Finnegans Bar and Eatery

The place was ok but its owned by Blue Angel. its gone… Greeks couldnt do Irish. Now its a pancake house. Keeps changing

Thank god this place closed down! Bring back Blue Angels!

Good Burgers and Good Service. This place doesn’t deserve the bad rap its been getting on Unilocal

I was there tonight around 8pm just to see signs in the door saying it was closed

I wish it was still the blue angel :(

I really wanted this place to turn out great, it definitely ended up being the opposite. I’ve tried it out on three separate occasions, each one being worse than the last. The first time I dropped in late night with two friends after a movie for some drinks and appetizers. The place had just re-​opened after the re-​model and we were the only ones there. The food was pretty good, the drinks weren’t bad, and the waitress was very nice, even though she wasn’t very attentive.
The next time I convinced my boyfriend and his friend to drop by for some drinks, since we all live in the area we were really hoping this place could be the go to bar/​grill that the area desperately needs. There were a lot more people, it took us awhile to get seated, and we were easily 15 – 20 years younger than the rest of the patrons. Once we did get a table, the waitress who came by was brand new so she had no idea what kind of liquor or beer we were asking for, and had to keep asking the manager or bartender. Our friend actually had to go up to the bar to point out which whiskey he wanted because the bartender «couldn’t find it». We also asked for a dessert menu, and of course after having to check about it, our waitress came back saying there wasn’t any dessert to be had. She messed up our drink orders a couple of times but was nice and apologetic, and comped them on our bill. The only real drawback was the nagging fishy/​sewage smell that lingered for the whole night.
That experience wasn’t the worst we’ve ever had, and like another reviewer said there’s really no other options if you live in Jefferson Park. We thought maybe they were just growing pains, and my boyfriend and I decided to give it one more try for dinner one night during the week at around 8pm. What walked into was a completely off putting. More of the same older neighborhood crowd, plus some not quite as old drunk girls dancing in the middle of the room to a band that was some sort of over the hill metal cover band. The music was turned up to 11, and there was no one to seat us. The only reason why we didn’t leave immediately was first the shear shock of what we had just walked into, and after a couple of minutes it seemed like the «band» was finishing their «set». By the time we decided ok maybe they’re done, a man came to seat us at a booth. As soon as we looked at the menu, which had gotten infinitely lamer than my first visit, the geezer band started rocking out again. It took all of a minute for us to look at each other and promptly walk out the door. Oh did I mention that sewer fish smell was still there, and this was at least a month after the second visit?
After that I haven’t dared go back in for fear of what I may find next. I did however go to pick up a friend from there once and it seemed like it somehow had gotten even worse than before. They had added some arcade games in the back, and had coned off 4 parking spots for a large smoking zone, complete with plastic lawn chairs. There were about 20 neighborhood kids hanging out in sweat pants smoking in this «Zone of Frump» The place seemed busy but from previous experience plus this new upgrade I decided to never get near it again.
In summation place makes Teasers and TBK look like a classy night on the town. They started out trying to make it a nicer place, but then seemed give into the whims of the dullards of the neighborhood, and turned it into a complete and utter dive. Jefferson Park, this is why we can’t have nice things.

I had such high hopes for this place, especially since Jefferson Park has so few decent restaurants/​pubs. The food is generally okay (and sometimes fantastic) but the service is atrocious. I thought after awhile that the service would improve but it has only gotten worse. I went twice for brunch, ordered a mimosa and was told that they didn’t have champagne. Weird since they have mimosa on their brunch menu. My husband and I used to frequent the place all the time but took a break because we were so disappointed in the service. We attempted brunch yesterday (with much trepidation) and stood there for about 5 minutes and didn’t see any employees. Finally, a waitress comes out of the back, and starts serving her two tables. Needless to say, we simply left.

If you are the type that likes bars like Teasers mixed with Euro-​Trash… this is your bar!
The menu is a joke. Is this an Irish bar? Is it a Mexican bar? Is this a Polish bar? Don’t try to make it an all-​in-​one.
You can tell that the original owners of Blue Moon and this new guy are conflicting. The bartenders don’t have a clue what they are doing, the music is geared to… NO ONE because it always changes.
The few times I have walked in here, I have had to break up fights. They should have just stuck with the original plan to sell the lot and call it a wash.

Really bad place to go. They advertise prices on FB and then when you are in the bar they make up their own prices and not honor it till later in the evening unlike what illinois liquor law states. It looked they were serving to minors as one ordered a bucket and was drinking from it. He was never asked for his ID. Non Irish pub, décor yes otherwise no. Smoking inside game room.

I wish I could give this place a 5 but I can’t the service is just way to slow we say there for 20 min before our order was taken and them waited a half hour for a burger and pop corn chicken. Our waitress didn’t even tell us the specials or ask us if we wanted anything to drink we just got water which we had to ask for. When ordering the burger we were not asked how we would like it cooked or what we would like with it. Sadly even though this place is convenient when bowling across the street the service sucks so bad you need to go there at least 2 hrs before your league starts. Guess we will have to find somewhere else

My experiences here at «Finnegans» have all been great. $ 1 brat sliders and PBR’s on mondays and let me tell you that they are well worth it. Friday night fish tacos are also $ 1. I recently had the «Baja burger» which was VERY good. The chicken nachos are also very good, but wish there was a little more chicken. Beers are reasonably priced and the atmosphere is awesome and the music is also very good. The staff is very friendly and tend to your needs to the best of their abilities.

My husband and I went here on a weekend night and had a good meal. I think Rage Against the Machine was playing in the background, which made a hilarious juxtaposition against the blue-​haired ladies who I guess were unaware of the change from Blue Angel. I found the menu a little pretentious (Local oranges? Really?) but had a good handmade veggie burger, albeit a little on the garlicky side. The best though were the hand-​cut sweet potato fries with sea salt dipped in honey… OMG what a treat. Loved those!
Btw, there is nothing Irish about this place. I don’t even think there was Irish food on the menu. It’s just an upscale sports bar that sometimes has live music. Consider the Irish thing to be somehow ironic.
Anyway, if you want higher end bar food and a drink and you’re in the neighborhood, I would definitely stop in. I expect to see more and more of the local early 20s crowd as this place catches on. So easy to get drunk and walk home!
Parking ample in large lot
Buses: Central 85, 85A, Foster 92, Milwaukee 56A, NW Hwy 68
Pace 270, 225, 226

Okay, I am going to start this by saying that you can’t give a restaurant like this 5 stars as it doesn’t fit the mold.
That said, I thought it was quite good. They had a full lunch menu, the ambience was really nice, they seemed to have a good lunch crowd coming in on a Monday and the food was food. My wife had a Julienne Salad that was absolutely huge and hal of it came home with her and I had the French Onion soup which hit the spot and the Rueben which was piled high with corned beef and quite tasty. The fries were excellent although I only had one since I am staying away from carbs.
Given the type of restaurant (Irish Pub/​Sports Bar) it is I would normally give it 3 ½ stars but since you can’t do that on Unilocal I am going to give it 4 stars given the negative reviews. BTW, I think the negative reviews were politically rooted given that during the last Aldermanic election someone asked the owner to take down a sign of a candidate that was running in the election and he refused. That is about the time when the negative reviews started coming in. Eh well. Politics suck!

I like Finnegan’s alot but i do understand the negativity about it.
I only go to Finnegan’s on weds nights because they have a awesome live band karaōke band that rocks. The drink specials are OK but can be better.
I really do like this bar alot because its close to my house and i love karaōke but they do have some issues.
I’ll start with the service. I only go on Weds and they are packed with really annoying teenies. When it first started, it was really nice but good news spreads fast and now they get serious crowds on weds. The waiting staff is a bit annoying because they don’t check on the customers often and it takes forever for drinks or food to come out. Bear in mind, THE PLACE IS PACKED ON WEDS. So i will give them slack. But i will not give them slack on something else. The waitresses are very popular and bring their friends and will talk to them and not work on their tables. There friends get the best service no doubt about it. I have seen certain people get great service while other don’t. Maybe there is a popularity thing going on.
Food can be pricey.
Speaking of popularity, now onto the band. The band is great musically and the crowds are respectful. But the leader of the band can be mean at times and critical. They will comment on whether you are hot or not and they will try to start crowd orgy’s. I love the fact that they really try to get the crowds going and involved in the performances. but why do they have to comment on appearances. People pay to come out, have fun, and drink. Not to watch the band hit on every hot girl on stage and on there breaks and spread it in everyones face. I find it very disrespectful and it makes the crowds more rowdy. One of my best friends will not go into this bar because of this.
But i do love the band and the bar and the people who come here. This is my neighborhood bar. there are cons but blue angel is my home. I do wish and hope that they will get more respectful and learn to handle big crowds better. If they can, this will be the best bar ever.

Popped into Finnegan’s on Sunday night after a day at Montrose Beach. The place was empty but it was only about 8:30pm and more people started arriving at around 10pm when we were leaving. The service was great and our waitress was very attentive and excellent.
We ordered a bunch of appetizers which were all pretty tasty. Spicy hot wings, calamari, crab cakes, parmesan cheese fries.
They had some nice drink specials and I want to come back to try the Brat Sliders.
I really enjoyed the décor. All the dark wood and booths and high pub tables. They have a stage for live bands and tons of flat screen tvs everywhere.

The place was just remodeled and they did a fantastic job! I had one of their famous hamburgers that I have been reading about and I am so glad I did. Probably the best burger in town! Awesome fries too. Way to go Finnegans. The prices are reasonable and the waitress was hot. I stayed for a while because I noticed that the bartender was even hotter. She made the best bloody mary ever!!!

I’m not sure why this is place is getting bad reviews. I heard their good reviews are being filtered and deleted by neighoring competitors, which is bogus. Let’s face it, the service at any restaurant is going to suffer when they first open, which is what many of the complaints are about. But it seems like they got their act together. Anyway, having eaten at the original Blue Angel, this restaurant should have appeared on Extreme Makeovers. The décor is elegantly contemporary and the establishment is very clean and inviting, much akin to an Aspen ski resort. There are flat screen TVs a everywhere and the waitresses are attractive. There’s even a smoking room in the back. The only thing they did not renovate are the bathrooms. There’s even a stage for live band, which was a bit loud but that’s live music for you.
I’m a sucker for fish tacos, which is what I ordered. At $ 8 for 3 I thought that was pretty cheap. My friend ordered 2 types of chicken wings, one sweet and tangy and the other spicy. All the food was surprisingly good. The wings are a decent size, not the size where you can swallow with one whole bite. The service was great – in contrast to the bad reviews. We got our food in about 10 minutes, but the place was only 25% full at 10:30 PM on Thursday.
It seems like the owner is trying to make Finnegans a sports bar/​restaurant. I think this place will clean up during the NFL season and big sporting events. I’ll definitely be coming back soon.

The owners took, a really crappy restaurant and turned it into a Restaurant/​Pub that was so desperately needed in this area. Finnegan’s looks amazing, the staff is great too! They still need help on the menu but still a great family restaurant and Pub!

As with any new restaurant, there are going to be some kinks to work out. I, for one, was a big fan of Blue Angel and was very disappointed when it closed. However, I have high hopes for Finnegan’s and think it’s a great addition to Jefferson Park.
Here are the Pros:
~ Seating — I went to Finnegan’s on a weeknight with my husband, and they had a descent crowd. We were seated right away at a booth and were given menus, which were short and simple — the way menus should be!
~ Service — Our server was very friendly and helpful. She was attentive and asked if we had any questions about the menu.
~ Décor — I liked the remodeling that was done. They opened up the space by tearing down some walls. They installed hardwood floors throughout the bar and natural stone tile in the entryway. There was dark woodworking on the support beams and booths, and the tables and chairs in the center of the restaurant were also dark wood. The bar area was nicely done with natural stone, and there was a dance floor in the center of the restaurant. The walls were painted a burnt orange, giving it more of a wild west saloon feeling instead of a pub, but it still worked.
~ Chicken Quesadillas — We ordered chicken quesadillas for an appetizer, and they were very tasty. They were served with sour cream and guacamole. I would get them again.
~ Baja Chicken Sandwich — I ordered this for my entrée, and it was packed with flavor! The sandwich had chicken, avocado and some kind of spicy sauce. While the flavors were good, it was a bit salty. If they could just lay off the salt a bit, it would be perfect.
~ The presentation of the food — The quesadillas and the sandwich were served on cutting boards, which I thought were very cool. It gave the food a contemporary look. Also, the french fries that came with my sandwich were served in a little Asian takeout food box. Very cute!
~ Live music — While in a restaurant, I saw a sign saying they would be having live performances. Should be cool!
Now, onto the cons:
~ The booths — As I first slid into a booth that was along the windows at the front of the restaurant, I immediately noticed that the seat and tabletop were very close to each other. While I’m not super-​thin, I’m not obese either, and I thought the back of the booth was way too close to the table. It was kind of uncomfortable. I’m not really sure what they can do about that now, but it’s very noticeable.
~ The fries — While I thought the sandwich was a bit too salty, I found the fries to be under-​seasoned. I would normally have just poured salt and pepper on them myself, but there were no salt and pepper shakers at the table, which I thought was odd. I could have asked for them, but I didn’t bother. Usually you don’t have to ask for salt and pepper; it’s just sitting on the table.
~ The drinks — I ordered a Ketel and cranberry juice, and my husband ordered a Maker’s and Coke. Both of our drinks were super watered-​down. WEAK! Nobody’s going to want to hang out there unless they stiffen up the drinks!
~ The check — I know Finnegan’s used to be a diner, but they are still using handwritten checks for the bill — like they are still a diner. I’m hoping they will update their check system, because the handwritten bills definitely give off an outdated diner vibe, which is not what a bar and grill would want. Also, after we paid for our bill, I noticed that the receipt still had «Blue Angel» on it. I mean, come on! How hard is it to update that!!!
Overall, we had a good experience at Finnegan’s. While there are still some kinks to work out, I’m definitely willing to give it another try. I’ll be back!

I live in the Jefferson Park area so decided to check this new place out. First thing I noticed was that the management seemed very disinterested. Second huge issue was that I ordered fish and chips at an Irish pub and they told me they were all out; it was around 1:00pm on a Thursday afternoon so how the heck can you be out of fish and chips already!!! After the waitress told me they had a full bar, I ordered an apple martini and she came back and told me they did not have the ingredients to make it. I ordered the chicken panini which was suprisingly tasty, the bread was dry so they should have used some type of olive oil when pressing the panini but other then that it was good. The fries were good but very small portion.