Bat 17 in Illinois

"In the area for a visit and random drop into Bat 17. While it was a little empty, it’s also break for the students at Northwestern. The wait staff was super friendly and made some great recommendations. She Antares it’s usually busy when more students are in session and on Friday nights. I can only imagine. The burger was huge. Cooked as ordered. Very nice. The pastrami was good as well. I think I should have ordered the burger. The potato skins with bacon were delicious. Give it a try!"

"This is a very popular restaurant in Evanston and it recently expanded in size to accommodate more customers. Thankfully it is now less crowded and an overall better dining experience. On our visit in July of 2025, it was the night of the crosstown classic, and since this is a great place to watch sports, we were worried it would be too crowded. But it wasn't and we were seated immediately even without a reservation. I didn't get pictures of all of the food, but all of the dishes were terrific. We got some burgers, some sandwiches, and also a vegetarian salad. They have a very good selection of vegetarian menu items. So if you're near Evanston and looking for a sports bar with great food, this is the place to eat!"

"My Partner and I eat here quite often due to the consistency and quality of the food. All the bread used is locally sourced from an amazing bakery and the produce and meats meet a high bar as well. Almost anything you get here will be of high quality. Some meals in particular I recommend is the California Dreaming (Scooby doo sized sandwich, the RS is big but the FS is HUGE), the portobello sandwich (which has a great marinade), their salads and any of their burgers. Oh yeah their sweet potatoes fries are to die for as well. Seriously, this food is delicious and is worth every dime. Go check it out if you’re looking for a good local Evanston deli / burger joint. Update 3/31/2035 Used to come here all the time when i lived in the area and adored this place. I came back while in the area to check out their new location and the renovations look amazing. It used to give college sport bar but now they really snazzed up the place, as the interior is gorgeous and it feels more like a sit down restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, they still have plenty of TVs and a bar if you want to watch games here. I got a classic, as I started with the pig skins. You can never go wrong with these - The skins of the potatoes are so crispy and they are loaded with toppings. The BBQ sauce and ranch that come with them compliment them well. The K2 burger was good - the meat was juicy but a small complaint is that there could’ve been more toppings to match the patty. The bacon was extra crispy and i’ll give them some points for that. The sweet potato fries are waffle style and are great. The staff was attentive and so friendly. After awhile they started i think open night mic or a singer was performing - not 100% sure. While in concept I love this - live music is wonderful for the community. In this instance, the mixing was pretty rough and the girls microphone was way too loud. We finished our food and we’re going to chill a bit but it got to the point where we decided to leave due to the issues. So while I hope they continue this, the sound really needs to be tested beforehand. (This was last month i dined in so this could’ve been fixed by now). I appreciate the update Bat17 has done and will continue coming back here for a reliable meal in the future."

"5+5+5 5 for ambiance 5 for friendliness 5 for value We were driving by and we saw this location. We decided to stop in for some lunch, it was an excellent choice to make. My wife had the Carnegie Reuben, I had The pretzel boy burger. Anyway, the burger was quite substantial. They said 10 oz but it seemed like more. The Gouda coleslaw was interesting, the fries were very crispy and not greasy. I definitely appreciated that. We just had soft drinks, we were driving and didn't want to have an issue if we were stopped. The bathrooms were spotless, and that's always an excellent sign. If the bathrooms are clean so is the kitchen is the rule of thumb. If the bathroom is dirty, leave and go somewhere else. The staff was very engaging, the food was delicious, the ambience was inviting, not overly bright, and plenty of screens to watch a game. I'm also putting this on my sports bar list and burger list."

"Excellent service, 4 popular rotating drafts. Large selection of canned and bottled beer ."

"Good bar food and atmosphere. Extensive menu. Like the options as sides for sandwiches and burgers - something for everyone. A few dishes we ordered for a group of seven never made it to the table but what we had was very good."

"I used to be a regular at the original Bat location 15 years ago. I’m glad to see they’re still around and serving some of my favorite dishes. However the atmosphere at this location isn’t quite what it used to be. The bar almost feels like an afterthought where before it used to be the center of the place. No more beer towers? Classy jazz on the speakers? Bat 17 we hardly knew ye. Just feels a bit overly classy and boomer focused now versus what it was originally. Still love the food though and would still recommend. Here’s to another 15+ years."

"Bat 17 has seriously upgraded with its new spot. The space is huge, modern, and way more comfortable than the old place. The staff? Spot on. They’re quick to get you what you need, no questions asked. I swapped the bun for an extra patty and an egg. My wife can’t get enough of that legendary K2 burger and the waffle fries. The beer and spirit selection is on point. Many local selections on draft and cans. You’ll keep coming back for the burgers, but it’ll be the fries that make you forget all about your diet."