Miller's Ale House in Lombard
Miller's Ale Houses have been a Florida staple since the late '80s. Their new location in Lombard is the first Miller's in Illinois, but will this franchise be embraced here in the suburbs?
Motif: If I could compare the Miller's Ale House interior to any establishment, it'd have to be Buffalo Wild Wings.
Pretty much everything inside of it is wood: the walls, booths, tables, stool and the large bar in the middle of the room. Coupled with lantern lights above the tables, the whole place feels like a large log cabin covered with flat-screen televisions, beer signs, sports memorabilia and the obligatory big ol' fish.
For game nerds, the far side of the building features two pool tables (which you must be 21 to use), arcade games and the claw machine.
Crowd: New to Lombard, Miller's already attracts a wide range. Expect to see family gatherings around dinner time, but the crowd tends to stick to the 21-and-up range as the night goes on.
Service: The staff was extremely friendly, if a little slow as they worked out the kinks of this very new pub.
Sounds: The sounds of pop music played over the PA at a reasonable volume that (thankfully) did not compete with everyone's inside voices.
Liquid consumption: Lots of beers available on tap here, but there's not too much of a variety for beer snobs.
Guinness, Leinenkugel, Fat Tire and 312 lead the charge with the usual light beers on tap. And Icehouse! The last time I saw Icehouse on tap was out of a keg at college. Let the beer bongs begin.
There are a variety of drink specials, including a rotating daily $1 drink. On this visit, the cheap drink was tequila sunrise. Other specials include $1.75 MGD, Icehouse and High Life pints on Mondays and Thursdays; $2.50 Leinenkugels every day along with $6 Miller Lite, MGD and Icehouse pitchers.
Food: Miller's Ale House is famous for their zingers. No, not their insults; their wings.
Zingers are Miller's unique boneless chicken wings. (Wings meet nachos: The Zinger Melt comes covered in cheese, sour cream and Pico ge Gallo.)
The menu also features steaks, chicken, sandwiches, burgers and quite the emphasis on seafood.
Parking: Large lot with plenty of spots behind the building.
Overall: Miller's is a fun sports bar/restaurant that's friendly for the whole family but doesn't ignore Lombard's over-21 population in search of dinner and a beer in a cozy pub environment. They have some great drink specials, plenty of seats, loads of televisions and how can you resist trying a zinger? You're not in Florida anymore, Miller's, but you are more than welcome in Illinois.
Miller's Ale House
455 E. Butterfield Road, Lombard
(630) 241-9741
Hours: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday to Thursday: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday to Saturday