Generally, Exchequer is great. I was a regular. I would go in at least once or twice a month. And I eat out at a lot of places, many much nicer than Exchequer. Today, I had some of the worst service I've ever had. The waiter did not bring me the correct beverage and then he didn't refill it. I will regularly have 3-4. I left a poor tip and I was willing to keep it between us. Then he challenged me on my way out. I stopped and spoke to a manager about his conduct and the manager was uninterested. The food is exceptional, but with the lack of parking in that neighborhood and the terrible service, I won't be back any time soon. I eat out almost every day. Often for lunch and dinner. I am generally a fair tipper, but I do have expectations that are reasonable. Not a loud waiter that can't keep a glass full. read more

Wonderful atmosphere! Loved the cold beer on draft. Warm chicken noodle soup. And the pizza?!?! Outstanding! Chicago style yummy!! Great evening at the Exchequer. read more

We ate here for dinner both nights we were in Chicago, and the food was amazing! The deep dish pizza was fantastic, and the penne with alfredo sauce was to die for. The servers were very nice as well! We'll definitely be eating here again the next time we visit! read more

Old school clean friendly service good food great small local place. Came for cubs game college game will make it a stop point each year

My wife and I went to Chicago for a honeymoon long weekend trip. We stayed at the Hilton (wonderful view) and were trying to come up with something interesting to do other than go to the Art Institute museum or Shedd's Aquarium (personal fav's to do in Chi-town). So we thought we'd be creative and do a walking tour of the best chicago-style pizza joints. We went to all the "original" chicago style places (we walked miles and miles and miles). We discovered this apparently little-known place by accident (it was near the hotel and we were walking by one lunch time...). It turns out that the Exchequer won our VERY BEST OF CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA award. A fun, inviting, unassuming atmosphere, friendly staff, and THE BEST PIZZA I'VE EVER HAD. The crust is deep, yet somehow light and crispy--kind of bowl-shaped. That way they can pile in the toppings--or more like layer them in. It is thick and full of flavor, yet not greasy. A great combo and a unique and creative spin on Chicago Style that gets four thumbs up from me and my wife. read more

Solid pub tavern vibe and food. Had the ribs and wings and everyone enjoyed them. We were there with a large group of middle school kids and they very accommodating. They were also very informed about allergies and helped us out with letting kids know what was safe. read more

Stopped here after Venetian Night looking for a decent bar to hang out in...went to Miller's Pub first and there was a half hour wait and standing room only in what looked like a pretty dingy bar area, so upon a tip from one of the waitresses there, we headed over to Exchequer. Great service, reasonable prices on both pitchers & pizza & one of the best thin crust cheese & sausage pizzas I've ever had! Absolutely perfect! 5 people shared a large and we were stuffed. Music selection is not so great and the atmosphere could use some updating but we will definitely be back for the pizza! read more

I had the MOST AMAZING filet mignon here. I haven't read all the other reviews carefully, but I don't think people are saying enough good things about the steak. Absolutely up to steakhouse standards as far as I'm concerned, for half the price. $23 for 8 oz. Cooked PERFECTLY, just the right size, about an inch thick and the diameter of a hamburger. I was in heaven. I think I'm still recovering from the overindulgence though--Steak comes with 3 huge onion rings and soup or salad. Didn't touch the onion rings, didn't finish the salad, shared a bowl of onion soup (not included with the meal), and we couldn't resist the chicken wings either, which were wonderful. The waiter was attentive and helpful without being overbearing. Mediterranean ribs were only 10 bucks on special. Plus it's also a pizza place--truly something for everyone. Will definitely be going back! read more

I have never had worse service than I did at Exchequer Restaurant and Pub. The food is average (and overpriced) and the service is absolutely the worst. In downtown Chicago, I can't believe that this place is still open as there are so many other options. I assume they own the building and have paid off any small business loans and therefore do not have as much of an incentive to make a profit as other restaurants in the area. There were so many different things that went wrong with the service I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll go chronologically: When I first sat down with my party of six, the waiter asked me if I wanted a drink. I said I would have a "Hoegaarden" because I saw it was the beer on special that night. Apparently I pronounced it wrong, saying "Hoe" with a long O. at the beginning of the word, I later learned, is pronounced with a "Who" not a "Hoe." The waiter took no time to correct me and said, "We don't have Hoegaarden, but we have "Who" gaarden, which is apparently the correct way to pronounce the drink. I legitimately thought he was talking about a different beer, so I said, "No, I want a Hoegaarden" and he again said, "We don't have that, we have Who-gaarden." OK, so I didn't know how to pronounce the drink, but it was the waiter's extremely rude way of correcting me that started the night off on a bad foot. If he were smart, he would have 1) not corrected me because he knew what I was talking about 2) if he felt the absolute need to correct me, he should have done it in a joking way or laugh about it somehow, and 3) given me the drink on the house once he realized I was upset with his attitude. Instead it was almost as if I was being insulted immediately after sitting down, and everyone at our table said he was rude after he walked away. I told him I didn't want the beer and just bring me water. He said, "Whatever, whatever." He proceeded to take everyone's orders. 5 of the 6 of us ordered salads to start.. When the salads came, one of us didn't have silverware and we had to steal it from another table because he didn't bring it. Also he only brought 4 salads. The one person who didn't get one had to remind the waiter what type of salad and dressing she ordered, and he brought it a few minutes later. About 5 minutes later (or less) he brought our entrees, as we were all still only half finished with our salads. The table wasn't nearly big enough for all the salads, entrees and bread plates, so he asked each of us if we were done with our bread plates (which we had just received a few minutes prior) and then took them away before anyone could answer. Additionally, one person ordered tilapia and the waiter told her, about 15 minutes after she ordered it, "Sorry we don't have tilapia tonight. I can just switch it out for salmon instead if you want." She said OK, and she got salmon. But she was charged the priced for SALMON, which was a significant difference. When he told her he would pull the switcheroo, he made it seem like it was going to be the tilapia price in a casual way, like "No big deal, we will fix this" but it turns out he fooled us all. When we were ready to leave, he asked if we wanted coffee or dessert and we all said no, and someone said, "We are ready for the ticket." The waiter again had a war of words with a customer and said, "I don't know what a ticket is" and the person said "the bill, the check, we want the check." He was American, we are American, it isn't like he was English or Australian and we have different ways of saying things like that. We tipped him about 11%, which was EXTREMELY generous as I advocated for my party to give him ZERO. If we don't hold waiters to SOME SORT of standard, this is the type of service everyone will get soon enough, with tips just fully expected. I told the host at the door as we were leaving that we just received the worst service any of us had ever experienced and he seemed to care, but likely didn't even talk to the waiter as it just didn't seem like the kind of place that cared about return customers. A nice restaurant (which this one isn't) would train their waiters to be overly friendly to customers all the time, under all circumstances. This guy was extremely rude the entire night, being very short with us with every sentence he spoke, screwing up orders and not bringing silverware, napkins, etc. Our table eventually began laughing at the situation because it seemed almost like there was a camera on us and some TV host would pop out at any minute and let us know that we were bring pranked. Again, the food was average so it just isn't worth your time or money for a place that can't even train their waiters to have a basic level of friendliness. There are literally hundreds of other options within a mile, so this one just doesn't make the cut. My prediction is that the owner will eventually sell the place to a chain restaurant or some sort of other business in the next few years. read more

Certainly not the best and certainly not the worst example of Chicago deep dish pizza. Service was good tho and the atmosphere was the right amount of kitsch. read more

I know it may have been a fluke, but I had a HORRIBLE experience here! My husband and I had tickets to a show at the Auditorium Theatre for 8:00. We got to Exchequer about 6:10. We were seated, waited probably 15 minutes or so for the waiter to get to our table (not crowded, as it was a Monday night). We let him know that we had show tickets and needed to be out of there by 7:30-ish. He was the most casual waiter I've had in my life-- and I unfortunately don't mean that as a good thing. He was a grown man but had the professionalism of a bored high-schooler at their first job. He wasn't rude at all, he was just very casual. He didn't walk, he sauntered. He didn't speak, he drawled. He was altogether lacking in the "friendliness," "charisma," or "personality" departments. Anyway, my husband ordered a sandwich of some sort and I ordered a pizza. He let me know that my pizza would take about 30 minutes and asked if that was okay. I checked my watch-- 6:30-- and said that was fine, figuring even if it took 40 minutes, I'd still have a comfortable 20 to 25 minutes to eat. So we sat and waited for our food... 7:00, 7:05, 7:10. Around 7:15, my husband tried to flag him down to inquire about the whereabouts (and when-abouts) of our food. We swore he saw us wave him over but he totally and completely ignored us. He disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. By 7:25 and no food and no server, we were getting a little frantic. We were debating leaving $5 on the table for my husband's beer and trying to find fast food elsewhere, especially since Mr. Casual Server was MIA. This whole time, we were watching tables seated up to 30 minutes AFTER us get their food, finish their food, pay and leave. Right around 7:30, our server came over, acknowledged the HOUR-LONG wait for our food and said he'd just checked with the kitchen and they'd messed up. He said he'd try to cut us a deal and was making the kitchen hurry on our long-overdue food. We were not pleased but were polite. We were out of options, there was no time to go elsewhere. We got our food just after 7:35. I don't truly know how it tasted because I literally shoveled my food into my mouth. I think it was fine; I don't think even if I had savored it that it was exceptional. I burned my tongue so bad on that damn pizza; I had multiple welts in my mouth for days. I apologize to anyone who was there that night who may have watched us eat because I am sure we looked like disgusting pigs. The server apologized to us (but in his super casual way, he didn't seem the most sincere) and offered to hold onto the rest of our food if we wanted to pick it up after the show. That was somewhat nice of him, but no thanks. He said he was able to get us the "hotel deal" on our meal-- a whopping 10% off. Mind you, our bill was probably somewhere in the $25 to $30 range, so this saved us like a whole $3. NOt even enough to cover my hubby's beer. I realize that it was likely the manager's fault & not our server's that 10% off was all we got out of this, but it did not placate us very much. We paid our bill (and left a tip, of course) and hightailed it out of there with burned tongues and beating hearts, because it was now 7:50. Luckily we made our show in time, but the whole situation was stressful, the service was lackluster, and we felt generally disrespected as customers. We will not ever return. read more

I have been to Exchequer many many times but mostly to drink and never for food. I also never knew how big the place was as I always sat up front near the bar. So when I went out for pizza with a friend there I was very surprised. The weird thing was they sat us toward the side back room where nobody was seating at. We thought we were being singled out for being weird or something. Actually it was nice to sit away from other annoying patrons and was even easier to enjoy the food and company. We ordered a cheese only pan pizza and I had an Oberon and she had a Diet Coke and Rum. When the pizza did come I have to say it was really fantastic. The cheese was so good and the sauce was not overwhelming unlike some other pan pizza places were the sauce is just ridiculous. We ate and hung out for almost two hours and had a fun time. I probably would like to come back again and try their other food items like the ribs. I saw a rib order come out and they actually looked really good. The atmosphere for the most part was pretty chill and maybe that's because we got there before 5pm and missed the dinner crowd because when we left the restaurant did have way more people. read more

Like the pizza, not thrilled with the service. They opened at 11 and I called shortly after to order pizza for a training class at work. The person who answered put me on hold and then an employee named Christian, who said he was new, picked up to take the order. Nice guy. The order didn't go smoothly, but hey cut the new guy some slack right? He places me on hold to enter the order in the computer. Not once but twice someone else picked up and asked how can I help you. I explain Christian is helping, but the 2nd man says never mind I will just take your order. Give the info again when suddenly Christian picks up the phone and says ok got ur order and here is the total. Other man says "ok you take it" and hangs up. Awkward silence. I say "hello" and Christian replies ok the pizza will be there by 12:30. I say thanks and remain hopefully optimistic the order will be correct. (An hour and a half for 3 cheese pizza is not ideal, but it works.) Let me mention I work in an office building with a security desk in the lobby. I gave the suite number when I ordered. Called back to Exchequer 2 hours later and heard "he was there and tried to call a few times but the number didn't work. I'll send him back over." No apology no thanks for your patience. So...they got my number wrong. Ok it happens. But why not ask the security desk to call the suite or go up to the office? It's now been 2 1/2 hours no pizza. Crappy customer service. read more

Great burgers and fries and beer selection! Very friendly staff and feel good ambiance -liked all the memorabilia too!.

A great place that flies under the radar of most Chicagoans. There's always an odd mix of people in there (and it can be packed). Not quite sure what to make of it...locals, tourists, office workers, suburbanites? I'll stand by their thin crust pizza being some of the best--if not the best--pizza in the city. Greek Chicken 'n' Couscous salad is a favorite item as well. read more

Okay, Exchequer is sort of a divey feeling restaurant/bar with good food and good pitchers of beer. Well maybe not divey but some of the waitstaff look like they're about 2 months removed from paying their debt to society (okay it's just one guy really and since he's been there at least a couple of years from my experience my 2 month estimate can't be right). Maybe not divey but not fancy. However the Monsterburger is good though don't get the bleu cheese burger as it's the one sandwich they stumble on (blue cheese dressing instead of actual bleu cheese). Despite some of the above statements it's a real good place for an after work dinner or drinks with friends. BTW, they do have a variety of salads for when you don't want to eat a burger the size of Soldier Field. read more

Absolutely my favorite thin pizza in downtown Chicago! The sausage is amazing and the pizza well-priced and it's definitely the most consistently delicious pizza I've eaten in all of Chicago. We often order for pick-up at work and I've never had to wait if I eat in the restaurant. read more

The late Roger Ebert rated their deep-dish as #4 in the city. Chicago Trib gave them #1 this year. For us this is a MUST stop when we're in Chicago. Ate there again tonight and were not disappointed. Don't let the dated look fool you ... this place is for real. read more

Some scattered less-than-100%-favorable reviews almost made me think twice about going here. I decided to ignore the criticisms because they seemed relatively mild and did not really appear to rebut all of the points in the positive reviews. The polite hostess who answered the phone about reservations (I did not need any and did not have to wait to be seated on a Saturday night) made me wonder about the negative reviews even more. And my disagreement with any negative comments was sealed after I actually went to the restaurant that had: lots of Chicago history and a very cool ambience (including the bar), all of which seemed conducive to the fact that everyone appeared to be having a good time; very friendly and efficient service; a decent booze selection (including beer); lots of menu variety; and good food at great prices considering the whole package. read more

i like exchequer! it's a classic chicago-style loop restaurant. the chicago-style memorabilia adorning the walls (e.g., front pages of the trib circa 1989 announcing daley's mayoral win, framed bulls championship tickets, etc.) gives it a charming kitschy style. pretty spacious place and a raucous atmosphere make it a good time. the food is standard bar fare, but i enjoy the pizza. very casual atmosphere. tip your servers!!!!! read more

We're still fans... we dined here before attending the second performance of our Joffery subscription. Since it was a Friday of Lent I chose this place to try their Fish n'' Chips. They have a serviceable list of wines by the glass at a reasonable price (always worth a star); I arrived a few minutes before Partner and they showed me to a table anyway (that's another star); our server was attentive and friendly. Partner decided to go with the Fish n' Chips as well so we had two identical orders. $11.25 gets one a soup or salad, and a large plate of fish and fries with malt vinegar offered as a condiment. The blue cheese dressing was several grades better than either of us would have expected with huge chunks of blue cheese on top of a more standard blue cheese dressing. The fish was good though I found the breading a tad disappointing. (I would have preferred a crispier beer batter type.) We each tried one of their special hot drinks for our dessert. Partner enjoyed his mint thing and I really liked my "Turtle" drink. So...for well under a Benjamin, I had a couple glasses of decent wine, we had a couple good dinners, and a couple desert cocktails served by a friendy and efficient waitress. Yes, we're still fans. read more

Rude, rude,rude. I went here last night for a private party in their front room. For 30+ people, they had two waitresses. People were ordering food and drinks. The waitresses would repeatedly shout at people for moving and shout the orders. When someone asked for another beer, they were rude. I was not impressed and will not return. The food was decent at best. read more

Perfect place to relax after a long day in Chicago. The deep dish pizza is amazing, however be aware it is not the typical Chicago stuffed pizza. Beer selection was wide, but could have used more local brews. Kitchen is open late, which is hard to find in the loop. Very nice service, fun crowd. read more

ooh.. wooo.. wait ... That was like way too much of an attitude and arrogance .. !! as if they only make pizza in the world and they don't wanna sell it to you..!! if i am running a restaurant, some one should be super drunk and bashing my door for me to behave like tat !! ridiculous ! read more

They have a huge variety of drinks along with awesome pizzas. Thin crust is my all time favorite. The ambience in the restaurant is an additional plus. Definitely my food location whenever I have to transfer between lines in Adams and wabash.. read more

This restaurant is a huge hit with my family. Having four kids creates a dilemma when it comes to finding a restaurant everyone enjoys. This place has a fantastic menu. They have an amazing saganocki burger, ribs that fall off the bone, and a wonderful Greek salad with chicken and couscous. The pizza is also pretty darn amazing, as well. It's yummy, casual and kid-friendly. I love that it's more of a neighborhood joint and not a franchise. It's been there since the prohibition. Great place slightly off the beaten path. Jump off State and over to Wabash for some great grub! read more

Took the kids to the theater and was looking for a place to eat before...we had fabulous deep dish pizza at Exchequer. The decor is definitely old but you could not ask for a better choice for pizza before the theater. The pizza definitely rivals Gino's and Uno's. I would definitely recommend it! read more

Came by Monday evening for a beer. Seems like a good local watering hole with some history. Friendly locals and service was good too.

hilarious. seriously. the host has a pompadour. the waitresses push carts out with your food. there is a large selection. decent beer. not too pricey. something about this place is a time warp and a seinfeld episode wrapped into a meal. you'll be entertained and you won't go home hungry. a good non-wallet busting option near the loop. read more

Very good cheap eats in downtown Chicago - great place to go for lunch if you work in 'the loop'. Stopped in again recently, and it's the same today as it was a decade ago - I guess if you're in business this long, you must be doing something right. read more

All the history!!!! Deep-dish pizza is awesome too. Forgot the name of the cocktail I had but that was great as well. If I was staying in the downtown area I would definitely make a stop here. Out-of-towners delight. This place has the Chicago spirit. read more

Hands down best pizza must try The Chicago! Got the large assuming will have leftovers fought over last piece!

I've only tried the pizza and I'd say that on the pizza hierarchy it's a little better than Giordano's, but not worth taking a detour for. The place is very large on the inside, with several dining rooms. Each room seems to have a different theme, with newspapers and posters on the walls, but it still comes off as sort of generic. read more

The pizza was pretty good, The salad was also good. The memoribilia is GREAT-Wall to wall. But AVOID the Minestrone soup, It IS subpar, The fish & chips dinner was ALSO not too good, But the fries or chips were much better. read more

This place gets super mixed review from me. I definitely recommend going there and trying their food. I've had the typical- pizza, fish and chips, chili cheese fries, mozzarella sticks, etc... and they've all been good. The service is really hit or miss though. No matter what, every time my friends and I order a pizza, the server always tries to talk us out of getting the size pizza we want and they say that it's too much for us to eat (hello, have you ever heard of left overs??) One time, we did have a truly rude waitress who, when given cash as payment for our meal, responded, "you know, I am not a bank. I don't have change to give back to you". Well, excuse us! We ended up giving her a credit card then, and guess what...bad karma came back to bite her and she somehow forgot to swipe our card when she tended to our large group. I guess that's what you get for being a terrible waitress. Still, my friends and I go back because we truly do enjoy the food and the atmosphere. The whole place doesn't suck, just a few of the waitresses. read more

I organized our office Xmas party this year and we had it here. For about $30pp (after tax and tip) we had a really nice spread of ribs, brisket, and chicken, and unlimited beer and wine. Service was great, they kept the beer flowing, which is the most important criteria, so much so that I felt totally justified leaving an extra tip. The arrangements were simple and everyone left happy, full, and tipsy. I got lots of compliments as the organizer (not that I had to do much). read more

Service helped us a lot on recommendations and drink choices. I love that they do have craft beers here and great food for a great price! Highly recommend this place! read more

So I'm told this place has history and is the best chicago deep dish you can find. Fine, bar raised and challenge accepted.... You get discounted parking at the adams and wabash garage with a validated ticket so that was a plus ($12 for parking vs $40 it would have cost) and the server was kind and attentive. Unlike service noted in prior reviews, our service was 4 star yelp quality and actually very good. Must be hit or miss on who you get. We ordered the goat cheese and marinara to start and a deluxe pizza. This is where it goes down hill. The goat cheese really wasn't melted in the marinara and extra garlic bread was $4 extra. It was tasty but it needed to sit in the oven a bit longer to get the melted cheese in marinara experience. Flavor was good but thumbs down for execution since it's not hard to really make this dish. The pizza is a 2 star at best. Best chicago deep dish this is not, but it might appeal to some tastes. Here are our impressions: 1. Semolina is a coloring agent in the dough that gives it the golden color you see at Lou Malnatis, Ginos East, Giordanos, etc. Exchequer doesn't use it or not enough and it is more of a doughy white crust. 2. Oil is not used on the pan or was not enough. The other places listed above oil the pan which gives the crust a crisp almost lightly fried texture. Lou Malnatis has more and Giordanos has a bit less, but it is a distinct taste. Exchequer does not do this and contributes to the doughy texture. If you look at the bottom of pan the pizza is actually elevated from the pan with a grate with holes in it. This is why the crust tastes like it does. If I knew they did this I wouldn't have gone or at least lowered my expectations on a deep dish pizza by about half. 3. Too much cheese which was a bit rubbery and too little sauce. I ate left overs the next day just to see if my sentiments were correct and they are. Deconstructing the pizza there is really not much sauce at all. 4. This isn't a sauce on top pizza which is fine 5. Veggies in the deluxe tasted fresh which was good Take the review with a grain of salt but it is my most honest review from an avid deep dish pizza lover. Service was good but we wont come here again. read more

.Food was good - just a block from our hotel - looking for a quick, inexpensive meal.

great bar. laura is a fantastic bartender. made us all kinds of great drinks. we didn't eat dinner, but we did have an awesome happy hour. read more