Clarke’s

Well, the space that used to host Clarke’s on Belmont has reopened as ‘The Belmont’ so I had to check it out. The interior has been remodeled and looks very nice and clean, extremely modern. Bright and spacious, unobtrusive flat screen tvs and low key modern music playing. New staff, new cooks and new owner. The menu is smaller but has retained the egg skillets and other dishes that Clarke’s was known for, along with a number of new offerings. The food is prepared better and tastes much more fresh and ‘lighter’ … and it’s still good.

Been here twice before and was perplexed on how terrible the service was. I understand that they are a 24 hour diner in a very drunken part of town but that would never excuse the treatment me and my friends received there. Our server was disrespectful and uncaring, our food was as basic as they come. You can do far better than this my friends.

The waitress was nice. The place seemed dirty and poorly lit. The overpriced apple juice was warm. Bad, bad, bad. I will not be back.

We ate here because we were hungry and it was directly across from our hotel. I try to look at reviews first, but we didn’t this time because were just really hungry and wanted to get to downtown and didn’t want to waste time researching. Turns out we wasted a lot of time anyway…
My husband loved his burger and the sweet potato fries were good. I ordered mac-​n-​cheese for my kids and it was the awful boxed kind. That is a huge pet peeve of mine at restaurants. Mac n cheese was listed as an appetizer, so I ordered it thinking it would be decent. I did not expect it to come out like that. My mistake, thinking that ordering mac n cheese off the appetizer menu would be more than a 69 cent box of crap. We waited a really long time for our food. in fact, I’m positive I saw the waiter come out with our food… turn around and go back… and then come back about 10 minutes later. I’m thinking they forgot something so they put our food back under the warmer until it was taken care of and then brought it out again. That would explain why chicken wrap was soaked in juice underneath. It was just sitting there… waiting.
We are not picky people and we were really underwhelmed. I’m sure there are much better options in Chicago and I regret that I didn’t do better research to avoid this place.

Been here about 10 times tops, a few of those times while intoxicated and late at night. From my experiences I have come to the following conclusion: Food is overpriced for poor quality and unorganized inventory (they are always running out of something.) If you don’t mind crappy service from an employee that clearly doesn’t want to be there and then getting charged an AUTOMATIC GRATUITY (yes, even if you have under 6 people!) then this is your diner. Each time I’ve been here there has been one consistency: BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. The only reason I have even come back to this dump can only be attributed to the insistence of drunk, incoherent friends. Save yourself the trip and visit a restaurant that will be worth it in quality and service.

HATERS GONNA HATE HATE HATE — I’m just gonna order a burger with side.
Burger and fries were beyond. Especially for the price point.
Service was prompt and friendly.
Only drawback: no beer.

Totally came in on a whim (like I usually do and more often than not, it’s a great choice). I ordered a burger and fries against my training and diet. And it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WORTH IT!!! Combined with the fact it was at my table in less than 5 minutes blew my mind!!!
The server says they’re famous for their burgers and I see why. I got a mushroom burger, and it was «drool-​licious», to say the least. I may have uttered a few words in what could be construed as a new language was I muttered about the deliciousness of this burger.
It’s so close to the Belmont L stop, get a window seat and you can watch the trains come and go.
The ONLY drawback that I have is their water is served chilled, and in an old wine bottle, BUT the water is tap water, if that’s an issue for anyone sensitive to hard or soft water… Still, the food was delicious!!!

This place hit the spot for a late New Years Eve’s brunch since we wanted breakfast food and every place we tried seem to have a super long wait. However, I don’t think it’s a place I would come out of my way to go back to.
The service was definitely not the best. We had to remind our waitress a few times for things, but I didn’t hold it against anyone as I couldn’t imagine working the early shift the night after New Years.
The food was pretty solid. My boyfriend and I each got a breakfast sandwich. They were out of bagels, but their English Muffins were really good (and huge!). The breakfast potatoes were yummy as well.
Overall this place just didn’t seem to be the cleanest. The booth wasn’t wiped down well when we sat down, and there was a large rip in the booth that was attempted to be patched back together with duck tape.
It wouldn’t be on the top of my list of places to return, but if you’re in the area and craving some breakfast food (and Ann Sather’s has a wait of about 3 hours per usual), this place might tide you over.

Came here with a friend a few months back. We had spent some time hanging around Lakeview and it was nearly 10:00pm. I don’t really have too much to say about this place. Nothing really stood out to me in a good or bad way. It was just okay.
I remember our server was pretty friendly and quick. Very attentive as well. We ordered breakfast meals (I got eggs and bacon while my friend ordered pancakes). We saw that there were some desserts on the menu, so we asked about them. There were only one or two dessert options available at that time of night, and they both sounded unappealing. So we opted for just keeping our breakfast meals. The food was alright, but I wasn’t a huge fan of their bacon. Which is sad to say, because I love bacon. But I just wasn’t feeling it. My friend enjoyed his pancakes, but I felt that my meal was pretty sub-​par.
«Meh» is all I have to say about this place. I may come back here after a night of drinking or if I am really craving some eggs on the double. But other than that, there are better diners in Lakeview.

This place used to be descent. I am pretty sure they changed their ownership. The menu is not the same, the service is slow and they served me a breakfast which seemed to have been heated up. The coffee is just terrible. I hope the other place with the same in Evanston has not suffered the same.
Not to be unfair the waitress I had was very nice. Though I guess she couldn’t help with the food.

They’re out of French toast and turkey sausage. I’m irritated and I’ve been waiting 10 minutes for a waffle since that’s the only thing available that I can eat. Finally get the waffle with cold syrup. The waffle is undercooked and gross.

I’m officially done. Five years ago Clarke’s was wonderful. But now it has sunk to low levels of service. In the past few months I’ve visited or ordered online (via Grubhub) from Clarke’s at least four times. First time was online — and the order was wrong.
Okay, I’ll give them another chance. Went in to eat, and the order was wrong again — AFTER it took over an hour to arrive.
«This can’t be the Clarke’s I knew from when I first lived in the city, can it? Maybe it was just bad luck. I’ll try again.»
Ordered via Grubhub again. Two hours later no food. Called and was hung up on with a rude: «Sorry, we don’t want anything.» As if I was a telemarketer. What? Called again — same result. Ended up leaving my apartment and walking down the street to hear them say: «Oops, sorry. Your order was stuck in the printer and no one noticed.» No one noticed a half-​printed order in the printer for two hours. Okay.
Cancelled my order and walked down to Al’s Beef because I didn’t want to wait another hour for food.
Last night, after two months of not ordering from Clarke’s — I ordered again and the food arrived correctly! Unfortunately, the food arrived late and it was cold. Whatever.
I’m done.

I’ve only ever been here pretty late after a night out, but even in such a state when I think that pretty much everything tastes amazing, Clarke’s still leaves a lot to be desired.
It is a typical diner that serves typical diner food, but somehow all of the flavor seems to be sucked out of everything I’ve ever ordered here. I’ve never been truly satisfied with anything that I’ve eaten here.
On the other hand though, I’ve always received great service here. This continues to amaze me because I can only imagine the drunk antics the staff must put up with on an almost nightly basis.

We went here before a show at the Vic. We git a perfect table for people watching in front. I ordered waffles with strawberries and whip cream and sausage and my husband got a patty melt. The waffle and sausage were great. I enjoyed it so much. The patty melt was just okay. I consider myself to be a patty melt expert so I know a good one when I taste it! The service was just okay. Our waitress kind of forgot about us. I would still come here again.

If this was review was for service alone, the rating would be one star. It started it out decent but when we finished our meals the server asked if we want dessert and we said we’d think about for a few minutes. She literally never came back to our table. We joked she was maybe on break but then we actually saw her leave as she passed by our window outside. I caught the attention of another server and she then took care of us.
The food is your typical diner food, not great but not bad. I had a bacon and cheese omelette with pancakes. Omelette was dry but the pancakes were good. I finished off my meal with a delicious chocolate milkshake, weird combo I know, but it was just what I wanted.
I’d go back because it wasn’t very expensive and it was a good place to catch up with a friend I hadn’t seen in quite some time.

The Micro Mini breakfast is great. Two eggs and ½ meat. It comes with choice of pancakes, toast or english muffin. Oh… a side of potatoes comes with it, too.
For a guy that is eating paleo, two eggs with a side of meat is perfect. I asked for no potatoes and no toast… and I get a side of fruit. I was a little annoyed that I got an up charge for the fruit replacement (I gave up pancakes or toast or english muffin AND the potatoes) and I had to pay .99 more for fruit? I think if I’m giving up a carb choice AND potatoes I should get fruit as a free substitute).
Alas, that’s not how it worked out, but the service was good and attentive. It’s breakfast food and it’s good. We have only been here for breakfast so can’t comment beyond.
We came here two days in a row for breakfast. It’s not extraordinary, but it’s quite good. If you stay at City Suites, like we do, and you want something beefier than the continental breakfast served up daily, which is great perk!, walk across the street to Clarke’s for a nice breakfast.

I’ve walked by Clarke’s many times over the years, but I’ve never stopped. Needing a place for breakfast on Saturday, a friend wanted to go here, so the introduction to Clarke’s was made.
This place isn’t fancy. Nooooo siiiirr. You want fancy, go somewhere else. The booth we sat at had been patched up by duct tape more than a few times, and the flooring and décor was somewhat outdated. Still. sometimes these are the best places to eat.
I took a recommendation and tried the farmer’s skillet. My error was going for the organic egg whites rather than the real eggs. The veggies were delicious, but the egg whites really took away from the dish. Honestly, this dish could have easily fed 2 people, and I had to stop about halfway through because I was stuffed.
Clarke’s is the type of diner that’s been around for ages and I’m sure does a great late night business after the bars close. The place wasn’t busy at all when we arrived, and the service was great for us. Food came out fast, coffee was always hot and filled to the top of the cups, and the check came out promptly.
Three stars because of the décor and the need to do some freshening up inside, but the food was solid.

Well this was a last resort for brunch because wherever we were going to go was packed.
TAKE NOTE: based on the service, friendly-​ness, cleanliness, and overall atmosphere, this place would be a 2. There were none of those things but the other food was OK. Not the best and not the worst.
HOWEVER I had the magical honor of enjoying the most amazing plate of pancakes my mouth has ever experienced… Come, take a journey…
So I’m perusing the menu, thinking I just going to get my go-​to over easy eggs, toast, bacon and hash browns, classic, but the menu is so large I have to read it all over. Also, I am sick of myself eating the same crap all the time… take an adventure Lauren, an adventuuuuuuureeeeee.
I get to the pancakes page and woah, there’s a lert of cherces (lot of choices), lots of potential pancakes. And I’m more of a waffle kind of gal so not usually interested. But one flavor in particular catches my eye… Cinnamon Bun Pancakes. I’m sorry, what was that? Pure bliss on a plate? Yes, I want that.
We probably waited an hour and we were starving but when those plates rolled out, I think the whole diner was checking my p’cakes out. Three massive p’cakes with cinnamon swirled in the middle and glazed with white gooey icing. nirvana.
I took one small bite of this savory meal and almost pulled a «When Harry Met Sally» right there at the table. It was that incroyable. And the other couple we were eating with was so jealous, so jelly. My husband was incredibly happy because he knew I wasn’t going to be able to finish them all and the rest would be his. Muhaha
Moral:The restaurant sucks BUT GET THE FUGGIN’ CINNAMON PANCAKES!!!

Clarke’s is unpretentious diner food. You wouldn’t take your date here, but if your date was going really well, you could end up cuddling in a booth here after the bars shut down.
Unfortunately, some of the booth seats are ripped.
But that’s part of the charm?
I ordered a grilled chicken breast sandwich with buffalo sauce. The breast had a lot of connective tissue goin’ on, so I wasn’t a fan of that. Also, the sauce just sort of dribbled everywhere. It didn’t adhere to the breast.
The steak fries were fairly tasty once I threw salt on ‘em.
On a return trip, I ordered the buffalo chicken burger and loved it. So… yay!
Clarke’s is run down and tired-​looking, but so’s your mom and she’s a pretty good cook. Places like this are a necessary part of any neighborhood.

Je suis allez manger chez Clarke’s par hasard avec des amis, par jour de fête, c’était bondé mais le personnel a été efficace «Nous vous réservons une table pour 5, revenez dans 15min»
15min plus tard nous revenons, on nous reconnaît et on nous place, plutôt génial et là on se dit «Waouw ! Ca commence bien !»
Et ensuite, j’ai pu manger l’un des MEILLEURS burgers que j’ai eu la chance de manger à Chicago, un cheeseburger au bacon superbement préparé !
Un ami à moi n’a pas eu exactement ce qu’il avait commandé, rien de grave, on lui change son assiette et n’attends que 3min top chrono pour avoir ce qu’il avait demandé !
Un endroit où aller manger absolument !

I recently was in the Central Lakeview neighborhood, so I thought I’d check out this restaurant that has been there for decades. I had stopped in there about 12:30pm; the place was pretty much empty. Out of this large restaurant, only five tables were being used, I thought I came on an off day.
The restaurant needs a little updating. The menu is pretty decent with breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. Basically, something for everyone. The server gave me a few minutes to review the menu. I finally decided on the BLT with fries and coke to drink. After placing my order, I had checked into Unilocal and started to read the reviews. With all of the reviews, I knew I would be able to give a honest review.
After a little longer expected time, my meal finally arrived. That was the last time I saw the server. The first thing I noticed was the mushy tomatoes between the lettuce and bacon. The sandwich as a little dry since there wasn’t any mayo on it or a side cup of it on the plate. I had then tasted the steak fries. Even adding salt, the fries were still bland. I’m glad ketchup helped to cover up the blandness. I had eaten about three-​fourths of this meal before I had pushed it aside. The server came out of nowhere; I wonder where she was hiding?
Gave me the bill and left. Luckily, I had enough cash with me and I left. On the way home, I noticed that horrible film of bad food in my mouth. I couldn’t wait until I got home to brush my teeth. Maybe, the only time to visit this place is after a night of drinking.
I am no rush to return to this restaurant. Sorry.