Declan’s Irish Pub

We came here to grab a bite on a weeknight. the food was fairly lackluster but great sports bar atmosphere.
The good:
— good place to watch a game and grab a beer. they have a lot of TVs
— pretzel bun on burgers!
— great tater tots (you can go wrong with tots!)
— decent (not great) beer selection
the meh or bad:
— the wings! Not good… these are not too breaded which is fine. however, the food was a bit cold when it arrived and didn’t taste fresh. the mango habanero flavor was not at all spicy given it was considered high on the heat scale per the menu. not a fan of the up charge to get sauce on the side.
— we weren’t crazy about the carne asada burger… there was nothing to talk about.
— generally the food service was slower

After moving down the street from Declan’s in August, we’ve visited a few times.
Pros: The patio is great in the summer — it’s a great people watching spot on Wells; Sunday Football — being a transplant to Chicago, they are willing to play other games during Bears games on some TVs. General bar food is pretty good — tops are the wings, quesadillas, and fried pickles. I like my fried pickles with regular breadcrumbs and Declan’s seems to be one of the only places that does that vs. beer battered. Decent beer list with reasonable prices.
Cons: Other food has been sub-​par — would not recommend the fish and chips. The inside bar can be a little dark for Sat/​Sunday afternoons

Awful place to go. Disrespectful and very rude staff. My boyfriend was kicked out due to not drinking since he was on antibiotics from just recently getting stitches. He was «too drunk» to be in the bar. I recommend to not go to the bar. If you want to have a good time do not go here!!!

Went in for a martini, told the woman at the bar what I wanted and she ordered me outside to a table and said someone would be right out. The place was not hopping by any means, just a few people sitting at the bar and a couple at tables outside. Three servers were congregated at the end of the bar chatting. I waited outside for about 5 minute and when no one showed up I left.
Its a Monday night for crying out loud and you clearly were busy chatting and not paying attention to customers (which one of those things are you geting paid to do?)
I wasn’t about to keep waiting because if one of those servers had showed up 10 minutes later how long would I have been sitting there like a lemon waiting for my martini after I placed the order? Sorry but your lazy behavior cost you a good tip on a slow night. I wallked down the street, had a great martini and nice chat with another bartender (who didn’t order me outside), paid $ 10 and left a $ 5 tip on top. Its not that hard to do a good job serving food or drinks — you just have to be serious about your work. I know, I used to do it.
Of course I’m not 100% sure what the problem was. Perhaps the whole deal was a communication issue, or maybe something went wrong the minute I stepped out the door and they were all called somewhere else to respond to a huge emergency. Like I said though, I know restaurant work and I suspect I encountered a group of lazy gossipy servers. I don’t need to know the details and you won’t get to make that mistake with me again. I’ve got cash and two good feet. Buh bye.

So not an amazing experience. The guy running the bar tonight felt very empowered to let us know that we had closed our tab one too many times. (We don’t keep our tab open because we have jerk friends that take advantage of us.) This had caused him an apparent over excising of his powers which limited his abilities. It was all way too much and he decided to cut us off because that was in his power to do so…(just so you know). What a douche… we probably will never be back which seems unfortunate considering the remainder of the employees seemed totally normal and non douchey and the food seemed awesome.

Food came out wrong, ended up waiting 40 mins for nachos… Our waitress, Veronica said out next drink was on her, and then charged us. First and last time here. Also she never came to our table I had to flag our waitress down each time.

Really well-​run and reliable Irish pub. Clean, good service, and the food is miles ahead of your standard pub fare. On the weekends, it gets a little clubby — very crowded and loud, which is not for me, but if you like that kind of thing, then have it.
This place is gold on weeknights. Very friendly staff, reasonable prices, excellent food. It’s got a nice Irish décor, spruced up just enough to fit in among the nicer Wells St. bars. If you like the very conventional, mainstream late-​20s/​early 30s bar scene, this place is as good as any you’ll find.

Been here a few times & the food is really delicious. And, today, when they made a mistake with our order, the waitress & manager were kind enough to comp the entire bill. That was above & beyond good service. We’ll definitely be back. And, happy to pay full price :-). The food is that delicious.

Awesome Chicago Irish Pub! If you’re looking for an unpretentious yet classy place to unwind with friends, watch a game (it’s an official Nortre Dame bar Chicago) or enjoy a cocktail on a huge patio– this is one of my top suggestions.
The namesake is one of the owners who is actually from Ireland and the pub sports décor and art directly imported by him and his Irish family. Adorned with rich mahogany woods (much of which was re-​purposed from historic Chicago buildings such as the pillars behind the bar from Chicago’s well known Como Inn) plenty of nice high top tables, and a stunning mahogany main bar– this is a truly visually pleasing Irish pub atmosphere.
Old Town is a hot neighborhood with a healthy event, bar & nighlife scene so the place (and every-​other even half-​way decent place in Old Town) can get a bit too crowded for the personal taste of some… but you can’t really hold thriving business or being crowded during an event or holiday against a place.
There is a second bar and private party room on the second floor, a full kitchen (although a limited menu for the late-​night crowd) frequent drink specials, clean bathrooms, and trivia nights.
TIP: Try the fried pickles & the burgers are one of the best in Chicago.

Great bar. Every bad review on this has to do with people who complain about it being too busy during events! Come on people, don’t complain that an Irish pub is crowded on St. Paddy’s day!
If you want a good Guinness this is a good bar to go to. Great service and friendly people.

I came here for the first time time a few months ago. I heard they show Notre Dame football games. I thought this would be a great Irish pub to watch an Irish football game. I called ahead and reserved a table. I had no problem reserving the table over the phone. My group arrived a little early and we were seated right away. We order plenty of drinks and appetizers. Overall I was very happy with the speed of service and the food. The fried pickles were awesome!!! I loved that they showed the Notre Dame on every tv.
After a great experience we thought it would be a great place during St Patricks Day weekend. We wanted to get away from the crowd so we decided to head up to Declan’s in Old Town. I was surprised that it didn’t seem to busy. I found my way to the bar. They had two bartenders working. They were busy but I had to wave down one of them to place an order. He didn’t listen to what I wanted. I had to stop him and request draft beers. They moved all of the chairs and tables… not sure if you could order food over the weekend. We wanted to but didn’t know if that was possible. I did not see any servers/​bartenders besides the two behind the bad. The atmosphere did not seem upbeat and Irish like it did on my last visit.
Overall– I loved it the first time and wanted to watch all Notre Dame games at Declan’s but I am hesitant to return after my last visit.

Waiting to get a beer. and it’s been like an hour ffff this place. plus it’s 4 dollars for a beer. I’m pissed and mad

One of my favorite bars in Old Town. Pretty relaxed atmosphere during the weekdays but can get pretty douchey on the weekends. The food is typical bar fare but pretty good and the beer selection is fairly decent.
Just a really nice Irish Pub to hang out at and watch a ballgame.

NO LONGER A SOONER BAR
Sorry Sooners, but this place is now a Notre Dame bar. I went in with my boyfriend to watch Bedlam and they were so sad to tell me that the Sooner club left. I have no idea what the new bar is but it’s not here. Just a heads up.
If you do happen to stop in though, it’s a nice little bar. When you walk in there are several high-​top tables in the entrance, a long bar, and then more tables in the back. The bar has really beautifully carved wood right over exposed brick. It really is a pretty bar. The bar top is really nice too. It’s none of that dinky stuff. It’s wrapped in a big wooden lip that’s really pretty. If you go around Christmas time they have really nice decorations too. Pretty much made my day to see how well they decorated. The bathrooms are clean too which was great because it was busy in there on a Saturday.
I really liked the staff. There were a group of exceedingly rowdy drunk guys and I feel like the bartender handled them really well. She was polite but also made it really clear they were bothering people and she would be happy to tab them out if they couldn’t cool it. It was really nice that they were looking after the rest of their guests. We never had to wait on beer, our food came out super quickly, and our waitress was an absolutely sweet heart.
We got the doughnuts… because when your team loses a game they should have easily breezed through you need doughnuts. They are absolutely delicious. I mean it. I was a little skeptical, but they were awesome. You should really get them if you’re with a group.
It’s a nice little bar. Definitely worth stopping in if you’re in the neighborhood. Even though the Sooner club wasn’t there we stayed and I’m glad we did.

We loved the appetizers! Fried pickles were the best we’ve ever had and the nachos were a large portion… perfect for sharing. We went there to watch the Notre Dame football game. We loved being in an Irish environment to watch an exciting game. Downside… you can’t watch the game from every seat at every table. They need to add miller lite to the draft list. Overall– great pub! Make sure to call ahead if you would like a seat during the game.

Your average Irish bar, but with some shockingly good food items, and a nice outdoor seating area. +1 for great food, –1 for pretty slow service.
I like to hit up Declan’s on a quiet weekday night, sit outside, and grab some chicken wings or fish tacos (both of these are 5 star level for an Irish bar — the fish tacos are great regardless of venue). The service can be terribly slow, but I’ve learned to accept that and be pleasantly surprised with the occasional quick service.
On weekends, it morphs into a pretty unfortunate scene along with the rest of Wells. If you like Wells on weekends, I’d imagine you’d like Declan’s. If you don’t, steer clear.

I met up with my boyfriend and some friends at Declan’s after the Wells Street Art Fair. All of them were already inside when I got there, and there was a brocade (bro-​baracade) at the entrance that I tried to make my way through when I heard the bouncers shouting about how they were too crowded and couldn’t let anyone else in. I hate waiting to get into places and especially places that shouldn’t even require a wait. My boyfriend came out to get me, and they vary graciously let me in after a few people made their way out.
We went inside through that back side door, and the place wasn’t even that crowded. I ordered a drink and was told they didn’t have that particular juice mixer, just one of the 6 – 7 that were on the menu. Ok, fine. When I went to order a beer, once again, they didn’t have the beers listed on their menu, just your crappy domestic beers like Coors Light, Miller LIte, and Bud Light. Once again annoyed.
So, another came up to meet us about an hour and a half later. By that time, they were letting people in – the place became unbearably crowded – and charging a $ 10 cover. Seriously, a $ 10 cover, give. me. a. break.
If we hadn’t been in the neighborhood for the art festivals, we would never, ever have gone there. I was not a fan at all.

The chicken sandwich is my absolute favorite menu item. The beer selections are great and the pricing is very reasonable.
If at all possible, attend Wednesday night trivia. It’s one of the most fun pub trivia I’ve ever been lucky to participate in. Questions are challenging but not impossible and the competition is fun and funny. Shots for round winners! The crowd are young professionals. Lots of fun people, great service and fun atmosphere!

Trivia on Tuesdays is a lot of fun. Had an awesome burger with huge stake fries as we waited for free trivia to begin. The place filled up fast and many people had reserved tables, so be sure to think ahead if you want to check it out. The service was not that great, but I will try and let it go because it was busy. She just wasn’t really designed to be a server I don’t think. Didn’t have any urgency and always brought the drinks to the wrong people… even the one drinking pop. Not a deal breaker, but not very attentive.
Trivia was fun and food was good. I’ll be back!

We came here with a group of about ten people. I was sadly, quite disappointed with the trip. We ordered three buckets of beer and it took almost 20 minutes for the beer to arrive. Although the place was busy, it wasn’t swamped. It seemed like they were purposely ignoring us for some reason. At the end of our night we also only ordered 4 buckets, but were charged for 5 buckets despite calling this out to the waitress. She insisted we ordered five buckets despite an entire table of people insisting the opposite.
The waitress of course took our entire order by memory. Because of this she forgot one person’s order. Smart move when you have a large table. Use your memory for 10 people.
Can’t imagine how we got charged for an extra bucket of beer…
The food was fine, a lot of wings and standard bar fare. Nothing special.
Given the huge hassle with waiting for drinks and the botched order I’d skip returning here.