Piece Brewery & Pizzeria

bditty187

Nebraska

3.4/5  rDev -13.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3 | $$

When we walked in we were greeted with a sterile, clean... sort of stiff feeling brewpub. The bar was off to the right with high top seating and more seating off the main room. Clean walls, a few TVs about... it was sort of restaurant-sports bar meets brewpub. For some reason it didn't feel "beery" even though there was a huge chalkboard touting all the awards their beers won. Impressive and cheesy at the same time. The atmosphere wasn't cozy and it wasn't classy either... it was sort of just neutral.

We found a seat at the bar; it was around 2pm on a lazy Monday. I was not thrilled with the beer selection; it was heavy on wheat beers and lighter offerings. No stouts or porters, nothing too hoppy. I tried their ESB and it did nothing for me. However, the guest taps were great. Racer 5, two 3F beers and about 10 other tasty offerings... I had a Racer 5 with my pizza. It is a shame I needed to drink a guest beer at a brewpub...

The pizza was thin crust, simple, greasy and nothing special. The bartender talked us into getting the spinach dip and chips, it was far from great.

The service was above average but not overly noteworthy. It took sometime for us to get our check as one of the two bartenders/waitress seemed to have disappeared. But, overall, no complaints.

We stopped here because it was close to the train stop and a short walk to Map Room. Nothing about Piece was outstanding enough for me to recommend to others and I really have no need to return the next time I am in Chicago. Sadly, it was a forgettable brewpub experience.

08-13-2008 14:59:26 | More by bditty187

guityler83

Wisconsin

3.81/5  rDev -3.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 3.25 | food: 3.75 | $$

Overall Piece was a good accidental find in Chicago. Personal 2 topping pizza crispy crust was made well. I would have liked have had more options for session beers to go a loth with it, the sub 6% or 80+ IBU beers were limited to their golden Kolsch. The Kolsch was refreshing and hit the spot, but more variety would have put Piece up a few notches. Recommended if your in the Wicker Park area.

04-29-2013 17:56:41 | More by guityler83

krl2112

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +20.9%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75 | $$

Great place. Really good pizza and pizza dessert! Nice beer selections and friendly staff. Cool vibe overall. Tried a few of their brews and really enjoyed them. Wish they had a location closer to me cuz I would go back consistently. Anyone coming into town make sure to try this local gem out.

03-01-2013 01:54:44 | More by krl2112

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -10.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

After hearing great things about this place, I decided to finally quit wavering and get my ass in for a visit. It's a decently large (compared to other, slightly similar places I've been to) place, with that kind of Max and Erma's faux-semi-postmodern-industrial motif going on, what with exposed brick and ductwork intermingling with drywall, metals, and smooth 'n' shiny woods. It's never been my thing, but at least it's not a turn-off. A few flat screens line the wall over the bar and into part of the seating area, allowing for a glimpse into the sporting world not often seen at brewpubs these days (sometimes awesome, sometimes not). As per usual, I eschewed tables and whatnot for a seat at the bar. I ordered a flight of everything to give myself a sense of what Piece was all about beer-wise. The bartender was generally amiable, though it seemed as though the lunch rush was just about to begin, and the staff was preparing to deal with it. As such, friendly and helpful though the were, the staff made sure things were done with a sense of urgency, with the next item on the agenda to follow right away. I didn't feel rushed, but I didn't feel not-rushed either. Weird. Anyway, the beers were generally solid, though nothing really grabbed my attention. It's clear that's the basic MO here, to brew good, semi-traditional beers. I have no problem with that whatsoever, but I could easily think of at least two other offerings in the same style I'd rather have for each beer. (I know I shouldn't have thought that, but it's where my brain went whilst sampling.) Suffice it to say, nothing was either growler- or return-visit-worthy. I didn't try any food and have heard mixed reviews on the pizza (I think it depends on how you feel about thin vs. thick crust and whatnot...and I'm in the latter camp, myself). Prices seemed on par with pretty much every other Cicago brewpub I've been to.

In all, I enjoyed my time at Piece, and have enjoyed a couple visits since, but it's still really not a place I wholeheartedly look forward to visiting, and I never find myself saying "Man, you really need to go to Piece!" I don't mean to knock the place too badly, but I just can't get all that excited about it.

10-03-2012 14:56:30 | More by TMoney2591

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.38/5  rDev -14%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5 | $$$

A leisurely stroll throughout the Chicago streets takes us first to Bangers & Lace then to the Maproom, and now dinner and beers at Piece caps the night with pizza and ale- yea, I'm a happy guy.

The busy dinner hour rush held us up at the door for a few minutes. When asking the door guy for recommendaitons of what's a preferred flagship and a special beer not to be missed, the young fellow replied with Worryin' Ale and Wingnut with no hesitation.

We shrugged off the 20 minute wait for a table for two open seats at the bar. This gave us a chance to take in the large warehouse-type space. Full of beer drinkers and pizza eaters, it looks like there's 50 tables with a curved bar that has to seat 30 or so. The space and personnel handles the Wednesday night crowd very well. A mix of industrial designed lighting, chalk boards, and exposed brick, ductwork, and structure reinforces the notion of being a hipster joint under the tracks; except we're in a pretty nice Chicago neighborhood.

The two pints of beer were nicely promptly delivered and provided a very rewarding taste that's malty rich, seemingly of English origins, firmly hopped with noble and American varieties, and enough of an American experimental attitude to keep the imagination churning. With their strong malty character, the beers were not the perfect match for the garlic pesto pizza but that's my fault. The thin and biscuity crusted pizza is a departure from the famed deep dish Chicago pies and took care of the hunger pangs, but yielded few other reasons to celebrate. This is Chicago- food expectations are high here.

The bar staff was courteous although very busy. They took care of our orders swiftly and efficiently but with little opportunity for conversation otherwise. The visit to Piece was satisfying and rewarding but I left with the impressions that Chicago has better to offer. Although the business model for this brewpub seems strong and loyal, it has a sense that it is 1992 and can use a remodel from concept to execution to fulfill the demands of today's beer enthusiasts.

06-20-2012 18:01:33 | More by BEERchitect

KDawg

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Piece is a real fun place to go to. It gets packed here on the weekends and you need to make sure to get here early if you want a table. The waits can be a long time when it gets packed.

The beer is pretty solid. A bit variable across the board, but never a bad beer in the bunch. They will have anywhere between 5-8 of their on beers on tap along with about the same in guest taps.

The service has generally been very good for me. I've been at both the bar and tables. I've always gotten great service from the wait staff and the bartenders are usually very good as well (and obviously it's hard to keep up when the are slammed)

The pizza is really why you come here to be honest. It's new haven style so it's thin and with good sauce. The pizzas are real big where even a small is way more than enough for 2 people.

The pizza isn't cheap and things add up real fast here. Piece is fun to go to though. The only real downside is the parking. It's near impossible as non-permit cars usually get ticketed at some point or you have to deal with paying for street parking

02-07-2012 03:06:33 | More by KDawg

Duff27

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

It just worked out that the girlfriend (fdkayti) and I were seeing a show a block down the road at the Subterranean so we decided Piece would be a great place for food and brew beforehand. Inside Piece is you normal bar/tapline wall with a good dozen long tables in which you can sit next to strangers. They also have some booths and stand-alone tables. There were quite a few flat screen TVs...probably more than I'd like for an atmosphere where the beer and food is the main focus, minor complaint.

We ordered a Chicken/Bacon/Artichoke pizza that the menu said could feed 2 to 3 people. Well I'll be damned if we didn't finish off 95% of that pizza. It was great! For me being a beer people first and foremost, I felt that the pizza really stole the show at this visit.

Over the course of our meal we had four different beers brewed by Piece...Camel Toe Egyptian Pale Ale (DIPA), Dark 'N Curvy (Dunkleweizen), Swingin' Single (Belgian Pale Ale), and Roland The Headless Assistant Brewer (Oatmeal Stout) which I rated as 4/4.5/4/3.5 respectively. All beers were $5 (came in different size vessels as per the appropriate glassware to each style. I found that very fair for being in Chicago.

The only negative, and it was a big negative (to me anyway), was our waitress. She would ask us a question and walk away before we could even answer. I got water poured onto our table (she missed my glass with the pitcher) and it never got cleaned up. Uhhhh. She seemed like she was on drugs or something.

Other than the service, which isn't bad enough to keep me away, Piece was a fine place for pizza and fresh beer. I recommend it if you are in the city.

01-03-2012 02:29:17 | More by Duff27

Wisconsuds

Wisconsin

3.93/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Piece Brewery & Pizzeria. Even as a Milwaukeean, I've driven by this place numerous times on trips to Chicago. Every time I've uttered "I'll get there next time". Well, I finally went. Was not disappointed at all.

Started off with a Full Frontal Pale Ale, which was hoppy, delicious, and a beautiful copper color. Even more impressive was the Roland Stout - malty, a bit smokey, and full of chocolate notes. For dessert, the stunning and in/appropriately named Camel Toe Double IPA. An awesome beer that everyone should try, probably on two or three occasions in their lifetime. Pizza was great as well - and I work at a pizza company. White sauce/clams/bacon and a red sauce/pepperoni/basil/mushroom was had. For a town full of great pizza, Piece does not disappoint. If you're looking for deep dish - look elsewhere. Piece specializes in thin crust.

Service was attentive. On a Monday night at 7pm, almost every table was full - just another testament on how busy this place can get.

As for selection, theres plenty of guest taps and other bottles if you don't feel like indulging in any of Piece's offerings. Probably 500 different pizza combinations as well. No problem when it comes to selection.

Pizza was outstanding, beer was cold and delicious. Nuff said.

Value is between $$-$$$. Your pizza can get pretty expensive depending on what you put on it. Obviously.

I'll be back. A growler of Camel Toe IIPA would be perfect for Xmas...

12-13-2011 04:24:20 | More by Wisconsuds

SpdKilz

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Have heard about this place before and my friends wanted to go to watch the Bear’s game last Sunday so I thought what a great opportunity to check the place out.

Walk in just a bit after it opened and it was not very packed (though it did fill up later). The quality is quite nice in my opinion. High ceilings with wooden beams. A nice looking bar, plenty of seating. A very “hip” place if you will.

The service was great. Our waitress was awesome and put up with us for many hours when we were there for the game, and was always nearby.

The selection was decent. They had some house beers on and a few guest beers (both selections were pretty solid). I was very happy to try (over and over again) their collaboration beer with Half Acre that had just been put on tap that day.

The food was great. The chips and guacamole was a bit lackluster (they need better chips) but the pizza was pretty damn good.

The price was average and actually decent for Chicago. I will for sure visit this place in the future.

12-07-2011 02:42:19 | More by SpdKilz

ChugginOil

Illinois

4.16/5  rDev +5.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Walked from GI Clybourn over to this spot.

Upon entering the pub, I get a classy sport bar feel. A hostess seats u to your spot were you will be consuming fine brews.
Flat screen T.Vs are large and numerous throughout the restaurant. There are multiple chalk boards place around the place that state their specials and their awards. It's noisy but rightfully so as many people gather to enjoy their giant pizzas. Tall ceilings work for the loud noise.

This place is pretty damn clean and the quality of the beers was pretty top notch. The servers were dressed casually and had quality information to dish out about the brews that they had on tap.

The service included a knowledgeable staff that was quick with drinks and eager to hook up some samples and glassware.

They had about 6-8 house made brews that ranged from IPA's and Belgians to Stouts and barrel-aged browns.

Didn't try the food this time but the giant, cookie sheet strayed pizzas were smelling this place up mighty fine and from the looks of em, were pretty colorful and tasty looking.

The value was decent at about 5-6 bucks a brew and for the quality I would have paid more.

Overall, pretty impressed with the place and loved the Camel Toe- Egyptian style DIPA. Will certainly be returning upon my next visit to the windy city.

11-28-2011 06:14:02 | More by ChugginOil