Derby

Great neighborhood spot to get food and a drink! Staff is always friendly even when they are very busy.

Poor service and the bouncers are rude, service is super slow, and you have to chase the servers down.
The bouncer wouldn’t let my boyfriend in for no reason. We asked why? And he just said he can’t but let all my girlfriends in. It was 10pm on a Saturday, fairly early. I felt that this was very sexist to attract only women in the bar. Needless to say, the 5 of us just left. We weren’t going to give business to somebody that didn’t appreciate their customers.
This is only the second time I’ve been here and both time the service here was just awful.
I’m never coming to this bar again.

We like to come here for the good bar food and beer selection. The service is always pretty good.

My friends and I used Derby as a gathering place before we all headed back to our respective cities after the holidays. Not only did the atmosphere and beer specials make for a great time, but the service was amazing. Our server Laurel did everything to make sure we had an absolute blast. She was quick, fun and generous and as a past server myself, I can say she is a top notch waitress. Would highly recommend Derby to anyone looking for a fun night and good bar food — be sure to ask for Laurel!

Haven’t seen my waitress in an hour…
I walk in and a waitress let’s me in the back room… She gets yelled by the manager to a point where I’m uncomfortable and go back to the front bar.
Find a table, wait. Wait some more. Actually wait 15 minutes for a waitress. Still none. Finally call for a waitress and she comes over. Order drinks and dinner.
Waitress comes back 10 minutes later for my dinner order. I already ordered dinner. She must be out of it. Guy brings my food, it’s okay. Nobody checks up on us, glad the food was right or we’d be sitting here endlessly for them to correct it.
Beer is empty. Been empty for 20 minutes. I gave up on the waitress and went to the bartender. He’s quick. Thank goodness. Haven’t seen the waitress in an hour.
MSU just missed their second field goal which is driving me to drink, wish I had a beer, but instead I wait for a waitress. I wish there was a waitress that would serve me, she’s somewhere here, just not sure where.
Waitress hasn’t come, and it’s halftime. Guess I’ll see the bartender again and order a round. Manager sees me. Sees I’m thirsty. I am. Asks me if I have a waitress. I say I do, just haven’t seen her in an hour. Buys me a drink. Earns the experience a star. Close my tab.
Painful. That was painful. Go green.

Don’t come for lunch. They only have the bartender working, trying to cover 2 rooms all alone. 2 managers just sitting in a corner booth watching everyone wait. Nice people, just don’t have a clue!

NOT a good place if you’re on lunch hour/​limited time frame. Walked into an empty room, overloaded bartender nowhere to be found, 13 mins before drink in hand, 18 mins before menu in hand, food finally in front of me 45 mins later… place needs new management FAST.

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Came in for their beer of the month, Schlafly’s Pale Ale, and ended up having an absolute blast! The Schlafly was … AMAZING, but so was the food! The service was nothing less than phenomenal! Our bar tender, Laurel, was so funny and had great recommendations on the menu, as well as what was on draft. We even got a super cool Schlafly key chain along with some free brewskis, thanks to their rep that was hanging out.
My friends and I are definitely coming back– super chill, super cool, super super.
Go Mizzou!

I’ve been here a couple times with my boyfriend now and we have had great experiences at both. The first was a Sunday and we happily enjoyed the $ 5 Bloody Mary special, although it unfortunately was after they had stopped serving brunch food. The mix may not be house made but they do add a little stout beer which makes every bloody better. We started with andouille and chicken gumbo, served hot – burned my mouth because I was a little over eager but it was flavorful with a good spicy kick. I had the pear and pecan salad in a wrap and my boyfriend got the steak salad. I opted for the shrimp wrap on our next visit but I guess the steak salad was so good that it was worth ordering a second time by my boyfriend… I wouldn’t know because he didn’t share :(
The fat pours are a great deal if they’re on special or you get the beer of the month. The service was great the majority of the time. However, last night it started to slow wayyyy down for some reason, and our waitress came by out of the blue with two beers on the house! 5 stars for that alone… Free beer is like, the most direct way to my heart. I can definitely see us coming back here multiple times this fall and winter for football games!

We went during a Mizzou game so I’m not exactly sure what I expected (i’m not a college football fan, let alone a Mizzou fan). It was extremely crowded and very loud, but it had that college game day feel people were looking for, specifically, what a friend in our group was looking for.
It’s hard to tell from the outside, but the places is pretty big. My group was lucky enough to find a table and we gathered around it. Our waitress was attentive even with the crowd and the noise. We had a few beers (pretty good selection) and we mostly just ate appetizers since we were so hungry. The nachos were HUGE and fed the group pretty well along with some tater tots.
I definitely want to try this place on a non-​game day and give it another fair chance.

Derby wears many hats throughout the year. It hosts parties (Kentucky Derby), trivia (Wednesdays), Mizzou watch parties, Oktoberfest, and I’m sure many other celebrations I don’t even know about. Derby wears each hat very well, especially, as you might expect, the Kentucky Derby hat, which is the best I’ve seen outside Louisville. If you want in on that party, get your tix on Day 1, because they go fast, and for good reason. It’s an excellent value (open bar and food) and the ladies and gentlemen are all dressed in their best. Of course, on Mizzou game-​days, the opposite is true, but the beer is still cold.

The only reason I give this place a 4 instead of a 5 is because of 1 bad experience I had with management. Long story short, it got resolved and everything is kosher. I have been 6 – 7 times now. Every time except once was for either a Bulls or Blackhawks game. The food is awesome! It is some of the best bar food I’ve had in the city. Phenomenal atmosphere to watch big games. Plenty of TV’s and seats. Cool patio area also. Not the cheapest of drinks, but during games they usually offer like $ 5 20oz. budlights in their plastic «stadium cups».
I recommend the derby burger and sweet potato fries.

Just had the amazing Derby burger! Fantastic concept! So many meats on one burger! The service was also super friendly and the bar itself was beautiful.

Remember when Chicago had real bars?
Only in Lincoln Park could a place like this exist.
Horse racing-​themed; in a town without much of a horse racing history.
A DJ on weeknights playing Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Katy Perry songs and music videos during commercial breaks of a Blackhawks game.
Typical gut and wallet-​busting bar food.

Great job Hector B you made our large group appreciate the high quality of your food.
Your vast knowledge of food and great character will bring us all back again,
Great place for large parties hats off to Hector B. and the rest of the wonderful staff at Derby Cheers.

Went here for Sunday brunch with a group of friends. The service was ok. We got seated right away, but when we asked the hostess about the bottomless drink special she mumbled something and ran to go check ‘if they were still doing that’. She never came back. Our waitress for the rest of the meal had an excellent attitude, but didn’t check in often so our waters/​drinks often ran out. I could understand that if it had been super busy, but the restaurant wasn’t that full.
The Derby has an excellent brunch special, $ 35 for any brunch entrée + as many mimosas and bloodys as you want. Our drinks were good, although none of the bloodys had garnishes on them and we could see garnishes at other tables, so I know they have them.
I got the Deep Fried Monte Cristo, which came with four-​berry compote and a choice of side. The sandwich was fairly dissapointing. It basically was a mound of deep fried batter and bread, with a slice or two of meat and some metled cheese hidden away inside. Also, there was no four-​berry compote and I never got a choice of side, they just assumed I wanted potatoes.
Finally, I needed to leave early to catch a flight so I asked the waitress for a check before the rest of my table. She brought me my check but didn’t run my card until the rest of the table had also paid; a process which took a good twenty minutes. Not terrible, but if a member of the table asks for their check early it’s pretty common sense to assume they need to get going.
Nothing in and of itself stood out as shockingly bad; there were just a lot of little things that added up to an overall meh experience.

Here we go, round 2. Went in with a friend for brunch this morning with the intention of updating this review. Last time was a series of unfortunate events and I’m glad I decided to come back for another try because this was a world of a difference! Seriously from a 1 star to a 5 star… Can’t beat an experience like that! Our server, Amanda, was wonderful and gave us suggestions as well as plenty of time to decide. Finally I settled on the southern breakfast wrap. It came out super fast which is always a plus. & then what’s even better was that it was AMAZING! Perfect mix of lunch food & breakfast food just perfect for brunch. The breakfast potatoes were great, and the wrap itself was super good. It was so big I couldn’t finish it! I’m sad I didn’t box it up to go because I was craving it later in the day…
It wasn’t that busy at 11:30 inside but when we left the patio had quite a few people. All in all I’m glad I returned and I will be back again and again as long as this quality of service and food stays consistent!

I hosted a birthday party for my boyfriend at Derby this past weekend and everything was absolutely perfect!
I had never been to Derby before, but had been to one of the bars owned by the same group (Diag.)
I was connected to Jennifer, the area sales manager, who helped me to plan the party. She was super helpful and put up with my many random questions as we went through the planning process. She was always quick to respond via e-​mail, professional, and courteous. She even brought a few things to my attention that I was missing.
We booked a cash bar party (so basically, we just needed to reserve a few tables,) on the patio. The Patio space is beautiful, and while it is on the street it is gated in and doesn’t have that «right on the street» feel to it. I was very happy with the ambiance of the space, and the fact that it was an escape from the very loud music inside.
Both our server, Tori, and the manager, EJ, were great. Welcoming, friendly, and eager to help. Tori was outstanding, and I’ve already relayed this to the management at Derby.
I’m really excited to come back and try Derby as a spot to watch a game, have a bite to eat, and relax.
They are a Mizzou bar — so be careful when inviting KU friends. One of my girls said she was lucky she liked us, otherwise she would’ve walked out seeing it was a Mizzou bar!

BURGER BINGE WEEK
Unilocal and several Chicago locations were holding a Burger week that included $ 5 burgers with a Unilocal Check in.
The Derby was one of those locations offering the special. The promotion was great because it made me want to go out and try new places and the Derby made my list.
When you walk in you first will notice that the bar is really beautiful. The bartender also greeted me immediately. That is great customer service. Across from the bar is a line of comfy booths that are built up a little higher. I like this personal touch because it gets you off the floor and your table above the «ass line». Don’t look up that word cause I’m sure I just made it up. The «ass line» is the area in a crowded bar where your face and food meet the ass of a complete stranger. I hate those places. So don’t worry The Derby Booths are above that line. That’s 5 stars alone!
Our waitress Rebecca was really nice. She made sure we all checked in on Unilocal before she gave us out deal. She was funny as I tried to secure a strong enough signal to actually check in. Those Metal Ceilings in bars can make cell phone coverage hard. She was just about to let me go then I finally got checked in. There was a countdown that informed me I had 4 hours to use the deal. I felt like Jack Bauer in 24 but I knew I wasn’t going to need that much time to enjoy the burger here.
So I put my order in for the Derby Burger. Which is a Hand crafted chorizo/​beef blend patty that is then topped with pepper jack cheese, pulled house smoked Carolina BBQ pork, bacon, coleslaw and onion strings on a pretzel bun. I also suggest a fork lift because your gonna need that to get it into your mouth. Normally the burger is $ 12. It also comes with a choice of side. I went tater tots and the rest of my group went Mac’nCheese. The tots were fantastic and perfectly cooked with a nice crunch. But I did hear some big time compliments for the Mac’nCheese from my table. So next time I’m going there.
Now on to the burger. I actually ordered it Medium which was cooked perfect. I am normally a medium rare guy but raw chorizo worried me. I could hardly taste any difference in the meat meaning the chorizo did not over power the beef but complimented the meat mixture. I really liked that. The toppings were fantastic too. I also forgot to mention they threw on lettuce, tomato and red onion. Yeah I really needed that fork lift and possibly a crane to lift the burger. I decided there was no wrong way and I grabbed the burger by both hands and dived it. All I can say is Wow! All of the toppings blended into this perfect flavor explosion. I was also amazed at how well the bun held everything in. I only had a few pieces of pulled pork fall out and that was it. 5 stars to the chef for building this beauty of a burger.
There were also drink specials too on a Tuesday. Corona in a bottle was $ 3. So I decided to grab a few of those. I love beer specials in a bar because it just makes me feel good. Beer is good but beer on sale just tastes better. There was also a giant margarita special for $ 8 with a Corona tipped in it. Those are the latest craze.
Rebecca our waitress was really good. She knew the menu and kept our table full of drinks and food. I also met the GM and he was a nice guy. We talked about the room next door. There was a guy playing acoustic music but I could only see him & not hear him. I loved that the rooms were sound proof from each other. On a side note there’s acoustic music here on Tuesday night. Our side of the bar had regular music on and plenty of games on the air. The poor Blackhawks did not fair that well tonight. The high altitude of Colorado is no place to skate competitively.
This place was great because of the amazing food, fun staff, comfy booths and quantity of TVs on the wall. I would come back to hang and eat. The bar is located near DePaul but it wasn’t packed with college students. It seemed more classier then a college bar and looked nicer. So I am glad Unilocal ran a Burger Week Special because if they hadn’t I would have never found The Derby.

Derby has an intricately beautiful ceiling! Now that that’s out of the way, I must state that overall the bar is pretty cool and chill. My friends popped in here for a bit this weekend for some good old fashioned day drinking after picking up cupcakes next door at Sweet Mandy B’s. It was the perfect place to satiate our parched palettes.
Around 4pm on Saturday the place was pretty empty. Our waitress was really patient as we waited on a couple friends and then were insanely indecisive in deciding if we should get a bottle of something or beers. We ended up getting Riesling for $ 28, yum! Bottles of wine are half priced Thursdays!!! And everyday there are great special deals.
My friends got the nachos and they were HUGE — they all loved them. Between 5 people (and one was a burly manly man) we still ended up with about a third left of the bad boys.
Derby has a nice outdoor seating area, but we sat inside on the hot 85 degree day and loved it. Their booths are very comfy and as I said the ceiling is pretty cool. Loved Derby and I plan on going again!