This might be the best and coolest overall place in the greater Rockford area. I think it's been there since the 1940s. I love old historical places like this. We sat at the bar for a drink while we waited for a table. I had a white Russian and my wife had a specialty cocktail, I don't remember what it was. We both enjoyed our drinks. We were seated in some elevated booths that had a view of the bar area, which was absolutely fantastic!! There is tons of regular restaurant seating in the back dining room rooms... We had the pig candy, cheese, curds, and the waitress recommended the fresh bread. The pig candy was very rich. One piece was enough for me. The cheese curds were very large bigger than tater tots. They tasted good, but I prefer smaller cheese curds. The waitress was right, the bread stole the show! One of the butters that it came with was cinnamon, which was fantastic! Dinner salad was very good. Tasted like homemade dressing. My wife had the pig sandwich and I had the gnocchi. Both were great, including the accoutrements like the french fries and garlic bread. The hostess came around, giving the ladies coronations, which was a nice touch. Great service and just genuinely nice people! We eat out every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This is now on our list. read more

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Ordered the Poor Man's Lobster served with rice pilaf. Poor Man's lobster is supposed to be cod poached in water with an acid to firm up the meat to simulate the texture like lobster. Received just poached lobster with regular white rice. I guess by adding three peas to my regular white rice allows you to add another $5 to my meal. Definitely not going back. read more

We always love coming to the Olympic Tavern. Our neighbors, now friends, brought us to this restaurant 20 or so years ago. It was a beautiful night so today we sat outside. The outside area is very nice although we like sitting inside by the fireplace as well. I had my usual samon which is always very good. My wife had the black and blue New York strip which was a little too fatty and gristly but still good. The service was excellent as usual. Will definably be back again soon and again and again read more

had a great vibe i. here. lots of seating, very cozy atmosphere. good service and excellent menu. highly recommend going here if you are in rockford ever. excellent prices and plenty of drink options. great bloody marys too! read more

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Good food and variety. Service went well. We had an experienced server. The ambiance is different, where you sit. Nice selection of drinks and decent parking. read more

A Rockford staple for good reason. They have a great, tasty menu with something for everyone. A surprise favorite for us lately has been the fish fry on Fridays (as a bonus, it's dairy free, which means it's the only fish fry in town that I know of that I can eat!). They have so much more to offer though, from burgers to tacos to ribs... a lot of great American fare. I don't drink but one of the highlights of this place is definitely their beer selection. It's some of the best in the entire area, and they're always rotating in something new. This is the place to get the rare stuff you can't find anywhere else, and the variety is insane. They also have a full bar with lots of liquor and wine choices. Servers are awesome and it's a well kept spot for being in business so long. They even have a lot of great outdoor seating for the warmer months. read more

Olympic Tavern - Fish and Chips - Barbeque Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

I normally enjoy the Olympic Tavern but this week was not great. Other than a couple obnoxious parties with little self awareness, this ahi tuna dish lacked anything past meh. The worst part of it for me were the out of place green beans. The taste and texture (and size) really just ruined it for me. read more

Olympic Tavern - Seared Ahi with mango pineapple salsa - Barbeque Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

The outside patio was very nice, and I had a friendly waiter. The Krombacher beer was very tasty. Unfortunately, my main meal- veggie risotto was terrible. It was missing half the ingredients that drew me to order it. There was no seasoning. For $20 a real disappointment. It was Wednesday and not very busy when I arrived. More People when I left at 7:30 but not packed out. read more

This was my second visit and the food was just as delicious if not even better than my first visit. We were seated immediately basically at a table of our choice. Side note the entire place is clean and well maintained. The patio is in full bloom and gorgeous. I was dining with two elderly ladies and the music was good but just a bit loud for daytime. The waitress immediately asked if it was too loud and adjusted it. Our meal came very quickly and perfectly prepared. Overall a great lunch. read more

We have been going to Olympic Tavern for decades. It is one of our top choices in the Rockford area. Sadly, it seems they keep decreasing their menu. I have been getting the Bison Burger for as long as I can remember. Over the last couple years they perfected the cook on it and I felt like it was the best burger in Rockford. We just went again this weekend and sadly, that is gone now too. It's strange because Bison Chili is still on the menu. I did ask the server and she confirmed no Bison Burger. The problem is, the menu is mostly appetizers and expensive entrees now. There aren't many choices in between. We don't really care for their pizzas and I'm not interested in paying $16.50 for a turkey burger. I'm not sure when or if we will be back. I ended up ordering the Cavatappi with pulled pork. I've ordered it a few times before, but it's probably about 2,000 calories, so I do not prefer it. I ordered it anyways since nothing else piqued my interest. This time it was not even close to it tasted on previous occasions. Not much taste at all. I am so sad about it, but Olympic has tumbled pretty far down on my list of places to go. read more

Delicious food with good potion sizes, and a solid on-tap beer selection. Definitely worth a visit.

Had the fish fry. Very disappointed: beer battered cod with cornmeal is not to my taste. Fries were tasty, but the wee cup of slaw was too full of dressing. Will not do fish fry there again, but may return for something else. read more

Frozen hamburger patties. Shrimp tacos too hot to eat. Salsa too hot. Cheese curds good

Great food, drinks, ambiance, and fantastic service! Even during a rush tonight, the servers and bartenders made sure to banter with us with a smile and offered good and thoughtful service. And the drink selection is our favorite in town. We always have a great time! read more

What have you done to your wonderful French Onion Soup? Years ago- this was THE place for French onion soup! Used to have a nice thiCK piece of bread on top with plenty of caramelized onions. Now it's just thin broth with a few onions floating in it and soaked croutons?? read more

Decided to stop in for dinner. They have lots of craft beer from all over Illinois. The Mac n cheese was delicious. It was served with Garlic bread. The burger was ok. Service was pretty good. read more

Never imagined Rockford IL would be a busy place during the weekend for lunch. Had to call before making a visit to this restaurant. We were a group of 7. Made the following orders: Breakfast burger was too big in size but flavors were spot on Prime Rib Steak sandwich looked more like a steak with bread toasted. The meat was good but I felt that it didn't work for a sandwich. Crispy Brussels were delish. Would highly recommend even if you are not into Brussels. A friend of mine ordered Mussels with diablo sauce and said it was good. Bison burger also looked good as per another friend. Overall a great place to have some food as you travel into Wisconsin. Just a word of caution: Restrooms are too cold read more

Olympic Tavern - Restaurant seating - Barbeque Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

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Food, service and staff were all excellent at this restaurant. We enjoyed our first visit and will return again.

The food and service were good. We arrived there late but the servicer made us feel welcome.

Came in tonight and sat with a party of 8. We were seated on the patio. It was a beautiful day, our waiter was great. Forgot her name but super friendly, was an older lady. The two stars is due to the not so wonderful Deb. She was visibly upset that we were seated at our table after we were done eating and did not immediately get up after our meal and leave. We still had drinks to finish and were enjoying the great atmosphere until Deb would walk by and give us nasty looks and even made the comment, "Are you leaving soon." The nasty looks happened a good handful of time. I would maybe understand if we ordered one drink and were seated at the table for two hours and spent no money. However, pretty much every person ordered their own appetizers, meals and drinks. She made us feel very unwelcome and was very unkind. A little kindness and a smile can go a long way, Deb! read more

Nice beer selection ... we were outside on the patio to eat. The service was quick and helpful for me to pick what I wanted to eat. I settled on the burger and it was juicy and cooked rare just how I like it. I would try it again after Covid ends read more

Foods is great. Service is usually slow, but the ambiance is good, especially on the patio in the summer.

Food is always very good. We went early for dinner and had the outdoor patio to ourselves. Our waitress was very good, very nice and personable. 9/10! read more

Delicious! Started with cheese curds and pig candy. Excellent start to the meal! Then for the main dishes-The Grinder, Jagerschnitzel, and Prime Philly. Did not disappoint! Service was also very good with how busy it was. Will be back! read more

We were looking for a good place to go, and we'd heard about this place. It was further north than we had ever gone in Rockford - Good Decision! The parking lot is south of the restaurant, and you walk around to the northwest corner for the entrance. They have seating indoors and outdoors - we went with indoors. They did well with the table distancing and everyone wore masks. Prime Rib is their specialty, so I ordered their King Cut 16 ounces. They also had a smaller 12 ounce cut, or if you have a big appetite, a 22 ounce cut. The 16 ounce cut was excellent - the best Prime Rib I've had in the area for a long time. It was served medium rare as I requested, and was a very nice cut of beef. My wife had their Oktoberfest Sausage Platter, which came with two different sausages (Bratwurst and another one) she selected. She really enjoyed it - and said it was the best sausage she had eaten in a while. We did start with their olive appetizer which was a nice plate full of different olives. Very tasty! We finished with their dessert, which were basically Eli's Cheesecakes. I got the standard one and she got the chocolate version. Both were good. Atmosphere was good. COVID separation was good. Service was very good. We really enjoyed this. Their wine list is okay. They could expand into some better choices. read more

$6 burger and fry Mondays are hard to beat!! (Or in my case, $7.95 cheeseburger and salad Mondays) read more

Perfect. It's just the best. Everything is well thought out, practiced, well executed. The food! OMG. We went early on a Saturday and had perfect prime rib. Even the side vegetable was unique and wonderful, mouthwatering and healthy, too. It was busy, but not unpleasant or crazy from a customer perspective. Service was attentive and knowledgeable. There was a pre Christmas atmosphere with a lovely tree. There seemed to be a fireplace one room further. We had one of our best dining experiences ever. They also have a gift card currently. read more

Great entrees and apps. Salmon was one of the best I've ever had. So delicious I didn't get a picture of it. Awesome local spot. read more

Olympic Tavern - Artichoke dip and Cheese curds. - Barbeque Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Best food in town! The cheese curds are probably the best I've ever had. The baked French onion soup is a must! The whole menu is good, you can tell they use fresh ingredients. They constantly do specials and seasonal items, like Apple Cider Sangria (Yum!). Plus they have friendly staff and a clean restaurant. read more

Olympic Tavern - Cheese curds! - Barbeque Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

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Great outside deck. Food is good. They could use some busboys to clear tables to keep hostesses and waitresses focused on their tasks.

The family went to visit the Grandparents to check out some XMas lights in downtown Rockford along the river and then grab some dinner. My father in law recommended Olympic as him and his wife had been there numerous times. So we all decided to try it. All I have to say excellent service and food. I had one of their bourbons in a Manhattan and it was well made (even used a Luxardo cherry.) we had wings (mild), cheese curds and some bread and butter for appetizers and they were all delicious. I would have preferred a different sauce but family members didn't want anything spicy. For dinner each of us had something different except my Daughter and I each had the Jagerschnitzel which I have to say was good. I'm a big fan of schnitzel so when asked was it the best schnitzel I ever had? - no it wasn't. Was it good? Absolutely! Overall, a very nice place, reasonable prices, tons of room and good overall ambiance! I would go there again in a minute if asked again. read more

The food and service is very mid. This experience was my third visit,and I wanted to give them another another try but not only did I not feel welcomed, everything including the drink came out incorrect. read more

It's average at best, that's not saying alot. Paid reviews are just that, paid. The location never appears busy for being highly rated as it is. So how does that even make sense? Food selection is okay. But a little over priced. The cooks skills seem average at best. Overall not the worst place to eat, but it definitely isn't the best either. read more

Not impressed. Our waitress took over an hour and a half to serve us a steak salad, two soups, and a fish fry. She never asked if we needed anything, we constantly had to keep stopping her. Half of the staff wore masks and there was no sanitation between tables. The bartender kept running around giving out a free shot. Along with this, we received the wrong soup and the entrees were horrible. My salads dressing was so tart and it was full of fat steak, many cranberries and walnuts and barely any lettuce. My boyfriends fish was battery and unflavored. I would not recommend. read more

Olympic Tavern - a plate of food with a knife and fork - Barbeque Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Went Monday night for PastaSPECIAL and it was SPECIAL ! The sauce was great! Mikee liked it, we'll go again and again and again. read more

I'll preface this by saying my husband loves this place. We took our kids here for dinner. They have a great beer selection if you like beer. The food however was just OK. I ordered the burger, and the bun was dry and a bit stale. read more

Fabulous decor and energy here - to drink or eat. A wee bit pricey but it is better than your basic Rockford place. It's utterly wrong that Greenfire gets top billing and The Olympic dosen't even come up on the top ten list. (west side bias?) The owners are cool too- I worked with one as a teacher, and she was a human being. thank you! read more

Typical neighborhood spot with a good selection of drinks. Friendly staff and okay food.

Enjoyed a drink at the bar before our reservation. Food was good - service was good - good choice before a show at the Coronado.

My family and I have been dining at the Olympic Tavern for close to 15 years and it is hands down our favorite restaurant in the area. Their food is always amazing, I suggest going on Tuesday nights to get their quesabirria tacos when they have them (get there early because they will sell out). Their staff is great, always attentive and helpful. We normally sit in the bar area but they have a great patio for warm months and in the winter their dining room is nice and cozy with their fireplace. read more