mentioned Mac and Cheese, when in reality it was Mac and cheese bites. Huge, disappointment when the food arrives and its bites instead of Mac and Cheese. The chicken wings I ordered were not seasoned or sauced in any particular way and had a not very good blue cheese paired with them.
Food Rating - F
Service - D
Beer List - A (or I think but wouldn't know)
I hope the bar is able to get it together because the beer garden and its private cabana's appeared to be a good place to have a birthday party and drinks. The bar is pretty tiny and needs to juice up its service and food in order to survive once summer is over.
The only good thing about this place is the beer garden...beautiful! Other than that, food sucks, service is ok and yes, they have a decent selection of beer, but that's not enough
$7 for a measly basket of french fries? are you fucking kidding me?
1 Previous Review:
-
10/29/2007
I like their beer list and the lack of douche bags... probably why it won't last a year.
