For years I have been lacking the experience of Al's Beef. This past weekend, my folks back home mentioned if I ever had it because they heard it was good. That spurred me to finally try it. I got the beef sammich with cheese and sweet peppers. That alone cost over $7. The bun was only half way soaked and the other half was dry. Other than the meat being wet, it was on the dry side as well lacking an adequate amount of seasoning. I barely noticed the cheese and there were only 3 slices of green peppers on it, again lacking enough flavor. This sammich was disappointing as I knew a few block away, Murphy's was there with their great beef masterpiece. To add insult to injury, I was burping the sammich up for the rest of the afternoon, reminding me each time how disappointed I was. If you want good Italian Beef, go to Murphy's instead. read more

Wasn't impressed. Lacked the flavor a good italian beef should have. I did enjoy the loaded fries, though. Fatness ensued!!

Great maxwell st polish... Chicago style is fabulous.. I love how they include fries with the st polish automatically... I never need to order the whole meal & never would anyway. It's delicious. Love this place & always come back read more

Five stars because it tastes like pho meat on a roll, but deducting two because that fact alone just weirds me out

Good, not Great. We had the Al's Italian Beef sub. Dipped tastes good, but very messy. Very overpriced in my opinion.

They have a wide variety of cheese fries, as well as hot dogs and sandwiches. I've heard bad things about here-and-there sickness from people who have eaten the meat, but I had the loaded fries and though they use liquid cheese I found it to be surprisingly decent. Maybe take it easy on the cold toppings at night? My dish was hot all the way around. read more

Poor food beef smelled discussing very expensive bought 4 beefs with fries n pop n paid 56 dollars

Stopped there on a Saturday afternoon for a beef and fries. The beef was good and the fries great. Good and friendly service.

Ordered at 4:00. Said an hour for delivery and 20 minutes later, my hot delicious lunch/dinner (linner) was at my door! Food was great! Totally hit the spot. read more

I went here a few months back and I was not impressed one bit. I don't really understand what all of the hype is about and being voted one if the best beef sandwiches in the Midwest? I have made a better beef sandwich at home for a cheaper price. I don't know if I just had a bad experience the first time I went here---but it has prevented from going back. The sandwich was very soggy and had an incredibly salty taste to it. I think that a lot of people are crave this place because it 'could' be great for drunk munchies. read more

Came here to eat before a date in Boystown. We never had it before, but I specifically never had a REAL italian beef in my life. I've had either dry or flavorless. After eating here I can't get an italian beef anywhere else. I got the Little Al, which is a 4" for around 5 bucks - it wasn't very filling and I wish I ordered a bigger size but I didn't want to spend 7-8 bucks for a sandwich at the time. It is worth it though. I got hot peppers on mine and had it dipped which is the way to go. I believe they have sweet peppers too. Anyway this sandwich was heaven in my mouth. It was messy and oily from being dipped but that's the way I like it and every non-Al's beef I have had since then is a disappointment. The bread was perfectly wet but not soggy, beef was great, peppers were the cherry on top. I ordered italian beef from somewhere a week later and the peppers were cut too big (Al's does the right portioning) and all in one spot and the beef was a bit tough. I think Al's has the only italian beef sandwich with peppers cut in the right size. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal but for me, peppers make or break the sandwich. Fast service, pretty decent, nothing extraordinary but it's a fast food place. Definitely stop by here at least once in your life. You'll get REAL italian beef. read more

The combo was awesome! The minute you walk into this establishment, there is a smell of old school deli mixed with gravy and peppercorns! You bite into a combo and the the whole thing melts, the giard is well seasoned, beef holds up just enough for a bite, the sausage reinforces the beef and is a great compliment. The bread soaks up all this good Au jus. The craziest thing is that the taste from the spices from the beef was reminiscent of the northern Chinese places! Mind blown! read more

Al's has an amazing Italian Beef. I know a lot of people like to say Portillo's is the best, but I'm telling you they're wrong. Get it with hot peppers, and pair it with a beer or a coke. Trust me, you're good to go! Every bite was amazing, and when friends were in town, I'd always have them grab a sandwich on their last day. It was the perfect "Head to the Airport," last taste of Chicago. Put it this way...friends in town: Al's. Stuck at home sick? Order Al's. In a rush, and need something awesome to go: Al's. Renting a movie for the night? Order Al's. Get the point? read more

You have to go here once to get the beef. It's not good for you, but it's good comfort food. We would go here again. I wish that they had more seating for larger groups of friends. read more

For my last lunch while visiting my sister, I wanted another Chicago classic, and research showed me Al's was not only close to her apartment, but also highly recommended by locals. My boyfriend and I ordered the Regular Al Italian Beef to share, while my dad and sister each got one of their own. The fries looked and smelled good, but we had chips already, so we skipped the fries. We ordered our sandwich in true Chicago style, wet and with giardiniera peppers. My dad got his wet with bell peppers and my sister got hers dry with bell peppers. Ours was by far the best, and the giardiniera peppers and the extra juice definitely put our sandwich on top. The meat was SO moist and juicy, the juice was full of flavor, and the giardiniera peppers added that bit of spice and crunch that made it perfect. I would 100% recommend Al's and can't wait to go back for more! read more

Good food, great fries, and a good late night snack.

Fine dogs. Very very fine. Nothing exciting and certainly not bad. Just fine. If you are enjoying Goose Island Brew Pub its an easy walk.

Al's beef is all that is a beef sandwich! The meat is tasty and sliced to the perfect thickness. Having the hot peppers added with a good dunk in the sauce makes this stand out from other sandwich joints. I got my sandwich to go and thought it may be a complete mess by the time I got home, roughly ten minutes. I was happy to find it satisfyingly hot and the bun was still functional! Now go pound some beef! read more

Consistently good food and service - our go-to when we have visitors in town and want to take them to a Chicago staple. Given the location, I can only imagine the drunk ppl they get rolling in from Wrigley. So completely makes sense that they have a bathroom policy for customers only. Hubby always gets the Italian beef, not dipped tho bc he thinks it's juicy enough to begin with. It's all preference on if you like your bread soggy or not - the beef itself is so tender and flavorful. I typically get the hotdog special with a Chicago style dog and Chili cheese dog. Both consistently good each time. Great place and great location - def recommend! read more

I had the Italian beef sandwich and chopped salad. The Italian beef sandwich was ok... Nothing to write home about... I prefer Portillo's sandwich. The chopped salad was delicious though. read more

Delicious beef! Great to stop before a Cubs game to bring into the park. Just remember that they won't let you bring a fountain beverage into the game. Much tastier than anything that they sell inside. read more

I order from here quite a bit. The food is very good with the exception of the Italian Beef. I didn't like it too much it's mostly just small crumbles of beef? It was disgusting. Anyhow, they get 3 stars because although I like the food, the service sucks. I've been going here since they opened. The service has always been fast and friendly. The last few months the service is so-so. The guy that works the register (I believe his name is George) seems annoyed by the customers coming in. I just get the feeling that I'm inconveniencing him. I cant really explain it. I dont care to spend my money where its not wanted lol. I will find a new place. read more

Very rude service. Decent food but any time Wrigleyville has an event they close down bathrooms and reject paying customers for water cups.

Varry good I'm a big fan of Als. But good service any I must spend lots of cash here My friends say u got fat since I moved in the area lol all good food no joke guys are good people. Don't pass this up read more

Good, not great. Had the beef, dipped, with mozzarrella cheese. Doesn't compare to the original Al's on Taylor St. Also not near as good as Portillos, just more convenient since I live in the area read more

Best beef in town very upset about the bad reviews. There is no place i have been to with better beefs, great cheese fries and chilli if you want a mouth watering beef sandwich this is the place to be. read more

I order here all the time for delivery.. Recently they have been getting my order wrong and now they have a delivery amount.. Really?? So I order a chardog it goes on the grill not difficult but apparently it is for them recently.. Tell them what I want on my dog and something has been missig the last 3 times and I make sure they repeat it it's not that hard I get everything minus mustard I even say everything I want just so they get it right.. The person that helped me this time barely spoke English which is fine but don't answer the phone if ur not gonna understand what I want.. Then she's confused on why I'm calling.. Really u messed up my order I ended up spending 20$.. It's just aggravating bc it's not that hard read more

This meal was amazing. Dipped Italian beef was excellent. Went perfectly with our cubs game tonight.

I work down the street from Al's and have been here a few times. The Beef is good as you would expect from for Al's but they are very weird about the amount of fries they give you. I always order large fries from the place and they always under serve you. Most places pack in and over flow the fries when you order but here is almost like they are cheeping out. They also never give you ketchup unless you ask, very odd. They are not cheap in price compared to other place in the area so you would think they would do this. Not a big deal just one of the small things that bugs me. I will not be back after this. read more

Love the Maxwell St. Polish. Great cheese fries and chili sauce. The burgers are good, but not as good as Five Guys. Great drunk food, hungover food, whenever food. read more

Very good and I glad to eat at this location since its larger and has seats. The one downtown has you bumping elbows with the person eating next to you! read more

The staff was extremely nice with me and my grandmother. the food was Delicious. definitely I will go there again.

Italian beef sandwich was delicious. My husband got the Italian sausage and he loved the spicy flavor he also had had a hot dog and loved it. Thanks for the great grub we will be back. read more

Beef, dry, hot peppers. The only 3 words you need to know before going here. And of course it's not "dry"... it's just not soaking wet like if you get it dipped. read more

So good! I got the Chicago dog and my husband got the Italian beef sandwich. We will be back here the next time we come to Chicago.

Their beef was terrible but the service was good they came quickly in also had a great attitude I will not eat their again

Greeted right when you walk in! Food was made fast and was very good! Highly recommend Al's Italian beef and cheese fries! Went on a week day during lunch and was not to busy! read more

finally went to al's, it is always hyped as the "best beef", so i have been waiting to give it a whirl. it was good, nice and juicy, but i still can't find a place that beats johnnie's. there is something about the flavor of the meat & juice that i can't seem to find anyplace else. the giardinara here is also like a sauce, not big chunks like you find at other beef places. good, but i'll stick to johnnies! read more

I used to go here all the time when I first moved to the city. I still go to the Al's by my work in the loop. This location in Lakeview has just fallen apart in the last year. After several incidents I am not going back again. First time I was given fries with white stuff all over them. Still not sure if it was sour cream or feta or who knows. Went back again and made sure to bring it up but after I ordered. I didn't want to seem like I was looking for free food and I do understand from working in restaurants mistakes happen. I was rudely told flat out, "That didn't happen", and was just baffled. So I am making this up for fun? When I tried to argue and ask what was actually on my food I was shot down repeatedly and told there is basically nothing white there that could ever gone on my fries and I was lying more or less. Seriously?!?! Against my better judgement I still went back there another time and the food was just awful. In my opinion you have to really work at making Al's bad because it's so good from the start. Super dry beef, old fries, forgot the cheese on the fries but I guess that is better than mystery white stuff. Needless to say this location permanently lost a customer. I also probably dropped a small fortune at this place during the summer after the bar. I will drop my small fortune somewhere else in Lakeview now. read more

al's is awesome. their greasy, tasty, au jus dripping, tender goodness on a bun and hot crispy fries are fantastic and they have late hours to boot. we will visit again read more