Pub II
102 N Linden St, Normal, IL, 61761
Pub II Menu
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Address :
102 N Linden St
Normal, IL, 61761 - Phone (309) 452-0699
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Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 1:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Late Night
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : No
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Divey
Noise Level : Loud
Good For Dancing : No
Alcohol : Full Bar
Happy Hour : No
Best Nights : Wed, Fri, Sat
Coat Check : No
Smoking : Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
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Ethan H.
This is a staple for ISU students and alumni. I have tried to like this place but just can't seem to. The food is mediocre and the staff has always been arrogant. On any Saturday or Sunday around lunch the place still smells of booze and regret. The wait times for your order are extremely long even when they are slow. On our last visit we asked for refills and could see our waitress texting on her phone instead of getting the refills. We also had our waitress tell us " I don't eat shitty food" when one of our party asked for a recommendation. The one upside to this place is the beer garden. It is one of the nicer beer gardens in town. I would not recommend visiting here. There are a lot of bars in town with better food and friendlier staff.
(2)Glenn W.
Good pub food fun place to go with a group. But I've never been here at night. That's where most of the negative reviews come from. Went with a group of guys after a business mtg. We all liked it...
(4)Marlee G.
Usually I love the pub. But tonight I went with a friend who is not 21 for dinner and to watch the Hawks game. The bouncers would not let my friend and I in, and were very rude and disrespectful to us. I explained that we were not planning on staying late and that I had been to the pub before, when I was not 21 and was allowed in. However they would not budge and turned us away. However there were little kids inside the restaurant and I saw them letting in other individuals who were not 21 (I know this because I know those individuals as well). If they are going to make a policy that individuals under 21 are not allowed in during busy times, then that policy needs to apply to ALL individuals and not just some. Very distasteful business practices if you ask me. You just lost a loyal customer.
(1)Krista F.
I recently visited pub II and it was an experience in the best way. Staff was incredibly friendly, booze was perfectly priced and of course the cheese balls held up to their legendary reputation. I would recommend anyone that is coming through the area to stop by, and those who live around here that for some reason have neglected this experience, to drop what they are doing right now and head on over!!
(5)Caitlin R.
I loved Pub 2. In college. My husband and I had a craving for their cheese balls the other night so we decided to go back. The beer special was good but that was all that was good. The waitress wasn't too busy with tables, but her friends were visiting so she spent most of the time talking to them. The cheese balls took forever and when they came, half of them had been in the fryer a tad bit too long. Then our burgers took even longer to come and they were so burnt they were basically meat chips. We returned them. Then the waitress came back with our bill and the meat chips had not been taken off our bill. We pretty much had to persuade the cook why our burgers should not be on the bill. Sad to say it will take some convincing OR a reeeeaaaallly bad craving for their cheese balls to go back.
(2)Todd J.
Easily the most overrated place in all of BloNo. You'll hear ISU folks (students and alums) talk about this place like it is the best place since sliced bread, but the terrible food, terrible service, and mediocre atmosphere says otherwise. The Pub still lives in the past through their ranking from Playboy about 20 years ago as a "Top College Bar.' Inside looks about how it probably did 20 years ago too. Unless you're 21 and at ISU, you can pretty much skip this place.
(1)Jacqueline B.
All you need to know about The Pub is that it's a staple spot at ISU and you should stop in out of pure respect. The end. Alright, alright, just kidding...there's more. The three C's (which hopefully aren't your grades if you're a student at ISU) - Cheeseballs. Cheap beer. College town. All which make up the one and only Pub. Whenever I'm visiting ISU's campus I always stop in. Their fried cheeseballs are amaze-balls! Crispy on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside, all cooled down with a delicious side of ranch. The best partner in crime to this tasty app is a cold beer of course. I can always count on the pub to have a good drink special. Last time I was in I enjoyed 24 oz domestics for only $3! The only other menu items I've had here is their cheese pizza and the breaded mushroom app. Nothing fancy, but a great bar snack nonetheless. The Pub is a great spot to catch a game (if you get there early enough). They have TVs everywhere lining the walls. The only issue is that it can get crowded real quick. Be sure to get there early if you want to snag a table!
(3)James S.
I have been to all the bars in uptown Normal, and Pub II is the bottom of the barrel. Their drinks are watered down, there atmosphere is terrible and their patio is not as good as people are saying it is. The best part about this bar is the multitude if TVs. I would only suggest going here if you wanted to order a beer and watch a game. (Or talk to Jake from Sate Farm). The waitresses are not very attentive and the bartenders are not very good. Lunker's has a better atmosphere, cheaper drinks and karaoke on Wednesdays. Brewe-has has better food, better people and offer cheaper drinks.
(2)Tim M.
Depends entirely on what time you come in. Come too early, and it's empty. Come too late, and the line is around the building. Unfortunately this Goldilocks zone changes by day too, so you kind of have to know the college bar-going scene to know when to arrive. Food is cheap, both in price and quality. A certain bartender who wont be named, but who has his pants on the wall was there last time I went and had what looked like a terrible eye infection. Maybe it wasn't contagious, maybe it was some other condition, but the fact remains that I felt extremely uncomfortable with him handling food, drinks, even just the glassware.
(3)John S.
For many years I have loved coming to Pub II, mainly for the mini tacos and potato skins. Years back they also had the Derby Owners Club game which was awesome because it was the only place in the area to play it, but its long gone. I've never really given much attention to the service until recently. In the last week my wife and I have been twice and both times the service was pretty horrendous. The first time was around 7:30pm. We waited over 15 minutes for a waitress before we eventually waved one down. We place our orders for appetizers and 30 minutes later they arrived at our table. Refills were non-existent, after we finished we waited another 10 minutes for the check, then another 10 minutes to get the receipt and a box. Today when we went, the waitress showed up relatively quick. Again we ordered appetizers and it showed up fairly quick as well. But then I'm sitting for a solid 15 minutes with an empty glass and our waitress had vanished. Apparently her shift had ended and she didn't pass us off to another waitress. Again we had to wave down a waitress to find our check and get me a refill. Also, my wife and I were quite enjoying watching the x-games rally, but it was immediately tarnished by a pub crawl coming in at 4pm in the afternoon, playing Nelly on the jukebox which was turned up way too loud. We then heard a drunken member of the bar crawl start singing a Matchbox 20 song.. Really, did we flash back to 1996? Will I go back? Of course... The appetizers are great! Mini corn dogs, mini tacos, cheese balls, cheese fries, potato skins.. All delicious. The service may be crappy due to new staff with the influx of new students, but it needs improvement.
(2)Ashley F.
Douchebags and frat boys like this place. A good reason to keep away.
(1)Ben V.
Typically end up in fights with the cooks- they are wannabe hard asses that like to drink in the beer garden after the kitchen closes. Bouncers are on their side typically (but not always) so basically if you want to get bitched at for ordering food within 20 mins of the kitchen closing then go here- be ready for fisticuffs in the beer garden- cooks are wusses but the bouncers are not to be messed with. Other than that food is good, cheap beer, what else you need?
(2)Austin A.
rated year after year playboy's top 100 colleges bars. Good lunch quick and friendly service. Standard bar lunch with cheese burgers and cheese balls is what I usually get.
(3)Rachel R.
Food is cheap but service is HORRIBLE!! Went there last week with a group of 12 people at 7pm for dinner. We purposely went there early to beat the night time crowd. We sat at our table for 20 minutes and a waitress never came over, so went to the bar and ordered a drink and asked for a waitress to come over. She came brought us menus, left for another 10 minutes, got our drink order, brought them after another 10 minutes then took our order which took another 20 minutes to get to the table. Food was missing and she never came back to check on us or to see if we wanted another drink. Waitresses were too busy talking among themselves or serving their friends beer. Management really needs to hire better and manage their waitstaff. If you want good service, go anywhere else!
(1)Philip M.
Some of the best Pub food in town. everything is c heap and yummy. Be sure to go for the burgers and cheese balls with a nice cold beer. You will be surrounded by college kids and early 30s people who haven't settled down lol. this place is so much fun though. It get's a little annoying when you sit outside during the summer and the flies and bugs are everywhere. But it's worth eating outside.
(4)Janeth B.
Great drink specials on beer. Service is great or just okay depending on the position of the moon. Food has always been fast to come out 10-20 mins max. Tons of tv's to watch your favorite sports team inside or outside. Delicious wings, pub burger, and cheeseballs.
(5)Laura R.
Clearly alumni are not welcome here. We tried to go for a pub Wednesday when we were in town. After waiting outside for twenty minutes in 2 degree weather the bouncer refused to let one of us in. He did a stress test on the id by bending it. For some reason the id snapped. Probably because we were all frozen including our belongings. Even after offering several other forms of id they refused to let him in. We actually had to call the police to get the broken id so he could drive home with a license.
(1)Ryan S.
The Pub II has a nice beer garden and is a great place to go pretty much any night if you want to have some drinks. If you are looking for a quiet place to talk with friends, you should go somewhere else...but if you are looking to check out some guys or girls, this is a good spot to do so. As good of a place as it is to drink, it is an awful place to eat. Most of their food is blatantly purchased frozen from some big vendor, fried, and bought to your table. However, forget about that and just go there when you are looking to have a good time. Go somewhere else when you are hungry.
(3)Denise G.
I hate the Pub. I realize that my status as an Illinois State alum is in direct conflict with my dislike for this establishment, but I'm okay with that. The Pub prides itself on the fact that it was once one of Playboy's top college bars... except that was in the 80s and nothing has changed since. The same people who frequented the bar then are still coming now, and bringing their children along to enjoy the same sub-par food. This Saturday we went in around 12:45 to have some lunch. The group I went with was craving cheese balls (which can be found at just about any other place in Uptown Normal for half the hassle of having to go here) and some bar food. It took our waitress 25 minutes of us sitting there to even acknowledge that we were there to be waited on. In the meantime, she was able to bus a table, stare at the tv, and bring multiple drinks and items to other tables. After placing our order, we proceeded to wait another 45 minutes to receive our food, during which time our waitress ignored our table completely and went out of her way to not walk past us at all. When we received our food, it was room temperature at best. It took another 20 minutes to get our check, and no apology was offered about the lateness and overall lack of service. Meanwhile one of rocket scientists that work at the Pub must have been sitting on the remote control and repeatedly turned the X-Games coverage volume up enough to further ruin everyone's experience. If you want indifferent service provided by students who would have been better off sleeping away their hangovers, the Pub is your place to go. Overpriced and low quality drinks, and lukewarm food. Doesn't get much worse than that. My expectations for the Pub are literally as low as it could get, but this experience definitely lowered the bar even more.
(1)B C.
Honestly had to write a review because of all the haters out there... WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM A BAR... CALLED THE PUB? ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS? The food is phenomenal for the price (cheeze balls) the beer is cheap... and the patio is the best in a 100 mile radius! Jerks call it frat-tastic and hate the bouncers because they are morons that probably got kicked out for being stupid or got rejected by one of the many beautiful waitresses?
(5)Christopher M.
Really chill during the day but on Wednesday nights the place is packed and has decent specials on alcohol but conversation with friends is practically impossible. Overall a pretty sweet place.
(4)Justin H.
Great food, great atmosphere, but always terrible service. I always go back as their pub foodis almost I impassible to top.
(3)Colleen R.
This place has above-average bar food and fast service. The cheese balls are also quality. In fact, some ISU alums who return to town make this a must stop to get a cheeseburger and cheese balls. Read more in my "Food for Thought" food column for local radio station WJBC's website. wjbc.com/food-for-though…
(4)Jay K.
Been here once and its a fun place! Of course I had a few whiskeys at Maggie Miley's first since it was Wednesday. I recommend coming to this place pregamed. Everything was cheap, we had $4 pitchers of bud light and the famous cheeseballs. They were, of course, amazing. As noted by many others it is full of college kids. Nothing wrong with that. It looks like a bar. Not much else to say style wise. It was pretty divey though that I was suprised people weren't playing beer pong or flipcup like SF's Bar none. The service was decent considering what was going on. I was probably more lenient though because we were having amazing discussions (as all are after enough whiskey). Also, I guess technically having a patio where people drink beer is a beergarden, but having been to DC and NY I expect a certain ambience and wide selection from beergardens that Pub 2 is lacking. So don't get too excited about that. Anyways, a fun way to spend a night if you are still young enough to still want the college life. It definitely serves its function.
(4)Jeff I.
Its a college bar! Cheap food and beer. Service is dependent on the croud size. Lots of tv's. Fun place!
(4)Shawna T.
good food cheap beer not for those who like quiet time. Don't go on Thursday Friday Saturday or Sunday. Lots of Collage kids
(2)Michael W.
Terrible service. Terrible people. Terrible bar.
(1)Eric H.
The appetizers are good especially the cheese balls. If the burgers are the best in Normal, other places either serve terrible burgers or there are none on any other menus. It tasted rubbery and bland. And the service is awful. The staff makes you feel like you are taking their social hour from them where the stand at the bar and look at their phones. I would have given this joint 1 star but the fried items deserve at least 2
(2)Melissa D.
Spent nearly all of my Thursdays during college here. Ok, maybe more than just Thursdays. :) Love the cheeseballs. Love the service. Love the beer specials. It's the same from when I was in college 10 years ago and a lot of the same people work there... I highly suggest this neighborhood pub. It's always a good time.
(5)KJ V.
Good bar food but it isn't worth the terrible service u receive. They have a ton of TVs so it's great to watch sports game; however none of them are in HD. They have HD TVs in there, but you must have the cables to hook them up in order to watch in HD. They do not so all of the games are still fuzzy. Half of the time, the news is on because they don't change their tv's to something else after a game is over.
(1)Nicole M.
Not the first place I go during my nights in Uptown but I liked it when I was there. Big tables which are awesome for big groups and pretty good drink specials.
(4)Bill S.
I read some of the reviews and have to wonder what people were expecting... This is a very popular college bar that's close to campus. Are there Frat boys and Sorority girls? Yes Is it loud? Yes or at least it can be especially on weekends and nights. Will you find gourmet burgers, an extensive wine list, and 10000 different kinds of beer? No, no, and no! Want to hang out get mellow listening to Fish or the Grateful Dead? This isn't going to be the place for you. Go to the Pub II for the cheeseballs, cheap beer, lots of televisions which are always on a sports channel and if it's nice weather the beer garden. Lunch is a lot more quiet and is quick to get in and out from. The best time for non-college students to go is dinner time till around 9pm when the crowd starts to change. It's also usually a lot less crazy during the times when students are not in school.
(4)Jessica S.
What? Only 3 Stars? What are you drinkin' Journalynn?? Well not great beer I'll tell you that. Truth be told my coworkers and I frequent the Pub II often because it does have a lot of great things to offer. However your lack of great imports is a disappointment to my beer snob wannabe status, your teeny tiny parking lot (and the constant confusion over when and what spots you can actually use in the Ace Hardware lot) instigates great debate on whether we pick you for drinking fun, and the frat boy obnoxiousness in the beer garden is rising to untolerable levels. (yes you can accuse me of being old now). By negativity behind me, let's focus on why we tend to look past your flaws and come back time and again. 1. Cheeseballs! Holy cow, the most amazing cheeseballs that #Blono has to offer. Practically a resident of Wisconsin, I almost discriminate more on cheeseballs than I do with beer, and these are awesome. Tip, ask for double the ranch instead of the marinara, and yes Frances get the full order! 2. TVs TVs TVs.... if the game is on. Whichever one you want. You can see it. Keeps my boys happy. 3. Darts and more Darts. No fighting a frat boy for a board... plenty to pick from. 4. Blue Moon... hey this is my review, remember? If the best I can get is a Blue Moon, I'll take it over the insane selection of light beers. My one beacon of beer goodness among the array of piss water. So grabs some friends, park in the deck and walk over, order lots o cheese curds, grab a pig tall table near the dart board and enjoy.
(3)Chef B.
Great pub food. Some of the best in town. Deep fried appetizer goodness. Best cheese balls in the city. Don't go if you're on a diet. You won't come out alive. If I were still in college, I'd love it more. Now I have no patience for that crowd and I assume they'd have no patience for me. I can live with that. I'll sneak over there for lunch during the week or go there in the summer after work for impromptu happy hours. I just make sure to sneak out of there before all the bros and hos show up. Once it's elbow to elbow, it just makes you wish you were 22 again. Then you feel old. Then you leave.
(4)Kyle B.
Great food, too bad the wait staff cant even acknowledge you. Also the bouncers are rude, you can be polite to them in every way but they will still be rude. I get it that its your job to be tough but dont be rude to customers. Also when you are closing dont tell customers to "hurry up" or "lets move it". Btw be prepared to be rushed out by the bouncers when close is 20 min away. if close is at 2am i should not be told to leave at 1:30 or 1:40. To them close is for their staff, not the customers, 2am close means the staff is out of there by 2am. Overall the food is good, not worth the waiting time. Sent from Windows Mail
(2)Shanna F.
My friends and I came here on a quiet evening when not many people were there. The service was slow, the waitresses and bartenders mostly stood around talking to each other and ignoring their customers. The bouncers were rude. We were keeping to ourselves, playing darts. We ordered a round of expensive shots and the bouncer that brought them to our table told us we needed to drink them and leave. Bar close wasn't for another hour at least. We said we would drink our shots and finish our pitcher of beer and then leave. They didn't like that. We tried discussing it with them but they just brought more bouncers over and tried to bully us into leaving. They spilled our shots on the ground (which we had already paid for) and one of them grabbed me and physically drug me to the back door, knocking my legs against stools as we went by. I had bruises on my legs and arms from where he grabbed me. He threw me on the pavement outside. It was winter and he hadn't let me grab my coat. I think their staff are just jerks and get off on bossing customers around. I suppose it's sad that that's the highlight of their life.
(1)Valerie W.
What can I say about Pub II that hasn't already been said? From a non-college student perspective: 1. I can't believe we had to wait in line to get in... I never had to wait in line to get in when I was in college. 2. Super crowded inside. 3. Several ladies behind the bar working - that was appreciated, it never took too long to flag one down for a beverage. 4. Which brings me to my next point - cheap drinks! We drank there for a few hours, including a round or two of shots (we took a cab) and the grand total including tip came to $21. Not shabby at all. 5. Frat-tastic. That's all.
(3)Don J.
An Illinois State Landmark. Good food and Cheap drinks. Have never had a complaint about the pub. Depending on what night and time you go it can be slow or all out packed. They have cheap beer specials and liquor specials every night. The staff is generally lighthearted and helpful as you can be when you have to deal with drunk people everyday. The bartenders have made some good and interesting drinks and shots that I haven't experienced elsewhere. Plenty of TVs and a great place to watch a game.
(5)Andres D.
I recently visited ISU for Homecoming '08 and tailgated all morning. Since the majority of my peers in attendance were ISU alums they decided to take me to the "PUB II". Upon entering it is your typical sports bar nothing fancy, neon signs and ISU Redbird banners. I wasn't too thrilled about sitting inside the bar because it was rather warm. However there is a comfortable beer garden just a step away. Now, this is where the fun starts. The menu is super cheap...I'm talking $3-$4 sandwiches. I ordered the $2.99 1/4lb cheeseburger. It was good but nothing special, similar to what you can grill at home. For the price who can complain..right? I highly suggest their "CHEESEBALLS"...we got ours with ranch and marinara sauce for dipping. Since it was homecoming weekend they had a 32oz. Lite Beer on special for $4.25 (you also got to keep the mug). This was soooo worth every penny. Service was to be expected as slow because of the drunken homecoming crowd. I thought our server Tyler did a reasonable job despite the chaos and constant jager/car bomb ordering from our table.
(3)Casie V.
Nice amount of TVs in non-HD but slow service. Cheap beer and decent food. The pizza is great
(1)Sam P.
I have been here a few times without problems til the last time when they said my id was fake when it was obvisously not, had to call the cops to even get it back, never got an apology when I asked to speak to a manager about it he was just as much of a jerk about it. Shows that he does not care about how his employees treat their customers
(1)Josh L.
Awesomely cheap beer & food prices. Where else can you get a pitcher of beer, cheese burger, fish sandwich, fries & cheese balls for around $22?! Oh, the cheese balls... But this is what it is: bar food with numerous deep-fried items on the menu. Don't expect a hidden gem of a diner here. It has numerous TV's on with different games on each. It gets LOUD in there when it's full so don't expect to talk to your friends much. It is a very popular bar (since "Uptown" Normal ran out the other great bars during their renovation phase a few years ago) and gets crowded fast. If you're just looking to eat & have a few drinks casually, just make sure you go before 5pm, not on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday (or Sunday or Monday if it's NFL season), or basically anytime students are here. Ugh... I love this bar, but just can't seem to find a time to go where I don't have to wait in line anymore. I'm in my 30's, those days are behind me. Be warned about the parking situation. The main lot outside the entrance (off of Linden St) has very limited parking (think 20-25 spots) and has no real turn-around area if you get stuck. There is additional parking behind Pub II (East side - in front of Ace True Value) but BEWARE! Those spots marked no parking mean just that. If Ace is open, the owner/manager WILL have your car towed. There are only a few Pub II marked spots there. I wish you luck...
(4)Thom Z.
Ok, so. The review I wrote was before I made it a habit of utilizing the beer garden every Freitag. So, the Beer garden is great. I hate the winter, cause I can't use it. But, my girlfriend and I would head there after she got off work and we'd sit and sip beer and have a few appetizers for a few hours. I was able to smoke while I ate and drank, which was liberating. Everything I said before still stands, but in the din of summer, it's great to sit in the beer garden.
(4)Ben H.
I ended up here after looking for a place to watch a Cubs playoff game. This was pretty much a great place to do it as they had a good number of TVs. The crowd was pretty much college kids. It's definitely a place to get cheap beer and cheap food, but don't expect anything to be particularly good. 2.5
(3)David P.
The fried cheeseballs, cheap beer (daily specials), and TVs make this place a must see. Voted top 100 college bar by Playboy.
(5)Adrian W.
Pub 2, lame. If you basically don't fit the mold, you get kinda looked over when it comes to service. For it is, the waitresses are moderately attractive, and get more so when slanging the beer; they work hard for their tips. The food helps, but really doesn't do much. You'll get the look over if you take a regular's table, but really, what else can you expect? The 'tough guys' here should hop over to the Original Pub and take a reality check.
(2)Jeff F.
The Pub II is the classic college bar. It has a lot of TVs and usually runs great beer specials. The bartenders do a good job with JagerBombs and shot drinks like that but do not expect to get a Martini here. The food is the standard pub grub with a few notable exceptions: the cheese balls are fantastic (if you like spicy, be sure to order the peperjack balls) and do your self a favor and ask for a side of ranch; I am also a fan of their loaded nachos (chips, cheese sauce, taco meat, tomato, onion, green bell pepper, black olives and jalapeno peppers - no olives for me thanks). They have a beer garden in the back but when it is nice out that is usually full. The best time to go to the Pub II is when ISU is not in session...there is a lot more room and you tend to get faster service. This is the spot in town for sports they run a lot of Bears, Blackhawks, Cubs, Sox, Cards, U of I, and ISU games.
(3)Nannette P.
I spent many a college night at Pub II and considered myself lucky to live right around the corner from it my junior year. When I think, fondly of Pub II, I am reminded of cheese balls and broccoli bites, cheap beer, the bouncers almost stealing my fake id from me, free shots from Haas of Vanilla McGillicutty's, sneaking in the back side door on busy nights, and hot bouncers who were mostly ISU sports players. Pub II has plenty of seating, but it still amazed me how packed the place gets, on every night of the week and during the day. They also have outdoor seating, something not available when I went to school there. Fond school memories, and the one place we have to stop off at (besides Fat Jacks) whenever we think of planning our sorority reunion down at ISU.
(5)Nate G.
The Pub II is what it is, a great college town bar. There is fried food, plenty of TV's to watch sporting events and the type of drink specials that encourage binge drinking. The beer garden was a great addition. This is the type place where you can get drunk and full for $10, just be prepared for the boisterous atmosphere.
(5)Ray N.
The food is alright, but the drinks are ripoffs (like Jena said, you kind of expect bars to water down drinks somewhat, but they take it to the extreme), and it is always, ALWAYS crowded, and always with the loudest, dumbest frat boys around. As far as bars go, the Pub II was definitely not a favorite by any means. I'd rather go to Lunker's quite honestly, because for whatever reason it's a bit more laid-back there.
(2)Sara P.
Yeah, Pub II has college kids ... it is in f-ing Normal what did you expect? However, they also have $3 sandwiches and $3.50 pitchers of beer ... along with some eye candy for both genders and a juke box so you can pick the trash you listen to while getting trashed. I think I have been here almost every Wednesday night with friends and almost always have a good time while spending $10 ... the door guys are funny, the people are mostly friendly, and everyone there has the same goal for the night ... although as a lady I would figure out how to not need the restroom as the lines can be long and the facilities less than pleasant ... but what do you want? It is a cheap college bar at the end of the night, use it for its strengths and dont be pissed about the college kids ... they mean you no harm.
(5)Kristen M.
I mostly have love for the Pub II. Love: atmosphere, jukebox, CHEESE BALLS, cheap beer. Also love the new beer garden. Hates: the staff (excluding door guys and bartenders). So I guess that leaves servers. I have never had a good server at the Pub II. Never. It takes forever to get a beer, and the girls can be just plain rude. Most give off the impression they've never worked in a bar before. One time I actually saw my server go sit down at an empty table and do homework. The food and drink prices make up for the service, and you can save some money on tipping.
(4)Julie P.
I miss the Pub!! I spent many an underage drinking night here during college, it was the place to be on Wednesdays, but not so much on the weekends. Their cheese balls are the best and they have daily specials as well that were usually pretty good. The best part: cheap alcohol! They opened a beer garden within the last year or so that looks pretty nice, it can get super crowded and smoky when it's packed so the beer garden looks like a good option. I loved when they had this horse racing game in the back! I will have to visit the Pub on my next trip to B/N, even though I'm sure I will feel super old now compared to the 19 year olds running around....ah, college.
(4)Brian B.
This is one of the best affordable dive bars that I have been to. We were in town for an event at Illinois State and tried the place for lunch. It was so good that I brought friends back later in the week. Good service, good food, big portions and the cheapest prices I have ever seen. I will definitely be back.
(5)