A cabin style bar that serves local beers as well as wines and whiskeys. The beer selection rotates monthly. They have a covered patio plus our door seating. Food is BYO. They are a 21+ establishment except on Family Sundays. Check their website site for details. It's a nice setting to enjoy a beer or two but I wish they had food options and entertainment more option. read more

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This place had been on my list to try for awhile. Cute cabin interior and plenty of outdoor seating. Definitely have to visit when the weather is nice. Cozy outdoor almost campsite environment. They have some short trails behind the building. (We did the one, under half a mile) Such a great concept. They have a decent amount of beer, cocktail, and non alcoholic options. Service was friendly. Definitely a great spot in the Elgin area. read more

Located in Elgin, I've driven by here many many many times. So, my wife has been wanting to stop here; we decided to make a day trip. The staff is friendly. They have a couple short nature trails out back. I decided on their guest cider. It's a nice spot to visit. You can drink inside or outside (within fence limits of course). read more

We were hot and thirsty after a long hike and this pretty setting was just the ticket for cooling off. They had a lemon seltzer by Penrose that I really enjoyed and my husband had a strawberry sour on tap. Inside the cabin setting is dark and air conditioned but we opted to enjoy the breeze under the shade of an umbrella on the porch. Sometimes they have a food truck in the lot so follow on social media for the schedule. I wish there was live music but I didn't see a schedule for that but they did have canned music. In addition to beer they also serve wine and whiskey. They are available for private event bookings. No kids allowed except on listed family Sundays. Well behaved dogs are welcome. read more

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Stopped by for some drinks and Bellies Food Truck. Beer was great, pork tacos and sliders were the Bomb, food came up quick, great flavor, lean meat, not fatty. All and all a great time. read more

Great Beer, Atmosphere and vibes!! Came here on a Friday evening listened to some live music and enjoyed some good food(foodtruck) The outdoor seating was fantastic and I'd definitely be back!!! read more

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I would give this place a 5 Star because drinks were good and atmosphere is amazing but the daughter of the owners has a massive issue with kids. Our kids bothered nobody and were on the trails which the parent allowed and she yelled at them. If they don't want kids at their establishment then don't allow them. Any little thing kids did she yelled at them so if your a family looking for a nice day out, don't bring them here read more

Quality selection of beers and wine. Don't sleep on the sangria either. There is simply nothing like the beer garden anywhere in the area. Fantastic. read more

Disappointed. We've been there a number of times and always felt they had a great selection of beers to choose from. The last time we were there half the board over the bar was empty. We had to settle on an okay beer but the bartender was great. When we first started coming the choices of beers were amazing, not sure what has changed. We took a seat on the patio but the music was heavy metal and loud so we moved onto the grass and was finally able to relax and enjoy the day. We came on a weekday in the early afternoon. Sorry to say we won't be back. read more

What a cool, hidden spot! The owners are honorable to their mission, with some creative stray. A large selection of craft brews is the foundation, accompanied by uniquely designed decor with shared bench tables and a warm look and feel. The outside has a cool concept of picnic tables and rentable fire pits! The forest preserve next door lends this establishment as a good stopping point for a mid summer bike ride or a winter snowshoe! A must visit for locals and visitors alike. read more

No kids allowed on property. Not family friendly. Seems to cater more to the elderly and pets. Stopped in on way home from daughter's sports competition. Arrived early with friend to secure table and order wood-fired pizza (delicious...made by an unaffiliated third party). Once the kids arrived, server told us they were not allowed in the beer garden. No other seating option exists on premise, so we packed up our food to leave. Same server chased us down so we didn't steal their drink glassware....not a risk, we just had paid for full drinks. A manager offered to refund the drinks we had not yet finished...I let them keep my $38 so they had enough cash flow to stay open long enough to receive this review. The live band playing 40s/50's music drew a cute much older crowd. Amazing how they navigated the disaster of a parking lot. Families stay away. Can't imagine how they stay open through winter...maybe blue hairs learn how to do carry out. Update: Tolerate this dismal review. read more

Was there today for their 1 year anniversary party. Everything about this place wants me to love it. The property is cool, the idea of byofood is fun or a food truck is more fun, the local craft beers are wonderful. So why three stars? The atmosphere. It should be great, the formula is a good one, but the service and staff are lame. So snobby! The owner was the topic of our conversation of our group of ten. No one person was/is impressed by his social skills. He doesn't come out to the tables. When talking to him, he's short and not personable, which is nuts for a place like this. The bartenders are rude. Point blank. I asked today if they had anything similar to a shandy or radler and was told, "well those are inherently bad beers so no." Ummm, really? That is so insulting. They have 12 beers on tap, I think, and another two or three dozen in bottles, why wouldn't you have something for all types? I know they are going for a look, but don't exclude a novice beer drinker...Make friends, not enemies in this business. I've scratched my itch about this place. If a group of my friends wanted to go back, I would, but I won't suggest it. If you go, go with your friends, make them the ambiance, not the establishment. read more

I cant say i enjoyed my first time visit here... Maybe in the summer time it is better or if i was a regular. Came in with a friend not many people in here maybe 7 people tops... (place is super small inside fots maybe 30 at most) looks like most the seating is outdoors so if its winter time forget it. Anyways sat down and was basically ignored for 25min until we said something and the lady goes oh yeah we dont come to people you have to order in the corner. So i guess your supposed to randomly know to walk to the corner od the bar and wait and order your drinks. Lady was just talking to the guys at the bar the entire time probabpy regulars so we just felt weird in there. Got our 1 drink in left. Cool they have local beers and cool idea with the no food etc. But not cool to be ignored or after sitting for 25min make me stand up to walk to the corner and order a drink? Weird setup if you ask me. Needless to say i wont come back. Wasnt "wowed" like i thought i was going to be. Bummer. read more

Love this place! Hidden gem. Service was great, awesome atmosphere, so happy we found this a spot.

This place seemed very covid safe since the majority of the seating is outside and well separated from other people. Masks are required when inside. When I was there, a Thursday afternoon, there was no table service. Beer was ordered at the bar and poured in a plastic cup. The bartender was very friendly and gave me a good suggestion from the draft beer list. I selected a lager. In addition to the draft beer, there are canned beers available as well. It looked like they were all local craft beers. If you get hungry, there is also a food truck in the parking lot. I had the meatloaf sandwich. It was great. When I was there, i did notice some street noise but nothing that bad in my opinion. I will definitely return. read more

We recently had a 21st birthday at Plank Road and it was great! Gaby was so helpful in the planning of the party, and even ordered special drinks for the non-beer drinkers! We had the whole beer garden to ourselves, and were able to bring our own food truck. We will definitely be recommending them to our friends and family! read more

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Great place to go to and get beers on tap. They typically have a food truck but you can also bring your own food or order to there. They have a small inside but outside is super nice I can't wait to go there this summer. Also dog friendly! :) I wish they had some sour beer options but still enjoy what they do have! read more

The best outdoor beer garden in Chicagoland! Bring your own food (& dog on a leash;)...or come on a food truck day - check their Instagram page for more details! read more

Surly Event today. You can bring your dog too. Lovely outside area. Lots of seating in and out. Great bartenders. And the owners are great. Support you local tap room!! read more

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Awesome place to enjoy beer the way it was meant to be. Excellent rotating craft beer menu and a great atmosphere. There are actually no televisions here and I actually really enjoyed that, we met some people we likely wouldn't have otherwise talked to as a result. The owners were very approachable, polite, and attentive to all the people who were there. read more

Plank Road Tap Room - Nice outdoor seating. - Bars Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Super small but really warm and inviting inside. Great beer selection. The Penrose Midwest Vice was super tasty. Steeper prices than most tap rooms but it's like buying dessert I guess. read more

Plank Road Tap Room - Bars Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Not fully sure how we ended up at this little joint, but I'm glad we did! Let me start by saying, I don't really know much about beer. Not that I hate it, but I'm picky when it comes to beer. So when we arrived and went to order, I told the guy just that. I also told him a couple of beers I like, so he gave me a couple of suggestions from the menu. I chose the Ebel's Weiss by Two Brothers. It was exactly what I was looking for! The two people that were with me picked their recommended beer as well, and were both pleased with their choice. My friends ordered Fistmas (a winter warmer), and a Porter that was not on the menu. I have to say, one of the best things -about going to any place- is getting a great recommendation by an employee. Now, for style and decor. This place looks really cute on the outside, with log cabin style design and Christmas lights to accentuate it. The door had their own logo(as do all their beer glasses), which is really pretty. When you walk inside you realize it is pretty small. There are four picnic tables and about 5 or 6 bar seats. It was pretty packed inside(but not too uncomfortable), which I actually liked. It isn't an extravagant place. It is a simplistic, good ole beer lovin', small business supportin', hangout. If you don't want to sit next to someone you don't know, don't come here. You have to interact with people here! They do have some nice artistic pictures on the walls (that highlight beer life). Let me clarify: this place isn't PLAIN. It is SIMPLE. There is a difference. There are no TV's and no food. JUST beer. They do welcome that you bring your own food, and your own card games. The only thought I might have is that extra space be built for two extra picnic tables, BUT I'm pretty sure that this was a house of some sort that has since been converted. And they have maximized the potential in this room. For the first time here I recommend doing what we did, starting off your night with a beer or two and then pub crawl somewhere else! We definitely will be back. Next time we might bring a couple more people, cards against humanity, and some pizza. read more

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My wife and I are so happy we decided to finally stop in and check this place out. Not one bad thing to say about this place. They have 14 craft beers on tap that are constantly in rotation. Plenty of craft can beers as well. The place is small however you do not feel over crowded. No hipsters here only blue collar workers looking for something different. This is not a sports bar. This is exactly what the name says it is. Great staff! The owner was very pleasant as he talked beer with us. There's an interesting story of how the place came to be. I'll let you hear it for yourself. read more

Plank Road Tap Room - 14 beers on top and canned beer - Bars Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Love it. It's all about the beer. Staff knows beer. This has a great small town feel. You can't help but chat with your neighbor. Sometimes other patrons share their pizza, cheese, chocolate, popcorn, etc with others. Love to come here 1-2 times a week. If you are a beer snob or just want to learn more about beer, stop in. Staff will recommend something. read more

Plank Road Tap Room - Bars Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

This is an awesome little spot. The craft beer selection is always on point, and balanced. The porch are is nice to sit back and relax and have a superbly mastered beer. Crowd is super friendly .Staff is awesome and knowledgeable. A few board games are located in the back, if you want to get down with some Jenga,etc If you are in the area you must stop by and check it out. Food truck schedules can be found on their website or facebook. Cheers. read more

Plank Road Tap Room - Bars Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

This place is great! Been coming here for years. Alan and Breanne are wonderful! Beer list is constantly rotating and everything is very clean. Pinnacle draft system maintenance and it shows in the beers taste. I do enjoy an awesome outdoor space with a 21 and older policy - as not many locations around here offer an outdoor area without a lot of kids running around! read more

Amazing atmosphere! Highly recommend coming here with some friends to get drink and enjoy live music. Staff is super nice. Pet friendly as well! Best bar to be at in the summer read more

Plank Road Tap Room, what a great place to stop in and enjoy a craft beer! I am not a huge beer drinker, I don't brew my own, but I do appreciate some of the craft offerings. Take Lake Street (20) to Plank road, turn left on Plank and you are practically there. They have 14 craft beers on rotation and the menu to the right of the counter lists them all. Lighter beers at the top, darker at the bottom. For the record, this place serves beer and beer only. They do not serve food/snacks at this time, but a buddy of mine that I went with indicated they have food trucks that come regularly during the summers. 5 out of 5, this place is a class act, I'm a fan. Décor: relatively small place, but very warm, inviting, cozy. Since this was my first time at PRTR, and they were not overly crowded, I cannot comment on how busy it may be during peak times. Bathroom: Did not use, but they have (2) Staff: Very friendly, fast service, and nice touch that they thoroughly rinse each glass before the beer is poured Food: N/A Value: Fair prices for craft beers read more

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We've wanted to check this place out but since it is a tiny location with a tiny parking lot they are usually filled to capacity at peak times. Well, we found ourselves in their neck of the woods at 3 p.m. on a Thursday heading home from a funeral and decided we could really use a drink. Based on the day/time we were able to get a parking space and give them a try. This place is okay for what it is...a bar with some quality craft beers. They had 2 dozen beers on tap and about a dozen beers in cans when we stopped by. They do not have food except when they occasionally have a food truck on-site. You can check their website for the food truck schedule. read more

SO glad this place is open during COVID. I felt so safe and it's an amazing spot!! I will be going back this week. This is my new favorite place in the world Elgin area. The barn is SO cute and heated and i loved sitting around the fire pit. Probably going to book for my moms birthday in the spring. Drinks were 10/10 too. read more

Plank Road Tap Room - Loved the barn - Bars Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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I came here because they were hosting a breakfast food truck that I was excited to eat at. They clearly advertised having the truck there from 11am-2:30pm, but when I showed up at 1pm there was no food truck. To my dismay I had driven 30 minutes to still be starving. Maybe they should change their event hours to "11am to whenever we feel like it." That'd be so much more convenient. The outpost tavern down the street was very accommodating though. They had a really good taco special that day. read more

Plank Road Tap Room - Bars Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Place is not worth going anymore ever since Covid happened. One simply (unless it just changed) order a beer here from the bar. You must order from your phone and they strictly enforce that. They also enforce masking at places when its no longer needed anymore. Really is a hassle to just drink a beer here when you can elsewhere and have a beer much easier. read more

Plank Road Tap Room is a welcome spot on the western edge of Elgin.  Alan's 14 taps rotate with excellent national and local craft beers. The atmosphere is very welcoming.  No distracting TV's, which encourages folks to get to know one another.  If you want to know what's on tap, follow them on Twitter and Instagram, as the taps are constantly turning over and they will post when something new is pouring. read more

I like beer. I like to put it in my face, and hoard bottles of it in my closet that I save for special occasions. I've waited out in the cold for hours at liquor stores to buy limited release beer. I love good beer. So does my husband. As such, we've had family members telling us about this place and how much we'd love it. Last night we finally got the opportunity to go. When we got to the parking lot we thought it might have been closed. 8pm on a Saturday night and there was one car in the parking lot. We still went up to check it out though, worst case scenario we'd just go somewhere else. There were two friends sitting at the bar talking over some delicious looking beer, and we were greeted by the bartender Teresa. Teresa is laid back and friendly, and man does she know and love her beer. We had a great time bullshitting with her about beer. the Tap Room has 12 taps, but they're changed out regularly. One of the things I really loved about the place - besides good beer, yay! - was that you're surrounded by people that love good beer and love to talk about it. It's like going to a craft beer festival, you're surrounded by people that also love craft beer. We also luckily got to meet Alan, the owner. He is a gentleman and a scholar. We talked with him and Teresa for awhile about some of the local breweries, and I was able to buy an awesome beer from him at an awesome price, causing me to ABSOLUTELYLOSEMYSHITOMG. But i'm so super chill and laid back I said thank you but did not attack him with a ninja surprise hug.*** See, in theory I should be trying to hide this place because I loved it so much, but that's unfair. That's unfair to you, in search of delicious craft beer and good people, and unfair to the people that run such a kick ass place who deserve to be known for being so freaking good at what they do. But that's what's so cool about this place, sharing the love of good beer and all of the hard work that goes into it. TL;DR This place will melt your face off, and then they'll helpfully glue it back on just to melt it off again. If you already love craft beer or are new to it and want to learn more about it, check this place out. It's wonderful. ***That is a lie. I ninja hugged the hell out of that guy out of pure joy. He is freaking awesome. so is Teresa. So glad we found this place. read more

Used to really like this place, but it is more of a hassle to go here now. My friend and I walked into the establishment the other day and were told we couldn't order at the bar, instead, we had to order at the table through our phones. Talk about making it unnecessarily burdensome to order a beer! My friend and I weren't allowed to sit in the tables in the beer garden since those were special for groups of 4 (there were 4 open tables at the time). This place should go back to the basic. Let people order inside - what difference does it make if everyone is still wearing masks? The bartender there is always kind of rude and not very social which doesn't make the experience any better. read more

Best summer time spot. There's no place like Plank Road Tap Room to sit outside and enjoy a cold beer on a warm summer night...or day! The bartenders can easily suggest something from their list if you tell them what you normally drink. My husband and I went one night when there was a pizza oven food truck. It was great! We also enjoy coming when it's colder months and playing cards inside. Neighborhood gem for sure. read more

I recently brought my wife here for the Surly event. Plank Road Tap Room has only become better. The staff is attentive and courteous. The owner is extremely knowledgeable and friendly. They have a style of beer for all types of beer drinkers from lagers to stouts to sours to... This is a must stop for all beer lovers in northern Illinois. read more

Just moved to the area, and stopped here Sunday afternoon with my wife and baby. Seemed nice, so we got a couple beers and ordered some food from a food truck. The food was excellent, but in the middle of the meal we were told to leave as kids weren't allowed. We apologized since we didn't know, and asked if we could at least finish eating and drinking our beers. We were not allowed to and had to leave immediately. Horrible place!!! Won't be going back. Hope they go out of business!!!! read more

A friend of mine invited me out one Saturday afternoon and I was hooked. We spent an afternoon sampling all their draft offerings (we had someone drop us off and pick us up) and had a blast, as you would imagine. Very friendly staff and clientele. I came here with my wife a few days ago since she had never been here. We were planning on just having 1 then moving on. We started talking to some guys we were sharing a table with and ended up staying for 3 hours. All kinds of beer offerings here. Everyone of them has been good (so far). They have a wasabi beer that I'm a little leary of but will probably try. Great place. 4/20/16: I just noticed on their beermenus.com listing (which they keep up faithfully, BTW!) that they now offer half pours on everything on tap. Not all tappings were available in flights at times so having the option to get a half pour allows more samples without the headache, if ya know what I mean. read more

Plank Tap Room, in one visit (after a previous attempt) has easily become one of my favorite suburban beer spots. I could spend time talking about how good the beer selection is....but that's to be expected. There are plenty of other reviews on here, but simply put....this place is not your $2.50 Miller Lite bottle specials place. And I love that! What I do want to talk about are the people, and the location. The minimalism behind this bar is perfect for those that want to enjoy a great beer selection. I say that because there are no TV's, decorations are to a minimum, and the table setup kinda forces you to sit with just whomever is already there. And that....is awesome. You meet other people and maybe talk about beer, or just the daily grind, or family, or friends...whatever. No need for dart or a pool table either...board games are available and can easily help break the ice. Or, you can sit there and just enjoy a fantastic beer. Now, what (IMO) makes this place 5* is the people. We arrived at about 8pm on Saturday and got to know Teresa, the bartender on duty that night. She was great to talk to, not only educating my wife and I on which beers we would like based on our tastes, but just shooting the shit with us as well. Alan, the owner, came in a little while later after our arrival and is by far one of the most personable owners I've had the pleasure of meeting. He truly wants people to a) enjoy their beer, and b) understand their beer. He's constantly having events, and I can tell you that my wife and I are VERY excited for the next one. I have the price at $$ only because the beer they serve isn't the $2.50 miller lights if the world. Their beer selection necessitates the price point they have it at, and it is exactly where it should be; good pours and very affordable. Tap Room will easily become our "weekly tradition". So...if you enjoy great beer, great people, clean/inviting location this is your place. Put away your cellphone, order a flight, then order your favorite, make some new friends, and be safe. And if it's on tap...I highly recommend Absence of Light by 4 Hands... read more