The Walnut Speakeasy is a fully stocked sports bar of awesome proportions. Me and the guys wanted to find a nice local spot for a Friday Fish Fry and The Walnut has a Buffet special of Fish (Cod) and Chips (Fries). It was a very value driven special and my friends and I couldn't resist. Once I walked in I was greeted with a host who was ready to take my name and party size down as they were very packed for the night. The host also asked if we have ever been here before and was able to mention of their .25 wings on Thursday. We were immediately engaged with all the flat screens showing the Bulls and Blackhawks playing. This is a great spot for Sports Fans to go to. We were promptly seated. And greeted by our waitress. Of the top of the head she was able to recite all the specials and offered the Friday Fish Fry Buffet. I was so pleased with her attentive response to all our questions regarding specials for the day. Regardless of how engaged all us sports fans were of the games going on. The food was very tasty, freshly cooked, and was presented really well. We all really liked coming here. Again, a very good option for those sports fans in the area. I am a Resident Recommended Professional for the Elgin Area. #ResidentRec read more

French Onion Soup was cold, fries were way to greasy and all the waitresses were huddled at the end of the bar on there phones or talking. This was the first time I ever been here. Not to impressed read more

Everything about this bar is good... Except the bartenders!! They are so rude! I suggest if you go, sit at a table for the best experience. When you choose the bar, it will be disappointing. The women flirt with the men and act as though you're doing them a favor asking them for service! Try downtown, more down to earth bartenders! Wish I could Give a ZERO! read more

Great food. Mixed drinks are super weak. It's a shame. The bar staff caters to the regulars. We just moved to the area & mentioned it & it was blown off. Any other place we have visited in Elgin has been extra welcoming and we've gone back repeatedly but probably won't give this place another chance. 3 stars for the burger of the month. Might order for pick up just for the burgers read more

Just walked into the Walnut after me and my friend got off of work... I sat at the bar and the bartender greeted me with a " what do you want " i asked for a menu .. she proceeded to say " we don't have food what do you want ".. i was waiting for my guest who went to the bathroom and said I'm sorry I'm waiting for my friend in the bathroom . After my friend came back she was making a drink as said " while I'm making his drink are you ordering or no ?" At this point we simply knew we were not welcomed and left . read more

I'm giving this place a 1 because that's the lowest I'm able to rate it here on Yelp otherwise I'd give it a whopping 0! While the food is alright, the service is absurd! I'm not sure how management keeps this place afloat with their slow and inattentive service. Also, keep an eye on your check, they "sometimes" put a 20% gratuity for a party way less than 6. They couldn't give us an answer why there's an added service charge without informing their clients... two servers scratched their heads with an answer, "uhmmm we sometimes do that". I asked why "sometimes" and not all the time? They couldn't give me an answer at all. Do you pick and choose which customers you'll slickly add a 20% gratuity charge? Disappointed customer here! Where are the owners, and what is this added gratuity for a party of 3? read more

Abslotue worst service. I forget my id in car because work has security that takes it . I went to get it out of car but clumsy me makes my chair fall getting off it . I was instantly thrown out but complete asshole bartender. WOW . Can't believe how upset they got ..NEVER GO THERE AGAIN . AWFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE. The Dog's paw just around corner. Is so much better . read more

Went with a friend. Poor service. Waitress didn't know what beer was on tap. She didn't even know what a chopped steak was! Food was o.k. A little over priced. Took forever to get a beer. Had to wait till the bartender got back. Huh? I've been going to this place for over 40 years. I've seen it change over the years. The major renovation as well as Name change was nice to see. But lately the service has gone down hill. The owner needs to pull his head out of his ass and better train and supervise his employees. I see on Yelp that others have had similar experiences. I won't be going back with my friends any time soon. I'll look on yelp and see if anything has changed for the better. For now I'll take my money elsewhere. read more

Came here for my 21st birthday back in march. I was with my coworkers and it was a good time. It was monday so you could picture that it was pretty dead here. Nothing going on much in Elgin. The food was good. We all enjoyed whatever we ordered. Drinks are good and really strong and I would say the price for food and drinks is ordinary ($5-10 for drinks, $7-20 for food/dinner per person) What I didn't like was that my boyfriend put in money to play a song for me for my birthday. It was a rap song and it only played for less than 1 minute. I'm pretty sure they changed it because the crowd there didn't like it or whatever, but I WANT MY MONEY BACK FOR THAT. Or I want to hear that song on repeat next time I'm there. (Kidding.... kind of.) I'll be coming back for burgers or something. I heard the fried pickles here are great too! read more

Now...I normally don't dig the bars in Elgin. However, this place was actually pretty nice. Complimentary valet parking...or plenty of street parking. Plenty of screens to watch a game. Spacious booths and great drink specials. I didn't try their food...but the menu was priced well with a decent selection. The negatives: the servers didn't pay attention to their tables enough & they crank up the volume of the game way too high. read more

As you walk from the parking lot to the restaurant, it may seem like you need a kevlar vest. When you walk into the place you can't help be impressed by the woodwork and beautiful bar. The beer selection on draft is great. Plenty of choices including my favorite Hacker Schor. Just about the best fried pickles I have ever had. The half pound California burger with avaco was incredble. My wife had a veggie wrap and loved it. The one con inside was that the TV were too small since they obviously want to be a sports bar. One more suggestion would be do not go too late. The neighborhood is not the best. read more

Pretty darn good burger. It can be very busy. When it gets busy, service tends to slip. Have had hit or miss experiences here. I generally like the place. The staff are very cute. But ultimately if I were to pick this place or Elgin Public House, I'd go to EPH for food, and here for range of drinks. read more

With a name like "Walnut Speakeasy" and its location in Elgin, I must admit I was biting my nails a little bit at first (I realized that my fears were without merit after visiting Eaton's Redwood Inn shortly thereafter). When I arrived in the parking lot I posed for a brief photo next to an awesome hoopty in the parking lot. This whip... It had dubs on it! (I'm so gangster he he). Thinking Snoop Dogg and his entourage were inside, I walked briskly toward the entrance.... The Speakeasy wasn't what you might think. There were no flapper girls, no pinstripe suit wearing men with cigars and tommy guns. No card games. Just ordinary people looking to wind down and watch some football..... Elgin style! My bartender was a nice young lady who helped me immensely by lending me her phone charger. Didn't have an opportunity to try the food, but judging by the ambiance and the cold beer I can't complain. read more

Outstanding food and service!! I really enjoyed the atmosphere, service, and food! Great Job!!

Have eaten here twice with my wife. The first time everything was as good as you would want. Shared an order of wings for an appetizer which were very tasty. I had the AYCE Fish with fries and coleslaw which was very good. My wife enjoyed their Bloody Mary. Had the waitress's attention the entire time we were there. The second time we went everything was a complete opposite from our first visit. Waited almost 5 minutes for a waitress to come to our table. I ordered a rack of baby back ribs and was disappointed the meat did not fall off of the bone like I am used to. The BBQ sauce wasn't very tasty either. The waitress hardly came to our table to ask how our meal was or to refill drinks. I think it was because the owner was not present. However, I will give them another try as they have other items on their menu I would like to try and give them a chance to improve my rating. read more

This is my cheers, the new staff is terrible. Been here for 10 years New bartenders pour a 2 count or take 15 min to get a drink Ask for Michelle or leave! Well the best bartender for 8 years has left, wings are still amazing, food is still good but atmosphere and staff has taken a dive. So sad. An Elgin Empire has gone down the drain. read more

Couple of things about this place - PURE SPORTS BAR with Great Food. There are a lot of TVs and lot of different sports, was really happy to see that EPL was also telecasted, which is rare :). Anyhow, the parking initally I thought was before the restaurant but that seemed too small, turns out it was after, so make sure you are parking in the right area :D. The place is brick-walled, so it was really cozy there, but I am over 6 ft tall, the booths were a little "TIGHT", would have liked a little more leg room people !! x) The staff were really friendly, we were seated quickly. So, to start off we had two appetizers - the Spinach/Artichoke and the Fried Pickles. The pita bread with Spinach/Artichoke was pretty good, but dipping as such fell short of the some of the other places, but overall pretty good - it was smaller than I anticipated with a neat presentation(about 10 pieces of pita). The fried pickles on the other hand, dipping that came with it was too good and dish as such was served HOT like as in burnt my tongue HOT. Salty and yumm.. really must try dish (about 8 pieces of them). We had the Chicken salad sandwich with Pasta salad, sandwich was pretty good and pasta salad was really good. Then we got the chocolate mousse cake (nothing special here) and the salted caramel gelato - which in my opinion was a bigger scoop of ice cream than expected and it was FULL OF FLAVOR. Really YUMMY. If you are a fan - please TRY IT. If not - you can still try it :D. Will I be back here ?? Absolutely.. :D :D read more

See all

Do you remember the Checkered Flag? The Walnut Inn? If you have been to these places, get those images out of your head because this is truly the extreme opposite. The owners have taken great care to be sure that this is truly a nice, friendly, clean neighborhood bar/restaurant. I believe every piece of wood in the bar is new or recovered walnut (even the menu cover). The bar is incredible and the wait staff and bartenders are friendly and attentive. Food is a bit above average but nothing to knock your socks off. Recently seen ads for live music as well. Lots of TV's for sports. read more

I love the atmosphere here. But the food and service is merely mediocre. We've been here several times and there isn't any food that stands out as their best. I cant figure out their identity. When I hear speakeasy, I think bar and gangster. That's not the case here. But the wood work and overall atmosphere is nice. Check out Elgin Public House and sit upstairs. It's right down the street read more

Nice place, great food, good drinks, comfy environment. Altogether friendly people in a nice place with good food and times for all ages* A+

I remember when this was the walnut inn(can you say dive bar?)what a difference! The food is consistently good, always good specials and at a reasonable price, and a great beer list, all of which is why we always come back( I always get a cup of chili, by far the best in town!) Service is generally great to excellent, although we've noticed a higher turnover in the wait staff, and there's been a few hiccups, but the bar staff is always top notch. Hopefully you'll get a good wait staff that you can keep and continue to be the best in town. read more

AWESOME burgers! Accommodating service and requests honored (no styrofoam please:) also great corned beef and Swiss melt. Nicely toasted buns/bread (essential). Really quick carry out prep! Live this place we get carry out often. Look forward to try other food here read more

Ok, they now no longer know how to make medium rare burgers. The waitress was good enough to comp the the drink but I am concerned about the inconsistency of the cooking. We'll try one more time in the future. read more

Walnut Speakeasy - Bloody mary.... Spicy - Pizza Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

First time here. Had the burger of the month, which was great! Highly recommend the fried pickle spear appetizer. The best! Would definitely go back again. Great food, great service, and great atmosphere. read more

Walnut Speakeasy - Fried Pickle Spears- the best! - Pizza Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Ok place to eat, mostly bar food. Extremely loud in there definitely not a kids atmosphere.

We enjoy going to this spot. It is one of the only sports bars around that actually has good food. The prices are also very reasonable. Had the chicken nachos and a chicken salad sandwich. Both were quite good. If there is a downside I would say it's the parking. The lot is very small and many people don't know how to park. Be prepared for door dings. read more

Bad service- long wait times and they tell you the wait is 20 mins when it was closer to an hour. Never checking in on us and we were waiting with little kids. When we took our names off the list they could care less that they were losing service. read more

The fried pickles are the best however they charged us for 20% gratuity even though there was only 2 of us??? And the server couldn't give me a definite answer. The service sucked!! Will not come back. read more

See all

Literally just had the absolute worst dinner/service experience ever . Being in the restaurant industry for years and now as a restaurant manager it takes a lot for me to complain !! I've never seen anything like this and will never go back. After talking to a manager who's response was " what do you want me to do about it , I don't want to be here either " I had to get up from the table and walk away Bob Harry Karas my brother and sister never got their soup , my sisters sandwich came out raw , my son never got the salad that went with his steak , we asked for the manager nicely , just to give some feedback ....when he patted me ok the back and said " oh well what do you want me to do about it , I don't want to be here either bc this place and the back of ten house staff sucks " ....I had to get up . I'm Going to imagine if I ever talked to a table like that I wouldn't have a job Christina Nocchi Brown it wasn't the server this time , I will ALWAYS tip 20% minimum , just knowing ....and have been there . This guy clearly could give two craps about his job , place of business or anything else for that matter . It was sad when the sever came to apologize and said " yep he doesn't do well With people , don't know why he's here , normally the other guy handles it " . I get it , I've worked in the business for years , but my goodness read more

My wife and I went for the first time this past Saturday we will be back great service and food at reasonable pricing, nice job,

This place is awesome! Food is always great, staff is awesome and ambiance is top notch! Alex and Alex are so nice and accommodating! Sandy and Margherita are awesome bartenders! Get in here this place is the classiest joint around! read more

Went out for a girls night, place is awesome! The vibe was great, drinks were fantastic. Appetizer portion size were jumbo. A great place to have a drink and relax! read more

Had dinner there tonight had the rib and chicken special. delicious ribs were tasty and cooked perfectly chicken was good French fries always a delight. also had the carbonara fettuccine cooked perfectly. Bar staff was efficient friendly enough but not necessarily charming and welcoming. perfectly professional and attentive but they didn't make it fun. I guess I am saying go for the bread don't expect the circus. read more

Walnut Speakeasy - Pizza Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

This place is horrible! Aweful service & the owner was nasty to us! Just a terrible experience. Will Never go back.

If you're looking for good food but terrible service this is the place to be. I recommend ordering your food to go here, or clearing your entire schedule because you will be waiting at least 2 hours to receive your meal. Also the waitress will most likely wait half way through to ask you if you wanted your appetizer that you ordered before your meal or after. read more

This place is so inconsistent with their food and they need to learn to clean. Staff is super rude and act very stuck up. Not worth it!!

I try and support local businesses whenever possible, but after giving the Walnut several chances over the course of two years, I've given up. Our first experience there in 2015 involved burgers topped with soggy vegetables and an outrageous bill because they didn't offer free refills on our sodas (and neglected to tell us this until the bill showed up). We ended up paying $20 for Diet Cokes for two people. One of the reason we had to drink so many is because our order had to be put in twice by the server because "the kitchen forgot." Our next visit was several months later to watch a Cubs game with friends. When we showed up, there were no empty seats so we were told to wait. Forty minutes later, we still had no table and parties of the same size who came in later were somehow seated long before we were. The hostess simply shrugged and walked away when we asked her on three separate occasions how much longer the wait would be. So we left without ever being seated. Our next visit was uneventful; nothing terrible but nothing good either. Regardless, I'm always in a terrible mood after dealing with Walnut's parking lot, which is very small and full of blind spots. Usually not something I would downgrade a Yelp review for, but just another example that nothing great seems to be associated with this place. Our most recent Walnut experience was this summer, when our friend was kicked out for sitting at the bar for wearing a tank top on a 90 degree day. Apparently, the policy only applies to men because, according to the manager, "men have smelly armpits" and have arm pit hair that is unsanitary around the food. Our friend was recently showered and smelled like clean laundry, but the Walnut wouldn't be the Walnut if we didn't have some obnoxious experience during our dinner. So, Walnut Speakeasy, I will not be back. We ended up at the Grumpy Goat instead, which has a lovely patio, delicious burgers, and friendly staff who welcomed my tank-topped friend. read more

This is probably the worst place to get a quick bite to eat. I for one was waiting for 2 hours just to get my food. What was ironic is that right as a left the food came. My family were very irritated with this service. read more

We went for the Friday Fish Fry. The food was typical bar food. A good fish fry for $10.95. The drinks were above average and the atmosphere fun. The had live music which is a plus. read more

Had high hopes for this place, but was overall disappointed. The atmosphere was great and the hawks game was on. I ordered the monthly special which was called the president burger, and my wife also ordered the same thing. The server asked me how I wanted my burger cooked (I asked for medium) but didn't ask her. We got two burgers that were super rare and we have both been extremely sick today. $65 for two drinks a piece and feeling awful the next day equals not worth it. Please teach your staff proper food service procedures and don't get anyone else sick. read more