Reviews for The Publican in Chicago, IL
The group I had dinner with almost slept on the fries, but I ordered some for the table and they were a hit. "These are the... best fries I've ever eaten" was said immediately after eating the first one by my partner. The pork was so incrediblyflavorful. I can't wait to return and dive into more of the menu. The only miss for the night was the dessert, with themarshmallow having too much of an anise flavor for me. I'm not taking a star away for dessert because this was just my personalpreference for not liking that black licorice flavor, it was still a high quality dish. Read more
Our first visit back to the Publican since we moved back to town. It has been 10 years and our past visits were in the evening.... It was good but our mistake for not checking the Brunch menu prior to this visit. We expected more meat options and a slightlylarger selection in general. Will we save future visits for evenings. Read more
The menu does change but you will not be disappointed. The atmosphere is pretty cool with the different tables set up. We... stopped by for Saturday brunch and had a hard time deciding what to eat as everything sounded great. Settled for their versionof a Benedict and it hit the spot. I would suggest getting the breakfast sausage if it's still on the menu as it was not what Iwas expected but man was it tasty. Now I just need to get back to try all the oysters they have. Read more
Brunch review: As a disclaimer, I have eaten at The Publican a few times over the years (mostly brunch) and remember loving it.... This time was good but a notch lower than what I recall. The burger was decent - but given my expectations, it was a slight letdown. The beef was a little dry (I went with the server-recommended temp) and the abundance of sauce likely served tocompensate, which kinda worked but also made it really messy. The sausage dish was better, with tender meat and unique flavoroverall. Crispy potatoes were delicious but some were big and not so crispy in the middle. They also make a great bloody mary. Iknow this reads like a 3-star review but I'm honestly just over critical bc of my expectations - the food really is good. Read more
Been walking by here for years and glad we came. Large open restaurant with communal tables and really good food focused a lot... on meats. Food: 5/5 Beer: 5/5 Service: 5/5 Cocktails: 0/5 Grab yourself a mug of some of their German beers and order theprosciutto, butter the bread and put it on top, amazing way to start your meal! (Pic attached) Also get the carrots and trysome oysters, with the main being the pork belly or mussels and you'll find yourself leaving super full and satisfied. Onlything I'd avoid is any cocktails, I had one of the worst old fashioned I've ever had, so stick to beer here. Read more
My wife got extremely sick from the oysters, I found a worm/bug in my oyster (to be fair, it's a raw bivalve from the ocean,... yeah there's going to be some funky stuff in there, but still...), and the host (manger?) spilled half of my beer on the tableand did not offer to replace it. I used to love this place; great beer selection, amazing food, cool atmosphere. Honestly,those haven't changed, but the staff is just not what it used to be, and, unfortunately, we got unlucky with the oysters thistime. I let our waiter know that my wife was extremely sick from the oysters (she was literally in the restroom; I won't gointo detail), and that he should check the kitchen to make sure that everything was kosher back there. Their response was totell us that their oysters and beef had just come in that morning so it couldn't have been them. Then they "generously" compedus a $10 burger... Again, not trying to be a Karen; I know that we're not their only customers and that they have a lot ontheir plate, but we really left feeling like an afterthought for the waitstaff. There are a lot of great restaurants in Chicago.I never need to go back to this place again. Read more
Went to The Publican for a brunch with friends, I liked the location of this place. We made a reservation a day before and they... charge $15/person for reservations. It has a lovely ambience and awesome staff. We got their coffee which was good. The waffleswere very much okay but the jam is amazing. The Publican scramble was really good with a very difficult combination ofcauliflower and eggs - do try it. The market vegetable was another dish that we tried, absolutely loved the eggplant in it. Mypersonal favorite was egg in a hole - the capicola was really good. Do try their crispy potatoes and aged cheddar and herbbiscuits. Overall we almost had everything on their brunch menu but my top choice was egg in a hole. Read more
The Publican is a really fun experience, especially if you do the chef’s menu and let them feed the table accordingly. We were... able to try a wide variety of dishes, including some we never would’ve thought to order and really enjoyed them all! Theporchetta was my personal favorite but every dish is exploding with flavor. We were able to sit in one of the booths with thedoors which creates a fun atmosphere. The atmosphere is possibly even a better than than the food! Read more