Timothy O'Toole's Pub Chicago — Restaurant in Chicago

Unacceptable Service and Urgent Need for Staff Training

I would like to echo and strongly support the feedback provided by Jacqueline Richardson’s prior review — every point she raised was accurate and reflective of our experience that night. As a native of Chicago currently residing in Atlanta, and as an award-winning educator and business owner, I understand the importance of professionalism and customer service.

During my recent visit to your establishment, I was deeply disappointed by the conduct and demeanor of your staff. From the greeter to the table waitress and support staff, the energy was stressed, disorganized, and inattentive. Most notably, when a server accidentally spilled water on our party, not a single staff member offered an apology. Even more concerning, rather than relocating us or taking any reasonable step to mitigate the situation, your team proceeded to mop under our feet — while we were still seated while others around were attempting to enjoy their meals.

This reflects a clear lack of customer service training, critical thinking, and empathy. Frankly, it was unacceptable.

Additionally, the demographics of your visible staff raise serious concerns. While your support staff (barbacks, janitors, etc.) were largely Hispanic and the table service staff was majority Black, there were no Black employees visible at the bar. The optics of this — combined with the dismissive treatment we received — unfortunately projected an unsettling racial dynamic. As uncomfortable as it is to say, the experience gave off racially biased undertones. This is something you must address immediately, not only for the integrity of your brand but to avoid potential legal or civil rights scrutiny. It only takes one call to the NCAAP. I strongly suggest your team pursue comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training and consider partnering with a reputable organization before your business becomes the subject of formal complaints.

Regarding the ID situation: my husband presented his ID through his Apple Wallet. He is clearly an adult — a bald man with greying hair. The rigid, inflexible approach your staff took in this matter lacked both logic and humanity. Again, no one demonstrated any empathy or common sense.

All three members of our party are accomplished professionals who expect — and deserve — the same respectful treatment extended to your non-Black patrons. We were hotel guests at the Hilton. We can afford $16 beers. I’m not simply requesting a phone call. I expect real accountability, staff retraining, and visible changes the next time I return to Chicago. We came for good vibes and quality service. What we experienced instead was frustrating, disappointing, and avoidable.

I encourage you to take this feedback seriously. You have a great opportunity to fix what’s broken — before it becomes a...

I had a terrible experience this past weekend. My best friend and her husband came in from out of town and we decided to grab pub food and beers. I have been to the Timothy O'Toole's in Libertyville and have had great experiences there. This location however was so unprofessional. It was confusion as soon as we walked in. I was carrying my water bottle and was asked to leave it at the front. I asked if I could empty it in the bathroom beforehand and dude looked at me like I was trying to get one over on him. I left it, not a problem. We requested to sit at the bar and the hostess told us to come back if there was not availability at the bar and she would seat us. No availability... got seated. Our server finally came to our table... it was busy. She went to take our drink orders and proceeded to put a tray of waters on HALF of the table resulting in 6 large cups of water spilling. We got splashed a little but it wasn't a bid deal until it WAS! Server left. Maintenance came over to clean up with soapy water. I asked if I needed to move because he was mopping all under me and around me. He said no. Another guy came to help. We asked if we could be moved while they clean up. My friend asked 3 DIFFERENT people over the course of 10 mins. They said they would get our server. Finally the server comes back and she is full of attitude asking me in my face if we wanted to move. I told her if we could just be moved until they were done mopping that would be great. They were still mopping. Also, we were still thirsty for water mind you. She said we had to go back to the hostess to have our seats changed. That wasn't the question miss server. Still don't know her name. I told her that wouldn't be necessary and asked if they could be done mopping. Swear it was like gallons of water being mopped up with soap all under our table, chairs, and surrounding areas. Now the server is ready to take our order and she asked if we still wanted water... why wouldn't we? Then asked to see our IDs because our hands weren't stamped when we entered. All still with attitude like we did something to her. So confusing and unprofessional. We showed her our IDs and one of my friends forgot his actual ID at the hotel but he had it electronically and not just a picture. They refused to accept it so we left. I serve and bartend at private parties for the masses and have never taken my problems out on the patrons. We were treated like we did something to them and not the other way around. We ended our night at O'Callaghans... great food, atmosphere, and all the staff was so nice and...

Timothy O Toole's is a great restaurant that we enjoyed & glad that it was close to our hotel during our stay. Service was good throughout our visit with regular check ins as needed. We came on a Sunday and were asked if there was a particular game we wanted to see. Like many bars they have TVs throughout with all the different football games you may want to see on a Sunday. The games aren't too loud so you'll still be able to hold a conversation without trying to compete with a blaring TV.

We started with an appetizer that turned out to be very good, the pretzel trio. The pretzel flavor is definitely different since I think they may fry up the pretzel after it's made. The sauces are the stars and all three bring a different flavor balance that you'll enjoy.

The burgers were great that we got for our lunch with the Jameson Maple Bacon burger only being available on the weekends and not found on the mainstream menu so it's possible that it's limited time. Very good burger with a syrupy good flavor. We also got the peanut butter crunch burger which was very good too. Our first peanut butter burger and it was good with the sriracha aioli giving it a bit of a kick. Turns out that they have multiple locations with one being closer to me so we may end up visiting that location in the future since this was a good experience overall. Check them out if you get a chance & maybe try the Big Timmy challenge that we learned was featured on Man vs Food (I couldn't make it all the way through for sure after reading up on it from the menu but maybe you can conquer...