Lady Gregory's -- Irish Bar and Restaurant in Andersonville

I spied a very large new Irish-themed bar and restaurant in Andersonville, Lady Gregory's. It's at the corner of Clark and Berwyn. Their website, linked below, says they are owned by the same people as Wilde Bar and Beckett's, neither of which I have been to. The menu looks like fairly standard bar fare. Beer list looks good. I hope to get there soon.

Lady Gregory's
5260 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60640 (Clark @ Berwyn)
773-271-5050
http://www.ladygregorys.com

Hours
Mon - Fri: 11:00 am - 2:00 am
Sat: 11:00 am - 3:00 am
Sun: 11:00 am - 2:00 am

Darren72 wrote:I spied a very large new Irish-themed bar and restaurant in Andersonville, Lady Gregory's. It's at the corner of Clark and Berwyn. Their website, linked below, says they are owned by the same people as Wilde Bar and Beckett's, neither of which I have been to. The menu looks like fairly standard bar fare. Beer list looks good. I hope to get there soon.

Lady Gregory's
5260 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60640 (Clark @ Berwyn)
773-271-5050
http://www.ladygregorys.com

Hours
Mon - Fri: 11:00 am - 2:00 am
Sat: 11:00 am - 3:00 am
Sun: 11:00 am - 2:00 am

It was actually supposed to open a while (couple months?) back, but they had a set back because, if my memory serves, a fire.I don't know anything about the food, but Kyle McHugh (The Boozehound, formerly of Drinks Over Dearborn) is in charge of the drinks program.

SSDD

Had a little dinner at Lady Gregory's last night -- it was conveniently located next to Andersonville's farmer's market and after wandering throught it for the first time this season (Bennison's??? Bread weekly!), I decided to drop in and do the check it out thing.

First of all -- it's really pretty. High ceilings, cozy booths, big floor, pleasant window seats. Nice wood feeling. A little dark for a summer evening but I wanted cold more than light.

The menu was pub oriented but they try to slant a bit in the gastro pub direction. Not to the level of a place like the Publican or even the Hopleaf but in contrast to the menu I was offered at Acre the other night, I actually was tempted by several items. I decided to check out a couple of standbys. I ordered the onion soup and a burger and fries. The burger did not include the fries but they were the same price as mushy minted peas -- so you could go british if you wanted.

The onion soup was much more cheesy bread and onions than soup. For some that works but I like my onion soup on the brothy side. Flavor was good -- not amazing but better than some other onion soups in town. The burger was pretty tasty. It was cooked perfectly to order (medium rare) and the bun had just enough squishability to hold the burger together. They offer grilled onions but I ordered raw. The meat was seasoned well and juicy and I ate almost the whole thing -- which I seldom do with burgers. The fries were handcut and varied on their crispy-ness but I enjoyed them. I would have liked more of them.

For Andersonville, this place is definitely a step above what the former Charlie's Ale House was and a bit below someplace like the Hopleaf. It's not out of line price wise and it looks to have an extensive list of beers and wines. Not so many cocktails. Service was friendly and pretty efficient. I think they have a kitchen in the basement because there was a lot of movement on the stairs up and down with trays.

I will definitely be going back -- I could see this becoming a weekly or bi-weekly kind of stop for me. A decent dinner in a nice place when you really don't feel like cooking or meeting pals after work. I was in pretty early -- 6pm -- and the atmosphere was decidedly family oriented -- there were at least 3 groups of parents with kids in there for dinner. I'll have to come by later on to check out the atmosphere once the families hit the road.

I went there for lunch yesterday and liked it quite a bit. I think earthlydesire nailed it by saying it's "a step above what the former Charlie's Ale House was and a bit below someplace like the Hopleaf.". The price point is right where it should be.

I had the mussels which were really solid. They steam them in hard cider along with traditional herbs - garlic, tarragon, shallots, etc. They were fresh, well cooked and had a great flavor. All in all I think it's a solid place to check out.

We've been twice now, and have really liked it quite a bit. It's the kind of place that, had it opened 5 years ago, might have been a sensation. But now with so many outstanding gastro-pub-y places around it doesn't stand out. But it's very good.

We've sampled many of the small plates, and haven't had a disappoinment yet. I really liked the cauliflower steak preparation (that with the inclusion of some anchovy, ended up having the feel and taste of a nice piece of fish!), an excellent roasted beet salad, a perfectly cooked sea bass special, and the stolen bites of my kids mac-n-cheese were ridiculously good. I like their beer list too. And the deviled eggs. And the chips with blue cheese and truffle oil and...and...and.....

As the others have said, it's a very handsome room, and we've had the same really top-flight server both times.

My wife and I attempted to go the other night. While waiting for our table, we attempted to get a beer. After trying in vain for what seemed like an eternity to get a bartender to pay attention to us, we decided we deserved better and headed to Big Jones for an amazing meal. I'll build on Shasson's comment: this place looks like it might have been original and interesting a decade ago. Now, to me at least, it seems like its just throwing a small-plates/large beer list theme on top of typical bar and grill. The beer list is fine, but not amazing.

I would agree the food isn't amazing, but it's good. I would like to point out that they have an extensive whiskey list and the server who helped us knew exactly what to recommend based on our preferences. The truffle-oiled potato chips with blue cheese are pretty tasty.

I had thought that I posted a brief review, but I guess the evidence suggests otherwise. The Lovely Dining Companion and I visited several weekends ago; we thought it would be a pleasant place to spend an hour or two while the realtor held an open house at our place.

It was. Pleasant, that is. The food was fine. Actually, it called to mind my mother's question when I was in high school: (forgive me) "Why don't you go out with X? She's a very nice girl." That's the food: it's very nice. Which is to say, there's nothing wrong with it but nothing special, either. No real reason to revisit it having been once. I think another poster hit it on the head: if there weren't a plethora of these places, it might stand out a bit more but, as it is, there's nothing unique, remarkable, noteworthy, or special enough to make us want to return. What they did, they did well and it's a safe choice in that regard. More than that, "not so much" (thank you, Paul Reiser).

Like Gypsy Boy, I thought I had posted about my experience as well. We went a couple of months ago. We were seated in the wine room because our possible group size was 10. If you're ever looking for a semi-private space for a small group, I would highly recommend this one. It was so much more peaceful than the main room. We went before their cocktail program and whiskey list was fully set. Our server was excellent and walked us through what was available. I've lost all details about the food and drink by this point. My general impression is that everything was good or better than good, but seemed a touch pricey. The stronger impression was the hostess who was shooting daggers at us with her eyes because we dared finish our drinks and dessert when she needed the room. I have no problem with a polite comment from the staff if they need the space, but I did have a problem with the hostile body language from the hostess. Our server even noticed it and apologized. I'm sure I'll be back and hopefully next time I'll be able to report on the food and drink.

when I want a great meal, Lady Gregory's is not the joint I end up at...but if I want a drink close to home, I find their food ambitious and actually pretty decent.

Met a few buddies on Sunday during the day. Was planning on just having a couple bites while going over some business

Chicken Liver Mousse crostini, and cornichon


Which then somehow turned in to a full-fledged meal

Gastro Burger double layers of Meyer’s all-natural angus beef , brie, crispy fried onions, pickled onions and roasted tomatoes on a butter toasted bun

with
Amish Blue Chips truffle oil

which I was not able to stop eating.

Ultimate Grilled Cheese gruyere, aged cheddar, mozzarella, brie, roasted tomato concassé, fried shallots, candied bacon confetti melted in parmesan crusted sourdough

Sounds great, but both the thickness of the bread and the fried shallots really overwhelmed the sandwich, and we were not able to taste the many different cheeses.

Fish & Chips fresh Atlantic cod dipped in “three flour batter”, tartar sauce, chips and minted mushy peas

Fish was flaky and delicious but the breading was a bit soggy.

Not too expensive, a very nice beer selection, and a meal I won't feel shitty about afterward.

I'll continue to come back.

incite wrote:Not too expensive, a very nice beer selection, and a meal I won't feel shitty about afterward.

I'll continue to come back.

Nice report, Lady Gregory's is what I was hoping Burke's would be.

AlekH wrote:

incite wrote:Not too expensive, a very nice beer selection, and a meal I won't feel shitty about afterward.

I'll continue to come back.

Nice report, Lady Gregory's is what I was hoping Burke's would be.

I think Burke's Public House does pretty well for a small, neighborhood bar and seems pretty open to feedback. I've been to Lady Gregory's a few times and find the food to be okay and the atmosphere just too big and loud. I admit some protectiveness as Burke's is stumbling distance from home so I'd like to keep it around.

By coincidence, I was at Lady Gregory's just last week and had been meaning to post about it. Work companions chose it and being curious about it, I went along without offering any alternatives. I thought the place felt remarkably touristy, though, I have no idea if tourists typically visit A'Ville. The reason I say this is because the place is very showy, the food was just ok and the service was notably poor. Also, with the exception of scotch whiskys, the vast liquor list is populated mostly with selections that could be found at any Binny's and they're priced very, very high. It reminded me of one of those places you eat when you're on vacation and have no idea what's good. So, you look for a busy place and hope it's busy because it's actually good.

The best thing I can say about the place is that incite's pictures of the food make it look better than it might actually be.

=R=

I had a late dinner at Lady Gregory's last night - this was my second visit. My first visit was unremarkable and not much worthy of a post - a burger cooked a little past medium despite being ordered medium rare. Not a huge deal on a single visit. It wasn't a bad burger by any means.

Last night I returned and opted for a St. Patrick's Day special, lamb stew. This was a bad move. It was served with a couple of pieces of delicious Irish brown soda bread (not sure if made in house). But the stew itself was a train wreck. First, there were multiple pieces of pure gristle, unattached to lamb, this one I removed from the bowl:




Also, the pieces of lamb were all different sizes, and the same goes for the potatoes, thus cooked to different stages. For example, while some potato pieces were cooked to mush, this piece was basically raw:




Otherwise, this stew was a little under-seasoned and not all that flavorful. The bowl also featured very different temperature zones, making me fearful that it might have been finished/reheated in a microwave, except the raw potato piece makes this a little less likely. Needless to say, this lamb stew makes it less likely that there will be a third visit for me.

A return to Lady Gregory's last night underscored my earlier beliefs - it's just okay. We shared the deviled eggs (additional description: Thai chile oil, garlic chips). The garlic chip guaranteed no later problems with vampires and was the best thing about the dish for me. The eggs were served ice cold and the whites were rubbery. For my main, I had the half grilled cheese with a cup of tomato-basil soup. The sandwich is what incite photographed above. There is a lot going on with that grilled cheese and none of it worked for me. Even worse was that the tomato-basil soup was assertively flavored and conflicted with the grilled cheese sandwich when I dipped it in the soup. I had an order of the roasted cauliflower steak (with anchovy chile butter). Lots of flavor in this dish and I might order it again, just not with the grilled cheese and tomato soup. Unfortunately, I had three strongly flavored dishes competing for my taste buds. Poor ordering on my part.

We did enjoy sitting outdoors with the murmur of the farmers' market next to us.

They have the same grilled cheese and tomato soup and Wilde (on Broadway, a sister restaurant). My problem with the soup was that it seems to have too much cream. I took it home, and will try it enhanced with some roasted tomatoes.

The GP wrote:A return to Lady Gregory's last night underscored my earlier beliefs - it's just okay. We shared the deviled eggs (additional description: Thai chile oil, garlic chips). The garlic chip guaranteed no later problems with vampires and was the best thing about the dish for me. The eggs were served ice cold and the whites were rubbery. For my main, I had the half grilled cheese with a cup of tomato-basil soup. The sandwich is what incite photographed above. There is a lot going on with that grilled cheese and none of it worked for me. Even worse was that the tomato-basil soup was assertively flavored and conflicted with the grilled cheese sandwich when I dipped it in the soup. I had an order of the roasted cauliflower steak (with anchovy chile butter). Lots of flavor in this dish and I might order it again, just not with the grilled cheese and tomato soup. Unfortunately, I had three strongly flavored dishes competing for my taste buds. Poor ordering on my part.

We did enjoy sitting outdoors with the murmur of the farmers' market next to us.

Thanks for this extra data point. Every time I walk past this place I think that some day I should actually eat there. (My last visit was an ill-fated attempt in September 2011; see above) But I can't get excited enough to choose it over any of a number of excellent other options in the neighborhood.

incite wrote:
Ultimate Grilled Cheese gruyere, aged cheddar, mozzarella, brie, roasted tomato concassé, fried shallots, candied bacon confetti melted in parmesan crusted sourdough

Sounds great, but both the thickness of the bread and the fried shallots really overwhelmed the sandwich, and we were not able to taste the many different cheeses.

My first time at Lady Gregory's I ordered this based on a neighbor's recommendation. Just terrible.


I've never been back.

Lady Gregory’s The Andersonville bar and restaurant named after famed Irish author Isabella Augusta is opening its second Chicago location. The new spot in Old Town won’t look much different from the original, said co-owner Martin Cournane.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct ... story.html