For sure this isn't a great place in Normal, but it's one of the most popular bars. It certainly gets a lot of ISU students and family. Pub II is a good place for watching games or any sports. Has good specials on drinks. The food is pretty average as expected. A pretty crowded place and last time here it was crazy. It's got plenty of room inside but there's mostly empty space in the middle. This is so there's a place for dancing, twerking, or whatever. Afternoons are less hectic but still busy. This is where to watch football on weekends. Even so, we were able to get seats at the bar. It's about $6 for Jameson. Good price to be honest. The food isn't anything special. Especially limited in healthy options. It's about $9 for the Jumbo Bavarian Pretzel. Big ass one good to share among a few. This comes with beer cheese and honey mustard. This is good with regular mustard too. Other food options include greasy burgers. This is more of a place to drink than to eat to be honest. Campus bar that has some good prices on beers and food. It's open late. This is also close to the Amtrak station. read more

Pub II - Jameson And Jumbo Bavarian Pretzel - American Near Me - Normal, Illinois

Great sports bar here plenty of TV 4 projectors playing the big game. Big place to hang out and find a spot to watch. Drinks are strong at a nice price. They do have an outdoor area with its on bar as well. Haven't tried the food here but it smelt and looked good. Staff was also nice as well, definitely a great place to come for drinks food and to watch ur favorite sporting event. read more

Pub II - American Near Me - Normal, Illinois

If you are in the area...or even if you are not-you have to swing in for the food, service and overall experience. Don't be in a rush....because you are not going to want to leave! See you soon! read more

Let's get some historical perspective here. The Pub is an ISU landmark. Any Redbird or local has spent a Sunday morning here trying to undo Saturday night. Cheese curds, fried mushrooms, and a famous bacon cheeseburger. I do not care if the floor is sticky, it's the Pub. There is now an outdoor area in the back. This place is built on nostalgia and value. If I'm near Bloomington I'm stopping in and saying Hello. read more

WE LOVE PUB 2!!!!! It's a must go to when we visit Bloomington. We love this place. It's the perfect dive bar vibe. They're always super friendly and quick. You can't beat the prices of the food here. Every time we visit from AZ we make sure to stop at pub 2!!! If you're ever in Bloomington IL please do yourself a favor and stop in. read more

Food was decent. Service was terrible. Waited 2 hours for lunch. Great college bar for drinks. Not so much for food.

Service was good, the food was not.... Burger tasted like the grill hasn't been cleaned in a couple weeks. I travel for work constantly and this was the worst burger i've had in a year! Atmosphere of the bar is great, they could use a step up on the grill. read more

pub II is wayyyyyyy overrated. and they way understaff the bar for it takes 6 years to get a drink.

This review was 30-years in the making. I frequented this institution back in the early 90's when I was a student at ISU. I graduated in 1991, and haven't been back since...until last weekend (July 10, 2020). I'm here to tell you the fried cheese balls are as good as we remember. We are in the midst of a Pandemic but wanted to get out of Chicagoland. We didn't want to leave Illinois because most states appear to be less cautious. My wife suggested visiting ISU (where we met). What a great idea. The entire Blooming-Normal area was relatively quiet (our hotel was at 10% capacity). But I digress. Our first stop was Pub II. We sat in the beer garden. Servers and customers were following the rules and taking the necessary precautions. Prices were very reasonable (be sure to inquire about the daily drink specials). The service was excellent. My rating might be a little generous, but what can I say: I'm feeling generous. Get the Cheese Balls, and believe the hype. Can't wait till my next visit! read more

Pub II - A 1/2 order of fried cheese balls and beer. Hard to beat. - American Near Me - Normal, Illinois

It is beyond filthy and the smell of pee as soon as you walk in the door is like wow. The pop wasn't drinkable tasted like cleaner.

Cheese curds and sampler platter are yummy. Service mediocre, been there twice and the service is not anything to brag about. Busy, forget it you will stand at the bar waiting way too long. Floor way too sticky. I realize this is a super popular place and for that I say, you should go check it out. read more

Good bar food and we always have good service. Just a reliable spot, honestly. We will keep coming back.

The world smallest patty melt and smash to less then a half of an inch ! Never again , we had a nine waitress , left her 21 percent tip !

Stopped in two nights ago with a party of 25. Shame on us for not giving a heads up. But, Morgan took great care of us. She was awesome. We were a server's nightmare; separate checks, staggered food orders, and commandeered a bunch of tables. Morgan handled it beautifully. Tip of the cap to her. read more

My boyfriend is an ISU alumnus so he was pretty excited to show me his old stomping grounds and one of his favorite pastime hangout bars, the Pub II. The Pub II is a somewhat shady-looking building with limited parking, but there's around 30 marked parking spots for patrons across the street at the Ace Hardware. The entrance is not too obvious and upon entering, we were carded. We arrived at around 2pm on a Saturday during March Madness, and the place is jam packed! We find a booth in the far corner, which appears to be the only booth available at the time and we sit down although the table had not been cleaned. Shortly after, we were greeted by a server who rushed us though the ordering process. I don't blame her since it seems she was one of the only servers handling a full house of college students. She brought our drinks and we placed an appetizer order - one of my boyfriend's favorites, the fried cheese balls, which is served with a side of Ragu and ranch. The appetizer took a full twenty minutes to arrive to our table, and my boyfriend warned that service isn't one of their strongpoints, but when they did arrive, they were hot, cheesy, and delicious - we finished the entire basket in minutes. By this time, my boyfriend had requested another beer but never received it, and as the crowd died down, it seemed our server took a long break. When we finally spotted her and asked for the check, she realized she forgot his beer and settled the entire bill by charging us only one beer, so we paid $3.75 for a beer, a root beer, and an appetizer. We ended up tipping 100% because we both felt it was an honest mistake and during such a busy time, mistakes happen! Overall, I love the cheese balls here and service is not too terrible for a place packed with college students. The pub is full of interesting decorations, plenty of TVs, and the like - it is exactly what one would expect from a college bar! read more

Pub II - Fried Cheese Balls - American Near Me - Normal, Illinois

I waited for my food for about an hour and a half and when the server finally came back an hour after the last time we checked on us, he said the kitchen threw away our ticket and said it was already made. The communication on this place is terrible and everything else was absolutely horrible. Never come here for food. Not worth it. read more

Definitely known as a college bar and as an ISU alum is a great place to reminisce about college. Always get the cheese balls!

Was here for 20min didn't get served. Bartender was very rude when we tried to ask if he would take our order he said with a hand in our face "I'm kinda busy" and then walked away. read more

Guy with curly hair didn't let my friend in because she forgot she had a drink in her bag but let the guy in when my friend gave him the drink...He is a horrible bouncer and only thinks about himself. Super weird with girls also made me uncomfortable. Would love to give 0 stars for him. read more

I've been coming here since I went to college at ISU. Service has been horrible lately. Waited over a half hour for a server to come bring us menus at around 8:30 and we had to go ask an employee for someone to help us several times. Multiple servers looked at us and just looked away. No one ended up coming by. I've had no issues in the past but this is the second time in two weeks this has happened. Really don't want to come back here. read more

Great place! Lively college bar. The spicy cheese curds and a must get. Well priced and delicious burgers. Would definitely go again when visiting ISU or Blo-No read more

All you need to know about The Pub is that it's a staple spot at ISU and you should stop in out of pure respect. The end. Alright, alright, just kidding...there's more. The three C's (which hopefully aren't your grades if you're a student at ISU) - Cheeseballs. Cheap beer. College town. All which make up the one and only Pub. Whenever I'm visiting ISU's campus I always stop in. Their fried cheeseballs are amaze-balls! Crispy on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside, all cooled down with a delicious side of ranch. The best partner in crime to this tasty app is a cold beer of course. I can always count on the pub to have a good drink special. Last time I was in I enjoyed 24 oz domestics for only $3! The only other menu items I've had here is their cheese pizza and the breaded mushroom app. Nothing fancy, but a great bar snack nonetheless. The Pub is a great spot to catch a game (if you get there early enough). They have TVs everywhere lining the walls. The only issue is that it can get crowded real quick. Be sure to get there early if you want to snag a table! read more

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Brought 7 paying customers to this place. We are from out of town so didn't get service. Sat at the bar for 20-25 mins with no service, random guy comes up and immediately gets a beer. I proceeded to let the bartender know we that hadn't been served for this long and he replied "have a good night". Yeah read more

Second time here. Only went to watch basketball tournaments. I had the steak sandwich, they put it on a small hamburger bun. Really?? Service was fine waitress was pleasant. Price was very reasonable. But the food could of been better read more

Personally I love it here, the staff give me small town vibes as they are really cool. Know a couple of them from class. The beer pitcher for $6 on a Wednesday is awesome. Most drinks are reasonably priced. Fun time every I'm here so will continue to come here. read more

Stopped here after moving my daughter into her dorm. Middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday so they weren't crowded. The portions were large and typical bar food which we love. Cheese curds were great and so were the onion rings. Our waitress was friendly and attentive. read more

We stopped into Pub II with friends for lunch on a Saturday and had an okay meal. Décor: It's a college bar and there isn't much more to say about it haha. There are a bunch of tables of varying sizes and even some booths around the exterior. There is a solid outdoor area, although it was too cold for us to be out there, and there are plenty of TVs so you won't miss a moment of the game. It's decently well lit and the same from a cleanliness standpoint. Bathroom: about on par with the rest of the place. Staff: Our waitress was pretty nice and pretty quick with our orders and food delivery. Food/drinks: Being somewhat hung over we didn't drink - just ate. We started with the Cheese Curds, which are outstanding, and then move onto our meals. We had burgers (pretty terrible due to being WAY overcooked), chicken wings (pretty tasty), and pizza (decent). Overall, everything was just ok, nothing amazing (well, other than the cheese!). If you're looking for a place with a somewhat robust menu, then this is it. It's a jack of all trades, master of none. Value: The food was pretty cheap. We had a decent meal, but I'd explore other options (for eating) before returning here. read more

I recently visited ISU for Homecoming '08 and tailgated all morning. Since the majority of my peers in attendance were ISU alums they decided to take me to the "PUB II". Upon entering it is your typical sports bar nothing fancy, neon signs and ISU Redbird banners. I wasn't too thrilled about sitting inside the bar because it was rather warm. However there is a comfortable beer garden just a step away. Now, this is where the fun starts. The menu is super cheap...I'm talking $3-$4 sandwiches. I ordered the $2.99 1/4lb cheeseburger. It was good but nothing special, similar to what you can grill at home. For the price who can complain..right? I highly suggest their "CHEESEBALLS"...we got ours with ranch and marinara sauce for dipping. Since it was homecoming weekend they had a 32oz. Lite Beer on special for $4.25 (you also got to keep the mug). This was soooo worth every penny. Service was to be expected as slow because of the drunken homecoming crowd. I thought our server Tyler did a reasonable job despite the chaos and constant jager/car bomb ordering from our table. read more

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Food was alright, service was terrible. My group of friends needed boxes and they only gave us one. We requested more boxes (there were 4 of us) and the server comes back and asks us what we needed them for. Uhh we need them for food?? Obviously? Don't see how it's any of her business anyway. She told us she couldn't give us more boxes and that if we wanted more it would cost $2 per box. $2 for CARDBOARD BOXES. Server was also not very friendly. The stinginess was gross, don't come here. read more

Enjoyed the cheese curds. Got the Turkey Club BLT - it was alright. Wouldn't get again. Service was good- waitress was attentive.

The Pub II is your quintessential college dive bar. It's a Normal staple - I mean, Normal-native "Jake from State Farm" has his original khakis framed and hanging on the wall, how much more Normal can you get? The drink prices are spot on and the food is generally good, you just need to know what to get. I haven't had every item on the menu, but I can tell you that the chicken sandwich never disappoints, the chili is delicious, and the cheese curds (my favorite is pepperjack) are what the Pub is most known for. There are plenty of TVs to watch sportsball and there is a beer garden in the back can fit many, many college students on a Wednesday night. read more

The service at this place is absolutely outrageous. I get the trying times and bars are short staffed, but there is literally 0 organization within the place. You walk in, seat yourself, and hope to god a server stumbles by your table and sees you haven't been served yet. Even once you get served, good luck getting a server to come back to your table in under 45 mins. Very disappointing as this is a great bar to watch a game, but the service is intolerable at this point. read more

Technically I give it ZERO!!! Waitress was worst waitress I've ever had in my 51 years of life. Took 1.5 hours to get our food having to ask her 3 times about it, only to flag down another waitress to learn it was never put in. We were promised food asap and instead had to go up to the managers twice before finally receiving 30 minutes later. I understand businesses being busy and short staffed but the service was beyond bad !!!! Managers were helpful and apologetic when it was all said & done read more

fun if you are in college lol. the patio is always tough to get a seat on nice days in the later afternoon but always love some pepperjack cheese balls read more

don't go here unless you're a townie. asked for the bartender to take my order and he responded with "i'm in the middle of something" and then someone the bartender seemed to know walked up next to us at the bar and the bartender immediately greeted him and took his order. maggie miley's is down the street and a much better option and way better service. i will literally be telling everyone i know how rude and terrible this crappy townie bar is (: read more

If you need a place for beer, go there. Do not order any food from there!! Yikes! I have had Patty Melt maybe 50 times by now and this one is no question the worst ever. Smaller burger than the White Castle and it's burned!!! Many others on my table weren't pleased with their food, either. I would have given them 1 star but it's a good bar for beer only. Hey Pub 2, get a different chef!! read more

Food is cheap but service is HORRIBLE!! Went there last week with a group of 12 people at 7pm for dinner. We purposely went there early to beat the night time crowd. We sat at our table for 20 minutes and a waitress never came over, so went to the bar and ordered a drink and asked for a waitress to come over. She came brought us menus, left for another 10 minutes, got our drink order, brought them after another 10 minutes then took our order which took another 20 minutes to get to the table. Food was missing and she never came back to check on us or to see if we wanted another drink. Waitresses were too busy talking among themselves or serving their friends beer. Management really needs to hire better and manage their waitstaff. If you want good service, go anywhere else! read more

What? Only 3 Stars? What are you drinkin' Journalynn?? Well not great beer I'll tell you that. Truth be told my coworkers and I frequent the Pub II often because it does have a lot of great things to offer. However your lack of great imports is a disappointment to my beer snob wannabe status, your teeny tiny parking lot (and the constant confusion over when and what spots you can actually use in the Ace Hardware lot) instigates great debate on whether we pick you for drinking fun, and the frat boy obnoxiousness in the beer garden is rising to untolerable levels. (yes you can accuse me of being old now). By negativity behind me, let's focus on why we tend to look past your flaws and come back time and again. 1. Cheeseballs! Holy cow, the most amazing cheeseballs that #Blono has to offer. Practically a resident of Wisconsin, I almost discriminate more on cheeseballs than I do with beer, and these are awesome. Tip, ask for double the ranch instead of the marinara, and yes Frances get the full order! 2. TVs TVs TVs.... if the game is on. Whichever one you want. You can see it. Keeps my boys happy. 3. Darts and more Darts. No fighting a frat boy for a board... plenty to pick from. 4. Blue Moon... hey this is my review, remember? If the best I can get is a Blue Moon, I'll take it over the insane selection of light beers. My one beacon of beer goodness among the array of piss water. So grabs some friends, park in the deck and walk over, order lots o cheese curds, grab a pig tall table near the dart board and enjoy. read more

AWFUL experience. Went for price and convenience, as suggested here. My beer had a fly in it, and my (bland) cheeseburger had a burnt piece of paper in it (the paper used to separate the slices of cheese in the kitchen). Only positive aspect of the meal was the potato chips (which seemed store bought) On top of it, the waitress 'miscalculated' our check by $5 read more

I read some of the reviews and have to wonder what people were expecting... This is a very popular college bar that's close to campus. Are there Frat boys and Sorority girls? Yes Is it loud? Yes or at least it can be especially on weekends and nights. Will you find gourmet burgers, an extensive wine list, and 10000 different kinds of beer? No, no, and no! Want to hang out get mellow listening to Fish or the Grateful Dead? This isn't going to be the place for you. Go to the Pub II for the cheeseballs, cheap beer, lots of televisions which are always on a sports channel and if it's nice weather the beer garden. Lunch is a lot more quiet and is quick to get in and out from. The best time for non-college students to go is dinner time till around 9pm when the crowd starts to change. It's also usually a lot less crazy during the times when students are not in school. read more