I guess this place opened a month or two ago, but I just heard about it last week from a coworker. Since I didn't feel like cooking tonight, we decided to check it out. You walk in and the place is cavernous... EXTREMELY high ceilings, even though the square footage isn't all that much (it's the end unit of a small strip mall). The decor is all firefighter stuff, from authentic used air tanks, masks, jackets & boots to really nice murals of firemen and fire trucks painted on the walls. The place is very clean (it IS new!) and has a nice atmosphere, but the voluminous ceiling results in a lack of "coziness" for a place that really isn't all that big. You kind of feel like you're sitting in a shoebox without a lid. Food is the usual bar/pub fare... fried everything appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, salads, etc. We got the combo platter for an appetizer - onion rings, mozzarella sticks, potato skins and jalapeno poppers. Cheese sticks and skins were really good, but the onion rings were just "eh". They seemed to be of the Oreida variety. Poppers were ok too. I had the turkey club and it was actually really good. Hubby had the BLT and said it was good as well. My son had the hot dog.. can't really mess that up. I'm really giving it 2 stars because of a bunch of quirky things that happened/that I noticed. 1) On the HUGE daily drink specials banner by the front door it said that Saturday is "Old Beer Can Night" (or something to that effect). We asked the waitress what that meant and she said she had no clue, but would find out for us. She never did. 2) Right when we sat down, the server brought each of us TWO glasses of water. Is that their way of getting out of coming back for refills? My husband finished both of his and they never did come back to refill his water - but they did refill his iced tea. 3) Mac & Cheese is on the kids menu, however they really don't sell it - apparently never have. Also, no paper kids menu/puzzle page or crayons. Bring your own "kid supplies" if you need to. 4) A few misspellings on the menu (giardinieras??) 5) Several tvs, on different channels, all with each of them having the volume on at the same level, so you can't understand/hear what any of them are saying - just a mumbled mess. They'd do better to mute the tvs and turn on some tunes. 6) Asked for a take-out menu on my way out the door, and was given one. Realized when I got in the car that NOWHERE on the menu is the name of the restaurant, address, phone number, etc. listed. How can that be? 6) On the apps. menu, they list "mini sliders" as an appetizer - ok, cool. I thought the pricing was weird though... $5.95 for 1, (who gets 1 mini slider as an appetizer???), $6.95 for 2, $9.95 for 4 and $11.95 for 6. Why give a choice? Just say there are X amount to an order and the price is ___. Maybe it's just me, but I thought that was just strange. Overall it was a so-so experience. Decent food (nothing horrible, nothing to write home about); servers/hostess who were more than friendly, but somewhat in the "duh" category; prices that were very fair (dinner, including apps. but no alcohol was $40.00). I guess we'd go back, but we're in no rush. read more

Have popped in several while in the neighborhood. The staff is always friendly and the food has always been good. Had the Forester burger last time w fried and it was delicious. I happened to hit happy hour so the drinks were very reasonably priced also. Highly recommend. read more

I've been here a few times. The food is decent pub food. Chief's Bloody Mary is epic - it's seriously a meal. I like their salad and jalapeño cheddar poppers. But the service - friendly but slow. read more

Stopped in yesterday prior to a nail appointment and ordered a Makers Mark Manhattan "on the rocks with extra bitters".............I was charged $14.00!! When I inquired about the amount she stated.....it is our new pricing system, we double charge for the extra shot, and for the vermouth..... I never ordered a double shot and since when are you charded for vermouth? Never again. Great Marketing move! read more

Chief's Pub is a great place to take someone who doesn't know what they have a taste for on a casual night out. It has a nice sectional to block the bar section from the dining section. It is nice if you want the pub feel with a little less noise and space from the bar. The staff was very friendly and the place was very clean. If you want to head out, but don't want to miss a game, no worries because the place is lined with huge flat screen TV's. I ordered a southwest chicken wrap and a fajita wrap over my two visits with a side salad in place of fries. I can tell you that both times the portions were more than generous and very good. If I had to choose one, I would pick the fajita wrap as a winner in taste. The other people I was with ordered a BLT, hot dog, and burger. It seemed that everyone agreed that it was typical pub food and nothing to write home about. This is a great place to grab a casual drink at the bar, chill and watch a game with some typical pub food, and take someone who just can't pick what they want to eat because of the size and variety of the menu. Nothing awesome, but will keep it on my list of options in Lake Forest. read more

Often, when I order a burger "medium", it comes out closer to "well done". I am happy to report that his was not the case at Chief's last night! My "medium" burger was, in fact, cooked "medium", just the way I like it. The fries were crispy, and the water was refilled when necessary. Actually, our service was pretty good considering how busy the place was. My one issue is with the noise level. Get that many people in a pub at one time, and noise takes over. It was difficult to talk to the others sitting at our table, but really, who goes to a pub to talk? In these rough economic times, I'm glad to see that folks are still going out, having a good time, and supporting local establishments. Chief's seems like a great asset for Lake Forest, and I hope they continue to thrive. I will happily frequent this pub again in the future. read more

I've never eaten here, only drank. a lot. Whenever us ex-LFHS-ers make our way back to LF for holidays, we always seem to end up here. It beats the Lantern out by a looooongg way as Lake Forest's best bar (1st place out of 2 places). And it makes it seem like we don't need to go to Highwood like we used to. read more

I go here at least once a week, seeing I now live down the street. The food is great (pulled pork, pizza, chicken salad wrap, etc) and the service is really friendly. It tends to be more of a family bar or a mid 40s hangout, at least during the fall/winter months when college kids are away at school. Although the crowd is all over the place really. Sometimes you can catch a lot of younger people in there particularly when there are Cubs/Bears/Bulls games on TV. The bartenders are all women and for the most part really fun to talk to and easy on the eyes. If you are in the area, stop by for some food, it is definitely worth it. Best nights to go in my opinion (if you want to sit at the bar) are Tuesday and Friday (best bartenders work there those nights). read more

My short and sweet review: Despite the location (in a strip mall), I was pleasantly surprised by Chief's. The burgers and nachos were delicious, the beer was fresh and the atmosphere was lively. Lots of TVs, so a great place to watch the game. Service was a little slow, but I enjoyed the food enough to disregard some minor hiccups. THE SCOOP: If you're going to be stuck in Lake Forest, this place is a decent alternative to the other pub-type restaurants. read more

The wings were overcooked. Their signature long Island ice tea was terrible. The only redeeming factor was the burger which was good. I wouldn't go out of my way to come back. read more

Chief's Pub - Over cooked wings. - American Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

meehhhh....after reading reviews I was actually excited to check this place out but it's more a family oriented place than a bar/sports bar. Servers are inexperienced and nothing too special about the place. 2.5 stars read more

Was in town briefly and had an opportunity to stop here. Was pleasantly surprised! Tried a new burger and wasn't disappointed. Glad we stopped! read more

This is a cute place for lunch in Lakeforest. I ordered the Fried chicken sammy and it was good but not great. Loved the pretzel appetizer we got though! read more

Great staff fun bar to watch sports games. Always a friendly crowd. Great burger and the fire shrimp appetizer is great. Good bear selection. read more

One of my sons and my favorite place in LF. Great place to catch a game. Great food, great beer selection. The staff is awesome, friendly and working extra hard these day. We appreciate you!! read more

I went to school in lake forest and now visit some coaches and professors once in a while and I am happy to always head straight to chiefs. I always get their wraps now, they are very good! I usually go for the tuna salad wrap now. The sweet potato fries are good here, but last time I was here they were out...odd but okay. The menu does have a big selection for everyone's taste buds and everything is always very appetizing...as much as bar food can be.. Even though, I gatta say this place isn't as greasy or icky as some bars. The wraps I get don't taste like bar food. They used to give these delicious pickles with your meal but now you have to ask for them, they are still free. If you are a pickle lover like I am I would suggest asking for one. The service is not amazing, but it's never bad. The staff is always super nice but some of the girls can be airheads and spacy at times.. they will turn on a specific game on the TVs if you ask them to... I've watched many tennis matches here. Don't expect a 5 star quality of a place, but being a bar, they do a pretty great job. Just a heads up, the parking lot can be insanely packed, but don't make that your determining factor not to come here, circle around and you are sure to find a spot.. read more

Love this place! Food and service are always fantastic. John is amazing, very customer service oriented.

I have been here once, for some late night drinks with a friend. We actually stumbled over to Chief's after being bored to tears over at The Lantern, the other half of Lake Forest's bar scene. I must say, Chief's Pub is in theory a much cooler bar than The Lantern. It has a more modern feel to it, the firefighter theme works, it seems larger and more spacious. The bartender that served us that night was a young female, conversational, and fun. Unlike the previous bar where the bartender was a shrewd woman who had no interest in seeing how our night was, this bartender found the time to start a conversation with us and that little moment was enough to make this place feel a little less snobby and a little more human. My friend and I slammed some beers and hard liquor, not exactly cheaply priced but not overly expensive, and the place began shutting down around 12:45. They close at 1 apparently, even on Saturdays. We didn't try any food so I can't comment. Although the guy next to us order patch after batch of I believe chicken wings so they either must be good or he had a tapeworm. This place wasn't as busy as The Lantern, and the location isn't as ideal. It's on the southwest corner of the downtown Lake Forest district as opposed to the middle of the south end of the Lantern. You can walk from one to the other. There are large flat screen TVs all over the place, much better than the Lantern's set up. Again, the atmosphere of this bar is more upscale, modern, and "cool," if you will as opposed to The Lantern's homely, local vibe. I'm not sure if it's town ordinance that they have to close at 1 on a Saturday, but that was kind of lame. It wasn't as busy as I would have liked to see the place, but we definitely got plenty of attention from the bartender which was appreciated. We left a healthy tip. I will return to Chief's Pub only because it is a much better bar than The Lantern, which isn't difficult to be. The high ceilings are definitely off-putting though. The location - in the CVS plaza - is a little far for me. And it's a bit more expensive than The Lantern...but worth it. read more

Honesty is the best policy ... so here goes; I moved into Lake Forest 5 years ago and this was the first place I went for dinner and drinks. It was a local, in-town, Sports-Bar with the typical 'on-tap' selections, the popular bottle-service alcohol choices, and the typical/average food menu that you can find in any local, in-town, Sports-Bar. It lived up to the decor (an honor to Firefighters globally) and they had every sports channel on every TV. About 3 years ago, the Son and Daughter took over from their Father and made some immediate improvements. At least one of the two were there most of the time and the improvements came incrementally. Within a few weeks, my assistant noticed the beer selection both on tap and in bottles was improved. Several weeks after that, their whiskey and bourbon selection took a good step up (that'll always get my attention) and the bar crowd grew a bit which added a dimension to conversations about the game on TV or any other topic more diverse. During this slow growth the brother and sister greeted everyone with a smile and enthusiasm that was both genuine and uplifting. The staff changed too, they brought in people with personality and drive for customer satisfaction. Soon my assistant and I looked forward to going to Chief's for lunch ... and later, an after-work drink. 2 years ago we realized we couldn't get a seat at the bar on Fridays. I realized the menu which had been slowly growing over this time had some interesting additions and had gotten considerably better tasting in every aspect. It's a "Sports-Bar", so don't expect "gourmet" fine dinning, but it's about the best "Sports-Bar" menu you're going to find anywhere ... from the very tasty and 'any-way-you-want-it-with-anything-on-it' burgers to a good selection of appetizers, salads, veggie-options, and a meal menu that has everything on it from meats to fish. Joe and his wife have pretty much taken over the running of Chief's at one point and little by little positive changes to the taste and flavors of the food had improved to the point we'd order from the menu if we had some running around in town and take it home ... on some nights, they've got several orders getting picked up by a Mom, Dad, or being delivered by one of the local food delivery services. Sometimes things were so busy the staff was running from table to table to cover the rush. It took a little time, but slowly and with deliberation, Joe and Jenna and their team continued to hire and train staff to meet the growing demands of their treasured patrons. During the NFL playoffs, Joe took down the hazy projection TV screen and installed a massive High Definition TV Wall. Now Lake Forest has a real Sports Bar! Late last year I noticed there is sometimes a line waiting for a table if there's a good game on - and it makes sense as the food is about the best Sports-Bar food you're going to find in the area, the beer on tap and in bottles is always being updated with the latest craze as well as the 'standards', the Vodka, Whiskey, Rye and Bourbon's are very good for 'sports-bars' (no, you're not going to find Pappy Van Winkle here) and as of this writing, they've added a delicious Lobster Roll to the menu on Fridays! (... hoping that becomes a menu standard!) I'm glad to know Joe and Jenna and have been able to witness the steady improvements to the bar, menu and staff which have made a family business better than ever. If you gave up on this place 5 years ago, I could almost understand ... if you've driven past the CVS Shopping Center on Western Ave and didn't know such a good place existed on the other end of the building and you're looking for a good Sports Bar ... I say with certainty, you'll be glad you went, or you'll be glad you went back. read more

Great little lunch spot in Lake Forest. Menu has a ton of a options, so it's great for families or groups. I ordered a salad wrap and it was delicious but it fell apart pretty easily. read more

Been there twice now. Had a build your own burger and it was amazing, then tried the Reuben Egg Rolls and they were to die for. Great people, great staff, great experience. I am glad somebody told me about this place. read more

I'd not been in to Chief's for about 6 months as my last experience with food and service was lackluster. Tonight, however, service was great though the restaurant was busy. They did ask us to split our party of 8 (which ended up fine as we had our kids at a separate table which made them happy). My fried fish and tater tots were hot fresh and crisp and our friends thin crust pizza looked and smelled really good. This place has some new life to it since the second generation has stepped forward to operate it and I'll be glad to come back and give them another try. I used to feel like the Lantern was the only game in town in this market but I feel like I have at least two choices for this type of local casual experience. Chiefs appears now to be capable of holding its own. read more

I will never step foot in here again. I walked in sat at the bar to have a drink and the female bartender younger with blonde hair was so rude to me that I just left without even having a drink. I work local and will make sure all my co-workers, friends and family will never go to this place there are much better places in Lake Bluff read more

I was hoping to trade suggestive glances with handsome men when I went here with my girlfriends, but alas, the Lake Forest drinking crowd seems to be limited to the older and balder variety. Lots of flat screens. Decent selection of salads, burgers, sandwiches and wraps. The food is average quality - I felt like my $13 taco salad was overpriced given how bland it tasted. I would come back, but only for drinks and only when I'm visiting friends in the area. read more

I delivered a dishwasher here and was hungry so i decided to grab a bite to eat, i got excited when i saw they had tacos as im an avid taco fan, never would i expect the tacos i received, i deliver all over Illinois, i never had such a good taco meal in my life, for just a hair over 10$(thats including tax) you get three tacos (i choose steak, there was a lot of meat) fried rice (which im usually not a fan of but it was amazing) and chips n salsa, their mango salsa is to die for make sure you grab extra youll want it all, but also the waitress' were soo friendly and nice, always smiling telling me so politely time updates (even though i never asked) absolutely 10/10 place owner should be proud of all his staff, he runs a very good place read more

Went there 3-26-16. Waitress forgot to bring 2 ordered items because she didn't write down the order. . Ordered 16 inch pizza they served a 12 inch pizza burnt. Their homemade mac and cheese was Kraft. I know it's pub food but come on! Terrible service with no one there and terrible food!!!! read more

Really weak service mediocre food. Table of 5, only 2 finished their meal due to taste issues. One came after everyone else had finished. Wings tasted frozen, "crispy" "basket" of fries needed Viagra and were a McD's medium. Owners/managers were tending to their young son who was howling at table near us. Spaghetti & meatballs featured "20 minute" boiled to death noodles and honest to god what appeared to be (and tasted like) two small hamburgers. Unless u can't get in anywhere else don't go here unless u are into mediocre. Ugh! read more

Good little neighborhood pub, with fire house theme decor -painted like fire house, photos & fire gear throughout. The food is your most basic bar food- certainly nothing out of the ordinary but good enough. In short, a good family friendly pub the decor gives it an edge a little more fun for the kids, but you are not going to feel like you are in a "kids joint". Also a good place to watch a game & grab a beer. read more

A great neighborhood bar! The decor is great, with fire fighter attire and pictures! There is a wide variety to choose from the bar and the menu is a bar menu, with a upscale flare. The service was helpful and friendly. The burger I ordered was fantastic. I just wish they were not out of the onion rings at 4:00PM on a Friday, which I have read were fantastic. read more

Brand new tables and floors! Looks amazing! Pizza by far is my favorite not far behind the pot roast sandwich with "street fries". Can't wait to go back read more

Food is ok (volunteers get 10% off which is awesome), beer is cold, bartenders are always very nice. I've heard them complain about the owner a bit; he is a real cheapskate apparently. It is starting to show too: they don't have real hot sauce, some of brand alternative. And serve Pepsi because it is cheaper. Also been asked to leave at 11 on a Saturday night. (although to be fair, I was there on a saturday night... read more

Chief's is pretty good for drinks and appetizers. I've been here a few times for lunch in the past and came here with my bro-in-law on 12/28 for a couple of beers before a family dinner. They have a full menu. read more

Good food. I love bar food, and this place had it. It also has a full bar, I recommend the pizza as well, it's a good thin crust. The problem with it seems to be the service. I liked the manager/owner who greeted us. However, the hostess had an attitude, the waitress forgot our drinks, and brought the appetizer out with the entree. I also don't enjoy going to a bar at 9:00pm on a Friday night and have 5-year olds running around. I know that's often what you get in the suburbs, but I don't like having a drink with screaming kids. read more

Only have been here twice in the 3 years I have lived in Lake Forest. Food is very average. Prices use to compete with the Lantern but they just increased their price and made their portion sizes smaller. Way over priced now, cost $15 for a cheese burger that looks like it came from McDonalds. Service is very slow, even when there is only a few people there. I heard they have good happy hour deals but other than that, don't waste your time. read more

Friendliness of staff is hit or miss depending on the night (if it was consistent would give 5 stars). Schedule is is guessing game for who is working! If the right people are working it is 5 stars. However, it you go more than once the staff becomes more friendly! TVs are in all the key places to make it easy to watch a game. Decent size food menu and combo of tap and bottled beers. Great place to go and catch a game! More low key and casual then other places in the area! read more

Food is pretty good and well priced. $6 large thin crust pizzas on Sundays!!!

Good basic food. The service was good. It was very slow. The fireman paraphernalia is fun to look at. Recommend as a quick stop .?

Love the pizza. If your tired of thick, stuffed Chicago style or chewy New York style slices, then you'll love this thin, crispy crust. We love to call in and pick it up on the way home for a quick meal during the busy work week. read more

Went there for dinner a few weeks ago on a Sunday evening. It was not very crowded so we picked a high top in the bar area. My wife had a wrap, my daughter the same and I had the 3-11 burger. All of our meals were prepared well and the service was also good. There are a lot of TV's throughout so it would be a nice place to watch a game. I will be back when I am in the area. read more

I'm a fan. Place does what it was designed to do. Good pub food. Lots of TV's. Decent beers. Great place to watch a game.