McFadden's Restaurant and Saloon: User Reviews

Great Staff, late hours
By UrbanWalor from Lakeview , March 18, 2009

Overall rating:

McFadden's is one of my top five bars in Chicago. The staff is extremely nice and the week nights here are fantastic. Can't beat these drink specials in this part of Chicago. My favorite is Tuesday for $2-U-call-its. The crowd on the weekends seems to be suburban and lincoln park frat boys and trixies, while the weekdays attract a more laid-back professional crowd. The DJs are great at keeping the party lively all the way until 4am.

What the Heck Happened Last Night?
By krazeemac from West Loop, November 27, 2008

Overall rating:

For something a little different from the norm a group of friends and myself decided to hit the State/Division scene for Black Wednesday. It started off as a bar crawl, but at 10pm we sauntered into McFadden's and it was ROCKING!!! Needless to say, our "crawl" ended here. The drinks flowed, the service was top-notch and the DJ they had there could quite possibly be one of the best in the city. We had been there before in the past, but this was nuts. Beautiful women everywhere, non-stop, high energy remixes of songs that no other DJ we have heard would even think of doing and the crowd was eating it up. All different genres of music, and we can't think of one thing we didn't like. When this bar is open, it is on. And they partied non-stop til 4am. No let up at all. Thanks for the great time and we will be back. After a nap.

It rocks!
By hotmess from lincoln park, October 9, 2008

Overall rating:

Mcfaddens rocks. Its so fun and is open til five! Its always fun to go with a group of girls because you are allowed to dance on the bar and get crazy! Plus they have amazing mac and cheese bites that you can get at any time during the night. AND not to mention the bartenders are pretty sexy themselves. we alwasy have a great time when we are there

Nothing around like it......
By NLD from Gold Coast, October 8, 2008

Overall rating:

this is a great place to have a girls night out!!!! we can dance on the bar and no one cares! drinks are affordable and they are open to 4 or 5am! me and my girls always have the best time here whether we are starting out or ending our night.

Great spot for a Bachelorette Party
By nikkikiti from Chicago South Suburbs, September 8, 2008

Overall rating:

This was the perfect start to our fun bachelorette night. We really appreciated the friendly staff...the girl that checked us in was very cheery and helpful, the waitress never let us go thirsty, and the bouncers never gave us any trouble when going out/in for a quick smoke break. The open bar was reasonable ($35 for three hours). Afterwards we went to Funk Groove Bar, which turned out to be a big disaster...we should've just stayed at McFaddens for the entire night. Thank you McFaddens for showing us a good time!

Great atmosphere, great service, great everything
By Nemo3891 from Gold Coast, August 4, 2008

Overall rating:

I'm a mid-20 something guy who has just recently moved to Chicago. I ended up living in the Gold Coast neighborhood and, for the first couple weeks, I was extremely disappointed by the surrounding bar scene. However, this past Saturday night I ended up going to yet another explored bar, McFadden's, and I had a blast!
Unlike the other bars in the area, which seem to cater to a 30-something and older crowd, McFadden's, despite being in the heart of the Gold Coast, sets itself apart (and heads and shoulders above, I might add) from the other bars in this area of the city. The atmosphere is unlike that of any other bar that I've been to around that area (i.e. The Hunt Club, Level, Dublins, Le Passage) in the respect that it's not "tame" or "stuffy" by any stretch of the imagination.
When I walked in this past Saturday night around 11:30, I could feel the energy of this place. The music (a compilation of hip-hop, rock, and unique, one-of-a-kind mixes) hit me right away; also, visually, the videos and music clips mixed into the DJ's set were very cool and something that I've only seen once before. Shortly thereafter, a group of girls (and attractive ones to match) got on the bar and proceeded to strut back and forth while dancing to the music. It was a great scene and everyone there - from the girls on the bar to everyone in the crowd, including myself - enjoyed this unique spectacle, especially in such a conservative neighborhood. Besides these obvious pluses from the night, I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that they serve food very late into the night, which helped soak up some of the alcohol around 1:00am. The food, especially considering the lateness of the hour, was surprising good and the presentation exceed my expectations as well - I was expecting something on par with McDonald's, which it definitely was not. Lastly, although I could go on and on about the atmosphere, I'll end by saying that I also thought the layout of the place was great. In my opinion, it allows anyone to through themselves into the mix, so to speak, by ponying up by the bar or dancing with the throngs of people there, or you can sit, unbothered, at a booth and observe from afar.
In terms of the service, one word comes to mind: Unrivaled. I'll keep this short, but the bottom line is: great, friendly (and good-looking) bartenders, quick and polite service, extremely fair prices (again, especially considering the neighborhood), and stiff drinks...I felt like I was getting what I paid for. All in all, the service, ranging from the bartenders to the door staff, who were nice enough to help me find my phone at one point during the night after I drunkenly/mistakingly misplaced it, was outstanding.
McFadden's has earned a loyal and definite repeat customer thanks to my experience there on Saturday night.

Terrible! Try somewhere else!!
By Amanda from Gold Coast, June 11, 2008

Overall rating:

Went there for an event- Power Hour. Waste of time and money. They packed so many people in there you could barely move. We couldn't even participate in the Power Hour event because we literally couldn't get to the bar. I have been in there once before and found a similar situation with it being over crowded. The staff wasn't pleasant at all either. I will never go back there again.

What more could you ask for??
By NLD from Gold Coast, June 9, 2008

Overall rating:

McFaddens is a great place to start or end your night when you are out on the town in Chicago!!
You can pre-party there for their happy hour specials and choose to chow down from their MOUTHWATERING, BRAND NEW menu! They have everything from Philly Drops, which are a crisp fried wonton stuffed with Philly Cheesesteak filling to burgers, salads, pastas! You can even satisfy your sweet tooth with their world famous deep fried king size Snickers bar!
Stay for the late night party where resident DJs spin everything from 80's pop/rock to the latest dance/hip hop hits. Price are the most affordable in the area and you will always find the bartenders dancing on the bar tops giving away free shots! This is THE PLACE TO GO!

can i get a drink???
By jules from chicago, April 4, 2008

Overall rating:

I went there on a Saturday night with some friends and you couldn't even move once you walked in. The ypack so many people in there that we couldn't even reach the bar so we left and went down the street where we could actually order a drink. The staff seemed like they all hated their jobs which was annoying but the music was good. The crowd is mostly people in there 20's and dress varies with all the people. I will not be going back on weekends but am going to give happy hour a try and hopefully its less crowded and the staff is more pleasing.

Time of my Life...
By BillyC from Lakeview, March 17, 2008

Overall rating:

I was at McFadden's for St Pat's Day and literally had the time of my life..The service was friendly and prompt, and the mix of the 2 dj's, one playing regular party music and the one who remixes everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, was a great blend. I will definitely be going back. I hear they throw this party every weekend, and I will be more than happy to let them prove it..