Louie’s

A friend recommended this place to us and I have mixed feelings. The entrance is to the left, not labeled or anything. There is a small room to play slots in and then you walk into the restaurant/​bar. We walked in and all 4 staff members looked right at us and just continued on in the empty bar. No greeting, nothing. The lady behind the bar was loudly discussing her family in prison and on drugs. $ 13 for a large pizza– you can’t beat that… and it was pretty good! Ask for a sprite and they bring you a can though… :-(
Unfortunately, the service was too awful for me to want to come back. And the bleach smell coming from the bathroom was unappetizing. Maybe if the staff was a little friendlier and faster to refill the vase of water, I would consider coming back.

I’ve been coming here for twenty-​seven years. It’s one of my favorites restaurants of all time. It’s the best neighborhood joint ever! Great drinks, incredible food, old school atmosphere. Daily specials, good pizza, great sandwiches, homemade salad dressings (the house Italian or garlic are the best) and the best breadsticks you’ll ever eat. Do not miss: lasagna, chicken Parmesan, devil (or angel) on horseback with real bacon, all you can eat fried chicken on Sunday! They also do a Bloody Mary bar on Sunday afternoon. ICONIC!

I took my daughter here last night to share my memories with her. Her dad and I ate here frequently when we were dating and first married.
They did not disappoint! My daughter ordered soup (chicken dumpling) that was wonderful. She considers herself somewhat of a soup connoisseur — it’s the staple of her diet — and is very picky about what she likes. It was a hit and she brought a cup home for lunch today. Then ate it for breakfast.
I ordered my favorite chicken parmigiana. I wasn’t disappointed! Crunchy without being burnt or greasy, a generous topping of cheese, and sauce that didn’t taste like it came out of a jar.
And the garlic breadsticks were the best! Warm and light, buttered, with just a hint of garlic. They were tasty dipped in the soup and after mopping up my sauce.
In honor of my dad, I gave them four instead of five stars because he couldn’t get meat sauce the last time he was there. :p

Had a great late lunch or very early dinner here! The restaurant is very lovely, a bit dark and intimidating when first walking in… however the food and service was fantastic! The size of the portions was way more than one can do in a sitting… to go box is a must at the beginning of the meal!!!

I hate to do this but gotta give it one star. Sat for 2 hours and service was terrible. Food came out cold. Couldn’t get any service. Not sure what the owner/​manager was doing but someone made a huge staffing mistake. I’ll give it one more yet since there aren’t many options in the area, but wow, huge disappointment.

Loved this place. Family owned, old school. The breadsticks were really good, I dipped them into the garlic dressing for more deliciousness. Fried chicken was hands down the best I’ve ever had. The Reuben was ok but I wouldn’t get it again. They have a lot of craft beers to choose from which was a nice touch.

We dined at Louie’s tonight for cozy dinner of lasagna, walleye, the most delicious balsamic dressing, dynamite marinaro sauce and a great local beer brewed in Waukegan. The service was good, the warm garlic bread perfect as we came in from the cold. Wish we would have known about the Sunday brunch Bloody Mary specials earlier today… the Blackhawks won and we caught the tiebreaker on the big screen behind the bar. A good time was had by all. Next time I’ll save room to try the carrot cake cupcake!

Great perch sandwiches and they poured some strong drinks however the staff seemed a little stretched, also, be prepared to be sitting real close to the next table, like hey-​you-​gonna-​eat-​that kind of close. Not too bad over all

The bread sticks are amazing. The owners are super friendly and we order pizza all the time. Thank you for the great service!

Wish I could give this place 0 stars but it’s generous to even give them one. Firstly, Louie’s staff needs a HUUUUUGE class on customer service, starting with either reenforcement of appropriate attitude and treatment towards customers, and being considerate. I was here with my wife for dinner a little close to closing time (about an hour and a half away from closing) just to catch a bite before going back to Wisconsin. We were seated by our waiter, who was a high school age girl who sat us down unenthusiatically, handing us our silverware in the same manner. Few minutes after receiving our menus, we were ready to order. I choose to have the lasagna and my wife chose a simple house pasta.
While waiting for our meals our waitress and a few of her fellow servers were having a inappropriate conversation about wanting to leave right away, and what they would do outside of work, all the while my wife and I were sitting there trying not to fee awkward the entire time, because of them and the owners as well. Any how, we received our meals, and my lasagna was very dry, the sauce tasted like it came out of a can, and the meat just wasn’t spectacular either. My wife’s meal was also shockingly bland.
How can you mess up simply pasta?
The prices were quite steep to and not worth it considering the quality of the food and service. I left, paid for our meals, and won’t ever be coming back again. Even before then, I remember having horrible experiences with picking up a pizza from here. The deaf guy, whoever he is, was extremly rude, and gave my cousin the middle finger and wanted him out of there.
All in all, I won’t be coming back here ever again. Sucks because this used to be a childhood memory of mine, eating with an old friend back when I was in middle school. Oh well.

FOUR STARS: this is a wonderful, family — owned restaurant. The food is good, well — prepared, and very reasonably priced. What it lacks in ambience it makes up for in charm. It is easy to root for a place like this, and the Patterson family who owns it.
MISSING FIFTH STAR: Our waitress wasn’t super pleasant. Since it was our first time visiting, we had questions about the menu. She wasn’t particularly forthcoming.
WILL WE GO BACK? Yes!

Nice place, my dad loves it here.

I’ve been here for years and can’t believe I haven’t found this earlier! Everything is good!

I, too grew up near Louie’s. Fond memories. I always loved their giant Greek salads with beets, kalamata olives, red onion and feta, but when they started to skimp I just started buying their dressing and did the rest on my own. Last week though, I ordered the salad again and found that it seems to have gotten a much needed makeover! Lettuce is bite sized (!), olives are finally pitted, and they are more generous with the feta. Great job Louie’s!

I found this place by accident while I was out running. I saw that their parking lot was full and it looked like the kind of place/​diner/​dive I’d like to try. As it turns out…
Louie’s is an awesome little place!
Menus selection is short and to the point, but their food is good.
Definetly, worth checking out!

What happened to Louie’s? Ordered carry out: 2 lasagnas and a spaghetti with meatball. The lasagnas were completely dried out and tough! It tasted like it was made more than a week ago! Yuck!!! I tasted my sons spaghetti and it tasted like a cigarette butt! Gross! Even the bread sticks were dried out! We hadn’t ordered from Louie’s in the past 9 – 12 months, and boy has the quality tanked! Very disappointing! Many fond memories of this place where the owner used to hand out free candy after your meal as a kid… Too bad!

While in town for the fiancé’s Navy graduation, we found this gem. We were looking for a local spot, with local people, and good food. We found it. I have not had such good chicken parm since I left New York years ago. We even got an order to go for my friend who was back at the hotel, and they were very generous with their portions and wrapped it up nicely. Our waiter was polite, fast, and efficient. Everyone was very polite and courteous, shaking the fiancé’s hand, congratulating him, or thanking him for his service. It meant a lot.
Space is rather limited. We got there a bit early, so we had no trouble getting seated, but by the time we left the place was utterly packed. So, you may want to call ahead.
It reminds me of the good, old fashioned family owned places back in NY. I loved it. We will be stationed here for the next six to nine months, and I am sure it is going to become one of our regular spots.

This is a cool old place. It is all paneled and retro and the people who work there are very very friendly. I would stop in again just for the charm and I’d probably try one of their pizzas for grins and giggles.
For lunch, I had a sandwich that was toasted with roast beef, bacon, tomato and cheese. It was quite tasty and came with an interesting slaw that was vinegar based. It also came with their homemade chips which were quite good.
Christopher had their beef noodle soup, which I tasted. It was a nice hearty soup and had a good flavor. I brought some home for Mom and she liked it a lot, in fact, she finished it in one sitting which is rare for her. He also had a pasta dish with Alfredo sauce, which was advertised as coming with fresh vegetables. Unfortunately, the vegetables consisted of mushrooms and Christopher hates shrooms, so the dish was a bit of a let down.
Our lunch companion, Jack P. had a Chicken Parmesan sandwich which i gather from his review that he thoroughly enjoyed. I would say that apart from Christopher’s pasta dish, everything else was a solid hit.
It was Valentine’s day (and also Jack Benny’s birthday, which is what brought us to Waukegan) and our waitress was sweet enough to bring us a plate of homemade brownies to celebrate the day. Louie’s the kind of place that makes you feel right at home.
I’d say this place is 3 ½ stars and worth a stop in if you are in Waukegan, just kinda pass on the pasta Alfredo.

4.5 stars. I’m taking away ½ because I’m not a fan of their sandwiches, a bit too saucy and heartburn inducing for me. Other than that…
Louie’s is a great hole-​in-​the-​wall, family restaurant in Waukegan. I try to swindle my friends into visiting every time I come to town. Louie’s has my favorite fried chicken, thin crust pizzas, breadsticks (!!!), and Greek salad. I’m not quite sure what they put in that dressing, but it’s probably from Zeus himself its so good. I’ve also heard great things about their «poor man’s lobster» and perch.

I hadn’t been to Louie’s in some time. I wrote this update to assure people that nothing of note has changed other than they now have two beers on tap.
It was my companion’s first visit and she said was delighted with our lunch; she was upset about something that happened at work but after spending a half hour at Louie’s, she said she could feel her blood pressure had lowered.
I can’t imagine a more sincere endorsement.
Note: I learned after we left that owner George Patterson had suffered a fatal heart attack in November. I am sorry to hear of his passing (far too young) and he will be missed. He was a true «local character» and a warm and friendly man.