Tilli’s

Not bad, the brunch was good, but nothing I’d write home about.

Apparently, the till at Tilli’s has stopped operating. I don’t know whether or not this is permanent. But the house was all dark on a Friday night.

great outdoor space, they also a few tv screens if you want to hangout and watch games, but the food is not good. They really need to revamp the kitchen.
I would go there if I were out drinking, but for food I would go someplace else.

2.5
Fabulous patio, not-​so-​fabulous food & service.
Came here with my handsome date before a play at Steppenwolf down the street. Enjoyed a few $ 5 specialty cocktails (lemonade/​tea something) and took our time ordering because we had a lot of time to kill before our show.
I ordered the pad thai (why? I don’t know why… should have stuck with the turkey burger, which did look good, by the way — I was eyeing it up at a nearby table after my noodles had arrived). The pad thai was okay — just okay. Strong fish sauce flavor and a little soupy. My date ordered a steak dish, which looked kinda small — he thought it was okay too. Nothing special here.
Stars got knocked down for the service. Our waiter seemed very disinterested in any kind of general friendliness and kind of shafted us toward the end — we didn’t see him for a while, then when he reappeared, he was ignoring us and we couldn’t catch his attention.
The patio is great, but our food and service was just not that good. I’d probably only seek this place out again if/​when I go to Steppenwolf again, simply because of the convenient location.

As near as I can tell, Tilli’s is a 3 star go-​to spot whether you want a drink or an afternoon lunch. There’s a lot to like about Tilli’s: Plenty of outdoor seating, great service and reasonable prices.
The biggest Con was the food just being average. The Nicoise Salad was 3 stars like my overall rating for Tilli’s.

Nice vibe!
Great outdoor patio, great open inside!
The food is alright. (Not nuts about the menu) But, my husband loves their muscles and craves them all the time.
If you like to people watch and not be crushed, I think this is a great place for that. (Maybe THAT is why my husband likes this place… I’m «onto you», Tilli…)
If you want to actually eat, go somewhere else. (Unless you like muscles.)

Never thought I’d find somewhere I disliked more than Applebee’s…
I’ve been to Tilli’s before and wasn’t so miserable, but my last trip really solidified the fact that this place is marginal at best.
The only redeeming quality here was the $ 2 mimosa. Now, if we could have gotten service, it would have been even nicer…
Service was horrendous (1), no one came to greet us after we got seated though tables around us were getting served. Finally someone showed up — and I have to give him kudos for noticing we were there, but seriously?
Atmosphere was about a 4, but it’s much better late in the evening out on the patio.
The food was a zero, but since the mimosa and bloody mary were good, I’ll give it a 1. Nothing had any taste. How can you possibly make something taste bland that has bacon and cheese? Gross. And guacamole shouldn’t be brown when I receive it. Now, I know it does turn brown, but I really think it should show up on my plate as a green color.
Bathrooms were a 3. They were fine, nothing wonderful.
Value was not great aside from the brunch drink specials. Had my food tasted like something, I would have been ok paying $ 10 for it, but considering I only ate it because I was starving even though there was zero flavor, I will have to go with a 2.
Sorry Tilli’s — I might be back for a drink, but that’s definitely it!

It was Friday night and I, along with a few co-​workers, had an invitation from a sales rep to blow off some steam and enjoy a few cocktails. Tilli’s was the bar of choice.
The bartender mixed some tasty drinks. We ordered some appetizers which were pretty good — calamari, hummus plate, mussels (which my co-​workers seem to love), beef and chicken skewers. Nothing extraordinary, but they hit the spot.
We were there kinda earlier so it was fairly empty. By 8pm, it filled up with a schwankier crowd.
This was the first time I had been there in a long time. I liked the place before — the atmosphere, décor, etc. I’m happy to report that the feeling remains. I’ll be definitely be back!

While it saddens me to have to take a star away from Tilli’s, my experience there for Sunday brunch was enough to stir my inner critic! I have been a fan of Tilli’s for a long time — I love their space; they have a great location with awesome outdoor seating and lots of options inside. Their menu has lots of good options.
Yesterday, I headed here for brunch mostly because their $ 4 bloody mary/​$ 2 mimosa deal is pretty hard to beat. It wasn’t terribly crowded or anything, but our server decided to really stink. (Not smell stink.) He took forever to greet us, forgot to mention a few ingredients in the omelet of the day (which I would have wanted left out); then claimed we couldn’t do a made-​to-​order omelet (obviously not true since they have all the ingredients).
We ordered our first round of bloody mary’s spicy, and then when our server asked if they were spicy enough the first time, we asked for a spicier second round, and those were less spicy than the first. (I take spicyness very seriously.) He never came by to ask how our food was, and we had to flag him (and another server) down to get what we needed.
Overall, the experience was pretty annoying — which is too bad, because I’ve always recommended Tilli’s to friends, but I don’t think I can anymore without a disclaimer.

I used to love coming here and would probably visit Tilli’s once every week or two. I think it was the outdoor patio that got me. You really can’t beat the patio on the summer or the cozy fireplace in the winter.
However, for the price of the food, it really is nothing spectacular. I have gotten the chopped salad several times, and am consistently disappointed as they use shredded lettuce. I know it’s my fault for ordering the same thing over and over again. but who uses shredded lettuce in a chopped salad? It makes it really hard to eat. I’ve had a few of the sandwiches as well, and they’re fine, but nothing great.
Fruity/​summer drinks are pretty expensive here and I think are way too sugary. But for the beer drinker. you really can never beat the $ 2 bud lite drafts (just make sure you specify draft, or they’ll bring you a bottle which somehow costs $ 4…). I’ll give it an extra star just for the $ 2 drafts.

Ive been here a couple times.
The place it self is pretty awsome. There is the fire place in the middle but the brick walls give it this raw attitude which is awsome. But I feel like there is something missing. Maybe soemthing to make it more memorable… some character of its own
the food is superb, onion soup, mussles, salads… mmmmm
the drinks however…
im sorry, i cant drink wine out a water cup. Its like a buzz kill.
Also they dont have mojitos??? its a pretty common drink. It also closes pretty early. I understand the kitchen maybe, but the bar should def. stay open. With the fire place and all, the «bar experience» could be that thing that draws people to come drink, especially in the winter/

The best thing about Tilli’s is the location and the fireplace. everything else is forgettable.
I begrudgingly went here for lunch the other week with a girlfriend. I have been to Tilli’s many times before and I never was very impressed.
I ordered the chili and a salad. It was fine. The service was fine. I had coffee which was fine.
There is just nothing special or outstanding about this place.

Met with a group for a «Beer Lunch» on a Friday after a morning of public service. We decided on this place because we had heard that they may change ownership.
The fireplace in the middle of the room was very nice, along with the exposed brick, it made it a very cozy afternoon. It must be a great place to spend a long winter afternoon.
I ordered the Thai Beef Salad, it was basically a beautifully seasoned steak with some lettuce on the side with some diced tomato. The marinade was phenomenal lots of cilantro, salt and lime with the same flavors in the dressing of the salad. It seemed more Mexican or more of a Margarita in influence than Thai. It was still very good and perfectly tender. I keep craving the beef and I don’t eat very much beef.
The beer around the table was plentiful and the cider I had was good. I enjoyed the afternoon there, but I’m sure that was more about the company, but the ambiance and the service helped. Afterward the rest of the party ended up furniture shopping. I hope they didn’t buy anything they would regret.

Meh is pretty much my feeling about this place. I try not to judge a place based strictly on the clientele but the overwhelming amount of chads, trixies, and mini chads and trixies in mongo-​strollers really just kind of ruins this place for me. That, and the one time our group was seated at the table directly in front of the fireplace. My god man, it was like eating on the sun!
The service here has been fine. Not amazing but definitely not bad. I’ve gotten a comped pint or two after hanging out for a while. The food is fine. Nothing extraordinary. I do like the look of this place though. The patio looks really nice but I’ve never actually eaten there.
Oooh — crazy story though. So I was there on a date about a year ago. The date excuses himself to the restroom. When he comes back, he tells me that there’s some guy in there bleeding all over the place b/​c he just cut his wrists in a suicide attempt. Say what? I tell him he’s bullshitting. Then in comes the ambulance and carry the dude out on a stretcher. NUTTINESS!

The name Tilli makes me think of a gray furry mouse in a cupcake apron. Lincoln Park makes me want to curl up in a fetal position and cry.
Besides that, what the hell were we doing in here? Seriously. It was bad enough being at Lumen, yes Lumen, so we decide to head down the road to redeem the night at THIS place? Mind you, it’s midnight and the place has maybe 10 people. All the patrons were from Elmhurst. One guy gave me a drink and said, «no worries, no roofies in this one sweetie.» His friend Tony was super tan with a bandana tied around his head and spiked hair.
Maybe 30 minutes passed by before we ran for the hills.

I’m bumpin’ Tilli’s up a bit…
Despite the almost laughable post-​derby crowd on Saturday… I had a great time. Yes, they were all dressed like Biff and Trixie… and falling all over the place drunk, but they were in good spirits.
Some points of interest:
Delerium: $ 8. Nice.
Goose Summertime: $ 3 pints, all the time. Nice x 2.
Chocolate martini: $ 8. Nice, but never again.
Lots of open air seating.
A tree full of white blossoms, with white lights.
Kings of Leon playing.
Chicken Curry Salad: Wonderful, actually. $ 10
Quesadillas: The worst I’ve ever had. Really.
So, basically I spent about…5 hours here. Despite my usual aversion to this area after 6pm, I enjoyed it. A lot. Great company, good service, decently priced drinks ($ 3 pints? seriously), white lights flitting through a blossomy tree, and some music I actually like at a volume I can still conduct convos through…
Cheers to second chances. And girls in large derby hats puking in the bathroom through their pearls.

I find the whole «Trixies, Chads» labels a bit old… plus I always wonder what the Trixies and Chads call the folks in Wicker Park, Uptown, Logan Square? I’d hate to think it, but in Lincoln Park you can be sure to always find the same thing in a lot of places. People.
I’ve been to this bar a few times and though I tend to not like the crowds, I do like the establishment. From the fire place in the winter to the outdoor seating in the summer time and the food is always a pleaser… so come here when it isn’t slammed and busy and enjoy the place as it should be enjoyed… without the regular clientele.

The food at Tilli’s is mediocre and overpriced. However, I will give them three stars. Here’s why.
They have one of the few fabulous [and LARGE] outdoor seating areas in my neighborhood. I live right down the street, and absolutely love having a restaurant with a patio nearby. Also, I’ve noticed signs tauting some pretty fantastic looking brunch drink specials, so I will definitely be taking advantage of that as this summer rolls around.

Attention all Mimosa Lovers: $ 2 Mimosas on Sat AND Sun!
I think the bartender thought my friends and I had a serious drinking problem. Between the 4 of us, we ordered 17 mimosas. Oops.
I was going to give this place 4 stars. However, there was a major mishap when we were trying to pay the bill. The final tab was $ 34. We handed him $ 30 in cash and asked him to put the balance on the credit card. He was a little confused, though, and thought we were actually handing him a $ 30 tip! Thus, he charged the full $ 34 on the credit card. Like, in what world would you get a $ 30 tip on a $ 34 bill? We are clearly NOT ballers. Ha. Minus one star.
Other than that, I enjoyed my experienced. We’ll just make sure to bring lotsa cash next time.

Rob L. said it first and I’ll repeat: not amazing but really not bad either.
One of my friend’s is a server here, so we occasionally drop in to support. It’s an especially nice scene in the spring/​summer, with the large windows that open up and the patio area. The food? Meh. But you can get chicken or beef satays for a $ 1.75 a pop.
Beer selection is okay (7 on tap), but I do usually order cocktails when I’m at Tilli’s knowing that they’ll be made with favorable alcohol to mixer proportions :) And of course, I’ve always been on the receiving end of fantastic service here (I know, I’m a bit partial).
The air does somewhat reek of a meat-​market extravaganza, but then again… consider the location.