Wednesday 9th of January 2019 08:46:26 AM

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O'Hare finally has a quality beer/dining destination. After years of spotty options, finally. Publican Tavern is worth the trek from another terminal, in case you're wondering. I'll be stopping here any time I have a delayed flight for sure. It's a little pricey, but nothing beats an Orval at the airport.

Publican Tavern have a host stand and a large area of tables inside and "outside" in the hall of the airport. I squeezed in at the bar, the last spot next to the service area. Staff were fast and friendly, bartender had some basic beer knowledge. Half Acre on draft and Orval bottles, alright. Beer list was fairly small but well rounded with local craft options from Half Acre, Off Color, Revolution and classic imports like Rodenbach, Westmalle, and Orval.

Food was a step above 99% of the rest of O’Hare, but fairly far behind the original Publican restaurant. The pub burger patty was a bit small and hidden in the bun, but it was pretty tasty and served with ample fries. The menu is pretty abbreviated, but some of the good standards are on there. Edit: 2nd burger I had was better and actually cooked medium rare. Throw some Publican maple braised bacon on there if decadence is your thing. I also had Andechs Weissbier for brunch, it was sublime.

Side note: Tortas Frontera isn’t bad either, but it's mainly just sandwiches under a heat lamp with a Tocayo tap and an a Goose Marisol/Matilda tap. Hopefully they start pouring Cruz Blanca soon. GI's old airport bar was so bad it's not worth mentioning here, and the new one isn’t much better.

Overall this is your beer destination if stuck at O'Hare. Just go.