Renaldi’s After Dark

Great food, pool table, darts, many different beers and whats most important good music ! Love this place !

Wednesday night trivia is where it’s at. Starts at 830pm; specials include $ 3 burgers (add $ 1 extra each for cheese and fries), $ 3 312s/​shandys/​etc, and $ 4.50 tall boys. Shoutout to bartenders Bart and Hannah, who are fantastic. And Trivia Paul.
If it weren’t for trivia, this place would get 2 stars for the food. The burgers are the best thing I’ve had here, and probably mostly because they’re really good for $ 3. The pizza is ok – would never come here just for the pizza, but a slice can hit the spot for a hungry gal at trivia. The tiramisu is edible (hey, gotta try the tiramisu everywhere!). The cheesecake comes out half frozen. Appetizers are often lukewarm/​cold.
Basically, come for the trivia!

Their pizza is marginal at best, and they don’t offer any redeeming qualities that would make me want to come back. $ 9 for a slice of thin crust and a slice of «stuffed» (which is a sad attempt at stuffed pizza btw) was a complete waste of money. The cooks taking orders and serving the pizza are nice but the dude at behind the register is a complete dick. Also, they try to force u to pay cash by saying they don’t take cards (which isn’t true).
Bottom line… The pizza is sub par and way overpriced. I would NOT recommend this place. It is no better than Dominos or Sarpinos but it is def more expensive. PASS

My boyfriend and I would drink wine, play pool & Touchtunes, and eat Renaldi’s pizza every day at Renaldi’s After Dark if we could a) afford it and b) not gain weight from it. It has absolutely become one of my favorites dives, but I say that loosely given the excellent service (shout out to Ashley!), amazing pizza, good wine and beer, and the CLEAN bathrooms. We absolutely can spend hours in here watching sports and having a blast. Great place to spend an afternoon on a rainy day for sure!

Love this place. Great music, great food, cheap beer, pool, darts, and about a million televisions. The bartenders are all really down to earth and fun. Melissa on Saturday nights cracks me up! Chelsea is there frequently and she always makes creative new cocktails for me that are deeeelicious! I’ve been going here for a while now and I’m glad I finally got around to writing a review because more people need to know about this place!

I found this place because of a
certificate. It had everything I wanted: multiple televisions, a touchscreen game at the bar, reasonable regular drink prices, diverse drink specials, and the fact that I could buy good pizza by the slice. The bartender was pretty, polite, knew her drinks, and drew you into a conversation without being pushy or awkward… a harder skill than you might imagine.
Drawback: The touchscreen had an annoying habit of going black every few minutes. I chose to view it as an extra obstacle while playing, but the blackout frequency increased as time went on. The bartender said it had been happening «for a long time». Really? Get the darn thing fixed! That’s one of the reasons I came here in the first place!

I am almost hesitant to write this review because I don’t want this place to get too crowded! This is my absolute favorite place to watch sports in Chicago. The staff is amazing (Chelsea is the best!) and the owner is so nice! My friends and I tend to come take over during Bears game and usually have most people in the bar singing Bear Down with us by the time each game is over. People are friendly and I love the atmosphere.
During games, they often give out free food, have great specials, and are super accommodating. The pizza is also really good and their hot wings are fantastic.

Years ago, I used to Frequent Mickey’s (RAD’s predecessor), so when I saw Renaldi’s After Dark went into the space, I assumed I wouldn’t like it as much, because I’m stubborn and not a huge fan of change. Much to my (very pleasant) surprise, I adore this place. I’ve never had poor service, and they have great daily specials. While they do have a bar menu, you can order off of the full menu from the attached restaurant as well. I love the pizza, adore the staff, and appreciate the prices and specials (and am always impressed with how clean the ladies room is). If you haven’t been in here yet, you’re missing out.

I live right by Renaldi’s After Dark so it’s been really convenient for me to just stop in for a few drinks and maybe some pizza! I like the environment and the music. I am not a beer person, so I honestly have no idea what their options or specials are for beer. But, I do love the mixed drinks and especially the $ 5 martini nights. They always seem to have good specials going on. Personally, I’ve never had any problems with the service, the bartenders I’ve had are always super friendly and easy to talk to.

Went here on a Tuesday night and were 2 of 4 total people in the bar. The other 2 appeared to be employees hanging out at the bar after hours or just friends of the bartender. The service was terrible, the server was rude and inattentive as other reviewers have mentioned. She spent the whole time sitting at another table texting on her phone and was generally just unpleasant. The pizza is really good but you should spare yourself sitting in this poorly managed bar and just order delivery. John Taffer needs to pay them a visit.

I love this place. Its a neighborhood bar with a pizza restaurant connected to it. What could be better? I live nearby and this is the only bar I have ever felt comfortable going to by myself. I am actively trying to become a regular without becoming an alcoholic. Prices are right too.

I got into town late due to a train delay, and by the time I got to my hotel in Lakeview, after 11pm, most decent restaurants nearby had closed. I’d purposely delayed dinner until after the train ride so I would be able to get something delicious in the city, so by this point I was (insert word that isn’t so dramatic as «starving» — possibly famished?). After checking into my hotel, I walked around the corner and spotted Renaldi’s. What a godsend — greasy but tasty pizza by the slice and onion rings just when I needed them. I carried my haul back to my hotel room, then finished my day’s worth with a meal I’ll never forget. Exotic? Nope. Delicious? Absolutely. Totally worth the heartburn.

Worst service I have ever had in this city. We waited outside to get drinks for 5 minutes after which we walked inside to the bar and the bartender informed us someone would be out to serve us. After 10 more minutes we went in and ordered our drinks and brought them outside. Eventually we decided we wanted to order food, so we went into the restaurant side and asked for menus. They informed us someone would come out with menus. That also never happened, so we decided to try sitting inside (maybe they just don’t like coming outside). After we went inside the bartender promptly came to us to get drink orders and we also asked for water. She returned with drinks and no water. After we finished our first drinks and they were empty, I watched the bartender sit down at a table, pull out her cell phone and bring up facebook. We eventually had to walk up to her and ask for the check. Of course she received no tip at all.

When I’m in the mood for Goose Island Green Line and some hockey (lots of HDTVs), I always come here. So far every time I have come, they have never run out of Green Line. The food is okay though. Lots of specials and you can order a slice of pizza from next door.
Decent neighborhood bar.

It was between Pequod’s and Renaldi’s.
I didn’t feel like driving, so we ended up at Renaldi’s.
Except, according to my friend, the interior at Renaldi’s is «depressing». Ironically, it was raining outside, so I don’t know how much more depressing it could get in Chicago.
So we opted for Renaldi’s After Dark… in the light… or shade of the rain clouds… because you can get the same food over there as you can in the regular restaurant. With beer specials, too. Less depressing.
The bartender was friendly. The specials were OK. The pizza… not quite what I remembered. We ordered the stuffed, but it seemed more along the lines of Chicago-​style (there IS a difference here). The cheese was melted, but I am not sure enough, and definitely not steaming. The sausage was delicious, but I kept finding random onion bits all over my pizza. Why do people think adding onions to a dish makes it more delicious? All it does it add unnecessary crunch, flavor, and a bad breath aftermath. Don’t they know I have an aversion towards onion!!! In fact, I ate some for lunch yesterday and it took me at least 6 – 7 hours, 2 pieces of gum, and about 9 breath mints to get rid of the smell. This was after picking most of the ones I could find off.
This arm of Renaldi’s has appetizers laid out after work, from pizza to wings to others. We were there early and the buffet was pretty well picked over.
I think I’ll drive next time for Pequod’s.

Not bad specials and they offer some incentives to get people inside. They have a few tv’s that are enjoyable to watch games and a lounge area with some games.
This place is pretty empty whenever we come or there are a lot of old dudes hanging out in here. Not too bad, but isn’t my first pick in the area.

I didn’t get my pizza slice because they only had cheese or pepperoni, but what I did get is very comfortable living-​room furniture to watch the Bulls beat the Nets and secure the best record in the league.
Great big clear TV, they put audio on game commentary upon request as it wasn’t too busy and the others at the bar seemed to enjoy the game too, and such an excellent place to catch the playoffs too! But they don’t take reservations, not even for large parties apparently.
The garlic bread here was really good — freshly baked and just the way I like it. The tiramisu was okay. Service was slow but that’s okay in a place like this.

This place seems to be in the middle of an identity crisis. The old Mickeys was always my office’s after-​work hang out, so we were all anxiously awaiting the upgrade that next-​door-​neighbor Renaldi’s was bringing to the bar. I was glad to see that they kept the same center Cheers-​y bar and attracted many of the same divey regulars… but a few things seem just a bit off.
The Good:
— The food. Bar patrons have the option of ordering from Renaldi’s full menu, which includes fantastic pizzas, calzones, and pastas. Plus they put out a selection of free pizza during happy hour, which is a nice treat.
— The TVs. They’ve mounted a ton of big screen HD TVs all around the bar, making it a great spot to watch the game.
The Bad:
— The pool/​darts setup. At first I was excited to see they added a pool table in the back — until I actually tried to play. It’s a terrible spot for a table and unless you are breaking or lucky enough to end up on that side of the table, you have to use a short stick. They also put in an electronic dart board in the front — where there is nowhere to plug it in. Totally defeats the purpose. The thing is, the pool area would be a perfect space for 2 steel tip dart boards, and the pool table worked great in the front of the bar back when Mickey’s had one. They need to get rid of the lounge chairs in the front (that look totally out of place and are never used anyway) and put the pool table where it can actually be used.
The Ugly:
That sign. Hot pink neon lights? What were they thinking?
All in all — it’s not a bad little bar, with great food and a decent beer selection. It just needs to decide if it wants to be a sports bar, a swanky lounge, a dive, or a restaurant. Because the combination right now is weird and uncomfortable.

This is a very comfortable neighborhood bar that reminds me a bit of The Other Side near Clark/​Fullerton in its early days. I’ve stopped in a few times with some friends and I would only recommend that they carry O’Doul’s or some other non-​alcoholic beer for those of us who have stopped drinking but still like hanging out at a bar.

Well, after Mickey’s closed (my first and so far only 1 star review), next-​door Renaldi’s took over the property and expanded. They didn’t just expand though, they made it a separate entity entirely — Renaldi’s After Dark. Basically that just means that its a sports bar that is open late.
I went here for the Bears game this afternoon and immediately noticed how much nicer it was than Mickey’s. The set up is almost exactly the same, but the floors, ceiling, walls, tables and chairs were all replaced or painted. They also added a whole bunch of flat screen HDTVs around the place. It was all very nice without over doing it.
We sat down and the waitress came to greet us. After Dark has its own bar-​type menu as well as the full Renaldi’s menu, so there is PLENTY to choose from. They have a decent beer selection too. Having been to Renaldi’s plenty of times before, I simply got a couple of slices of sausage and pepperoni pizza. Great NY style pizza. My friends split a chicken quesadilla. Oh, and since I love it so much, this place gets points for having RC cola. I also feel like I need to mention our waitress. She was nice… but strange. It was like this was her first waitressing gig ever.
I really like this place as a sports bar. Plenty of tvs, pizza, beer, full bar, and tons of other food choices. They also had free pizza out for the Bears game. The verdict is still out on if this place is any good after dark, as advertised, but I’ll be back for some games.