Tour de Beer Garden at Sam Maguire’s, Marcotte's and The Cottage

Sam Maguire’s Irish Pub and Restaurant — Orland

Mall parking lots usually bring to mind chaos, disturbingly impatient drivers with cars stuffed to the brim with, well, stuff, and in general are not my scene. And yet a solid, serene beer garden sits tucked away in a corner of Orland Square Mall’s giant lot.

has a peaceful beer garden that is good, but it could be great with a few service tweaks. The area itself is spacious and separated nicely from the mall drivers, enough of beer selection to keep most of us (a.k.a. non-beer snobs) happy and good food. The service during our visit was pretty slow and one of our beers was a bit warm, so just some screw-tightening and it would be much better.

1. Adult atmosphere. We had what looked like a birthday party with kids on a recent Tuesday night, but it was far enough away and didn’t really interfere with our adult conversations and tomfoolery.

2. Beer selection. They have a decent mix of domestic, imports and even a couple of crafts here and there, both on tap and in bottles. One of our Blue Moons was a bit on the warm side, but that could be for a couple reasons. Maybe it was poured and it sat. Maybe the tap had an issue. The bottled beers we had were cold though. We tried the onion rings and Reuben rolls. The onion rings were crispy and not too greasy, as were the rolls. The rolls also came with a horseradish sauce, which is a great addition to the Reuben. Note to self…

3. Courteous wait staff. She was friendly, but took a very long time to get simple things like more beer.  Out of bottles. The thing is the patio area was practically empty, though we did entertain the possibility that she had more tables inside. But my biggest pet peeve at any restaurant or bar is when you get the check, and the server disappears for a long time after that. The check means we want to leave. It’s not rocket science.

4. Daily specials. On Tuesday night, they had $2.50 domestic bottles and Coors pitchers for $6. Call them at 708-460-1771 to be certain.

5. Plenty of seating. And then some. You could fit a wrestling ring back there. More on that next week.

6. Both shady and sunny options. The tables have umbrellas and a long awning extends out covering plenty of tables and booths. Pick your poison.

The Verdict: Sam Maguire’s has a few things going for it. The atmosphere is great, the patio is spacious and they have great wallet-friendly specials. They just need to tighten up the service.

— Oak Forest

1. Adult atmosphere. Oak Forest residents Janet and Don Barnes joined Patch editor Lauren Traut for dinner and a few beers at Marcotte's. Like Blarney Stone, the beer garden sits right up against Cicero Avenue, with an entry from the sidewalk and one from the dining room. The atmosphere was perfect—no kids around, quiet (even with the buzz of Cicero behind us). The wooden deck gives it a down home feel.

2. Beer selection. We stopped by on a Wednesday night, and took advantage of the $2 domestic drafts. The beers came out cold, but a few seemed a little stale. The Bud Light was the best bet, it seemed. Though they came out cold, it took the waitress a bit to refresh them as we ate our dinners. The food came out fast, and the waitress was out often to check on us. Two of us went with taco salads, and one chose the wings. The taco salads were a little underwhelming, and the dressing seemed mismatched. Check out their full menu on the website.

3. Courteous wait staff. Our waitress was attentive, but it did seem as though our glasses sat empty for a while, and it took some time to get us our check. She was polite, but we found ourselves doing a decent bit of "waiting" ourselves. It could have been that the trivia night inside kept her busy.

4. Daily specials. Wednesdays they have $2 domestic drafts, $10 buckets, and $5 beef sandwich meal and trivia. Thursdays, stop by for $1 drinks and open mic night. Call (708)535-8960 to be sure of each day's specials.

5. Plenty of seating. This was the biggest perk, in our opinion. We were there are prime dinner time, but almost had the patio to ourselves. When the sun went down, a strand of lights glowed around the railing. A breeze blew across the open, deck atmosphere. I was a complete fan of the setting.

6. Both shady and sunny options. Umbrella or no umbrella, take your pic.

The Verdict: Marcotte's packs a pretty strong beer garden punch. Solid drink and food specials, with an open seating area make it a pretty irresistable option. We could have been a tad bit more pleased with our service, but the rest of our night was enough to make me want to go back.

— Tinley Park

Amidst the hustle and bustle of 159th Street in Tinley Park, beer garden can be easy to miss.

It's tucked behind a old-world, gray facade and is surprisingly private and guarded from road noise. Each table is topped with an umbrella — some "gardeners" opt to close them to soak up the sun — and has plenty of room for at least four people.

1. Adult atmosphere. On Thursday night around 5 p.m., boozers had not yet flocked to the garden, likely because they weren't yet off work. A few bar flies lingered at the indoor watering hole but the outdoor area was quiet. The no-frills Cottage doesn't strike me as a place that children or families frequent. I'd venture to guess that you'd be guaranteed an all-adult experience there.

2. Beer selection. The on-tap beer selection is a tad limited, but includes quality beers. Aside from Miller Lite, it offers Guinness, Harp and Bass. The bar makes up any shortcoming there with its repertoire of fairly-priced bottled brews.

3. Courteous wait staff. The bartender was friendly, polite and helpful. And she can rattle off the daily specials without blinking an eye. What more could you ask for?

4. Daily specials. There's no shortage of drink specials at The Cottage. The bar always offers $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon and Busch Light. On Sundays it has, $2 domestic bottles. Mondays offer $2 Miller Lite drafts, Wednesday boasts 40-cent wings, Thursday has $1.50 sloppy Joes and $2 Budweiser bottles, and on Friday? An all-you-can-eat fish fry. Oooohhh yeah.

5. Plenty of seating. Indeed there is. Plenty of seating is available but not so much that diners feel cramped. A covered bench, similar to a bus stop, is parked at one end of the garden, likely to accommodate smokers when it rains.

6. Both shady and sunny options. Yep. Like I mentioned earlier, each table comes with a large umbrella. Leaving it open or closed is your choice.

The Verdict: I definitely plan to head back to The Cottage. It's affordable, simple and seems like it'd be a ton of fun on a Friday or weekend. (I'm a towny bar girl, so let's keep that in mind). I got a salad, a bowl of chili and a beer. My tab was $11. I can't wait to try their other specials. I'd highly recommend it.