Bishop’s Chili

This is the best chilli I have ever eaten in my life. You have to like it a bit spicy… but not hot. They have different sauces to make it ur choice. I read about this place in the paper years ago. Family run… family recipe. Loved it.

This is a great place to eat some great home made chili. Their vinegar chili sauce is awesome on their chili. Some like their other hot sauces. I liked my chili with the spaghetti noodles with cheese n onions. Some like their chili with just oyster crackers. Awesome place for great chili.
The atmosphere is a bar setting. But the chili is what they are known for
You can buy quarts of homemade chili as well.
Yum

I almost want to review the reviews!
Lets put this in perspective, the Western Suburbs are kind of a cultural and culinary void. Sure there are exceptions, but honestly it is a bastion of corporate pandering to a middle America that is so deprived of enjoyment they will order bread sticks with their pizza and call it a day.
Enter Bishops Chili, been there for years, family owned and operated. Their Chili won’t win the big Texas cook off, but it tastes like my Dads, and possibly your Dads, and your friends dads, and that is awesome. There is a scruffy ex-​Roadie Scotsman slinging suds and if you can slow him down enough to tell you a story hang on tight. The prices are as cheap as you will find, the place is a bit understated (that comment is understated), but there is a level of honesty here, honesty that no corporate dump can ever provide. So if you want «proper Gumbo» and you head East to Pappadeaux’s on Rt-​83 and you are disappointed after dropping $ 40, go fuck yourself. If you want an honest bowl of chili with a beer, tell Scotty I said hi.
PS, yes beans are in chili, you chili snobs can fuck off. I am almost fifty years old and my father put beans in chili, no he wasn’t from Texas or any other god forsaken wind swept red neck haven, none of that matters, if something is done enough overtime it becomes a thing, now go back to kindergarten and learn how to wine less.

Just had my first bowl of Bishop’s in about a decade, and it’s like it was yesterday. A solid, very tasty chili that gets better as you go. I’m happy I found them again. It isn’t gourmet chili or anything, but some things never change. I’ll be back.

First off, let me say real chili does NOT have beans. Any international competetion this is rule #1. This here at Bishops is more like a bean soup. Hold off on the beans and throw more meat in. As for flavor, well there really is not much there. Like others have mentioned, does taste a little dirty. I could not imagine eating this on a hot dog, because the chili is so watery, the bun would probably fall apart.

What I would like to know is famous in what category? Famously horrible? I am really sorry to say this but the chili was awful-​it tasted like dirt. I went with my friend and they got a hot dog and it seemed like the food was just microwaved. The food was so bad that my friend and i agreed to go get pizza after we left. The bar seems like fun but I don’t trust the food.

Bishops Chili has been a around for about since the 20’s. When I was little, my dad used to take me to Bishops and we used to have a bowl of chili and watch tv. Yep, I would sit at the bar with him.
That being said, I am used to the taste, and consistency

I had a bowl of Chili and it was really good. The atmosphere was great and the bartender was really nice. Grab a beer and catch a game. I love the fact that they use oyster crackers and the shredded cheese is really good. Cash only but they do have an ATM. I will be coming back if I ever get back in this area.

Food was poor at best. Ugh… chili was horrible. But there are different types of chili’s and this one lost my vote on both the flavor and texture. It had the proper ingredients in my opinion. Meat, beans, onions and sauce. However the flavor was weird like nothing I’ve had before.
I got the bowl of chili and a polish. The bar tender is the only employee in the building and keeps running into the kitchen so I know she’s the cook too.
My polish seems microwaved and then dropped onto a grill quick to give it a few marks. Bun was soggy…
The gardenia and jalapeño come in little containers pre packaged and cold out of the fridge.
Just a weird meal that I didn’t like.
However it gets 3 stars for having root beer on tap, and also a cozy dive bar feel. One of my favorite atmospheres is the dive bar and this has it totally. Neighborhood feel, lots of old timers around the bar and locals. Just missing good food…
Sorry bishop’s but thumbs down on the food but nice work on the old school feel and long time business you run. People obviously like it so my suggestion is to try it yourself and review it.

Is was a dive bar with a rude bartender. E chili was overrated and the crowd your usual overages Dupage County bore. The televisions were small and made watching sports not comfortable along with the antique seating. There are numerous gambling machines but aside from that there appears nothing that has been added to this establishment in a very long time. The chile and brats were cheap and bad quality.

I really have no idea what the big deal is; maybe the people of Westmont never ate chili before… The chili was way too watery — the spoon kept splashing my face and table with, guess what? Chili water! I guess I prefer a thicker style, but who knew that a thin chili was also available? For chili mac, they serve their chili over cut spaghetti noodles… More like chili spaghetti! If you’re into that — I’m not!
I found it very expensive for what you get. $ 3.50 for a cup. They call it a «bowl» but it is a shallow «bowl.» Don’t forget about all the chili water that comes with it! After I quickly finished the first, the bartender asked if I was ready for a second one…
I was gonna tell her that I was ready to go to Wendy’s and get a bowl togo. But I kept it down…

Let’s see… as far as beer goes, the pitchers are large and cheap which is amazing. The food here sucks, though. Sorry. The chili was pretty watery and the «raw» onions were sort of slimy and pretty gross. I also had a hot dog with my bowl of chili and it was pretty much the worst hot dog I have ever eaten — including the ones I microwave at home. This tasted microwaved for one thing… there was KETCHUP on it (gross), and the only other thing on it was mustard. I mean, really? I assumed it would be Chicago style. When he asked me what I wanted on it I responded «everything» not thinking that it could possibly be served with only ketchup and mustard!!! Crazy! I would come back here for beers at some point if I was in the area, but I am not eating here again. I would rather go somewhere else and pay more.

Chili and beer, what more can you ask for! Maybe a tamale?! Yup, that’s how I like it. Great lunch spot.

Extremely limited menu. Doesn’t matter, the chili is good. and that’s what you’re there for.

Four stars for nice hot chili served quickly. This is exactly what I would expect from a place like this– friendly and inexpensive service in a five-​bar setting. The chili was tasty– I enjoy it with cheese and onion but they offer sour cream, hot giardinera, and jalapeños as well. Recommended!

LOVED the atmosphere here when we stopped in one night for some chili to-​go. It’s a total dive type bar that is a bit dark and def old school. There was one bartender/​to-​go person/​waitress in the whole place and she handled it amazingly! And she was super friendly despite being the only one to do everything! Awesome!
We ordered chili, cornbread and some toppings like cheese and gardiniera and the price was super reasonable. Once we got home, which was a good 20 minutes away, it was still hot and ready for us to eat! Now, to be totally honest, I kind of don’t know what all the hype is all about. The chili had a «dirt» type taste, if anyone knows what I mean when it comes to some chilis. I think that flavor comes from the dark chili powder, because I bought a dark one one time and it had that dirty taste. Not pleasant. =[ And the cornbread was pretty dry and crumbly, nothing I will be craving any time soon! So if I had to just rate the food, I would def give it 2 stars, but they get that extra star for the nostalgic feel of the bar. Loved that. But unfortunately I will not be returning for their famous chili, I’m just not that into it.

Bishop’s Chili is a small neighborhood bar and eatery located in Westmont just off of Cass avenue. I decided to stop in on a cold January evening and give this place a try. Once you walk in the door there’s a large bar with a TV set up. Most of the other patrons apparently come here to drink rather than to try the items on its menu.
Shortly after seating myself at the bar I was given a paper menu and quickly settled on their #1 combo which is Chilli with a hot dog and a bag of chips. I was asked what I wanted on my hot dog and found out they only have a small number of ingredients and settled on mustard, onions, relish and sport peppers. Almost immediately after ordering my chili was brought over.
The chili had a nice flavor with a thicker broth than a lot of others. Since this is only the second chili place I’ve review I’ll compare it to another chili place I reviewed some months ago, Lindy’s chili. This chili is spicier but has a less rich flavor to it. I’d say the quality of the chili is about equal to that of Lindy’s, this one is a little less watery and a little more spicy.
Soon thereafter my hot dog was brought out. This was a skinless dog with meat on the inside that was white. The hot dog flavor itself reminded me of many grocery store brands. Due to the lack of condiments available there wasn’t much to comment on with regards to the assembly of the dog itself. The bun was soft and was a standard non-​poppy seed bun. Overall this was a very poor hot dog. If I were rating Bishops strictly on the dog alone this would be a one star review.
Overall my opinion of Bishop’s is that it would be a great place to get chili to go, but that you don’t want to risk the hot dog. I’ve noticed they have chili dogs and polishes as well which might wind up being better. The fact that the Hot dog was of such poor quality and that this is #1 on their combo list brought the score down. This is clearly a key item on their menu and it’s awful. The chili here is great, but avoid the hot dog. I give it two stars.

Definitely a Chicagoland Landmark. Four stars was more for atmosphere than for the chili.
Bar itself is great, dingy looking shot and beer bar manned by a freindly but «take no shit» barmaid. Classic U shaped bar with Chili cooking in one corner, pro Cub banners and huge Old Style signs. Tables off to one side with grainy multiple Xeroxed menus and condiment stands on them. You can tell the regs as they are hunched over their bowls, slurping their chili’s, oblivious to the world around them. One person brought his son in with him for his «rite of manhood». Hey, I think Junior would prefer a brothel but it’s your kid…
The chili? It was OK but it had this bizarre aftertaste that didn’t quite agree with me. Not sure what it was. Personally, I’d come back for a few brews, not the chili. Just me I guess.

Lived up to the hype and the sign… then got a bonus with their frankfurter… not a crappy hot dog but a well made sausage that complimented the chili well. The atmosphere was small and quaint but I would definitely spend a lunch time in this cave having a beer and catching up my personal budget. Well worth the effort stopping here!

Cash only!
I went to this place due to rave reviews from my friends so I went. This place is a homely place with many regulars from the area.
The décor could be updated. Old tables and chairs populate the restaurant and a makeover would improve the experience.
Chili is very good and definitely ask the staff what to eat if it is your first time there. The chili is a bit spicy but not overwhelming. You can definitely taste great chili here. Alcohol is also served here.
I will be returning.