Eleven City Diner

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

We just found the Eleven City Diner in the Chicagos South Loop by chance today. If you love cool diners with great food, Eleven City is a five-star spot. The minute you walk in, you know you are in for something different. This is not your usual deli or diner. It a full fledged delicatessen - Jewish-style. You have a real deli shop counter and old-style candy store on one side, and an all-american diner with comfy booths and a long single seat counter on the other. It even has a full bar and an in-house soda jerk Classic American swing and blues have you tappin as soon as you walk in You really feel like you are going back to another time. A good time! So the hostess seat us in one of the booths. Bloody Marys and Mimosa to start. Excellent!! The menu had about every thing you would ever imagine a classic delicatessen would serve up; sandwiches like "The Shappy” Salami Sandwich, the "SCHWARTZY" - Smoked Beef Brisket, and the "Blank Blank Special". To early for a sandwich, I had "Ritos Hoppei Poppei (or three scrambled eggs and with fat slices of salami, peppers, onions, and potatoes. It filled the huge plate. Toast, jam and more potatoes on the side. My friend had something called the "TOM WAITS 2A.M. BREAKFAST 1987." It was like a meal for two (Youre a hog, Pete). Lets just say we got our $$ worth (yeah, its a little pricer than the greek pancake house, but its worth it) Our waitress was great and on top of the coffee. The owner came over and introduced himself. When I came here to write this review I read some of the other reviews that were less than kind about this guy. I really dont get it. Brad Rubin was really interested in our take on the place. You could tell Brad is really into the whole jewish deli guy thing: Real passionate and true foodie. Brad is guy who is really into making sure his customers are loving the whole experience. At least that is my take. He took the time to answer all of questions regarding the idea behind Eleven City and talked about the plans for the outdoor patio later this year. I really have to say, Brad has done great job making this a one-of-a-kind spot. Cant wait to come back and try the Woody Allen. Oy!!! (I had to say that once) P.s If you go to the mens room, you have to check out the framed napkin with a great quote tacked on the wall. I just leave it at that...

A

A Private User

We tried to like this place. My wife went to high school with the owner. We came multiple times to give them the benefit of the doubt. I actually brought my entire staff for a holiday dinner there (upstairs) and tipped our waitress $50 ON TOP of a %20 gratuity on the tab. However, every time we came, we had to re-introduce ourselves to the owner, who didnt remember and was too busy "shmoozing" with others and bossing his employees around to even care. Its not that we were trying to get special service, just trying to be nice and supportive since we live in the area and wanted to see this place do well. Youd think hed remember the person who introduced himself multiple times AND brought a private party to the restaurant AND overly tipped the hard working waitress? Then I had my secretary order a tray for our office. It was unacceptably late and there was NO APOLOGY from the owner when we complained about it (it completely ruined the event). The final straw was when I brought an older business colleague there for brunch. He wanted to tell me about his planned retirement. I introduced myself to the owner (again)- no recognition or response. Then, when we asked for more coffee, we were told that they "needed" the table and we should sit at the bar. We refused, calmly stating that we were completing our conversation and just wanted another cup of coffee. The owner then insisted we leave! It was embarrassing and hurtful to my colleague. I was just mad. I travel the world on business and have never EVER received more arrogant and thoughtless service anywhere- and this is after my wife and I really tried to give them business. I have never written a review for any restaurant before, but felt compelled to do this tonight. It stands out as the worst experience I have ever had by a business person in any establishment, ever. If YELP exists to help people choose business establishments, Id urge you to take this review seriously.

A

A Private User

What a find! The Eleven City Diner, located in the South Loop, really impressed me today. Having never eaten here before I found it on Yelp. The reviews have been either great or not. You can put my co-workers and I in the "love it" category. This place is a classically-designed deli and diner with a bit of jewish kitsch. They have an old fashion deli counter, a candy store, and lots of other charming bits and pieces that make this all a step above your usual deli/diner. There are funny little signs every where and classic blues and jazz fill the air. You can sit at booth or along the classic diner bar stools at the counter. I thinks i saw tables in the kitchen as well. Neat concept. They really did a great job creating this atmosphere. The guy who seated us introduced himself as Brad Ruben, the owner. He really treated us well. Some Yelpers have really bashed this guy. Brad was nothing more than extremely gracious to us. Really enjoyed Brads witty banter. You can tell he really cares about what he is doing and what his customers think. We were seated by in a very comfortable booth. Our waitress,(sorry i forgot your name) greeted us promptly. The menu has a great selection of classic deli offerings. We all got sandwiches, of course. Its a deli. I had the corned beef. They piled it high with an order of fries and big pickle. It was funny trying to watch everyone eat their double fisted sandwiches. I mean, it was THIS big. I usually pass on dessert but i has a taste for the big milk shake they were touting. Perfect just like a diner shake should be with all the toppings. Anyway, we really loved this place and cant wait to get back and try something else. Like I said, the Eleven City Diner is cool find in the South Loop. Hope you open one up soon my way in the north. OY!

RA

Rachel Shrock

Even if you have good food, poor hospitality is always in bad taste. Stop being stingy with your time and graciousness when your customers are paying. We arrived early on a weekend, 9:15 am—still only serving breakfast, not brunch. No wait, tables available. We had a four-top booth. We invited two friends in the neighborhood to join us after we sat down, before our food got there, and we were told they couldn’t join us, despite having the room and no need to change tables. I understand needing to move people through so they don’t linger and you can make money so there is a no-joiner policy, but we already had a four top and were planning on at least being there until 10 to get Bloody Marys after instead of with our food (Chicago law). My husband and I then realized EVERY TIME we have been at 11 City (at least 10) we have been unreasonably rushed—even at non-peak hours—and there has always been something to do with their rules about seating that make us feel entirely unwelcome and like our patronage isn’t worthwhile. If it’s enough to make generally flexible people feel consistently unwelcome, you should review your policies, or AT LEAST give people a little more time to eat, like an hour would be what I expect at a table—but we got the check at 9:45 before we even finished eating our food, and we wanted to order that drink—nobody asked if we wanted something else. Cool—we won’t spend any more money at your establishment. We also were sitting right next to the host stand, and overheard them discussing moving people out by serving them checks early. I rarely write reviews, especially bad ones, but seriously, your food isn’t crazy good enough to treat your customers poorly. We ended up meeting our friends elsewhere for that brunch drink, and had a much better experience not being rushed. Never again.