Saturday 30th of January 2010 09:27:51 PM

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Marginally better than Kitty O'Sheas, the other lame forgotten Irish/British chain bar in the Loop.

Inside there was lots of dark wood, wrought iron railings, and stained glass. Carpeted dining area, tiles around the bar. The interior felt very by the numbers and designed in a corporate office to feel "homey" and "British". A fake fireplace with some books on it, with framed photos of Charles Prince of Wales. Little jugs of "olde tyme stoute" above the bar, next to the 20 bottles of macros that comprised the bottle selection (minus Goose IPA and Hacker Pschorr).

Taps were the only decent thing about this place, 3 Fullers: ESB, London Pride, London Porter, Franziskaner, and SA Noble Pils as a seasonal offering. The rest were your typical Harp, Bass, Guinness, etc. Decent Scotch selection, about 12 in all. My London Porter seemed like it had been on for awhile, but I did see one other pint drawn while I was there. Imperial pints were another bump up to the service score, in addition to the sweet girl that was taking care of us. There was an unpleasant funky bleach odor at the bar though.

Food wise we tried the bruschetta, which was passable. Overall there are better places to go in the Loop. If you're staying downtown, check these places out:

Kaseys, Hackneys, Villains, State & Lake, The Gage, Millers (old school), Binnys South Loop (bar and megastore).

Addendum: It should be noted that E&C dispenses through fake beer engines here (Adams St.), which aren't actually cask ales. It's artificial housing around a standard tap, with a lower CO2 level. More info:
http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/1669904
http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/464296
http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/817456#819468
http://www.cask-ale.co.uk/us/bogus-alert.html