Beefbelly

Above average burgers, great service. Have only been here once. The décor is funky, clean and inviting. The burgers do have a pork mixture and appear pinker than usual. The manager explained it very well which was a nice touch. Overall it was an ok first experience. I would return again to try some other things.

Upon arriving our table was dirty. There were tortilla chips on the floor. Service was pretty bad. This place is new and tried to cut it some slack. Drink menu looked interesting and that’s where it ended. Decor is not homogenous and there are too many elements at play with no true theme. Too many tv’s, too many fake candles, live music, and wall graffiti mixed with day of the dead art. On top of that, our food came out on paper plates. Now let’s get to the food. Chips came out in a small metal bucket with no plates to eat them with. Sauce was self service in 2 glass bottles that tasted very average. Al Paso like. Not bad, but nothing memorable. I ordered 3 different tacos that came out on a paper plate. Presentation was lacking as the tacos looked lifeless. I had a steak, chicken, and barbacoa taco. All 3 were cold and watered down with the pico de Gallo that they add to each taco. You would think it would be hot considering that we waited 25 min for tacos. But I guess they are not made fresh to order. My wife didn’t finish her food because it was served cold and the tacos fell apart before she even got to them. Here’s where a place serving tacos should add 2 tortillas instead of 1. I think it’s hard to make a bad taco considering that I have no culinary skills and make pretty good tacos at home, but this place seemed to f@%k it up somehow. I gave this place 2 stars because of the rice and beans and the churro milkshake I had. The rice had a weird mushy consistency and looked more like mashed potatoes, but it was good. The beans were also seasoned well and tasted pretty good. They probably would have tasted better if they were not served cold. The churro milkshake was awesome. Good presentation with cinnamon, whipped cream and ice cream. At the end of 1 and a half meals (wife didn’t finish hers), the waitress flipped a big coin for “Flip it Friday”. If you win, you get a free entree. Thank god we won because my wife was going to kill me for bringing her here. The food pricing is good and the drinks are also priced well. I’ll give it another shot because I live .5 miles away to try another shake and something other than tacos. If your looking for good tacos in Portage Park, keep looking.

I wanted to love it. I love their other locations (Brgrbelly). I had the original beef and it was good, but not the best in the area. I used this to compare them to other Italian Beef places. Onto to their specialty beefs. I had the Carolina BBQ Beef. It was very good, but messy. I asked to have it cut in half to make it easier to eat. I was told there were knives on the table. The knives are plastic, they are not going to cut a beef on half. I may go back to try another specialty beef. To the fries. They are okay. They are not the same as what is served art the burger restaurants. The place is clean inside and well decorated. The people are nice aside from the fact they will not cut the beef in half. I will probably return to try some of the other beefs. Bicycling: There are no bicycle lanes or bicycle parking. Though, bicycling isn't that bad riding on the streets on the area.

Look, my review is based on potential. Burgerbelly- excellent. The old Beefbelly- damn good. Obviously they know how make a crowd pleasing meal. My issue here is the lack of variety on the menu. You guys know what's up, and make damn fine food. Commit to a menu, and it will be amazing. The new Beefbelly menu is only a burger and fries. We crave toppings! I dont know if the lack of variety is transitional after the shift from the Tipsy Cow, but you're almost there guys!

Simply amazing. A clean unique looking restaurant with a large selection of beers and root beer. Loved the food; The Garlic Parmesan beef sounds sacrilegious to a Chicagoan, but I doubt ill eat a regular beef again after eating at Beef Belly. Also had the garlic parm fries which were also amazing (and not soggy). The lemon Italian ice tasted home made.