Bat 17

Very cool place. Fine brews… nice food fare… bring your appetite because otherwise «doggie bag» wouldn’t do it justice.

It was just okay to me. Our food was lukewarm. My wife was impressed the first time she visited this place with her friend girl. She thought I’d enjoy it too and brought me here for Father’s Day. We live in Great Lakes and I was ready to be wowed. I can’t say that it was worth the drive. If I lived in the area, I’d probably stop in for the bar and a bite.

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.

Do you enjoy menus that differ from one side of the restaurant to the other (and therefore aren’t available at some times of the day)? Do you like inattentive service? Do you want to eat at a place where the manager will try to shuffle you out halfway through your meal for someone else just arriving? Then Bat 17 may be for you!
Otherwise, find any number of other better options in the Evanston area. You’ll be glad you did.

I have tried to like this place for years but my last experience was just so bad. The food here is always mediocre. The deli meat is not even close to what you pay. I’m pretty sure I could buy a pound of pastrami and canned sauerkraut at jewel and it would have 2x the personality as he Ruben at bat17. The service, was way worse. Is having a table as waitress really that terrible?

Been here countless times. 3.5 stars. Pretty reliable, good place to watch a game.
Décor is nice and homey on the deli side. The sports bar side is not as nice-​feeling. It’s dark, cavernous, and feels a little bit like the party room at a laser tag place or something like that.
Service is reliable. Only once can I remember having a problem with a server who seemed to take things too casually. Otherwise, it’s been good.
Food is solid. The burgers are big, full of delicious (and unhealthy) sorts of things like onion straws, bacon, pulled pork, and pastrami. But the patties themselves are on the dry, crumbly side. I prefer getting a salad (which is only slightly healthier, depending on the type you get: the steak salad has a lot of beef and is doused in dressing; the asparagus salad has lots of great chilled asparagus and a nice lemony dressing over tomato and mozzarella). Sometimes, if I’m really hungry, I’ll get the Bad Donkey (essentially a pastrami reuben) which fills me up plenty and tastes decent.
The beer list is okay and features a lot of local Temperance brews. Also, cheap PBR.
I do sort of wish they had healthier options as this is where my friends like to go often, and my body just can’t take that sort of cholesterol consumption. But that’s not Bat 17’s thing, I understand.

I want to like this place. Each time I go I’m disappointed. What I end up getting is food made with what seems to be very high grade materials but with POOR EXECUTION.
The cook basically goofs up some high quality materials that could have come out great… simple things, like french fries. They bring the fries out in these fancy little mini fry baskets to showcase them, as if… But alas that are SOGGY limp fries. 2 minutes more in the deep fryer could make them great. With the presentation, I must say that I’d be embarrassed because they’re pathetic.
The tilapia sliders are pretty good, but a bit under seasoned. But the fish is of very nice quality. I recommend taking the fish from the 4 sliders and putting it on to only 2 of the buns. It is much better that way.
We ordered one burger «medium» but it came out WELL… very WELL. But it was of good quality beef, so we ate it anyway and didn’t send it back. It’s a shame because the burger’s only «OK» but could become great with just a little more attention to detail on the execution… Again, the procurement of good quality product for the prep is not the issue. … it’s all about the execution.
I had the Blutarski, which is a turkey ruben with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and grilled rye. All of the ingredient were great, but again the «execution» was lacking. The bread was warm and grilled but the meat was iced cold… sauerkraut also ICE cold… Swiss… again COLD… The grilled bread was the best part. Whoever had a Ruben with all the components ICE cold… except for the bread?
I’m a LARGE man, not frail. Somehow I was feeling a bit chilled! Turn the heat up to at least 69.
Take down all the «award» posters covering up the mural and get focused on delivering better quality food… better in technical «execution», not materials. There’s a lot of potential but someone in the kitchen is goofing things up.
To top all of that off, the place is just way to expensive for food that is really nothing all that special, not even if it was executed well… Even done well it doesn’t justify the price point. The place is not fancy; in fact it is sort of cramped and uncomfortable and certainly not worthy of an up-​charge. Sure… the students love it!!! (But they also like Domino’s pizza too)
But with all that said, from a «bar» perspective, not too bad for Evanston. They have a good beer selection.

Newspaper articles on the wall declare it’s popularity with the Northwestern U set naming it one of their favorite restaurants and I can see why. Free coffee by the mugful, huge portions and pancakes all day. But it seems it’s also popular with the local business luncheon set. Prior to afternoon hours, only one half of the restaurant is open for seating so go crowded quick. And kind of cramped too unfortunately.
The menu is huge. And some of the sandwiches and plates can be regular or full size. The regular is already pretty large so full size must be gargantuan.
I opted for the asparagus salad – it was full of perfectly cooked asparagus, parmesan, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, served with a citrus vinaigrette. Everything was really tasty except for the tomatoes, which were not very ripe (ewww). So the tomatoes were ignored. Poor tomatoes.
My son had the regular sliders. Which were cooked really well too. There’s no kids menu here so one slider was the perfect sized cheeseburger for his little hands and the rest went to-​go for later.
This menu has something for everyone – burgers, chicken, salads, fish… and the beer list is pretty stellar too. Service was pleasant. I really liked the casual feel of this place.

I read Unilocal reviews and sometimes wonder how the experience could be so different. Let’s start with the Antonio, our server; we came for lunch and sat on the pub/​bar side. Awesome service; attentive service; polite service; excellent service!
The food was excellent. We had the Bad Donkey (Corned Beef and Pastrami on Sourdough bread) and split it. The meat was excellent and piled high. No charge to split a meal: we got an extra side for less than a dollar and both were great. Best Gorgonzola Cole Slaw I ever had. The Sweet Potato fries were wonderful. We ate and ate and, though the prices were higher than Subway, it was comparable to a good deli. A nice plus is a free coffee bar — you can get a cup at no cost and it was good coffee.
There are two sides — I was told the smaller side is a restaurant that focuses on breakfast and the side with the bar and tables is both larger and accommodates both. We found the servers attentive and we could not find a single negative on the visit.

Delicious pastrami sandwich in sourdough. Huge portions and large pickle spear. The full size sandwich is big enough to share. Their coleslaw on the sides menu is made with Gorgonzola and blu cheese. So good! Their sweet potato waffle fries melt in your mouth!
* Free coffee and tea at the coffee bar next to the wall of hot sauces. Sweet!!!

I had a burger and a corned beef sandwich at Bat 17 and was fairly satisfied with my meal. The corned beef was a little dry for my taste, but the sauce was quite good and made up for it. Further, the staff were very friendly and knowledgeable about the food. The atmosphere is lively and there are pool tables you can play while waiting for your food.

I enjoyed my time here this afternoon. My boyfriend and I shared the fried chicken and biscuit sliders that apparently are only available on the weekends. They were delicious and definitely big enough to share. The menu is vast which was quite overwhelming at first glance, but it only got me excited to come back to try other items. The beer selection was pleasantly extensive and I enjoyed a delicious draft beer and my boyfriend ordered the rotating Three Floyd’s, that’s name I can’t I remember unfortunately, but it was super good.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch here, and plan to come back whenever I’m in the area.

When you’re reading Bat 17’s menu, there’s a box near the bottom of one of the pages that states to NOT «go to a website» to complain about things, but, rather, talk to the restaurant directly so they can fix it and help YOU out DIRECTLY right there and then. OK! I like that.
So, when I order the biscuit, egg, turkey sausage and hashbrown patty «sliders» and they show up with these dismal — I’m talking black, oxidized, what the hell is wrong with these hashbrowns?! — sliders and ask the waiter what is wrong with these hashbrowns and he comes back and says, «That’s just how they’re fried…» I don’t trust what your menu says, Bat 17.
Dear dude, That’s not how they’re fried. That’s called a rotten, black potato. That’s something that’s been exposed to air for wayyyy too long. That was shredded last night and sat in the cooler too long. Cooked in the wrong type of oil or shredded with the wrong type of aluminum (google it if you don’t believe me.) Man, you took me for a fool. No hashbrown should be black when fried. YOU KIDDING ME? You kidding me. Gross.
And it tasted gross.
We spent 80 dollars at this brunch dive that deserves about 20 dollars of our money. 10 fucking dollars for BITE SIZED PRETZELS?! ohhhhhhhhh wait. We’re in Evanston! This is priced upon college-​aged kids who sit for hours at a table and order one thing — bite-​sized pretzels. But for my wife and I, coming from Andersonville, we don’t need 87 bite-​sized pretzels. We don’t need $ 10 worth of pretzels. I also don’t need $ 15 of «sliders» which are actually 4 REAL-​SIZED-​BREAKFAST SANDWICHES. LIKE, LEGIT… FOUR SANDWICHES. Cool if you’re a college kid that can afford that and/​or has your parent paying for it so you can store it for later… but, really, it’s dry as shit and forgettable. Put a slice of cheese or some sort of spread on it. This sandwich was sadder than a McDonalds brekkie — and at least that’s priced right.
I really don’t know how this place has any sort of 4+ rating. I don’t know why I wasted 22 minutes driving from my house to get there, at least 47 minutes eating there, and another 26 minutes getting home… total waste of time. The food was bland, our «outreach» (like the menu suggested) was fruitless, and the prices were absurd. There are so many other places in Evanston you can enjoy. Avoid this stalwart. Because that’s all they have going for them — their ancient ass hold on the spot.

I’m a «regular», guess I better write a review!
I haven’t been in Evanston for too long, but it seems that Bat 17 is a local favorite and great standby! It’s so convenient for us, and so far I haven’t had anything I didn’t like.
Some of our favorites: the Carnegie rueben, any burger, the sweet potato fries, and the corned beef hash. The menu is rather large, but we always end up ordering the same thing! (Side note — they do a great bunless burger too for those days you’re feeling like trying to do better)
FYI, there are two sides to the restaurant, and if you are there for drinks/​apps only, do NOT go to the left! I had slightly rude experience once when I didn’t know the rules. But have no fear, the social area to the right is huge with plenty of space for all of your happy hours!
The service is also hit or miss regarding politeness. No problems with the timing or not having a server, but definitely have had really great ones and sometimes ones that seem annoyed with me constantly. I come with low expectations and enjoy the food :)
I’ve brought visiting friends and my parents here, and it’s always a great, steady choice.

This place really hit the spot! Who knew BAT stood for Benson Avenue Tavern?! Aside from the great service, friendly staff and cozy ambience, the portions were HUGE! Even the side salad that comes with the massive sandwiches is hearty and they certainly aren’t stingy with their portions. You could easily get 2 – 3 meals out of one meal here if you’re able to use self control and take some home! I will most definitely be back!

Wow! If i had to choose one way to describe this place it would be: quaint + large portions.
If you’re lucky enough to be there for brunch, get the fried chicken sandwiches. They have a syrup dip and they are SO good. I kept eating my dining partner’s…
I myself got a half pastrami/​half turkey sandwich which was good but nothing remarkable. What IS worth it however are the sides. I got a side salad (I believe for $ 1 extra) but it was the size of a small entrée!
I’d go there again. You could have two meals from one entrée for goodness sake!

Cruised through on a day trip up to Evanston on a fairly busy Saturday morning. Spent the morning exploring the lighthouse and wondered through Northwestern University, so we worked up quite the appetite and Bat 17 did not disappoint. The place is divided into two sides, the Original and newer bar side. I think the only different is that the Original side serves their full breakfast menu while the newer bar sides serves only certain selected breakfast items. Wanting to keep our options open, we sat in the Original side. I went for the fried chicken and biscuit sliders. Sure glad I was STARVING as I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to finish all four biscuits. Their sliders are more like individual biscuit sandwiches more than anything else. Anyways, fresh biscuits, juicy fried chicken topped with Wisconsin cheese and BACON be sure to load up on that maple syrup for each bite. My mouth is watering just thinking back to it.
Anyways, be sure to come here hungry. Portions are plenty, staff is friendly, and food is amazing. ‘Til next time Evanston, cheers!

I stopped by Saturday night with two friends to catch up over drinks and really enjoyed my time here! Their rum cocktails are $ 5 on Saturday nights (yay!) and they have lots of really good burger and sandwich options. I ordered one of their mango rum drinks and it was a little sweet for me, but still good!
I also tried their corned beef sandwich and it was really pretty good. The beef was well-​seasoned and it was piled up with sauerkraut, swiss cheese and dressing. The only complaint I have is that the bread got soggy super fast, but otherwise it was a yummy sandwich!
Overall — Bat 17 is a chill spot to come hang with friends. If you come later (past dinner), you can still order off their menu and there’s no wait. I’m sure I’ll be back soon!

Perfect place for a pre/​post movie beverage and food on Cinemark Discount Tuesday.
Portions are, as Donald Trump might say, HUGE and delicious. We had some wings and beers prior to the movie but can absolutely see coming back for a burger, they looked amazing.

I love the food and most importantly the PORTIONS here. It is almost impossible to fit the sandwiches and burgers inside your mouth without deconstructing it. There are a bit more choices for sides than a usual joint like this — highly recommend getting the sweet potato fries or onion rings! Things I recommend on the menu — all burgers and sandwiches. Stay away from the sliders — they tend to be dry (buns and meat). I didn’t enjoy their breakfast menu as much as their lunch and dinner items.
They offer free coffee! I docked one star off because I’ve really bad service before, especially with large parties (the waiter/​waitress knew they’ll just get gratuity). But other than that, food is amazing!