Penalty Box

We stopped in for a late dinner. We had heard that the penalty box was under new ownership, management, and had a new menu and reopened recently. We started off with loaded fries as an appeztizer. They are awesome. The fries are fried to perfection and then cheese, chives, and what looks like a pound of shredded bacon is added is served. Amazing flavor. If you order a side of ranch for dipping even better. We had a hard time trying to figure out what we wanted for the main meal since there was so many unique items on the 2 page menu. So after awhile and with some help of our server we ordered the Maine Mac which is mac n cheese with lobster. We also ordered a 10″ abianni pepperoni pizza. After a bit the server brought out our Maine Mac n cheese served in a skillet. Minutes later then the pizza. Let’s just say the Maine Mac is heavenly. Every bite is amazing. It warms your soul while hitting every pleasure center in the brain. Seriously each bite is followed by a personal moment. It’s super cheesey but light, there is hunks of lobster that are cooked to perfection. Light and buttery that just melts in your mouth. Writing this makes me want to go back and order another. Just amazing mac n cheese could be so good. Then we moved onto the pizza which was a tough transition since that mac n cheese was out of this world. The pizza was awesome, you can tell they make their dough fresh everday and use high end cheeses and ingredients. The pepperoni was awesome. Especially the pepperoni on top of the pizza was amazing. It was baked to perfection where the pepperoni is crispy and just has amazing flavor. Needless to say we will be back weekly for the amazing food and the great service.

We happened upon this place. The food was so good and very well priced for the quality and amount. Staff was very friendly. Had the pork tenderloin sandwich and French onion soup. Delicious. Try it!!!

The Penalty Box has reopened under new ownership. Too early to tell. The app won’t let you check in at a place that’s closed. They have smaller tables than before, so there is more room (positive), but fewer seats (negative). There are more TV’s and they are all appropriately sized now.

Today is the story of the come back kid, a once former champ… Went through some hard times only too rise from the proverbial ashes.
A friend of mine twisted my arm this evening to give the new Penalty Box bar in Plainfield a try. I admit I was a little leary but said, what the hell! Let’s go!
It’s at this point that I have to share some thoughts. Right now some people reading, like say the owners for example, might start to cringe… Well let me say…
There’s no cringing necessary! I am very impressed with the rehab, from the attention to detail of the interior remodel, including the beautiful new bar top, to the customer service! Everything is spot on! The servers are smiling and happy, and Heather behind the bar … was a delight!
The food, the new Mac and cheese selections are nothing short of amazing and the wings we’re fantastic. I’m also in love with the new fries as they are crispy, with a slight spice to them, But clean finish, not oily.
Great job!!!
Tony

This place is pretty cool! The beer prices are not bad at all & the food is delicious. My husband & I had their wings & shared the Penalty burger with the pretzel bun! Everything was Delicious! Not crowded at all. We’ve been here twice now & we’ll prob keep coming back!

I have no particular complaints about the food. Nothing extraordinary, but it is fine. I do have a problem with the fact that the menu on their website has incorrect prices… and not by a little bit. Called in an order to pick up… ordered 24 wings, a burger and a house salad. Prices on the website were $ 12.99, $ 8.99 and $ 3.99, respectively for those items totaling $ 25.97. The actual prices were $ 22.99, $ 9.99 and $ 9.99 for a total of $ 42.97. I am not even arguing about the prices they actually charged, (although it was possibly the weakest $ 10 salad I have ever seen) but it is completely misleading.
I got a «oh we just changed the menu» and a «I’m really sorry about that» from the waitress. She also mentioned that she would let someone know that the website is incorrect. She seemed fairly unconcerned that I was charged 65% more than THEIR advertised price. Two days later it is still incorrect on the website and due to the ambivalent attitude of the place, I have probably spent my last dollar there.

I can’t believe the negative reviews on this bar. The family and I have been going here since they opened, and have always had great food and service. It does get busy and loud during Hawks games, but it’s a sports bar, that’s what to expect. Stacy and Heather are great bartenders and are very attentive. I wasn’t a big fan of the deep fried bacon, but everything else has been great. The naked wings, the penalty box burger, the buffalo chicken sandwich, the sweet potato fries and homemade pub chips are always cooked to perfection. I really can’t say enough good things about this place. One big difference that I see between this sports bar and others in the area is that the owners and staff really keep the place clean and fresh looking. One day during lunch I saw the owner patching small dings and repainting the drywall. The bar is clean, the restrooms neat and there’s no riff raff like some other bars in the Plainfield area.

Came here to watch a pre-​season Bears game and got here early. We ordered the nachos and beer battered pretzel bits for appetizers. Our waitress was Heather. First we noticed that they advertised cold shot machines but the waitress said they only had Jäger on a machine. So my boyfriend ordered the Jäger then she didn’t even use it. I ordered the cold SoCo shot. Now I’ve had a shot cold and shaken through ice before so I know what it tastes like and it doesn’t taste like water! I told her the shot tastes like water and she said that’s what happens when you do that. Bull! So we get the apps and the ground beef nachos are not ground beef. It is canned chili. Guacamole was nasty. Everything about it was gross. I’m pretty sure it was melted Velveeta on the nachos and was the dipping sauce for the burnt pretzel bites. Why would you serve cheese sauce with cheesy pretzel bites anyway? I sent the nachos back and we finished our bucket of Coors Light and left. Oh yeah… she wouldn’t put the Cubs game on for us and said, «Why do you want to watch them anyway? I thought I liked you guys». There is a difference between friendly bar banter and just being rude.

It is amazing this place is still open. There is nothing special about the food and the service is atrocious. Our first visit was a disaster and we vowed not to return until friends wanted to go there to watch the Hawks game. Hard to believe but this experience was even worse than the first visit. We never got the appetizers, then only half the food came out. Half the table was nearly done eating when the rest of the food came out.
If you are looking to enjoy a nice night out go anywhere but the Penalty Box!

the place serves some of the most awesome unbreaded hot wings ever! I can’t wait to go back!!!

Came here for a Hawks game. The place is smaller than I expected. The service was decent but the food was horrible. Everything was way overcooked and seemed like it sat under the heat lamp since the morning. I could have chewed through a hockey puck faster than the wings I had and the puck would have had more taste. I literally could not cut the wings with my knife. I showed the waitress and she asked if I wanted something else. I ordered a grilled cheese figuring they can really screw that up. Yep, the bread was like a cement slab. I figured I would not complain and just eat it since I was ready to gnaw on the table.
If you want to come for a few drinks and watch the game, I’d recommend getting there early as the place does fill fast and definitely eat elsewhere before coming here.

Was there for a PRE PLANNED event that brought in 50+ on top of their existing bears crowd… do you think the owner would put on more staff on — nope– 2 servers for about 100+ people & one bartender. No excuse! Thus owner has no clue how to run a business — we left, cause we already know the food sucks

Food was good but the music and game was so loud I had to scream at my family I’m order for them to hear me. It was ridiculous. I go out to get away and relax but the noise was obnoxious.

Came here for a hockey game and had a great time and now back for football an just can’t be this place. Clean establishment, friendly fun staff. Owners walk around n make you feel at home. I’m a packers fan and had no problems getting my game on a TV screen. Fried bacon… yum! Definitely going to become a regular here.

Drove the half hour to watch the Hawks game, got there early, good thing cause the place was packed, but got a good table. Waitress was on top of it, very good, food was awesome, and a fantastic place to watch the Hawks play. There are a lot of Hawks bars, but this place rocks

Never again! We went there on a Saturday afternoon at about 1:30. We had a decent sized group so we were expecting to have to wait. We told them one check to make it easy. After an hour and 15 minutes we had not so much as a mozzarella stick, nothing. We had to ask for our drinks a few times and only received them after waiting about 30minutes. We told the server we weren’t able to wait any longer. She shrugged her shoulders and blamed it on our large group. Well, you won’t have to worry about our large group coming there again:)

We went here on a Saturday evening to watch the Packer game. The food was OK and our waitress did an OK job. She was training a new waitress so things were slow and answers to questions weren’t known. We will be back as the prices were good.

This place is great! I’m definitely going back! The first couple reviewers are hating for no reason. Good food, good drink specials, open space, cool back deck with working fireplace, friendly people. One regular even bought me a drink! I’m definitely going back!

All the other reviewers are just complainers who are never happy. Its a sports bar and I think you get pretty good service for it being a sports bar. Everything is reasonably priced and they had 2 bartenders when I was there. The girl was extremely nice and efficient. It’s a great neighborhood place!

So I had to check this place out because of all the ads on the radio. We went to watch some sports on a Sunday afternoon…
First off, the place is small… It has a nice outside patio, but it was too cold out to use when we visited (no TVs outside either). So if you can’t find a seat at the bar or an open table then you’re SOL. The décor is decent, sports themed. There’s plenty of TVs, but if you’re at the bar your neck starts hurting from looking up at them and if you’re at a table the only TV you can see is from across the room. Another problem, the food takes quite a while to get… I think it took us about 45 mins to and hour and it wasn’t even a full crowd. Our appetizer came out with our entrees as well. But on a good note the food was very good when we finally got it. It was actually one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time, very fresh and juicy. It’s also a very reasonably priced menu. Nothing more than $ 10.
Most of the patrons sit around the bar and there’s usually only one bartender, whom I know personally and she does a great job to keep up with everyone. But I would recommend at least 2 bartenders on the weekends to keep the wait down (one fills tickets for tables while one tends bar). They have drink specials, but there’s nothing really to draw you in. And of course the only decent specials ($ 2 drafts) are on nights you probably aren’t out drinking unless you’re a fireman that has an F’d up schedule like my friend.
So in conclusion I’m giving a star for food quality, and for menu prices… But this is definitely not my favorite place to sit back and have a beer.