We stopped here before a concert at Riveredge. We have been here in the past but not for a long time. The inside has a bar-like feel, its nice and the service is very good. The menu is pretty standard Irish bar menu foods. My wife got a rubin and I wanted something different and got the corned beef boxty. My wife liked her sandwith, she even liked their seasoned fries which is unusual as she generally doesn't like fries. The Boxty admittedly wasn't much to look at. But it tasted pretty damn good, the very thin "potato"? pancake that was more like a crepe. It was filled with corned beef, sauerkraut, thousand island, cabbage, mustard and swiss. Sounds like it should be a mess but it really was pretty balanced. The cabbage gave it some needed texture. The beers again, they have all good traditional Irish beers plus a healthy selection of other stuff., I got a Smithwick's and my wife a Carsberg. We have a good time, good food, drink and service. read more

Ballydoyle Irish Pub - Corned Beef boxty - Irish Pub Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

The DJs sucks and it gets works every time I go there what happened Balleys get real DJs and not the losers you find on on the street pan handler to be DJs is so sad Bally has fallen so low. Helen get real DJs please I beg you!!!! read more

Ballydoyle Irish Pub - Bar entrance - Irish Pub Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

The environment was great, good crowd, friendly atmosphere it's difficult to get a drink due to a crowing hanging around the bar. But don't be shy push into the crowd and order the drink. 10/10 love the place the DJ I think DJ Ephins was awesome!! read more

Ballydoyle Irish Pub - Irish Pub Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

We were there for a beer and so we scanned the QR for the draft list. The bartender took his time on his phone before coming to us. I tried to order a Pilsner which they had plenty on the list. He proceeds to say we don't have any. I say there are 4 on this list...? And he only says yeah we don't have them. Then my wife orders another beer that he also says they don't have. So we ask for a draft list that's current or can he tell us what they have and he says "No. That's the list. It's outdated." but won't tell us what they have. Awful awful service, atmosphere, and decor. read more

Parking in downtown Aurora is always a hassle, but we came in for First Friday and decided to give this spot a try. It took a while to get seated since many tables weren't cleared or cleaned yet. I ordered the chicken pot pie, which came in a bread bowl--a nice twist I actually enjoyed! However, the potatoes tasted grainy and unwashed, and I noticed the filling portion was smaller than it used to be before they started serving it in the bread bowl. Still, the meal was hearty and filling. My 3-year-old had the butter noodles and loved them, and her French fry portion was impressively large! My friend ordered a burger medium, but it came out overcooked with no pink in the middle and hard edges. Overall, it was a mixed experience. Overall they have become less of a restaurant and more of a wedding venue, so coming in is less welcoming than it used to be. read more

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Met here with a friend for lunch. The parking is street side so I am sure on busier days it could be tricky to find somewhere to park. They have daily food and drink specials posted outside the door. The restaurant is very pretty and much roomier inside than it looked from outdoors. The deck was very wiggly and the wood is a little rough but it was nice to sit outside and enjoy our meal. The waiter was outstanding. He was right there to take care of every request we had and he was able to answer all our questions regarding the menu choices. The menu has some pretty authentic Irish Pub style food and an extensive drink menu as well. Both our meals were served in a reasonable amount of time and were hot and fresh. The drinks came out as they were ordered and tasted as they should. read more

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Abysmal service. Sara should be in a different industry. Had to go to the bar myself for a drink after paying 10$ cover what a joke. I only know her name cuz my friend was able to order a wrap. Somehow never had time for me or anyone else at the table after taking the wrap order. Location is historic and cool but I feel robbed. Genuinely fire Sara and if you go here and your waitress is Sara, leave. She doesn't care about your experience at all and clearly doesn't want tips. To management, check the cameras. Good day. read more

To anyone this may concern, ballydoyle has this club on Friday/Saturday after hours and let me just say, it's the worst experience ever. I would give zero stars if I could. #1 The security guards are rude, wreckless, inconsiderate, theives, abusive, liars, and scam artist. I personally got choked out by a security guard(I have video) because I lost my $500 Meta glasses and I asked for consolidation and help. later on that night he "mysteriously" found them, after I threatened to sue him and the club for negligence. They offer free food to try to boost the return rate, but the food is terrible. The vibe is weak and everything is overplayed. Youre better off making that mission to Chicago, or going to a bar, because this aurora club is not it...Plz don't waste your time or money going there. read more

We went on a Friday night and sat in the bar are so we could hear the band. The noise level was good, we could actually have conversations and still enjoy the band.The tables are spread out somewhat, so that helped, too. They had some good beers on tap. I usually get Guinness at an Irish pub, but they also had Zombie Dust on tap, so I had to get that. My husband had the fish and chips, which he really liked and I had the Rueben. It was delicious, without being overly greasy, like I've had at some places. We finished with the bag of donuts and the bread pudding to share for the table. There were about 8 of us and that was plenty. Looking forward to our next visit. read more

Ballydoyle Irish Pub - Downhillers - Irish Pub Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

When I lived closer to the area, I came here semi often with friends or family. It's located in downtown Aurora, close to the Paramount theater. Parking is very easy, there is a huge parking lot that you can go to after hours. Make sure you read the signs. It was behind a bank, I would walk across the street, turn left and you're there. They had live music, good food, and the restaurant was spacious. I had the corn beef bites that are worth trying once. Burgers were decent. Service was always good. On St Patrick's Day, they make decent quality corned beef and cabbage. There's a location in Downers Grove that is easier for me to get to. I'll have to check out that location. read more

Ballydoyle Irish Pub - Corned Beef Bites - Irish Pub Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

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Ballydoyle is the best Irish pub in Aurora. It actually is the only one I can think of, so there's not a lot of competition for sure. You can get hammered on Irish beer and cocktails, or be brave and try some of the food too. Just be warned most of the food is expensive. There's also not a lot good for vegetarians. At first we just came to drink and watch a game. It wasn't busy even though it was a weekend so that was kind of strange. The drink that got our attention was the Whiskey Shake Up. It's $10 for a decent amount. This is made with Jameson, lemonade, and raw sugar. It tasted a lot like a lemonade shake up you get at a festival. The difference is this one gets you fucked up. As for the food the only good thing we saw were the Housemade Irish Chips. It's about $8 for a lot. These are potato chips tossed in Irish Dust Seasoning, which is salt and sugar. Fun place to hang out and watch a game. It has better drinks than food honestly. There's not a whole lot for vegetarians. read more

Ballydoyle Irish Pub - Whiskey Shake Up And Housemade Irish Chips - Irish Pub Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Corn beef boxty was incredible!! And a perfect Irish Coffee!! 6 stars out of 5. And Jerry was an amazing server

Jerry our server was outstanding! The Corned Beef Boxty was delicious But the Irish coffee was the star of the show!

Local pub with good Irish food! It is tricky to find parking, but there is free parking along the next street. I've been here a couple times and really enjoyed the Irish chips it's not too thick like a kettle chip and the seasoning is great! I also would recommend the baked potato soup, it's hearty and comforting on a cold winter day. read more

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Was just here with friends to celebrate St. Patricks day and spend at least a few hours here, which ended up being about less than an hour due to how abhorrent and abysmal the service was. Mind you, it was a $10 cover to get into the place for a reason that I dont think god even knows why, there were 2 people sitting at an 8 top, thats how not important this place was to be. I'm a server at a busy restaurant, and I personally have never experienced nor given service quite this pathetic in my entire life. We show up and our server, Sara, was tending to every single other table (that could not have amounted to more than 5 which is easy work for me) and was not asked for a drink, a menu or anything of the like the entirety of our time there. My friend and I had to take it upon ourselves to go to the bar to get our drinks which also took an inexplicable amount of time because they decided to attend to every bar guest besides us until the bar was a complete ghost town, and reluctantly was forced to serve us. Still left over a 20% tip for the drinks because were not troglodytes who dont know what a holiday is and the bartender was polite and quick once he got to us. Then once we returned to our table our server returned one time to deliver a few beers to our friends who were waiting for god knows how long, then they requested their checks because they were completely fed up with how pathetic the service was. They requested to have their bills split by drink/appetizer and she leaves abruptly without listening and returns with a 50/50 split for everyone and again quite literally runs away without ever returning. All I can take from this experience is the absolute hesitance to return to this location, give them my money, and my kindness and patience. Sara, please spend your time finding a career path that you actually feel like caring about your performance with. As a fellow server, Im embarassed for you, truly. read more

coat check sucks here, got my jacket stolen and no one cared, no numbers nothing first time and last.

Our group has made lunch reservations here on several occasions in the past. We would order off the regular lunch menu, and the food and service used to be very good. Lately, though, our group has grown and the restaurant has been seating us in a private dining room and limiting our selection to just a few items served buffet-style. For our most recent visit, we were served a plated salad followed by three entrees and one dessert item on the buffet table. The romaine lettuce salad (more accurately, chopped hearts of romaine salad) was more white than green. Together with dressings of grocery store caliber, the salad was so-so. Things went sharply downhill from there. The Harp battered fish & chips was practically inedible. The too-thick batter was undercooked, spongy and sodden with fryer oil. We peeled off the batter and ate the small nugget of fish that was lurking inside. The potatoes were oily and lukewarm. I suspect the other entrees - shepherd's pie and "The Prodigy Chicken Pasta" - came from the same Cold War-era casserole cookbook used by my grade school cafeteria. Those vile recipes should have been banished years ago. Both dishes were absolutely loathsome. Even worse, the staff neglected to light the cans of Sterno under these pans, which had arrived from the kitchen lukewarm to begin with. Much of the food went back to the kitchen uneaten. The dessert - house-made donuts - were quickly snarfed up by our still-hungry throng. When we expressed our dissatisfaction to a manager and an "investor," their response amounted to, "I'm sorry to hear that. Next time, we'll try to do better." There won't be a next time. read more

Ballydoyle Irish Pub - I tried just one bite ... EWWW! - Irish Pub Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Somewhat disappointing. Menu is limited and the food was ok, but not something I would drive out of my way to get, Staff was great however.

Unfortunately, I will no longer be having dinner at Ballydoyle. We are subscription holders at the Paramount Theater and several weeks ago my husband made dinner reservations at Ballydoyle so that we could eat there before the performance of the Waitress. We arrived at 6 p.m. and were greeted by someone asking us for a $10 cover charge per person. We told him that we had a dinner reservation and he very rudely responded that he knew nothing about any dinner reservations. We were going to pay the $10 cover charge but asked him if that guaranteed us a table since we had a dinner reservation. He said that it was open seating and that he couldn't look to see if they had a table available. I can understand that they might have a special event going on but you would think that they would have called us and canceled our reservation. The place is very poorly run. read more

Great Irish pub. Had to stop by for a classic Irish dinner for St. Patrick's weekend. I'm giving a 4 vs 5 for the following: Upon entry there's a sign to wait to be seated and you really can't see into the bar or restaurant due to set up. No problem, unless no host comes up to see if someone's waiting. Stood there a bit and finally peeked inside to see a server cleaning a table. She seems confused as to why we hadn't just sat. I was changed for a beer I'd not ordered but our server saw it and took care of this, but did charge my card twice. Not sure I'd of noticed so kudos for a very honest server. Overall minor issues. The restaurant is large with two bars that I saw. There was live Irish music in one room but if you are sitting in the main dinning room it's not too loud to prevent conversation. The place is cool inside with red curtains, pained dark walls and has the feel of a comfy pub. Food was great and our server was very nice. Highly recommend a stop by for dinner and/or drinks. read more

the food at this place is good and no complaints on the restaurant part. but on Saturdays they have live DJ on the main side entrance which is very cool but be warned if you are having drinks they think you are not going to tell, so they will serve you apple cider and not what you are paying for and when you say something to them they call security to escort you out what a bunch of thieves.. that is not cool at all!! read more

Service has always been bad. Then, on St. Patty's, there is a cover charge of $10, but it's a family restaurant. It's so sad that people want us to support small businesses yet, they take advantage of customers. It's so sad to see an older elderly couple go in, and they were charged a cover charge. read more

I can't believe this place gets any decent reviews. I understand it is a difficult for resturants because of restrictions and labor shortages. I understand slow service, but I will NOT tolerate bad service. Let me tell you about our experience. My family and I went there for dinner and told the hostess that we were going to the theatre and asked if 90 minutes would be enough time. We were told it would be. They then put us at a table in the hallway when the bar area had plenty of seating. No big deal, but not what we wanted. The waiter showed up 10 minutes after we sat down. We ordered drinks and a few appetizers. 20 minutes later without seeing our server a single time our appetizers came. The runner that brought us food said he could not bring us water because that was not his job. 10 minutes after we received our appetizers and drinks we still did NOT have our drinks and the appetizers were wrong. Still haven't seen our server to put our dinner orders in. So I went looking for him. I told him our situation and he said he would deal with it. Keep in mind he still had not taken our dinner order and we haven't even received our drinks. It now has been 45 minutes. I also had to get up and find him he never came to the table. 10 more minutes and no drinks and still have not had our orders taken we decided to leave. I had to go find our server again to tell him we were leaving. He said he had to get his manager. To say the manager was rude is an understatement! If she worked from me I would have fired her on the spot. She was very rude to me and said we would still have to pay for the appetizers that were wrong and the drinks that never came. I refused and she actually got angry with me. I told her I was leaving and she said fine. She Never apologized for the terrible service and didn't even care. I never raised my voice with the manager and was respectful but firm. She raised her voice to me because I had the nerve to be upset because I was leaving. This service was so bad I am going to go out of my way to tell every person I know how bad this service was. They do not deserve to be in business. read more

They advertise a band starts at 7:00 and it doesn't start till 9:30. Do they do this to get people in to eat n drink? Not right really.

They have good daily specials here: Monday - $5 burger Tuesday - Half price drafts and appetizers after 7pm Thursday - $0.40 wings Sunday - $3.50 Bloody Marys The place is huge with tons of seating. It's a fun place to hang out with friends and not too loud so you can have a conversation without yelling. Service can be spotty sometimes. The food is decent. Their burger price ranges from $10-$14. Sandwiches $12-$14. Appetizers $8-$13. Irish Entrees and Boxtys are $14-$16. Desserts are $5 or $8. Yelp check-in will get you a free serving of Irish Chips, which are homemade potato chips topped with salt and sugar. It's addictive. Their fries are good, if you enjoy the Burger King style fries. Free wifi that's password protected (irishfoodandmusic). Free street parking on New York can be easy to come by, but if not then there's the casino parking lot on Rivers to park in. read more

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Came here with my sister, as we were having a girl's night out. We wanted to grab something to eat before we saw "Legally Blond: The Musical." We were seated promptly, and that's about as quick as it got for the night. We each had a beer, and that took a while to get to us. We were seated in a corner area, so we were lost easily. Our server forgot about us most of the night. I had a Yelp coupon for an order of their Irish Chips, and he completely forgot about it until after we got our dinner. My sister had their grilled chicken sandwich, and she said it was good. I had their corned beef dinner, and came with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. I will admit, the corned beef was delicious; nice and tender, and the carrots were amazing! Here's where this place loses it for me. The service was just terrible. I always try to give the benefit of the doubt, but this time I just couldn't. He literally forgot about us, and it took about 20 minutes for us to get our check. The second thing was the price. Yes, corned beef can be expensive, but it was roughly 20 bucks just for two pieces, and my sister's grilled chicken sandwich was over 15 dollars; simply overpriced. Would we come back here? Maybe. I'm really not sure. read more

Ballydoyle Irish Pub - Corned beef dinner. - Irish Pub Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Good place if you like Irish food and beer. I'm not a fan of that style of food but still enjoyed the unique experienced at this restaurant. read more

Service on a busy Saturday night at the bar was AWESOME! Asked for a cup of coffee at the end and it wasn't even the slightest bit warm. Oh well. read more

Went here before seeing a show at the paramount. Had a great time. Excelenté food, ambience and service. Well decorated for the holidays

It's been a while since I dropped into this place late one night for a bite to eat. I've been been meaning to go back because I remembered they had excellent beer, great food and a really fun live band. I'll have to return soon and refresh my review. read more

If you like food that was cooked and left to sit out for well over 14 hours only to be reheated again and again , then the leftovers to be cut up and put into their corned beef balls, this is your place then. I wouldn't serve this to my dog if it was starving read more

I've been coming to Ballydoyle's every few months for years, always hoping for something better. Great place to go for a Guinness, although the glass is slightly small compared to a proper pint. Food is always disappointing, service is hit or miss depending on the day. Lastly, if you're there too late on a Friday or Saturday they always have a cover band - and by cover band I mean, you have to pay a cover to hear them. New bar staff and a fresh menu would go a long ways at this place. read more

I'm giving this 3 stars instead of 2 based mostly on our server. I think his name was Luis, he was really very attentive and made a so-so experience pretty good. We came here on a Saturday night looking for some live music and something to eat and drink. There was a $5 cover which is reasonable for live music. We started with Irish chips which they make themselves, they're really good, a mix of sweet and salty. They have a really good craft beer menu but of course the 2 I wanted were out. No biggie. But then what is supposed to be the star of the show at a restaurant was a disappointment. she had the "thrasher" chicken salad and I've never seen someone have to chew a salad so much. She said the chicken was chewy, she didn't care for it at all. Then I had the corned beef and cabbage. You figure an Irish pub woiuld do this plate right. The corned beef was good but the carrots were over cooked, they were like mush, the cabbage wasn't cooked at all and the potatoes were ok. oh and the band was not that good.... we left before the end of the first set was over. read more

We were leaving the Hollywood Casino and this pub was across the street...so we thought we'd get our dinner here. The building is old & has really cool woodwork and windows. Unfortunately, it wasn't very clean. Our waitress took our order but did not return to refill our drinks. A young man brought our meal to us , kind of a long wait, still no waitress, no drink refills. Nothing else really mattered after I noticed an opened tampon on the window sill behind where my husband was sitting. A TAMPON! It wasn't used, but really? They must have a big crowd in the evenings and clearly they do not clean up after they close or before they open the next day. I had to go get the hostess & ask her to find our waitress so that we could get our bill....for food we did not eat...and we got out of there! read more

Ballydoyle Irish Pub - Our dining table, by window, with view of an opened tampon! - Irish Pub Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

A group from Batavia and Geneva were off to see August Rush at Paramount Theatre in Aurora. Our group made reservations at the last minute and they were ready for us. We were seated promptly in a well lit part of the restaurant. The restaurant furniture and decor as well as staff had an Irish theme throughout. Because I checked in on Yelp I received a free basket of homemade chips delightfully flavored. I shared them with the rest of the group. On the menu they had two dishes named after the musical at Paramount Theatre. I understand that the restaurant regularly names dishes after the musical or play at the Paramount. I chose the chicken sandwich on romaine lettuce instead of bread. I also ordered a side of fruit. Both were delicious. Sandi and I ordered a dessert of a brown colored cake with frosting and enjoyed it thoroughly. Check the restaurant out before and after your visit to the Theatre. read more

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Nice restaurant, staff very friendly and it's under new management! I can't wait to try my corn beef, cabbage and potatoes! The ambiance is set up for St. Patrick's day! read more

Came here with some friends for a night out. This pub is great for gathering with friends and the bar selection is great. However, the food left me wanting more. There's your typical Irish fare such as Shepard's pie and boxty. However the food was average to me. We ordered a couple of appetizers and entrees to share. I thought the Irish nachos were okay. It comes with a potato soup as a garnish but I wasn't sure I tasted it. The Shepard's pie was fine but lacked a little seasoning. Will come back for drinks with friends. read more

Food quality Definitely down from my prior visit. I had a soggy salty Reuben sandwich. I was disappointed because I always had a positive experience here food wise.Our server was just ok.The only word she knew was yahhhhh... I had a free order of chips with a yelp check in. Yaaaah.told me she had to charge me a dollar for the free chips! It's not the dollar, it's the false advertising.. read more

Ballydoyle Irish Pub - Menu - Irish Pub Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

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I have been to this place on five separate occasions, all at varying times from afternoon to late night, and various levels of alcohol intake. Each time, I have found the staff rude, the food under or over cooked and often greasy, and the clientele stuffy. My least favorite experience had to be the night that a group of friends went in after parent teacher conferences (about 18 people, more or less), and when we asked if there was room elsewhere (all tables were full) the waitress was rude and told us there was no room for us. Yes, I know your first comment would be "call ahead," however we did not know so many people would show, and the night we chose was a typically slow night. Otherwise, we would have. On the other hand, do you want the business of a dozen and a half teachers who need respite from the job, or no? Either way, we were treated poorly, and it will never again be a meeting place for any group I go out with. The bartender that evening was good, he actually treated us like customers instead of a nuisance like the initial waitress. read more

Went in on a whim. I've past it plenty of times, figured I'd make it a point to stop. Had a few appetizers, not bad, but then again not over the top either. Bartender was great, extremely friendly, mixed drinks were so so but great whiskies and beer. I'll be back again to try more of the menu. read more