Vegan
American
Fast food
Beer/Wine

Vegan brew pub est. 2012. Local beer is brewed in-house. Serves burgers and fries, wraps, vegan mac n cheese, pizza, and snack foods like soy curls, nachos, and soft pretzels. Vegan cakes available. Note that the kitchen closes 2 hours before the bar. Reported fully vegan September 2022. Open Mon-Wed 3:00pm-8:00pm, Thu 3:00pm-9:00pm, Fri 12:00pm-9:00pm, Sat 12:00pm-8:00pm, Sun 11:00am-8:00pm.


133 Reviews

First Review by lindama

dct

Points +54

Vegan
20 Jan 2014

Pigs Mind=Awesomeness

Love this place and so grateful they have opened! A refreshing twist on vegan eateries, no wheatgrass in sight and if I do say so, it's got some testosterone to boot. Great food, fantastic craft beers and no guy will have a problem feeling comfortable in this restaurant/bar. Try the wings and the rueben, and the cole slaw is amazing. Highly recommended!

JenniferHurlebaus

Points +38

Vegan
28 Mar 2026

Overrated

I’ve been to a lot of vegan restaurants and this place is very meh. The environment was great. The staff was super nice. I love what they are trying to do but the food was very mediocre. My Reuben was somehow sweet? The chikn nuggets were flavorless. The fries were not only cold when I got them but somehow quite overcooked and soggy at the same time. The cheezcake was flavorless aside from the drizzle. Idk. I’ve just heard amazing things from vegetarians in my area so I was expecting it to be great but it was very meh. Highly overrated. Obv vegan restaurants are limited so I can imagine we will be going again but it certainly won’t be my first choice.

Updated from previous review on 2026-03-28

Chip&Christi

Points +16

Vegan
28 Mar 2026

A vegan paradise

My girlfriend and I stumbled upon this place a little over a year ago and always stop by when we are in town. Pages of vegan options and great craft beer. I just wish they would open a second one out in the western burbs in Chicago.

Pros: Many craft beers to choose from, Pages of vegan options, Great staff and service

Jax_The_Coyote

Points +445

Vegan
05 Feb 2026

Great bar food!

Lots of great appetizers, with my favorite being the mushrooms! They've got a pretty good selections of entrees and and seem to come out with a new menu every year or so to keep things fresh!

Sonyablade86

Points +23

Vegan
08 Jan 2026

Finally no menu picking!

This was the first all vegan restaurant I have ever been in. Being from Wisconsin it's very hard to find anything. It was the first time I felt comfortable and at home ordering food. Knowing that everything was vegan was so freeing. Everything was delicious and not lacking in flavor! Will definitely go here again in the future. Worth the hour plus drive!

Pros: All vegan menu, Friendly helpful staff, Delicious food!

Cons: A bit of a drive for me but I don't care!

joshcass22

Points +249

Vegan
20 Dec 2025

Best spot in town

All vegan restraint and brewery. This place is always packed to have some good pub food and amazing local beer. There is usually some fun entertainment (trivia, comedy, etc) going on as well to add to the experience.

Updated from previous review on 2025-12-20

RacheePoo

Points +84

Vegan
20 Dec 2025

What happened to Pig Minds?

It kills me to write this review. But after a almost every visit over the past year(we would go once or twice a month since we live about an hour away and have been going to Pig Minds for YEARS) and most experiences having dealt with poor service, food quality, consistency, timing, price/cost, and items on the menu, we have decided to stop coming here for the time being. It seems as though no one really cares anymore. The food is either burnt, the produce used is old, the food takes FOREVER, and when it does arrive, every time you get the same item, it tastes different. And I swear no one is tasting these things before they are putting them on other people's plates. Some of them have been inedible. It is also hard to pay almost $15-20 for a meal when there is barely any food on your plate, it doesn't taste good/the same as usual, there is clearly no quality control, it's burnt, old produce is used and it one tiny slice of lettuce on a tiny burger(come on). It should of never left the kitchen and should of been remade immediately. Quality is one thing Pig Minds has been known for in the past. We don't mind spending that when you are getting a quality meal. That's obvious that is the main reason we go here is for a meal whether is be brunch, lunch, or dinner. We've given so many opportunities and so much time to correct these things but it doesn't seem to matter. My husband made a comment that if it wasn't for the fact that everything was vegan here, we wouldn't even think of coming back. And he is right. We are constantly letting things slide and excusing things that shouldn't even be happening to begin with. Well, I wish you luck, and hope if/when we go back things will be better. But I don't forsee us coming back in the near future.

Updated from previous review on 2023-07-24

Pros: All vegan., Patio.

Cons: Portions & Price., Quality., Service.

jordnpurp

Points +309

Vegan
18 Nov 2025

Great food and beer

The food was excellent and the beer flight was large and fun to share to give them a try. I wish I had gotten pictures of everything we got but we were so hungry. The pretzel and all the dipping sauces were delicious!

Pros: All vegan food, Kids menu, Beer flight

stprevic

Points +152

Vegan
06 Nov 2025

Incredible

Wow, some of the best vegan food I’ve had—and I’ve had a lot. Impressed my non-vegan partner, too. Highly recommended.

tessysdb

Points +300

Vegan
14 Oct 2025

We will definitely be back

Good food, great beer. Artichoke dip and portabello burger were delicious.. friendly and helpful staff

soygirl

Points +389

Vegan
28 Sep 2025

vegan bbq and brew

the bbq sandwich is insanely delicious!! closest thing to real bbq, and the fries are seasoned nicely. we also had the buffalo cauliflower wings and death grips brew 👍

shebazzle

Points +707

Vegan
31 Aug 2025

Great vibe, good beer, good eats, nice hat, ev charging

Been on my list forever and a trip to galena for the weekend yielded an opportunity to meet up with our traveling partners on the way.

Sat outside on a glorious day. Fought the urge to order appetizers, though they looked swell. Got the peach bbq soy curl sandwich. Soy curls an underutilized vegan staple? Love them. Sandwich good and flavorful. Great fries. Added a dipping sauce. Bun was mid but otherwise a good sandwich. Spouse and a friend got the Korean soy curl tacos. Good stuff too. Flavorful and fried well. We shared a dessert between the four of us.

Had a couple beers. Enjoyed them much. The blueberry one was smooth easy drinking.

And. Of course. Got a hat. They had some nice fun beer flavor based shirts too.

Two FREE Tesla destination chargers and one J1772. The J1772 was taken when I got here but the Tesla charger worked with my adapter. 2 hours of charge and I was able to comfortably avoid an addition charging stop along the way. Nice bonus.


Rockford is a lucky place.

Pros: Food, patio, beer, EV CHARGING, Vegan oasis in the Rockford area?

GabbyGirl1997

Points +31

Mostly Veg
30 Jul 2025

Fun Options

Fun menu with a lot of unique vegan options.

Freckles_

Points +659

Vegan
29 Jun 2025

Hit the Spot

A brewery and all-vegan restaurant conveniently located near the interstate which sounded great and pulled off for a lunch-dinner. It happened to be at the same time as a community book fair so it was busy, but we sat outside so noise wasn't so bad. I ordered the quinoa bowl thinking it would be more of a dense grain bowl but it was more of a salad. I'm not a crazy salad person but this bowl was amazing. The fries and tots were delicious and everyone enjoyed their sandwiches! An absolute gem in Illinois!

HappyVeganTravelers

Points +318

Vegan
29 Jun 2025

Great Servers/Great Food

We came to Pig Minds for the Boozy Book Fair event. We come out from Chicago whenever we can because we love this restaurant. When we first came in, the host asked us if we were there for the book event, we said yes. They told us to go to the back and order from the bar. We wanted to do table service because we wanted to have a relaxing sit down lunch before we walked around the outdoor book fair. After a couple back and forths it seemed pretty clear they wanted us to go to the back, so we did. We sat down in the back. While looking at the menu someone came up to the table and said she would serve us. We told her if it’s too busy we can order from the bar, she insisted that we could be served at the table and that it was no problem at all. She was so nice and turned a negative start into a really exceptional service experience.

We started with the Garlic Fries and Shiitake Pot Stickers. The pot stickers were great, crispy and savory with a fantastic sesame sauce for the dip. The garlic fries were really good too but holy garlic Batman! Are they ever garlicky?!? There’s A LOT of garlic on there. I had the patty melt with the side salad. I always think I’ll try something different but it’s so good that I keep coming back to it. The caramelized onions melding with the cheese and patty are just so good.

Matt had the Mac and cheese pizza. The pasta was just the right texture for a pizza topping and the sauce was tasty but not overly wet. It was an excellent pizza.

The food is always great here but what really made this a five star experience was our phenomenal server.

Migeov

Points +481

Vegan
06 May 2025

Worth the detour

How can you not like a full vegan brewery with delicious menu! Worth the detour if you are around. Go there blindly, you won't be disappointed

Pros: Best beer in the area, Best vegan menu in the area , Best friendly staff

Cons: None, None , None

tsjmh

Points +184

Vegan
24 Apr 2025

Love the food and brew!

Love the variety of items on the menu. We had the Rueben sandwich and it was very hearty and delicious! Our server was friendly and efficient. It was also a pleasant evening so we enjoyed sitting outside on the patio. We will be back!

Pros: Variety of menu items , Pleasant staff

Grovean

Points +720

Vegan
27 Mar 2025

Excellent food & brewery

Happy Cow makes traveling so much easier! We would never have found this place on our own. Food was delicious and the beers we tried were very good. The blueberry-lemon crumb cake was amazing - save room!
Our server Ashlyn was excellent.
Will definitely return if we’re ever in the area again.

Pros: Black garlic peanut tofu bowl , BLT quinoa bowl, Blueberry-Lemon Crumb Cake

Brycew

Points +2837

Vegan
18 Dec 2024

Amazing vegan brewery

For being so rural it’s surprising to find a completely vegan restaurant serving American comfort food. The beer is out of this world! Great selection and friendly people.

Pros: Beers on tap and yummy food, Great people, The only vegan option in many miles

Cons: Use in some dishes of Impossible, not my thing

MatthewRotes

Points +18

Vegan
06 Oct 2024

Inconsistent

Can’t figure out if they want to serve brunch or not. If all you care about is booze, then just serve booze.

novocaine

Points +47

Vegan
24 Sep 2024

Look no further

Brewery with completely vegan menu. Patio out front, lounge/pinball area in back, bar/dining in the middle.

Pros: Great tasting plentiful options, Delicious variety of beers, Friendly service

CDWhite

Points +83

Vegan
20 Aug 2024

Meat eaters even love it!

One of my absolute favorite spots! Everything is delicious, it’s difficult to decide what to order. My meat eater husband liked everything he has tried - food & beers! The Reuben sandwich & Korean chick’n tacos are a must!

Pros: Expansive food menu, Wide assortment of beers, Cool ambiance

mmemal

Points +17

Vegetarian
02 May 2024

Great vegan place

Lucky find for me, thanks to Happy Cow. Visited twice. Great food and beer both times.

Updated from previous review on 2024-05-02

Pros: BBQ wrap, Hot Asian bowl, Beer

PhilW

Points +90

Vegan
30 Mar 2024

Plant-based, not healthy

I like the occasional visit if I'm in the area. But honestly, I sometimes felt a little unwell after my meals. If you are WFPB, don't bother. It will taste good, but you may very well regret it later. The people are great and I'm told the beer is good.

Went back again in March 2024. Menu has changed a bit. Revised original rating from 3 to 4 stars. C and I both loved our choices this visit and felt fine after. Give it a shot if you are in the area. The service was again commendable.

Updated from previous review on 2023-04-05

Pros: All plant based., Good tasting., Friendly staff.

Cons: Mostly vegan junk food., Lots of fried foods.

Sweetmoresugar

Points +61

Vegan
17 Feb 2024

Vegan brewing company

Extensive options since it's a fully vegan menu. I've only tried the gyro sandwich which was not my favorite but I need to go back to try more things.

Staff is super friendly and the place was packed so I ordered to go.

Pros: Friendly , Fully vegan menu

Bissonomy

Points +127

Vegan
27 Jan 2024

Excellent pub food

Great fully vegan menu with a wide selection and specials.

Pros: Full menu, All vegan, Excellently made

Cons: Busy at all times

VeganPhishPhan

Points +380

Vegan
18 Dec 2023

Great Place

We've been here a few times now and the food has always been great. Cant beat an all-vegan brewery if that's your thing. Lots of options and the portions are well sized. It's definitely more on the bar/junk food side.

I knocked a star off due to the last time we went. They forgot about my order, and then even when they acknowledged it, it still took another 20-30 minutes to get me my food. Apparently there are 2 different kitchens and there was a miscommunication. They did comp me my meal though, so not the end of the world.

Updated from previous review on 2023-12-18

Pros: Lots of free parking, 100% Vegan, Lots of options

Cons: Service can be iffy




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