Brewstone Beer Company

I’m giving two stars for the food and one star for the service. Food is nothing great; subpar for bar food. I got the BBQ chicken salad and the chicken was overcooked and dry.
The service on the other hand is plain awful. I had to call twice to get someone to pick up the phone. Upon arriving I walked past the host (standing outside taking a personal phone call) — sorry to interrupt your personal calls while at work!
I arrived about 10 minutes later to pick my super simple order of a salad. After waiting and waiting I am told that my order is taking long because the chef didn’t show up for work today. It was 7:20pm. That incident occurred 3 hours ago or so and you STILL haven’t fixed it!!! How do you plan to run a successful kitchen /​business if you are still trying to recover from a chef not showing up 3 hours later?
I would save the time, energy, effort, and frustration and head to Bull and Bear just 2 blocks away.

I attended Brewstone for some drinks over a blackhawks hockey game about a month back. They appeared to be short staffed as the host was back and forth between his stand and waiting on tables. Additionally, they did not have an up to date beer menu. Most of the beers on the paper menu were crossed out, and we were encouraged to tell our waiter what kind of beer we liked to have him offer something matching. They still have a good number of draft beers available, just no menu which made it harder to choose. Despite these issues the service was decent and friendly and didn’t have an empty glass for long.
This is in contrast to the first time when we went to Brewstone on the day of its opening when the staff was neither polite nor honoring the specials they had liberally advertised. We may be back since we live across the street, but it’s not our favorite place. I can’t speak to the food yet.

I wish you could give negative stars for this place… DON’T GO HERE! If you don’t read the rest of this review, just DON’T GO HERE!!!
Three of us went here for lunch today as a coworker had gone when the establishment first opened and said the food was good. We were sadly disappointed…
1. We were not greeted when we walked in — yelled at from the back to just sit anywhere.
2. All but four beer tappers were not working — by the sound of the other reviews, this has happened before. We ordered a beer that supposedly was working, an IPA. When we got the beer, it was 100% not an IPA. For a place that says they are a ‘Beer Company’ this was not good. The waitress just shrugged us off and was like hmmm that’s odd.
3. They changed their menu from what our coworker had before and it was for the worse. Two of us decided on the sliders…10 minutes after we ordered we were told they didn’t have the materials to make them and that it would be just one large burger.
4. After the long wait for the food (and we were the first people in there and to order, so I don’t know what took so long?) The food was horrendous… I mean some of the worse food I’ve ever eaten in Chicago. The fries were cold and tasted like they were left over from the weekend…
5. No check-​in or apologies for the slow service, lack of beer, and food issues.
6. Don’t go to the bathroom… please just go next door to the Starbucks. You would think a Monday afternoon; the bathrooms would be cleaned from the weekend… nope…
We will never ever ever ever go back here. Save yourself the money and try another spot.

I wish I could give 0 stars. I had a similar experience as another Unilocaler who was also at Brewstone today for lunch. I was meeting former coworkers (party of 3) and decided on this place because one of them had been here when it first opened and said it was good. I wouldn’t say I had high expectations, but I was sorely disappointed. I like the format of the previous review from today so I will copy it:
1. The menu is not the same as what is online. Why would you have different menus?! That’s misleading. It’s not that hard to update a website.
2. The waitress flat out told us that the cooks didn’t show up today. Ok lady, we know its not your fault, but I wouldn’t be telling customers that another server is in the kitchen.
2. My friend ordered the sliders. The waitress told us she didn’t have the buns to make the sliders so it would just be a regular cheeseburger. Weird, but Ok fine.
3. Food took FOREVER. I kid you not. I’m a patient person, but I have an hour for lunch. This took 2.
4. When it finally came, everything was wrong. My other friend ordered a mushroom burger and did not receive a mushroom burger. She sent it back, but guess what? no mushrooms. The burger that was supposed to be a slider was sent back also because it wasn’t cooked enough. I ordered the chicken ranch sandwich and added avocados. There was no ranch and I would not call that avocados. It was more like a spicy green salsa. The bun was stale, the fries were cold and don’t even think about a drink refill. Like I said, I know they were understaffed, but that was a poor excuse for a restaurant.
5. When we asked to see the manager, he conveniently wasn’t in, nor could the 1 waitress get a hold of him, nor were there any business cards of his in the place. Way to run the place, chief.
Like other Unilocalers, I wanted to like this place, but when you have an experience like this, it’s hard to give it another try. None of us will go back. We saw another person we know wander in and told them not to bother. My friend who wanted the sliders didn’t even get to eat them because we were waiting so long. She put them in a box and took them with her. What a joke.

This place is all together TERRIBLE. I so badly wanted to love Brewstone. I work across the street and there are very limited food options in the area. Everyone in my office was super excited when this spot opened, but the inconsistency and terrible service have killed my joy.
The last three times that I have attempted to grab lunch at Brewstone, something has been wrong with my order. The first time, I was not given shrimp wraps, but chicken wraps. I did not complain at the time because I was starving and in a rush. They also did not have the tortilla chips and guacamole that did not come with the wrap. This is not a big deal if it was a one-​time occurrence, but supply shortages seem to be the norm at Brewstone.
The second incident occurred when I attempted to order by phone and the phone was off the hook for nearly an hour with no one noticing. I had no choice but to walk over to the restaurant to order, and had to wait 30 minutes to receive my order. The steak wrap that I ordered is extremely simple: tortilla, steak, rice, cheese, guacamole. There is no reason for a 30 minute wait when I am trying to quickly grab lunch to get back to work. When I finally get my food and arrive back at my office, I open my container and I can’t believe that besides the wrap I literally see a teaspoon of guacamole with a million chips. Were they low on avocados? What the heck. Super annoyed, I called and spoke with a manager who was apologetic and said that I would be «taken care of» on my next order. I just had to ask for him or the other manager.
The following week, being the glutton for punishment that I am, I call in for an order of the shrimp wraps. I made sure to speak to a manager and tell him of my history surrounding wrap-​aggedon at Brewstone. He told me that he knew about my previous experiences and that he would personally make my wraps, and to arrive in 15 minutes.
In 15 minutes I arrive and of course my food is not ready. Apparently, they had to go and purchase the shrimp to make the wrap. Are you freaking kidding me??? Why is something on your menu that you do not have ingredients on hand for. This is ridiculous. I ended up sitting there for 35 minutes, on my short lunch break, waiting on the manager to go and purchase or perhaps catch fresh shrimp. You would think that when my food finally came out that I would be offered a discount for the repeated inconvenience, but no such courtesy was offered. I guess Brewstone’s definition of «taking care of me» was to offer a more terrible experience.
Today I had a weak moment and called Brewstone for lunch again (this is like a bad relationship that I can’t shake) and of course their phone was off the hook, and later just rang without anyone answering.
I had really high hopes for this place, but based on the reviews recounting similar shoddy experiences this place will not be around long. I personally will not be visiting again, and will encourage my office to avoid Brewstone as a happy hour destination.

So I tried one more time for lunch today.
It was a late lunch, 3pm and it was storming so I didn’t want to leave the building.
Ordered a chicken sandwich + fries this time. Came out in 3, maybe 4 minutes? I knew it wasn’t going to be fresh. Complain about quick service? YES, when the fries I were served were most likely from lunch rush 3 hours ago. They were like licorice.
The sandwich? Meh. Didn’t have the sauce it was supposed to have on it. Mayo instead.
Fool me twice…

Ordered carry out, was told 20 mins, when I showed up I was told they were just trying to call me to tell me they didn’t have the flatbread I ordered at this location (person taking the order should know the menu… at least that’s been my experience), so I started to order another flatbread that was on their menu (now that I was there) and was told they didn’t have any of the flatbreads, someone just went out to by some (might want to keep these ingredients on hand to make your own dough when you run out of the pre-​made stuff: active dry yeast, white sugar, water, flour, olive oil).so I ordered the (filet) sliders instead.
35 mins later (now it’s been a total of 55mins that I’ve been trying to get lunch) I get my order and head back to the office, when I open the container with the sliders I saw a pinch of fries (no where near a full side order) and they either need to get smaller slider buns or slightly larger pieces of steak… bit into more bread than meat. True, I was give 25% off my order, I would’ve rather had a lunch I could enjoy and not wait almost an hours for 3 sliders and a pinch of fries.
Sitting next to me was a group of 3 people waiting on their food, 1 out of the 3 got his food… no napkins or silverware; then the salad came out for one of the other 2 left, the got the order wrong; when the 3^rd guy got his burger it wasn’t cooked right … so 2 out of 3 orders in the group had to go back to the kitchen to be re-​made.
Not sure if NEOCON just threw they off and they weren’t prepared for the traffic or that they just need a better organized, more efficiently working kitchen crew. Oh and some napkins in the carry-​out bag would be great! :)
I was tempted to have a drink while I waited but had to get back to the office, and with the time it took I could’ve had a couple of drinks ;)
I was going to say «seems they believe in island-​service» but even on the islands, it may take a while but when you get it you can just dig in and enjoy… then hopefully forget how long it took to arrive :)

This place is terrible. First off, I’ve been here 2x and both times they barely have any beers in stock. Didn’t this place just open? How do you not ever have any beers available? The food is ok but nothing special. The service is a joke. The ran out of wine. Seriously how do you run out of wine? My friend asked for a Pinot and the bartender poured her a glass from the bottom of 3 empty bottles! She laughed and he said, «oh sorry, you can have this for free.» I got a beer and he left a glass sit under the tap while it barely dribbled out a full glass for 5 minutes! WTF?! I asked why they are always out, he barely looked up and told us how the owner and manager don’t agree on deliveries! Why are you telling us that?! Looks bad. Plus the booze shelves were looking pretty bare! Service was pathetic.
Don’t go here.

Came here with my bffl Sunil D. for some half priced wings! Lots of TVs, good beer selection, had some unnecessary country music blasting at noon, but otherwise a solid spot to rival sidebar/​bull and bear for beers, booze, and sports.

Stopped by Brewstone with my coworkers last night and enjoyed a very solid all-​around experience.
We had excellent service from Ryan (one of the on-​staff managers) who delivered strong drinks and delicious food to our group all night.
Enjoyed the BBQ sliders and Tuna Tartare, but the champ of the night was certainly the Coconut Shrimp (this coming from a dude that doesn’t like shrimp) The lettuce wraps were also solid.
Beer list is off to a great start and Ryan told us that they’d be adding new specialty drinks, beers and food in the near future.
Only complaint is that it was hot as hades in there, but that can certainly be fixed quite easily :)
Overall, great new restaurant/​pub a bit off the beaten path in River North. Good service, good food & good drinks, especially for a newly opened spot!

Team business lunch — should we do Mexican, Thai, or pizza? It’s seems like those are the options when taking your team out to lunch. Being in the River North area, we’re limited on what’s close by. Good thing for us, Brewstone Beer just opened next door.
Formally an Indian buffet restaurant, the space has completely transformed. It’s probably the only true upscale sports bar in the area with plenty of flat screens and even individual monitors for the booths. The menu consists of common items like wraps, salads, burgers, tacos, flatbreads, and pasta. It was a Monday and it was ½ off appetizers. We ordered the nachos, chicken wraps, BBQ chicken salad, cheeseburger, mushroom flatbread, and filet sliders. The chicken wraps were packed with flavor and was the most memorable. It’s too bad that it’s not entrée size otherwise it would be a stellar item. The portion was small so I would only recommend splitting this between no more than two people. You’ll have to fight over who gets the third piece since the order comes with three servings.
I came for a work lunch so missed out on their brewery and fine beers. If only it was HR approved to have one or two drinks during lunch…
Suggestions for management: capitalize on being a brewery and a sports bar. Offer drink specials on fine beers, 50 cent wings, $ 2 drafts, and UFC promotions.

Solid place for craft beer and to watch a ballgame. Esp in an area in very much need of a sports bar.
Try any of the craft brews on tap or the baja tacos, burgers, or flatbreads. really good.

Finally a casual sports bar in the area…
Despite being absolutely packed on a Thursday night, the host was very accommodating and quickly found us a spot to eat (he even asked us if we would prefer the hawks or bulls on the tv by our table). The waitstaff still has some kinks to iron out, I guess this place has good daily specials but we didn’t even know about them until we saw the sign as we were leaving. That will be fixed in due time.
The place itself is great though. A lot of tv’s, a huge beer list (I don’t know what the people complaining about this list were looking at, but it is pretty extensive IMO) and the food was very good, especially for what it is. We had the ahi tuna, wedge salad and wings… all of which I would order again. They were some of the best wings I have had in a while (why in a sports bar town like Chicago is it so hard to find decent wings… I’ll never know), although they were a little small and the portion seemed off for the price ($ 12), there are few better options in River North (they might take the crown from Bull n Bear). Prices were fair, if not a touch high, but given its River North and they have daily beer and food specials, which is literally unheard by any other bar in the area… I’ll take it.

National chains have been instinctively flocking to River North like the salmon of Capistrano and Brewstone is the latest addition. They’ve got locations in Philly, Indy, and Pittsburgh already so there’s obviously a system in place that’s been working fairly well. I guess we’ll see how Chicago responds to it.
My analysis… there isn’t a whole lot of innovation, but ultimately they put out a pretty good product. Decent burgers and other higher end fare, a rather extensive beer list, (hence the name) and fairly affordable prices.
The staff was really friendly although a bit unsure of the whole system. Ultimately there was some great conversation over brews a good food. For a place that I can walk to I’ll definitely be back for a return visit.

1^st — Why do people go out on opening weeks of restaurants and expect great and speedy service? You people just want something to complain about to make yourself feel like your opinion matters and that your worthy of being a critic.
2^nd — No restaurant is perfect and it’s how they respond to and fix the problems that matter. This does not mean you can demand things and be rude and expect things for free or expect people to not be rude back. If there is a problem ask for a manager and «politely» tell him/​her the issue.
3^rd — Brewstone was cool. It was not real cheap not real expensive and nice casual early spot before going to the bars. Im sure once they learn what the popular Chi town beers are they will be switching to some. I split food with some guy friends and we like to eat. Nothing was bad and although nothing was roll over memorable «unlike some of you who expect a $ 60 chef meal for $ 15» it was still good food. Probably find some things I like and maybe some things that are okay.
Your Welcome

Always enjoy trying new beer spots, the opportunity to explore my Palate with some of the classics or ‘hard to find’ micro-​brews on tap/​bottled.
I was really excited to try this spot since it’s so close and was being opened with Great anticipation from the neighborhood. Unfortunately, fell short. Idk if it was the craziness of March Madness or the fact they’re new but service took forever. I was with one other gentleman and we just wanted to check out there beer menu.
Pretty disappointing list. No ‘true’ micro-​brewed beers such as Windy City, Rogue, Daisy Cutter, Half Acre… nothing like these. ¾ of the beer menu is routine, the same ol’ Newcastle, 312, Blue Moon, Bud, Miller type menu. a couple of small brews but nothing special. I ordered a Peroni on draft, OUT. Second option, Newcastle. OUT. REALLY?! OUT of the two beers I ordered on Tap. settled for a 312.
The atmosphere was crowded and very loud, but to be expected for March madness. We didn’t try the food because of how long it took to get the beers and get the check. I haven’t written this place off, and will be returning to taste the food but not a great first experience.

We had Medium RARE burgers last night. We are fine …
Why are people saying all of these terrible things about a place during their first week? Do we need another empty storefront? People sure can be NASTY online. Last night we ENJOYED great ambience, music at a proper level. TVs (that you don’t have to look at if you don’t want). Very competent pleasant waitstaff. We had lettuce wrap appetizer (special ½ off) 2 burgers cooked medium RARE — we are fine today. 2 Bells Ambers 1 Delerium Tremens and a Dogfish ale so that’s 7 things ordered and the bill was 56. (we has 15% off promo coupon) This was a Monday night. we were seated immediately at 6:15 it was a relaxed crowd at 7:30 when we left. We’ll go back. We work in the building and are happy to have this new neighbor.

This place is such a joke. And so is CISC!
I received an email from CISC about Brewstone’s Grand Opening. Specials included $ 3 Crafted Beers, $ 4 Specialty Cocktails, Complimentary Passed Appetizers, and a surprise special guest DJ. The email also said to be early.
From the moment we arrived it was bad bad bad. They didn’t open the doors until after 6pm and when we got seated, they gave us their menus. We were excited and asked about the specials and our waitress had no idea. She got the manager and the manager too had no idea about any of the specials. Their only specials was a $ 7 classic burger, which in spite of ordering well done, it was pink.
She said that she would only charge us $ 3 for beers, so going to order my beer, it was out. How are you out of beer on your first day?! They took 20 minutes to get us our drinks even though we were one of the first people to sit down.
On our bill, the manager didn’t even take off for our drinks and charged us the full price. Took another 15 minutes for them to figure it out. She said their computers are really messed up. Again if it’s your first day, how are you not prepared for this???
Later we found out that their FB page, Unilocal page, and the email all mentioned these specials. So why or how wouldn’t the owner/​manager/​waitress/​staff not know about these things!!! Just horrible.
The only good thing was the fries. But that’s about it. I wouldn’t go back. There’s sooo many better bars in Chicago that’s worth my time and money!

First of all, they invite you to their grand opening with these special drinks and appetizers and the waitress and managers didn’t even know about it!
Food was mediocre at best
Burgers were undercooked and flavorless
No mustard ketchup salt or pepper unless you ask
Very slow service
The only plus was my side salad was fantastic, the house dressing is delicious
Brand new place seems like it has potential to be great for watching games with all the Tvs but nothing special as far as bars/​bar food goes, and a bit on the expensive side.

Good: fries were the perfect kind of crispy, house salad dressing is really good, decent beer selection, lots of tv’s.
Bad: they partnered with a promotions team and the manager and waitstaff had no idea that there were supposed to be free appetizers and discounted brews so a lot of people were misled. Every burger at our table was undercooked, and even though we got special prices, it wouldnt have been worth full price ($ 12). There was no ketchup, mustard, salt or pepper on the table and though we were the first to be seated, we were the last in our section to get our beers. Bad first impression, unfortunately.
This place seems like it could be cool but right now, its not being run properly or maybe they’re not ready to open.
I would reccomend this place to people looking for a lot of TV’s to watch a game, but thats about it.