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

Honestly had to write a review because of all the haters out there... WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM A BAR... CALLED THE PUB? ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS? The food is phenomenal for the price (cheeze balls) the beer is cheap... and the patio is the best in a 100 mile radius! Jerks call it frat-tastic and hate the bouncers because they are morons that probably got kicked out for being stupid or got rejected by one of the many beautiful waitresses? read more

Spent nearly all of my Thursdays during college here. Ok, maybe more than just Thursdays. :) Love the cheeseballs. Love the service. Love the beer specials. It's the same from when I was in college 10 years ago and a lot of the same people work there... I highly suggest this neighborhood pub. It's always a good time. read more

Awesomely cheap beer & food prices. Where else can you get a pitcher of beer, cheese burger, fish sandwich, fries & cheese balls for around $22?! Oh, the cheese balls... But this is what it is: bar food with numerous deep-fried items on the menu. Don't expect a hidden gem of a diner here. It has numerous TV's on with different games on each. It gets LOUD in there when it's full so don't expect to talk to your friends much. It is a very popular bar (since "Uptown" Normal ran out the other great bars during their renovation phase a few years ago) and gets crowded fast. If you're just looking to eat & have a few drinks casually, just make sure you go before 5pm, not on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday (or Sunday or Monday if it's NFL season), or basically anytime students are here. Ugh... I love this bar, but just can't seem to find a time to go where I don't have to wait in line anymore. I'm in my 30's, those days are behind me. Be warned about the parking situation. The main lot outside the entrance (off of Linden St) has very limited parking (think 20-25 spots) and has no real turn-around area if you get stuck. There is additional parking behind Pub II (East side - in front of Ace True Value) but BEWARE! Those spots marked no parking mean just that. If Ace is open, the owner/manager WILL have your car towed. There are only a few Pub II marked spots there. I wish you luck... read more

What can I say about Pub II that hasn't already been said? From a non-college student perspective: 1. I can't believe we had to wait in line to get in... I never had to wait in line to get in when I was in college. 2. Super crowded inside. 3. Several ladies behind the bar working - that was appreciated, it never took too long to flag one down for a beverage. 4. Which brings me to my next point - cheap drinks! We drank there for a few hours, including a round or two of shots (we took a cab) and the grand total including tip came to $21. Not shabby at all. 5. Frat-tastic. That's all. read more

Good bar food but it isn't worth the terrible service u receive. They have a ton of TVs so it's great to watch sports game; however none of them are in HD. They have HD TVs in there, but you must have the cables to hook them up in order to watch in HD. They do not so all of the games are still fuzzy. Half of the time, the news is on because they don't change their tv's to something else after a game is over. read more

I have attended Pub II for many years; my friends are ISU alumni. If you are after anything other than burgers and beer, don't order it. Service was great. Most servers are college students earning their tips. Kitchen staff and manager working afternoon of June 9, 2018 should be ashamed of themselves. Ordered a rueben sandwich and got two pieces of white toast with two thin slices of corned beef the size of an orange slice and a half teaspoon of sauerkraut. That is management's fault if not the owner for hiring indifferent kitchen and shift management personnel and not maintaining quality control. Message to owner/management: if you can't deliver the item on the menu, take it off the menu. read more

Terrible bar, the worst in uptown, debatably the worst in Blo-No. Both the food and drinks are over priced. Your better off at Maggie's or Brew-Ha's. Saving grace is the patio, but even that is negated by the rude staff and the mistakes from both the bar and kitchen. read more

Pub 2, lame. If you basically don't fit the mold, you get kinda looked over when it comes to service. For it is, the waitresses are moderately attractive, and get more so when slanging the beer; they work hard for their tips. The food helps, but really doesn't do much. You'll get the look over if you take a regular's table, but really, what else can you expect? The 'tough guys' here should hop over to the Original Pub and take a reality check. read more

Yeah, Pub II has college kids ... it is in f-ing Normal what did you expect? However, they also have $3 sandwiches and $3.50 pitchers of beer ... along with some eye candy for both genders and a juke box so you can pick the trash you listen to while getting trashed. I think I have been here almost every Wednesday night with friends and almost always have a good time while spending $10 ... the door guys are funny, the people are mostly friendly, and everyone there has the same goal for the night ... although as a lady I would figure out how to not need the restroom as the lines can be long and the facilities less than pleasant ... but what do you want? It is a cheap college bar at the end of the night, use it for its strengths and dont be pissed about the college kids ... they mean you no harm. read more

Love this bar! Great environment, awesome staff and good cheap bar food! This place has a lot of meaning and has been around forever. Will continue to stop in every time I'm in town! read more

I ended up here after looking for a place to watch a Cubs playoff game. This was pretty much a great place to do it as they had a good number of TVs. The crowd was pretty much college kids. It's definitely a place to get cheap beer and cheap food, but don't expect anything to be particularly good. 2.5 read more

Some of the best Pub food in town. everything is c heap and yummy. Be sure to go for the burgers and cheese balls with a nice cold beer. You will be surrounded by college kids and early 30s people who haven't settled down lol. this place is so much fun though. It get's a little annoying when you sit outside during the summer and the flies and bugs are everywhere. But it's worth eating outside. read more

I understand we are still in covid times sort of (not really). But there is a polite way to go about it. The bouncers and bartenders always seem flustered. If you are walking around they will yell at you. I was walking to the bathroom and was yelled at for not being at my table. Bouncer was not answering any questions I was asking him like he was mute? No bar is like this anymore. Pub used to be the place to go but now it is going downhill and no one ever wants to go anymore because of the angry atmosphere. Do better. read more

Ok, so. The review I wrote was before I made it a habit of utilizing the beer garden every Freitag. So, the Beer garden is great. I hate the winter, cause I can't use it. But, my girlfriend and I would head there after she got off work and we'd sit and sip beer and have a few appetizers for a few hours. I was able to smoke while I ate and drank, which was liberating. Everything I said before still stands, but in the din of summer, it's great to sit in the beer garden. read more

Been here once and its a fun place! Of course I had a few whiskeys at Maggie Miley's first since it was Wednesday. I recommend coming to this place pregamed. Everything was cheap, we had $4 pitchers of bud light and the famous cheeseballs. They were, of course, amazing. As noted by many others it is full of college kids. Nothing wrong with that. It looks like a bar. Not much else to say style wise. It was pretty divey though that I was suprised people weren't playing beer pong or flipcup like SF's Bar none. The service was decent considering what was going on. I was probably more lenient though because we were having amazing discussions (as all are after enough whiskey). Also, I guess technically having a patio where people drink beer is a beergarden, but having been to DC and NY I expect a certain ambience and wide selection from beergardens that Pub 2 is lacking. So don't get too excited about that. Anyways, a fun way to spend a night if you are still young enough to still want the college life. It definitely serves its function. read more

The Pub II has a nice beer garden and is a great place to go pretty much any night if you want to have some drinks. If you are looking for a quiet place to talk with friends, you should go somewhere else...but if you are looking to check out some guys or girls, this is a good spot to do so. As good of a place as it is to drink, it is an awful place to eat. Most of their food is blatantly purchased frozen from some big vendor, fried, and bought to your table. However, forget about that and just go there when you are looking to have a good time. Go somewhere else when you are hungry. read more

This place has above-average bar food and fast service. The cheese balls are also quality. In fact, some ISU alums who return to town make this a must stop to get a cheeseburger and cheese balls. Read more in my "Food for Thought" food column for local radio station WJBC's website. http://wjbc.com/food-for-thought-dinner-and-a-movie-rental/ read more

Great drink specials on beer. Service is great or just okay depending on the position of the moon. Food has always been fast to come out 10-20 mins max. Tons of tv's to watch your favorite sports team inside or outside. Delicious wings, pub burger, and cheeseballs. read more

See all

Ordered carry out. Staff was rude when ordering and when we picked up the food, staff was also rude. Fried food was burnt and they forgot a cheeseburger. Would not recommend for carry out read more

Horrible experience today. Sitting outside in the bar area enjoying a drink and some nachos when the umbrella in our table few out and almost hit me. I jumped up to put it back in the table along with the waitress ( who was a sweetheart) when staff at the bar yelled out "don't put it back in" Instead of asking " are you ok?" I asked, do you have a base/ weight? Their staff said go sit inside if your too hot. So very very poor service to your customers Pub2. Other customers their expressed their concerns as well. Terry would have been ashamed. read more

This is one of the best affordable dive bars that I have been to. We were in town for an event at Illinois State and tried the place for lunch. It was so good that I brought friends back later in the week. Good service, good food, big portions and the cheapest prices I have ever seen. I will definitely be back. read more

PUB II was my spot on wednesdays and game days when I was in college! I was last here for ISU HC this year and everything was just as I remembered, even the long line to get in. They really catered to the homecoming crowd by playing our beloved "old school" jams! Pitchers and pints of beer are super inexpensive here compared to the city or the northern burbs, but their staple are their cheese balls! If you like the regular cheese ones do yourself a favor and get the pepper jack ones- super creamy and just as delicious if not better! I have also had the chicken wrap before and thoroughly enjoyed it! There are plenty of TVs here to watch all your favorite sports and bar games. They have a great patio that always brings back a ton of memories as well! Till next time PUB II! read more

Awful customer service. Took an hour to take our order. Waiters and waitresses just stood around and socialized & checked their phones. Treated us with disrespect. read more

Pub 2 cheese balls never disappoint. The drinks are always good and cheap. It's a classic ISU themed stop with a lot of entertainment. Sometimes when I order a burger, it's not as fresh as it could be. You can tell the meat has been cooked awhile ago or the bun is a little stale. But you can't be surprised since the prices are low. read more

You can tell this bar has not made a capital expenditure in the last 20 years. If you enjoy beer gardens and watching a sporting event on the ACE hardware wall rather than an HD television this is the place for you. Also, I'm pretty sure the pizza they serve is undercooked tombstone pizza. Do yourself a favor and go to Maggie's and avoid the 25 year old alcoholics and college students. read more

4 stars for the dive bars! Such an awesome beer special. $1 "bartenders choice"? Awesome! I get a summer beer in the winter, but who cares, it's a buck! If you ever find yourself in Bloomington, Illinois and wanna party like you are in college, stop in! Darts, TV's, and lots of video games! read more

Awesome college environment with the worst tasting beer in the state of Illinois. I'm not sure whether they don't wash their pitchers or if their tap lines are filthy, regardless their tap beer is comparable to the foam off of the top of a PBR. If you're going to drink beer order it in a can or bottle. read more

Good place to go outside in the summer with the beer garden. Really great vibe with the students also, a prime college hangout. On the other hand I can't say that I've had a great experience inside. The floor is sticky, tables are always messy, and service has always been below average. Also overpriced drafts considering the bars around here aren't like they are in the city in terms of $$$. This is a decent place, but nothing really special... least favorite bar in uptown. read more

The Pub II used to be the premier place to go on ISU campus. The last few years the service and food are terrible. I met some friends there today and the cheeseburger was awful. A cheeseburger at McD is better. Too bad... this used to be a great place. I would strongly recommend any place besides the Pub II now. read more

I hate the Pub. I realize that my status as an Illinois State alum is in direct conflict with my dislike for this establishment, but I'm okay with that. The Pub prides itself on the fact that it was once one of Playboy's top college bars... except that was in the 80s and nothing has changed since. The same people who frequented the bar then are still coming now, and bringing their children along to enjoy the same sub-par food. This Saturday we went in around 12:45 to have some lunch. The group I went with was craving cheese balls (which can be found at just about any other place in Uptown Normal for half the hassle of having to go here) and some bar food. It took our waitress 25 minutes of us sitting there to even acknowledge that we were there to be waited on. In the meantime, she was able to bus a table, stare at the tv, and bring multiple drinks and items to other tables. After placing our order, we proceeded to wait another 45 minutes to receive our food, during which time our waitress ignored our table completely and went out of her way to not walk past us at all. When we received our food, it was room temperature at best. It took another 20 minutes to get our check, and no apology was offered about the lateness and overall lack of service. Meanwhile one of rocket scientists that work at the Pub must have been sitting on the remote control and repeatedly turned the X-Games coverage volume up enough to further ruin everyone's experience. If you want indifferent service provided by students who would have been better off sleeping away their hangovers, the Pub is your place to go. Overpriced and low quality drinks, and lukewarm food. Doesn't get much worse than that. My expectations for the Pub are literally as low as it could get, but this experience definitely lowered the bar even more. read more

Had and a group of 30 year olds have never been more disrespecteded. Regardeless of the last call at 12:30, my friend that was 5'3" was thrown out early by the pre-pubecent staff just to prove a point they had pubes on their sack. Pathetic. Not worth the time or the dining eperience . Yer small town shit, let yer bouncers know. read more

I've never had a bad experience here. However, I am usually dining during my lunch hour as I work nearby. The food is always good - bar food, nothing fancy but always consistent. The waitresses are polite and efficient. I came once for dinner and they do get really busy and the atmosphere is really loud. I'd imagine overall experiences may vary due to that. read more

A great inexpensive place for lunch. The place is iconic for the Illinois State students. During school months a college crowd in the evenings. The place is under new management over the last two years , one of the owners was killed in a most tragic plane crash and it is now back on track with good food. During the summer the local folks substitute for the lack of students. The cheese balls are very good. Wide selection of beer and deals on pitchers almost every evening. A hard place to park but there is parking at the nearby hardware store in marked places. All in All probably the best college bar in Notmal IL with pretty good cheap food read more

The fried cheeseballs, cheap beer (daily specials), and TVs make this place a must see. Voted top 100 college bar by Playboy.

Pub Wednesday are where it's at! So much fun and the margarita are super refreshing music is great lots of throwbacks too!!

Great food, too bad the wait staff cant even acknowledge you. Also the bouncers are rude, you can be polite to them in every way but they will still be rude. I get it that its your job to be tough but dont be rude to customers. Also when you are closing dont tell customers to "hurry up" or "lets move it". Btw be prepared to be rushed out by the bouncers when close is 20 min away. if close is at 2am i should not be told to leave at 1:30 or 1:40. To them close is for their staff, not the customers, 2am close means the staff is out of there by 2am. Overall the food is good, not worth the waiting time. Sent from Windows Mail read more