February 17, 2012
When it first opened, Fountainhead quickly jumped up to the top spot on my list of beer destinations in the city. Great food, a creative and ever-changing beer list, good beer prices, quiet atmosphere, and I even became friends with some of the servers. Some of the events that they hosted were inventive and interesting, providing yet another reason to come in. Lately, though, most of what I liked about it has fallen off. The word has gotten out about Fountainhead, and now even during the week it can be a struggle to get a table. This, of course, is not something they should look to change, as the goal of the business is to be as popular and make as much money as possible. From my perspective, though, I liked having a quiet retreat with a stellar beer list, and the quiet retreat part of that went away. The real difference has been with the beer list, events, and pricing. While they seemed to get beers no one else was getting for a time, the other top notch beer bars in Chicago have caught up. At the same time, Fountainhead has slowly raised their prices from "wow, that’s a pretty good price" level to "hmm, all these beers seem like they are $1 more than they should be" level. They also have not really changed their menu in a while, and it seems like they are turning over kitchen and waitstaff frequently. With the different changes that, from my perspective, all seem to be for the negative, Fountainhead just doesn’t have the draw it used to.

January 15, 2012
There is a very laid back feel to fountainhead. It may have been influenced by it being mid-day on a sunday, but that’s just how it was. There was a modernish feel to it, but it was far from sparse while also having the more comforting feel to it. The service was pretty good. There was only 1 bartender and all of the bar stools filled, but it wasn’t hard to get a beer at all. The bartender was also on point with the food (which was very good. The beignets were great and the grits were very good as well) The location is very easy to get to and the neighborhood is excellent.

October 24, 2011
Stopped in for some dinner with my wife. Nice corner bar/restaurant. Lots of wood and nice and relaxed atmosphere. Nice list of taps and seasonal brews. Food was expensive but decent. Monkey bread was good, scallops were good but goat cheese cucumber puree was disappointing. My wife had the korean style chicken sandwich which was forgettable. Not too packed on a Friday night. Nice place that I would go back for drinks, but probably not dinner.

September 26, 2011
In an older chicago bar space - bar is somewhat small and some tables are in poor locations that are easily bumped. They have a cool room behind the bar, but I’ve never sat there. Service tends to be good. Usually a wait to get a table on a friday or saturday night and because of the small bar, that isn’t much of an alternative. Beer list usually has some good stuff, but again, nothing super-special usually. IMHO tends to be to lean to heavily towards malty beers. Have/had a beer engine but had nothing on it last time I went. Food is good but menu is extremely limited and that limits the place’s repeat value to me. Beer prices are good - one of the few places in the city to offer a craft beer for $5 and generally all drafts are under $10 and poured generously.

August 15, 2011 [ Updated September 6, 2011 ]
Stopped by with my girlfriend during a recent trip to Chicago. VIBE: as soon as we pulled up we were intrigued by the beautiful outdoor facade. Interior resembles a comfortable, rustic, and old-fashioned restaurant with a clean and refined edge. A large display of bourbons, Scottish whiskies, and spirits towers over the bar. Patrons are a chatty and diverse bunch and everybody was enjoying themselves on our visit. A really nice, approachable atmosphere. SERVICE: our server was incredibly friendly. He helped us along with beer and wine recommendations, talked at length about some of the rarer bottles, and poured me a generous shot of Lagavulin when I ordered a 2008 J.W. Lees Harvest Ale that was aged in barrels of that whisky. Very welcoming and attentive service, which we appreciated. SELECTION: I had a Half Acre Gossamer and Three Floyds Zombie Dust (!!!) on draught and the aforementioned barley wine out of the bottle. My girl enjoyed her pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc. Also noticed Summit EPA on cask, Southampton Cuvee Des Fleurs and Lost Abbey Inferno in bottles, and Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale, La Trappe Witte, Petrus Aged Pale, and Pauwel Kwak on tap. The beer list seems smaller than the menus at Map Room and Jerry’s, but it’s still exceptionally well-rounded. OVERALL: we had a memorable experience here and it’ll be a priority destination for us when we come back to the city. The final kicker was the free copies of Draft magazine ($6 value) as we exited the bar. Fountainhead is a quintessential American beer bar, which makes the meaning behind its name (principal source) all the more appropriate. A must-visit in my books.

July 30, 2011
Finally made it to this much hyped place... came in a sleepy Saturday afternoon... ambiance so was OK, nice and clean, but a touch boring... about 20 drafts and probably 100 bottles, most of the stuff was widely available at binnys or other bars, was hoping they actually had some good stuff... they had a special beer section, but I’m not sure if special describes it... solid stuff, just not a destination place by any means, if you’re a 2 min walk, ok, but otherwise go a couple blocks further to half acre and bad apple... food looks ok, lots of things sound good, had the bacon nuts and was so disappointed I didn’t get more

April 27, 2011 [ Updated January 15, 2012 ]
Met a fellow there to do a trade on my visit to Chicago. Shared some beers and had some very good stuff. Was pretty cheap and stayed there for ages. Selection is awesome. Went back for their 1st anniversary and had an awesome time. A huge amount of beer was consumed and I still didn’t get to try everything I wanted. Even managed to pick up a 2008 KBS. Great place

January 5, 2011
Stopped in with drink4satan for their harvest beer festival, which was pretty much just a day of putting a lot of harvest-themed beers on tap, so lots of pumpkin and fresh-hop beers for the most part. I will say though, that they were way to into having four versions of Two brothers heavy handed on draught, which is one of the worst fresh-hop IPAs that I’ve had. Other than that, they had Lambrucha on tap, which was cool. the bottle list was extensive and of high-quality selections, but was expensive as hell and not something that I would touch. Our waitress was polite and knew a bit about beer. The decor is lots of cozy dark wood, but not in the faux Irish fashion. Another place that I would hit if I was in the area but doesn’t feel like a destination like like some of the other bars in town.

August 23, 2010
Had a few beers here with my cousins. Good selection on tap and in bottles. Food looked great. Place is semi-upscale. I’d definitely go to this place all the time if I lived in the area.

June 21, 2010
Wow! Excellent place. This rankes up there with the maproom and hopleaf. Went here on a rainy Friday night. The location of the place is up and comming Lincoln Square, which lately has been booming with craft beer places (fiddlehead, Bad Apple, Half Acre and all those German bars). The place is nice with dark mahogony wood, exposed brick, old belgium artwork, fireplace and barrles all over. They will soon be opening there roof top patio, which should be even more attractive. The menu consist of about 25 taps and over 100 bottles. The selection is of rare, sesonal and popular craft and import beers (no BMC). The food looks excellent, that day we just had the friets (which were good, but neede the mayoneses instead of the two other dips that come with it). The atmosphere is young and vibrant. Sevice was really good, the guy who waited on us asked if we needed suggestion or what styles we tend to lean toward, he also check on us frequently and was very polite. A few of the selections on tap that stood out where: Bruery Coton, Surly Schadenfrude, a Cantillon, Allagash Odyssey, Porterhouse Oyster Stout, Two Brothers Long Haul, Rouge motrimoto and lots more. There had to have been like 8 or so I had not seen at any of the other places I frequent. Not only do they have a great select of brews but also a great selection of wiskeys. Overall a must visit to any and all beer and wiskey lovers.