This place is terrible. Smells terrible. Service is terrible. Bartender "Jake" is so rude thinks he's a dictator but he's just a bartender. Terrible overall experience never go here it's all cash anyway and there's so many better options right across the street. Not worth the power struggle. read more

Friendly local tavern, classic style. Friendly staff. Great place to meet and chat with the local community. Dogs are allowed in so you often get a friendly greeting from them as well. read more

2 Bartenders IDed us as we walked in 10 minutes later "owner" came by demanding ID's. All other bars in Grayslake didn't have a problem with a vertical ID which the person turned 21 on Tuesday, 4 days prior, Not a single other bar had an issue. Only reason we went there was because it was the only bar open at 1:30am. Owner smelt like booze and cigs. Bartenders were cool, owner not so much! First draft, Emil's, and brewhouse alway better IMO. Will not stop there anymore to end the night. read more

Sometimes I read other reviews after I have been to a certain place and wonder if the other reviewers were lost and were actually at some other place other than where I was. Be that as it might, here are my thoughts after my first visit to Charlie's. Charlie's is a neighborhood tap maybe just a notch above similar Wisconsin beer-bars that I have been to, meaning that it's a little cleaner with more lighting and the people seemed to be nicer. The day I visited, Miller-Coors tap pints were $1.75. There was only a bartender on duty (no wait staff) so YES we did have to go up to the bar to place an order rather than sit on our dupa and have it brought to the table, but this was no problem for us being strong young chelloveks. The reason for my visit was Charlie's monthly (winter) "meat raffle". I am told that this is a tradition in the Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin area that certain bars have been doing for years. The tickets were $1 each or 6 for $5 and are good only for the "current" round. There are 10 rounds, Each round has 4 winners. 1st - Meat 2nd - Bottle of liquor 3rd - A drink 4th - Lottery Scratch Off Ticket. If you are a meat winner, they allow you to pick whatever you would like from the selections in their cooler. The booze prizes were about half top-shelf and half well to pick from. The people selling raffle tickets were very nice and there was no pressure to buy. Prizes seemed to be won by people all over the bar rather than like at some places where only 2-3 people seemed to be doing all the winning. Overall I felt that this was fun, and would come here again just to enjoy the raffle. As previously mentioned, Charlie's does not have a kitchen but snacks such as chips and the like are available for purchase. It is OK to bring in outside food (within reason). I appreciated that there were coat hooks here and there for patron use which is needed during the dead of midwest winter when it's basically impossible to go anywhere without a coat. As with most bars in Northern Illinois, Charlie's is non-smoking but they have a small outdoor deck for nicotine addicts to puff away. The patrons at Charlie's when I visited seemed to be friendly working class folks; not the same sort of crowd that you would find at a place like The Vine, but they seem charming in their own way. Just neighborhood folks would be a good way to describe them (see photos). Overall I felt that Charlie's is a friendly and comfortable neighborhood tap with a lot of character for the person who likes a basic bar where the beer is cold and the juke box set at a volume that conversation is possible. read more

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This is the best bar in Grayslake if you're looking for a good relaxing environment but also very friendly people and a fair price on a good drink this is the place for you not to mention it is a great piece of Grayslake history read more

Best bar ever! The bartenders are so polite and are eager to help facilitate the fanciest of drinks. The boulvadire and French martini were amazing! The pizza was phenomenal 10/10 and all so reasonably priced! The service is amazing Brendan and Devon are exceptional! read more

Short drinks selection- ok service. Would go back if they took a card or their arm didn't charge a 3 dollar fee.

This is the BEST bar in the entire world. Everyone who works here is amazing. Sam is probably the best bartender I have ever had in my life. Not only is Sam beautiful and funny she is so knowledgeable about alcohol and has a heart of gold. If you want to have the best time ever then definitely hang out here! 10/10 read more

Ughhhhhhh The bartender was rude. Took awhile to get our drinks (it seemed to be full of locals and since we were not locals, the bartender ignored us)...she pours us our drinks and we take out our credit card to pay and.....were told they don't accept credit cards. I guess thats fine although its 2018 and everyplace does, even if they have some sort of limit to put on the card, but there were no signs anywhere that say they don't accept credit cards and according to yelp, it says you do. So we put our drinks down and left and went a few doors down and spent over 100 dollars at a place that had no problem taking our money. read more

Charlie's is my all time favorite bar! Great bartenders, awesome events that help the local community, the regulars are friendly and best of all cheap drinks!!! read more

I was extremely excited to try a bar in Grayslake that I had never been to. About 5 of us in a group (all women) walked into the bar, I noticed that it had your regular Dive bar quality to it. Great, I thought. This will be a fine place to cap off our evening. The 2 guys playing guitar seemed fun. The crowd was definitely older. (45-55). We didn't fit in. My friends and I had our money on the bar waiting for the bartender and to order drinks. The bartender walked right by me probably 7-8 times with no acknowledgement that we even existed. It took us 10 minutes before the bartender finally waited on us. I ended up talking to another patron who said that is fairly normal. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the bar want to make money? We had one drink and left. Too bad, because we could have spent all night there had we been served in a timely manner. Leave the hot temperatures inside for the older folks. My suggestion...bypass this pub, and quickly! read more

Worse experience ever the bartender was rude as could be horrible place wouldn't recommend at all

It's a dive bar. It's actually THE dive bar, as in, every other dive bar in existence draws inspiration from Charlie's. The drinks are cheap and the bartenders are friendly. Highly recommended if this is your kind of bar. read more

Love this bar. My girls and I usually end our GNO here. The bartenders are friendly and we can usually get a table to chat around. Drinks are priced just fine and people are friendly. The patio outside is nice in the evenings with a beer in the summers. I recommend this place all the time. Just bring cash :) read more

Walked in and the bartender immediately told us to leave. We asked what was going on and he threatened to call the cops then asked for our ID's and called over a second bartender to check them. We all had valid IL drivers licenses and are well over 21. He continued to give us a hard time so we took our money elsewhere. Someone followed us out of the bar claiming to be the bouncer at Emil's. Not a friendly environment at all and safe to say I will never to back. If I could rate lower than a 1, I would read more

I don't drink but I enjoy a lemonade at Charlie's. Charlie's plays a role in the history of Grayslake. People who left the town years ago, go to Charlie's for class reunions. Other places were not in existence when they were living here. Thanks, Leslie, for supporting your hometown. read more

Very quaint cute old town place, lots of charm, friendly staff and nice patio! We were there for an event last night and had a really nice time! read more

The place is marginally cheaper than its competition in downtown Grayslake. That's all you can say in its favor. The employees and patrons are the absolute dregs of G-town. If the conversation at Abel's is a little too sophisticated for you, if the late, unlamented Last Chance was too clean for your taste, if you crave the sensation that comes with being surrounded by people whose presence on your property would prompt a call to 911, if you like waiting 30 or 40 minutes for a stale draft beer from the area's least interesting beer selection, this may be the bar for you. Or maybe you're David Lynch or the producers of "Cops." This is absolutely the place for you. read more