Bat 17
| Address: | 1709 Benson Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, USA |
| Phone: | +1 847-733-7117 |
| Site: | bat17evanston.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 11AM–1AM 11AM–1AM 11AM–1AM 11AM–1AM 11AM–2AM 10AM–2AM 10AM–1AM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
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Ryan Kepes
Consumer Beware! I am writing this review to help others avoid the Mistake that my wife and I just made. Avoid this place unless what you desire is to leave your meal with nothing more than utter disappointment and an empty wallet. I will elaborate... My wife and I decided to give this restaurant a try based off of online reviews, word of mouth, and a supposed "best burgers in Evanston" rating. Upon parking and entering we were very shocked at how small and cramped the interior actually is. We found ourselves standing awkwardly right inside the door, touching shoulders with another potential customer for 5 to 7 minute with absolutely no recognition from any of the staff before finally deciding with said other customer that they must intend for us to seat ourselves. Upon sitting at a vacant table immediately to the left of the door, we had suddenly appeared on the radar of the manager who promptly walked over to very rudely at the top of his voice inform us that "at least we could wait for him to clean and reset the table before we just choose to sit where we wish." Immediately taken aback we stood as the rest of the cramped customers looked over to see what the commotion was about. He took two swipes of a rag on the table, dropped two menus and without so much as an enjoy your meal left with a huff. The poor other customer apologized profusely for advising us to sit down and we tried at this point to just enjoy our meal. We spent the time prior to our food delivery watching as this same incredibly rude, bearded man put almost every customer through the same ridiculous tirade of sarcastic "by all means do whatever YOU want" speech after they would seat themselves because they had been similarly ignored at the door. Finally to our relief the food arrived, we could now eat and see what was so great about this food. I had ordered the Sunny Side Up Burger, medium rare with the egg over hard, my wife a BLT with a side salad. My first bite was absolutely shocking, not because this was a testament to mans ability to make an amazing flavorful burger, but because the barely cooked egg exploded yolk all over myself and the table. This was in complete contrast to the burger that had been cooked well done and had nothing that anyone could call flavor. Paired with the fatty undercooked bacon and the bland pointless potato side I can say that the best part of this meal was the pickle. My wife was privy to the same treatment with similarly bad bacon, flavorless not fresh tomatoes and coleslaw style lettuce that fell off the sandwich before you could eat it. To top off this landmark bad dining experience, when our check arrived I realized that I had just been hammered with a 35 dollar check. Needless to say, we will not be returning to this restaurant. If you find yourself in the Evanston area and want a burger please head to Tommy Nevins or The Firehouse and you can enjoy an honestly great burger at 4 to five dollars less.
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A Private User
I mustve passed Bat 17 a million times without seeing it. Its located on Benson between 2 larger restaurants (a diner and a barbecue joint), and if you dont look closely you might assume its just part of one of those other places. Im so glad I finally stepped in for a bite. The vibe is New York deli food taken up a notch. I had the BLT, and my friend had the Rueben. This restaurant gets high marks for little things: my BLT was served on chewy sourdough bread with chipotle mayo, a perfect match for the tomato & bacon. The Rueben comes on rye with Russian dressing - yum! (Both regular sandwiches were huge and filling, but you can order a larger size if youve got the appetite.) Our side order of coleslaw had gorgonzola cheese mixed in ... unexpected, and trust me it is delicious. Its a small place with a full bar, a nice hot sauce collection, free coffee, and a terrific waitress. My 2 minor gripes: the food took a while to prepare and was a little pricey, but both are OK by me because they are obviously not just churning stuff out here.
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Simon Ho
Review for the restaurant, and not the bar side: First off, the food is decent. Generous portions of burgers and sandwiches that are generally done well. Good beer selection. Note that they serve onion strings as a side, not onion rings. The thin onion strings were simply too greasy to eat. What really drops the rating down is the poor service. Note that they have a very strict seating policy.. we asked for a table for 6 with 5 people present and 1 friend on the way. They refused to sit us even though the restaurant was empty. Besides, there are no tables for 5 people so we should have been seated at a 6 top anyway.
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Andrew Koltonow
Food: Enormous, delicious sandwiches! I am a fan of the meatloaf sandwich but I have never been displeased with any of the other offerings. A single sandwich with a side (approx $10) is typically enough for two meals. Drink: Full bar with wide selection of craft beers. I also tried a mixed drink here once and it was good. Interior: Dark floor and walls with warmly lit tables, tight on space but high ceilings so it doesnt feel so cramped. The small amount of space fills up quickly at mealtimes and on busy nights. Snazzy TVs! Service: Friendly but usually slow. Free self-serve tea and coffee are a nice perk though.
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Betty Turner
My mother and I ate at Bat17 yesterday, 1st time in two years. We ordered the same corned beef sandwich as previously ordered. To our surprise the sandwich was much slimmer, 3-4 pieces of corned beef only. We made comment to our waiter and the waiter sent the manager to speak with us. The manager returned with a brown paper bag containing corned beef, tossed the bag on the table and told us "now never return here again". Serious racist behavior for which has been reported to the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ!!!
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Tyler Constantine
Good food and beer selection the one time I ate here. Downvoted because tried to eat there today, and would not be seated at one of the three open tables because half our party was parking their car. Tried to downsize and take a smaller table, but wasnt allowed to do that either. Generally unwelcoming attitude, so we just left. Combined with mediocre service and no bill splitting, just generally annoying. Not likely to try again or recommend it to others unless in a non busy time.
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Nick Piepmeier
Bat17 is at once an excellent bar, restaurant, coffee shop, and hangout spot. Jon, the best bartender ever to wield a bottle, is himself one of the best reasons to go there though; he mixes a mean drink (try a bacon Manhattan) and will keep you so engaged that you wont realize the swift passage of time. The beer selection is excellent and their sandwiches are outrageous. Oh, and free coffee at all hours.
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Helen Bengtson
Bat 17 is the best burger in Evanston, and one of the best burgers that I have ever had. The meat is high quality, the bun is toasted, and it has all of the qualities of an amazing meal. I have also tried multiple other items from the menu, and their sandwiches are all really delicious. My favorite burger is the K2, as pictured. The service is also always very good, even though it is always busy.
