On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: Restaurants, Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Loading...
I like this place so much, I am reluctant to write a good review for fear of making this place more crowded.
I went there on a Thursday night and it was just busy enough to not be awkward. The bartender was nice and understanding to the types of obscure shots we were taking.
My friend and I wanted a place to go play pool-- and Toons, despite the rabbit-cage like smell, was perfect.
Come play pool with us!
Toons is way to much fun. I have always batted 1.000 at Toons if you understand referencing baseball terms to your single life.
I also found out this great deal where you pay $8 to get a $30 gift certificate to Toons. It's at this place called http://Mywrigleyville.com. I couldn't believe I was getting $22 free in drinks! The actual link is http://store.mywrigley...
Toons is the perfect place to unwind when your balls have frozen to your leg after the coldest Cubs game in the history of the world. Strong drinks, cheap edible food and friendly staff. I also have to give props to the creepy black light lit bathroom hallway. This is the perfect place to make out with a stranger or your sweetheart. They should put up a couple trippy posters and hand out some acid. Just a friendly suggestion and if any kids are reading this DON'T DO DRUGS.
I had 4 captain and cokes, a couple chicken wings I stole from another table, and some of the tastiest nachos I have ever had. The jalapeños alone made these bad boys a winner in my book. I don't remember what I paid, but it couldn't have been much. I will make this a pit stop before or after a cubs game.
Went here for some bar food, not necessarily to drink. Eh, I wasn't impressed. Started with some wings. They were teeny and had little actual chicken on them, mostly skin and bone. Decided to go with a good ol' standby after that and had the burger. Decent burger, nothing special, quite greasy served with chips. I opted to pay the dollar more to get fries, not sure it really mattered in the end.
It was mainly the wings that were disappointing, especially since the menu refers to them as "Jumbo Wings".. .
THE BEST BAR ON SOUTHPORT. PERIOD.
It's fitting that Toons should sit at the top of the Southport strip as it clearly towers above all the other bars in the area. Perhaps it's because the d-bags from Mystic Celt are so blasted that they can't stumble this far up the street or maybe it's just hallowed ground, because Toons consistently attracts a great crowd and creates an environment that makes you want to spend your entire evening here.
Toons succeeds at the magical formula of a respectable beer selection (Edmund Fitz anyone?) + friendly staff + great food (amazing burgers and chicken strips) + a relaxed neighborhood atmosphere.
Well.. I just don't understand what separates this place from any other place across the street (and closer to home). I was at least expecting a cartoonish theme.. nada. I certainly will not travel out of my way for this place again, unless there's some sort of party there. The service is way too slow, and it seems as if no one comes here on a Friday night. Ok, so I did come here after a Cubs game, but still... I would rather go to Redmonds than this place. While Redmonds might be more of the 20 something crowd, at least it's a little more lively.
Tips for when you go to Toons:
1) If you wear something more posh than jeans, you will stick out. A lot.
2) Sweet tea vodka... their John Daly special... is both awesome and the devil.
3) Very chill. Great place to watch the Hawks and relax with no worries about pretention, image, or picking someone up to date. Which is a plus in this area.
The clientele seems to be mostly empty souls who can only find fulfillment by reliving misspent college days drunkenly hitting on girls that were never interested in them anyway.
The place looks like it was built with a "Bar-in-a-box" kit. One of the most stereotypically cliché bars I've been to in my entire life. "Oh look, some wacky but not really that clever stuff tacked to the wall! And listen to all these kitschy but actually really dreadful songs on the jukebox. And hey, there's a gigantic mounted fish behind the bar. I wonder if it has a story? No? Oh, you say it was just bought off eBay in a pathetic attempt to give this place some character? Oh. I see..."
But in one final blow of insincerity, the menu actually had the following Charles Bukowski quote emblazed on the front:
"That's the problem with drinking, I thought, as I poured myself a drink. If something bad happens, you drink in an attempt to forget. If something good happens, you drink in order to celebrate, and if nothing happens, you drink to make something happen."
I suppose they hope this will help drink sales, as if you spend your time drinking here waiting for something to happen you'll have a liver like Bukowski by the end of the night.
This is a good place to go if... you're impressed by things uninspired, pandering, empty and cliché.
I live fairly close to Toon's, and decided to stop in a few nights ago. I had been to Toon's before, although I can't say that I come in often. I had the buffalo wings, and found them to be pretty good. I really can't stand it when I'm craving wings, only to order them somewhere and get those wings that are completely overcooked and dry. Certainly not the best wings I've ever had (sorry, Mom's still rule) but I would definitely go back for wings if I was having a craving. I have also had the burger at Toon's, and I will admit that I thought it was very good as well. Better than most bar burgers I've found in the city.
However, I do have a a small gripe that I feel some people will not agree with me on. I never carry cash. Ever. I'm just not in enough cash-only situations where I find it necessary to carry cash. Plus, if I have cash in my pocket, I tend to waste it on things I wouldn't purchase if I didn't have the paper money burning a hole in my pocket.
One of the situations I run into every once in a while is the business that insists upon having a minimum purchase price for credit/debit card transactions. I'm not naive, I understand that the credit card fees can quickly cut into profit margins. And I understand when business put up signs that say "Minimum Purchase for Credit Card - $10." My feeling is that the sign is like a deterrent. It is designed to put the thought in customer's heads that if they have the cash with them then that's what they should pay with.
Now I've been in a number of situations where my transaction price is below the minimum when I pull out my card. The employee usually says something like "I'm sorry, the minimum charge for a card is $10" and I will usually respond by saying "Okay, fine, charge me $10." Then the clerk will say "Don't worry about it, just remember for next time" and I leave with a favorable impression.
Anyway, my bill at Toon's was about six and a half bucks, and the server told me that the minimum charge for a credit card is $10. "Okay, charge me $10" I said. The server then went ahead and charged me $10 for my meal. Fair enough, I told him to do it, and he did it. The policy is the policy. But let's be honest, sometimes we put policies in place, just so that we can break the policy to make a customer happy. You make the customer feel special, and you really don't lose anything by doing that.
I'm not saying don't go to Toon's. I think Toon's is a fine bar and I encourage you to go. I'm just saying, was it worth the difference in the credit card fee between $6.50 and $10 (the difference probably amounted to a few cents) for me to now have a debate with friends about credit card minimums and use my experience at Toon's as an example? I'm guessing probably not.
Solid little Southport joint. Great Bloody Mary (with a string bean). Decent food, friendly service, and SUFFLEBOARD!!!!
Hells yeah!
Above all else this is a neighborhood bar. Some really great bar food, decent drink specials (try the pineapple vodka!), great service, shuffleboard, and Cubs and some Sox games.
My veggie wife has no problem finding food on the menu and even the carnivore in me loves the veggie quesadilla. Nachos are good too as is the rest of the menu which features many different Po'boys and a few large burgers. Nice outdoor seating and lots of space inside. They switch up the tap beers often but always have the stand-bys. One glaring problem is the really crappy downloading jukebox. It is like an afterthought. The terrible selection means you have to pay extra to DL and hear anything good. Seriously, shouldn't a bar named TOONS (I know, it isn't "tunes") have decent music?
Just your average bar on the Southport corridor. I usually come here to catch a Cubs game or grab a quick bite to eat. This place is never very crowded so it a good place to start the night off before moving on. The food is typical bar food and it's pretty good. I usually get a burger. Service can be slow.
Your standard run-of-the-mill neighborhood-y type joint. Tin ceilings, narrow spaces, pineapple shots. The rumor is they have shuffleboard too but we were just looking for a place in the area to have a night cap before packing it in on a Saturday night.
We had no server for our table w/ a group of 8.... It was super loud, super smokey and everyone in the place was.... well.... this should sum it up:
The clientele here was so drunk and/or annoying and/or stupid last night I was able to convince two sauced gentlemen & friends (that moniker is a definite overstatement) that I was adult film star "Alexis Loggenator" and a friend with me was porn agent extraordinaire, "Karen Jaren". We claimed to be scouting locations to host a bevy of salacious activities.... let your imagination run wild here, my stories are 10x nastier, trust me. It was completely implausible yet the Toons' dudes didn't catch on.... if it's true that Frats and Chads do go to heaven, their utopia would be spelled T.O.O.N.S.
Don't expect to find anything stand-out in this crowd.... unless of course you're looking for a room full of pushy, wasted guys or pathological, unimpressed girls.
Toons is a great place to call your local hangout. It has become my "cheers". The regulars are all fun and some are complete characters. The food is always good and the drinks are poured generously.
The bartenders are all fantastic!!! Especially the tall bald guy that looks like Will Ferrel!
Despite the weird name, this is not a bad bar. I don't know why someone thought "Toons", spelled on the sign in cartoony letters, would make people want to drink there. It's hard to work up the guts to tell your friends the name of the place, but, go for it -- once they're in the bar (and done snickering), it's pretty legit.
It's fairly roomy, and has a well-divided front and back. The front has a dimmer, pub-feeling to it while the back seems more "open". It's more well-lit with a smattering of tables, and some bar recreation both typical (pool) and not-so-typical (table shuffleboard?)... I don't know what you call it, but it's fun.
The crowd slants older, (i.e. late-20's, early 30's -- sorry if that offends anyone). The crowd isn't suprising considered the neighborhood surrounding the bar is the tiny pocket on North Southport that is very stroller-and-milkman suburbia... regardless of the fact it sits firmly in the middle of Wrigleyville/Lakeview
Drink deals don't seem to be incredibly great, which keeps this place off my regular "rotation". Jukebox is deece.
They do have a tiny al-fresco section, but it's not really anything special. Perhaps the biggest relief is that there's no "cartoon - themed" decoration inside the bar... which begs the question--"Why name your bar 'Toons'"?
This place has shuffle board. Lets fuckin rage. Enough said.
I first walked into Toon's looking for someway to kill time before a movie at the Music Box. This place was exactly what I was looking for.
The service at this place is fairly friendly, and then crowd is a combination of non-descript regulars, almost-Yuppies and Cubs fans. Normally that would be enough to keep me away, but everyone is pretty chill and unobtrusive.
As entertainment goes, the place has a pool table, a shuffle board table and a Silver Strike Bowling game. Not bad. They usually have a beer or two on special and the food menu is pretty marvelous. They serve mostly sandwiches, a lot of Cajun-style food and fish. The onion rings are gigantic and crunchy and go really well with the Cajun po' boy or the portabella burger.
All in all, Toon's a pretty all right place to spend an evening, especially compared to the other holes in the neighborhood.
Awesome BBQ and chicken wings- probably the best in the city.
Good service and good people.
They have a pool table and a shuffleboard table in case alcohol and music are not enough to entertain you.
I love, love, love this bar/ grill. The bf and I go here on our days off to kick back, drink some beer and eat some wings! The wings are awesome and I think that's why we keep coming back! :) I've only ever been there in the middle of the day....I don't have a "problem" or anything...anywho...everytime we have gone, the service has been wonderful and the music is SUPER eclectic!!!
So yeah...that's the junk of it folks!
Good neighborhood bar, which is now even better without smoking. The pineapple shots are addictive. It is a great place to grab a drink with friends and still be able to converse over the music.
And they have a shuffleboard table. Enough said.
I live in the neighborhood and had walked past Toons many times, but was never drawn into it since I don't tend to hang out at bars very often in my advancing age. I only decided to try Toons out after reading glowing reviews about it's food on a local foodie forum.
The forumites were right: Toons has really decent bar food. We started with the onion rings, which were little Os of beer battered goodness. My husband special ordered a grilled cheese which came out with cheddar on rye, a nice little variation from the standard American cheese-white bread combination. I had the grilled portobello salad which was also really fresh and nice.
The beer selection was diverse and had offered some harder-to-find brews on tap, and not just your standard Sam Adams/Guinness/Goose Island stuff you find at so many bars.
The atmosphere and decor are pretty non-existent, but the service was great and they have that old school air shuffleboard game, which gives them some bonus points. I think this is definitely going to be our go-to place for dinners when we feel like going out for a beer and some good tasting but bad-for-you food.
I can't really explain why I don't like this place. Maybe because it mirrors too closely the other bars down on Clark Street.
I guess I would hope this would be a more neighborhoody place like Lange's, but it's not. :-(
Life without Toons would be empty, and pointless. We love having lunch or dinner at Toons because the food is excellent. While nothing on the menu will disappoint, the Cajun choices are top notch and should not be missed.
The bartenders offer a gnerous pour and they have a decent selection on tap.
Gourmet food, paired with a great drink, in a bar, watching the game. good times
Great vodka cranberries! Best I've had! A friend and I went to Tango Sur to leave our walk in reservation and came to Toons to wait. We ended up waiting 2 hours and had a good time drinking. Not a bad atmosphere at all very much a neighborhood bar! I don't think I'd travel just to go there but I'll definitely go here whenever I have a Tango Sur wait again!!
Good place to get away from the loud, crowded bar. The food is decent, and the service is at par. You may have to fight for a pool table, not literally, but the back might be a little busy at times.
I have always had a pretty good time at this bar. I recommend getting the nachos!
Came here on a weekend afternoon so it wasn't hoppin' The service is ... well, not GREAT but I guess it could be worse. I did have a really great sandwich (wrapper's delight, I think) and I'd come back for that. It was really good! I wish the service was a little more attentive. I can imagine it's worse when the bar is crowded.
Don't Toon in.
Can be a nice place during the week. I have had trouble with the bouncers thinking it was Club 54 when it is crowded.
Decent bar with a few craft beers to choose from. It's full of chads on the weekends, but during the week not so bad. The jukebox could be better, but the best thing about Toons is that one of the bartenders looks exactly like Tom Green.
One of the best neighborhood bars in Chicago. Shuffleboard and pool table in the pack, good jukebox in the front. Drinks are on the cheaper side, $4 for a 22 oz. Miller Lite on Saturdays. Food is good for a bar as well. Rarely gets crowded unless there is a private party.
shuffleboard and pineapple shots...great neighborhood spot with not so much charm, but great shots and friendly people!
A fantastic little neighborhood bar that's definitely not pretentious. The food is actually fantastic, give it a shot. The customers are friendly and the bartenders are very talkative and helpful. If I lived closer, this would definitely be a bar I frequent often.
We live pretty close to the bar and decided to walk down and grab a little lunch. There was college football on so i would expect there to be maybe just one little server running around...but it was just the bartender doing everything. I imagine thats why i had to walk up to the bar to get my own refills...the food was pretty good, fries are amazing! Not the biggest menu but its a small place so its understandable. Oh yea, its a chiefs bar for all the fans out there...
Two words: shuffleboard table. Nuff said.
friendly bartenders, decent pints, and shuffleboard. that's enough for me. i like to pop in when i'm in the neighborhood... usually after a flick at the musicbox. at least can count on going there once a year for a friend's birthday party. if i lived in the neighborhood, i'd probably become a regular.
then again, if i lived in the neighborhood i'd probably have 2.3 kids and spend more time picking out furniture in the clybourn corridor than i did drinking in bars.
Not terrible, but not great. The bar food is ok. It definitely caters to an older crowd. It is not the least bit raucous, and you probably won't meet the love of your life here. Decent selection of taps. You can do way worse in the area.
I nice "regular" bar. You don't have to worry about what you are wearing and lines to get in. Was at a party in the back room with the shuffleboard, etc. It's the hangout spot for a friends group of friends and they love it. I understand why--pretty chill and the pineapple shots were surprisingly smooth--too smooth, which explains why everyone was wasted. The cheese fries are the best--I hate a whole thing of them myself, I think.
Thanks to whatever guy that was last night who told me I had toilet paper stuck to my shoe. My fiance didn't even tell me. haha.
I'd probably go more if it were closer to wear I live. It's just too dang far North to make it my regular spot
This a great neighborhood bar. I've gone here countless times for dinner and have never been disappointed. It has by far the best boneless buffalo chicken fingers around. If you want to make it a true heart attack on a plate, be sure to ask for cheese fries instead of regular. The food is pretty cheap and they usually have some sort of good drink special.
Pretty cool place.. the atmosphere is cool, they've got funky bright colored decorations on the wall and certain blacklit areas. Its a pretty big place so you can cram a lot of your friends in there and still be able to breathe and talk. The bartenders are really nice and they've always got the beer of the month, 20oz for $3.50
Went here for a Tuesday dinner and drinks after work. I heard their food was pretty good...and it was. Had the BBQ Burger, and it was seasoned and topped to perfection. My wife had a chicken wrap, which was also good, but her fries were cold and clearly the bottom of the basket (broken small extra-crispy pieces). The food took excessively long for bar food (20+ minutes), which wouldn't have been a problem except our server couldn't manage to keep our drinks coming. The service was very slow, probably because there was only one server working the entire place, and she was relativley uninterested (or just over-worked) This place was somewhat full, but definately not crowded (still a few open seats around the place). However, when we asked for the check, it came right out! So, I guess there are a few things they can get done quickly if they want to. In this economy good service is not optional, it is a necessity, even at a neighborhood pub and grill.
Lunch specials
Neighborhood: Lakeview
10 Dollars off
Neighborhood: Logan Square
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Bars
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Bars
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Pubs
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Gastropubs
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Pubs
My thoughts after an impromptu Southport pub…
Cocktails? Yes, Please! And, uh, apparently I go…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
