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

For many years I have loved coming to Pub II, mainly for the mini tacos and potato skins. Years back they also had the Derby Owners Club game which was awesome because it was the only place in the area to play it, but its long gone. I've never really given much attention to the service until recently. In the last week my wife and I have been twice and both times the service was pretty horrendous. The first time was around 7:30pm. We waited over 15 minutes for a waitress before we eventually waved one down. We place our orders for appetizers and 30 minutes later they arrived at our table. Refills were non-existent, after we finished we waited another 10 minutes for the check, then another 10 minutes to get the receipt and a box. Today when we went, the waitress showed up relatively quick. Again we ordered appetizers and it showed up fairly quick as well. But then I'm sitting for a solid 15 minutes with an empty glass and our waitress had vanished. Apparently her shift had ended and she didn't pass us off to another waitress. Again we had to wave down a waitress to find our check and get me a refill. Also, my wife and I were quite enjoying watching the x-games rally, but it was immediately tarnished by a pub crawl coming in at 4pm in the afternoon, playing Nelly on the jukebox which was turned up way too loud. We then heard a drunken member of the bar crawl start singing a Matchbox 20 song.. Really, did we flash back to 1996? Will I go back? Of course... The appetizers are great! Mini corn dogs, mini tacos, cheese balls, cheese fries, potato skins.. All delicious. The service may be crappy due to new staff with the influx of new students, but it needs improvement. read more

This is a staple for ISU students and alumni. I have tried to like this place but just can't seem to. The food is mediocre and the staff has always been arrogant. On any Saturday or Sunday around lunch the place still smells of booze and regret. The wait times for your order are extremely long even when they are slow. On our last visit we asked for refills and could see our waitress texting on her phone instead of getting the refills. We also had our waitress tell us " I don't eat shitty food" when one of our party asked for a recommendation. The one upside to this place is the beer garden. It is one of the nicer beer gardens in town. I would not recommend visiting here. There are a lot of bars in town with better food and friendlier staff. read more

good food cheap beer not for those who like quiet time. Don't go on Thursday Friday Saturday or Sunday. Lots of Collage kids

Food was alright drinks were cheap but someone needs to tell management about the broken gumball machine.

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 mostly have love for the Pub II. Love: atmosphere, jukebox, CHEESE BALLS, cheap beer. Also love the new beer garden. Hates: the staff (excluding door guys and bartenders). So I guess that leaves servers. I have never had a good server at the Pub II. Never. It takes forever to get a beer, and the girls can be just plain rude. Most give off the impression they've never worked in a bar before. One time I actually saw my server go sit down at an empty table and do homework. The food and drink prices make up for the service, and you can save some money on tipping. read more

The Pub II is what it is, a great college town bar. There is fried food, plenty of TV's to watch sporting events and the type of drink specials that encourage binge drinking. The beer garden was a great addition. This is the type place where you can get drunk and full for $10, just be prepared for the boisterous atmosphere. 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

I loved Pub 2. In college. My husband and I had a craving for their cheese balls the other night so we decided to go back. The beer special was good but that was all that was good. The waitress wasn't too busy with tables, but her friends were visiting so she spent most of the time talking to them. The cheese balls took forever and when they came, half of them had been in the fryer a tad bit too long. Then our burgers took even longer to come and they were so burnt they were basically meat chips. We returned them. Then the waitress came back with our bill and the meat chips had not been taken off our bill. We pretty much had to persuade the cook why our burgers should not be on the bill. Sad to say it will take some convincing OR a reeeeaaaallly bad craving for their cheese balls to go back. read more

I was in town for a concert last night & stopped at Pub to meet up with a friend for drinks & food. I have to say the drink deals are great, probably because it's so close to ISU. On the other hand, the food was so disappointing. I ordered a Turkey Chipotle Panini & it sounded amazing & even the waitress said they have amazing paninis so I was really looking forward to it. When it came out, I was served with a cold turkey sandwich, cheese not even melted, piled in raw onions, & I couldn't even taste the chipotle sauce. It was the worst sandwich I have ever ordered at any restaurant. My boyfriend's panini (the Italian) came out hot, how they should be, so I don't know what happened to mine. Other than that, the Italian Panini was pretty good & the jalapeño poppers were really tasty. I was super excited about this place because it's a really cool, chill, fun college bar with great prices, but the sandwich kind of ruined it for me. I will have to give it another try whenever I'm back in town, but for now, I don't have a great review for them. 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

I miss the Pub!! I spent many an underage drinking night here during college, it was the place to be on Wednesdays, but not so much on the weekends. Their cheese balls are the best and they have daily specials as well that were usually pretty good. The best part: cheap alcohol! They opened a beer garden within the last year or so that looks pretty nice, it can get super crowded and smoky when it's packed so the beer garden looks like a good option. I loved when they had this horse racing game in the back! I will have to visit the Pub on my next trip to B/N, even though I'm sure I will feel super old now compared to the 19 year olds running around....ah, college. read more

The food is alright, but the drinks are ripoffs (like Jena said, you kind of expect bars to water down drinks somewhat, but they take it to the extreme), and it is always, ALWAYS crowded, and always with the loudest, dumbest frat boys around. As far as bars go, the Pub II was definitely not a favorite by any means. I'd rather go to Lunker's quite honestly, because for whatever reason it's a bit more laid-back there. read more

Great pub food. Some of the best in town. Deep fried appetizer goodness. Best cheese balls in the city. Don't go if you're on a diet. You won't come out alive. If I were still in college, I'd love it more. Now I have no patience for that crowd and I assume they'd have no patience for me. I can live with that. I'll sneak over there for lunch during the week or go there in the summer after work for impromptu happy hours. I just make sure to sneak out of there before all the bros and hos show up. Once it's elbow to elbow, it just makes you wish you were 22 again. Then you feel old. Then you leave. read more

This place is Great! Great atmosphere and staff! This is a college bar so at times it is extremely busy! Be patient and enjoy one of Normals gems! read more

It's so delicious! Would definitely recommend the chili. It's an amazing bar. Great service. It's a good place to go with friends or family. Kids are welcomed and treated just as well as the adults. It's appropriate and I think it's a great place for the whole family. read more

Nice amount of TVs in non-HD but slow service. Cheap beer and decent food. The pizza is great

I am giving the Pub II five stars based on their cheese balls alone. Listen, everyone knows the service is terrible, the bathrooms are filthy, and the bartenders are rude... but the food is so freaking good I can deal with all of that! If you want a wide variety of brews, not the place for you. If you want a family environment don't go Wednesday night. If you go in the daytime you won't be bothered by frat boys. Also, go in the summer when you can sit outside. It may be a college dive bar, but their food is the absolute best!! read more

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

The food here is very good, especially the fried cheese balls. The bar is always busy and service is somewhat slow, but it's a college bar so that is typical. read more

rated year after year playboy's top 100 colleges bars. Good lunch quick and friendly service. Standard bar lunch with cheese burgers and cheese balls is what I usually get. read more

Really chill during the day but on Wednesday nights the place is packed and has decent specials on alcohol but conversation with friends is practically impossible. Overall a pretty sweet place. read more

An Illinois State Landmark. Good food and Cheap drinks. Have never had a complaint about the pub. Depending on what night and time you go it can be slow or all out packed. They have cheap beer specials and liquor specials every night. The staff is generally lighthearted and helpful as you can be when you have to deal with drunk people everyday. The bartenders have made some good and interesting drinks and shots that I haven't experienced elsewhere. Plenty of TVs and a great place to watch a game. read more

Not the first place I go during my nights in Uptown but I liked it when I was there. Big tables which are awesome for big groups and pretty good drink specials. read more

Theres a lot of hype about the pub II. Im guessing because its been around for so long. Ive never been a big fan its way to packed to have a good time on wednesday, and its way too empty to have fun the other six days of the week. If your going for food, its not bad and a little pricey. I would encourage you to just head to just head to brewhas for a $3.50 double burger basket with fries and a drink. read more

I recently visited pub II and it was an experience in the best way. Staff was incredibly friendly, booze was perfectly priced and of course the cheese balls held up to their legendary reputation. I would recommend anyone that is coming through the area to stop by, and those who live around here that for some reason have neglected this experience, to drop what they are doing right now and head on over!! read more

Good pub food fun place to go with a group. But I've never been here at night. That's where most of the negative reviews come from. Went with a group of guys after a business mtg. We all liked it... read more

I am 20 years old. I walked into the pub around 4pm to watch the end of the Cubs game with my family, who were visiting for the weekend. After being there for 10 minutes (minding my own business, with drunk kids surrounding me) a bouncer came up to me and said that I needed to leave. He claimed that "they had been watching me drink for hours" and that "3 bouncers had talked to me already." After telling him that we arrived only 10 minutes ago, he refused to listen and kept wrongfully accusing me. He made my whole family leave after we had just ordered our food/drinks, and would not allow us to finish anything. NEVER EVER go to this place if your looking for an afternoon to watch a game with your family. read more

Was told "if I keep bitching" I'll get kicked out because they tried to tell my 22 year old friend that she was underage. Also was informed that I would get the cops called on me and to " SHUT UP" because The bartender thought I was going to call the police (why?, I have no idea) and was treated like a convict for trying to buy a drink. Fuck this place read more

As a past employee and former customer, I can guarantee a terrific time for individuals and groups who want to go there for a great relaxing time and networking and/or private get together times. Meet and greet people you don't know and get to know that could last a life time.... Don't forget to eat and enjoy whatever you choose to drink (alcohol or non) and pop a smoke or cigar or pipe or two (or more) if you choose.... When things aren't going so I well, I sometimes remember many of the terrific times I had with ol' friends there and some former co-workers and feel terrific for a while....you can't go wrong if you stop in from time to time and enjoy yourself(ves) as long as you want fun for all and trouble for none.... Best of times should and will be had by all that stop in there.... Jeff S. Simmons read more

Just arived in town and had a great time at the pub meet some nice people and the work staff was extra friendly and kind,thanks pub 2 will be back read more

My wife and I took my son here for his 21st birthday. Had a group of 14 and were enjoying a good time. Suddenly a bartender became irate with someone and instructed the bouncers to remove our group. Never understood what happened, but he continued to use profanity toward many of us including my wife and sons. The bouncers apologized to us as they were instructed to ask us to leave. They disliked this bartender as he has done this to many people. They actually told us that they wish he was fired. The bar is not worth a visit. They waitresses are rude as well. Try one of the other bars near the campus. Much friendlier people. read more

Food has gone downhill. We were served wet soggy chips with our rib eyes. Humid day but this was beyond gross. Cheese balls were "blah" my husband said they must have ordered from a new place. The cheese balls had no flavor and were chewy. Very disappointed overall and it bums me out because we usually spend a lot of time at the Pub over the summer. Not this year. read more

We sat and waited for 50 minutes before we finally flagged someone and she said "yeah we are just busy". We were told several times by the waitress she was coming. We waited 40 more minutes before someone actually took our order. Busy or not, this is unacceptable. read more

Absolutely terrible experience. Unless you are "in" with the managers/bartenders, specifically DAN and CHANCE (who drink regularly behind the bar... shots..), you will be neglected and potentially kicked out if any ounce of dissatisfaction is shown. It is an unfair establishment to anyone who comes to be served on realistic terms. read more

Clearly alumni are not welcome here. We tried to go for a pub Wednesday when we were in town. After waiting outside for twenty minutes in 2 degree weather the bouncer refused to let one of us in. He did a stress test on the id by bending it. For some reason the id snapped. Probably because we were all frozen including our belongings. Even after offering several other forms of id they refused to let him in. We actually had to call the police to get the broken id so he could drive home with a license. read more

Horrible, slow service. It's a college bar and always busy so service doesn't matter. They even skipped a song i paid toput on the jukebox! Who does that? My old roommate worked there in college.... Literally told me they would merry bottles and pour cheap stuff in empty top shelf bottles. I obviously can't prove that but those were his words. Rude staff, rude door guys, not worth it. read more

Great food, great atmosphere, but always terrible service. I always go back as their pub foodis almost I impassible to top.

The appetizers are good especially the cheese balls. If the burgers are the best in Normal, other places either serve terrible burgers or there are none on any other menus. It tasted rubbery and bland. And the service is awful. The staff makes you feel like you are taking their social hour from them where the stand at the bar and look at their phones. I would have given this joint 1 star but the fried items deserve at least 2 read more