Dave K.
Yelp
We just visited the Beacon Tap the other night. They have a nice sized parking lot so we were able to find parking right away despite it being packed. As soon as we exited our car, we could here the music. It was so loud. It was reminiscent of Kuma's Corner (Schaumburg) where they play the music super loud inside and outside. We sat inside and across from each other and couldn't hear each other speak. It was a bit much. While they can accommodate large groups, you wouldn't be able to hear anyone, so I wouldn't recommend going their for just that reason alone.
Our server came by and took our drink orders, we both got Diet Coke - and they were flat. However, we gave our food order at the same time and didn't see her again for nearly a half hour. So, we drank the Diet Cokes as she didn't bring water.
My spouse ordered the trash can nachos and I ordered the Beacon Burger. I asked for no tomato, onions, spicy mayo or the garlic butter on the bun. I received the burger (double patty) with cheese sitting on top of shredded lettuce and pickle slices on a plate. It came with the curly fries and side of ranch, but where was the bun and the spicy Sriracha fried onion strings? I asked the food runner for a bun as I didn't want the garlic butter on the bun, but still wanted the bun and the onion straws. He apologized and said he'd get them. What? You're not taking it pack to put on the bun? Our server finally made her second appearance and replenished our flat Diet Cokes. I asked about the whereabouts of the onion straws and the bun. She looked at me as if not understanding. I said I still wanted the bun, but I just didn't want the garlic butter on it. Lightbulb appears and she'll go get it with the spicy onion straws. Okay, why aren't they taking the burger back to make it look presentable?
So they deliver the bun and onion straws and I put my burger together. The onion straws are not spicy at all. There isn't any Sriracha on them whatsoever. They look like they were taken out of a can of French's Fried Onions. The bun was toasted. After all was said and done, the burger was just okay. It should say on the menu that it's two 4oz smash burger patties. Unfortunately, they were kind of flavorless. So was the Merkt's Cheddar. I could taste the pickles and onion straws.
The curly fries were good.
The trash can nachos came in a metal beach bucket and was full to the top. It's a ton of chips. When delivered to the table, the food runner gently lifted the pail and the chips flow out the bottom of the bucket. It was a cool look. And the chips kept coming out. The cheese is really just on top and don't flow throughout. And they definitely needed more cheese. it also had pico de gallo on it and some extra on the side with some guac.
At about 7:30pm, the inside all but emptied out and the outside kept having more and more people enter. It felt like the patio was neverending. And despite there being virtually no one inside, the music was kept loud.
They are pretty inexpensive compared to other places like them, as my burger was just $12 and was cheaper than the nachos.
Though, our server was never very present and took forever to come to our table. She brought our drinks once, we waited another half hour for her to return with refills and then only refilled my wife's drink. I asked for a refill and she walked away. We had to flag her down to get a refill. Then she was gone until we got our food and I explained the issues and she said she'd take care of it and the food runner then brought me the bun. She appeared again about 20 minutes later with our bill and disappeared again.
I think the service could have been way better and if the music wasn't so loud, maybe our server would have heard what I wanted for my burger. The Beacon Tap does itself a disservice by keeping the music at concert level pitch. I worked in Des Plaines for nearly eight years and watched the remodel of the Tap and never had a chance to visit. Now I know why.
