Ed Debevic's was a wacky diner that I went to with my high school buds back in the day. It was a kitschy and old-fashioned good time, though one of my ex-buds did not "get it" when the waitresses would harass him for not finishing his vegetables. My love was hosting a high school chum recently, so she wanted to paint the town with her by showcasing some surprising Chicago experiences. So along with me, the three of us went to Ed Debevic's for a fun and frolicking Saturday lunch. Yes this is the reboot of Ed Debevic's. We were subjected to goofy customer service throughout our lunch, and the staff / performers cracked us up with jokes, jibes, and musical dance routines. I should note that the staff was also spot on with the serving of our food, and the presentation of a new container of ketchup at our table was a borderline performance in itself. I had a BBQ bacon cheeseburger and it was pretty good though I wish they used more of the typical BBQ sauce rather than a mustard-y golden BBQ sauce. My love liked her patty melt, and her friend liked the pulled pork sandwich. We all had crinkle cut fries as a side, and the fries were just OK. As a lifetime resident of Chicago, I do not need to visit Ed Debevic's again. However, if the opportunity comes up to bring an out-of-towner here for the sassy experience, then I am all for a return visit. read more

Food & Drinks - They had a veggie burger! I was so excited to see vegetarian options! I had a veggie cheese burger with LTOP, fries, cheese curds, and an Oreo milkshake. The cost for all of it was pretty high, but I will give it a pass because I love this place. Service - classic sass. If you come here (I hope) you know the servers are funny and sassy. I enjoyed being roasted and reliving my childhood experiences of this place! They did not make me hula hoop this time so I think I did ok. Ambiance - classic 50's diner decor and feel. It was an off time of day and the weather was bad, so I think it was a bit quieter than usual. This was fine because I loved the music (classic rock) and the silly things I overheard at other tables. read more

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We went and the food was great! B.Rat was the life of the party and a really awesome server too!! We'll be back for the food and the fun! read more

Ed Debevic's - Eat at Ed's sign among all the other cool signs - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Over 10 years ago my family and I went to Ed Debevics since we were visiting town for a convention. Our male server was so mean. I understand he was supposed to be somewhat insulting but he went over the top mean. My teenage boys didn't like his vitriol either. I was offended and I would suggest if you don't like being outright bullied, then don't go. read more

Had a great time with Smokestack at Ed Debevic's! The food was awesome and the tiny Sunday was the best!! Great for kids and Adults!!

First off how much did the kids love Garbage Can! He had so much fun with the kids and the kids talked about it all day! When the host sat us down she crumbled up the kids menus and my kids faces were hilarious. The 50's theme was fun and playful and seeing all the wait staff dressed up in different outfits played into the overall theme, it was great. The kids all got chicken strips and fries, my wife got the club and I got the Rueben with pastrami. The ranch dressing was very good, the Rueben was a little tuff and the bottom of the bread was soggy. So I wouldn't order it again. We would definitely go back. read more

Ed Debevic's - Reuben - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Was a fun place to eat. Food was average but the staff absolutely made up for it. Had a good time.

Miss Kitty is amazing! Food was great but the service was phenomenal! Lots of fun and a lively atmosphere.

It's your typical diner with the retro vibes but super clean interior, which we always appreciate. Having never been to a place where the expectation is to receive rude service (and having only reels from Instagram for reference), our server was way nicer than expected. Anything rude that was said still was delivered in the nicest way. We made conversation with him and after finding out we were visiting to celebrate a friend's graduation, he brought out a little bite-sized sundae which was super sweet! We visited on a Tuesday around 6pm and the place was really dead which really killed the vibe. I ordered the Early Bird Sandwich, which tasted bland. The other food ordered also was too plain and not something to be ordered again. Great service and potentially a good dining experience if the place was busy, but the food left much to be desired. read more

Ed Debevic's - The Early Bird Sandwich, The Chickadee, Chicken Tenders. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Oh, what a time to be had!! The food, the laughter, the cast of characters, and the fellow diners. So, I saw this place the night before returning to my hotel. I wrote down the name, or should I say in this day and time, I took a picture with my iPhone. The next morning, I looked up the website, and it stated that it serves breakfast. I'm not knowing how popular this place is. I walked in, and right away, I felt happiness; the decor is a 1950 theme with a photo booth and cute writings on the wall. One guy's shirt reads "Hall Monitor," he's playfully scolding a little boy. My waitress is dressed up, too; she let me know she was going to send a bit of sarcasm my way. I laughed so loud and told her I got it! We are back in high school. Well, let the games begin; the cool kids hopped up on chairs and a walkway, singing and dancing. I ordered "The Early Bird," a delicious southern fried chicken on a bun with bacon, over easy egg, cheddar, avocado, spicy mayo, home fries with green peppers and onions. But I got the hash browns, which are french fries. I have to mention that, just like in the 1950s, the portion of food was huge. Yeah, I stayed longer than I should have before I told the "Cool Kids" I had to go. But on the way out, a busload of high schoolers came in, and boy, did they get it! read more

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The place had a fun 50s ambience to it. The waiters give lots of attitude and are dressed to theme which makes for an entertaining time. They dance every hour or so for everyone to watch which is another fun addition. The food was just fine but it's a great experience! read more

I will start of by saying this. I think people come here for the experience and not for the food. The place has a huge dining area set like a 1950s diner. The place has 2 levels, but the upstairs was closed when I was there. The restaurants "thing" or what is is known for is their sassy servers. They are intentionally rude to you. My server had sass, but was still nice.I think they give you as much as they think you can take. Yeah, she did throw my straw on the table, and also gave me a heads up that this was her act. The diner is very colorful and there is metered street parking out front and within a reasonable walking distance. It is kind of limited though. There are also some parking garages in walking distance as well, but they can be a bit pricey. The restaurant has some diner favorites including burgers, hot dogs, salads, sandwiches, chili and soup.They also have shakes and sides. I ordered the grill cheese with tater tots. It took about 10 minutes for me to have my food in front of me. It was ok. The tots were a bit overcooked and the sandwich was just ordinary. It was edible, but nothing to write home about. This is a fun spot, while I was there, a girl was celebrating her birthday party here. The severs are good at what they do and have awesome personalities. I would definitely come here again and recommend checking this place out, with the cavet of not having high expectations for the food. It is all about the presentation and experience here. read more

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Great food, eclectic and fun atmosphere. Miss Kitty is fantastic!. Spontaneous entertainment! read more

Loved this place, very fun experience!! Our food was delicious, we tried the BLT, chicken sandwich and pancakes! Janny was awesome, I guess lol read more

Janny K told me I better write a positive review...I don't want to anger her. This was a fun last stop in Chicago--my three teens loved it.

Betty was delightfully rude:) she was adequately obnoxious Turkey Rueben was good! Food came quick on a Saturday afternoon. read more

Service was horribly good! Food tasted decent. And water was tap (not toilet)! 4 stars

Once upon a time, I was a theatre kid, and this was my favorite place to go. The sarcasm and rude schtick by the staff entertained me endlessly. Back then it was located on N Wells. It closed for many yrs but has been resurrected in Streeterville. My kid loves burgers and I was wanting to experience some nostalgia, so I dragged her against her will. She thought she'd be put off by the attitude that I told her to expect. She wasn't put off. She not only asked that we go there for her bday, but she now wants to get a job there when she's old enough. Getting paid to be obnoxious and rude to people for laughs sounds like the perfect job for a young person. I know I have a lot of nostalgic biased love for Ed Debevic's, but the food really isn't bad. Typical diner food. Love the extra crispy crinkle fries. The burger was a double patty and they do it right. Rather than one fat patty, they have two flattened and caramelized patties that are stacked. Makes for a better burger. I really wasn't there for the food though. I just love reliving my teens and introducing my kids to pieces of my past. When I was a teen, I got my dad to take me here once. I had no idea that he didn't know that being rude was part of their schtick. He was so pissed off when our waiter sighed and said "I do not have all day. Just give me your order or get out." I really thought he was going to walk out. We had to talk him down from exploding. Lol Now it's a funny memory he still brings up on occasion. Twenty five + yrs later. Good times read more

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Very funny service, loved our time here - my niece and nephew had a blast thanks to Stanley who was great!!

Janie was great.awesome service food was good. She had an attitude but whatever it is what it is at least the napkin was good quality.

Fun experience. Miss Kitty was funny and a good server. The food was really good I got the meatloaf sandwich.

I wasn't insulted enough!!! Lol. That's why people want to go to Ed Debevic's but our waitress was perfectly nice and the service was excellent! Other waiters were insulting their patrons left and right. Despite that, the food was delicious and portions huge for the price. I got a roadside burger and my husband a mushroom Swiss. We were so hungry we didn't even bother to take pictures until dessert. My burger was perfectly cooked with a double patty. My onion rings were hot and crisp. The mushrooms on my husband's burger were obviously portobellos because of the size. We honestly could have shared the huge dessert, but the price fooled us into thinking it would be small. read more

Ed Debevic's - Brownie delight - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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What a fun time had by all! The staff was engaged and entertained. Food was delicious, extra snaps for avocado toast for our vegan member. The staff had a dance routine that was lively. The decor was inviting and retro chic. Definitely kid friendly. read more

Ed Debevic's - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We took unsuspecting friends out for a diner meal. They were startled, and perfectly offended , when our waiter was rude, throwing the menus on the table while he was in full stride passing by. We played it up a little, asking them if we should leave, but they said that it was ok; maybe he was having a bad say, and they hoped that we had a different server assigned to our section. Well, as you may imagine, it went downhill (so, uphill) from there. When they finally figured it all out, we shared a great laugh. The food is typical diner fare, but very good quality. They are sure to make fun of your food-particulars (for instance I wanted real rye bread .... yeah, sure, good luck). That having been said...My French Fries arrived kinda cold (right after a musical number delay) but our waiter was "happy" (note heavy faux sarcasm) to replace them with hot ones, pretty quickly. The whole vibe is fun, and more like a diner-and-a-show, than a fine ding experience. So, go ...you'll have fun! , and you'll leave full read more

Ed Debevic's - Free Hat! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My kids and I couldn't stop laughing! Well worth the wait to get in and be snarked at by the silly staff and watch the awesome table dancers and then love every bite of the delicious food! Take some unsuspecting friend or family member there who doesn't know what they're getting into and sit back and laugh! Just do it!!! read more

Great food and the waiter Ryder was great he brought the sass to our table. Would come back again

Ambiance is a great vibe, waiter Liz will absolutely roast you if you ask (and even if you don't she still will). Skillet is delicious and extra cheesy. Highly recommend if you like to laugh and have a good time! read more

My longtime best friend from Chicago took me here for lunch. I had a blast! Fun fun fun! Great laughs. Waitress was so darn enjoyable. She must be a young actress working towards a career in theater. She will do well. I thought my spicy chicken sandwich was real good and the fries were Kringle cut which is my favorites. Great experience for two older dudes who were looking for laughs, fun, atmosphere and solid eats! We got them all! Great job. read more

wait staff wrote racist comment on hat, not sassy, not funny rude, but flat out racist.

Insulted, the good ole fashioned way! Ed's has been part of my life since high school, and that was a long time ago. We used to get a large group together and make the trek into the city to dine at the original location. There were a lot of loud, raucous and hilarious visits. Fast forward 30+ yrs. My son and I were downtown and in the area when we started to look for dining options. I knew the original Ed's location was long gone, but I had no idea they'd moved to just east of Michigan Ave. I thought it would be a fun time to subject my son to Ed's. The commentary..which is to say the insults and mockery..thankfully, is alive and well here. Our waitress was a saucy lady that started dishing out the flack instantaneously. I took the brunt of her sh*t given my age and abundance of gray hair. My son just laughed, but he took quite a bit of ribbing too. As for the food, well, it's greasy and Americana..just like a normal 50's diner. I don't know if I've ever seen a hamburger with this much grease, but my son somehow ate the entire thing. My club sandwich wasn't much different. It's funny to kick back and listen to the wait staff berate other diners. Can't say I've ever been to a restaurant similar to this. If you come in, get ready for the act. It's fun and different here. Cheers. read more

We were unsuspecting victims, but we decided, once we were seated, to go with the flow. Our family was looking for a place to get a quick bite and this place was perfect. Our waitress was the super cute Miss Kitty and she wasn't foolin' around. She was ready to serve! I had the slider trio and it was delicious. I also had a couple of margaritas which hit the spot. The dinner show was a delight and it was fun to see all the wait staff singing and dancing. I would definitely visit again when back in Chi Town! read more

You have to be prepared for the "rudeness act" of the wait staff. That's part of their shtick. The food is really good. Loved the sweet potato fries. Strawberries shakes are really good as well!! My husband loved his club. The table next to us got very uncomfortable when the waitress pretended to read their credit card number over the microphone at the arak booth. Need to remember some shtick can go "over the edge". Great Music. It was too much rude for our kids and the waiter kept referring to the fifties as of my husband and I knew what he was talking about - how old did he think we were. (We had no idea.) read more

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Oh wow! Dinner and entertainment. Jane Calamity was an awesome server. Food was delicious. Had the chili dog and blue burger. Beautiful themed restaurant. Fun and friendly servers. Can't come if you're easily offended. Hehehehe. read more

Had a ball! My inner mean girl enjoyed exchanging shady, passive aggressive banter with "The Swan." Food was solid. Place was clean. Only qualm is the half and half isn't "fresh" and is prepackaged, single serve containers. I'd definitely come again if I'm in town and feeling sassy. read more

Good food even better service Like the 50s vibe The severs are great dancers Garbage can was the best read more

Never going back! This is place is not everyone, and they are really proud about it. They are openly rude. It's not a place to take a kid. My son was scared because our waiter was rude and yelling. I get what this restaurant is trying to do, but it's not coming across the right way with the waiters they have. It's an easy way to hire bad waiters and get away with it. The food isn't good. Period. Expensive! The dancing/signing talent is really bad. They are trying to mimic Ellen's Stardust Diner in NYC but the level of talent is incomparable. These guys lack talent, they are not trying to get hired for Broadway. read more

Ed Debevic's - They are proud of being rude. But you can't even ask a question about the menu without getting yelled at. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Visited Chicago for the weekend and came to Ed Debevic's for breakfast. I understand the concept of the restaurant, but our server was downright annoying, no other way to explain it. Every visit to the table was 2-3 minutes of nonsensical rambling, not "rude" or even funny. Our server spent more than half of our time eating, at our table, making for a quite miserable experience if I'm honest. I could hardly have a conversation with my partner. He might as well have grabbed a seat. Now for the food. It is just plain horrible. I got a breakfast platter, the bacon was chewy and almost inedible, the biscuits and gravy were hard as a rock, my hash browns were hardly cooked and sopping wet. And of course to top it off there was a hair in my food. I would've mentioned it while there, but I was on a time crunch and did not feel like dealing with 5 minutes of theatrics to communicate the issue to my server. Shockingly terrible food and our insanely annoying waiter are why I won't visit again. Giving 2 stars for the ambiance. Quite disappointed in my first and last visit to Ed Debevics. read more

Ed Debevic's - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My childhood favorite!! Great Cobb salad and entertainment is priceless - took the kids and they loved it!

The food wasn't bad at all. It's typical 50s diner. However, the catch is the waiters are told to be rude. Our waitress Jane calamity was quite good at it. The ambience is super loud and there's lots of kids here. This is a good place to come for a joke on a friend or to take kids. If you like abuse and are in anyway a masochist, this is the place for you. Overall, it was fun. read more

Our family has enjoyed the entire Ed Debevic's experience multiple times, with the first visit being at the prior Phoenix location in 1996 when we lived there and then the various Chicago locations since we returned to the Midwest in the 2000's. We do not get tired of this place and often take our out of town guests for a fun-time visit and consistently great food. All ages, all demographics, and locals and tourists can appreciate the Dinner and a Show aspect of this place. We also love to take the kids for their birthday sundae in the souvenir dish and a hyper energized rendition of the Happy Birthday song. Memorable! I will mention the special and very unique service and waitstaff for those who may not be aware of the shtick. In a nutshell, prepare to be insulted, to have your ideas of polite conversation with a waiter thrown to the curb, and they might even pull up a chair and join your dinner party for a few minutes. The entire waitstaff crew periodically jumps on the counters to sing and dance during each visit and The Village People's YMCA song receives a lot of attention. My fave menu item is the Blue Moon burger because I'm on vacation and being naughty. Juicy beef burger dressed with lettuce and tomato, blue cheese, and crunchy onion strings. Choice of fries or a .... side salad!? Ha! Great place to get a chocolate shake if you are in the mood to fully commit to the diet bomb. It's worth it. Parking is a total pain and pricey, but we do it anyway because it's an occasional splurge and we're worth it. Our server told us so several times. HAVE FUN!!! read more