I can't recommend this place. We were here Saturday (February 9, 2019). We started with an order of Bruschetta. They should really call it a Caprese Salad, because that is basically what it is. Each serving had one thick slice of tomato. The tomato was hard, crunchy, and flavorless. I know tomatoes are out of season, and finding good, ripe tomatoes is difficult. Maybe this should be a seasonal item. During our visit, we were constantly pestered by tiny little fruit flies. Its February and the temperature outside was in the 20's, so you know they didn't fly in any-time recently. There is no way they would have survived last week's polar vortex. They must be living there. It was unacceptable. Originally, we were planning on ordering more, but at this point we decided to cut our losses. We settled-up and found a different restaurant. On a positive note, the workers were all very friendly, and hard-working. read more

Bat 17 - The Bruschetta was more like a Caprese Salad. - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Bat 17 is likely a 3.5/5 but is a solid spot for brunch and sandwiches. Burgers are not always cooked 100% perfectly but the fries are all great. Good spot to get a drink and watch some games. read more

I LOVE that they offer gluten free bread (and different types for the matter too!) Cali sandwich is good and so is their egg salad sandwich (sorry forgot the names). Only downside is that almost all fo their sandwich come with cheese (as a main ingredient) which my stomach cant handle. They have a HUGE menu and HUGE portions just which that have more flavorful sandwiches without cheese. (More veggies or something). read more

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Saw the long list of sliders and asked our server Cassie for details. The most important "detail" she provided was that they are big! And that is an accurate assessment! My wife and I split an order...four, mind you...of chicken and biscuit sliders. Crispy chicken and bacon, flakey biscuits warm melted cheese and Vermont maple syrup! Very tasty and I would add that the limited functionality of a biscuit as a bun (lots of crumbs on our plates) was way outweighed by the texture and flavor. The maple syrup comes on the side allowing you to experiment with the best way (we tried several) of incorporating it into the sliders...a must. Also enjoyed an order of the onion straws...very crispy with mild onion flavor...great side for our sliders! Thanks, Cassie! read more

Bat 17 - Chicken & Biscuit Sliders with Onion Straws - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I wish zero stars was an option. Do not go to this place. Not a single person in the entire place knows whats going on. We stood at the door when we walked in for 10 minutes before I had to grab someone to seat us. Then our waiter was the bar tender who was quite lost. After we waited for a long time to order I was served a raw chicken sandwich which was absolutely disgusting. The music was some sort of opera music and the entire place was almost silent. Lastly, it says pool tables, darts, and games on the sign outside and there is not a single one of those things in the place. I wouldn't even recommend this place to my worst enemy, that would be cruel! read more

Call the restaurant if you have an order for more than 4 people. I ordered thru grub hub the day before delivery then found out the day I ordered for delivery that the restaurant cannot accommodate my order. The reason was lame that there was a private catered party and could not take an additional orders. I had to scramble shop cook and clean on a day I had off of work. I'm pretty sure the restaurant could have blocked any additional orders from food delivery companies or noted the restaurant was closed for that Sunday afternoon. We had ordered for years but grub hub and bat 17 will never get my business again. read more

Under staffed. Came in for lunch on a Wednesday, only saw two employees in the entire place and one guy seemed to be handling all the dine in traffic. We were told to sit, but never got served. I attempted to get the one guys attention a few times but he just had too much going on. We ended up leaving for another place down the street... read more

I have not tried the food here yet, but I'll stop in occasionally for a quick happy hour drink. I wish they had a few more cocktails to choose from, but otherwise the beers are cold and service is good. read more

Came here with a friend while I was visiting town and we were both craving burgers. We each ordered a burger but I was also really tempted to try their buffalo chicken bites. I just didn't need an entire pound of them - would've tried it if they had side orders. I ordered the BAT17 burger with fried onions and cheese. The brioche bun was right on time and the burger patty was so tender and tasty. It was definitely a good burger though I could've skipped the crispy fried onions. Flavor was missing there and the texture got soggy pretty quick. I loved the condiment bar on the table! They had multiple good quality ketchup and mustard options on the table so I was dabbling in the jalapeño ketchup. Fries were only ok. Price point was definitely high at $16 for a burger. Service was friendly. Overall I would come back. read more

Bat 17 - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Slow service and okay food. College bar atmosphere. Salads seem to be the best items on the menu.

Surprisingly good food. Their vegan section is hilariously just vegetarian. The fish sando was rather great with two huge pieces of fish

The portions were huge, and the food was good. If I lived in Chicago, I'd definitely come here again and again!

First time visit to Bat 17. If you are not familiar, Evanston rolls up the sidewalks fairly early on school nights, so finding a place to hang can be challenging. Bat 17 can help you with that. Fairly popular given the turn out on a Thursday night, the location is pretty sweet considering, conducive to both vehicle and foot traffic. The venue itself is split into two halves, one half has pool tables, bar, seating area, the other half bar and seating area. Why? No idea. Service on a Thr night was limited meaning only one person working the tables in the room, she was sweet and friendly, but the service was not prompt. If you are in a hurry, try sitting at the bar. The food is expensive for what it is, burgers, sandwiches, and such but their portions are generous, read ginormous. If you are not OK paying between $10-$20 for a burger and or sandwich, this may not be your jam. Having said that though, you can probably eat half and take the other half home for another meal, we did. To give you an idea on the size of the dent it will leave in your wallet, 3 people, 3 sandwiches, 3 drinks, just over $70, ouch! And this is not even gastro! At least with the term gastro, you know you are going to pay $50 for your over valued burger. Me personally, I'd rather make that sandwich and have that beer at home and spend my 70 bucks on something more significant. The food was good. I even liked their waffle sweet potato fries which is unusual, mostly because they were on the crunchy side. Hell, even their onion ring tangle was pretty good. The menu is massive, many options to consider from. I still want to come back and try their breakfast sandwiches. I think they serve breakfast until 10pm by the way. Menu and beers selections are at the table, but also up on the wall boards. Beer selection is pretty solid, 3 Floyds Zombie Dust and Founders Old Dirty Bastard on tap among others to give you an idea. Thr was well drink night, $3.50 if that is your thing. Or $3 PBR tallboy. They are apparently saving money on heat because it is freezing in this joint during the winter and I had a big wooly sweater on. One big turn off I did note, one of the bathrooms had spattered blood droplets all over the right side of the sink, that was immediate foulness and detracted from the distraction of toilet paper dispensers mounted all over the wall with toilet paper rolls on them. You are NOT going to run out of toilet paper in this joint, they got you. read more

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It was ok different but ok had there sliders and wings it was ok wings could have been crispier my choice the sliders were so so they assume everyone likes blue cheese I and my guest weren't given a choice had to ask nonetheless service was ok we will give it another try ! read more

Bat 17 - Looked fantastic presentation was eye catching ! - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

The sweet potato fries were AMAZING! Everything else was subpar. I had the bison burger and my friend had the boring burger. There were maybe 4 tables there, and we waited so long for our food. Our server was very nice though. Then, I am gluten-free, and the gluten-free bun left a lot to be desired. The space is very cool, though, and the drinks are affordable. read more

Bat 17 - bison burger with gluten free bun - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Easy to see why this is one of our son's favorite places! NU themed decor a few blocks from campus. Yummy sliders, appetizers, salads and everything in between. We've been twice with larger groups and they've always been accommodating. read more

Bat 17 - NU decor - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Our waitress Alexit was excellent. Friendly, helpful, checked our table several times without being obtrusive. I had the spicy shrimp salad- delicious! read more

Stopped in for drinks after Cubs opening day. Definitely a college bar. It's conveniently located to the El station and walking distance from hotels. I'll check it out again when I'm back in Evanston read more

This was the second time I've been here and both times were amazing! The first time I went I got the terminator burger which is the BIGGEST burger I have ever seen/eaten before. It was also one of the best burgers I've had. The second time I went with my fiancé for brunch. And I can't wait to go back! We got the fried chicken sliders on biscuits, SOOO GOOD. The cinnamon French toast also very good. And the Diego Rivera which was a great breakfast sandwich great taste with a little kick from jalapeños. And the Mimosas are out of this world! read more

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Needed a simple dinner and the staff were happy to oblige helpfully. Seems studenty but it wasn't too loud and people were polite. Nice turkey Swiss and mushroom sandwich with good fries. I would say great value. Thanks read more

Best burger in town. A bit pricey in my opinion (at least $15 for a burger) but they are huge and Bat is a popular local establishment. I had the black and bleu burger which was perfectly cooked and topped with a brioche bun which made for great flavor. I had been to Bat once before just for a drink. I'll never forget the drink as it made me late to work the next day. Overall, it's great I just find the location a bit confusing as it is split into two - a restaurant on the left and then more of a billiards sports area on the right. On a Monday night, only the restaurant side was open. read more

Bat 17 - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Terrible experience ordering food for delivery. After placing order, estimated delivery time via DoorDash (restaurant's delivery partner) was 45 minutes Through the tracker, we saw that the driver was waiting for the order at the restaurant, but then we kept getting updates that the delivery time was delayed. Ending up calling the restaurant after an hour and was told the order miraculously just came out, but 30 minutes later the order was canceled. The explanation when we called the restaurant again was suspect (put the blame on DoorDash and said we'd need to follow up with them to confirm a refund), so order delivery with caution. Taking our business elsewhere. read more

I don't care if your food is good, I had one of THE worst service experiences ever at this place a couple weeks ago. My lab and I (group of about 10 people or so) wanted to do a farewell get-together at Bat17 on the right side (left side = sit-down restaurant, right side = pool tables/bar setup). We got there at 4PM and realized that the pool table/bar area was not open till 5PM, so we went to the restaurant area to wait. Fine. Our bad that we came early. Our waiter was CLEARLY annoyed that such a large party was waiting in the restaurant area. Okay... had the restaurant been crowded, or had there been a lot of people, fine. I understand. But we were the first ones there, and even after the hour was over, there were literally only 2-3 other parties in the entire place. AND not to mention that we still ordered a few drinks (we spent $35), and we were basically waiting in your restaurant so we can go to the other side and give you MORE BUSINESS. Were we being loud? No. Were we being a big nuisance? NO. All we were doing was sitting together at the tables, ordering a few drinks and WAITING for the right side to open. Our waiter was giving us SO much attitude and (excuse my language) but SHIT about us being there! I was appalled. 1. He made NO efforts to hide how annoyed he was at our presence. His tone of voice and body language made it painfully obvious. 2. We pushed three tables together so we could all sit together. Did we move tables/chairs from across the restaurant? NO. Did we completely change the setup of the restaurant? NO. We literally just pushed tables that were already next to each other the extra SIX inches... I'm sorry it's so hard to pull them back apart. He kept telling us that this was not allowed and to stop moving the tables. 3. Our group spans a pretty big age range, so when all of my younger colleagues were ID'ed for drinks and one of the older people wasn't, my friend joked "How could you not ID him, I mean he looks so young!" to which our waiter gave a rather dry laugh and replied "I think something's wrong with your eyes"... are you F***ing kidding me? Have you ever heard of something called a joke? That was so rude!! I was actually SO mad but held my tongue. Honestly, I was SO disappointed by this visit. We still had a good time when we finally moved to the pool table area, but can someone PLEASE fire/talk to that waiter? That was legitimately the worst/rudest service I have EVER had the "pleasure" of experiencing. read more

Bat 17 - Jerk chicken - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Great carry out experience that you won't find anywhere else in the area. The staff were very helpful, kind and friendly. Thank you bat 17 for a great pick up experience. read more

5 stars are reserved for the very best, but this place bats right up there! Yelp led us here, as we were looking for somewhere new to try for a brunch in the suburbs. Love: - my cinnamon roll french toast (only offered at Sat-Sun brunch!). Flavorful and not too sweet. I may go for the blueberry muffin french toast next time. - the sourdough bread baked by local Bennison's bakery! Winner! Crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. - how surprisingly plump and ripe the side of fruit (pineapple, honeydew, cantaloupe) is. Usually, you get a measly portion and fruit served up that's on its last leg. Like: - how many different sandwich and menu options there are (something for everyone!) - the unique casual, bar-like setting with posters and tv screens everywhere. - complimentary coffee, even if you're just passing by! Note: it tastes like free coffee... not the best, but you'll have had many a better cup. Price was right though! - the amusement I got from the toilet paper situation in the bathroom. See photos. Got TP??! - friendly service! Dislike: - if I had to find a knock, it's a little dim inside, but no big deal. read more

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You gotta love a burger served with a knife holding it together! I heard a lot about this place from friends and the media and had an impromptu opportunity to check it out on a Friday night. I went for the Black & Blue Burger off their very extensive menu of burgers and other options. The menu is upwards of 10 pages! This is a hefty burger! Most, maybe all, the burgers are 10oz. This baby was pure perfection in how it was perfectly cooked to my preference of medium-well. Super tender and juicy meat with tasty toppings that did not overpower the burger made for a great burger between a delicious brioche bun made from a bakery down the street. Our waitress recommended the side of "slightly spicy" bacon potato salad, which turned out to be spicy like buffalo wings and too overpowering to enjoy. Luckily, the burger was served with a side of ranch dipping sauce. All of the burgers ordered were. The menu included a wide variety of amazing sounding breakfast, sandwich and salad options I intend to go back to try. The average price of almost every option seemed to be around $14. Considering the quality and service I had, it was worth it! read more

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This is my GO TO favorite place for casual lunch breaks and after work meet ups. It has a cool dive bar feel, and it's usually pretty easy to find a seat. The meatloaf sandwich is my favorite. You can't go wrong with 99% of this menu though. Everything is well thought of, and crafted with intention. Great selection of beers. Would highly recommend it. read more

The bartender was more interested in his phone than any of the customers. I waited 5 minutes before. I said something just to see if he would turn around but he didn't. Seven dollars for a draft doesn't seem worth it to me. read more

Bat 17 - The bartender was more interested in his phone than any of the customers. - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Ordered a sandwich (chicken club), salad (caesar), drinks, and cookie. Only the first two items arrived. The sandwich tasted all right, but the bread was soggy by the time it arrived so it was incredibly messy and difficult to eat. I requested ketchup for the fries and none was provided. The menu said a pickle comes with the sandwich - it didn't. The menu said the salad came with bread and butter - it didn't. All in all, I can tell Bat 17's food *could* be good, but I have a feeling the dine-in experience is probably leaps and bounds above the delivery experience. I'd steer clear of delivery and visit when the dining room reopens. read more

Let's just say in this case I didn't get what I paid for. I really appreciate and pay attention to customer service. It shows a lot about the staff and establishment. I attended this bar on a Monday morning around 11am. Empty. Emmmmmpppptttyyy! We were their first customers of the day. My girlfriend and I got a beer, screwdriver, salad and burger with a Caesar side salad. The waiter did not check on us and we damn near have to flag him down to get the check. He seemed young and uninterested or maybe he thought we wouldn't tip as a minority lesbian couple. Smh the nerve. Regardless the sesame chicken salad tasted mediocre. very watery and lacked taste despite the large pieces of chicken on the salad. The side salad my girlfriend had looked and tasted better. Now the burger.... gawdddd did that live up to expectations. $14 burger and it's worth every bit. 3 stars for the service and crappy salad. read more

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One of my favorite burger and sandwiches spot in Evanston! Great sports bar with amazing food and large portions. Some standouts are the pulled pork nachos, any slider or burger, steak salad and the bodacious sandwich. There's always free coffee and tea in the restaurant part and a whole back bar where you can order appetizers and drinks. Awesome spot for large groups for watching games and beer towers! read more

Bat 17 - Pulled Pork Nachos - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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The menu is huge. I was a little put off by the long letter they write in the menu to the customer. It's explaining why their prices are high. But it convinces you before you even start reading the menu that I their prices are higher than they should be. The sandwiches basically come in large and extra large. Personally, I wish there was a small option too. I definitely got 2 meals out of the the 'regular size' sandwich. The night we were there the credit card machine wasn't working. While I understand it wasn't the bartender's fault I wish she had told us about the issue before she dropped the check. read more

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!!!! read more

Bat 17 - Free coffee and tea - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Went on Friday for lunch and service was way off. The excuse "We're busy" to explain away a 45-minute wait for food makes no sense. If you run a restaurant and are unaware that Friday lunch will be busy, you need to re-think your profession. It's called lunch rush for a reason, and you need to staff up so you can serve customers with an hour break. I spent many years as an owner of Loop restaurant/taverns, so I know what I'm talking about. I didn't expect immediate service, but 45 minutes to get some sliders and a corned beef sandwich is ridiculous. When the food did finally arrive it was cold - which means it sat there for quite awhile before anyone thought to serve it. The food - taken home and re-heated because there was no time left to eat it there - was good, but no garnish other than pickles for $15 items? A few chips would kill you? Too many minuses to want me to return read more

I had a (very unusual for me) craving for a burger. The weather was terrible and I have had a crap week, so I decided to have one delivered (even though I honestly think it's insane to spend $25 on a hamburger and fries). There was a mixup with the delivery, and I tried to call the restaurant twice--no one answered, and voicemail was full. Eventually I connected with the delivery man and got my burger and fries, but nothing else. Most importantly, no ketchup (for either burger or fries). I know this sounds finicky, but tonight I learned that neither burgers nor fries are particularly palatable to me without ketchup--I hardly ate any of it. (I guess tomorrow I'll have to go buy some ketchup so I can eat it as leftovers, but of course the whole point was not to have to go to the store, and we all know that burgers are not as good after they sit in the fridge for the night.) I also learned that Bat 17 doesn't answer their phone, which is... not what I look for in a restaurant. I can't even tell you whether the burger was cooked to my preference (rare), because I didn't take a bite of it. I can tell you, though, that the fries were delivered at room temperature. I had a couple, and I think they probably would have been very good if they were hot and served with ketchup. Mostly I'm frustrated that I went to the trouble of getting something delivered to fulfill a craving and then couldn't even enjoy it because the restaurant cheaped out on ten cents' worth of ketchup packets. Frankly, at this price point, I expect much more. read more

I went to this place on Sunday for brunch. There was a wait, but I really loved looking around the space. The place is cozy yet sleek, with large TV screen playing mostly sports and news on every wall. The restaurant has free self-service tea and coffee. You're welcome to have free drinks even if you aren't sitting down for a meal! You could literally just walk in, get a to-go cup of joe, and walk off to work! I also really loved the shelf of hot sauce varieties you could browse, sample, and bring back to the table. The atmosphere is lively and fun, for dinner and Brunch. I have been here for burgers before, which were tall and juicy. But this review is primarily to focus on brunch which hasn't been reviewed as much on yelp. I ordered the Blueberry Muffin French Toast which didn't score high for me on appearance. They looked like two blocks, and not much food. That was disappointing because Bat 17 is known for their large portions. But after digging my fork into it, I understood appearances may be misleading. The French toast literally melts in your mouth. Very rich and very sweet. Now I have a sweet tooth, so it was bearable for me, but I believe for the average person perhaps the sugar content of breakfast may have been better as a dessert. You really can't eat too much of something that sweet, so the portion size ended up being perfect. I advise you one thing: do NOT order the fruit salad. I have made this mistake twice! It's one of those sorry excuses for a fruit salad that is basically just melon. And I like melon, but this salad didn't even have the good kind of melon. Watery, flavorless, sad melon chunks. My boyfriend ordered the lox, which was stacked high with salmon and care. Unfortunately, my boyfriend thought his food was under seasoned. Of course this wasn't a problem with the waiting army of ketchups, mustards, and hot sauces at our disposal. Perhaps their savory food options are intentionally under seasoned so that we may take full advantage of the self-service options. Now I know this was brunch, but for reasons unknown, we ordered chilli cheese fries. Now these were addicting. I understand an odd choice for brunch, but perhaps they were the best part of the meal. I definitely will come back for burgers and order a side of these. Bat 17 is a little expensive, but should logically be worth it for the portion sizes. Their food might be served to you a tad bit bland, but the trick is to unabashedly utilize the wall of hot sauce and the variety of ketchups and BBQ sauces at every table. This is a taste experience you are supposed to make your own. And that in itself makes Bat 17 more fun. read more

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When a bar is advised as the best in Evanston I must go in and be the judge of that. So I did just that. I must give it about 3.75 stars to be exact but since yelp does not ride like that, then I have to round up hence my four stars. We went in on a Saturday at 2 PM and it was busy so we opted for the bar. The place has personality but still nothing to rave about. Just another super small, super crammed up sports bar with high tops, tvs and a list of ales the size if Texas. If it was on that note alone the place would get 9.5 stars but this review is wholesome like that and covers all the bases. The portions were huge but the food was good (not wow) I didn't think it was the best like everyone makes it out to be. My issue with the place are the prices. No lunch with 3 beers, 2 sandwiches and an appetizer should cost over a 100 dollars. It's Evanston for gods sake, not River North.... for those reasons I am out. Just kidding, I will eventually stop by. Eventually. read more

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I'll get right down to it - the Black and Bleu at Bat17 is my favorite burger in Chicagoland. It beats out anything I've had at Au Cheval, burgrbelly, edzos, Publican, etc. It is also one of the most expensive, but this burger somehow balances the pungency of the bleu cheese with the spice of the patties, without overwhelming either flavor. The burger is best complemented by their sweet potato waffle fries, which are also some of the best I've ever had. I find myself coming back here year after year. If you're not into burgers, this place also serves excellent sandwiches. My favorite is the bat outta hell, but you really can't go wrong here. read more

Bat 17 - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Turkey Reuben was ice cold. Bacon tasted freezer burned. Used to love this place but the food sucked. Nice server though. read more

Great ambiance, very proud northwestern sports place with great tvs and pool tables. Food was good, but the menu is a little overwhelming. Good drink options as well. Does get crowded. read more