Hopleaf — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Came on a Friday evening on a whim for a late lunch. I’d been here for drinks before and it’s pretty much THE place to go to for amazing beer selections. Even the glasses for the types of drinks are sick, I especially enjoy drinking out of a goblet glass, it feels so right. This time i started with their classic drafts brewed in house - the house pale ale, and it was so refreshing. For an appetizer, we started with a 1b of the mussels cooked in beer. This comes in an enclosed pot with bread, and at first i was concerned with how small it looked. Surprisingly, the pot is pretty deep and it was plenty of mussels for two for a starter. The broth was rich, salty and full of flavor. The mussels were big and fresh. it was soooo good, i’d come back for these by themselves. It comes also with a huge cone of hand cut fries, the aioli with it was a nice pairing. We then got entrees - Me and my girlfriend split the Slagel burger. The bacon-carmelized onion jam was to die for !!! the burger was packed with flavor - the only thing is it was cooked well done and i’d prefer a medium well next time (this was on me for not asking). The burger patty itself was crispy and i did like the smash burger aspect of it. For the side, i subbed fries for mac n cheese for an up charge. It was really creamy, cooked well and had a nice crumble on top. I’d only ask for more seasoning next time, as it didn’t have much flavor besides cheese. We also got an apple salad. The whole salad was well balanced with flavors and had a lovely presentation. My only issue is that it felt pretty small compared to the price. Overall the meal was delicious and if you took anything away from this review, it’s get the mussels in beer !!! All the other food was great too but that was the star for me. The service was good too, as our waiter was attentive and friendly. We told them our allergies up front and they were educated well on the dishes we could and could not eat. I will note if you want to sit outside, you will need a reservation most likely on a weekend. It seemed it was full and walk-ins there was a long wait for outside. We got a table immediately for inside. The vibes throughout the entire place are chill and there is plenty of classic cool signage and artwork through the place. I’d recommend here for a...

Inside is far too noisy to have a conversation (perhaps some noise buffering needs to be installed like they did down the street at Ante Prima.) So we usually go when the patio is open. The patio is absolute perfection! We have been coming here for over 20 years and love the food (and the beer, of course.) I’m more of a wine drinker and was happy that my glass the other night was much better than the wines they used to serve. The only thing we didn’t love was the Shrinkflation of their famous mussels. The pot they come in now is literally half the size it used to be. The price has gone up a bit over the years, as is to be expected, and is totally fair, my dish is now $18 and I think, for mussels, that seems like a decent price. I just didn’t like that, to compensate for how small the bowl is, they give twice the amount of fries with this dish, as well as an extra piece of delicious bread to soak up the yummy broth. Because I was still hungry after finishing the small bowl of mussels, I ate all the bread and far too many fries. For the size of the dish, at this price point, they should probably advertise it as an appetizer and slow their roll on the amount of fries. The entrees are very pricey now so we are sticking to those under $40. Inflation is hard on everyone. Small businesses have to raise their prices to keep up but, unfortunately, after 27 years as a Chicago Public School teacher, even with a Masters Degree, I’m still making $84 k a year with 2 kids about to start college, and my employer doesn’t give us raises due to inflation. In fact, many times our “raises” have been less than the Cost of Living Increase (COLA) so we sometimes bring home less money after getting a “raise.” Our only solution is to eat out far less and that, too, hurts the small businesses. I hope things cool down soon and portions become larger again because I doubt any restaurant or any other service oriented business is going to lower prices even when inflation goes down. But if you can afford it I still highly recommend Hopleaf for food, drinks, atmosphere, wait...

Hopleaf has become a staple, and I've never had a bad experience. The space is really cozy, warm, and intimate, and the patio is great in the warmer months. Service is always fine, never great but never bad.

Drinks. Not a huge beer person, but a few of my friends are and the beer list here is pretty comprehensive. Huge, even. Always something new to try, and the bartender (I believe his name is Alex) has given me some great recommendations, especially on ciders. Their cocktails are decent too, just nothing very inventive. On the same street there are definitely better places for cocktails. But again, great for anyone who loves beer or wants to get into it.

Food is always great. For entrees, there's a really amazing Reuben. The rye bread is toasted perfectly, with lots of meat and cheese inside. There's a perfect amount of dressing and the sauerkraut cuts through the richness really well. As with everything you order, served with a ton of fries which are always crispy, hot, and perfect with the garlic aioli (which is mayo, for anyone saying otherwise). The pork sandwich is decent, but not spectacular. Their charcuterie board was insanely good, but honestly surprised by how small it was. Got it for our table of 4, and thankfully two of us didn't want any, as it definitely isn't enough for more than two adults. However, the quality of the cheese, meats, olives, nuts, and olive oil, was surprising. My favorite starter there is the mussels; really, really good. Mussels feel really fresh, and the broth they're cooked in is amazing. After the mussels are gone, it's great to sop up the broth with the bread they give you, or just drink it with a spoon. Another thing I like doing is dumping some of the fries they give you (yes, fries come with the appetizer) into the broth and eating it like a soup. Maybe not orthodox but it tastes great, especially after a...