CONTACT US
drop us a line—we’d love to hear from you!
“Great beer selection, Great food, awesome staff. Good place for after work, but looks like a nice place for dining with a date as well.”
—Christoph 2019, Google
“Great food, amazing drinks, and beautiful low key vibe!”
—Pari 2019, Google
“Every time we're in the city, we stop and eat here, and have a great brew!”
—Deb 2019, Google
RAND CENTRAL, Dinner and Drinks in the Loop—URBANDADDY
PUBLISHED May 6, 2014
“Well, this is odd.
There you are, standing in the Loop. Right there. In the center of everything.
Yet somehow, you cannot find one single, solitary place serving lobster banh mi, taco flights and bacon-and-fried-oyster sandwiches. Not one.
This nightmare ends here: Randolph Tavern, a place unafraid to give you what you need when you need it, soft-opening Saturday.
It’s located on the ground floor of a 1929 Gothic Revival building you may recognize as a John Dillinger haunt in Public Enemies. The long, narrow interior, however, is easygoing--more upscale rec room than mobster lair. Look for vintage Old Chicago beer neon signs and pictures of Chicago celebs like Dennis Rodman. (Speaking of public enemies.)
Anyway. Your three primary uses for this place:
1. Business lunches.
Obviously.
2. Post-work cocktails and/or after-work bacon.
Munch bacon-fat popcorn. Sip a bacon-infused rye cocktail called The Stockyard. Settle into a bacon burger. Consider what the deal is with all the bacon.
3. Pre-theater dinners with the parents.
It’s conveniently across from the Cadillac Palace Theatre. While the menu isn’t afraid to globe-trot, words like “wedge salad” and “shrimp cocktail,” “cabernet sauvignon” and “filet” will comfort the folks.
Nothing says “Happy Mother’s Day” quite like a slab of beef.”
Randolph Tavern, a place unafraid to give you what you need when you need it.”
— Thank You URBANDADDY!
CHICAGO'S 9 BEST RESTAURANT AND BAR OPENINGS THIS MAY —Thrillist
PUBLISHED May 27, 2014
“You know it was a good month when the Totally Badass New Restaurant and Bars That Opened in Chicago This Month Report (working title) sports the following most commonly used words: ramen (7), beer (5), and bacon (4). You know it's an even better month when two of those three are used in the same sentence at least once, as they are in this May edition of the TBNR&BTOICTMR.
Randolph Tavern
Loop
Pub-esque digs with vintage signs and wood accents? Check. Pulled pork, scrimshaw mussels, and bacon popcorn? Check times three. After months of mystery leading up to its opening, this massive tavern delivers on all the goods. Go for comfort food and good times, and thanks to an airy spaced-out floor plan, you don’t have to worry about bumping elbows with anyone/sharing your bacon popcorn.”
“This massive tavern delivers on all the goods. Go for comfort food and good times…”
— Thank You THRILLIST!
Randolph Tavern, New Loop Restaurant —DNAinfo Chicago
By Lizzie Schiffman on May 1, 2014 6:38am | Updated on May 5, 2014 1:39pm
THE LOOP — A new restaurant is expected to join the Loop dining landscape May 10 at Randolph and Wells streets.
Randolph Tavern at 188 W. Randolph St. will be restaurateur Rachel Dennis' first Chicago project, joining her existing Lake Street Kitchen + Bar in Oak Park and Piggyback Tavern in Forest Park.
The menu is "American with a spin," general manager Neil O'Mara said.
"We're hoping to have a little bit of something for everyone," said O'Mara, a Jefferson Park resident who's worked with Dennis in each of her restaurants. "We're going to have tacos on the menu, and burgers and steaks, seafood, raw oysters. Chef Will Pagulayan, from One North, designed the entire menu, and he's knocking it out of the park."
The restaurant will seat 300 and include a "giant" bar that seats 50 more, O'Mara said. It will be open five days a week for lunch and happy hour and for dinner only on Saturdays and Sundays, though O'Mara said that may change depending on demand.
Lunch prices will range from $10 to $25 for entrees, and from $10 to $35 for dinner.
O'Mara will head up the beverage program, with a little help from his friends.
"Me and a couple of my friends are experienced mixologists, so we've been putting our heads together," he said. The drinks menu will include "a combination of classic Prohibition-era cocktails and original creations" like a "balsamic sea salt gin smash, which sounds odd, but it's very, very good."
O'Mara said he planned to promote internally to staff the management team, and he and Dennis "cannot wait to open. We have an amazing location in the Loop, arguably the best location in the city."
"A combination of classic Prohibition-era cocktails and original creations…"
—Thank You DNAINFO!