The Publican

Sooo yummy! We had a big group and went on a weekend, but you can make a reservation with OpenTable so we were seated immediately. We tried lots of items off the brunch menu. My favorites were the Crispy potatoes with spicy aioli ($9). It was a giant portion so order this for the whole table. The smoked salmon on the hash brown was delicious. And the waffle and corn crepe were good sweet options without being too sweet. They also have bottomless mimosas here which is great. The service was nice and they confirmed any food allergies. And the interior is very homey and cozy. There's cute booths on the side of the restaurant that close in and look like pig pens hehe. I heard about this restaurant from The Bear and it's fun to tell people that fun fact. I'd definitely go again! Everything we had was delicious and worth the value.

Such an incredible restaurant! I visited with several friends, and despite a last-minute increase in our party size, the staff easily accommodated us after we called ahead to change our reservation, which was greatly appreciated. With our large group, we ordered a variety of dishes to share family-style.Some of our favorites included the pork belly, which had a wonderfully crispy outer layer and a tender inside without being overly fatty. The chicken was another standout, perfectly cooked and juicy and the fries were the best accompaniment to the meal. We also enjoyed the bread plate, which featured various breads and spreads--even the butter and sea salt spread was exceptional.After dinner, we tried the amaretto flight, which interesting and fun to sample, since this is a type of liqueurs we don't usually have. The true highlight of the meal, however, was the espresso martinis. They were hands down some of the best I've ever had and I would come back just to have another one of those, though I won't hesitate to try more of the menu at the same time. I can't wait to come back here!

Went here on a Friday evening with a reservation. The place was cute, and surprisingly empty for the time of day. I think most people were opting to sit outside, but we got one of their weird little animal pens inside. We got the porchetta, the pork belly, the pork rinds, and the strawberry cake. The porchetta as a dish was really good overall. The meat itself was a little dry, but it had a good sauce that helped. I didn't like the mushrooms, but my husband ate those so it was fine. The pork belly was great. Two big chunks of lean meat. My husband thought it was dry, but I didn't agree. I found it tender and quite juicy, and the sauce and veggie mix it came with was a deliciously bright contrast to the heaviness of the pork. I didn't love the pork rings. The flavor was interesting, it had a satisfying crunch, but I probably wouldn't order them again. Not necessarily bad, but I just didn't like it that much. It was a bit messy - big Cheeto finger vibes. The strawberry cake was tasty, if not particularly unique. The most interesting part of it was the malted vanilla icing. My husband didn't notice it, but I definitely felt like it had a little more depth than normal vanilla icing. Overall I'm going to give the place a 4. It was a little difficult to judge and some individual items were hovering closer to a 5, but overall I think 4 makes the most sense. I'd definitely go back and try some different items.

Porchetta: a bit dry. Glad it's a juicy dish to balance that. Flavor's great. Corn bits is interesting texture. Pork rinds: really crispy and airy. Tinted spicy flavor. Wouldn't expect it to be rindPork belly: really tender in the middle. A bit dry on the outside. A little bit too sweet for me.Nice staff. A bit overpriced for the amount of food.They also have interesting bathroom that has a weirdly angled mirror that reflects your genitals when you pee. Can't really use it to see your face though. Not sure about the purpose of that mirror.Strawberry cake is too sweet for me. Sponge is dry and too much sugar crumble since it's already so sweet

Cool restaurant with really high quality dishes. I really enjoyed the meal, the service and the outdoor seating.We got the broccolini, bread and porchetta and they were all VERY good. Broccolini is a must and so is the bread. Porchetta was good but I liked the other two dishes better.We had a fantastic server and got lucky with another cool Chicago evening that we got to enjoy from the patio/outdoor area. Very comfortable and pleasant. Def will be back.

Great place to come for happy hour! The wine that the staff recommended was great, the oysters were really fresh, and the different meat in the charcuterie plate were soo yummy.We were seated inside and it was really cute that they had little doors to section off each table. I'll definitely be visiting next time to sit outside during the summer!

Surprised by how much I loved it here. Came for a team business dinner and enjoyed the experience. The inside of the restaurant features a large, open dining hall with high ceilings and tall chairs set up at large tables. I tried the Publican sandwiches for lunch earlier in the week and thought they were great.Charcuterie Plate - Decent charcuteries but not memorable or worth the price. (3/5)Publican Bread Plate - Perfectly baked and fresh made rye and sourdough. (5/5)Asparagus - A lighter vegetable option to balance out a meat-heavy meal. The avocado, sesame seeds, and tahini vinaigrette were nice components. (4/5)Barbecued Carrots - Perfectly cooked and flavorful carrots. The creamy herb dressing and pecans added a nice balance of savoriness and texture to the dish. A great vegetable option. (5/5)Porchetta - So so good. Perfectly cooked. The meat was delicious and tender. I will have dreams about this dish. (5/5)Sirloin - Delicious, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. No notes. (5/5)Ham Chop in Hay - Nice and comforting pork chop. Good but not as amazing or memorable as the other meat entrees I tried. (4/5)Chicken - The half chicken was cooked well but the plate was mostly filled with French fries. Felt that it was overpriced. (3/5)

The Publican had availability for 6 last minute on a Saturday night and we were very grateful!We basically ordered everything on the menu to try. Oysters - I did not partake but they were enjoyed by others Little Gem Lettuce - good but nothing that specialBurrata - delicious! Barbecue carrots - definitely get a ton of carrots and they were delicious. These came out towards the end with the main entreesPork Belly - out of this world! Everyone enjoyed and would get seconds and thirds if we hadn't already ordered other itemsSirloin - Good but there are other things on the menu that are more special. It's also on the smaller side. Chicken - the chicken is cooked so well and juicy. I didn't know what to expect. We got two of these. Fries were great! I didn't have it in me to try the sausage I was so full but heard it was good!Overall a great place for a group. No pics as we were enjoying time with friends. Nice service but there was a gap at one point between apps and entrees that was a little long as they got busy. Definitely a recommend for a large group!

A friend recommended The Publican as a good place to meet for dinner with a good variety of food options, especially because some of us have dietary restrictions. The menu looked good online, so we made a reservation.The large dining area is bright and loud. We were led to our table past some booths, with doors, along the wall. When we made the reservation a few days before, we didn't realize that the dining table is basically one continuous table parallel to the wall and the booths. So, you could very well be sitting next to a complete stranger. There are also some large tables near the bar, but I'm not sure they were shared tables where you'd be sitting next to other diners. That type of set up is not what we were expecting, especially to meet with old friends whom we hadn't seen in years and with whom we wanted to catch up. It made it very awkward when our friends showed up, and we had to get up and walk around the large table to shake hands and exchange hugs. If you're in the middle of that long table and want to hug your friend hello or good-bye, you'd have to walk 50 feet to the end of the table.As mentioned above, the room is loud, even more so when they turned up the music. Shouting across the table at our friends so we could hear each other was not pleasant for anyone. We also had a hard time hearing the servers. I didn't see any noise dampening panels on the ceiling or anywhere else, so the noise just reverberates across the room. This is not the kind of place where you want to have intimate conversations.The menu was very meat heavy--some of us don't eat red meat or pork--but there were enough other types of food that we could all enjoy. The server said the plates are meant to be family-style for sharing. We didn't order any of the charcuterie plates because they all contained pork. We couldn't order the fries because they were fried in beef fat. Rather disappointing.The items we did order were fantastic. A good variety of oysters were served on a bowl of already-melting ice, so some of the bivalves had ice water inside them, but they tasted fresh and briny. The asparagus salad, featuring tahini vinaigrette, lentils and avocado was really good. The burrata with the boquerones (anchovies) was refreshing and just a good mix of flavors and textures. We also tried the scallops with tikka masala, something I hadn't seen before. They were cooked to perfection. The sirloin for one of our friends was grilled medium rare, just as ordered and looked delicious (I'm a former steak lover, but I can't eat red meat anymore). Finally, the half chicken was probably some of the best I've had. I tried the breast, which was smoky and moist and full of flavor. The platter came with a pile of fries, which I couldn't eat, but others in our party enjoyed. Summer sausage--which I can't eat, either--came with the chicken platter. I was told it was very good.The service was uneven, maybe because it was a busy Saturday night. When we were done with the oysters, they took the ice bowl away but left the pedestal sitting in the middle of the table, so when other dishes came, we had to make room for them with the pedestal still sitting there. I'm not sure why they didn't take it away when they retrieved the bowl.Overall, if it hadn't been for the food, I would have given our experience two stars. It was too loud, and the music just made it worse. The service was a little lacking, especially considering the prices. The Publican seems like pricey, casual dining.I don't think I would return.

Absolutely divine! The food was exceptional and the service is unbeatable. They were attentive and quick to bring fresh plates between courses. My husband and I tried a variety of dishes including the raw oysters, carrots, corn salad, tomatoes, scallops, and pork belly. All were perfectly prepared and full of flavor (the corn salad and pork belly were my personal favorites; my husband especially liked the corn salad and carrots). The cocktails were also spot-on. The atmosphere is vibrant - It's loud but we loved it. We will absolutely come back again the next time we're in Chicago. Make sure you come with an appetite - very filling!