We stopped in Duffer's Pub, down the street from Chief's, which has been one of our mainstays recently. The first thing I noticed was that all along downtown Lake Forest were large LF flags so it must have been before the football game. There were lots of families in Duffer's, and they had the windows open and the setting seems rather spacious, with golf simulators. We ordered burgers and tots, which were decent (tots - yum!) although we were let down by Beer Nuggets, which were like pillsbury crescent rolls with red sauce and neither beer nor nuggets. The Detroit style pizza did look very promising and I saw lots of pizza being carried out. Duffer's had a fun, friendly vibe and I'd come back to try the pizza. read more

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Wow. I've been here multiple times, and not once have I had a good experience. I came here with my family for drinks and ended up having the same bartender who has caused issues in the past. First, he struggled to take five drink orders and brought out the wrong drinks. The bar wasn't even busy, yet we waited more than 20 minutes for them to arrive. When they finally did, the drinks tasted watered down. I politely mentioned this to him, and his response was, "You're f-ing with me." I told him I would rather switch to beer because I didn't want to continue drinking poorly made cocktails. He then replied, "Don't be surprised if the bucket of beers you order comes to you half empty." His behavior was incredibly rude and unprofessional, and he constantly complained about everything throughout our visit. Getting the check was an absolute nightmare. Somehow, he deleted our bill and couldn't find it. When he finally brought us a check, the total seemed way too high. It turned out he had charged us for another party's bill. When we asked for an itemized receipt, he acted annoyed and complained about the request. The issue was eventually resolved, but we were told they couldn't cancel the transaction, so the other party had to reimburse us in cash for the amount we were incorrectly charged to our bill. We asked to speak with a manager, only to find out there wasn't one on-site on a Friday night. Instead, we were given a handwritten name and phone number. As I said, I've never had a good experience here. Some members of the staff were helpful and understanding, but this particular bartender has been a recurring problem. I don't know if he was intoxicated, under the influence, or simply having a bad day, but the level of incompetence and unprofessionalism was unbelievable. This place feels like an absolute circus. read more

Came here on a Sunday night after work. This was my first time coming here. I like the vibe from this place. A great place to just chill with friends and have a drink. We ended up sitting at the bar and the bartender was very attentive. We ended up ordering drinks and a couple of appetizers. We ordered the hot honey chicken sliders, pub sliders and boneless wings. Everything was so delicious. Our favorite was the hot honey chicken sliders. They also had golf simulators in the restaurant which we'll try the next time. read more

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I really want to like this place as our options in Lake Forest are limited. But it is hard given our experience last night. So we pile the family into the car and head to Duffers for an evening bite to eat. We arrive and are asked to sit wherever you like. Plenty of room so we post up at a table near the back. Service was quick - taking our drink order - delivering a few adult beverages and a pitcher of water in record time. We put in an appetizer order of 20 boneless wings and some cheese curds. Curds came out first and were delicious. Boneless wings next - I take a bite and comment they are cold. Daughter has one and said it was ok. Wife bites into one and realizes the chicken is raw! Raw chicken! That is not good or good for you! The staff once back to the table hurried the uneaten wings away. Provided a free round and a $35 gift card. After paying the bill I am not sure why I did not use the gift card as I am not sure I will be returning. I suppose the card is good for cold beers but I would recommend the salads (sans chicken) or something that can be eaten par cooked. Respectfully submitted. read more

Great food great service beautiful inside, especially in the summer had some marvelous drinks and it was fun inside had a lot of laughs

Came to this newer pub recently in Lake Forest. Duffer's Pub has a golf theme obviously with a few games. It also has a full menu. Get some beer and food after you play some pretend golf and maybe watch some at the bar. The service can be kind of slow, which is appropriate because the game of golf is slow. After seeing this place advertised as being newly opened we thought to come here. It's located in the plaza with a few other businesses and restaurants. This is also next to Jefe's Tacos. Customers can order from them and it's brought here. In fact, the food menu here is mostly just from over there. It has a few drink specials. There was $5 Miller Lites on Wednesdays. From Jefe's we ordered a few Veggie Tacos and these were brought over here. It's about $4 for each, and these are very simple with cilantro and onions. Good stuff but kind of slow to get. The rest of the menu includes meaty items like wings and those kinds of things. For sure check it out if you like golf. It has a few games and some virtual reality. The pub is also good for watching golf or whatever. read more

Duffer’s Pub - Miller Lite And Veggie Tacos - Pubs Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

This was my WORST experience. We all ordered waters, and our server didn't even get them from the Chef's counter!!! My husband just eventually grabbed them from the counter. It was really cold outside, and these huge windows were wide open! Anyways, my daughter ordered the mini-patties plain with avocado, and when she got them, they were just avocado! read more

Had a great experience at duffers for football Sunday! Bar service was top notch. Pretzel bites were good too

Go here all the time and enjoy the wings and cheese curds. Bluff pizza and beer is good as well. Family loves coming here for lunch and dinner! read more

Great place for hanging out. You can practice your golf game on the golf simulators. The staff is friendly and wonderfully informative. The vibes of this place are sports with great food. read more

Duffer’s Pub - Pubs Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

Food was good! First time trying their carnitas nachos and they did not disappoint! Great appetizer to share with friends or family. Love that they have plenty of TVs to watch sport games. Next time around, I'll try the golf simulator and see how that goes. read more

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Duffer's is a sports bar and seems like could be a good one. We went as a family with little ones as it does have a kids menu. Server was great but wish she would have mentioned fountain drinks (non alcoholic) don't come with free refills as we didn't find out until the bill. Burgers were decent but was surprised they didn't ask how we wanted it cooked (came out medium-ish so was fine but just surprised they didn't ask if it wasn't going to be completely cooked). Biggest disappointment were the fries as they were stale and not warm. Big group of what looked to be college kids came in while we were there to sit at the bar. So figuring Duffer's might be a good bar, and probably just shouldn't have a kids menu as it was misleading. But also strange that a place that mainly identifies as a bar would charge for non-alcoholic fountain drinks and its refills. In summary, would not go for a meal but it could be a good bar. Nearby Chief's Pub does a better job balancing the sports bar vibe but also having good food. read more

The tavern style pizza is literally one of my favorite pizzas in the Chicago area, plus it's a great spot to catch a football or hockey game. read more

Duffer’s Pub - Pubs Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

First time coming to this place. Came for lunch. Service was good. Food was good as well. I got a chopped salad. Tasted very fresh and it was a big size for $16. They have golf simulators, which I would love to come back and explore. Need to come back and try more things on the Menu. read more

Duffer’s Pub - Pubs Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

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One of the greatest bars I ever been to definitely recommend going there for a drink or two and the food is AMAZING!

A nice bar with golf screens and plenty of televisions the only problem with this bar is they close earlier than what they say being Lake Forest and they likely have staffing issues the place is connected to a pizza restaurant as well a really cool overall bar that's not too pretentious and that's surprising as this is Lake Forest after all read more

Addison S was my server and she did an amazing job. Great service great food. Would recommend.

Fun environment and great food - especially for a bar. Nice outdoor area for summer. Great location read more

Duffer’s Pub - Antipasto Salad - Pubs Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

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This is a neighborhood Gem. Great service, great food and a fun golf vibe that can be converted to Tv's for game days. Good cold beers, their cheese bread was amazing!! For some weird reason they took it off the menu but it was better than the pizza!! They have Detroit, and tavern style pizza. Both good, they need to put more sauce on the Detroit style. I've seen salsas around if you like that sort of thing. It's a great spot for kids of all ages 1 to 105. Open for lunch and again, great friendly employees!! If you don't like duffers, maybe it's time to look in the mirror. read more

Love the new place!! Duffer's is a fun new spot with golf simulators and darts area!! The amazing staff is serving great drinks at the bar along with good food! We will definitely be back! read more

Duffer’s Pub - Midwestern Buck - Pubs Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

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Super great bar with fantastic service. We were traveling from San Francisco and got in late, and looking for food. They had just closed their kitchen and everything else in town was also closed. We left super sad but then the manager ran after us and said she could fire up her pizza oven. First - such an amazing human thing to do for us weary travelers. Second - the pizza was a-mazing. Super delicious and the drinks were great too. Atmosphere was fun and light. Thank you Duffers! read more

Only go there for lunch if you don't mind waiting an hour for your food to come out and then don't be upset if it's cold and one item is missing. The service was beyond awful. read more

What a great place to hang out and get a craft beer! The garage doors are amazing! The food is incredible and so is the service. Can't wait to come back soon and play a 9. read more

Don't ask for a brandy old fashion sweet. It's awful. Bartender sucks. Lots of under age drinking.

Sports bar with many video screens and golf simulator. Nice place for microbrews and good bar food. Service is also good.

Excellent service and food and great family friendly hang-out in Lake Forest. We visit several times a week and always have a great experience! read more

I took a few colleagues out to celebrate, and I was embarrassed for the absolute poor service at Duffers. They only had one waitress, and I could have done a better job. She didn't know anything about the drinks, asked what side someone wanted with their salad, walked by us at least 6-8 times without looking at us or checking on us, when it was obvious we wanted to order or needed something from her. At every question she just left, went to get an answer, and came back 10 minutes later. We had to go to the bar to even get plates and silverware for our appetizers. Truly the worst service I've seen, and it ruined our experience. As for the atmosphere, it was nice, airy, open, felt good. Food was mixed. I'll say, the spicy meatballs tasted good, but they were brought to us ice cold. The bruschetta was surprisingly very good. But the burgers were all cooked well done and just fair. Was hoping for a better experience. The poor service will probably keep me from a return visit. It's too bad, was hoping for better. read more

We've been to Duffer's a couple of times. The first was very shortly after they opened. This occasion you could tell they were rusty to say the least. Slow bartenders, not hot wings (warm) nor the way I ordered them, and slow service. 4-6 weeks later, bartender was better (still slow but tolerable), pizza was very good. Ordered it well done and pie cut. Served exactly as ordered and hot. The tv's surround dining and bar area, great for watching sports. They have golf simulators if you're into that. Industrial decor. We will be back. read more

Pretty disappointing experience. Came in for lunch on Saturday, a few other tables there but not busy, plenty of staff. We waited and looked at our drink orders sit at the bar for 10 minutes before they were brought to us. Ordered appetizer 10 minutes before our entrees, but entrees came first. They said the crazy bread appetizer takes a while to make. Then why did you make our entrees first? Asked for no peppers on the steak sandwich, I think they put extra peppers. Menu said 3 tacos for the oder, plate came our with only 2 taco s. The food was actually pretty good and liked the atmosphere, but the experience we had was so awful I don't think we can go back. read more

Agree with the other reviewers regarding the staff. More interested in cellphones and colleagues than the customer. Had the burger, not as good as others in town. Fries were good. The atmosphere was depressing. Very noisy, much attributed to the golf simulator. Each time you hit the ball, it makes a huge bang, which startled me each time it happened. This is not a place that should be in Lake Forest. It belongs in a suburban shopping mall. read more

My husband and I come here often to grab a bite to eat and drink a beer. The staff is always so welcoming and the food is fantastic! We highly recommend this be your new go-to place! read more

Nice vibe! It was packed and staff handled the crowd very well. I was a little disappointed at the jalapeno poppers. Drinks were good. Waiter was really great! read more

We had fun golfing here. We were pleasantly surprised by the wings, pizza and beer. Service was okay too.

We had a large sausage and mushroom Detroit style pizza which was excellent. The edges were brown and crispy as they should be and the overall flavor was great. The fried pickles were meh. Service was very good and friendly read more

Came here on 9/4/23 after the Lake Forest Art Fair. I had a Steak Sandwich while others had Chicken Wrap or Tacos. The Fries were delicious as were all our entrees. Service was friendly and prompt and the decor is bright and upscale. read more

Service: Our server seemed distracted and not very informed as to menu items. She got one of our four dinner orders completely wrong. Also, at the (seeming) end of the meal, she plopped the check-out device/payment device on the table, announced the total price to the entire table, and walked away. Seemed surprised and bothered when asked for a copy of the receipt. Generally speaking... In my view, a server doesn't walk by a table waiting to be flagged down.. which occurred repeatedly. Servers need to provide unsolicited... uh... service :). The waitstaff needs another round of training and less time huddling together at one end of the bar. Atmosphere: ok.. at best. But it is, after all, a PUB. Food: Sliders were overdone, pizza (the wrong dinner order which we decided to keep and consume) tasted and looked reheated. Pretzel bites were quite tasty, as was the Ceasars Salad entree. Overall, there are other established, more welcoming places in the LF neighborhood that have better service and tastier food. I just think Duffers is experiencing (new place) growing pains. I/we might try Duffers again for a second chance... somewhere down the road... but it would be a hard sell to those of us who were there for our first visit. read more

Great staff, amazing food and a fun atmosphere. The beer was cold and the service was perfect. This is the spot for watching games as well as taking a few hacks on the brand new golf simulators. Highly recommend read more

Our first time and we came with our grandchildren. Really liked the atmosphere- fun vibe. We had a lovely waitress and food arrived in a timely manner. We had mixed reviews on the food. The mozzarella bites were too heavily breaded- we all felt the coating was too thick. One recommendation- cheese curds would be the perfect fit here! The pretzel bites were perfect- soft in the middle with a touch of firmness on the outside. The accompanying cheese sauce was yummy!! The baked ziti was enjoyed- creamy and very cheesy while the ravioli was just so-so. Enjoyed the Buffalo chicken sandwich and the burger. Caesar salad was also fresh and tasty. We'll be back to try the wings! read more

This was not our original destination for the night but the atmosphere looked awesome so we changed out plans and stopped in. Seat your self, so we sat at the bar so we'd get good/fast service. Bartender came, got our order and we never saw her again. Our food came out and boy was this the biggest disappointment. Sliders were raw. Not undercooked, raw. The meat fell apart. Our fries were so hard from sitting under the heat lamp for so long. And we never received our jalapeño bites. We flagged down another bartender to get this addressed. He came back and said they took if our bill. 3 out of 3 food items that were wrong. So we left there with no food in our tummies. No manager ever came out and apologized for serving literal RAW meat and fries that you could use as a boomerang. Didn't expect much but some acknowledgment would be nice. We were still customers and still paid for our drinks. Long story short: stick to your original plan. The nice atmosphere is what pulled us in. But once you walk through the doors, it all goes downhill. read more

I decided to go in to Duffers this evening and must say it definitely was a nice place. I had planned on having a few drinks and getting something to eat, however after sitting for a bit and watching the bartender coughing to the point that looked like she was going to vomit, clearly sick, I decided to make it a one and done. It's sad that the management would have someone handling food and drinks while clearly sick. read more