Dining at Porter’s Pub at Bowes Creek Country Club
Porter’s Pub at Bowes Creek Country Club offers patrons an authentic English experience while immersed in a picturesque golf setting.
Porter’s Pub at Bowes Creek Country Club in Elgin, Ill., is an English-style pub that offers more than a few pints. As a versatile and stylish casual bar and restaurant, Porter’s Pub is a top draw at the club. The pub is divided into four different areas: the bar, the dining room, the private dining room and the patio.
Large windows provide views of the club’s lush golf course and grounds from all three areas, creating an open and inviting feel as the natural light flowing through the pub complements the breezy vibe and lively crowd. The windows are dressed in wooden blinds that are left open all day, with the exception of sunset, when they are adjusted. The pub has adjustable can lighting, along with tan lantern-like chandeliers that provide both style and function.
 Porter’s PubBowes Creek Country Club Elgin, Ill. Opened: September 2009 |
Porter’s Pub was designed as a traditional English public house. This motif is brought to life with a wide range of materials and textures, from rich woods and stone to tin and brass. Two large stone fireplaces—one in the bar and one in the dining room—warm up the space. The bar area’s tin ceiling with wooden beams creates a unique environment. The bar floor is made of small yellow, tan and white tiles, while the dining area has medium wood flooring. The English pub style is further expressed through oversized tap handles on the bar and medium-wood window casing and crown molding.
Upon entering the pub, members and guests are welcomed by the oversized horseshoe-shaped wooden bar, complemented from behind by sparkling glass shelves and mirrors.
“The bar is very important. You need to make it friendly and approachable,” says Heather Weaver, the pub’s Manager (Porter’s Pub is run for Bowes Creek CC by Carlucci Hospitality Group).
The bar area is a lively, casual space that’s popular among golfers. Eight flat-screen televisions are mounted on the walls, making it the perfect venue for watching sporting events. Along with bar seating for 15, high tops are set up throughout the bar area with the same round, wood, leather and brass bar stools. Comfortable black leather armchairs and coffee tables along the windows provide patrons with a relaxed seating option that highlights the club’s scenic surroundings.
Porter’s Pub also offers more traditional dining in the adjacent room. Round and square dining tables are set up in the middle of the room, while family-friendly booth seating lines the perimeter. Off the dining room, a patio area is set up with cast-iron tables with green umbrellas and wicker chairs that overlook the course and the club’s Great Lawn, which is often used for outdoor events and entertainment.
“We have the public coming in here, so it was important for golfers to have a place to come in and enjoy food and drinks, and it was important to have a dining room for families,” says Weaver.
