Poor Phil’s Shell Bar

January 28, 2008
Local bar in a Chicago suburb. Pretty good selection of beer here, but it gets retardedly busy late at night, so don’t expect any kind of service. I recommend visiting earlier in the day. The food is ok. I wouldn’t make this a destination, but if you’re staying in Oak Park it’s a nice place to grab a drink.

May 1, 2007
We visited here twice. The first time was disappointing because we showed up after the dinner menu had ceased and the place was very busy. The beer selection is slightly above average with choices that should please most beer drinkers. A handful of regional stuff is usually available apparently. Unfortunately, they had just run out of the 3F tap. The service was very slow, though they were rather crowded to their credit. My check was wrong and the late night menu is a rip-off. That being said, we came back the next night and were able to order off the dinner menu. We sat outside and got friendly, rapid service. Food was decent enough. To my knowledge this is pretty much the bar to go in Oak Park if you want a good beer.

October 29, 2006
A relatively rare suburban Chicago bar with a good beer selection. A pleasant find in a nicer part of Oak Park. Very cozy feel to the decor. The waiter told us the food was excellent, but our burgers were just average , cooked 2 grades above what we ordered, and they skimped on the fries. The beer selection was fairly impressive, including the likes of Maudite, Alpha King, and Dead Guy Ale. However, in late October they were still serving their "Summer Tappers" which they were due to turn over shortly. As such they were out of half the beers we ordered. The waiter didn’t have good knowledge of what they had on tap. I like the place and recommend it to anyone who happens to be in the immediate area. I just hope they start paying better attention to their impressive beer list.