Chief's Pub - Lake Forest

     From its opening night on Halloween, 2007, Chief's Pub has been a town hit. Former Knollwood Fire Department Chief and Pub owner, Chuck Knesley designed Chiefs to have that classic fire house feel. The walls are painted with murals and covered in classic, historical Fireman paraphernalia like oxygen tanks, uniforms, helmets, and pictures. This vibrant sports pub is surrounded by flat screen Tv's, where you can find every major game as well as pay per view events. The medium sized menu follows the classic american bar cuisine covering the bases of burgers, wings, wraps and sandwiches while reaching to the lunch and dinner crowd with specials like ribs and pizza.


Behind The Bar: 
Chiefs has a decent selection of on tap options: Bud and Miller Light, Sam Adams, Blue Moon, Guinness, 312, and a few others.

In all honesty:
     Chiefs is a great place; its fun, inviting and different. The themed atmosphere is energetic and provides a great community gathering place. Drinks may be slightly more expensive than other pubs in the area but they have some nice nightly deals. The food is pretty good, I'd stay away from the paper thin pizza, but the burgers and wings go great with a Guinness.

Hours: Mon - Sat, 11am - 1am; Sun, 11am - 11pm

Photos: Facebook

The Lantern - Lake Forest

     The Lantern is a local favorite, splitting its large American style menu with a popular late night bar scene since the 1930's. The three-room bar/restaurant plasters its walls with short funny quips and various sports memorabilia. One of The Lanterns more charming qualities is the toy train that circles the ceiling of the three rooms, each car advertising a different local business. They toot their own horn by claiming their signature Lantern Burger is "the best in town," but you won't hear the locals saying any different. 

In all honesty:

     The Lantern is loaded with Lake Forest loyalty but if you show up after dinner looking for a quiet place to sip a brew and check on the game this is not the place for you. Between the large business district surrounding the bar and the Lake Forest College campus just down the street, it fills up fast and the atmosphere gets loud. If you're looking for loud and rowdy, join the mostly mid-twenties crowd for Wednesday Karaoke night or any night of the weekend.

     The Lantern is not overly expensive and they have good nightly deals. If you want a place guaranteed to show the big game, match or fight, a more comfortable spot would be Chief's Pub, the sports bar down the street.

Hours: 

Dining, Mon - Fri, 11am - 11pm; Sat - Sun, 10am - 11pm 

Bar: Mon - Fri, 11am - 1am; Sat - Sun, 10am - 1am

Video: YouTube, Photos: Facebook