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Whiskey River Bar & Grill

3.7 (64 reviews)
Open • 11:00 am - 1:00 AM (Next day)
Updated 2 months ago

Whiskey River Bar & Grill Photos

WHISKEY RIVER BAR & GRILL ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Live music
Outdoor seating
Happy hour specials

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Recommended Reviews - Whiskey River Bar & Grill

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Karyn M.

We didn't feel welcome when we moseyed into Whiskey River one weekend afternoon. It was high noon, blistering hot, and all it needed was the tumbleweeds rolling by. It was very dark inside and we could make out the barkeep and some other patrons at the bar. We sat in a dark section (stuffed trophy animals overhead). I brought my elderly companion to the restroom, it smelled strongly of chemicals, paint? Industrial cleaner? We sat for a few more minutes but no menus, no music, no drink offers, nada. Should we have bellied up to the bar? Not our vibe. We got the heck out of dodge. Maybe a different mood, crowd when the sun goes down?

John M.

Update to previous review. Stopped School of Rock show to watch end of Bears game since a few patrons were complaining. Why did the owner schedule live music on a game Day? Plus service was awful. No servers..had to order at the bar and wait over 40 minutes for food! Terrible!

Jennifer was awesome! Great burger and bar crowd. Would recommend you stop in for a beer.

School of Rock Glenbrook and Libertyville Show Teams each played two sets and rocked the house
Annette M.

Just a bar with sub par food and overpriced drinks with really poor service. They do have a good set up for bands to entertain. You have to be a contortionist though to get in and out of the bathroom stalls but they were clean. Sound was loud for the small sized room and mixing could be better. Looks like a decent outdoor patio to hang out in the summer but not the place to come in winter.

We held a mostly private event at Whiskey River on a Sunday afternoon (patrons who had arrived before our start time were able to stay). We enjoyed the use of the outdoor patio and bar and used the area adjacent to the indoor bar for a food buffet and a gift/cake table. We worked with Miguel on event details, and he was very helpful recommending food and drink quantities for our large number of guests (about 150 people). Cat, Jack and Mike were very helpful with set-up, A/V support and making sure food and the water station were replenished. Our guests complimented the food and the spacious patio. It's a festive environment and has excellent indoor and outdoor entertaining space. If you are ever there, don't think twice about ordering the fried pickles - they are delicious. Thank you, Whiskey River!

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21 days ago

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1 month ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

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2 months ago

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1 year ago

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2 years ago

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4 months ago

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3 months ago

A great place for food, drinks and entertainment. Every staff member is friendly and welcoming.

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1 year ago

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10 months ago

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10 months ago

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1 year ago

Much better this time burger was excellent. Glad I gave it another chance. I'd go back. Excellent service and food

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

Visited the venue on a weekend night. Enjoyed the live music. There's a cute patio outside. Tiny place inside with a mature crowd.

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2 years ago

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8 months ago

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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10 months ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

Fish Fry was quite good. Service was also quite good. Ambiance was quite good. I liked the place and will go back.

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

The food was amazing , I got a burger and it was incredible. The staff are so nice and caring, wonderful job and I will be back no doubt...

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

New manager, great customer service and the food was outstanding. Would recommend this one!

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2 years ago

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Page 1 of 2

Ask the Community - Whiskey River Bar & Grill

Review Highlights - Whiskey River Bar & Grill

“The new manager, Ryan, took great pride in the restaurant and all of the nice renovations he's been making.”

Mentioned in 8 reviews

Read more highlights

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Stormy's Tavern & Grille

3.5(121 reviews)
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I haven't been here for years and I was pleasantly surprised by how their menu changed!…read more Originally it was just a burger and pizza place and now the menu still has the old fave but they've added innovative sandwiches and entrees. Stormys is a great place for families and football fans alike ! Great bar and the employees are super attentive!

OK as a neighborhood watering hole if you want to drink, but the food and prices are disgraceful. I…read morehad a Greek salad made with arugula instead of Romain lettuce, as is the standard, that just sunk down, with the other ingredients feta cheese and anchovies which I almost choked on- soaked in dressing and way too salty. Apparently they overlooked or ran out of tomatoes, onions, and Kalamata, olives! Another in my party had a BLT so small that should have been listed on the kiddy menu. The third person in our party had a cheeseburger and tots- the tots were good but the burger reminds me of the Wendy's commercial, "where's the beef?" It literally disappeared under the bun. The service was terrible and our waitress was grumpy. I had to go inside to the bar to get my own water refill and a picture of water which I carried out myself. Really poor considering this was a midweek night. Our waitress checked back one time, and I didn't have a heart or inclination to ruin the evening with my dining companions, by complaining about the terrible salad bad service bad food offer $20-$25 a person with tax and tip. Not good! Add to this I was charged extra to substitute one slice of multigrain bread for a dinner roll which came with a salad. The waitress said there would be no charge after she scoffed at my request twice... and I can't think of any restaurant that charges extra for coleslaw with a sandwich and fries. Everything changed when Seul's Tavern sold out to Stormy's. All good things must come to an end... The bright spot was the cordial bartender who accommodated my request for water in the picture. I'm going to take my business elsewhere and steer people we are looking for dining options, locally away from here. There are other local venues where you can get quality food for this price and cordial service leaving satisfied and wanting to return. Last point, the outdoor patio tables could really benefit from seat cushions on the hard wrought iron chairs. But then again, maybe the intention is to get people in an hour fast because they're too uncomfortable to sit for any length of time.

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Grandpa's Place - Wings

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3.4(152 reviews)
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My friend and I met at Grandpa's Place for a bite to eat before our mahjong session. Since our…read moresession was to be held in the downstairs area, this made perfect sense. A neighborhood fixture across from the Metra, Grandpa's has a certain grungy retro charm, and looks like it was decorated by, well, Grandpa. Kind of a Cheers-type establishment, where everyone knows your name. The menu is simple bar fare. I had a soup and half sandwich, my friend had a sandwich. Food came out very quickly and staff checked on us several times, asked about drink refills, etc. We are considering attending another mahjong session so we may return to try other items.

What can improve? Everything…read more Apparently Grandpa's Place has been around for years. My dad had an office and n Glenview when I was younger and this place was there and he had never heard of it. I guess if you were local or took the Metra, then you knew. I made a reservation as there were twelve of us coming in. We arrive for our monthly Burger Club with high hopes. It's a cute place. They have a nice outdoor deck area and the inside has a nice wooden bar with tables around it with two or three additional rooms of seating, too. We asked for separate checks, and our server told us it was no problem (it was). They have a lot of burgers to choose from so we thought that this would be a great place to go. I'll say this, our server was wonderful. Super nice, really friendly, always refilling drinks. Just a wonderful experience with her. And that's where it ends. My burger came our perfectly prepared (they ask what temperature you want and I wanted medium rare). The patties are insanely thin and toppings, while fresh, are overly abundant. Fresh lettuce, tasty pickles, etc. the burger had no flavor. No salt or pepper to season it or anything. And mine was the best of the group. Others received burgers that were overcooked, had the wrong buns, came with caramelized onions, but were raw -were sent back and came back raw again - and the sides were underwhelming. I don't like ketchup, so I asked for ranch and it was thick and had a funky flavor to it. Then bills came and they were all wrong. She had mixed up every bill. Thankfully most burgers cost the same, but drinks and some side upgrades don't. We will never go back here. I have no idea how they stay in business.

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Yard House - Tap in to great food, classic rock and 100+ craft & local beers.

Yard House

3.7(1.1k reviews)
1.3 mi
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Came here with a party of 3 to watch the Bears game and had a great time! I really enjoy the…read moreatmosphere at Yard House on game day. There are different games playing throughout the restaurant, so it has a fun, lively energy without feeling like a typical sports bar. We ordered the chicken nachos, tacos, fried calamari & shrimp jambalaya. The fried calamari was definitely my favorite and a must-order! Fresh, crispy, and perfectly fried. The chicken nachos are great for sharing, but definitely not date-night food. The tacos were flavorful and tasty, while the shrimp jambalaya was a hearty addition to the table. I also loved the tablet at the table. Being able to see pictures of the food while ordering is such a nice touch, especially when you're deciding between several options. And don't skip the dragon fruit lemonade! It's on the sweeter side, but it went really well with all the fried food we were enjoying. Overall, Yard House is a fun choice for catching a game, grabbing a drink, and sharing a few different dishes. I'd definitely come back! Service was a bit slow when we were there on a Sunday afternoon.

Stopped into Yard House with friends to get some food and watch the Bears game. We were able to get…read morea table in like 20 minutes and I loved that they asked if you were in for a game so they could strategically sit you. It took awhile for our server to come and check on us to get our drink order and appetizer order. We ordered calamari and chicken nachos. The chicken nachos were baked and they were well topped. The mix and match tacos were sad in size. I got the Korean one and the birria. They tasted good but just needed more or a smaller plate. Overall this location was just okay.

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Tavern on The Glen - Menu

Tavern on The Glen

3.8(28 reviews)
1.3 mi

Appetizers were the best part of the meal. The grilled calamari was cooked to perfection, very soft…read moreand delicious. The roasted potatoes served with them were marvelous. The sweet kale salad was very large, easy to share, and had a nice dressing. The crunch potatoes straws were also a good touch to the dish. So far a great start to the dinner. For entrees we ordered the grilled chicken giardiniera and NY strip. Both of these were subpar and did not live up to our expectations. The NY strip was bland and did not have a nice texture to it. Moreover, the grilled chicken dish was way overcooked and very dry. The chicken itself lacked flavor and did not have much seasoning on it. The only flavor came from the peppers on top. The positive parts of the entrees were the large portions and side of potatoes. The chicken dish came with 3 chicken breasts and a healthy amount of potatoes. Our server was kind, and the restaurant had a nice vibe to it. When I went, only a couple of tables were occupied so it was pretty quiet when I dined in. Overall a decent addition to the Glen but would only come back for the appetizers. The entrees could be revamped and this place would be awesome.

The server was inattentive and did not get anyones order correct…read more The food was acceptable but ordered a salad with chicken. No chicken. The other two got the wrong sandwich. Not recommending

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BDG Sports Gastropub - Bulgogi tacos

BDG Sports Gastropub

4.6(138 reviews)
2.6 mi
•$$

I read through some of the negative reviews and they are obviously fake. I've been here a few times…read moreand the food has been consistently good. The owner Jun has a sarcastic sense of humor. I understand that we live in a time where American gen z gets offended by everything. Some of the reviews are just plain dumb, they didn't even eat anything or they walked in and walked out. This review is from someone that actually experienced it. We came on a Saturday night around 7:40 pm. There were only a few occupied tables. Two large groups and one couple. The ambiance was laidback with good music. It was only loud because the two large tables were laughing annoyingly, loud. The young Asian table drank one sip of beer and all of a sudden, their laughter echoed throughout the whole place. I'm Asian myself but I can hold my alcohol. The parking lot is shared since it's in a strip mall. To clarify, we did have to wait 50 mins before we started receiving our food. I believe Jun was the only chef and he made everything from scratch. He finished serving the other tables before he got to our order. FYI, Jun said the prices haven't been updated on the printed menus. I would say 4.5 out of 5 is good. I only took off half a point because the two large tables' laughter were cringy and vexing. We ordered bulgogi tacos, o-deng tahng (fishcake soup), garlic chicken wings, and sweet potato fries. -bulgogi tacos 5 - it says 3 on the menu but you actually get 4. Each taco is packed with the same amount of meat as the others. The chips and the housemade salsa are good too. -o-deng tahng 5 - the fishcake soup is so colorful and the broth has a mildly spicy flavor. This can be shared between 2-3 people. Highly recommended. -garlic chicken wings 5 - they are much larger than what you see in the picture. They are very meaty and I like that you can actually smell/taste the garlic. -sweet potato fries 5 - I loved how small and skinny they are, yet they are mighty in flavor. The seasoning was just right.

Quite a surprise for me since the photos of this spot suggest that this is an obscure dive bar. But…read morethe food here is beyond passable bar food -- and is actually very good. The atmosphere here is definitely unique, unlike most restaurants, and even bars in the suburbs. Definitely great if you're someone who is into sports, comic books, and also likes to discover hidden gems. Service here is best described as prompt but sassy, but also something that can't be accurately described (in a good way) and just needs to be experienced in person. I'm not exactly sure if there's a menu, as the regulars seem to already know what to order - but this is something that can be researched online and is both bolder in flavor and more interesting than what you can typically find in a bar, or Korean restaurant. Kind of a fusion between familiar and tasty American bar food -- but with Korean influences to elevate the flavors. All the food I tried here shined both in texture and flavor. The seafood pancake had a great crisp on the outside and generous amounts of seafood inside. It was packed with tasty herbs and a slightly chewy texture that was still fantastic after I reheated it the next day. The Korean fried chicken used large wings and drumsticks, which really helped to provide more tender and moist meat than some local competitors. This was super crispy, possibly more crispy than similar options at Bonchon and CM chicken. A small warning for the spicy options, as this is a higher spiciness level than what many people may be used to with fried chicken. The kimchi fried rice has a great mix of egg, kimchi, and seasonings that create a delicious dish even for those who may not particularly care for the flavor profile of kimchi. Putting the flame torch to the egg and rice adds a good smokiness to the dish, and the mix of onion and egg really adds a lot of umami to the dish. Overall, this is a unique dining experience and worth a visit as the food is flavorful, inexpensive, and well executed. Especially worth a visit for anyone who likes bar food but wants something a bit higher quality and packed with flavors -- this is definitely not the menu you'd find at a traditional Korean spot.

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Whiskey River Bar & Grill - sportsbars - Updated October 2026

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