Schaumburg's Westwood scores big for table taps, menu
There are two types of sports bars that have been opening up nowadays. The first - geared to superfans - features plenty of screens and sports memorabilia covering the walls. The second is much slicker. Sure, there are TVs, but the décor is pleasing, the room is inviting and the food menu varied.
Thankfully, the brand new Westwood Tavern in Schaumburg went with the latter choice.
Motif: Located in what was once Prairie Rock Brewing Company, Westwood Tavern is a large establishment even with the building being split up between Westwood and Wildberry Pancakes and Café. The main floor consists of a large bar with plenty of booths and tables. Customized booths are one of the biggest selling points here, but more about that later.The brick walls are covered with televisions.
The simple décor continues upstairs where there is a large dining section. Near the top of the stairs is a viewing area where comfortable seats surround televisions.
Westwood also has a fleshed-out patio with lots of seating and an outside bar. Unfortunately, the weather probably isn't going to cooperate anytime soon, but when it does, Westwood is going to have one of the more exciting beer gardens in the suburbs.
Crowd: Westwood is a classy place, but deep down remains a sports bar. With that combination, you will get die-hard sports fans watching the game around the main bar and people who have come out for a nice meal relaxing in the nearby booths. Do the people in the booths care about what game is on television? Maybe, maybe not, but they're going to enjoy their stay at Westwood either way.
Liquid consumption: As if Westwood doesn't already have enough going for it, the tavern features futuristic table tap booths. You may have seen the standard table taps at bars where you choose a beer and the waitress brings you a tube of beer to pour from. Westwood does things a little differently. Stationed at six of the bar's booths are taps that come out of the tables. Picture the normal taps that you would see behind the bar, but here the tap is at your table. If you're lucky enough to score one of the table tap booths, you have two beers to choose from, with Bud Light or Miller Lite always being one of the choices. As you pour your beer, a computer that's built in to the table measures your output. When the night is over, you pay for the exact amount of beer that you so graciously poured out of the tap. Some of the other beers you can pour include Magic Hat #9, Goose Island, Blue Moon, Fat Tire and Stella Artois.
Food: Westwood's menu does not consist solely of the usual sports bar offerings. For example, how many sports bars serve sushi? Point made. Other items on Westwood's menu include sandwiches (chicken, prime rib and club), the Tavern burger, tacos (fish, chicken and steak), ribs, wings, flatbread pizza and more.
Service: The service at Westwood was extremely friendly. The funny thing is, if you get one of the table tap booths, you are basically responsible for your own service. Unfortunately, during my visit, all of the booths were taken up, but if I had one, I'm sure I would have done a fantastic job.
Sounds: One of the positives of going to such a large bar is that the place typically won't be that noisy. Sure there were people yelling at televisions at the bar, but from where I was sitting, I could barely hear them. The volume coming from the televisions was not distracting, and I was able to chat with my friends without having to raise my voice.
Parking: Westwood has plenty of parking spots in the lot that the bar shares with Wildberry.
Overall: Westwood is one of those bars that offers something for a diverse crowd. Have to take a friend/relative/special someone out for a nice meal but don't want to miss the game? Done. Want to experience the joy of pouring your own beer at a bar? Done. Although Westwood may be a nicer sports bar than you are used to, I think the Superfans would still approve.
Westwood Tavern
Info: 1385 N. Meacham Road, Schaumburg, (847) 969-9500, www.westwoodtavern.com
Hours: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday