Hopleaf Bar

I love Hopleaf! This is such a reliable spot. I live quite close and this is a spot I can come to for any reason, a drink, a bite to eat, a celebration, a date - you name it. All servers and bartenders are working hard and are usually quite slammed- I've never been here on a "slow" day, they're always busy, and it's easy to understand why. Their extensive selection of beverages has something unique for everyone. Food favorites include the mussels, Brussel sprouts, and CB&J sandwich. I've been here many times and will continue to come back.

Hop Leaf is located on one of the main strips of Andersonville. We walked in and the ID checked said he needed to see our IDs and then said "Oh, actually just yours," doing my companion dirty. But he asked he we'd been he before and said how there is two bars and a patio. We stayed inside and had a helpful bartenders with a nice mustache. I asked about a beer and he gave me a sample. The one was somewhat dark, both were "Belgium" memorabilia and posters. While the bar has 20 Belgium draft beers it also has about 40 non Belgium craft beers, including two house beers made by Art History Brewing. I got the Jester King West Coast IPA; it was almost a nutty malt, very unique but not my favorite. We also had Revolution's Deth By Cherries, still Revolution's good typical bourbon barrel style with sweetness, sour, and chocolate in this beer.

Be weary of sitting at the bar while waiting for your name to be called!!!!Put my name on list to be seated and was told by the host "we will look for you or text you if we can't find you" received a text message that the table was ready and would be held for 10 minutes. Closed bar tab after receiving text and headed to the line to be sat when we were told our table was given away even though we arrived within 10 minute frame. Was then told we would be seated next. Waited 45 more minutes before leaving. If I ever decide to come back, I will make sure to stand directly in front of the host stand.

As a lover of Belgian beers, there is no better bar in Chicago for beer and I definitely don't come here enough. The front of the establishment feels very much like a Belgian pub. Tables easily split between two smaller groups or a larger group with bar service and full menu without needing reservations or waiting a long time vs the rear which has an amazing patio and second floor with great two-seaters for romantic dates. Hopleaf has it all!The food is good too, plenty of Belgian-focused menu options and everything is well-executed, reasonably priced, and flavorful.But the beers are the stars here, they have a dedicated selection of taps for trappist ales, for non-trappist but Belgian beers, and local beers (generally with a European style). So great to see all these non-IPA options! What is perhaps even more impressive is how all the beers come in the appropriate glassware and the consistency of having incredible beers on tap.

Great place to spot in and grab a bite and don't worry there's plenty of seating in the back away from the bar. Support this business when you have a visitor and want a real Belgian/German experience. Feels like I've traveled just waiting on my food

Huge menu & restaurant, great aoili, and lots of global draft beers Got the fried maitake, brussel sprouts with dill yogurt, Reuben and cb&jFood is normal pub food, nothing crazyYou order & pay at the bar. Service is fantastic

Love the beer selections! Food was very good too. Love to go again and have a great time there. Service and ambiance were perfect for lunch or dinner. Great spot for anytime drinks.

Husband found Hopleaf Bar on Yelp while we were searching for bars to check out during our Chicago trip. I was super excited when looking at the menus for the place. My husband and I visited Belgium back in 2017 and I miss the mussels and frites so much! I also LOVE Belgian beers! But maybe because of my high expectations, Hopleaf fell a little short for me. We were staying in downtown and Hopleaf was a bit out of the way so we ended up taking an Uber there. It was super crowded when we got there. They have two areas -- they have a bar area and to the back, there's the full service restaurant. There was about an hour wait for the full service restaurant side so my husband and I just decided to stay at the bar area. You can order food at the bar, you just need to find a place to sit! We ended up trying three different beers and also got a mussel for one, which comes with frites. I enjoyed trying the different Belgian drafts, especially the "De Halve Maan"! We actually went to the brewery that makes De Halve Maan in Bruge, Belgium and thoroughly enjoyed their unfiltered draft beers. Even though the one at Hopleaf is filtered, it is still very delicious but it is strong. I did wish that they had more witbiers on rotation though. As for the mussels and frites, it wasn't my favorite. The flavor was disappointing and almost bland. The frites? Overcooked and not as thick as I had hoped. Don't get me wrong, I love thin fries but even for regular fries, I didn't like these very much due to them being overcooked. Overall, come for the beers -- skip the food. Not sure if it's worth visiting if you're not a local and/or staying nearby though.

I was annoyed to see Hopleaf has very few vegan items on the menu. That in itself is a bold choice in the year of 2024. After pouring over a menu of dead animal carcasses, I decided I had to leave my friends (another vegan did the same) to run over to Penelope's Vegan Taqueria to get food because Hopleaf has Little Bunny Fou Fou on the menu and I didn't want ANYTHING from that kitchen. (It reminded me of the scene in Roger and Me by Michael Moore, where people are so poor they're selling rabbits "for food or pets.") They're such small animals you have to kill more individuals (which creates more suffering) than with other farmed animals. It's just weird and wrong. It's an obnoxious thing to put on a menu. My gut instinct about this restaurant, (that the owners have a vendetta against animals) has been confirmed by the comments made by the owner on this review.

My rating was based on hostess' service. I went in on August 3, 2024 at 3 pm to get a table for 5 on the patio. I was informed by hostess that I could not be seated until my entire party was there.They arrived and I went back to hostess and was then told there was no table for 5 available!! There was no offer to push 2 tables together either.I told her that I was there but was told to wait and now table is taken. Was offered inside and asked for table in back near window and was questioned am I drinking and eating, I said both. We were not seated there either. We were shown to big loud room which we refused. We opted for the bar.Why is there such a restrictive seating policy? Couldn't we have been advised that I could get the table with the caveat that if my party did not arrive in 15 min I would have to move.Its goofy.