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    Emerald Loop

    3.5 (718 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 2:00 AM (Next day)
    Updated 3 months ago

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    EMERALD LOOP ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Emerald Loop

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    John A.

    Stopped in for dinner. Service was ok, she was a vegetarian so she could really recommend things. So I decided to go with bangers and mash for the Irish spirit. For was ok. Nothing to write home about. It's more of pub food and drinking place. They was getting ready for st paddies day.

    Irish Sausage Roll
    Jill O.

    It just feels good the second you walk in. It's warm, cozy, and welcoming. It's a great place where you can grab a cider, watch the game, and actually relax. Our server was incredibly kind and enthusiastic, which made the whole visit even better. The sausage rolls are a must. And the curry dipping sauce they come with? I would (and have) put that on literally anything. The spice bag might be my new favorite thing. It's chicken pieces, fries, spices, peppers, onions, all shaken together. The chicken was juicy, the fries were crispy, and it I kept going back to it even after my entree showed up. I ordered the corned beef hash from the brunch menu and you can tell it's homemade. Even better with a little Irish mustard. My partner had the grilled cheese and it was way better than either of us expected. With the snow coming down outside, it all felt like peak comfort food. Don't miss this place. It's exactly the kind of pub you want in this weather.

    Happy Hour Menu
    Dominique C.

    I came to Emerald Loop for food and drinks before going to see a theater show. It is one of the few places in the loop that has a happy hour that goes to 7pm. Fun Irish themed bar with a big afterwork crowd. They have a pretty good happy hour with a lot of option that include food and drink. My friend got the mushroom flat bread which she said was good and it was big. My friend got the fried pickles which weren't great. There were a lot of them but they weren't well seasoned and they were too heavily breaded. I got the carne Asada steak salad which is good but I think its weird that it comes in a tortilla bowl but hey you have the option to make it into a burrito. Our waiter was good and made sure we were never waiting too long. I would recommend this place as one of the best happy hour/dinner spots in the loop.

    Fire Grilled Chicken Curry Bowl (less avocado because that is not my thing)
    Maggie T.

    We tried Emerald Loop because our Illinois family suggested it! It did not disappoint! Everything we ordered was delicious! The service was great and everything we ordered came out exactly as requested! The portion sizes are generous too. The atmosphere was cozy and fun! Definitely try Emerald Loop if you are in Chicago!

    Espresso martini
    Liv L.

    We tried emerald loop before a show at the Chicago theatre and made a reservation for dinner on a Saturday evening at 5pm. It wasn't too busy when we got there but did fill up later on as we ate. I got the espresso martini which was super smooth and delicious. I liked that it was on tap and made with nitro cold brew. My husband got a sample of the Irish cider but said it tasted like apple juice so he didn't get a full size. I ordered the sausage roll from the appetizers and when it came out didn't have the curry ranch which I was excited to try and it took a few times asking the server to finally get it. The roll was great and I liked it with onion jam. My husband got the bangers and mash and loved it. We did also hear the table next to us have issues with our server so it seems that the service can be hit or miss. Overall a really lovely place for some solid Irish food downtown.

    Blackened Atlantic Salmon
    Abigail P.

    This restaurant is open until 2:00 am. We were recommended by Paul at the Hoyt's. He gave us a flyer for a complimentary appetizer. Inside was packed, so we sat by the bar for faster service as we were hungry. This is an Irish pub- inside with decorated in green and the light were dimmed. We started off with our free appetizer- sweet chilli wings. These were so spicy but good! I had a Passion fruit margarita and the blackened Salmon.

    St Patty's Green Beer and a shot of Jameson
    Sabrina M.

    Love the food, drinks, and atmosphere. My go-to spot after work. Lively place and Connor is great.

    Irish Sausage Roll
    Nancy P.

    Stopped by during happy hour while walking around down town. We got a table outside and got a couple blue moons and a sausage roll. The sausage roll was amazing! It was just sausage on a puff pastry but they paired with real mustard, a jelly, and a sauce I was not familiar with. The jelly was hands down the best with the roll. I loved the other sauces but the jelly was so delicious with the sausage. Our server came by a few times to make sure we were doing good. I'd definitely come back and choose outdoor seating again.

    Heather B.

    Seated right away when we arrived. It was very festive, and they had some dancers. I didn't like that they go table to table to ask for donations though. That's a turnoff, but they didn't come to ours. The burger was good, so was the grilled cheese and tomato soup. The service does take a little longer than normal. Overall a good experience.

    Loop Chicken Wings (8 count)
    Teresa H.

    These wings are fire! I got the boneless with the sweet Asian chili wow! All my friends loved the sauce. We came here for some late bites and beers. Our waitress was great! We seemed to annoy the hostess. Wish they had more bar real estate! But they have lots of seats!

    Chicken wings
    Janet S.

    I felt lucky that I was able to get a dinner reservation for 9 people the Sunday of St. Patrick's weekend. We were seated in the back where it wasn't too noisy. Standard pub fare, I had a chopped salad which was fine. Hubby had some chicken wings. Service was timely for our large party.

    Wisconsin Cheese Curds Irish Curry Chips
    Chtran97 ..

    Food and drink were pretty good (we loved the cheese curds!). The raspberry bubbles drink was also good. Unfortunately, our visit was largely marred by the poor service. We were more understanding when the place was busier during a bears game but once the majority of crowd left we were left nearly abandoned for the rest of our visit without cause. We had to stare at our server from afar for her to even come over to us. Probably wouldn't come again.

    Fish and Chips
    Penny B.

    Emerald is a great place to go catch a game and have dinner at the same time. They have a pretty extensive menu so we didn't get to try a lot of dishes. The service was quick and staff is friendly. It's a typical sports bar vibe in the restaurant itself. I'd say it probably cleaner and more chic than normal sports bar however. Now the food. - Fish and Chips: Too expensive for what it was. The fish itself was a little too crunchy and fell apart too easily inside. - Chicken Curry Bowl: Decent bowl but the avocado was a little strange for a curry bowl. But overall, it was pleasant enough. - Buffalo Mac and Cheese: Huge portion! Typical buffalo chicks mac and cheese. It was good. - Fried Pickles: The ranch they serve the pickles with is so delicious! The pickles themselves were good but needed a little more crisp. - Pretzel: It was soft and warm and also huge! The cheese sauce is what you'd expect. The mustard was really good. One of the best I've tried I think. I would definitely go here again for the bucket deals and the location! I would also try some new dishes.

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    2 years ago

    Great place to grab a beer and a quick bite late at night. The Sheppard Pie was good and filling! Crowded but not terrible.

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    2 years ago

    Great food and reasonable prices. The restaurant's decor and service are also very good. A must go for late night food in downtown Chicago!

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    1 year ago

    Ireland in a bar. So well done and such great service. Emma was fantastic and took great care of us.

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    Page 2 of 18

    Emerald Loop Reviews in Other Languages

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    Review Highlights - Emerald Loop

    We stopped in here before heading over to the Chicago Theater for the "High Fidelity' Cusack screening last May of 2018

    Mentioned in 9 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    Timothy O'Toole's Pub

    3.7
    (1.4k reviews)
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    We were around the corner at the Aloft during our weekend stay. Ended up at pub thrice during our…read morestay. Other reviewers are spot on about friendly staff, nice atmosphere, clean restrooms, noise not too overwhelming, lots of televisions to catch a game. We had the Buffalo Chicken Deviled Eggs every time we went. The idea doesn't make sense - but they were soooo good! We ordered the Fish & Chips on our first visit. We were not expecting to actually get potato chips. Didn't realize until later they have french fries here, but they decided to give us potato chips. Who serves potato chips as a default with Fish & Chips? Is this a Midwest thing? Each visit, they were out of tall boy PBRs. Guess they don't restock on holiday weekends. But they did have Old Style, so no harm.

    Let's just start with WOW! I'm in town for a conference. Same conference I've been to before and I…read moredrive by it telling myself that I'm going to eat there this year. Well this is the year! I was so excited that I was the 1st person in this morning. The bartender, Lisa was amazing. Just a quick PSA, before posting a picture of someone, please ask before posting! If you get a chance, please ask for her! Having read a previous review, I knew I had to have the Ruben! As you can see, it's piled high with corned beef! The fries were delicious! Trust me. There were other options but if you're a true Ruben fan, you'll order it whenever you get a chance. Total success! If you never heard of Man Vs. Food, one you missed a great show. The filmed an episode here! They knew what they were doing filming here! The staff is fantastic! The atmosphere was perfect! Not too loud which helps with the bar bantering. Stick a pin in this place and experience this place!

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    Love the whole atmosphere
    Love the whole atmosphere
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    Pretzel Trio
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    O'Callaghan's

    O'Callaghan's

    3.5
    (314 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    Sat at the bar because it was Friday night and the tables were all taken. I liked the variety of…read moremusic, the ambience, the atmosphere....and the burger and fries! That burger----was SOOOO GOOD (Char Burger) and the waffle fries were kind of crispy- good! They had an NBA game playing on the tvs. Service from both bartenders was great- Our main server had great attention to detail. (realized they forgot the mustard without me saying anything) All in all- great! (Skip the fish and chips- get the char burger!)

    I came in with three friends and we grabbed a high-top table. We ordered a few rounds and…read moreeverything was going fine. Toward the end of the night, two of my friends left, and the remaining two of us paid our bill and were finishing our drinks while waiting for our Uber. At that point, the bartender came over and told us she needed our table for a large group. The table wasn't reserved, and we were clearly just finishing up. We told her we were about to leave anyway, but the way it was handled felt really abrupt and rude. What made it worse was that she immediately brought a group over to take our table, and even they were apologizing to us because they seemed uncomfortable with how it was handled. I've worked in bars and restaurants myself, so I completely understand needing to manage space, but there's a way to do it respectfully, and this wasn't it. Unfortunately, this experience left a bad impression, and despite having been here multiple times before, I won't be returning.

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    Corned Beef
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    Sweetwater Tavern And Grille

    Sweetwater Tavern And Grille

    3.6
    (1.4k reviews)
    0.1 mi
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    Outdoor seating
    Large group friendly

    I hadn't been to Sweetwater in quite some time but decided to stop in before seeing Gary Owen at…read morethe Chicago Theatre. We arrived about an hour before the show and were seated promptly. We had a reservation too. though. The restaurant was crowded, but our server greeted us fairly quickly. He was affable, attentive, and efficient. The menu isn't as expansive as in years past, so I just opted for the burger with fries. It was better than I anticipated. It was tender and flavorful. The fries were good too. My brother had the bang bang shrimp which he really enjoyed as well. I had a piece of shrimp but I didn't care for the sauce that was poured over it. The shrimp itself tasted fine. We had drinks as well, but I can't recall exactly what my brother ended up getting. He asked our waiter to surprise him. He didn't like his drink, so we traded. I ordered the spicy margarita but didn't care for it. The atmosphere was lively, but it still felt cozy. Turns out Sweetwater is still a solid place to have a drink, catch a game, or enjoy dinner.

    On a long weekend for St. Patrick's Day amidst a crazy busy crowd - I'd argue this was our best…read moremeal of the four days we spent in the Windy City. All three of our crew loved their dishes - including a few specific to St. Pats (the Irish Mac and cheese). I, of course, had the cajun chicken linguini. It really hit the spot after not having pasta since home. Not overly spicy - but the sriracha cream sauce caught my attention right away - great flavor! There was a large volume of peppers and onions and a smaller amount of chicken - but overall it balanced well. Check out Sweetwater if you are in town!

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    Looking for a fun night out? Stop by and create your own beer flight!
    Looking for a fun night out? Stop by and create your own beer flight!
    Sweetwater Tavern And Grille
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    The Gage

    The Gage

    4.2
    (3.7k reviews)
    0.4 mi
    $$

    I got the strawberry Negroni drink and loved it! Very smooth and flavorful. They have good non…read morealcoholic options as well. I enjoyed all the food we received, it was tasty, warm, fast, and you get a good portion. The lobster roll was good, the lamb was good and the zucchini was as well! We got Brussel sprouts for the app and those were my favorite. The dessert was also very delicious and I would get again! They validate parking if you park in the north parking garage for $13. Make sure to bring your ticket with you! More details are on their website. The service was great and the place was clean. I loved the aesthetic!

    We've been to The Gage many times over the years since it's one of our top sit-down spots near…read moreSymphony Center before or after concert. Our favorite dish is definitely the PEI mussels. The broth is the kind you want to keep dipping bread into and practically lick off your fingers afterward -- flavorful, savory, and a little briny without being the heavy creamy type of sauce that some places do. Very comforting but not overly rich. Honestly, I don't even remember all the other dishes we've ordered over the years, but our experiences have consistently been good. Service is polished, the space feels classic Chicago, and it's a great place to relax before or after a performance downtown.

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    Ambiance in dining room. Outside seating available
    Ambiance in dining room. Outside seating available
    Guinness Braised Short Rib ($42) - colcannon potatoes, pearl onions, roasted carrots, Guinness gravy
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    Emerald Loop - irish_pubs - Updated June 2026

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