First of all, let me start by saying this is a great place, and I highly recommend it. I travel for work once or twice a month to various cities and end up going out for a few drinks in the evening. I don't typically travel with anyone, so I usually end up going out alone. Sometimes it can be pretty uncomfortable sitting in a bar by yourself. I just started going to Chicago for some of my travel, and I happened to stumble across O'Callaghan's and decided to give it a try. The bartenders, Marti and Bridgette (hope I spelled them right), made me feel welcome immediately, like I was right at home. They are super friendly and always made sure I was taken care of no matter how busy they were. Marti was even nice enough to take some time to chat with me after her shift and I had a great time. Because of this, I can't help but look forward to my next visit to O'Callaghan's. I must say, even though there are hundreds of other bar choices in Chicago, I will always make it a point to go to O'Callaghan's and make it my bar home away from home! Also must mention....great beer selection and prices, awesome staff, and open till 4AM! See you in a couple of weeks...... read more

Great atmosphere. Lively, friendly and diverse crowd even in a Monday night Meg and Allison are the best. Super friendly and fun. Check it out when you are in Chicago. read more

Good Irish pub near house of blues. Didn't try the food, but guinness and other beers were great. Was waiting for concert to start and had a few beers here.. always love to see Irish pubs ! read more

Bouncer was super rude and threatened to confiscate my friend's legitimate ID. Any place that treats their paying customers like that is worth a pass. read more

This place is fantastic. I'm from Kentucky and so far most people in this city have been pretty rude. Matt the bartender has been fantastic. Calls me by name. Very fast with service and for Chicago the prices are fantastic. Will be back again! The food is fantastic BTW. read more

The security man on the door was unnecessary rude to me and my friends. We told him we were Irish and his response was "oh yeah I couldn't tell that by your fucking ID"... one of the waitresses was also very rude. read more

Dropped by this place when I couldn't get sat a different bar around the corner. Ramon was fantastic and definitely made me feel right at home. He was very personal, gave great suggestions and got some good laughs out of us. Not your usual hole-in-the-wall, but worth checking out if you want good conversations and a relaxed atmosphere. read more

By FAR the best Bud Lights in the city. Truly serving the nectar of the gods in a bottle. Fresh ingredients. Fresh service. I can't get enough. read more

I've never been here before 2am, nor have I ever been upstairs. I've never had a bad time here, but I've never had a rocking time either. Chilled out crowd, place to wind down (fall down?!) and chat before going home. Friendly doorman. Nice little eats there too! Yay. read more

This bar stands out from the other bars on Hubbard because it is not trendy and does not try to be- thank goodness. This is a reasonably traditional Irish Bar, but with a we above average late night menu and juke box. The bartenders are friendly. Come to think of it, the only things that would make it better is if the bar was if it wasn't so crowded and wasn't located on Hubbard Street. read more

They need to rename this place Douchey McGoverns. I came here last weekend to meet some old peeps I graduated high school with. It was set as a jumping off point since a couple other peeps were at Howl at the Moon across the street. I couldn't bring myself to pay a $10 cover just to pay too much for drinks and fill with hatred for unfunny piano players. So when those friends were done with Howl the plan was to meet across the street and we'd find someplace less crowded to catch up and see how the last 12 years have been treating us. The bouncer made me nervous. He was really fat with a shaved head and an earpiece. Made it into the place without incident but he gave me the feeling there could easily be an incident if I didn't watch my smart mouth. First thing I had to do was piss. There's an upstairs and downstairs bathroom, had to wait in line for both of them. I also had to bob, weave and skinny myself up just to get to the bathrooms in the back. As I made my way to the pisser each time my pea sized bladder dictated I couldn't help but look around at the douche bag epidemic surrounding me. I'm talking about dude's wearing fake dog tags. I'm talking fat dude's in sport coats, white hi tops and Pat Riley hair. I'm talking tourists in town for a fucking ugly sweatshirt convention. I know I sound like a stuck up prick and I'm sorry. Don't get it twisted, I get that I'm not cool and I'm not overly attractive, but this place really pissed me off. Finally all my former classmates arrived and we were able to scour the neighborhood for a more quiet place. I hate places that are expensive without reason. They are just as bad for taking advantage of their dipshit patron that doesn't know any better. read more

Would be a great place in River North, especially because of the late hours. But when it starts to get late, the door staff starts to turn away patrons for seemingly no reason. ive been turned away by the door staff 3/5 times i went there. myself and my friends were well-dressed and completely sober. They lie and say the entire bar is reserved for a private event. The reason i know this now is because i met someone who worked there and she told me. the bar was nowhere near full capacity too. why would a bar that wasnt completely packed turn away polite, well-dressed, and well behaved customers and even lie about the reason? that's a bad business practice read more

Looking for a good pub? This is a great place. They have great food and a variety of drinks. They even had holiday decorations across the bar which was great! We ended up staying here for a few hours just drinking and hanging out. The fish and chips are great and lightly breaded. The pretzel bites came out warm and delicious. The have an apple cider that I highly recommend getting if your not the biggest beer fan as I am. They also had a holiday beer that they served in the best cup that said fistmas! Couldn't get any better than that. Overall this is a great place to hang out eat drink and catch up. Service was wonderful with the waitress always coming by to make sure we were happy. Thank you for a wonderful experience during our visit! read more

The usual massive beer selection and surprising pretty good food on a small, consider menu. I had the fish sandwich and it was quality. Plus you can't go wrong with waffle fries. Good place to grab a burger and a pint after exploring a great city. read more

What kind of sports bar turns off audio halfway through a home team playoff? This kind of craphole Several times it was turned off and back on. Either turn off the TVs and forget catering to sports fans or leave the audio on! read more

This is a solid three star bar. It actually would be a 2 star bar because the service wasn't that great, the soda was all flat, and the downstairs was slammed. BUT, the kindly doorman pointed out to us that we were welcome to go upstairs (what?? there is an upstairs??!) where we could drink freely while sitting at a table. Upstairs was practically empty, plenty of tables, a pool table, good music, and TVs. Great! Also, the chicken quesedilla rolls were yummy. My advice - head to the back of the bar and take the creepy exit door on your right to the far better scene upstairs. read more

We always go to "O'C's" after work cuz it's open till 4 and 5am....I love their pretzel basket with mustard to dip in. The nachos are massive and my friends say the fish and chips are awesome as well. The bartenders are on top of things and always remember us. There can be some strange characters in here late at night, but they are harmless and pretty entertaining sometimes! read more

I love O'Callaghans. Perfect for after hours, especially for fellow industry workers. Another plus is, unlike other after hour establishments, OCs serves food until 4AM as well (5AM on Saturdays). The staff is all very friendly. Luka doesn't mess around! He's like a friendly teady bear but don't get on his bad side. This will always be my afterhours spot as long as I'm working on Hubbard. :) read more

Fun place for an after work drink! It's a typical Irish pub, but a repreive from the Rockit's and Cabarets of the world. Their upstairs area is good to get a little breathing room. read more

After a birthday cruise on the lake for my wife last Saturday, we hit O'Callaghan's. My wife's cousin's boyfriend is a manager here and hooked us up with a nice little section by the windows. We drank well into the evening. It was a great experience. The staff was phenomenal. Even as the bar became more crowded, later in the evening, service did not fall off. Sure I over-drank, but when the Fat Tires keep coming, I keep drinking them. It's a personal rule I have and I try to adhere to it. read more

This gets 3 stars cuz it's just O.K., and I think 3 Stars are just O.K. too. I went here the other night (a Tuesday) for a co-worker's birthday. Got there around 5, left around 8, we were able to get a few tables together, it wasn't packed--in fact I wouldn't even say crowded, and everyone was friendly and service was good. I'd go back if asked nicely. read more

Worst Fish & Chips, EVER! I should have gone with the tried and true; the burger. Don't get me wrong, I like the place, just don't order the Fish & Chips unless you are looking for 2 greasy fish patties read more

Love this place: friendly bartenders, good clientel, great beer selection, nice owner, and a tasty reuben. I'll be back next time I'm in this hood read more

Came here last night with a few friends for the first time and had a blast. The service was great- staff was super friendly. You wouldn't think an Irish Pub would have great wine but the Pinot Grigio was great! I'll definitely be back! read more

Stumbled across this place late Friday night. Our bartender, Michelle & Mat were so great & the service was awesome. Drinks were great too. Would definitely recommend this spot! read more

Best service I have had in Chicago. The food was infinitely better than the price would suggest. Any meal here would be $10 more any any place up the street and it probably tastes better here. The beer selection is solid and the staff seems to know what they are taking about which for me is always a plus. I'll absolutely be back. read more

I never knew there was a second floor to this place until recently. I attended a private after-work happy hour-like shindig the other night. What a great use of space: pool table, coat racks, tables to sit and eat, coat racks, and bar. Perfect size for the amount of people that were there. Bartenders for the evening kept the drinks filled and often. Having said that, thank goodness for the bathrooms on the second floor. read more

Small Irish pub on a street with a lot of bars, but this was the friendliest place that we went. It was a lighter crowd, but at least they had a beer special and no weird drinking or paying rules as some of the others on the block have. Plus the food is decent. Small menu but it's good bar food. The fish sandwich we had was great. This place feels like it would be a local favorite where you get to know everyone if I lived in Chicago. read more

This review is just for the owner. I am planning a trip to your fair city summer of 2015. As an Irish American I look forward to visiting your pub. I just wanted to say I LOVED your various responses to the mentally shortchanged people you unfortunately encountered. I wish more owners took the time to post a reply. Kudos for speaking your mind and standing up to these nitwits. read more

I've started and ended the night here and either way I've always enjoyed myself. The upstairs has a lot more room then downstairs so I like it better up there. The staff is friendly and attentive and the drinks are stiff. I had a soco lime shot and there was a lot of soco and a bit of lime (just the way I like it) read more

Terrible service on a "milk bar*"and the O staff were rude and terrible. Please don't keep rude door-staff

Another downtown faux irish bar. It's not really charming, there aren't really great beers on tap and the bus boy shamed our table for walking in with water bottles. "That's not cool, man" is what he kept muttering as he took them away. We came here to watch the blackhawks game because everything else was packed, which should have clued us into the fact that this really wasn't the place to be for the fun and excitement. If you find yourself in the area, I'd urge you to check out the charming dive bar down the corner at Mother Hubbard's. read more

Everything was awesome. The waitress who was such a sweetheart and so attentive! She made us feel so welcomed. Puts you in a feel as if we're guest in someone's home so they make sure you're okay from start to finish. We were suggested to try the wings, we did and some. Everything was so good, like really good and plenty of. We took boxes home. Hell even the shots were great. We really enjoyed ourselves. Come here. Prices were pretty good as well. Definitely get your money's worth. You can't go wrong here. read more

The few times prior to last that I had come here I was already buzzed and payed no attention to the beer prices. Yesterday I arrived sober and found out that beers are 6 fuckin' dollars!! For bottle or for draft. And I am not talking about high end microbrews - I'm talking Heineken, Corona, etc. They have signs for special $5 Coors Lights - WTF, WTF and WTF???? I can go to an upscale bar and get beer for less. I'm never going to go there for beer again! read more

Another cookie cutter faux Irish pub. 5 FREAKING DOLLARS FOR A BOTTLE OF HIGH LIFE!!! WTFuck! I drink cheap beer because it is cheap. Service was crap and the atmosphere can best be described as Dorkt-tastic read more

I would say this is an okay happy hour, after work place. Don't expect anything else. It's not very big downstairs and the table space is limited, we hung out at the bar for about 30 minutes until one opened up. Plenty of variety on tap for a decent price. read more

Do you want to a drink downtown on a weekend, and it is late at night and there are lines to get IN a place to drink elsewhere? Chances are there will not be a line here, so stop by to maintain your buzz before heading to your next destination. read more

I often come here for lunch or after work. Great selection of beers, tasty char-flavored burgers, and the friendly staff give the bar more of a neighborhood feel despite its River North location. read more

Nice, cool, lots of beers. They should know to give you a draft rather than a bottle when they have it on draft. Geezzz. read more

O'Callaghan's - Pubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Typical bar, typical food. O'Callaghan's is nothing extraordinary, but I come here after work a lot because they're open late and I always receive good, prompt service - even when it's super late at night and the place is packed, I never wait longer than a few minutes for a waitress or a drink. Samantha is great. Try the waffle fries with cheese or the nachos. read more