Durty Nellies

GoCubsMatt

Washington

3.35/5  rDev -13.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4

Well if you happen to find yourself in Palatine, IL for some bizarre reason, this is the bar in Palatine. This is the kind of place that if you are from Palatine (as I am), you are more than likely to bump into someone you know from high school. They usually charge a cover fee for some crappy band Wednesday through Saturday. However, during the past July, they had Rogue American Amber and Bell's Oberon on tap for $2.50 a pint. I think they also had some Goose Island Honker's, but I was pretty stunned at the opportunity to have Rogue on tap in my boring suburban hometown that I don't quite remember if they did have it. They also have the standard Bass and Guinness in addition to the normal flavorful AB/Miller/Coors variety. During the summer they open up the outdoor patio, so at least you can sit outside and enjoy a good pint. This place really isn't much, but again if you find yourself in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and truly have nothing better to do, this place may do it for you. They are supposed to move locations sometime soon to a new building very nearby (it's less than 100 meters away), so check before you head out.

update- they are at the new location now. It is significantly cleaner than the old joint. The dank is gone, as are the troughs in the men's bathroom (personally, I miss them). The selection has improved, and there's definitely a lot more room to move around.

I went there for dinner with my parents, and we had an enjoyable meal. The food is a step up from pub grub, and the menu even includes some recommended beer-food pairings. The owner is very friendly, he came up and introduced himself and asked how everything was.

As far as the improved selection, they now have 3 Goose Island offerings, 2 Bells, 2 Rogues, De Konick, Delirium Tremens, a couple of Sierra Nevadas (including the Brown Ale), a decent bottle list, and other decent taps that I don't remember off the top of my head. Nothing earth-shattering, but a pretty good selection for a random suburban joint.

Still sucks to have to pay a cover for a crappy band during the busier times, but I'd definitely recommend it for dinner.

11-07-2003 07:16:39 | More by GoCubsMatt

Redrover

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev +7.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Durty Nellies is located close to the train station in downtown Palatine. There are lots of new condos nearby, so they should have a good close in base of business.

There is a small parking lot & patio out front.

It is a really nice space. They have an impressive ceiling height (20 plus feet), nice windows/light, dark wood, well-worn wood floors and strategically placed big screen T.V.s. The bar runs alongside the south end of the main room. They also have a second story with another bar and a band room.

They offer a good tap list. There are 6 regulars and by my count 25 rotating taps. Lots of locals (Revolution, GI, 3F) plus other Midwest favorites. They also have a huge bottle list broke down by style. It is Impressive in scope, size and quality. I think the beer choices are well thought out and decently priced.

The food menu is large with lots of burgers, sandwiches (house made corned beef!), salads, appetizers and entrees. You should find something you like.

It is Beer centric in focus and service. Every town deserves a place like this.

12-19-2012 20:20:17 | More by Redrover

MIA4IPA

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

The best spot in the NW burbs for a great craft btl or tap. They have like 20 taps and huge btl selection prices are very fare. They keep a good range of Floyds, Goose and limited release beers on tap.

The service is pretty good the staff is not very knowledgeable on the beer. I once ordered a Victory Hop Devil and it was way out of date but they replaced no questions asked. Food is typical bar food but the mussels are to die for!!

I don't go here as much during the weekends unless they have a great band paying. Cover is usually around $7. My big complaint with Nellys is when I just wanted to stop in for a brew separate from the band area I don't want to pay the cover charge. I think the way they setup the building was poor. The main area where all the craft taps are I can't see or hear the band so why do I have to pay the $7?

12-07-2012 17:50:05 | More by MIA4IPA

BeerLover99

New Jersey

3.88/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Very nice exterior and interior. They have remodeled this place since I was in high school, looks great. Plenty of live music, especially on weekends.

The wait staff were fine, not bad nor good. The 2 times I have visited this place, they had a very low beer IQ.

The beer tap selection is rotating and very nice. The US craft beers were current simple styles to extreme, plus nice import selection to choose from on any given day. I would say Firkin (Libertyville) is better, but this is right below it.

Pretty standard pub food, a few delicious gems. The menu can satisfy anyone of your friends.

GOOD BEER BAR, CHECK IT OUT!

04-28-2011 15:53:12 | More by BeerLover99

ghetto90007

California

3.95/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Flew into Chicago from LA and was working the next day in Palatine. Hotel was in Schaumberg. I decided to get a feel for the offerings in the area from BA and Durty Nellie's seemed like the place to go - I was looking for some good brews on tap that I can't get in California.

Durty Nellie's served this purpose well. Aside from various samplings I was able to have throughout the evening, I enjoyed pints of the following with my filet mignon:

Three Floyds Gumballhead (loved it! - wonderful beer)
Smuttynose Finest Kind IPA (very good New England IPA)

To finish the evening out, I was able to enjoy Avery's Mephistopheles in a snifter with a kid's menu scoop of vanilla ice cream. Good God, that is a diabolical, soul-crushing beer. And I mean that as a complement.

Their online menu looks fairly up-to-date. Service behind the bar was great and talked beer with the bartenders.

A young lady tending bar named Bridgett showed herself to be quite the beer lover. I had just finished my Gumballhead (that someone else poured) and asked for a pour of the Smuttynose IPA. She remarked that it was her second favorite beer. I asked what her first was, to which she replied "Gumballhead" unaware that I had just finished one.

Whether I was supposed to or not, I also walked out of there with a couple bottles of KBS for my fridge back in California. They were cellared well at good aging temperature. They did set me back $12 each, but I can't get my hands on this normally.

I will definitely come back next time I'm in town. It may not be the best offering if you're a local (though a solid one), but if you're from out of town and want to try some great brews that you don't happen to be in a distribution area for, this is a great spot.

04-06-2011 19:16:09 | More by ghetto90007

MrMcGibblets

Illinois

3.44/5  rDev -10.9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

huge place, most of the times i've been here they've had bands playing in a cavernous area on saturday nights and usually jampacked. nothing special about the decor. this place caters to all kinds, mostly i think to youngish people looking for a night out and random entertainment. i was shocked, therefore, to see that they had a decent tap selection, mostly american crafts and some usual bmc suspects. gumballhead has usually been on when i've been here, which is a big plus for me. nice bottle selection. glassware was nothing special, just your standard shaker pints, although they do have some other glassware for belgians, etc. i haven't eaten here but it looks like your standard bar food. if you are coming here for the beer i suggest not going on a saturday night. hard to judge service since the times i've been here it was crazy busy.

02-05-2011 23:40:24 | More by MrMcGibblets

TallPaul07

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +10.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$

I went to Durty Nellie's specifically because the had Hopslam on tap and I was in town for business and wanted some good beer. I figured that typically a place that has Hopslam on tap would typically have other good beer.

This place blew me away! At this particulalr time it was great for hopheads who love IPA's and DIPA's. They had: Hopslam (draught), Dreadnaught (Draught), Arctic Panzer Wolf (Draught), Great Lakes Blackout Stout (Draught), Green Flash IPA (Draught), and Double Trouble (Bottle), Founders Nemesis (Draught), etc.

In order to soak up I ordered a pulled pork sandwich and fries which were awesome too. Was expecting the generic pulled pork scooped from a container and slapped on to a bun. Instead, I got was seemed to be a slow roasted, hand shredded, sandwich on a premium bun, topped with some BBQ and onion straws, and some really good fries.

Will definitely make it a point to go back to this place! Loved it.

01-27-2011 18:03:19 | More by TallPaul07

TMoney2591

Illinois

4/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Finally made it out here this afternoon with my boi VDubb86 after hearing many a good thing (and upon learning that FBS and Older Viz were on-tap simultaneously). It's a fairly quiet place, though, admittedly, we visited around 2:30pm on a day when no live music was scheduled anyway, so take that however you will. The taps were pretty nice, as was the bottle selection. I've seen better on both counts in the area, but this selection is rather sweet regardless. Everything was served, generally-speaking, in its proper glass. My only knock was against the bartender: She was kinda absent-minded when it came to keeping our glasses filled, but she made up for it with a pleasant demeanor and an interest in our note-taking. Overall, this place seems like a good backup destination for the days that The Firkin is either not an option or we feel like a change of scenery. (I'll add that the food sounds pretty tasty, but I've yet to have any. One day...)

10-22-2010 06:15:17 | More by TMoney2591

Vdubb86

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -2.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

Durty Nellies is really 2 places in one. On the one side is where they have all of their live music. And as far as the northern suburbs are concerned it's one of the best places you can go for that. However, going on that side for a beer will disappoint you with the lack of beer selection. But if you go into the actual bar area there is a different tune to be heard and that is the second best on-tap selection in the northern suburbs (The Firkin, Libertyville is #1). The atmosphere of this side is quite different, being a stones through away from the Palatine Metra Station, it's got quite a nice feel to it. The quality of the place averages out depending on what you're looking for and for some it might be the perfect location. The beer selection has plenty of craft and microbrews. As far as I know it is one of the few places to get Flossmoor Station and Half Acre beer as well as some limited taps from Goose Island. The food depends on what you get I'd stay away from the fish fry, the others range from decent to good. It's a fairly small food menu so there's not too much in the way of range, but enough choices that you won't leave hungry. My recommendation is to go there at night for a great pint of beer and some damn good live music.

09-08-2010 19:27:02 | More by Vdubb86

bradleyp

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev +4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I used to frequent Nellies for a long time. I even lived walking distance from there for awhile. I would always bump into people I went to Highschool with, and that was a reason not to go there. However, there is always good beer on tap, and on occasion, there would be a good band playing. This bar is known for having one of the biggest St. Patrick's Day parties in the suburbs. I would suggest going to this bar if you want to get drunk and possibly laid. There's usually quite a few nice looking ladies in the bar.

05-07-2010 07:57:06 | More by bradleyp