This is the worst excuse for a band venue in the Chicago area. The staff are rude and insulting to both patrons and band members. If you appreciate a local band playing for you and your friends, be forewarned. The bar will shortchange you on your drink money and will refuse to pay a band the agreed performance price. I wish I could give negative stars for this dive. LOCAL BANDS BE CAREFUL OF THIS PLACE. read more

Musicians Beware! Dave Lambert & The Motivators got fucked out of all their pay at this venue after driving from the Twin Cities. The sound was good and the people that were there liked the band and many are still following us. read more

Expensive dive bar, charging a $10 cover charge and higher than average drink prices, could see if it was nice place, But this is not very nice inside, old bar stools done with duct tape on them the beer signs are even old and in sad shape, at least the bar tenders are friendly. So at least something is positive, Tonight they tell me the kitchen is *closed for remodeling* and you Know what that usally means, read more

It's a bar like many others; outdated in looks, offers drink specials on domestic drinks, but the staff is super friendly (if you are lucky, the staff will bring in homemade treats) and the place offers local live bands, varying in genres. It's a great place for those on a budget who are looking for a fun night out! read more

The service is terrible. I got passed over at the bar for 20 minutes. The beer was overpriced. The whole staff was drinking. The show I came and paid 60$ to see showed up 4 hours late. 4 HOURS of standing in a white trash mosh pit, because for comedy shows there's still basically no seating. They tried to appease the crowd by lying about when the actual show would start and sending out poor local comedians to tend to a crowd about to riot. Then, icing on the cake, when they finally ran out of the locals they were pulling from the crowd, they tried to get girls to come up to the stage to flash THEM for shots. Unprofessional. Disgusting. Sleezy. And unapologetic. Stay away. read more

Drinks are expensive, the staff is not very friendly, and it's in dire need of updating. The bar side with the pool tables is okay, but the venue side is horrible. The tables don't stand up properly and there aren't enough seats. The stage is low, which causes a huge visibility problem if there were enough people in the room. It was a little on the cold side in the room, like they left a door open somewhere or something. The only redeeming quality is the sound. I was very impressed with the sound equipment and quality, especially for a room that is not really designed for live music. I didn't leave here with ringing in my ears, and I could actually hear the songs being played by the band. It was a pretty big sound; bigger than I thought that room would provide. I'll go here again to support bands, especially local ones, but I wouldn't recommend the bar or venue to anyone. read more

Been there twice and it's a bit disappointing, to say the least. Last time we went there for a rock show and they had tables in the middle of the pit. TABLES. IN A ROCK SHOW! This took like 40% of the standing room and was totally a bummer. Also, the stage is extremely low, so unless you are at the first row or 7 feet tall, you will be lucky to see any of the show. read more

The only reason I'm not giving it zero is there aren't many places left for bands to play, so 2 for effort of not going bankrupt on local shows, which is more than some other local venues can say . Terrible sound, akward bathrooms, and over priced pbr. Don't see a band there unless you really like that band and like them even with terrible sound, or even record the band and then edit the audio at home to actually be able to hear the vocals. Your expectations will not be met. read more

The single worst live band venue I have ever been to, and mind you I once saw a hip hop show in the tiny basement of a dive bar in Japan. There is an unnecessary amount of "security" guys who all have an unnecessary chip on their shoulder. Smokers beware, you'll have to pay $5 for a reentry wrist band. I don't even smoke that I think that's cold. The Metalalliance Tour, which I saw at this abomination of a venue yesterday, started at 4:00 and ended at 11:30. I can just see the staff meeting..."Alright dudes, we're going to have a couple hundred drunk ass metal heads stuck in our tiny room for hours on end. The bands will have to play on floor level because our stage can only hold a drum kit. They'll be all hyped up to see their favorite bands. They'll probably be hungry. Why don't we take away their ability to quench their nicotine addiction, or at least make them pay to have to do so?" $4.00 bottles of PBR!? Immoral, if you ask me. Sound...terrible. Like I mentioned, forget seeing the band play, they have to stand on the floor. I'm 6'1 and I didn't even get to see much. Not my sarcasm when I say, "Well, at least they kept the TVs over the bar on so people could watch the World Championship of Poker." Please take my warning: If you love any band that will be playing at Bada Brew, or even like music at all for that matter, think twice before going to the show, because the vile experience of simple having to set foot in Bada Brew will tarnish your feelings toward even your most favorite band. I am begging you, please think twice. read more

This place is a rock band live band dump. I went there on a sunday night and was pratically ignored by the bartender. This place plays black majic death metal type bands and is not for everyone. In fact, this place is not for most ones. This bar is dirty and the bathrooms are unkept. The free popcorn tasted two weeks old. This place has really nothing to offer any live music scene in the Chicagoland area and will never be taken serious until they clean up their act. read more

I have played here many times in both a local band, and now that I am a professional musician, in touring bands as well. The staff here is insufferable, and they all drink on the job. All of the security walk around like they just failed their high school English class, and just passed their police test, shining flashlights at people and yelling like they have any actual authority over you. If you are a band on tour, you will get yelled at about where you can park your vehicle about 30 times, even though you were told by a different employee that you should park there. They choose to have all ages shows, which I am most grateful for, but if you are under 21 prepare to be treated like absolute garbage. Once before I was of age, I ordered an 8 dollar burger there, and it never came out. When I went up to the bar to ask about my food, the 95 year old bartender told me I couldn't be around the bar because I wasn't 21. And refused to give me any response about my food. I honestly can't complain about the staff enough. Attitude, attitude, attitude. I understand that in order to be authoritative, you sometimes have to be aggressive, but walking around like a bully in school is not the way to get through to anyone. It is often a struggle to even just get water if you are band playing, and they are reluctant to give you a cup, let alone a bottle. I will still go here because my bands will be booked to play here, but I absolutely can not tell you enough to not spend your money here. If you want to see a show, by all means, support the bands you love, but I recommend buying your food somewhere else, and getting your drinks elsewhere. read more

If you run a tab, make sure to keep meticulous track of what you have. Because I'm pretty sure they just made up a total for me and it was a good bit higher than what I got. read more

This place is right up the street from me, and we never go unless a friend's band is playing. It is definitely a hole in the wall dive bar. Let's just say, this place is not classy. This is the nice way of putting it. read more

I have to echo Ryan's review unfortunately. How you have the bands play on floor level is extremely hard to understand. Impossible to see the show and I most definitely will not be returning, even if all the good rock shows that used to happen at Mojoes have moved here. read more

Wish it could go less than one star... It basically the worst place to go. I went for the Lahey and Randy event and was lied to about the entire show time. Said it started at 7:00PM but after a long spew of hot garbage by local nobody comics and a MC who was hyped up about being able to yell at the crowed; we finally got to see the main act at 11:30 PM. So they basically lied for the entire night about the main act showing up "soon." Awesome! Will never go back and probably would not relieve myself on the building if it was on fire. read more

It's a decent venue for live music as far as sound and lighting, space, and environment. Drinks seem a bit watery and overpriced. Food was blah. Wouldn't return unless the act was really great (and it rarely is here) read more

I am Very Sorry about the Bad Experiences listed about Bada Brew. We have been going through great strides to correct the way that some of the staff have dealt with customer service and the way bands were treated in the past. I have recently became part of the Bada Brew staff and personally promise and guarantee these past situations will never happen again. We have started booking some incredible live shows lately. If there is anything i could personally do to make u reconsider your opinion of Bada Brew, Please let me know...U can ask for me at Anytime. My name is Eddie Rocks, Thank You Again for your Patronage, We Deeply Apologize and We Promise these past issues will never happen again. read more

Being a metal fan this is the place to be. The service was great house was packed live music pool tournaments. I had no problems with the bouncers or the people. Always somthing going on and the have a great root beer float. Divine I tell ya. read more

Recently went here for a battlecross, black fast show on 12/12. Was having a decent time until this biker guy walks up and starts giving me real dirty looks. Before I go further, let me back up a little bit..I'm a big fan of the sons of anarchy tv show, I have a vest with a full patch set from the show. I was wearing this in the bar, now we all know it's a tv show and not a real club...skip ahead some...I'm minding my own business when the biker guy walks up and says what're you doing wearing those colors? I say, colors? What colors? You mean my vest? The guy starts getting madder...i ought to rip that cut off of you right now he says. I'm like what are you talking about man? It's just a tv show, not real. Relax bro. This apparently made the guy even madder still, he says I ought to punch you right in the fucking chops. He leaves and walks out...apparently the crest hill/Joliet area is outlaw country, which I was not aware of at the time. I'm there to enjoy myself and watch my friends play, not start some kind of gangland brawl over something that isn't real in the first place. I don't know if I'll never set foot in this place again after this, the show itself was absolutely awesome but still...moral here i guess is don't wear anything that even remotely looks like biker gear and especially not sons of anarchy read more

If you are looking to play a few games of pool for .75cents a game this is a great place to go practice or play with a partner. During the week there isn't usually a big crowd. Usually going in to order a drink you usually get at least a whole shot in whatever cocktail you order(ex:bacardi & coke). On Tuesday nights there is a blond that doesn't even give you a full shot she just drops 2 drops of liquor into your cup and hands it to you. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and ordered a second cup and she did the same thing. I guess with her you actually have to ask for the shot in a shot glass and add it to your coke, cranberry juice yourself. I believe they serve pizza, taco's etc. which the bartender makes. The bathrooms are also really dirty and grimy but I have seen worse. I also notice that they allow smoking and I didn't think that bars allowed smoking in the state of Illinois. read more

Saw Lacey Sturm here and had a great experience . The sound and lights were awesome , great show . The staff was friendly, from the bouncers to the barstaff . The drink prices were fine , you would pay more at a bigger venue . The pizza was pretty good , just took a while , because the place was packed !!! For 21 bucks to see a top notch band, it was a great night , I recommend this bar to see bands , and enjoy a few drinks . read more

A lot of these reviews are really hate speech, Bada Brew is a Venue that gives great bands a place to play where others just turn them away. In a perfect world everything would be perfect. Please go there and stay. read more

We go for the bands quite a bit. I'm a fan. Bartenders are quick, attentive and fun gals. The reviews on here are pretty unfair. The security, the sound crew, everyone...good folks. read more