Hop Leaf

7/9/2008 1:27:25 PM, wednesday, july 09, 2008
After all the hubub I heard about this place it was a bit of a let down. The food sounded really good, but was rather poorly done...although their frites were pretty damn good. Perhaps a tad overpriced. The service was sketchy at best, although it was pretty busy when I was there. beer selection was large, but all the stuff is pretty easy to find around the city, if not in a bar then in a good liquor store. I wouldn’t go out of my way to return.

7/3/2008 5:36:16 PM, thursday, july 03, 2008
Finally made it over to Hop Leaf. I felt that the food was only slightly above average. The ideas are very cool, but not necessarily executed as best they could have been. The beer list doesn’t really jump out has having too many rarities on it and the draft selection, imo, was not anywhere near as eccentric as the Map Room’s can be. Nice selection, but overrated and not really worth the extra trip if you’re out an out-of-towner...

6/30/2008 4:48:52 PM, monday, june 30, 2008
I have had a couple experiences at Hop Leaf. I originally went during the Festival of Barrel Aged Beers in November of 2006. I had a really nice meal and a great night of ale. It was expensive, but worth it. Most recently, I went to Hop Leaf during Dark Lord Day 2008 and just sat at the bar for a couple of hours. My companions and I were blown away by the experience. They had proper glassware, a great selection of bottled and draught beer and outstanding service. We enjoyed beers from Dark Horse and Surly and several others. Overall, it is my favorite place to drink in Chicago.

6/17/2008 3:04:47 AM, tuesday, june 17, 2008
Blown away of our trip to DLD. One bar tender and he was on fire. Took care of everyone like he was super man. Great draft and even better bottle selection. Supreme, wish I had eaten here, nothing bad to say, other than wish I had more time to spend here (why not open for lunch?)

6/16/2008 11:45:53 PM, monday, june 16, 2008 [ Updated monday, june 16, 2008 ]
I finally got around to visiting. I happened to show up during a black party half a block away, so maybe there were a few more people than a typical Sunday night. The atmosphere was crowded and noisy. A solid tap list, especially for the Belgians. They also had a couple of Surly brews on while I was there. The bottle list was impressive for a bar, but I didn’t see much I hadn’t had before. I definitely appreciated the proper glassware and the temperatures of the both the glasses and the beer. I had some soup. While it was good, I didn’t get very much for the price. I would stop in again in the area, but would not go out of my way to visit.

5/29/2008 9:10:01 AM, thursday, may 29, 2008 [ Updated thursday, may 29, 2008 ]
Interesting place to visit. We tried a few brews - some of which were god awful (line problems, perhaps). The staff was hard to figure out - seemingly nice and friendly at times and then seemingly snide at other times. The selection wasn’t that amazing and the beers we tried weren’t the best incentives to try more. Setting was nice, small in the bar area - but cozy and clean. Overall, not bad, would be a decent place to meet friends and grab a beer but it gets a couple extra points from me for the large gnome above the bar.

5/16/2008 9:40:36 AM, friday, may 16, 2008
Beer selection first is excellent, although not huge. It can be a little difficult finding a table (if eating) or a place to stand (if only drinking). The owner is a standup guy frequently offering seminars on beer drinking/history. The food is eclectic and very good. Rabbit to mussels (the mussels are phenom). Top rate.

5/2/2008 9:45:59 AM, friday, may 02, 2008
Small, nice looking place with not too many seats. Sat at the bar, and split 4 beers with some friends. At least a couple of them were definitely off, and either the lines were dirty or the beers were spoiled as they were complete drainpours. The other 2 were just not my favorite beers... Some decent locals and other on tap, but overall, I wasn’t too impressed with our short trip here. Bartender seemed nice enough though.

4/30/2008 5:47:15 PM, wednesday, april 30, 2008
Fairly nice place. Service wasn’t there though. I sat at a booth for a while before realizing I wasn’t going to get waited on. I went up to the bar and got my order right away. Fairly nice atmosphere and a good draft selection of things not commonly available to me.

4/29/2008 6:56:49 PM, tuesday, april 29, 2008
Came in here and it was one and done, the selection is good but really there draught selection didn’t have much that was exciting. All 4 beers we had were drainpours, not sure if they just sucked or something else. Service was fine and the place seemed cool it’s just coming from Cleveland this place bored me.