Bowman’s Bar & Grill

It’s another Irish Sports Bar. Beer selection is pretty good. Food is «okay.» The service could use a lot of improvement. They have a high turnover rate with the wait staff.
They have dropped a lot of our favorite drinks/​food since we started going in around 2010, due to the cost of keeping the stuff stocked. Over time we just quit going in.

I’m fairly confident this place is out of business. For at least a month, all the chairs have been up on the tables, it’s never once had people in it, and it’s had one of those orange stickers on the door that signifies I dunno what kind of issue.
It’s a shame, because it’s an Iowa bar and in a great location, but it was high-​priced for uncomfortable seating, not great bar food (throw a stone and you’ll hit a place with better food), and watered-​down beer.

Bowman’s was always sort of the ‘turd in the bed sheets’ along Lincoln. It occupied a primo location and was always so terrible.
Now it is closed, and I am hoping will give way to something new and exciting.

I can see why people would give this place a bad review. Now, I had a pretty good time here despite it all, but Bowman’s wasn’t exactly up to par, although it was only a couple of strokes below.
First of all, the service was mediocre. Luckily we were sitting at the bar, as the waitress had a harder time getting the bartender’s attention than we did. The bartender was busy drinking white wine and talking to some guy at the other end of the bar. Often the waitress would call her name to no avail, and many people sitting at the bar would be in want of a drink for far too long. In addition, the busboy either didn’t speak much English or chose to ignore my friend’s request for salt. She said excuse me to him and asked him for salt. He first brought her something completely different, I think it was a napkin, and then when she repeated herself more slowly, he said ok, walked away and never came back. He also had no idea who ordered what at the bar, and was going to the wrong place to auction off the food. We ordered a couple of burgers and he asked the people next to us if it was theirs, and we claimed it. People down at the end of the bar ordered burgers, and he asked the people next to us if it was theirs. The proper people claimed their burgers once again. Very annoying. It’s not hard to look at the seating chart.
Secondly, the kitchen was not vented at all, and the bar became smoky and smelled like meat after the first round of burgers came out. It only got worse as more and more people ordered their meals (burgers are $ 5 on Mondays) and my friends and I walked out reeking of beef. My coat, scarf and the clothes I was wearing also reek of beef.
The bathroom had no toilet paper, and judging by how low the hand towels were, had not had any for a while. I wonder if the owners care about the bar. It doesn’t seem like it.
Other than that, the burgers were good, over cooked but good, and the beer special was great, making my tab of 3 beers and burger $ 15. Definitely worth coming back, but make sure you wear something that you plan on washing the next day anyway.

Having visited Bowman’s often through the years and had many a good experience, I brought some friends there in September when they were in the ‘hood — about 10 of us.
Little did I know, the joint has changed hands. NOTHING went well. From the ditzy waitress with the weird «tied-​bow» tattoos on the back of her barely dressed legs (I can appreciate a good tat but these are just weird) to the lowered quality of the food and obscenely bad service, I was extremely embarrassed to have brought friends there.
First: I ordered a hummus plate which used to come with warm pita and nice assortment of veggies from the appetizer menu. When it came this time, it had a few slices of pita, no veggies, for the same amount as previous prodigiously filled plate. Less than half the food for the same price?
Second: I have a friend who likes single-​malt bourbon. She asked ditzy waitress which kinds they had. Instead of saying «let me check» or something intelligent, she cocked her head and said, «I don’t know». And stood there! We sent her to find out. DW (short for ditzy waitress) returned to the table (without the beer I had ordered) and said nothing, but handed out colas.
I asked about my beer, got a «oh yeah» and she was off. Came back, was asked about the bourbons, said she would go and check. How many times did we need to ask?
Also: several other diners didn’t get their drinks without asking several times. DW forgot sides, silverware, whatever one might want for several of us.
Several people complained about cold or over-​cooked food.
Do I want to embarrass myself with friends there ever again? I would say not.
On a positive note: whenever I see any of these friends, all I have to say is «ditzy waitress» — and they bust up laughing.

You know, Bowman’s is your typical sports bar by the looks of it — lots of televisions playing notable games of the day.
But I must say, I ordered a salad there the other day — I believe it was their garden salad — expecting it to be pretty standard, and my was I surprised by what was delivered to my table — strawberries, goat cheese, mushrooms, spinach — all super fresh and HUGE. Add to that their above average selection of craft beers (for a sports bar) and Bowman’s has stepped out of the shadows and into my heart. Glad I live close…

Tried this place for the first time and was very disappointed.
I ordered the fish tacos and could not believe how chimpsy and cheap they looked. I was going to send them back, but didn’t want to cause drama. I just let it go!
The fish was ok tasting but not muchof it. I actually ditched the tortilla and combined the fish of two tacos, to make one taco.
Instead of fries like the other entrees it was served with chips. I believe there were 8 chips. Really are chips that expensive?
My friend ordered the burger and fries and I tried it and thought it was pretty good. Way better than my sad tacos that left me hungary! I think I may have just made a poor choice but not sure I’d take the risk trying something else.
Oh and the service was just sub-​par.

Historically one of our favorites until. We ownership came in. Burgers are substandard with some off the Bowman’s classics (fried egg burger) gone. Salads cut way back as well. Even their «best in the city» taco salad wiped off the menu.
So sad we just live a block away and will never go back.

This review is a little late in coming, but I have to admit that I haven’t exactly been inspired by my experience.
I dined outdoors on a nice summer day. The service is fine, prices par for the menu, the food is where I get a little «uh-​uh.»
S/​O ordered the burger, well done and it was. To the point where it was just plain dry. I ordered the sweet potato fries with my dish (which was alright,) and maybe I didn’t read the menu carefully enough, but they were seasoned, which surprised me, b/​c I didn’t remember seeing anything like that being mentioned and also b/​c upon reflection, they tasted like french toast fries, which is fine, but I just need a heads-​up on that.
I can’t speak for the drink specials, late night patrons or the other dishes.
All in all, based on our visit, no, I don’t think you could pay me to come back. I’m sorry.

came here on a monday night looking for bar specials since i happened to be low on ciz-​ash. GREAT monday specials — $ 5 burgers (bowman burger, turkey or veggie burgers) and $ 3 drafts. we both ordered the bowman burger, which was particularly awesome. i was supes pleased. they cooked it well, it was flavorful, which is all i really ask for in a burger. i ordered an allegash white draft with some OJ at the bottom. it happened to be about 65deg, so we sat at the open windows. since there’s a little league field, there were some pre-​teens roughhousing it, no big deal.
the service was okay — she sort of forgot about us after a while. we got the check and realized she overcharged us for the drafts. tried to pull a fast one, eh? us asians read good.
im about ready to try their $ 5 salads and $ 5 glasses of wine on tuesdays. discounted food and drink is the shit.

On yet another mission to find a wing place close to home, I ventured into Bowman’s.
The inside looks like your typical bar and I liked that. There were many softball teams that were boozing it up after finishing their games across the street. It was a lively crowd which I appreciated.
They also have a lot of outdoor seating which is key. However, I went on the hottest day of the year and even I, the lover of warm weather chose to sit inside.
They have a decent beer list and had #9 on draft. Yea!!!
The wings are advertised as Chipotle Buffalo. I asked if they could do just Buffalo but they couldn’t however, there is absolutely no chipotle taste in these wings. I’m wondering if they just added that to make it appear they were specialty wings.
Anywho, they get a C grade. The sauce needs some work and they need to be cooked longer.
The blue cheese dressing is gross. Very liquidy. The ranch was decent.
The fried pickles were tasty.
I like this place for just a regular ol’ bar to hang out in. Nothing fancy and sometimes that it just what’s needed.

On a weekend night this place was dead, but with the cool fireplace and Effen cucumber gimlets we made a party out of our time in this the perfect walk in place after we could not get into the too cool for anything but black dresses and black tights Tiny Lounge (it really is tiny, oh and the dudes were dressed like dudes in baseball hats and trucker shirts — oh too funny!).
Ok, so Bowman’s is not a place I would normally walk into but the nice staff here let us take over the music and run an iPod party for our group of about 10 people. The dancing yoga instructor in pink stole the show! A perfect invasion bar with nice staff.

I’ve only been to Bowman’s on Wednesday’s for their .25 cent organic wings!
Orders are min 4 wings… but count on getting more… They’re just that good!
The wings are delicious. made just right and the sauces tasty!
I normally get the buffalo and ginger lime sauce!
Beer Specials for Wednesday $ 3 Coors and Miller!

Fratty but charming is what I’d call Bowman’s. A coworker and I stopped in for dinner on a weeknight and found it pretty much empty. The kobe burger was decent, but it looked like a frozen patty. The bacon aoli was fantastic though. Their sweet potato tots were the tops though, dusted with cinnamon sugar. I want to eat them forever.
No complaints on the service and there was an abundance of televisions to watch sportsketball. Beer list was kinda lacking compared to other spots down Lincoln.

I’ve been here a few times before, and the food was meh, the beer list unremarkable. It would be a 3-​star except for my most recent experience:
A friend and I went there tonight to watch the boxing match. Since the bar had to order it on pay-​per-​view, they put a $ 10 cover charge, cash, on each person that walked through the door.
I find this to be an offensive business practice. The pay per view cost what, 50 bucks? 100 at most? That’s what bars do: They show sports. I bet they also have NFL Sunday Ticket, but I don’t pay a cover charge to go watch the Bears play. I would have bought some food and 3 or 4 beers. But instead they lost out on all of that by trying to soak customers for an additional $ 10. That kind of greed guarantees I won’t be returning to this establishment.

Decent neighborhood bar… Nothing too impressive.
It’s not divey, it’s not classy, it’s just a neighborhood joint…
Good prices. Good service. Non douchey customers.
~ They have a breathalizer machine in there… it says, «Blow Me, $ 1»
That alone got it a one star upgrade ~

Bowman’s has been my go-​to joint in the Lincoln Square area for years. It doesn’t hurt that they’ve sponsored most of the recreational sports teams I’ve managed to stumble onto.
So let’s play a game. I’ll say something that Bowman’s does great and then my inner child will respond with the first thing that comes to mind. Don’t ask questions, just play along. Great. Ok…
Fried pickles… I’m a-​jerkin for them gherkins.
Tasty rotating draft selection… Mmm, chilly.
Huge selection of little-​known bottled beer… I am intrigued and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Kick ass waitstaff… I’ll have another, please.
Great location on Lincoln Ave… Is it stumbling distance from home?
Best damn tater tots in the city… spudlicious.
Trivia nights and daily specials… I’ll take «S Words» for a thousand, Alex.
Bowman’s… a great little neighborhood spot to come in for good brews, tasty bites and tight peeps.
Boogers… ewwww.

I kind of want to give Bowman’s four stars, but I’m not sure yet if its THAT good.
My ‘fella and I ended up in here because the bus was taking too long to arrive, I was hungry (and grumpy because of it), and he wanted to watch the Cubs/​Sox game. I really wanted to sit on the patio, but we compromised with a table that allowed me to prop my feet up in the window, open to the sidewalk and the patio. That alone means Bowman’s might deserve four stars, because the two of us aren’t typically on the same happiness wavelength when we go to restaurants.
I ordered the mac & cheese with bacon, and it was okay, but needed a little salt. I also ordered the drink that may or may not become my downfall… the Dreamsicle Tini. Whipped cream vodka, whaaaaaat? Oh yeah, that is just about the greatest thing ever.
I usually have one mixed drink, maybe two on a special occasion, but I had THREE of these little honeys. They made the mac & cheese taste even better!
My only complaint would be the crowd of maybe ten that came in a little after us, all the guys were in Affliction t-​shirts or polos with popped collars, and the girls were wearing jauntily tipped fedoras and saying «like» and «oh my god» a lot… its not that I’m with the fashion police, but I felt I had to send out a citizen’s alert — doucheyness has now entered the building. Thankfully, I had my Dreamsicle Tinis to keep me distracted…

Disclaimer: My last name is Bowman, so I would hope a bar with my name on it would be the coolest place on the planet. This isn’t, which makes me think Bowman’s is a Bowman by marriage.
I had the pulled pork bbq sandwich and it wasn’t much to write home about. The meat didn’t taste particularly tender or flavorful. It was vaguely the same texture you get at Arby’s when they’re nearing the end of their chunk of roast beef.
All three people at my table ordered tater tots with their meal. Mine were the only ones that turned out golden brown. The other two plates of tots were burned. Sacrilege!
We had the buffalo chicken egg roll appetizers and I liked them a lot, but it’s not much food for $ 7.
My table also tackled a fish bowl of Bowman’s Punch. Think Hawaiian Punch + rum. It was a lot of alcohol (70 ounces, which is basically a 6-​pack of cans, right?), but there was plenty of ice to keep it from getting too strong. Worth the buy, especially if you get it on the $ 20 Saturday night special.
The food is fine, but I doubt this is a place where you specifically go for the grub. I kinda hated the atmosphere. It’s a really crowded space, and if you’re there during a football game as we were, your ear drums will rupture from the whistles and screams.
Also, there is no men’s room. Just a ladies’ room and a unisex bathroom.
And why can’t we afford an apostrophe on the awnings? Do we need to take up a collection for proper punctuation?
Oh, Bowman’s, you bring moderate shame to our family name.

Bowman’s is a neighborhood bar. Simple in size, the patio area is significantly big considering the size of the dining area inside.
This particular evening, it was a very warm evening… but those are gone AGAIN… so while it was nice I had to get out, have a beer and eat some dinner and enjoy the reading the paper in the great temps.
This particular evening, they were a bit short staffed when I arrived as one server was handling most of outside, though this changed after an hour. My order was taken and I started with chips and salsa which was fine and had a beer. For dinner I had the skirt steak salad which I have to say was fabulous! The meat was cooked just right with spinach, chopped red onions, and corn along with a sauce that made this a favorite of mine at this place.
The only thing I wasn’t satisfied was the server asked if I wanted another beer and I indicated yes, but she never brought it until I had to reminder her shortly before I left. She promptly brought another beer and didn’t charge me? Not sure how that makes up for it.
But don’t let that deter you from trying this place out it has great food and a great patio… and just in time for summer!