TJ O’Brien’s Bar & Grill

This is one of those dives that can be fun if you are in the right mood. Drinks are cheap. There are usually more drunks in here compared to any other downtown Palatine bar except for lamplighters. So if you can handle that aspect it can be quite fun.

Came home from school for the winter break and my friends were talking about the palatine «triangle crawl». I asked what it was they said they go around to 3 palatine bars and see how many times they can go around. We started here for our first drink and picked up some appetizers at about 9pm. Those irish egg rolls are the shit!!! We went to the other 2 places but quickly returned. We were greeted by some bouncers who asked for our ids. I was like dude we were just here. They said to show them so they could give us a stamp and we could then come and go as we pleased. Didnt feel it necessary but I flashed my id and was back into the fun. ended up staying the whole night playing pool while friends watched the game. Definitely will hit this place up when I come back for the summer.

One of my favorite local bars to go to! The atmosphere is always a fun time and the food is excellent, especially the pizza! The service is always fast and the bartenders are always friendly. Great local bar to go to especially if you want to watch the sports games there is always plenty of seating with lots of TV’s.

It’s a bar. Yes, a sports bar with many screens available for viewing. It is however, definitely not a place to go if you intend on having a meal just for the sake of the meal. There is very little «restaurant» seating and the quality of the food prep is iffy. I ordered a rare patty melt that arrived «medium». Sent it back and eventually was satisfied. I think this bar & grill might be okay for watching a game when it is dark outside so one can’t see the dreary interior.

Bouncer was VERY aggressive. Pressing charges towards them. I am a server at another restaurant and I will NEVER BE back because of the bouncer. To go ANY Palatine bar but this one. I wanted to put no stars but that’s isn’t an option.

Kelsey is rude. Rude. Rude. Disrespectful. No words. In the wrong industry. We’re locals. … she was so disrespectful that other patrons made a point to say she had no reason to act like she did. Get rid of her.

Stopped in here after a day at Arlington Racetrack with a few friends. Looks like a new layout and some upgrades from the last time I was in here. The bartenders were friendly and made us feel welcome. Good neighborhood bar feel. Jumped on the Metra right across the street from the bar when it was time to go, very convenient.

Had a great time with friends for a Sunday Bears game. They offered a buffet and solid drink specials on game day. Looks like they made some improvements with staff and layout. Definitely coming back.

Never seen more unknowledgeable or disrespectful service in my life. The bartender actually had the nerve to hold a paring knife to my face, then proceed to have me kicked out when I asked to speak with the manager.
The issue stemmed from an order with a lemon twist. I was given a lemon wedge which I just replied that’s not a lemon twist. That is when the knife was pointed at me from across the bar. I said «are you kidding me? This is how you treat a paying customer?» At which point security was asked to escort me out. Oh and she tried to charge me for that drink also which I had not even touched.
I don’t have high hopes for any bars in Palatine, but there are plenty other places where you’re not going to be threatened.

I came here for a friend’s birthday. It reminded me a lot of a college bar. Loud music with an in-​house DJ. Cheap beer. I don’t know why it’s necessary to give out stamps, but okay. It works for the area.

I second the other reviewers — this place is the WORST on so many levels.
We’ve actually been there twice, hoping that our first experience was just a bad night. Turns out we were wrong and we certainly won’t be making that mistake a 3^rd time! It’s a shame, too, because this place has the potential to be your favorite ‘hole-​in-​the-​wall’ local watering joint and we really wanted to like it.
For starters — There’s no such thing as a «waitress» at this establishment, so even if you’re lucky enough to find a table to sit at — you have to wrestle your way to the bar and get your own food and drinks.
That might not be so bad, but the bartenders are the RUDEST ladies I have ever met. Didn’t catch names — an older blonde lady who could be cute if she wasn’t such a nasty biotch and a younger, brunette who’s too rude and dumb to be cute (you know the kind, all smiles and giggles but nothing between the ears). It took all my willpower to keep from climbing over the bar and strangling them BOTH! Examples: Being completely ignored for an extremely long time, despite standing at the bar with an empty pitcher in my hand. When finally acknowledged, she simply filled my pitcher but did not let me order anything else, so I was forced to stand there longer to place a second order for those that were not drinking from the pitcher. It was so difficult just to get a drink with alcohol that I didn’t even bother asking her for a glass of water, which I really needed. And, by the end of the night, everyone at our table had succumed to drinking from the pitcher because getting anything different was damn near impossible and simply not worth the hassel.
When we asked if we could place a food order she literally waved us off and then walked away. When we asked a second time, she huffed, rolled her eyes and then stormed to the end of the bar to get her pen and paper. Apparently waitressing is not in her job description, which might be understandable since she was the bartender, but there was NOBODY working the floor so the only way to get ANYTHING was to walk up to the bar and place your order. Some of our food was literally delivered to our table by a PATRON of the bar (kind of a ‘take-​this-​basket-​pass-​it-​along” method of getting it from the bar to the tables), which I found very disturbing. And, because nobody was working the floor, we were forced to pile all of our dirty plates and food baskets in a heaping stack in the middle of the table, which remained there until after we left.
As others mentioned — the place is dirty. Additionally, we were sitting at a 4-​top round table close to the door (one of the few options for parties of more than 2 people) but every time the front door opened we smoked a pack of cigarettes via second-​hand smoke because there was at least 25 people smoking just outside the front door.
To top it off — we were there to watch Monday night, Bears football. 1^st half of the game was ok. They have a decent amount of TV’s, although the picture is not that great on a couple of them. At half time they turn the juke box on and allow patrons to pick their songs. (Fair, who cares about half-​time commentary.) However, after half-​time the juke box remained on which really SUCKED! I don’t want to watch the Bears play to a Pharrell «Happy» soundtrack!
As I said — we certainly won’t be visiting this dump again.
On a good note — if you’re forced to visit this place and find yourself hungry (and are lucky enough to get the waitress to place a food order for you!) — highly recommend the Irish Rolls. They were super yummy! Skip the cheese sticks, tho — worst I’ve ever tasted (and I didn’t even know you could mess those up!)

Seriously, i never experienced such rudeness from a bartender EVER in my life… That’s why I’ll not even talk about the environment, because in this case it could be the most beautiful place in the world and i still wouldn’t come back…
My husband and I came for a drink on a friday evening. It was around 9.30 pm and it wasn’t really packed. We ordered a Dirty Martini and a beer. As i tried the Martini i couldn’t drink it, because it was waaaaay to strong. Almost pure Vodka. Just not a good made Martini. So, my husband went back to Michelle, (i think that was the bartender name), and told her, that this drink is too strong and asked if she could make it a bit weaker. She said: «Seriously?» took the drink, turned around, obviously added water to it instead of Olive juice and gave it back to him while rolling her eyes. As I tried it again, i couldn’t believe it. So my husband went back to the bar, but this time there was another bartender, way nicer with red hair, and asked her to try the drink and tell him, if that’s a Dirty Martini. She did so and said, no it’s not a Dirty Martini. She made a new one, which was great, but our mood was already gone…
While i’m writing this my anger is coming back… I still can’t believe that such a person is allowed in a bar! Not that she is just rude, she also can’t make drinks. She shouldn’t be in that business at all. We are locals and i am definitely not coming back to a place where you get treated like this…

This place is just not clean and what took the cake is that they have a «win a lobster» machine. We will never go back.

This is the type of place you wouldn’t bring your wife or girlfriend to. They may be the only woman in the room with less than guys you would call «gentlemen». The bar looks like it is unfinished and constructed poorly. I’ll give it to them that they can get you drunk fast and cheap, but there may be more to life than tall boys of bad beer and cheap shots. I hear the food is good but I am reluctant to eat a a place that feels dirty. I can only imagine the kitchen is not any better if this is the mess they let you see.

Always a good time at O’Brien’s. Whether it’s for an afternoon cocktail, a late night out, or a craving for some good pub grub, I’m always pleased. The patrons are pleasant and friendly, the juke box rocks, and the staff takes care of and appreciates their guests. I’ve had a Christmas Pub Crawl for the past 3 years, and O’Briens is always our last stop. They always take good care of us and welcome our large group. They also seem to be very involved in the community, and in giving back. When I moved here from NY a few years back, I was hoping to find a ‘local’ spot like I did back home, and I would say that O’Briens is that place!

Great food and local atmosphere. The bartender Jimmy is a dead ringer for Daniel Tosh. Definitely worth the stop

Best food, service, bar staff, customers and ambiance in Palatine