Emmit’s Irish Pub

Good pub. Solid pub. Bit of an odd location, but there is beauty in the quirkiness. Great location, but a little busy at times. Rich in historical charm as several movies have been filmed at this location.
Basic bar food like cheese sticks, chicken tenders, etc. Food was all done well for the basic bar staples they were but truly nothing spectacular.

My favorite Irish pub in the city! Very good food and good selections of beers.
Friendly staff as well.

Don’t I wish there were a rating for 0 stars for a place that can ask for their «spot» back without any explanation? Yes!!! I am on my way home feeling rejected after hours of sitting at this bar, feeling so humiliated… My and my boyfriend were leaving Emmitt’s, waiting for an Über and I was having back issues so I sat down, to the closest bar stool next to the exit door. My boyfriend was outside waiting to get an über or cab, while I was waiting for the «come outside wave»! Less than a minute later, I was rudely interrupted by an old man who told me that I ‘took his seat’. I would have gladly apologized, but he didn’t explain that he had gotten up or anything, no coat, no drinks at the spot, just that I had «taken his seat»…
My boyfriend asked me to come outside and went back in for my gloves. He then threatened that if our friends (still inside) would be kicked out, if he didn’t get an apology because he owned the bar. So I waited for for an Über outside in the rain… Wow! Note never coming back! Just because you own a bar doesn’t mean you get to treat people like $hit! Their servers were good, but due to the unprofessionalism, I can’t let anyone else I know give them business… and feel like anyone else should know how they treat customers. So many places in Chicago… Don’t bother!

Didn’t actually go here, but we ordered appetizers while at Clover across the street.
— Irish Potato Boxty — everything you want on a potato skin, but instead it was like a potato pancake and then topped with cheese, bacon, scallions and sour cream on side (amazing)
— Chicken tenders — Tasted homemade, fresh, delicious. Liked the sauces.
— Mozzarella sticks — yummy
— Onion rings — also very good
I recommend, best bar food around!

Eh… this place was dead. Nobody was in there but us. I think there’s a jukebox in there that entertained my coworkers for a bit. It was still a good time because it was my company’s holiday after party spot. However, I wouldn’t have been here otherwise.

Very quiet spot on a Tuesday night, but definitely charming.
Stopped in for a nightcap and to finish watching the Cubs game. There were only a handful of people inside but the place has a great vibe. Spacious, cool décor and plenty of TVs. It looks somewhat unassuming from the outside, but definitely is a great spot to grab a drink and relax.

Had a really good time visiting Chicago with my friends. Huge selection of quality brews. The baked mac & cheese I got was absolutely amazing! Our waiteress was a knowledgable and funny brunette. Would definitely come here again!

The bar is great, as are the bartenders, which is why I gave it three stars. Otherwise, I’d give it one. When I go to an Irish Pub I expect to have Irish food, not Mexican. The only food that could be considered remotely Irish is the Guiness-​battered fish and chips and mine came to the table cold, soggy, and tasteless.

My husband and I have visited Emmit’s Irish Pub frequently so we decided to treat some friends who’ve never been there before. When we arrived we are usually acknowledged right away. I actually had to interrupt a server putting empty drinks away and then we still had to wait because she had to get someone else to seat us. It was in the evening and it was not busy at all. After we where seated we where chatting with our friends and it had been awhile since again we weren’t acknowledged. My friend actually raised his hand as a waiter passed us and asked if we could have some service. I’m not sure why they where off that night but it was very disappointing. Although our waitress was actually kind and received a nice tip I don’t think we’ll be back. Who wants to go to a restaurant and be ignored when we’re there to pay their pay checks.

This Chicago pub has been seen on the silver screen many times. However its less than tinsle off camera. Men’s room is putrid and the shepherds pie used some sort of rubber used as meat… def not lamb or any type of beef and the potatoes were like an elementary school cafeteria. Even instant potatoes would have been better than this tasteless grule. Saving grace was definitely the bartender, he poured a perfect Guinness and held court telling a few tall tales to the mid day bar flies.

They filmed Backdraft here, which is sentimental to me cause it’s the first movie over a PG that my uncle ever let me watch without permission from my mom. Many years, countless curse words, and plenty of nude scenes later, and I finally got a chance to check out the location that’s now Emmit’s Pub. Like the famous firefighter film, I’m giving it an R rating for Really Good Irish Pub.
It’s got a mix of stuff like Shepard’s Pie and Fish and Chips, but most of the menu is your basic bar food. It’s tasty and affordable, but not really going to have you screaming for a Michelin Star or anything.
They really excel in what the Irish do best. There’s lots of Scotch and whiskeys, they pour a perfect Guinness, and the staff is welcoming and friendly like you’d expect from any pub back in the old country.
Overall I left with a pretty big smile on my face. Similar to the naked parts in Backdraft that my uncle made me leave the room for, but I cam back and watch later.

Love this place and have been coming here for over 10 years. Nice craft beer selection for an Irish pub.

The kind of bar I would like to wake up in. A comfortable space with plenty of old-​school charm.
We opened up the place on a Saturday. Is 10:30 AM to early for a glass of wine? Don’t think so. It was us, the bartender and Saturday morning TV.
I felt like Norm.
Plenty of light and a great atmosphere, with aesthetics that don’t suffocate you with Irish novelty. It has a great name as well.
I understand it has good food. Hope to try some next time. I’ll be back and hope to make it on New Year’s Eve.
A good hangout.

Came here after a fabulous dinner down the street. I had skipped drinks at dinner and couldn’t wait for a few cocktails. Bar was crowded, but there were still lots of seating options– yessss! Our waitress was very attentive and efficient. I decided I felt particularly Irish and tried the Tullamore Irish Mule– Tullamore Irish Dew, ginger beer and bitters… it was very ginger-​y, which I liked, but had a secret kick to it for sure. At $ 8, the price was on trend for the city. I had mixed drinks as well– and those came up $ 6. Most prices are posted in their drink menu, which is great– I hate those end of the night «oh crap, I spent HOW much?» suprises… The food that went by looked great. I would definitely want to try it! I would love to go back soon!

Emmit’s let me down :-(
I’m Irish, love a good Irish pub. What better than an Irish pub with so much history, in a city that I love, and has been in movies that I even love, and even made an appearance in a show (Bar Rescue) that I love…
Well it was a Saturday afternoon, stopped into the famous pub. The even more famous table where Clooney and Damon sat was taken so I took a table out of the way, just to relax and grab some lunch.
After sitting for 5 mins. I noticed there wasnt a server or bar tender around. I just played on my phone for what seemed like another 5mins, and a young man appeared from out of nowhere.
He seemed to be the only one running the show that day. He was good, polite, and seemed to keep up with everyone. I mean ever since he appeared he was professional and checked in on me and my meal from time to time.
I got the mozzarella sticks, which were tasty. But did I do something wrong with ordering the fish and chips? either the oil hadn’t been changed or they left my fish and chips in too long. the meal sucked, so I just finished my mozzarella sticks.
Not the experience I’d expect from the place :-(I hope its better when I try again soon, hopefully by the next time I will hear of some more better or popular food items to try.

Emmit’s is one of my favorite spots in Chicago. I trek clean across town from Edgewater to go there because I love the atmosphere, awesome bartenders, very friendly wait staff and more importantly the jukebox that allows me to be my regular eclectic self and play everything from MJ to Sinatra to 50 cent to Hall and Oates.
Big thumbs up for them having an awesome corned beef sandwich, now carrying green line and being across the street from my #1 bar in Chicago… The Funky Buddha Lounge. They also get cool points from us for being featured in Ocean’s 11 and allowing our group to host a pre-St.Paddy’s outing the night before St. Paddys. What an awesome spot, and a great place to meet friends and get that genuine Chicago Irish pub experience. Can’t wait to go back again. –LR

Met some friends here for drinks this past Saturday night. Overall a great place with a good selection of Beers on tap at reasonable prices ($ 5-​$ 7). All the beers that we ordered came in the proper glassware which is always a plus. Bartenders were all attentive and quick which is all you can ask for.
Also a ton of TVs with the various playoff games on and tables as well. I would come back again for sure.

Went with the boyfriend because I needed a St. Patty’s day Rueben, having missed the holiday. We first ordered two Lagunita’s IPAs, which we were both familiar with. They tasted a little off, not sure what that was about, but nbd.
Ordered the Hot n’ Blue chips, and were pleased enough. Boyfriend loved them.
Split the 2 sliders, the Rueben, and the Baked Mac n’ Cheese. Boyfriend really enjoyed the mini burger, the mini chicken I had was OK. The corned beef in the Rueben was thick-​cut, and a bit fatty and tough… instead of thinly shaved, lean, and tender. I wasn’t super disappointed, being an infrequent meat-​eater (any meat tastes delicious) but my boyfriend didn’t take but 2 bites, which is very rare for him.
The Mac n’ Cheese was basically penne in alfredo sauce, with melted «other» cheese atop and some bread crumbs. It was my least favorite, mostly because it was misleading. It didn’t seemed particularly baked, which was a bummer, but more importantly, it didn’t seem like Mac n’ Cheese. It was also quite bland.
The fries that came with the Rueben were excellent. The service was great. The dill pickle on the side was also spectacular.
Two stars. Emmit’s: Below average, but by no means terrible.

I ventured here one winter evening because of its appearance in Ocean’s 11 (the George Clooney version … he and Matt Damon first meet here). I found comfortable seating, a casual and welcoming atmosphere, friendly bartenders, a decent selection of draft beer, and well-​made cocktails. (I haven’t tried the food, but would be willing to do so based on what I observed being delivered to surrounding tables.)
The crowd was relatively diverse and pleasantly lacking in the element that populates Loop-​adjacent establishments such as South Branch.
I’ve only been on weeknights, so I can’t speak to the crowds or quality of service on the weekends, but it is a great place to grab a nightcap after dining in the Fulton Market/​West Loop area.

I’m a bit on the fence about how to rate Emmit’s, but it’ll get a 3. I was there late Saturday night and we found a spot right away and greeted promptly. I was a little hungry so I ordered nachos and it was gone quickly. I may have just been hungrier than I thought but it was tastier than I expected. We never had too much trouble getting our waitress’ attention when we needed something during her frequent checks on us.
Would I purposely come here? I think there are plenty of faux-​Irish bars in the city that I don’t need to come all the way to River West to go to one, even if it is a decent one.

So my wife and I came here after looking for good local pub. It is defiantly a solid pub, no frills, but good atmosphere. It’s laid back and a nice crowd (don’t know if they rolled out the drunken Irishmen at the bar just for us.) Really nice flat screens to watch the big game.
It’s an Irish pub, so all your usual suspects for beverages with some local brews. My wife was happy their Magners was nice and cold. We ordered a spin dip; it came to table pretty fast, so pre-​made obviously, but its a pub so again right on par. We did really appreciate though the fresh pita and chips. My wife Caesar salad was solid, nothing to write home about, but enjoyed. I had the baked Mac n Cheese. I really liked it. Just the right amount of cheese and large noodles, worth I try if you are in mood.
The server checked on us often and kept us happy. Overall it’s perhaps a 3.75 star, but we rounded up as it was good experience.

Emmit’s was awesome, and it seemed like it was just out of a movie. We were looking for somewhere to go on a sunday night and walked in here. It was surprisingly packed, the we notice the sign for a wedding reception. We are just about to leave when we’re told the bar is still open for business as well.
Everybody was really friendly. You could tell the wedding party was having a good time. The whole bar was singing along with Leavin’ on a jetplane at one point. It was almost surreal.
As far as the actual offerings of the place they had a decent tap list and I didn’t have any food. The experience alone was worth 5 stars.

This is one of those bars that just feels comforable to hang out in. It is not corporate and just feels like one of those family neighborhood bars you want to drink at.
This bar is quite famous… it has been in several movies and tv shows over the years. This bar was home to Uncle Buck… yes that loveable John Candy use to drink here when it was called O’Sullivan’s. In Oceans 11, Matt Damon is handed a card that says, «Meet me at Emmits» and when he shows up George Clooney is there. In fact, I remember the day they filmed that… they were making fake snow to put on the street. CBS also had a tv show called Turks and this was their bar. I am sure that list goes on and on but that is a little Hollywood Triva for our neighborhood bar.
The beer is always cold and the food is really good for bar food. My wife had a salad here and the lettuce was really fresh. I’ve had the burger and it was tasty and cooked perfectly. The staff is really friendly too… the waitress went out of her way to make my little one feel comfortable.
Parking is easy… depending on when you get here… there always seems to be some street parking. Public Transportation is easy too because the Blue Line El stops here at Grand. Luckily I live near by and I can just walk over any time!