Elephant & Castle Restaurant, Chicago, IL

I’ve visited the Loop location on Adams twice now, and have eaten at the restaurant located in Washington, DC as well and all 3 times I’ve had an enjoyable experience with good food, good beer, and good company. Both times here in Chicago I’ve gone for an early lunch, which is good, because the dining room is empty and then, whoosh!, the place is full and the line extends to the door.

First time I ate here I had the Pub Onion Soup (highly recommended!), the Union Jack burger, and, I believe, a pint of Guinness. I usually get a burger the first time I eat at a bar + grill type place; safe and a decent predictor of whether the rest of the food is any good. Their burger was good. The second time I had the Chicken Pot Pie, which was decent, along with an Arnold Palmer (don’t ask me why I’ve been drinking those lately, I just don’t know). The pastry crust was phyllo dough layers baked atop the chicken filling, which was okay, but I prefer a bread crust on my potpies. The balsamic-tossed greens were excellent.

From their website: "Elephant & Castle® opened its first North American pub and restaurant in 1977 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. E&C's distinct atmosphere and selection of popular British Classics made it an instant success! Headquartered in Boston, MA, Today, E&C has grown to over 20 restaurants across the United States and Canada from Toronto, Boston, and Chicago to Vancouver, San Diego, and San Francisco. This record of 30 years of stability and success is due to E&C's continued commitment to be the standard of what North American consumers demand of a British pub and restaurant concept - Bang On Food, Bang On Drinks, and Bang On Service!"

Have you eaten at this restaurant (or one of the other locations)? Leave a comment and let everyone know how you liked it. Or leave me a comment on whether this was a useful review. Thanks and good eating!