Rock Island Public House — Restaurant in Worth Township

My friends and I have been going here for a while now, so here’s a summary of what you’ll get.

First, the positives:

The food is phenomenal. The menu rotates based on the day and I believe they rotate between different kitchens/people. The Detroit style pizza is awesome. The birria egg rolls are awesome. No matter what day you go you’re getting great food.

The atmosphere is what drew my friends and I here. I love the pinball machines, the ambiance, and decor. The music is great and they have an old jukebox with all the classics. They’ve got a nice selection of games both indoor and outdoor (when whether permits). They often have community events and fun opportunities, like the bouquet making event a few months ago. I love all that they have to offer and really enjoy these kinds of things.

The drinks are great, but they’re more local brews and cocktails. Which is fine with me because I’m not big on beer, but if you’re looking for the bigger brands, they won’t have them. They also have a rotating monthly menu with seasonal drinks if you’re interested in that as well.

Now, the negative:

There isn’t too much to say, because I really do love this place, but I had to write this review because of how my friends and I have been received the last few visits of ours. I will start by saying that we’re in the 23-25 range, so maybe that’s why, but despite our age we’re never super rowdy or disrespectful.

The last handful of visits we’ve been there, I’ve noticed that the bartenders have been kind of rude to us. They’ll give us a hard time, be slow to serve us, and in the same breath smile and talk nice with a regular. My friend asked for a round of Vegas bombs and the bartender caught an attitude and said that they don’t serve “none of that fancy shit…” which is fine (you can also just say “sorry we don’t have __”) except that they do serve espresso martinis, aperol spritz, and other specialty “trendy” cocktails…not to mention we were standing in front of the station where they keep all the actual “fancy shit” (lemon peels, dried citruses and other garnishes).

I’ve been to dive bars before, I understand that bars can sometimes be protective of their atmosphere, and whatever, we’re young so we probably seem annoying, but it’s not like we’re getting hammered and kicked out the bar. I just don’t think we deserve to be treated that way when we give our business, have been loyal to the bar, and have been nothing but respectful.

Again, cool place, but not as warm and inviting as you’d like if...

I found this establishment via their charismatic presence on Twitter, and stopped in on two separate occasions during a recent trip to the Chicago area.

I was greeted with exemplary and friendly service from both Mike and Ashley, strong cocktails, and a tap list filled with quality selections from local Midwestern breweries.

The atmosphere is immaculate and inhabited with a welcoming crowd of regulars and locals. There's always something interesting playing on the televisions, usually curated by the eclectic tastes of the staff.

If you ever find yourself anywhere near Blue Island and want a quality drink in a cool spot, I'd highly recommend the RIPH. Writing this review made me want to be there in person again, which is probably a testament to it's outstanding quality.

(Quick anecdote: I lost a roll of film somewhere near the bar on my first visit and the staff immediately found it and notified me via social media. They were even willing to ship it out all the way back to LA for me, but I feel like the universe was tempting me to come back and enjoy more of what this place had to offer before I left.

I am very glad I went...

I love this place. If craft beer is your thing, it's worth making a trip here. The bar is located on a one way street in Blue Island that has other bars and restaurants in the area with a real chill vibe.

Met the owner (Dave) and he's super cool. He showed me their patio (which is cigar friendly - yay!) and their large selection of beer and whiskey. For food - they rotate between a couple of vendors, so depending on the day you could have Detroit style pizza (don't knock it until you've tried it) or tacos and other fare. Candidly I dug their thin crust pizza, but I don't think you could go wrong with anything. They do have a couple of TVs, but I spent my time on the patio. Also if you're a pinball fan - they offer a number of machines to choose from which is a nice touch. One more random point of information - they have a sour beer that tastes like Skittles. Give it a shot!

Big fan of Rock Island, and I'll be...