Cooper's

I thought the chicken pesto was very good - customer service fantastic. more

Food wasnt horrible but way over priced for what it was. The bbq tasted like a lot of liquid smoke was used. Corn was delicious and duck Confit mac n cheese was great. Bbq dissapointing. more

Ok for bar food... I would not recommend the duck Mac&cheese as it was cheese soupwith noodles once it arrived... But besides that if you're in the mood for some run of the mill bar food I'd recommend. more

The place caters mostly to the theater goers and employees of it. It's a neat little bar with patio too Great drink selection. Horrible food more

Walked by a million times but never stopped. Now that its nice weather we wanted to go somewhere with a patio so we stopped in not expecting much. We were seated immediately. The staff was friendly and attentive and the food was great and reasonably priced. I can't believe it took me so long to try, I will definately go back. , more

My wife and I popped in on a whim last night (mostly because it looked inviting from the outside, plus a knee injury kept me from walking as far as we otherwise might have). We were greeted upon entry and treated like we were part of the family (as I noticed a couple of other patrons were later). Pros: Great service at reasonable prices in a great setting Cons: I can't go back more often more

I agree. This is definitely a ""hidden jem"" in Lakeview. I live right down the street from this place, and boy am I glad that I gave it a try. With limited dining options in the Southport Corridor/Belmont area (Southport has great stores, but lacks the food aspect), I was pleased to come across a place that's affordable, friendly and has outdoor seating. The waitstaff is always very helpful in recommending a beer and what kinda of sandwich to get. I love that I can go in any night of the week, and be guaranteed to grab a table or a stool at the bar. Definitely check it out if you are looking for a casual, cozy and inviting atmosphere! KUDOS to Cooper's! PS--The BBQ stuff is DELICIOUS! Pros: Good selection of food, GREAT beer selection, friendly service Cons: Outdoor seating not always open more

I normally browse these sites to get a feel for a place before I try it out. Today I decided to see what some people are saying about some of my favorite places, and based on reading some of the reviews on Coopers, I was compelled to write a defense. Pros: BBQ, Beer, Service, French Fries more

The ribs were very salty and dry. Perhaps they used too much dry rub. There was also a very strong mesquit smokey taste to them. Just not the juicy saucey fall off the bone that I love.. Pros: Great service Cons: Bad Ribs more

I recently had dinner with 25 friends before attending a theater production. My optimism was replaced with disappointment by the end of the meal. I had ordered the BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza and discovered that while eating it something was rolling around on my tongue which turned out to be a piece of curly sharp metal which my dinner mates believed looked like a staple - it actually turned out to be a metal shaving from the scrubbing pad that the kitchen help uses. How it got into my pizza, I'm afraid to ask, and by the look of the kitchen help, I was more afraid to know than ever. I brought my little piece of metal to the person who claimed to be the manager and was met with a look of disdain, a lukewarm apology and no compensation on my resulting dinner check. Which to add insult to a possible injury, reflected a $3.00 deduction in price with no explanation by the manager nor by the disinterested waitress who acted as if this large dinner group was interrupting her plans to do something else. Pros: conveniently located Cons: foreign objects in the food more

Lived in the area over a year before I tried this place, boy was I missing out. The amtosphere is warm and cozy, staff is friendly, not pushy, or fake. Menu I found to be small, but they make up for it with the Beer list. If you go and Pumpkin soup is the special, try it, my taste buds are glad I did. Pros: Beer List Cons: Limited Seating more

I still don't understand why I'm able to walk up to Cooper's on a Saturday night and get a table right away. Pros: free parking during the week, 8 bucks on weekend. great service, great food, great beer. Cons: doesn't open till 4 pm on most (all?) days and occasionally closed for private parties (which could be a pro if you're having the party) more

After about 3 prior good experiences, some friends and I decided to pay Cooper's another visit. We were deeply disappointed. Instead of ordering the pork tenderloin and flank steak like we did in the past, those options were reduced to sandwiches and ribs. That would've been fine with us, except the quality of the food was substandard. The BBQ baked beans were served cold. I'm not talking luke warm, I'm talking stone cold. The ribs, pulled pork, and brisket were okay, but nothing great. We finished the meal off with some sort of chocolate chip mint brownie. The less than personable waitress must have slapped this froven mess in foil on a plate and called it ""dessert"". Cooper's made some changes...for the worse! Cons: Service, quality of food more

During the winter, I was thinking of coming here, and was told not to because ""It's always dead... no one is ever in there."" Well, listening to that comment was pretty silly! Several months later, on one of the first nice days of the year, my boyfriend and I were walking around our neighborhood, and we stumbled upon this place. Firstly, we were impressed by the beer list, especially as self-declared ""beer snobs."" They have a great selection, so far in Chicago, second only to Hopleaf and Maproom, as far as I know. Then our food came... It was great!!! All the food is homemade and fresh! One of the owners is the head chef there, and he is really nice and friendly. Actually, all of the staff there is pretty cool. Since then, we have been back on a regular basis. The same people are always working there, and so they have come to recognize us as ""regulars,"" truly helping to live up to the theme of ""neighborhood eatery."" When the weather's warm, we like to sit on the patio and bring our little dog.... the staff even treats him well! We love it here, and will be back, probably soon :) Pros: Drink list, food, service Cons: Can't think of any! more

I stopped in one night to try the pulled pork sandwich and was truly amazed. I've been there numerous times since and have had the pulled pork sandwich every time. The beer selection is phenomenal and if you're stumped the staff always has great recommendations. It can get busy on the weekends so best to call for a reservation. Pros: Free parking behind the restaurant during the week more

Coopers was previously called Menagerie and is owned by the same folks. They decided it was time for a... more

Most of the postings on here are for Menagerie, which is now Coopers (different concept/food so they cannot be compared). Coopers is awesome. EVERYTHING is prepared FRESH in the restaurant (they even make the ice cream by hand, including homemade marshmallows to go in it). It's really nice having everything so fresh and the owners are really friendly. They have an AMAZING selection of beer from all over the world and great live music! It is a fun place to go out to eat with friends in the summer because they have outdoor seating with live music, great beer, and awesome food. Pros: awesome food, great staff, fun music Cons: ?????? more

Since discovering this oasis in Lakeview, the pizzas and PULLED PORK SANDWICH have become a staple of my diet. Trust me, PULLED PORK SANDWICH deserves to be capitalized. The super-friendly (but not annoying) waiter informed us it takes six, thats 6, days to create this delicious pork. The spicy bbq sauce and coleslaw within the sandwich makes me literally think about this sandwich when I am not there. The mussels and pommes make this meal complete heaven. I strongly reccommend grabbing a seat on the patio or infront of the open air french doors and enjoyhing the neighborhood folks as well as the fun staff. A nice change from trendy Southport and crazy Wrigleyville. more

Charming decor, comfortable setting. The food is fun and inventive without being pretentious. Servers are laid-back and easy to talk to yet skilled and knowledgable about menu and wine list. Chefs/co-owners are creative and friendly, often mingling with guests in the dining room. Tapas plates are fun to share, and entrees are well prepared. Perfect place for a date or a group dinner! All in all, a great neighborhood spot with a lot of bang for your buck. Pros: Value, Parking lot, Customer service more

Went out of our way to check out this establishment on a day when it had snowed a foot. The restuarant was half empty but the host still made us wait and then bothered to check if we had a reservation. Once we were seated, we looked forward to the prix fixe dinner advertised on their website. The host 'corrected' us by saying they had a pre theatre menu, but he still gave us the menus without any preconditions. When we were ready to order, however, our waitress asked if we were going to a show. Since we were not, we were denied our choices. We hailed the original host to see if he could help us out, but rather than welcome our patronage when business was so light, he ended up being more concerned about upholding policy than making these customers happy! more