Sheffield's

wschmit

Illinois

4.22/5  rDev +1.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Had my inaugural experience at Sheffield's over the weekend. The layout's a bit awkward, with several bars having different selections. All of them have good brews, but some are more good than others. Shop around.

Food was alright. Pulled pork sliders were not particularly traditional, and were dry, but had a bit of smoke and outer brown, and kept me happy. Fries were excellent. Together, those cost perhaps 15 bucks.

Beers were nice. I had a good Flemish Red and a couple American micros, and prices were good for the neighborhood.

Service was prompt with the food. Can't say much about the bartenders. It was loud, so there was no room for beer chat.

Overall, the atmosphere is very North Side, and somewhat dude-bro-like, but if you can get past that, it has some great beer and very passable food, if not Michelin-worthy.

02-02-2011 05:43:44 | More by wschmit

chetripley

Illinois

4.7/5  rDev +13.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Its not easy to describe a place that is really like no other I have been in. It appeals to me in many areas but unfortunately as a suburban dweller I don't get down there as much as I would like, besides before and after the ballgame.
There are 4 separate bar areas, each with quite an exciting supply of American craft beers within. Monthly specials offer a variety of tap beers that usually aren't normally available, so this allows for special tastings at a discounted price, plus the seasonal selection is always huge and usually on tap.
The main bar in front may be a little cramped, but it has the best selection overall, but as you move through the place, towards the rear through a little hallway will put you into the Beer School Bar, which offers its own selection of taps and has an impressive beer can collection, as well as unused taps all around. As you move south the next bar shares the wall with the barbecued meat smoker, and it too has its own beers too. And don't forget the fourth area, the beer garden, resplendent with taps too.
They serve Memphis barbecue and they do it well too.
This is a place worthy of repeated visits, if not to see how well they adapt to the seasons.

01-27-2012 14:34:13 | More by chetripley

drumminbrewer

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Finally stopped by this place a few days before Christmas. I'd been meaning to swing by for a while but the lakeview/lincoln park area has never been my cup of tea (pardon, my pint of ale).

A bit cramped when you walk in, I'm glad I read reviews of this place before I went because I wouldn't have known about the other areas of the bar. The back area is much more spacious, and it's quite nice looking - wooden everything, many rare bottles on display, etc...Nice beer garden area, would really like to barbeque back there.

We sat down at one of the bar areas and waited for about 10 minutes for a bartender to show up. I ended up running over to another section of the place and grabbing drinks there because we thought it was closed down or something. No matter, when he got there he was a nice guy. Ended up ordering some artichoke dip from him - cheesy as hell but tasty none the less.

Impressive draft selection! I tried a few newbies, in particular an Italian beer brewed with chamomile that I really enjoyed. A good amount of local things - 2bros & such available. It was probably my bad, but I didn't ask for a bottle list nor did I see one laying around. From what I've heard it's quite stellar though.

This is a really nice spot. Like I said, Bro-Town (aka Lakeview/Lincoln Park) has never been my favorite area of the city - but amidst a bunch of shitty sports bars, girls walking around in Ugg boots with spandex and a never ending supply of obnoxious cubs fans this place is a real gem. Definitely stop by...even if you follow the white sox.

01-04-2012 16:26:45 | More by drumminbrewer

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -4.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I've stopped in this place a few times during trips to Chicago. As long as the crowd is more subdued (aka no game on), it's a good experience. It is usually pretty crowded, but you hang around a while and eventually you'll get a seat somewhere. Atmosphere is nice even if a bit chaotic at times. But the place is tidy, lots of wood, and generally welcoming. Service is fine, and the servers generally have good beer knowledge. Very nice beer selection, with lots of American micros on tap, and other stuff in bottles. Decent prices. Mainly BBQ and comfort foods on the menu, which is not a bad thing. Pulled pork platter was so big, my buddy could only get through about 1/3 of it.

Overall a nice stop if you're in the neighborhood. Just be prepared for a DNW crowd if there's a game on.

12-22-2011 18:40:28 | More by Rifugium

MarcatGSB

Michigan

4.14/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

During a recent trip to Chicago, we rented a house about .3 miles from Sheffield's, so it was a quick walk which made it nice. But for some reason, even though we enjoyed our visit, we only stopped by once. So many other things going on.

As I walked in the front door, the first thing I noticed was how small and cramped the front room was. Without ever being there before, I was bit overwhelmed as all the tables were taken, and the only place to really stand was in the waitress station (never feel good about that). After looking around, and walking down the back hallway, we discovered there is much, much more to Sheffield's than the front room, including more beers on tap...

Upon arrival I purchased an Ommegang Aphrodite from the front bar, which was really tasty. They have a really nice well rounded tap list in the front room, but upon moving to the back "Beer School" area, I was blown away by what they had on tap. They had Angel's Share (aged in Brandy barrels), which was the bees knees. We hung out in the corner for a few hours and enjoyed our experience. We did not try any BBQ.

Great tap selection, and a real nice bottle selection. Definitely on the list of return stops the next time I'm in the city.

10-31-2011 19:48:51 | More by MarcatGSB

KDawg

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev -1.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Sheffields is a place I'm at relatively often. My friend lives across the street, so it makes it easy to come here.

There are three separate bar areas plus a beer garden when its nice outside. There are generally different taps at each bar and all offer up a very good selection of quality beer.

It can get swamped with a lot of bros after cubs night games, but that isn't often enough to be that big of a deal.

All of the service is very friendly and easy to get a hold of. The food can vary a bit, but their bbq is usually very good and they have their own smoker.

The general vibe is very good and while it can get busy its a fun place to grab a great beer at

09-19-2011 04:55:49 | More by KDawg

TMoney2591

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +1.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped in here as part of my buddy's bachelor party bar crawl. This place has got a handful of bars, each with different taps. We grabbed some brews and settled into the nice biergarten for a while. The beers were well-varied, and the overwhelming majority (if not all) of them were quality brews, and each was served in at least semi-appropriate glassware. The bartenders were all pretty cool, and they definitely seemed to know their stuff. Despite the relative crowd, the place never felt too packed or anything, but rather cozy instead. The prices were surprisingly fair, comparable to those found outside of the city. Overall, this was a great place to spend some time drinking some beers and having some animated conversation. Right on, Sheffield's.

09-07-2011 05:30:42 | More by TMoney2591

cratez

Ontario (Canada)

4.28/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Dropped by for dinner and drinks with my girlfriend in July 2011.

VIBE: resembles your typical drab watering hole with a long wooden bar and various tables dispersed throughout a large room. A huge "CHICAGO" banner hovers over the taps. The music was too loud and the patio was awash with smokers on our visit, but the downmarket atmosphere makes sense since this is a no frills "beer and BBQ" joint. Also, despite my criticisms, the interior is nevertheless clean and approachable and the patrons keep to themselves.

SERVICE: our waitress was friendly and efficient, and she made several good suggestions when a couple of the beers that I ordered were not in stock. They check for I.D. at the door but, thankfully, even the bouncer was jovial. Food came to the table promptly, so no complaints here.

SELECTION: big focus on American micros with an excellent mix of regular, year-round offerings and seasonal rarities. I had a Dogfish Head Festina Peche (bottle), Avery Joe’s Premium American Pilsner (can), and Founders Red’s Rye (draught) and spotted New Belgium Somersault, Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, Reissdorf Kölsch, and Avery Karma on the tap list. Nice style variation.

FOOD: my girl and I split the pulled pork sandwich with smoked beans, slaw, and corn bread. Although the barbecue was nowhere near the best that I’ve eaten, it was still tasty, enjoyable, and reasonably priced. Plus I was glad to try vinegar-based, Eastern North Carolina BBQ sauce for the first time.

OVERALL: we’ll happily return to Sheffield’s if we happen to be staying in or walking through the area in the future. This place is a solid choice for a meal and drinks - especially if you’re in the mood for hearty Southern barbecue - and I was pleased to find two beers that I hadn’t sampled before. Cool spot.

09-06-2011 22:07:10 | More by cratez

SpdKilz

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev -4.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Was here last Christmas. When we walked in it was completely dead, though it was relatively early in the day (but we were literally the only people there...and throughout our entire visit until we left).

The service was great. We had a nice hostess who told us about all the specials and let us sample some beers.

The selection was actually pretty good. They had Surly Furious on tap, and had some great Jolly Pumpkin beers. They have a good tap and cellar selection here.

The food (we only had a couple orders of their fries) that we had was pretty good. I would for sure buy more next time.

This was a bit more expensive than some other bars, but again, I really liked their selection. Well thought out and will go there again when back home.

02-10-2011 04:40:52 | More by SpdKilz

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev -3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Visited 7/25/2010 with masterski.

Got into town on a Sunday afternoon so that may explain how quiet it was here. Regardless of why it was a nice place with lots of room. There are 3 bars and lots of seats.

Ordered a Harpoon Leviathan Bohemian Pils (meh) and took a couple sips of Alex's Daisy Cutter (very good). I saw a number of interesting beers on the list as well. From what I hear they do some interesting brewery nights like the Goose Island night with 20something taps going.

The waitress was very nice and prompt. The fries were good and reasonably priced (as was the beer). Definitely want to check out the themed beer nights.

01-31-2011 00:58:50 | More by t0rin0