Galway Arms

Had a wonderful time enjoying the traditional Irish music around the fireplace. The staff in particular Alan and Patrick were excellent! Welcoming and friendly. I would recommend this pub to my family and friends.

Yeah so this would have been a perfectly OK pub lunch had a RAT not run out of the kitchen, past our table and into the pub. A manager or something said he snuck in and didn’t live there. Um, right, ok. No apologies, nothing. We paid the bill and left, never to return.

Came to celebrate a friend’s birthday (small party) so we shared an appetizer of crab cakes (forgot what the item was but it had sausage in the center and a delicious sauce). I have to say that I was very impressed with the crab cakes. It had a slight crunch to it from the corn and sauce. If you’re afraid of the fishiness, steer clear, there’s still a tang of it, but not much.
The prices are doable and the portions are pretty generous. I might come back to try more items if I’m ever in the area and of my next meal.
One of the things that I liked was how we get to choose where we sit (Sunday around 4pm) we sat by the fireplace and it was impressive. The round table is seated close by so this is not a place to expect quietness.
Service was also decent with attentive waitress throughout the meal. I definitely will come back!

Overall: Great pub with good food and good beer in a homey environment. Irish goodness and just a ton of fun overall.
The good: Great food, not your average bar fare. Great beer selections, not many bars have so many great beers available. Plenty of homey seating, fireplaces, and an outdoor patio. A more intimate feel than a lot of other bars in the area. Cool layout with plenty of seating. They play soccer games on the regular. Live irish music on Sunday nights.
The bad: Not enough TVs if you want to watch a sports game.
Atmosphere: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Service: ⁹⁄₁₀
Food: ⁹⁄₁₀

Been to Galway arms a couple times now, great atmosphere with some solid food.
I love the atmosphere, that’s the highlight for me. Basically a brownstone that’s been converted to a bar. So, when you walk in, you’re faced by stairs up and then a little living room with fireplace on your left, can walk between what are clearly rooms in a house as opposed to some modern restaurant.
The food’s fine, maybe a bit above average but I don’t feel I can come on here and rave about the food. The fish and chips is good and a great portion. I’ve had a couple of the burgers and they’re always done well with good flavor. I think the Galway burger is probably the best among the choices.
One warning — don’t sit near the windows/​doors if it’s cold, people constantly were walking outside for smokes and the window had to stay open for electrical cords.

I went here with a couple friends on a random Wednesday night. This place was the opposite of hoppin’. There were maybe 4 other people there other than us. But it was nice for what it was. I loved the fireplace since it was a cold night. I had the quesadillas as an appetizer which I found delicious (could also be because I was so hungry I thought I was going to die before that) and then the corned beef as my entrée, which was pretty good. My boyfriend ordered the chicken pot pie and that was scrumptious. I want to come back on a Tuesday or Sunday and see the live Irish music!

I attended a Paint Nite event here this past weekend with my fiancé. The place was pretty quiet around 2 p.m. on Saturday, just a few customers at the bar and one or two tables. Real fireplace gives a cozy feel by the bar.
Standard pub fare — appetizers, burgers, salads, etc. We split the curry fries and the artichoke spinach dip. The curry fries were more flavorful than spicy, topped with peas, but was almost like a poutine with less sauce; it could have used more, but they weren’t bad. The dip arrived in a bread bowl garnished with pita chips and was actually a rather unattractive looking solid bright green, but tasted surprisingly delicious.
The space could have been arranged a little bit better and had an additional dedicated server for the event; I feel like attendees were crammed too tightly together for comfortable reach in painting and drinking without being obtrusive to one another, and there was definitely no room to accommodate people eating at the same time. I also had to go downstairs to the bar for food & drinks, as the only waitress for the entire event never even made it to our side of the room with the ONE menu that was available. This was my 4^th Paint Nite event, and definitely the least favorite for the space and service issues discussed above. That said, I might return if I were in the area for a spiked hot chocolate or cider to sit by the fireplace, but probably not for an event or a regular hangout.

I went to Galway Arms a few days ago with my husband. We ordered the Guinness stew and Guinness burger, which were both very bland and disappointing. My medium rare burger was cooked well done, which doesn’t usually bother me if the burger still tastes good, but unfortunately this wasn’t the case. The stew tasted like they poured it out of a can and heated on the stove. The server was also very off putting. I won’t mention her name (which I had to look on my receipt to know since she never introduced herself) because I don’t want one bad Unilocal review to effect her job. She was inattentive, and came off like she was having a bad day. I’m a server, I get it, but you should never let your personal life effect how you treat others. I don’t normally leave low reviews either, I was just really let down.

Really great place to dine when the weather is nice, as they have great outdoor seating. Food is good as well.

Would have loved to go here in warmer weather, the front patio looked lovely to spend a summer night on!
Enjoyed this open space, great place to catch a drink with friends, lots of seating. I didn’t have any food, but everything that passed by looked pretty good. A wide selection of beers made the stay worth while though!

I use to live right across the street from Galway Arms and would go there around 2 times a week. Now that we live a few miles away we still make it there quite often– it’s that great of a place.
The hummus platter along with the spinach dip in a bread bowl are both addicting! The fish and chips are delicious and so is the Shepherd’s Pie.
We like to sit on the patio a lot with friends and enjoy the drinks (although there are a bit over priced). The live music on Sundays is always fun but wish there would do it on like a Thursday as well. If you want great service, don’t sit on the patio. For some reason the waitresses end up taking longer to check on you and take drink orders sometimes.

Do not dine here. The food is incredibly mediocre. Apps were subpar and cold. The Cobb salad had half the lettuce you would expect for a dinner salad and inferior toppings. The shepherds pie was a bowl of meat slop of questionable origin with a dollop of mashed potatoes on top and plasticy shavings of what I suppose was Parmesan.
My particular visit featured lackluster service to boot. The atmosphere is fine, and they know how to open a beer bottle. If you are drinking and want food they do seem to know how to cook a French fry.

We drove by and the patio looked like a fun place to eat so we checked out the Unilocal reviews and they were pretty good. Im happy we did because it turned out to be good. The burgers were great! I love how they toasted the buns too. Service was good and the as we were leaving we checked out the inside and it was really charming.

This is my go to neighborhood bar. Love the patio for drinks in the summertime, and to watch soccer games. Sunday nights they have live Irish music which is a relaxing way to close out the weekend. The beer selection is good but the food is pretty disappointing. I try not to eat here unless I have to.

Having lived in Ireland for many years. This place brings me back. The Guinness is cold, the space is dark and the futbol (soccer) is playing. I only wished they opened earlier on the weekends so I could enjoy EPL.

This was our March GNO spot. The choice was perfect since St. Patty’s day was the week before.
They greatly accommodated us (a group of 7) in one of the rooms of the old house turned restaurant. I like the layout of this place, it has a nice cozy, relaxing ambiance. A sit down, have a huge meal and tons beer kind of ambiance. The place was quiet and empty on a Thursday night, which was nice because we could actually hear each other speak.
We got a lot of appetizers, since that’s just the way of life now, haha. None of them really rocked my boat. For dinner, I had the chicken pot pie. The filling was nice and creamy topped with a huge buttery croissant, I was full after three spoon fulls. This was my first time that I had ever tried chicken pot pie, it was good, but I thought it was missing just a little something.
My sister had the Shepards pie, two others had fish and chips, the other two lamb shanks and one had a wrap, hahaha so diverse. They all enjoyed their food. Some more than others, but again, nothing out of the ordinary. To celebrate St. Patty’s, we also enjoyed some Guinness.
I probably wouldn’t make the trip from the burbs again.

Came here last night and was a bit disappointed by the experience. I had come a couple of years ago and hadn’t been back in awhile but since it was so nice outside, decided to enjoy the outdoor patio with some friends. I think our waitress was over-​worked, it took about 15 minutes from when we put in the initial drink order to when we finally received our drinks. I ordered the moscow mule (probably my mistake. should have gotten a beer at a pub) and it was too gingery.
The food was also a bit disappointing, I got the mozzarella sticks as an appetizer and they were lukewarm. My friend also had the burger which she said was a bit overcooked. All in all, it was a nice night and the patio was an enjoying place to be but other than that the experience could have been a lot better from the wait time and the quality of food & drink.

Galway Arms was the setting for my gals dinner group. They were not very busy on a Thursday night and our table for eight was open to us right away. Our group arrival was staggered and we all arrived at different times so it was nice to be seated and able to order drinks while we waited for our whole group to assemble.
Our group started with appetizers, curry fries, mozzarella sticks, calamari and onion rings. They were all pretty average with the curry fries being the biggest disappointment. I love curry fries but I found these just lacking something. Too sweet, too cinnamon-​y, just something seemed off. The fries arrive covered in curry so if you are more of a dipper, ask for the curry on the side.
I opted for the Fish & Chips. They do have malt vinegar, just ask for it. I also wanted to try the honey truffle sauce for my fries (it’s offered as a salad dressing) –doesn’t it sound good? The best fish & chips I’ve had was in Dublin and so far the best I’ve had in the Chicagoland area was out in the burb’s. The Fish & Chips at GA was just OK. It really needed the malt vinegar for flavor. The honey truffle sauce was pretty gross. I don’t know what they mean by truffle, but it was just super sweet and unfortunately gave me a stomachache.
As you would guess, there’s a nice beer list. My beer, I can’t even remember the name, was forgettable. Not so much because I didn’t like it, but it wasn’t very cold when it was served.
Service was really nice – attentive and friendly. The space is really nice too – I love the hardwood floors.

I came to Galway Arms by way of a dinner group, and I thought it was a stellar choice just following St. Patrick’s Day.
The restaurant is in an old house; the original woodwork, soft lighting, and sectioned off seating in what used to be rooms, sets the stage for a relaxing night to kick back, eat, drink, and be merry!
Our group started with a ton of appetizers, but the decision to try the curry fries was unanimous! The fries were thick cut, like steak fries, smothered in a spiced curry sauce and topped with peas. I thought they were good, but I wouldn’t order them again. Some of the fries were too soggy from the sauce, and I think the curry fries are overall an acquired taste — either you like it or you don’t. I loved the calamari though, which was served in a tomato-​based sauce and not deep fried.
For my entrée, I had the Fish & Chips. Two large cod filets, perfectly deep fried and crunchy, served with a side of fries and, as requested, a side of their honey truffle sauce. We spied this item earlier in the salad section — honey truffle — yes, you read that right! It’s a salad dressing but it’s so good for dipping fries!
Others in our group had the lamb shank, shepard’s pie, and chicken pot pie. Everything looked absolutely delicious; big portions and ultimate comfort food.
I washed it all down with a Magner’s cider. Galway Arms has a solid beer list which of course includes Guinness, but also a variety of other beers on draft and in bottles.
Galway Arms is a cozy Irish pub with good food and drinks. I’m on the fence as to whether this spot warrants a trip from the ‘burbs, but considering the last Irish pub I went to — Galway wins.

I’m always happy when I leave this place. It’s very cozy in the winter (yay fireplace!) and relaxing in the summer on their patio. But I think it’s better to come here during the cooler months because they have great warm drinks.
I’m not big into dips, but their spinach artichoke dip is AMAZING. It’s served in a BREAD BOWL (!!!) and comes with these awesome pita chips. Sometimes I go there just for that.
I’ve always had great service here too. If you tell them before you order they’re really cool about separate checks. A friend and I did separate checks and they were able to split the appetizer we shared so that’s a big win in my book. Our waitress was really friendly as well.
Definitely recommend this place if you’re looking to get together with friends and are in the area. Very accessible on Clark St.

I didn’t really know what to expect when going into Galway Arms, but as soon as I walked in, I got the vibe of a smallish, warm, cozy bar. I went there early on a Friday night and while there were some people there, it wasn’t packed. It was pretty laid back and quiet for the most part. I went with one of my friends for a quick drink, but this is definitely the type of place that I would consider a date night go-​to spot. The dim lighting and homey vibe can add to a romantic date night. The servers are friendly and quick and the prices are reasonable, so no complaints there. The bathrooms are located downstairs and are very clean, so I was grateful for that! There is also an outdoor patio for when the weather gets warmer. I cannot wait to come here in the summertime. Pretty nice spot!

I had a pretty good meal at Galway arms after a race in Lincoln Park recently. I really wished we could have dined outside, but it was packed on a Thursday evening.
We sat inside in a great booth all by ourselves in the back — which was really nice as it started to get crowded inside as well. We were told that the kitchen was backed up, so as soon as we could, we ordered a beer and spinach dip appetizer.
The spinach dip appetizer was in a bread bowl and it was ok, but a bit greasy (as I suppose you’d expect) and not super flavorful. I was starving, however, so I admit, I ate a bunch of it.
I had the spinach wrap and I liked it, though I will say that the proportions throughout were kind of off, so that some bites were good and some were pretty bland. All in all, ok, but not amazing.
The beer was fresh and plenty of Irish options on draft.
Worth a visit, but more for the drinks and cute atmosphere than the food.

went late night yesterday.
didn’t like the Mediterranean vegi skewers too much and got it off my bill.
bf’s irish beef burger was pretty good
the icecream+caramel bread dessert was really sweet.
5 stars for the staff!