Ballydoyle Irish Pub - Downers Grove

This place has really turned it around since previous reviews, I have had the following beers there in the last month. King Henry, Hopslam, Oaked arrogant bastard, stone sublimely self righteous, and if you go on the weekend, the chef has some great specials. We were there friday and had lobster stuffed skate wing(SP?) and it was delicious. And pork belly sliders to start. Crazy good. Worth going to and im here 4 times a week.

Was there for a band (Enter the Haggis) and had dinner before. Food was okay, bot not as good as some of the other Irish themed places in the Southwest suburbs. The bar area is too small to support a stage and was very cramped. The website had us confused about when the show started and when we arrived a sign on the door announced yet another start time. Annoying. The Aurora location is a better place to see a band.

I stopped at this place after dinner on a Saturday night. There was a band called the Neverly Brothers getting ready to play. Because of this it cost me $5 to get in the door and I had to wear some stupid paper bracelet. I normally would have walked away from this silliness, but I was there with a bunch of people. The place was filling up fast, but somehow my party managed to secure a few seats at the end of the bar. The bartender was prompt and cute to boot. It doesn’t hurt to have your beer served by a pretty face. Ballydoyle has the usual selection of beers that you would expect to find at an Irish pub. There was Guinness, Boddington’s, Hoegaerten, Beamish, etc. I started out with a Boddington’s, which was served at a good temperature and in the proper glass. After I finished that off, I tried a Beamish, which I had never had before. It was very good and I would drink it again if I were to encounter it. Unfortunately I have really fallen in love with local microbrews, so I am not as excited about these imports. We didn’t eat anything so I cannot comment on the food. Once the band started playing things got loud and the crowd continued to fill the place. It was a nice atmosphere and a good place to enjoy a few beers. The noise made it hard to carry on a conversation though. Overall, my experience at Ballydoyle was enjoyable. I might stop in again if I were in the area, but I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to go there, because it is pretty far from where I live.

Not a real beer destination, but you do get a decent amount of options beyond total swill. Food is not bad with your typical american takes on Irish comfort food and other pub grub all executed above average. They have a lot of events and live music making it pretty lively. Nice atmosphere and good service when I’ve gone.

This should fall under the category of a fake Irish pub for the yuppie crowd, but they’ve put so much attention into the details that it really doesn’t matter. Great ambiance. A separate bar with a live stage and a full music calendar, plus three dining rooms. 20 taps with the usual BMC and Irish beers, but NO Killian’s, thank you. Then some unusual seasonals, including German beers, all in proper glassware. Across the street from Emmett’s making downtown Downers a halfway decent destination (there’s also a wine bar nearby, too with 2Bros and Kwak on tap).