Went to this place the first time last night for dinner. It was a great experience and we regret that we hadn't tried it sooner. I got the turkey burger and it was amazingggg! Huge burger and the patty was seasoned really nicely, with celery and apples...sounds weird but it was great. Served with a heaping mound of fresh avocado slices and both grilled and raw onions. I got mine with a side of potato salad, which had a nice spicy kick to it. My boyfriend got a pastrami sandwich which was just huge with a heaping pile of meat on it. Huge sandwiches, nice beer selection, free coffee, and a huge hot sauce bar. Friendly and prompt service, which is impossible to find these days. The prices were a little high, but listen why: all the chicken and turkey is FREE RANGE MEAT! Very rare to find in restaurants, this means the meat was not raised in crammed dark nasty coops and injected with steroids and antibiotics. This means the meat was free to roam in a sunny, healthy pasture and given the opportunity to mature naturally. Definitely worth the extra money! Oh and there's a nice bar to one side of the restaurant, complete with beer towers. I plan on frequenting this place to do my future day drinking :) read more

Came here twice, once to split pulled pork sliders with a friend, and once for drinks. The sliders were okay, I've had better pulled pork from other places but they weren't bad. For drinks, I ordered a long island iced tea, which was pretty funny because the bartender pulls like every bottle off the shelf and it's probably one of the strongest ones I've ever had (one drink and I was pretty tipsy). Overall, this place is pretty average and somewhere my friends like to hang out at, but I wouldn't choose to come here if we had to pick a place. The beer tower is a pretty awesome novelty, I've never had one myself but I've watched friends split one and it's pretty impressive when I see two people finish one. read more

Bat 17 - Thirsty people - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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I came here on a Monday night during March Madness. That being said, the place was packed, but our party of 3 was about to find a table in the back. Food: We order several appetizers: buffalo wings, nachos and potato skins. The portions were sizable. The nachos were piled high and came with all the fixins: sour cream, guacamole, chicken, beans and salsa. Each item was enjoyed without complaint. The wings were too spicy for one, but as I like spice they were fine by me. Drinks: Bat 17 has a good selection of beer on draft and bottles. I had a Marker's Manhattan which was well mixed. I find that often bartenders at pub/sports bar type establishments often add way too much sweet vermouth. This was not the case. Next time, I'm hoping to get one of those beer towers that almost every other table had ordered. Looks like a good time. read more

Bat 17 - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

LOVE this place. These sandwiches are huge, my husband and I generally share one of the regular-sized ones. Every sandwich we've had have been killer. They have a whole explanation of why their sandwiches are generally more expensive than other places....I'm telling you, it shows. This place is great and worth the extra $4 or $5. We generally order from them through Grub Hub, but every once in a while before a movie we'll stop in, too. It's a cute little bar, perfect for a college town. Service is friendly and good. Favorite sandwiches are the Roxy and Kilimanjaro. If you like coleslaw and gorgonzola cheese, then get the gorgonzola coleslaw. SO GOOD. I have a friend who is a vegetarian and she said she also loves this place because they have so many options for vegetarians. read more

My Cobb salad chicken was super dry! The breakfast sliders were unloved. The sweet potato waffle fries were too crispy (and there was no condiment?) but I bet if you ate carbs, you'd like it here read more

Bat 17 - Cobb salad small. Sweet potato waffle fries. Breakfast sliders. Nothing to write home about - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

This is really a 41/2! As far as deli food goes - I was really happy. My pastrami sandwich on dark rye bread (with an extra side of mustard) was great. I actually had 1/2 a sandwich and a cup of delicious chili. The combination was enough to fill me for the rest of the day. The cup of soup was what I would call a bowl at my house and the half sandwich was a meal in itself. Everything else I saw come out of the kitchen gave me food envy. My only let down was the chili was just warm and not hot as expected and the fries - good quality - were room temperature. Our server was friendly and efficient. The price was fair for the quality and quantity of food. Great place for before or after a movie. read more

This place is AWESOME! I seriously can't say enough good things. The food is SO good, very reasonably priced, and service is friendly. They have very generous portion sizes (even the "1/2" orders are big enough for a full meal). Good beer selection, and a small bar in case you're trying to catch a game. It's conveniently located right by the purple line - and a fantastic lunch option. Highly, highly recommend for their great quality of food, good value for the money, and huge selection. Bat 17 is doing it right! read more

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Burgers are huge and yummy, but a bit pricey. Service was decent with the understanding that wait staff was low. I don't recommend to dine in on a hot day felt like air conditioning wasn't running. Otherwise, worth to try if you want a good burger. read more

One thing to get awful service but I can't even begin to blame the server who was stuck with 20 tables, meanwhile, an older women is bussing tables and working so hard with a smile on her face while the lazy manager sits at the end of bar flirting with the bartender not helping what so ever. Treat your staff correctly and stop being a POS! Words of encouragement!! read more

Yikes. We'd heard good things so went here after a movie. I don't know if perhaps everything was awful because they have the worst staff on hand during our hours or what, but man this was bad. We were the only food-eating people there but the food took 30-40 minutes to come out. The waitress came over a couple times to ask if she could get us anything, but acted like it physically pained her to do so, and even more so when we actually asked for more water. The second pour she gave us was luke warm and I put ice from my first glass into that one. I got the Cuban and the cheese was thick... And hard. It either was old cheese or they cooked it and just didn't deliver it for the full 40 minutes. However, going home and trying to nuke it, the cheese never melted in the microwave. So: old cheese they just wanted to get rid of. The sandwich had no flavor (in part due to this) and so I used my 'sightly spicy bacon potato salad' to season it. The two stars are for the potato salad. My sister ordered the fried chicken sliders, took a bite or two and ran into the same issue of no flavor. The waitress and her trainer came over and my sister said she couldn't eat the food since it was just dry with no flavor. The trainer asked what was wrong with it as if he was personally affronted by her not finding it edible. At no point did he or the waitress apologize. He did, I'll admit, ask whether she wanted something else and took this off the bill, but his tone remained insipid. TLDR: Bland food. Staff that openly show they hate their jobs, if not their lives (at least pretend like the rest of us). Warm drinking water. read more

We went there on the Northwestern game day. There's an early evening game we went there for lunch. We got there a few minutes before the rush happened. It is a fairly small restaurant that's tightly packed.there was clearly a college crowd there. It's pretty busy there. They have a variety of burgers there and everybody in her party enjoy the burgers. Have a pretty good selection of beers as well. I would rate this among some of the best burgers I've ever had and will deathly be coming back. The burgers are huge and you will not leave hungry.depending on when you show up you may have a wait but it's well worth it read more

The customer service was impeccable, portion sizes were huge and the food is reasonably priced with great flavor!

The turkey burger was handmade very thick and I loved the sauce. However the waffle fries were over cooked so they may have been better

Fantastic. Came here for Friday afternoon lunch, left here with a full belly and happy taste buds! I ordered the California turkey sandwich and it was piled high with meat, mayo, avocado, and cucumbers. A refreshing bite to eat. If you ever find yourself in Evanston, HIGHLY RECOMMEND swinging through. Also, the beer and beverage list is stacked with options. read more

I'm not a beer drinker but I was told these sandwiches are great, and they are great! I ordered a pretzel boy and that 10 ounces of beef was enough for 2 meals! They pile on a great sandwich with fried thin onion rings just like I like them with an ample awesome horseradish-mayo type of sauce. I wasn't a fan of their fries but they were typical fries and a little dry. My friend ordered the Reuben and loved it, but did note how lean and dry the meat was and I do like a fattier corned beef cut on my sandwiches for that little added moisture. She enjoyed her side Caesar salad though with fresh home made croutons and not so bad salad dressing. My husband enjoyed his pork sliders so all in all it was great service and good food. Only aside is I have a thing about bathrooms. This restroom had 22 rolls of toilet paper hung up on the walls and I thought that was kind of neat, but the smell in the bathroom was like that of a sewer!! That's why the 4 stars. read more

This was a great experience from the service to the sliders. Our waitress was kind, friendly and incredibly helpful. We were going to slider combo platter, but she warned us that it would be a lot of food and we were glad we listened and shared a dish instead. She continuously checked in on us to make sure that her recommendation worked out and that we were doing okay, which was much appreciated. An order of sliders comes with 4 and they let us do half and half flavors, so we got two buffalo chicken and two Siracha sliders. This ended up being the perfect amount of food for the two of us and we really enjoyed both flavors. I have experienced a lot of chicken sliders that lack any sort of distinct flavor and just end up tasting like dry fried chicken, but both of these stood out. The buffalo chicken had the right amount of seasoning and the Siracha definitely had the Thai chili taste. Definitely recommend going here! TIP The sliders are much bigger than normal, so sneak a peek at someone else's and then judge how many you should get. read more

Ordered food for delivery. Burger Sliders were ok. Philly sliders were lacking meat and didn't really give you that philly sandwich feel. Pretzel bites were mostly rock hard and I didn't really like the cheese sauce. Might be better in person but I will not be trying it anytime soon. read more

Cool Evanston bar with quality bar food and huge portions. Sandwiches are all great but again HUGE portions (that's why prices might seem a tiny bit high for bar food). Nice friendly staff and decent outdoor seating when nice out. read more

Bat 17 is simply the best restaurant in Evanston. Even the Daily Northwestern (Northwestern's Newspaper) highlights how it is voted as such year after year. The sandwiches are of impeccable quality. Great portions for the amount you pay. The California Dreamin' is my go-to every time I dine there. It is incredible & the sweet potato fries are so great!!! The atmosphere is honestly the best--I keep wanting to ask them for the rock playlist they use because it's incredible. The staff is so kind and helpful. I love this place so much and it is definitely my favorite restaurant in Evanston. The Funky Monkey sandwich is also good too!! You must come here!!! Even if you are not a big sandwich person the salads are divine too :) read more

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Hubs and I came here on a Monday afternoon and had the Reuben egg rolls (not on the menu, but posted on a sign outside the door) and they were exceptional! Soooo good! We split the cheesesteak and the burger royale (royale with cheese? The bottom burger with a picture from pulp fiction next to it). So I can't remember the cheesesteaks name however the meat to bread ratio is completely off and the bread would have to be slathered in sauce to help "break it down" so to speak so it's not so big. We would not get this sandwich again. The burger was a lot better but again, the bread seemed too much. Once I put a bunch of sauce on and it was able to suck some up and "soften" it was much better. Fries were decent and the hubs got the bleu cheese slaw and he said "it must be expensive cause there's so much cheese in there, but he felt it was too over done." I feel like I'm definitely down to come here again but hubs wasn't so impressed. I'd come back for the egg rolls alone. Great service. We came back a second time and I still cannot get onboard with these top rated/best sandwich awards. The bread is too too much! We both got burgers this time and the bread is almost too dry and too much. It ruins the sandwiches in my opinion. If they dialed back the bread ratio, everything would be so much better read more

Bat 17 is not for the average burger lover. It's for the burger conesseur. Their beer list was on par but so was their menu. I got their pulled pork barbecue burger and blown away at the size flavor and ability to finish a huge burger. But it was that good. Beer list is full of local and generally good breweries in the Midwest. Not only that but the waiter was able to recommend a beer to my liking. So recommend this place and will be back read more

Great place for an afternoon meal! Loved the sliders and appetizers they had! Very good.

Honestly, this place wasn't anything special. I came here because my friend said she liked their food. But I found it disappointing. The thing I think that threw me off this place was the fact they spend half a page trying to justify their prices. Yes, the bar food is a little more expensive than what you would expect. But you don't have to be pretentious and write an essay about you're choosy about your ingredients. Because the moment you write an essay about how you're basically personally inspecting the cow before you ask for it to be turned into ground beef and sending care packages to the chickens before they get slaughtered, I'm expecting greatness. And I had decent bar food. Not greatness. I ordered their Blue Lightning chicken sandwich because I wanted a buffalo chicken sandwich. That is not what I received. I got a giant chicken breast in between two pieces of bread and a slice of cheese with a baby spoonful of buffalo sauce. "Smothered in smoking hot or dialed down a notch buffalo sauce." Nope. Not what I received. Mediocre food, stupid prices. 12.89 for a regular sandwich. I've spent less for a better buffalo chicken sandwich, I've also spent more. And this was just an expensive grilled chicken sandwich. Not a fan. read more

Cool sports bar that my brother took me to for a little sibling bonding. Fun, semi'loud atmosphere with pool tables and air hockey for pay to play. Good for groups & food sharing as they offer a lot of slider sandwich options. With this being my first time, I ordered a regular burger and boy was it HUGE!!! But very flavorful. Only downside to our experience was that we had to wait a long time for our server to greet us and bring our food. He was the only floor server for the night unless you sat at the bar... and for this reason I rated a 4. This is a late post. I dined there in December the week before Christmas. read more

My family and I stopped by for dinner on a Sat evening. The restaurant was busy, but we found a table for four. The waiter promptly brought us water and menus, but from there the service went down hill. Super slow! The only reason I gave this a four star is because the food was delicious and fast! We had a burger and three sandwiches (egg salad, Rueben, bbq skirt steak). The egg sandwich was interesting, it was scrambled eggs, not boiled, very interesting. The steak sandwich was very tender. The Rueben was piled high with meat. The burger was cooked to perfection. Portions are big which makes it worth the price. Sides are extra, but unless you are starving they are not needed. Overall it was a good restaurant with both college kids and older adults alike. read more

A couple of years ago, I said "Love this place. They have a huge menu (mostly variations on a theme, so they can actually execute it well), a great beer list, and a nice bar (2 in fact). A comfortable environment with great service. This is my favorite spot in Evanston for lunch." Still like the food, but find the atmosphere to be pointlessly loud, they usually have the worst sports on TV, and the servers are idiots and should look for another way to make money. Not sure I will bother going back. read more

We were doing a college visit to Northwestern and stumbled across this place. The menu is enormous. There are options for everyone. While their claim to fame are their burgers, they have many sandwich options as well. All of their sandwiches are sold in regular and full sizes. I ordered one of the turkey sandwiches in a regular size and thought it was huge! Not sure how big the full would have been, but I was only able to eat half of my regular size sandwich. We had their fries as well for a side which were great with a little crunch to them. Would recommend if you're in the area. read more

I have dreams about their burgers!! Given our current reality, it'll be awhile before I make it back to the area for their mouthwatering Sunny Side Up burger, but if you're in Evanston it is totally worth the trip. Bar area sometimes feels really crowded but food is ALWAYS good and service is quite friendly (and so forgiving if you spill your beer all over the place...sorry!!) read more

One of the best burgers you will ever have! I got here every few weeks as a bit of a treat or when I need a pick-me-up. Bat 17 has a huge selection of burgers and beer options. My favorite is the BBQ burger that comes with BBQ sauce and small onion rings and pepper jack cheese. If I could complain about one thing it'd be that the buns are a bit thick... I have to squeeze the burger to get it to fit in my mouth but maybe that's not a bad thing! read more

I've never quite understood why this place is so popular. It's been here for years and every year or so I go back and try it again, only to be unimpressed. The burgers aren't as good as Edzo's which is 2 blocks away, the wings aren't as good as buffalo Joe's which is 1 block away... the only thing this place has that they don't... beer read more

Went here for a birthday with three friends. Burgers are huge! A bit expensive but you get huge portions. The burger is so big that it's hard to hold in your hands. I got the sweet potato waffle fries and they were delicious. It came with a side of bbq sauce that was perfectly tangy and sweet. read more

Bat 17 - Bat 17 Burger - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

First and last time in as we walked into a restaurant that was less then half full and we settled into a table and were asked to move because another party might nneed the bigger table we sat at. Seeing as there were at least 8-10 tables open we chose to take our business elsewhere. read more

Always more covid-cautious than peer restaurants in Evanston (to be clear, all Evanston restaurants followed protocol, bat was always a little different), but for some reason they still require proof of vaccination, even after the city lifted this restriction (following Chicago's lead). You walk past like five hand written signs by the entrance pointing out that they still require proof of vaccination, which is both sad and absurd. I asked out of curiosity why they are still doing this and the guy checking my card said it was a "personal preference" but didn't go into much detail and neither one of us wanted to really get into it. I hope it becomes less of a strangely hostile environment because the food is pretty solid. read more

Overpriced bland food. The Door County French Toast had no taste and the sourdough bread used to make it was extremely dry. The cherry compote was identical to the cheap cherry filling one could find in those canned pie fillings. The sausage patties were cold, but at least tasted ok......but clearly frozen store-bought patties. Will not be ordering from here ever again. read more

Went here for brunch for the first time. There was only one other occupied table and now I know why. We ordered the breakfast sliders which were extremely dry and stale. I hate to say this but a McDonald's bacon, egg and cheese biscuit tastes better. We also ordered the cinnamon bun French toast and the egg wash was like an omelette. I could not even taste the cinnamon bun. Even the visual of the egg on top hanging over was unappetizing. Now we let our server know and he was really understanding and so professional. He brought back our tab and the manager only took off 10%. Didn't even come talk to us. I'm truly disappointed in that. If he at least took of one dish and apologized I would have at least given the place 3 stars. read more

I really want to like this place; thought third (or fourth) time would be the charm. Nope. Visited several different times throughout the year, experienced many different menu items, varied staff exchanges, etc...left frustrated, annoyed and shaking our heads in disappointed awe. As longtime diners, Chicagoans, and recent neighborhood newcomers, we always make the attempt to enjoy and support local restaurants, taps, quick bites or special occasion spots. Price or specific ambience is of no concern. We simply accept each place as it is in concept, menu, and service, meet new friends, but just can't at this establishment. Management was rude, presumptuous, pushy and, in the last late afternoon visit, shoved two of us in a corner, with only a few occupied tables in the place, giving us a warning shot that we would be moved if more people came in. Got the feeling he wanted all of us present outta there, with his annoyance so obvious, even to the other tables, simpatico glances to each other were flying around the room. Seems they had the same experience. If you don't like your job or your patrons who keep your doors open, pal, you may want to consider closing them or just leave. The young and attentive wait staff didn't want to be there either and the tension was palpable. Ok, enough of that. The menu is extensive, portions generous, although quite noticeably overpriced and it is marginally tasty, but nothing special in this crowded, loud, and tight space. Cocktails and beer selection are fine and, on our final visit, intended for a late lunch before a movie, we opted for only a beer and a martini, headed out and went elsewhere for quite a lovely and accommodating time of it. You may want to do the same, potential guests. After all, there are many choices in Evanston where the owners would love to have you dine and drink with them. And welcome you back. Bat, you lose. read more

Sports bar - in every way. Pub and bar food with service as expected. Good selection of beers on tap. Sandwiches, burgers and a very large array of fried food. All are average to slightly better than. Sliders are tremendous. The wings are not to my liking- they are breaded then fried - a major no no as far as Buffalo wings go. They are accommodating but they have their limitations. Service is well intended, good - but can be spotty. It is a good choice to watch a game, eat fried food and get a beer! read more

I wasn't totally sure what to expect from a place with a name like 'Bat 17' (what happened to Bats 1-16?) but I was pleasantly surprised. Unbelievably huge menu with tons of options. Most everything is available in two sizes: 'regular' (really, really large) and 'full size,' which is monstrous. Unless you have the appetite of a lumberjack or wish to feed a family of four, the regular size is probably plenty. Several side options abound. Not surprisingly, the place caters to NU students, and for that reason alone, the food could be mediocre, but it's not. The service could be apathetic and minimal, but it's not. I enjoyed a steamy cup of chicken tortilla soup. At first $5.19 for a cup of soup seemed a tad steep, but it was a huge cup. The soup was thick, and topped with tri-colored tortilla strips, shredded cheese, and chopped green onions; it was almost a meal in itself. I also had the marinated skirt steak salad. Hardly a healthy choice, but it was delicious, and bursting with fresh ingredients and tons of flavorful, perfectly cooked, tender steak. While students are likely Bat 17's bread and butter, the place wasn't teeming with them on our visit. There were several tables of business folk and neighborhood denizens. Our server (likely a college student) was super friendly and efficient, and handled the lunch crowd quite nimbly. I'll definitely be going back to Bat 17 when in this part of Evanston. read more

As a graduate student in Evanston, I've become well-acquainted with Bat 17. The drink specials are excellent, especially on Mondays ($20 beer towers, $3 pints, $5 wine glasses) and Thursdays ($3 vodka drinks), they have a ton of TVs for sports, and the general atmosphere and game options (pool, air hockey, etc.) make it a great hangout spot. And the food. When you forget to eat breakfast and the hunger is starting to play with your mind (happens to me a lot), this place is a godsend. Biggest sandwiches I've seen in Evanston hands down; even the "regular size" is more than enough. I've tried the Bad-Donkey Pastrami, Roadhouse Chicken, and Acapulco Burger (all delicious), but the selection is so vast, you should really choose what looks the most mouth-watering to you. Overall, a great option for anyone hungry, thirsty, or just looking for a good time. read more

Overpriced food No sound for football games Slow service If this is supposed to be one of the best college bars in Evanston, then that's pathetic. Don't bother. read more