Broken Oar

They re-​vamped the place and did a good job. I thought their servers were excellent, and the food was pretty good! I recommend this place to friends.

$ 10 pizza and pitcher night. Save your money and stay home with a six-​pack and your favorite frozen pizza. Pizza was like cardboard and tasteless.

Don’t think of going here with your rags won’t happen. Will never go to this place ever again. Had been her in the past over priced food and drinks.

What’s not to like? Great bar good, huge variety of entertainment, and lots of eye candy! Best stop on the Fox by far. Try a burger! Linda is awesome.

They’ve done a great job making this place what it is. On any given day in the summer there is the best views in the area… Harley’s, boats, women. Great overall scene. Beer’s always cold and the food has got to be some of the best bar food you could ask for. Great beer selection available. We love going in on Saturdays for the Prime Rib dinner… Some restaurants in the area don’t have Prime Rib as good as this.
If you’re a boater what more could you ask for than to pull up and dock to listen to live music? Marine fuel prices are really reasonable and you can purchase all of your Fox Waterway stickers there.
All around great place, couldn’t ask for a better spot on the river!

Anything that includes outdoor water views, Bikers, rip-​roaring & very handsome Harley’s & Chopper’s, cocktails (or icy cold beer) & decent grub — makes me one happy girl… I am not hard to please…(most of the time).
Broken Oar is certainly not for ‘hipsters’ or those seeking trendy and upscale atmospheres.
While I love Champagne, an icy cold beer can go down just as easily, & hits the spot, much like the casual vibe and ambiance here…
This has been a destination spot for motorcycle and boat enthusiasts for decades. A Marina set on several acres makes this ideal for groups, parties, events or just a party of two…
On a perfect summer day, sitting on the back of a Harley, riding up to Broken Oar is always invigorating. a scenic ride down ‘foresty-​wooded’ streets is both peaceful and ‘naturesque’…
Something I find quite appealing…
On weekends, the Oar may remind you of a *very mini* Sturgis… pure eye candy for me… as I find myself raptured by all the beautiful, sublime looking bikes and the sounds that accompany them (the louder the better)…did you know that biker’s are really very cool & friendly people? Some eccentric — and good olé, down to earth types too… I predict if you are of that ‘kin’, (or just ‘laid back’ in general)…you will enjoy yourself here…
While I take in the Fox River on a breezy summer day and happily sit at the picnic tables outside — I enjoy many views… water, boats, people and bands… YES! LIVE MUSIC! If your a *Deadhead* (I am not), Paradise Waits was here — Variety of good bands: Molly Hatchet (was here), Friction (indie band) & Bella Cain (top 40 country music) are here more often than others…(check the website for band schedules). Good variety of genres…
While food & drink service needs some improvement — if the wait staff is lagging, I walk over to the outdoor bar and grab it myself. Fyi — drinks are served in plastic cups (if you are freaked out by this, you shouldn’t be here). Decent selection of craft beers & top shelf liquor.
There is an indoor dining section and top deck seating as well, but I usually sit near the water. The grub is ok and not bad, depending on what you order — All burgers are ½ lb and tasty. I usually get the black & blue w/​waffle fries or just an appetizer of Kenosha Kurds (yes, fried cheese curds). I remember when they used to serve fish & chips — and it was actually quite good… not on menu anymore. They DO have daily food & drink specials — but I just come whenever the wind (& bike) moves me in this direction…
4 stars for unpretentious ambiance, river views, people views, motorcycle views, live music and a reason to be on the back of a Harley… You may be in the league of ‘divey’ to some, but your not that broken to me, Broken Oar…

I’m on the fence between giving this place a 2 or 3 star rating… maybe 2 ½??? I think Unilocal needs to start giving us half stars.
Last time I was here was about 6 – 7 years ago… for an all day music fest of a bunch of cover bands. It wasn’t crazy crowded, but tables were scarce at the time if you wanted to sit down and eat there. I visited again yesterday and it’s nice to see there are more places to sit here.
Also, if you’re not going to give your customers the Unilocal check in offer, do something about it, like having it removed. I was happy to find a 50% off appetizer upon checking in on Unilocal yesterday when I got there, only our server said they no longer honor it. Good customer service would say if it’s there, honor it… they’d be missing out on a lousy $ 4 for an appetizer, so needless to say we didn’t order an appetizer at all. Their loss!
Aside from this place not honoring Unilocal check in offers… it’s a pretty chill, laid back kind of place situated right on the water. The crowd here is unique… more of a biker/​older crowd, but it’s definitely worth checking out. If you’re coming here to eat, I suggest going upstairs to sit out on the balcony rather than outside near the tent, because if it’s crowded, the seating lacks, and so do the servers… you will wait FOREVER for one!
If there’s a good band here again next summer, I’d make the trip out… it’s nice having these kinds of places in the Chicago area to visit during the summer months.

Two weeks ago we came up here.
Had there 5oz hamburger worth cheese mushroom and egg once over easy.
Can’t stop thinking about how I’m going to have an other one.
Best I ever had.

The food was good, simple beach bar atmosphere, pleasant but slow service. I was frustrated they did not honor the Unilocal coupon with no explanation. Seemed a little bait and switch to me

Let me say, I really like this place! Service last night was on point. However, they were out of beers from their Craft beer list. Were out of appetizers. We settled for Fried Calamari. Very tasty, serving size for $ 9.50, way short!

This place is always hopping and they can make dirt into gold. However… The owner is a real jerk. She doesnt treat her employees fairly and is mean to the general public on a regular basis. Never answers emails either.

This is not a fancy place. Clientele is usually a bunch of beer drinking bikers and boaters. The staff was very nice. Food was good and reasonably priced.
Cigar smoking even when outside is a big turnoff. Who wants to sit out by the water and smell cigars. Suggest a separate area for those that must smoke, so it doesn’t ruin the enjoyment of everyone else.

The food is horrible… I had the jerk chicken sandwich and have been a gassy burping hot mess for 4 hours. The smell that is coming out of me could stop traffic.

You need to go for the people watching alone. If you’ve never been to the Oar, you should stop in and soak up the weird Midwestern river culture. All walks of backwoods suburban life come pouring into this place via boats, jet skis, Harleys, hot rods, and mini-​vans. It is quite a sight.
First of all, it is a dive bar that just happens to be on the Fox River with docks and a functioning marina. As long as you keep your expectations to that, you will appreciate what this place has to offer. Don’t expect anything fancy or overly cutting edge. That includes the service, the food, and the atmosphere. What you will get is this; ambiance. Which includes, but is not limited to: one heck of a river view with various boats constantly zooming by, beautiful river valley breezes, wake boarders being totally awesome, shirtless older men in jorts (both cut-​offs and tailored variety) middle aged trophy wives with store bought enhancements strategically placed in bikini tops, bikers with their patented black and orange bandanas, party people having that early morning cig and a cocktail, standard issue families, regular Joes, tourists, waitresses that didn’t want to make the long drive to the Hooters in Schaumburg, and cold beer.
So grab a riverfront table, pour a couple of Old Styles in your face, and soak up the show.

I end up here on many of my summer trips home when we are out boating or on jet skis. They REALLY need to get it together with the service! Our server gave us an attitude like we were interrupting her day or something. Never a smile, never asking if there was anything we need. SERIOUSLY? Aren’t tips how you make your money?
It would be so easy to pick up the service a lot, and the food could use a bit of help too.

Fish fry was outstanding! The cod was perfect! Burgers are good! Soup was very good! Great place to hang out and watch the boaters, bikers and bands!

Awesome place to eat on the Fox after boating. Great waitstaff! Lots of slips to pull into. Kinda redneck but great food. Everyone is so friendly.

What a scene– first time visitor– I would come back. I am from the city of Chicago– they do not allow smoking in bars– even outdoors. This goes on here, but it is outside– whatever, just the dirty ash trays on the table for us non smokers is, well dirty.
The servers were all young 20 somethings in short, short, shorts… what’s not to like, except this clearly is not their career path and service was so so.
We had some fried cheese balls and fried green beans– meh…
On a nice summer day, a nice enough place to be out doors– Molly Hatchet is coming here in a few weeks– «Flirting With Disaster».

A-​OK as in, it’s not the worst place to stop for a drink and a bite to eat if you’re out boating.
Bar food, nice deck, I never had trouble with service (as others have), a nice place for people and boat watching.
Would I drive here from elsewhere on, say, a rainy day? Almost certainly, no (but to be fair, I’m not a drinker, maybe the bar would still be in play if you do drink). The deck, river, and boating crowd atmosphere is the draw here.

Stopped by for lunch on a weekday. Sat outside on the raised deck overlooking the Fox River on a beautiful day. Ate a delicious black and blue cheese burger with waffle fries. Would go back on the right day. Service was a little slow due to the lunch crowd rush.