Al’s Beef

This Al’s Beef at 2804 N Western is a waste of time, the staff was rude and would not honor the coupon that I presented to them. The food at this place is flavorless, this isn’t the best beef in town, Portillo’s is much better and cheaper. I wouldn’t eat there ever again.

Al’s is THE BEST BEEFS in chicago, and those fries… awesome. Over the years looks like they have been putting less and less meat on the beefs but they still smoking.

Got the regular al’s dipped with hot giardiniera. This was my first time eating Italian beef but it was kind of underwhelming. I probably should not have ordered it dipped but that made the whole sandwich have a consistency of mush. There were barely any giardiniera in the sandwich as well. L

The worst service ever, they lost my order, there was only 4 customers inside, then they found my order, and they still got my order wrong, i asked to get my money back, they made it hard on me to get my money back, i was super angy, they had called the police on me… I should had been the one to call the police for hold my money… they called the police because I wanted my money back and they got my order wrong anyways… I just wanted my money back. big DRAMA for there own mistake… 35 minutes later without the food, police called… they end up giving my money back after all that drama… I’m never going there again…

Al’s Beef the best in Chicago. I use to go to school at University of Illinois & go to the original Al’s on Taylor Street then across the street for Marios Lemonade for a great 1 – 2 combo.
One of many franchises for Al’s Beef in Chicago. Same great quality sandwich

The beef to bread ratio seemed skimpy for the big AL. Sweet peppers are barely cooked. Supposed to be number 1 but I was unimpressed. If your looking to be trendy go try it, if your actually hungry try Jay’s or Johnny’s. I have had similar at places that don’t advertise being the best. Really nice facility but didn’t feel like a great value or anything really to write home about. I wonder who really voted for them to be number 1 or if they were better before. I spent 12 bucks on a sandwich and drink.

This is one of the Best places for a Italian beef sandwich, I love there beefs here and I’m glad they are close to my house even though I will go on Taylor street every now and then. Keep up the great taste and work Al’s Beef :-) :-)

This was one of the places that I CRAVED when I was in Texas, and it’s a joy to share it with my daughter! The crew here is great and the food is delish!

Tried this place for the first time. I was not impressed. It is pretty pricey compared to other Italian beef places I have been to. The food was nothing to rave about and the tables were dirty. The counter help was very nice though.

Ordered for the first time for super bowl to get catering. Big mistake. I honestly should have just feed 15 people myself.
Beef was absolutely flavorless!!! What a joke. Juice gravy seemed like it had seasoning but apparently not. It was a total let down. We literally had to cover the meat in giardinara just to make it had any sort of taste.. and honestly even the giardinara was sub par.
Skip this place. Overrated. Big let down.

I can honestly say this place sucked not only did they miss an order of fries it cost me 23 dollars for two beefs one order of fries and two medium drinks the bread was like rock hard where it wasn’t dipped and the flavor of the beef was yuck I can see eating this at three in the morning and completely drunk but sober at lunch yuck step your game up for 23 dollars and pay attention I didn’t like sharing my co workers fries I’ve had better beef at Browns chicken

I don’t know… I see a lot of positive reviews, but my experience was different. Maybe I ordered on a bad day, or when they were training someone, but I was disappointed. I ordered an Italian beef/​wet with sweet peppers & fries. It seems more wet bread then anything. Hardly any meat on it at all. Flavor was good, just a little watery and over salty. I’m betting they just hired somebody and were being trained, or maybe because it was Christmas Eve and they wanted to get home, and they were in a rush and forgot a lot of things. The fries were cold too. Was very disappointed…

I’m being generous with 2 stars… came across this place after going to the currency exchange next door. I ordered an Italian beef for my husband & a small cheese fries …1) asked for the fries to be crispy, they were soggy 2) no seasoning on the fries and it looked like a ball of cheese and the fries were smashed all together 3) the Italian beef was mushy with no flavor 4) the sauce for the Italian beef tasted horrible, Luke chemicals… Would not recommend & certainly not returning!

They served me glass in my fries and thought it was preposterous that I wanted a refund. I went back to the store to show them and they shrugged it off. No care that they somehow got glass in the food, and no apology for it either. It’s like a big «fuck you» to me for serving me food that I can’t even eat.

I’ll preface this by saying I’m born and raised in Chicago. I’ve had many Italian Beef’s in my 26 years of life. Some have been dry, some have been flavorless, and some have been just plain nasty. I’ve always heard about Al’s and how they’re the best, but have never tried it until now. So many years wasted.
It really was the best I’ve ever had. I got it dipped with sweet peppers and yes, it was soggy. By the end, my bread was falling apart, but you know what? I’m just fine with that. I ordered it dipped and got it dipped. That’s what happens. The flavor was great and the meat to bread ratio was perfect. They were not stingy with the beef. I also ordered a small fry and was again pleasantly surprised. They had good flavor, weren’t overly salted, and were not super greasy.
Overall, this is definitely where I’ll come when I crave an Italian Beef from now on. I live on the South Side near Midway, by the way, so that’s saying something.

I’m not from Chicago. This was my first time eating Italian Beef, I expected more flavor. The peppers were hot, the beef was almost as soggy as the bread. It was leaving pools of juice it was so soggy. I ate ¾ of the sog sammich and left it.

Owner would not refund food after large black hairs were found. Very dirty location and owner is EXTREMELY RUDE and

It was more like a 3.5-star rating I would like to render to Al’s Beef. Can this kind of rating be considered as award-​winning? My answer would be «it’s unlikely so, because Rosa J. said it was just alright.»
I purchased a groupon for this location awhile ago. I spent $ 12 for $ 20 worth of food and beverages.
I had the Italian Beef combo, and hubby had the two (2) hot-​dog combo. All combos come with fries and fountain drinks. Of course I asked for the dipped version and sweet peppers ($ 0.50 extra for the add-​on).
We didn’t pay anything onsite, for our total was $ 19.38. It was acceptable to give up $ 0.62. In summary, if you don’t want to pay any balance, spend under $ 20 and forfeit the change if you want to.
The dining room was very clean, so was the ladies’ restroom. I guess since Al’s expanded to be a local corporation, an operational standard on cleanliness has developed and is expected to be followed. That’s great from a customer’s perspective. But there’s a case still pending: is the beef at Al’s truly award-​winning?
Rosa J.‘s verdict was a «NO.» If Al’s Beef was commented as award-​winning, how about Jay’s and Marco’s, or the Hot Dog Station in my hood, Albany Park? Did you leave those places out on purpose? My Italian beef sandwich was a bit mushy. Although the beef was tender, the mushiness seemed to dilute the supposed flavor. I definitely prefer Jay’s, with my 100% confidence.
Who judge the food featuring in the magazines? To be specific, who determined Al’s Italian beef as one of the «top 10» sandwiches? Is he/​she a foodie or is he/​she trippin’?
I don’t know if I would come back because I’m SO not tripping when it comes to Italian beef sandwiches. I’ve tasted something better in the city. By no means, I have no intention to dethrone Al’s title. I just have a completely different opinion.

My fiancé has been dying to try this place since we moved to Chicago. Luckily, we even found a Groupon. Be prepared because you will definitely get your hands dirty. We ordered the italian beef sandwich with peppers and asked the sandwiches to be dipped. The sandwich literally melts in your mouth, and the juices will run down your fingers all over you hands. It’s quit messy but totally worth it. This is a must try restaurant!

Good Beef– as good as any of the Al’s around town– the counter people are friendly, this location has «Belly».
My only complaint would be, no matter what size beef you get, they do not over stuff it, would like to see more beef between the roll. The french fries are usually pretty greasy and have stopped ordering them for that reason. Still, when I’m in the mood for a beef. Al’s is a good stop.