Butch McGuire’s

Really great place! Food is really great for a bar, especially the sweet potato fries. The decorations are fun, creative, and really give it a fun feel. During COVID, we liked that they have seating out on Division and have created a social distanced bar feel through a window. Happy to see this place thrive.

SEASON’S EATINGS This Irish pub on the Near North Side serves decent brunch amid a very festive atmosphere. Butch McGuire’s holds a special place in the hearts of Eric S’s parents, as it was the place where they had met 40 years ago. We came here to celebrate that fact on 11/24/19 and brought along Nichole C to kickoff the holiday season with Sunday brunch, all while surrounded by Butch’s famous Christmas decor. I wasted no time in ordering a Corned beef hash skillet ($14), a filling breakfast that no doubt makes a fantastic hangover cure. It came with two eggs any way, peppers, onions, cheese, and potatoes with choice of toast. I was happy to see that they offered sourdough as an option. My fiancée got their standard offering ($12): 3 eggs any way with 2 strips of bacon, potatoes, and choice of toast. My mom enjoyed the eggs benedict ($13), a tasty serving of poached eggs with hollandaise over Canadian bacon. They both found their breakfasts delicious and a reasonable value. My dad was the only one who had an issue with his food — they undercooked his steak ‘n eggs on the first try, then had it sit under a heat lamp until it became OVERcooked and at that point all hope was lost. Our server only brought out 3/4ths of our meal, which left one person waiting another 5-6 minutes. Bread = 3.5 Circuses = 4.5 The other reason for coming here was to admire the ridiculous number of decorations, and that goal was achieved. Lights dangling from the ceiling, inflatables rotating above the bar, they even had a fully functioning double-decker TRAIN SET encircling the dining room. Every square inch was covered in holiday stuff. Without question, the single best decoration is Santa sitting in an outhouse, reading a Playboy magazine (perhaps checking out all the “ho ho ho’s”?) Who knew Kris Kringle was such a perv?? Naughty list, indeed! * TL;DR * There are a number of great ways to jump-start the holiday season in Chicago: stop by Lincoln Park Zoo and admire the lights, go to the Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza, catch a showing of A Christmas Carol playing at the Goodman Theatre……or have brunch at Butch’s. Service was alright, drinks came out slower than expected, and messing up my dad’s breakfast was a bad move (he’s Mr. Meal Ticket), even though 75% of our group enjoyed theirs just fine. The decorations are brilliantly ‘extra’ and more than made up for that gaffe, especially the train sets and the hilarious outhouse Santa. Definitely check out Butch McGuire’s during the month of December. It’s a magical winter wonderland!

One of my favorite bars in Chicago. Great food, great drinks and phenomenal decor. I’ve watched many a sports game here, introduced tons of friends to this place and spent many a late night enjoying myself. An absolute landmark in the Gold Coast bar scene.

Service was great and everyone was quite friendly. I’m glad they had energy and seemed to appreciate everyone who was out with a few bucks to spend. I was surprised at how many tables they had outdoors and found the closed off section of Division to be rather quaint. Plus it was nice to watch the Cubs game that was playing at The Lodge.

OMG Christmas!!! 45k lights? Yes please? Christmas music blaring to sing along? Yes please! Great service. Good food too! Would be a 5 but we sat by the kitchen… The place was so loud and festive, we forgot the kitchen noise after a while… So a 4.5. Hubby had a Reuben. Lots of pastrami on that one. I had a picante chicken sandwich. So delish. Warm melted cheese on faccotia garlic bread.. wowow. See pics. Festive. Fun. Good service and food. A winner!!

Pammola is awesome. I usually make sure Jerry is working when I go in and know I love all the staff but Pammola is awesome!!!!!! Jerry makes a killer OLD FASHION and I can’t wait for Christmas here I live DIRECTLY across the street so I look forward to Christmas fun and Irish EggRolls!

Great Irish bar. Extensive whiskey list. Secret here is to get the sweet potatoes with the side of chipotle ranch.

Tried to go with a friend. Would not allow us in because the bouncers said my friend was drink when he was sober but yet a group of white girls who were obviously drunk in prior to us. By the way we are two minorities

Butch Maguires Irish- Guinness on tap (Duh) Red line, near Clark and division stop We went on a Wednesday night. Not too crowded. Patrons were friendly. Surprisingly good hamburger on gluten free bun with sweet potatoes fries that My Wife said were outstanding. The bartender was very attentive and friendly.

I LOVE THIS PLACE! First of all when you place your order the bartender Gerry puts in your order under your name. You are NOT a number, but an actual patron that builds a community environment. In fact, Gerry and the Server/Manager Steve knew EVERYONE’s names who came in-and if they did not they were sure to engage them with courtesy. It seems like there were a lot of “regular” customers and those that were newbies including myself will be back again! Lunch Specials mean everything is approximately $10.00. I ordered the Cheeseburger with a huge side or Coleslaw. Both I consumed in less than 24 hours. The Burger-served on a brioche bun, perfectly cooked paddy with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion was delicious-so much so that I plowed through it without taking a picture! NOM NOM NOM. The Coleslaw-was creamy, tangy, with a hint of sweetness and a nice crunch! In addition, I ordered the Tater Tots with Bacon, Cheese, and Chipotle Ranch Sauce-delicious and enough for two or three people to share-HUGE portion size. The guy next to me ordered the Modelo Beer Battered Cod Fish and Chips Meal and the presentation looked incredibly delicious and the Tarter Sauce appeared “house made.” I want to go back on Friday to try the New England Clam Chowder that is only offered on Fridays (and “made from scratch”) and comes with a piece of authentic Irish Brown Bread!!!! Will be back soon!