Now this is a burger worth writing about. On a scale 1-10, it's an 11. This place never disappoints. read more

BJ McMahon's - Bars Near Me - Oak Lawn, Illinois

We will keep coming back for multiple reasons... -Hospitality... on point.. our favorite employee is Michelle. Not only is she professional- she must be the manager/ top dog there, she always remembers us and ALWAYS greets us with a smile. -Food: #1 Cheddar Jalapeños appetizer ( we've sampled too many to admit!). #2 Reuben, ridiculously awesome. I could keep going/ on but just take my word for it/ you won't be disappointed! read more

You couldn't grab anything bad at this nice homey place to have a drink and some good bar food. Burgers not the same. Still no cheese sauce and quality has gone down. Drinks still Flo read more

Droppin BJ's down a notch or 2 as I had a cheeseburger recently that sucked. Ordered it rare, and a half hour later waiting at the bar having a beer, and I got it and took it home and it was dry as a bone, well done, without even one hint of juciness. The staff also doesnt seem very attentive, although they are Ok. One more strike and BJ's is OUT. I DO NOT like inconistency, as you can probably tell. Disappointing to say the least. And whats with the customers. being allowed to bring screaming babies in, screaching and annoying everyone trying to get some peace and watch a ballgame for a half hour straight? Geez, Get a Grip already... read more

My friend took me for a birthday lunch in August. Her first time there. We split the cheese sticks, which were excellent!! She ordered the chicken tenders with fries and enjoyed her meal very much. I had their side salad, which is a generous portion of crisp cold lettuce with diced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, Ranch on the side. EXCELLENT! I also had the grilled cheese with bacon and it was gooey and delicious. I gave regular cravings for their food and highly recommend this place. Oh! And I'm addicted to their kosher dill pickle coins!! read more

Truly heartbroken to say that one of my former favorite spots has gone to shit. I just went to BJ's for lunch. Usually good vibes are had by all and there's no issues. Not this time. We arrived at 1:01pm and did not get our food until 1:47. The cook, while holding a cigar in his mouth, regularly was coming out from the kitchen to break down boxes and work with some of the frozen food ON THE BAR WITH BARE HANDS. At one point, he broke down a box sitting there and then went back to moving food with his bare hands. We ordered pops, water, an appeitizer, and 3 meals each. The first thing to arrive was a hamburger. Then the appeitizer (5 minutes after) followed by the other 2 meals (a pizza puff & cod with fish). Then i was still waiting on my cajun fries. When the fries did eventually come, I tried some and realized it was just well done regular fries. I told the waitress that I tried the fries and they werent cajun, which she gave me an attitude stating they were. The photo below clearly shows that there is no cajun seasoning on them. She did take it off the bill, which was kind, but honestly will never be returning and shared the photos with my friends who were also patrons. Anyone who wants to eat there deserves to know how their food is being handled, let alone that service will take an hour and if they're wrong, no you are. read more

See all

Best burger in town! Friendly staff and patrons. I would recommend highly to all. Ask for Patty. She will make you feel at home!

Been here a few times, like the food . Service nice atmosphere. Good prices . Highly recommended the burgers and also cheese sticks read more

See all

Overall a solid place to hang out for some drinks. When it's nice out the court yard is nice to sit in. Service is standard for a south side suburban bar. At Christmas they have ornaments hanging all over the ceiling (whoever did that needs a raise). The burgers and fries are excellent. Need an upgrade on their frozen pizzas and appetizer menu. The party room is a good s all venue for a private event. read more

Really friendly place. Good spot to watch a game. Cold beer. Good crowd of people who are gainfully employed and contributing to society. Never had a problem here. read more

Food and service great! Really great flavor and prices very reasonable! Absolutely great food!

Great patty melt and hamburgers for a great price. Can't go wrong with the fried mushrooms.

Friendly, generous, good fresh made to order food.. Suggested by a friend this place was spot on

A local place, reminiscent of Cheers. Where everyone knows your name. Great burgers, Rubins, cornedbeef , brats, dogs, fried shrimp and nice selection of beers. Great outdoor area. Try it, you'll love it. And that's the bottom line, because Big Al told you so. read more

Favorite local bar to hit up with friends or my wife. Always recommend it to anyone that comes to visit oak lawn

Best cheeseburger you can find anywhere! 20 toppings you can add for free and Huge appetizers. Big baskets of fries and 23 Oz beers. Neighborhood place, $11 for 3/4 cheeseburger. read more

great place to eat and drink. I can walk there so that is a double plus for me. I love playing their slots also. Friendly service

First time there, I was having service done to my car, two blocks away, when I stumbled into this place, it's a quiet with what it looked like the regulars, enjoying there beverages, I was taken care of right away, and I ordered the 3/4 lbs cheeseburger, with fries, the beer was cold, and the cheeseburger was big, and very tasty, I enjoyed it a lot, it's a nice place to go have good food and good service, I've been back several times since. read more

Good place for local get togethers. Neighborhood vibe, but still cycles in/out 7 craft beers. First up was tomato bread which was very nice and fresh. Large slices of tomato and plenty of cheese. Huge basket of fries, both Cajun and regular were very good. Big enough to host 3 people per basket. Good, but not great corn beef sandwich. Order it hot or cold. Plenty of parking in the rear, but 4 stars because it has gambling machines. read more

while at BJ's, I noticed the flag flying in front of the building was in poor condition needed to be replaced. when I brought it up to a staff member's attention they shrugged it off like it was no big deal that is a disgrace to our country and to the men and women who have served and died for your freedom!!!!!!! read more

BJ McMahon's - American flag - Bars Near Me - Oak Lawn, Illinois

Friendly service, with not a huge selection of beers, but a nice rotation along with an outside sitting area that is wonderful. Attentive service and reasonable priced food as well. Love it! read more

Had a great experience renting the party room for a family birthday party. Great space with a lot of privacy. Will definitely consider them in the future. read more

Yummy burgers and delicious steak fries! Service is always friendly and quick. Love coming here!

I've never reviewed this place!? Crazy. This is absolutely one of my favorite bars! I should really start drinking daily so I can hang out here more. The service is always friendly! When I first started going in I was a little nervous. Some of the bars around here can be crappy to outsiders. I haven't had that problem at all here. The bartenders know craft beer and they are happy to chat about what they have that's new. The beer selection is pretty awesome. I'm not saying they have 40 taps, but the selection here gets the job done. They are always adding something new and are happy to make a suggestion. The food is awesome! Don't bother trying to watch calories here. It's almost impossible. They have some of the best burgers around. For a small fee you can add an appetizer on the side of your burger (onion rings, fried zucchini, etc). It's a decent size space but does fill up during games. They have a nice outdoor patio and a separate party room. I'm thinking my Summer may be spent on the patio here. read more

I met my bf over 2 1/2 years ago. On our first date, we had dinner at Chi Tung (at the time my "first date spot" haha) and then he suggested going for drinks (always a good sign). He said BJ's was he and his friend's favorite bar, and suggested we go there. Since then its become my friends favorite neighborhood bar as well. My sister and her boyfriend have liked it so much that they go nearly every Thursday. This is a SW suburb pub. Its your standard type Pub, 5,6,7ish beers on tap, wooden tables, food menu, but once you go you'll be so comfortable hanging out there, that you will be there for hours and it just might sneak up on you and become your go to place. The inside of the bar is pretty decent size. They have probably 5 pub tables that fit 4 people, and another 4 that fit more. They offer darts and Golden Tee towards the back of the bar, where there is also a pretty good juke box. The people are regulars and ages range anywhere between people in their 20's who come in before going out someplace else, or after wards, up to people who are in their 70's who are there for a quick drink and bite to eat. They have domestic as well as small micro brews on tap, I highly suggest Sierra Nevada if you like IPA's as well as Anchor Steam Ale. They also have imports like Bass, Harp (can never go wrong there) and Guinness. The bartenders are always the same and are always friendly. There food is excellent. They offer 2 burgers, the 1/2 lb and the 3/4 lb. I like to eat haha and I can promise you this, the 1/2lb is a very big burger. Cooked just right nearly every time Ive had it, its juicy and substantial. You can get a multitude of topings and cheeses on it. Pair that up with the Steak Fries which are also very good. My sister and her bf swear on the Patty Melt which is smothered in onions. The Chicken Fingers basket is quite good....and Ive just recently had the Breaded Cod basket which I didn't realize was a favorite there. It comes with tartar sauce and malt vinegar. The occasionally have food specials, one of the nights there (I think it may be Thursday nights) they have 10cent mini tacos...who can go wrong with that? I also suggest highly spending some time in their beer garden. Its actually pretty and you forget that your right next to 95th St. Its framed in wood and has nicely manicured trees out there. In the spring and Fall they have large gas heaters to warm the area for people who prefer to be outside as much as possible. I would have given it 5 stars but there are a few draw backs: First and foremost, on weekends this place gets packed. You'll want to get there by 8 o'clock if you like to sit at a table. 2nd and this kinda goes with my first point, on most nights they only have one waitress, 2 if your lucky, so occasionally the service is a bit slow. Honestly this is only a problem occasionally and the girls that wait tables there are always super nice. 3rd, the parking can be a real hassle for a south side / suburban bar. There is a TGIFridays next door so parking on a Thursday-Sunday can be a bit of a pain seeing they share the same lot. Many 'o late nights have been spent closing out BJ McMahnons in the last 2 years. I enjoy that BJ's has been part of me and my bf's "story" and its good to have a neighborhood "go to" place, and this is a good one to "go to" read more

The beer garden is more scenic and welcoming than the exterior dive-bar image. It has plenty of seating and some of it is elevated with some landscaping and umbrellas to provide shade. The inside is what you would expect ...with even more to be desired. It would be more of a hangout if it had pool tables or a Foosball table - Darts and few arcade games sat in a corner. There wasn't an official drink menu (we ended up looking at a selection of what they had on draft via a server's old tab), so ordering anything more complicated or exotic than American domestics seemed out of the question. Although, the service was quick. read more

I've been going to McMahon's for over 20 years. I live on the total opposite side of town yet I still consider this my "corner bar". I'm offering 4 stars today, but if you suffer through my rating I'll explain why it's not 5. Location: A few blocks from the Oak Lawn Metra Station and in the heart of the 95th Street business district. Convenient location with adequate parking and essential as the west-most destination for a 95th Street beer crawl. Ambiance: Dark on the inside, bright on the outside, with a lovely patio between the tavern and Party Room. Inside is a horseshoe bar as well as plenty of tables, all done up with dark woods, nostalgic memorabilia, and a fun, lively crowd of locals. If you can't strike up a conversation here you are seriously socially awkward. The Patio (open from when it's consistently warm to when it's consistently cold) is smoker-friendly and a cozy, shaded respite with TVs and a waterfall feature. Service: We've always had exceptional service: wait-staff, bartenders and kitchen alike. Everyone who works here seems to know what a unique place they're working for. If you have the pleasure of having Kirk, Ken, Frank or Blake as your bartender, you're sure to have some interesting conversation! Food: It's all "pub grub" and I've had everything. Maybe you have to wait a few minutes for your meal but everything is made to order. Top of my list is the burger, 1/2 or 1/3 lb., prepared exactly to your temp with your choice of toppings. But everything here is good. My next 3 recommendations: Rueben, Polish with grilled onions, shrimp basket. We like our fries crispy so we ask for them "well done". If they arrive too light, we send them back and they'll drop 'em for a few more minutes. No problem. Entertainment: Sports on a ton of TVs, inside and out. Juke box. "Video Gaming" if that's your thing. I haven't looked In the gaming section lately but I believe they got rid of the common-man games like the dart boards, Golden Tee and Big Game Hunter... which I'd enjoyed in the past. Selection: I can't comment on the mixed drinks, but the beer selection is pretty darned good. This is one of the few places in the area that's had Bell's Two Hearted on draught consistently since it came back to Illinois. However the only reason that I nick down B.J.'s rating is for selection. You can get your macro beers and what-not, but the remainder of the 10-or-so taps are all hop-heavy. That's fine, since those are dictated by the palate of the owner (it's also possible that they sell well). If there were a few more craft beers on draught that weren't IPA's or DIPA's, McMahon's would get my 5th star. Maybe some Belgians (Dubbels, Trippels), Witbiers, Maarzens, Doppels, Dunkles, craft Lagers, etc..., just one or two more that aren't overtly hopped. Maybe install another tower, dedicating one to IPA's and another to "everything else". I'm pretty easy-to-please, but if you want me to stay longer or come more often you need to turn down the hop-nozzles and have more on tap that my wife will enjoy. Anyway, yeah. Get out here and check out B.J. McMahon's. Just save a spot at one of the corners of the bar for us! ;) read more

My husband and I always loved coming here, and still do. We enjoy the beer garden and getting a good bite to eat. The service is always attentive and friendly, even during their busiest times. The main reason we loved coming here is for the Buck Hunter, Golden Tee, and darts. But, now that gambling is legal, those games were switched out for slot machines. Man do we miss those games, created some friendly competition between us. Despite the games, we continue to enjoy this place and it's usually one of our top choices for a low key date night. read more

Been going to BJ's for a long time. Had a great party for my husband's birthday in the cute party room and have eaten here many times - good, solid, hot, fresh bar type food. I'm writing this review to let them know how awesome their service is. We tried to stop at SIP on Friday night and after 10-15 minutes, we were completely ignored by the awful wait staff. We got up and went over to BJ's (we like supporting local businesses). Before we had a chance to sit down, the bartenders were asking what we'd like to drink and giving us menus. I love good service, good food and supporting local, non-chain businesses. The just need to make the patio dog-friendly during off times (afternoons :) and it would be 5-star perfect! read more

The burgers here are great.The zucchini,and onion rings are very good as well.There is one bad grade I have to give this place.They say you can always tell how clean a place is by their restrooms.Well I don't know about the woman's restroom,but the mens restroom is just darn right nasty.It needs a makeover and it smells terrible in there. read more

Not a bad, BJs. Not bad. They have some decent beers on tap. They have your usual Bud and Miller, but also some Guinness, Harp, and a couple craft selections, though I can't tell you which one I had because I was a little tipsy at that point. Lots of seating and tables for people. The inside was crazy decorated for Christmas with ornaments hanging from the ceiling. Bathroom was decent. Watch your drinks, though. Some guy sitting right next to my friend took her Miller Lite. We're pretty sure it was him. He took it while we were doing a shot. Of course, we can't be sure it was him, but he kept looking at us all night, so I have my suspicions. Luckily, the bartender was nice enough to give my friend a replacement when I told him someone took her drink. He kind of gave her a "seriously?" look, but he had to know we weren't lying since he just gave it to us two minutes ago. So that was nice of him. Pretty good crowd. They have a beer garden outside but obviously it was closed for winter. I'd be interested in coming back here, which you can't really say for a lot of Oak Lawn bars. read more

This place is great! Burgers are the best! Perfect place to come hang around with friends or come alone and sit at the bar to kill time. Claire is very nice and so is the older gentleman behind the bar. We will be back to visit them....Next time I'll be sure to order a 2nd burger to go! read more

Not too cool of a place. The place seems old and so did the food. It is small and bot much is happening at the bar. It has small TV sets and not the place to go for a sport event on TV. Oak lawn deserves better on its main street read more

This is more of a commentary on the clientel. My wife and I went there on a Sunday afternoon to sit in the beer garden. Food was good, prices super reasonable and the waitress was nice. However about 10 minutes after we finished our food, some guy ( I guess a regular) comes out from inside and sits right next to us with a huge unlit cigar in his mouth. I noticed him and told him my wife had allergies (I had to tell him twice as the fist time he didn't acknowledge me even though he looked directly at me. ) After about 15 minutes, he turns to us to ask "if we're going to be much longer?" My wife asked "Really?!!" which started a whole back-and-forth on how he was freinds with the owner and if we didn't like it to leave. I smoke an occasional cigar myself however there is a time and a place for cigars and this beergarden is definately NOT THE PLACE. Its a very small space between two buildings, almost more of an alley way. Anyway, we asked for the check and got out of there. This may come off sounding like a beef bewteen a couple of guys at a bar but the waitress sensed there was something going on and didn't really intervene. I also saw a heavy set guy when we first arrived with an unlit cigar in his mouth that I believe was the owner (he was directing the wait staff) so there probably is something to this (see someone else's post here about getting yelled at). Again good food and prices but not worth dealing with lower class from Oak Lawn. Much nicer places like Krause's or Deja Brew right down the street. read more

best bar in oak lawn. great food, great drinks, very economical, friendly bartenders.

The burger are good but the the kitchen sucks took 2 hours for a burger. People were leaving because of the incompetence of the kitchen.

Friendly people, attentive staff, good food and a nice Beer Garden.

Love this little place. The bartender (singular, because every single time we go it is the same guy) is awesome! He is super friendly and attentive! I have spent many drunken nights here, but now I don't get out as often anymore. Unfortunately the only times I make it here now are randomly, like when I am waiting at the Ford for an oil change for 2 hours, so we run down to BJs, or I will meet the bf after work for a beer. Also, I am there every mothers day for the private party held by BJs for our group after we do the Beverly Mothers Day Breast Cancer Walk! This place has regular bar food, good burgers, but nothing to write home about, but it is good for just chillin and snacking, and is not overpriced. Beer is good and cold, Moscow Mules are delicious and the outdoor patio is great! read more

How have I not written a review about BJ's? I have been coming here for 20 plus years. BJ's is my go to place for a nice relaxing time out. Until recently my wife didn't like coming but now that she has experienced the beer garden and realized that she likes beer and not wine she is all about BJ McMahon's. The bar on the inside is pretty nice. Could use a few more TV's for the sporting events. The bathrooms could use a little work too (ok a lot of work). But over all I love the comfortable feeling of the place. The beer garden is awesome! Not huge but plenty big enough and just cozy. Nicely decorated and just comfortable. It's like sitting in your back yard. The place draws a great crowd of all ages. The staff is just so damn friendly. I have never had a bad experience with them in over 20 years. They treat you like family. The food is great too. We eat there a few times a month. The menu isn't huge but thats fine because I go for the burgers and patty melts. Everything else we have tried has been delicious too. The beer selection is pretty good. They have a few craft brews and all of your regulars on tap. I believe they have a good selection of bottles but I am not sure since I dive in to the Sweetgrass or the Bells most of the time. The best part is the prices. I am always surprised when the check comes at how cheap it is. Last night, Patty Melt, pizza bread, fries and four beers $26.00. That is crazy. I spend that much on just beer at other places. If you never have been here you should give it a try. I highly recommend you enjoy a cold one and a burger in the beer garden with your friends. If you don't have any friends thats ok, you'll make some while you are there. read more

My kind of place. Not quite a" Star Wars" cantina dive but no pinkie wavering martini crowd either. Barkeep was awesome and friendly in a strong, surly sort of way. Walked in and felt welcome. The belly ups shared the same welcoming aura. Reasonably clean with above average food and a feel good thought as I swilled a pint and watched a little college football. I would definitely go back and bring others as well. read more