Tasty Time at O’Leary’s

O’Leary’s Irish Pub & Grill is located in the heart of down town DeKalb right off of Lincoln Highway. With its easy access and visibility off the main road it leaves no surprise that this place is a pretty popular location especially on a Friday and Saturday night. If you enjoy that fun outgoing atmosphere Friday and Saturday are the nights to go. The bar is full of entertaining people wanting to cut back and have a great time but be prepared to wait if you want a table. If you prefer to dine in a quiet atmosphere O’Leary’s will provide that for you during the week Mondays through Thursdays.

The term Irish Pub is depicted well on the inside. The walls are covered with pictures and the restaurant is filled with dark wood. At night the lights are dimmed to set the mood. The seating is either booth or table. The seating is spread out in a certain fashion that you are not sitting on the person next to you. You can easily be engaged in your own conversation and not the people next to you.

The service was excellent. Our waitress brought drinks out right away and gave us enough time to figure out what we wanted to order. The food came out before we knew it. It was obvious that once the food is done being prepared it is brought out almost immediately instead of sitting under a heat lamp.

The menu contains a wide variety of food and what seems to be an endless amount of dishes even Andrew Loaiza, a fellow dining companion, had something to say about it, “[t]he menu definitely had something to suite everyone.” When it came to the quality and portions of the food he had nothing bad to report about it, “[i]t was good and there was definitely a lot of it!” Some appetizers include Loaded Potato Skins, Wexford Wings and Guinness Battered Onion Rings. O’Leary’s also provides a variety of soups and salads such as Jamaican Jerk Salad, Buffalo Chicken Salad and soups include French Onion and of course the soup of the day. There are a wide variety of main dishes to choose from. Vegetarians can indulge in a Veggie Wrap or Burger, for non vegetarians the menu includes a BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, Tangy Ranch Chicken Wrap, 6 different Burgers to choose from, a couple steaks such as the Flame Grilled Top Sirloin, Fajitas, O’Leary’s Baby Back Ribs, Yankee Pot Roast as well as a couple of seafood and pasta dishes. The menu is reasonably priced with nothing exceeding $20.

All the dishes sound fantastic and are full of flavor. I personally had the Baja Chicken Quesadillas which was $8.75. Even though it’s served as an appetizer do not be fooled it’s a lot of food. It was delicious but a little on the spicy side. It was filled with two different kinds of cheese, spicy chicken, diced tomatoes and green onions. I also sampled the Chimes Chicken Strip Platter for $9.75, another huge portion but also extremely tasty. There were three choices of sauce for the chicken to be smothered in, Asian Zing, Honey-BBQ or Buffalo, I opted to go the Honey-BBQ route, it was definitely a good choice. The sauce was a little on the thick side but very good.

Overall I was impressed by this cute little pub. It had a homey feeling to it as well as having an accommodating atmosphere for everyone. I rate this restaurant 4 out of 5 stars. The service was great the food was good, not the best I have ever had but it was very appetizing.


O’Leary’s Irish Pub & Grill
260 E Lincoln Highway
DeKalb, IL 60115
(815) 748-0000

4 out of 5 stars