Tried the new brew pub about a week after the grand opening.
Good: Very large selection of Ballast Point brews on tap at good prices and different sizes so you can easily sample. Food was also pretty decent, they did a good job with their take on the Impossible Burger however nachos without cheese is...odd. Definitely going back to try more of the beers.
Not Good: The ordering system is bizarre. They have servers going around, but you have to order and pay at a counter similar to a fast food place, and you can't put in drink orders there (except for soda). You can start a tab and then you have to take further drink orders to the bar. They bring the food out to you and I was asked if I wanted additional drinks later...so they do sort of have table service. Really, really weird.
Everything you'd want in a brew pub: great variety of beers, great food, and an open, comfortable space.
We came over lunch on a Friday and had no trouble finding a seat inside for 6, although depending on the weather you might have to wait for a seat on the rooftop level (which is beautiful - check out the pictures).
Food was excellent across the board; highlight was the "Doug" burrito and the burger. Very generous portions and filling without being overly indulgent.
Most importantly: the beer. Outside of their normal stable, they had an unbelievably large selection of small batch/specialty brews. We're primarily dark beer drinkers, and we had 8-9 porters and stouts to choose from which is very rare (that day in total they had 40+ beers to choose from). Most were excellent: table favorites were the Coconut Porter, Russian Imperial, and Orange Creme Ale.
Love their beer! Their sample flights are really good deal! They have their own Chicago-only brews that rotate almost every week. You can't go their frequent enough to try everything. I wish you can buy them in growlers, but they only sell that for the regular beer. They also have really good truffle fries. Good fries and beer, what more can you ask for? They have a pretty nice roof top with a decent view. It will be much better once all the crazy constructs are over too.
The beer list is better then I expected, there's so much to choose from! Huge fan of the Sour Wench beers, especially the Red Wine or the Guava/Mango, but also enjoyed the Brandy barrel-aged Quad. I enjoyed the burger I ordered. Overall, the food was ok. I personally like salty foods, but it could use a little less salt according to my friends. Really happy with my first visit here and can't wait to come back!
Great spot for beers and food, and a wonderful addition to the West Loop area. Tons of brews on tap at this sprawling location. The menu is on point and features mostly seafood fare. Definitely recommend and will be returning soon
Best place to grab a beer in the West Loop hands down! The beer is always fresh, crisp and cold. Truly my favorite brewery. There's also decent food and an amazing rooftop view of the city. If you can't find a beer here you like, then you don't like beer.
Great beer selection and great atmosphere. As a California native, this place had me missing California. The BP lager is crisp, light, and flavorful. The food here is good, but doesn’t compare to the Mexican food from California - if you’re looking for a San Diego style California-burrito, you may be disappointed.
To the haters out there, they’ve been open for less than a week. Chill out they’ve got some kinks. As far as the beer goes, this is one of the best breweries in Chicago. Hands down. Keep doing you, Ballast Point. Highly recommend the watermelon, red velvet, and sour wench. Of course don’t forget to start with the classic Sculpin!!!
They have a huge draft list of all ballast point beers. Most are available in half pours, which is great if you like sampling a few. You can make your own flight for cheap, and with the crazy drinks they have, it's worth it. The food was pretty good, too. Burger is standard and delicious, the hand peel shrimp we're really well cooked and seasoned.
Soon they'll be serving house make small batch beers all exclusive to Chicago and made with employee input. I'll be back to check those out and hit up their rooftop!
I love Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin, although not an IPA fan, I love this beer from my favorite city in the world...San Diego!!! BUT they didn't have it, something about bringing it here makes it spicier, so... what's the problem? Ha! I ended up adventuring and tried a flight of the Aloha, Mango Even Keel Session, Hazy Slater, & Longfin Slater in 4 oz pours...my favorite was the Aloha. Then I tried a 4 oz each of of Orange Vanilla Cream Ale...delish and light, and Indra Kunindra Export Stout...omg!!! Yum!! Love this place as much as the San Diego location. I ate the Hot PB&J wings, delicious!!!
Got the fried chicken Monte Christo. It was quite delicious! I wish I had tried they're truffle fries though. The regular ones weren't much to speak about. The fried pickles were something else though. They were just lightly fried and very fresh. Very well done.
And if course you're coming here for the beer. Quality all around, but there are some that are certainly better than others. Some are just strange too. It's good to see them not afraid to experiment and find the next big thing.
My husband and I are visiting Chicago from Florida and just happened to stumble upon ballast point. My husband loves their beer so imagine his excitement when we found out they had 44 beers on tap! He got a flight of beer and absolutely loved every drop! This spot is beautiful and the staff is excellent! Our bartender for the night was Tak. He was so well informed and once we mentioned that we were not from Chicago he wrote down a bunch of recommendations for things to do, eat and drink. He was amazing and made our night. When we come back to Chicago, this will be our first stop! 😊
Great variety of beer. Seriously, more types of beer than I have ever seen even at the best craft beer bars. There have to be at least 90 taps. Nice big tasting room. Good food selection. Friendly and helpful staff.
Stopped in for a quick flight. Mostly quick because they were closing for a special holiday event. Too bad cuz I found the beers to be excellent. Will definitely put it on my list of things to go back when I'm in the area again. Didn't have time to sample the food.
Best experience ever!!! Super clean, the digital ordering from your table is so cool and keeps you and their awesome staff safe. Justin the Assistant Manager is Class A dude who knows how to handle a mishap in my order. Definitely coming back over and over again. Keep it up and give that man a raise!
Yes it is a LARGE "craft" ..but guy can find people on staff that still geek on craft beer
The classic beers are great, typical BALLAST Point tastes... That you can drink everyday HAPPILY
The R&D beer are not way outta left field crazy... Everything is smooth, good, palatable, mildly adventurous... EVEN thought I am might be unselling it...it is a MUST VISIT place for #BeerGeeks ! 👍🏻😁!
I came with the girlfriend for a after dinner drink, we just walked from Bar Siena. I'm hoping they get some outside patio once the construction next door is complete, kind of kills the vibe since the businesses across the street all have outdoor seating. But, anyways, we got a nice bar seat, the staff gave us a menu and I love the options they had. We did a flight with the Orange cream, the Brut, the Belmont stout and Pineapple Sculpin. All of them were good but my favorite was the Belmont Stout made with oyster shells from Fisk&Co which adds calcium carbonate which made it very light to my surprise, I loved it. They also have a food menu, definitely want to go back for dinner, would be great to meet friends after work or on a lazy Sunday. Great for groups, I definitely want to hit the beer tour soon!
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes