Kevil’s Restaurant

This place has a super homey, friendly vibe to it. Makes you feel like you’re in a pub in another country. We just stopped in for a drink on the St. Pats weekend, and they had Irish Dancers performing. I definitely want to come back and try some food next time!

OK — So I bowl at Circle Lanes on Thursdays and before I bowl I like to unwind after work. I am rating this on atmosphere and the simplicity of a VERY tasty Bloody Mary, Nothing fancy or elaborate but simply relaxing. Interesting menu which i will have to try and report on later.
Bowl ON…

my friend and i went here for dinner a few weeks ago and it took incredibly long for the whole process! we were actually laughing about it cuz we couldnt believe it but since we didnt have anywhere else to go, we just went with it. it took a long time before we got water and our apps. our waitress seemed crabby and didnt see her smile til the very end of our 2.5 our dinner. an older man came to our table and he was much friendlier than our waiter so not sure if hes the owner or not. the bruschetta was delicious, the seafood platter was ok but have had better. the fried chicken was a little bland and fried a bit too hard. overall we ate our food but werent too impressed with it. we tried it but probably wont come back.

This place deserves to be a lot busier. We were just in on Saturday night and it was sadly empty. The food was excellent. I had the pork chop special with marsala cream sauce and mushrooms with mashed potatoes. WOW. Came with yummy yummy yummy fried onions. My husband had the butt steak, which is what he always has here, and he always says it is perfectly done. The salads are not exciting, but they are fine, and the homemade vinaigrette dressing is good. Heads up, that little scoop of stuff they bring with the bread basket is some kind of savory cheese spread and it is delicious — be careful not to spoil your appetite for your dinner! In the past, I have had the meatloaf, fish specials, and pot roast, and never went wrong. PLEASE try this restaurant and bring your friends. It is a sweet little cozy place, good service, old fashioned, very Irish, has a pleasant outdoor seating area. In my perfect world, it would have just a few more interesting beer choices… but that is really my only complaint! And I am picky, trust me!

Great place to have a nice dinner or just a drink. Excellent food, friendly staff and both indoor and outdoor seating. Is definitely go back again.

This is a hidden gem. Came here for dinner one night. Asked the host to seat us somewhere quiet so we can talk. He had us sit in the back room. Quickly served by several people, menu, drinks, order taking.
Server was helpful with all my crazy diet restrictions. I had the salmon and it was moist and perfect. It was a little on the small side but I was certainly satisfied with all the sides.
I was sick that night and the hot tody was perfect to soothe my sore throat. Thanks for taking care of us. I’d return.

Friendly as we walked in, attentive as we ate, just a wonderful experience that wasn’t expected. Very comfortable atmosphere just wins. Oh, the warm rolls got the win at the beginning.

I ate here several times before and usually had a good meal. However, last Friday was a disappointment and embarrassment. I lnvited my friends for an «all you can eat fish fry» and after we were served once, they closed the kitchen at 10pm without warning. The fish was good, but all you can eat???

My family & I recently dined here on a Saturday night. I had the meat loaf which was good, my wife had the tilapia which she said was OK & my daughter had the salmon which she said was very good. The drinks were very generous pours! My martini came in a shaker which they left on the table so I could pour the balance into my glass. My wife’s wine was almost filled to the brim! I was surprised that there were only two tables in use at 6:45pm on a Saturday night but I guess it was early. The bar was starting to heat up though. We enjoyed our dinner and will be back.

This is a great little bar/​restaurant in forest park off the green line and Harlem avenue. The owner is always there and always greets you so kindly. I usually just go for drinks and apps but they have quite a few dinner entrees that are quite good. I will continue coming here for after work fun!

Kevil’s is one of my favorite bars! I go almost every Tuesday for karaōke, and sometimes on Saturday. Maui is a fantastic KJ, and the variety of people is really great. Joy is right– the ladies’ room is especially clean! I’ve never eaten here but plan on it soon.

Pot Roast was out of this world great and the Fried Chicken is the way to go. Hanging with Frank is always the best time ever!

The service was good and yes, the reviews are true that Frank Kevil is very friendly. Our food for two, however, was disappointing even though recommended. Seemed like not-​fully-​cooked Veg-​All to me. Maybe it was an off night. We will give it another shot. It was a real hit with the 50+ crowd.

The place is a pub. Nice amount of seats both inside and outdoors. Two tv’s at the bar.
The hash brown casserole is worth a trip from anywhere…
The plum sauce on the thick-​ass pork chop was killer. Real plums. Really sweet. Decadant to say the least.
Even the dinner roll was delicious with it’s egg-​washed top and garlicy essence. Freshly herbed butter killed the roll. They heated it up rightly so when it was served it was steaming fijcking hot!
The broc and cheddar soup was especially yummy in my tummy. Yuh ME!
If I am EVER in Oak Park again I will DEFINITELY revisit this joint.
It’s Irish from head to toe and even South Side Irish to boot.
So get your Slainte on and bottoms up… theys even has da 60-​minute IPA from DOGFISHHEAD… bottled… but still… as in… my butt was still in the seat 90 minutes later.
They were setting up for a baby Christening so it’s good for parties, yo.

Wow, it had been a really long time since we were here last and I am not sure why we hadn’t thought about coming here earlier, but now I know. We were brought here on the day of the local St. Pat’s parade because there was just no way you could even try to get food on Madison Street. Thankfully, we were seated right away and told there was a Corned Beef and Cabbage special, so the husband was thrilled. I opted for some soup and the seafood plate, but that was my mistake. I tried some of his corned beef and it was delicious. My plate was scallops, calamari and crab cakes. I ate the scallops (great) and the calamari (quite rubbery and bland) but could not eat the crab cakes — way too much breading and seasoning.
I then tried to salvage with getting dessert, but the cherry pie was not what I expected. Service was spectacularly awful — there were about 4 – 5 tables in the back and 3 servers, but ours was always MIA and literally let the husband’s drink sit on the bar, ice melting away for 10 minutes (he could see the bar from our seats) and then when he asked, she told him she was still waiting on it. Um, yeah, we can see it and we see you going to pick it up and bring it to us, not a good move.
I guess the lesson is don’t expect great service and stick with the specials — the owner is a great and friendly guy, so we will try again sometime.

We were here on a sat night, nicely met by the owner, server was great. Food was good, fish and chips were good, halibut sandwich just ok, good burger, and steak was decent (4 of us). the specials here are sometimes the best way to go fyi. Nice bar area, good atmosphere, will be back!

We got here around 9 pm on the weekend and Kevil’s seems to be divided into a bar area and the dining area. We were warmly greeted by the owner or manager who ushered us to the dining area, which apparently was on the verge of closing down, because the servers did NOT look happy to have another patron around while noisily cleaning around us. We would have been happy to sit in the bar area than made to feel guilty for eating their food.
The crab bisque was ok (a little gooey and salty, but maybe that’s what comes from having the bottom of the crab pot scraped into your cup at the end of the night), my crab cakes were a bit greasy, but my husband really liked his fried chicken.
This is usually the type of place I want to like, but after a dim experience I’m not sure we’ll return.

My friends and I went here after our reservation at Golden Steer fell through. It was a Saturday night around 8:30 and we were starving after waiting an hour for a table at the other place. The bar area was about half full but the dining area was deserted.
I got the London Broil, it was cooked to perfection. We were out for my friend’s birthday, and she loves steak so she ordered that but was disappointed with how small it was. It was good, though, so she enjoyed it. The service was great. Not just the waitress, Bridged, but even the owner came by to say hi and joke around with us.
We each had two drinks, a steak dinner, and a dessert and it came out to about $ 55/​person, which isn’t too bad for that much food. Everyone loved what they had and I will definitely be coming back. Great service and good food really saved a night that Golden Steer had seemed to ruin.

There was a time when i would go for every Bears game. I mean, every sunday/​monday night. They served free chili and wings. It was really nice. Then all the sudden everone found out about it and the party was over. A tray of wings would be put out and be demolished within a matter of five minutes. I suppose that is to be expected when the word gets out about free food.
Its still a decent place to go have a drink. The owner, Frank, can be quite a riot. Nice guy.
There has never been a time i went just for a drink or dinner, just the games. Keep that in mind here. Ive heard the food is great though.

Kevil’s is now my go-​to bar in Forest Park. It’s off Madison, so you don’t have to deal with the annoying/​obnoxious kids (early-​mid 20s college party scene). This is an older crowd. Jazz is actually appreciated at the karaōke here on Tuesday nights, and the open mic Mondays is great with a lot of local artists.
The food is amazing! I can eat a big bowl of their mashed potatoes as my meal, they’re THAT good. The prices are great, especially with the $ 2 Millers on Tuesdays.
It’s just a great neighborhood pub with friendly owners and staff. And seriously, the cleanest ladies room in Forest Park.