Theory

Went here on a really busy night. The staff was so nice and accommodating. We had 6 people and they only had room for 4, gave us the table to get our night started and then gave us a bigger table as soon as it was ready. I was very impressed with the management of this place. Food was good. The buffalo chicken mac and cheese is HOT. If you like Hot you will like it. If not, try something else.

Great little dive bar in the midst of a sea of «not so dive bars». The chairs look like they are straight out of the 80’s. The drinks are cold. The bartenders are Torn and Frayed. It all works. Come here to tie one one and be a part of a decent little scene. Keep to yourself. Mingle. Either way, you will find it here.

I had a disappointing experience here, but they did pay for our lunch in full which was nice. We had three different sliders and a grilled chicken pita sandwich: the sliders were described by my girlfriend as ‘gross’ and we spotted a small spot of mold on one of the buns (which they of course replaced) and the ingredients in my chicken pita tasted stale in addition to the sandwich as a whole being quite boring. It is worth noting our waitress was friendly in dealing with our dissatisfaction.
Overall, we were disappointed in the bar food and there are so many better options in the area. I have had the bbq chicken flatbread delivered before though and that was tasty; perhaps we just went on an off day and /​or ordered the wrong items.

The owner is unlike any I’ve ever met before. Came in for lunch. Ordered the buffalo Mac and cheese and the owner had checked up on us twice during our dining experience. The food was good but the service was beyond great.
There’s a difference between caring about your business and caring about what people think about your business. The owner was so appreciative of our visit it makes me want to return immediately. Thanks for everything!

Good food for the most part. Nice place inside. The buffalo wings were good and the tots are great. Didn’t enjoy the fried Pickles… way too much batter on them and they don’t get cooked enough. Heard that a couple times before but you want to believe that it’ll be different when «you» order them… not the case.
Friends had the Cajun shrimp wrap. Also looked great and tasted tom good. Pretty spicy all around which doesn’t bother me but beware.

I said we’d be back! We had an 11:30 a.m. reservation this past Sunday for the Pats game, and Theory serves brunch until 3. That’s dedication, when you make it to the bar before noon outfitted in your glorious New England jerseys… or is that intoxication? Little from Column A, little from Column B, let’s say. There was at least one Brady jersey at each table; I swear it feels like home! Free shots every time the Pats score, and a swift and abrupt post-​game channel changing should the Pats lose. We got 15% off our bill for checking in on Unilocal,and Joel the manager was around again to thank us for coming back and make sure we were being taken care of. We got a free plate of mini donuts to start, and a pitcher of water with red plastic Pats/​Theory cups to keep. Well, I kept them anyhow! I had the fish and chips, the table shared both the nachos and breakfast nachos, and hubs had a breakfast burrito, and we cleared it all, yum. Definitely our favorite sports bar. GO PATS!

We first stopped in here on a Thursday night (it was a game night) and just wanted to have a drink. It was VERY busy but the waitress said we could have a table until 7pm as then it was booked for a reservation. Awesome, thanks!
The drinks were good and the menu looked awesome. Fast forward three days and we came back for dinner.
Not a game night, pretty empty so we got right in. Some drunk guy at the bar was getting kicked out cause he could hardly sit in his chair. free entertainment!
The food was such a disappointment! We ordered fried pickles and the batter on them wasn’t cooked all the way and they were really soggy. I ordered the chicken tenders and they were also SO much batter and very little chicken. Hubs ordered a burger and it was just okay, nothing special. All in all, I’d say this place is good for drinks and MAYBE some bar food.
Oh! and check in on Unilocal for a discount on your tab!

We were walking around the River North area looking for a casual spot to grab dinner and my bf had good memories of their burgers when he used to intern downtown. We split a burger and prosciutto caprise sandwich. I thought they were pretty decent but nothing special. For a River North spot, I though it was fairly cheap, the waitress was friendly, and t

Trivia night on Tuesdays are the best! But really I go for the $ 2 tacos. Even without the deal, their tacos are very good. The pork tacos are my favorite. It has more flavor than the chicken one. I’m usually not a big fan of vegetarian tacos, but theirs is flavorful and very filling. Not sure about their other offerings since I obviously just go there for the tacos.

We stayed downtown and were looking for bar food because we like bar food. Plus, we were looking for somewhere that served beer other than just Bud Light and this was the place. We walked in on a Saturday evening, it wasn’t very crowded, and were immediately greeted and seated. It isn’t a huge place but it’s big enough. Most of the tables are high tops so if you don’t like high tops, don’t come here! Our server brought us water almost as soon as we sat down. They had quite a few taps with some good local beers. They also had bottles and cans. I went with Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero and my hubby had Great Lakes Christmas Ale.
We ordered the Mac and cheese wedges (mainly for the kiddos) and tater tot beef poutine as appetizers. Both were really good! The poutine was pretty spicy and you get a lot! The wedges came out hot and were quickly devoured. For dinner our daughter ordered the French onion burger which was cooked medium rare (which she was happy with). It was really juicy and big. We all thought it was a great burger. We ordered our son cheeseburger sliders and tater tots. The burgers were a little over cooked but he didn’t mind. My husband and I shared wings which were pretty darn big. We each had about 4 and brought the rest back.
There were a couple of families eating there but it was mainly adults. We had really good service and enjoyed the food.
Oh, and I used the 15% off coupon available on Unilocal

A place that seems a bit full of itself, from the way it seeks to move around customers to the artificial line at the door. TVs are at odd angles, making the shuffling of patrons from place to place necessary. Very much an Iowa bar and a basketball bar with other college football games taking a back seat. Out of town NFL games? Maybe, at best.
If you’re looking for a wing-​and-​beer place with TVS galore, it might be better to head next door. Want a higher end experience where the game is secondary, then this may be your place.

Solid bar food. The fried pickles are really great and I love the $ 2 taco specials they have on Tuesday (shhh… the vegetarian option is actually the best one and this is coming from a serious carnivore!)
Trivia night is always a blast. It’s a great time to round up your friends and see what you all know. The environment is really lively and winner of best team name gets a round of shots (never a bad idea).

I was pleasantly surprised by this sports bar! Its really nice inside, the service is awesome, and they have about a million TVs. So when everyone is watching the big game and people walk by your table, you can just turn your head a little and not miss a thing.
The food looks great. We’re definitely coming back for some Gumby’s style Herky sticks. As a Hawkeye I could not believe my eyes.
We were here for the final game in the Cubs vs St. Louis playoff game. For that reason I didn’t try any fancy cocktails, and just stuck w/​the $ 2 taco special. I tried the chicken and veggie and both were delicious and worth more than $ 2.
Also the ladies room was nice and clean. A big plus.

Had a terrible experience here last Thursday night. Had to relocate plans last minute and noticed an empty table on the patio here. Ran inside, grabbed the hostess and had her seat me stat before anyone grabbed it.
20 minutes later, my friend shows up and no one has been to the table yet. Thankfully the doorman hears me relay that to her and grabs someone for us. The place was busy and as an industry alum, I understood and wasn’t mad about that.
What did ruin our experience was the terribly slow service and quality of the food. Everything was clearly frozen or pre-​made, and over-​seasoned to compensate for the lack of flavor and freshness. We ordered the pitch of sangria, which was pretty much just cheap red wine and club soda with a handful of apples chunks tossed in for appearances. Our waitress wasn’t quite rude, but she was certainly not friendly. Her annoyance with having a table outside was palpable.
This place has potential– great location, actually really nice design (TVs are in weird places so not ideal for sports viewing). Food needs an upgrade to get up to par with the rest of the neighborhood and give your staff a lecture about customer service.

A few factors are going into why this hidden gem gets a 5-​star review!
We arrived about 11:15 to a completely packed Iowa Hawkeye friendly crowd. There were no open tables but we’re told that we could park up to the ledge and get service either by the owner or a server. We started off with a mimosa for me and a miller lite for the boyfriend.
Our server was super cute and had a bubbly, friendly demeanor about her the ENTIRE time. Even when the poor girl got beer showered on accident by an excited table. I had the California Benedict for brunch and the boyfriend had the BBQ Brisket Benedict. Both were served with a potato hash and full of awesome flavor.
Not only was the food awesome at Theory but the service was above and beyond the norm you’d see in a busy sports bar. If I lived in Chicago, this would be our new Iowa bar because it reminds me so much of the bar in KC we love.
Check it out. I hope everyone else enjoys it just as much as we did!

I came here as a guest supporting friends who had just took their Illinois Bar Exam. Their law school had booked Theory for two to three hours that day. The staff were amazing. They were walking around taking orders and consistently correctly handing out drinks. They had small bite sized appetizers all around. There were quesadillas, buffalo chicken sandwich, hummus and pita, chips and guacamole as well as salsa and cheese pretzel bites. I think there were other things but I don’t remember. Everyone had a blast. The bartenders and staff were just too notch. I have never seen such hard working women and men at bar like I did that day.
The bathrooms were clean too. The drinks were great. There is a parking lot right next door that gives parking discount of like $ 5 – 6. So we payed $ 14 for the parking.
The food was good. The staff and service were excellent!

I do like Theory. My girls and I came here for a Friday after work happy hour. We were going to go to Henry’s across the street, walked in there and super loud music was playing, so we ran across the street to here. I am so glad we did!
We got some summer drinks including a John Daly, which were about $ 8 each. Cocktails that don’t break the bank– this is a huge plus for river north! Then we got appetizers, and I just loved he guac and chips. It was so fresh, and they gave us a reasonable portion! I hate when places give you a ½ cup of guac to «share» amongst four people. Thank you, Theory for being reasonable!
Service was prompt, and I like the atmosphere. It is chic and laid back at the same time. It was a great place to meet friends after work. Unlike some of the other places that had their 10 o’clock Friday night going on at happy hour! We were able to have conversation, and we all really enjoyed the place.
I recommend Theory, and I would love to come here again for after work cocktails and appetizers!
Also, last note, they seem to like Unilocalers. Another plus!

Went here for drinks on 4^th of July after work. Most everything off Hubbard street was jam packed with a line out the door, Theory was just warming up with a tiny line. We got in with a $ 5 cover. I ordered shots and they were $ 7 a piece for medium quality whiskey. They had a good selection of draft beer so I tried Goose Island’s ‘Blue Line’ which is pretty delicious if you haven’t had the chance to try it.
DJ was playing decent music, The bartenders were attentive enough and by the time we left the bar was filled up and a line had formed. The security guard with dreads was super cool also. I will be back someday perhaps

Round 3 of 18 Unilocal Burgers & probably the best burger of the 3 I tried. As usual after donating platelets @ Life Source I was ravenous. Theory is located @ 9 W Hubbard in The River North area. The parking is a little limited, but I lucked out with a space right in front of Theory. This is a bar/​lounge restaurant. It was a little slow, but to be expected @ 2 pm in Sunday afternoon.
I ordered my burger and had a Blue Moon while I was waiting. The burger came medium rare, (as ordered) with bacon, onion rings, mozzarella cheese, bbque sauce, & avacado. This was probably the best of the 3 burgers I had during this week of trying different burgers, but it was a little too salty.
Theory has a nice ambience & an excellent burger

Absolutely phenomenal! Our new favorite hangout in Chicago. EVERYTHING on menu is delish! Buffalo wings, Theory Club Sandwich, cheeseburgers, onion rings, decadent grilled cheese — all top notch! John, the owner, is like family — that’s his business model & it shows. Lindsey, our server, is a doll & also an elementary teacher! (Rock the house on your upcoming production of «Annie,» Lindsey!) Great bar & beer, Bloody Mary & cocktail selections, too.
Cannot say enough positives about this place. I might go back in an hour or so to enjoy the bar.
Go! Do! Enjoy!