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Belmont (Purple Express, Brown, Red)
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Man alive... Over 5 years ago, I lived like 1/2 block away from this awesome restaurant, before the city paid me to move off the block, so they could knock down all the buildings and expand the L tracks...
Boy, how I've missed their food over the years... A 24 hour diner with a quality menu is a thing to cherish nowadays... I was always especially fond of their cheeseburger, which was served on a tasty bun alongside some of the best steak fries in Lakeview...
Great for any time of the day, I would highly recommend grabbing a meal here next time you're in the area...
Pretty good food. I have been there a few times and the food has always been pretty good. Not great, not bad, just pretty good.
Decent atmosphere. It is kind of fun, they have this whole retro thing going for them that makes the whole experience more attractive.
Really bad milk shakes. The milk shakes were mostly milk and not very much ice cream... just not good, especially for almost 5$!
Great hours! Open 24 hours a day!
I dont know if I would choose to go back, the hours are great, but for the quality food I am not impressed, but at the same time not horrified.
More like Barfe's.
You might find a hair in your food, you might find a piece of plastic in your water...but you'll definitely find terrible service and crappy food.
I live a block away and drink heavily on the weekends, but I still can't bring myself to go in anymore.
The food is good when they get your order correct. However, that happens...sporadically at best.
10 time out of 10, one of us orders a skillet. 9 times out of 10, they bring us the omlet instead and we have to send it back.
Today I ordered an omlet with egg whites and easy on the cheddar - I asked for 1/2 as much as they usually put in. So instead I got extra cheese, and it wasn't cheddar...it was the nasty neon orange cheese whiz that looks like melted crayon.
I give it 2 stars - 1 star for the potatoes and 1 for the jumbo English muffins. You can do better.
Undercooked food, slow service, overpriced.
We had to send the food back twice. First she got our order wrong, then the omelet was undercooked - runny in the middle. Despite a half empty restaurant, the waitress was slow, and never came back to refill coffee or check on us. I've had better tasting food at a fast-food restaurant.
I think this place has gone downhill since they expanded. Why, in my day, they didn't serve mixed drinks, and the service was faster! We walked to school barefoot through the snow! etc. etc.
Seriously, though, I don't go here very much anymore because I hate waiting fifteen minutes for a table, ten minutes for the server to show up, twenty-five minutes for an order of potatoes, ten minutes for a refill, and however long for the check. I really got spoiled by the awesome staff that was there six or seven years ago. It isn't really the fault of the people who work there, all the time--as a former waitress I know there's no good way to work eight tables at once. Being understaffed is a management issue. Maybe it's changed since I was there last, a few months ago, but for now, I only go back for the North Shore potatoes since Pick Me Up is a quick walk away and almost never has a line to be seated.
Funny story: several years ago I was sitting by the window and saw a huge rat outside. I thought it was a dog at first, and it looked like it was trying to steal a bicycle.
Looking for a quick dinner on Saturday I wandered into Clarke's at about 7pm. My friend and I stood with a group of three people who had come in before us. Clarke's wasn't very busy, but it still took awhile for the hostess to come to the front to seat us. She asked them how many people were in the party in front of us, seated them, walked away, and never came back. We waited about ten minutes, and left. Seriously Clarke's, it's not 2am, you can't treat people like that yet.
Oh Clarke's...how I wish things between us would've never changed but like most things in life they did and I can't say I'm sorry for leaving you a drunken, slutty mess.
Like most, I've had my good and bad times here. When I think about it though, most of the good weren't because of the service but because of the people I was there with. The bottom line is that thier wait staff is horrible. The food is sub-par and the utensils? Don't even get me started on how dirty they are. Why do I come back? Nostalgia, but over the years I see myself here less and less.
One time, like most times here, I had bad service and there was a hair in my turkey burger so guess what? I didn't leave a tip. My waitress walked up to the table we had just vacated and lifted every plate and napkin to look for a nonexistent tip. She then followed us outside and gave us hell over it. She said I gave you my undivided attention and you didn't leave me anything? Her attention was far from acceptable and everytime we needed something we had to ask the busboy so guess who was handed a tip? She then went on to say that we should go to a fast food joints so we wouldn't have a chance to stiff the waitress. hahaha Note taken.
Standard diner fare.
City's BEST people watching.
(That "she" is a "he")
This place is just OK overall. No complaints about the food (it's hard to mess up pancakes and waffles) but as others have noticed the service is... glacial. Also, be warned that the lock in the men's bathroom is broken. It looks like part of the door was eaten by a small animal so there's no way to secure it. It's one of those with a urinal and a toilet and the toilet is pretty far away from the door so that can be problematic. If forced to use the toilet, probably best to talk to yourself constantly in a loud voice or cough often so nobody comes in.
I don't care what anyone says, I like this place.
I think the food here is pretty good...I love that it's open 24hrs and b/c I have such a soft spot for diners I can't possibly hate this place no matter how slow the service is...if you're in good company, who cares?
Okay. So Clarke's gets major points for being on a cool side of town, having a vegetarian friendly menu, and being a fun place to hang. On the other hand, with a cool side of town comes annoyingly drunk folk, overpriced food, stressed out servers, and music loud enough you can't talk over it. Eh. It is what it is.
Clarke's is a good place to grab a bit when I'm on the other side of town late at night, which appears to be fairly often. The food is hit or miss. I had the nachos two days apart and one day it was awesome, the other it sucked. They ran out of guac and forgot to put the veggie chili on it, etc., etc. so I think it depends on the night. Clarke's is about on par for the area, but prices are cheaper in Ukrainian Village at night. Oh well, maybe I should stop partying in Boystown, then, right?
It's 1 o'clock in the morning, it's cold and raining and the bar thing didn't work out as planned, so we're hungry. What to do? Answer: get off the red line at Belmont and there has to be something there that's open. That's how my wife and I ended up at Clarke's. So, considering the circumstances, I can't complain too much.
The place was dark and grimy looking and feeling, but the food was hot and greasy. Pretty much hit the spot at that moment. I had the patty melt, which was pretty tasty. The meat seemed of a better quality than fast food, but nothing special either. The bread was tasty and crisp while adding that proper bit of sourdough tanginess. My wife was pleased with the burger she ordered. The fries were also nothing special in terms of taste, but they were thick cut, piping hot and otherwise sufficient.
The service was fine until our waitress got a little overwhelmed by a large group that came in towards the end of our stay. We had to wait far too long for the check, but we probably could have flagged her down a little faster if need be.
I think the place is a little too pricey for what you get. Together, I think my wife and spent about $24 after tax and tip. Closer to $20 seems like where this place should fit in.
All in all, for 24-hour diner food, I can't really complain. I won't be back regularly I'm sure, but it's also nice to know it's here when it's needed.
What?! It's what time? You're hungry because you've been down the street living it up? And now you want to go somewhere to get something to eat, anything...well, darn it, the only place open that's kind of decent is this place called Clarke's and by-gosh, let's go.
Friday night was my first time here and it probably won't be my last considering I go out in the area quite a bit. The food was not that fantastic, but come on, it's a 24 hour diner that caters to those of us who forgot to eat before we drank. My spinach artichoke dip was ice cold, but the server did go microwave it for me, so...
It's okay, not great. It is what it is. For breakfast all day, sandwiches, and appetizers, all in the middle of a fun night, Clarke's does it for me...
A couple friends had recommended Clarke's to me and I supposed I just had to give it a try based on their word, even though the restaurant didn't look too appetizing from the outside (I know, don't judge a book by its cover!) and the menu didn't look anything out of the ordinary to me. But it was fairly busy and in a great location/area, so I thought, why not?!
I stuck to my usual safe bet of ordering an omlette and it did nothing to impress. It was edible and service wasn't bad either. Other than that, I've been to many other brunch locations that will statisfy my craving for some great omlettes, french toast or other creative dish! But if you're starving and need a quick fix, Clarke's is just the ticket!
The service is always terrible, the wait is always unnecessarily long, and the food has made a major decline since 2001 when I would eat there every weekend after going to shows at the old Bottom Lounge (R.I.P.) The last time I went there (hungover) I ordered the pancakes and they were so cold and disgusting I actually barfed. Sorry to paint such a vulgar picture, but this place is such a bummer. I miss the old Clarke's.
Decent diner fair, made much better with intoxication.
Totally satisfying as long as you stick to the normal diner stuff. Tacos? No no. Grilled cheese, burger, shake, fries? Yes yes. You have been warned!
And fyi there are a ton of 24 hour places in this neighborhood. Lots of people like Pick Me Up and Melrose, though Clarke's is probably (by a narrow margin) my favorite out of the bunch.
Good God, why didn't I read the reviews before coming here? I last visited this place in 2001, and at that time, I remember it being cozy with good music and all sorts of pie.
Now it's a strangely-lit dump with sub par diner food and only one shitty pie (Cherry tonight). Blech. I had a horrible time hearing the people I was with because of the crappy loud music.
Definitely won't be back.
I would prefer to eat butts out of the ashtray in front of Berlin than ever set foot in this overpriced, pain in the ass, waste of time again.
The "bar" attached is extra hilarious. Sit there for 15 minutes and stare at the bottles sometime. You'll love it too.
Out of the Three Clarke's I've been two (Evanston ,Lincoln Park ) this one has the worst service. I don't think any time I've ever been here I've had a good experience with the staff.
That aside, food is good.
Big big portions worth their price.
I like Clarke's because of their "One egg" special. It's Egg (scrambled or fried), toast and potatoes for $2.99.
If you like your southern style corn beef hash.. you know, all greesy, unhealthy and oh so good.. they have it here :)
In my college days we used to come to Clarkes for birthday dinners. It's open late and they have this AMAZING Charlie Brown brownie Sunday that makes even the biggest chocolate lover cry tears of joy.
Oh, and I like their pancakes too. Good pancakes = good diner.
For the best service check out the Clarkes in Lincoln Park. Evanston is good too but it's usually packed and takes forever to get seated.
OK, it's not like you're gonna get the best eggs benedict in the world here, but that's not why you come here. Good food, short distance from the Vic and other bars/clubs. they have a full bar, and dance music playing at night. you almost forget that you're in a restaurant.
Well i guess i cheated on IHOP. Now that i've gotten older and tried new things ihop doesnt seem so great so clarke's took it's place. It is decent edible food. Not to long ago it was a lot more fun to pull the famous "i've been drinking all night lets waste the last of the money!" you could smoke, the juke box was loud everyone was a lot of fun. With IL passing no smoking in public law kinda killed that. juke box isn't so noticeable and they are under new management and the staff isn't so much fun anymore. Haven't been back in awhile but i do the the breakfast pretty much all i eat at little diners. It's most alive after 10 pm chill during the day.
This place used to be awesome, but it past three years I've been coming here it has been really going downhill. The food is still the same, just higher prices. I wouldn't really mind the price increase, but at least have good customer service to go along with it. I've never come here for the service, but I will leave because of it.
It is not okay to watch me as I write out the tip and sign the receipt!!!
I've been here numerous times and every time had good food. Also, every time i've been here, have had bad service. Rude and slow. They have gotten my order wrong a few times as well. The music is too loud and before the whole "no smoking" law happened, you couldn't breathe for the life of you.
Although they have many bads, the 3 stars are for the good food. Good quesadillas, veggies burgers, spinach dip. Affordable and tasty.
Diner of Lakeview
Your food and shakes make me twitch
Just don't start to bitch
High prices and mediocre food. Screwing up the order and check wrong was just par for the course.
im givin it four stars all you people that rated it less than 3 stars i dont think you know what the hell your talking about. I went in there before goin out with a friend for the 1st time and the food was pretty good i thought the prices were average for the area. Try the place out once and if u dont liek it dont go back but i have a feeling u will be back
My husband really wanted to keep drinking and I really wanted greasy food. A place that serves both without all the jerks trying to get laid yelling in the background! The food is typical diner-esque. There's really nothing special, although I ordered a salad and was really impressed with how fresh the greens were for midnight on a Friday. The food is probably only a 2 star, but you don't come here in the middle of the night for the culinary masterpiece. You come here because you want something greasy and hot (and perhaps more to drink). The drinks were strong and our wait staff served us promptly, then let us alone to eat/drink (I hate waiters that ask me every 30 seconds how I am doing). They also have a patio, which would make this place pretty good for the morning after your night of partying instead.
I wanted it to be better, but even drunk off my ass, I could tell this place wasn't quite cutting it. The food was quite forgettable (especially the hashbrowns, which is tragic because I love hash browns) and the ambiance was kind of sketchy. I mean, at 3 am, what was I expecting, right? But for a place that's open 24 hours a day, I would hope that means they've got something good 24 hours a day. But if drunken, ever-so-easy-to-please Brandon isn't appeased, that's a bit of a let down.
What? Why does everyone have to be down on Clarks?
We've all been here a million and half times and yeah its not the best food on the entire earth, but man do they know how to cure a drunken bar fight self at 2am or nurse your hangover the next day.
I have always found them to have sandwiches (ie burgers, monte cristos, clubs) and they have some egg-celent skllets. MY fave really.
But seriously what doesn't have more character than this place... its got everyone and their mother there all day long so there is no people watching in all the city than this place. You can't deny transvestite knife fights just outside at 4am ... I feel like that trumps all other atmospheres and this gets a 5 because its near and dear to my heart because its one of the first 24 hour diners I have started going to "downtown" when I was a wee one out in suburbia lookin' for adventure. Now I live around the corner and couldn't be happier about that.
Also breakfast.... ALL day. Ain't no denying that being an awesome thing.
Whoah people are rough on this place. C'mon now....24-hour diner when all you need is substance to stop your head from spinning so you can fall somewhat flat into a drool-filled drunk coma somewhere near your actual bed. It ain't that bad. The vegetarian options are ok, and they are especially ok when it is 3am and your fridge got nothin but some rotted oj and shriveled up ice-cubes in the freezer. I'm not sure if this is a "go-to" place for a regular meal, but I think it is PUrrFect for the wee hours. They have an enormous menu that proves to be difficult to navigate in drunken states, but they will bring ya something if you just say, "egg". The ambiance and decor are like a run-down Denny's off a rural highway. Ahhh...a 24-hour diner in Chicago is a BeaUtiFUL thing.
My blood pressure rarely rises when i dine out. It is very rare that i have such a bad experience that I am going to write a place off forever. I am very close to writing this place off forever after my dinner last night.
1) We waited 14 minutes without being acknowledged by anyone. I understand that the place was busy and I expected the wait to be a little longer. At least acknowledge us for God's sake.
2) I ordered coffee and once again I waited way too long for it. I was seriously thinking about going in back and pouring my own.
3) Lara ordered the honey mustard chicken sandwich. What she received was a plain old chicken sandwich
4) We had a coupon for up to $6 dollars off. I go to give her the coupon and she tells me to come back tomorrow? WHAT? HUH? I don't want to come back tomorrow. Now I don't want to come back ever again. I guess she could not use our coupon because there was no manager there?
Went here for a quick dinner. We chose this place because it was close by to where we were going and… Read more »
I am not a hard person to please. However, when I am paying for service, I expect the following to occur:
a) Acknowledge my presence promptly - say within a few minutes. Don't just show up after we've been sitting there for nearly 15 minutes being COMPLETELY ignored, and then say "you know what you want to order?" At the very least, be apologetic about the fact that you kept us waiting for so long.
b) When a customer orders coffee, bring it promptly. Don't walk past their table three times with a pot without stopping and filling it the first time. Also, come back and refill it from time to time.
c) When a customer's order is wrong, you should notice this before you bring the food to the table - not just plop the plates down along with the check and leave.
d) When a customer has a coupon that is valid on the current date, find a way for them to redeem it. If you dont know how to ring it up, find a manager or somebody who does.
e) Smile at least once.
I now understand why this place has such a bad reputation for service. It was atrocious. I might be convinced to come back on a weeknight when they're not busy, but never again on a weekend. It was the worst, and the closest I have been in a long time to ditching the check & stiffing the server on a tip. (She was lucky that Dave was tipping instead of me.)
I was expecting Clarke's to be just terrible based on some reviews & general reputation among my… Read more »
Do they even have a manager? A friend of mine left something of his there a while back and every single time he would go there they would tell him to come back another time because it was in the safe and the manager wasn't there. He eventually just had to go buy a new one of what he had left there because they kept telling him different things.
The food is alright, the sweet potato fries are the best thing on the menu but it's five dollars. The service is also mediocre. For a diner with decent food I would rather go to Melrose or Nookies.
After helping some friends move we were starving and checked out Clarke's. As soon as we were seated they asked about drinks. I ordered hot tea. When the waiter came back he brought a pot of hot water and a big wooden box. I'm like "ok"? Opened the box and found tons of tea bags. LOL. Different flavors and such. I thought it was funny. I was freezing and the tea wasn't helping because it got cold pretty quickly. I realized the fan was on too high and was blowing cold air. We asked the waiter if he could turn them off. He was so kind and said "sure".
Ok so after laughing at my giant tea box and almost freezing my butt off I decided on what I wanted to eat. I ordered a veggie burger with swiss cheese and veggie chili. Everyone else ordered breakfast...meh. I don't like breakfast food. I get my chili first. I was ok. Very thick and paste-like. tons and tons of beans.
Next was my burger. It was pretty sweet. Big and stuffed with veggies as well and fries on the side. Nice. Onions, tomato, lettuce, and extra mustard on a wheat bun. Just veggie burger love. I liked this lil diner. Great place to just talk and eat food at a reasonable price.
Horrible service, horrible food (but the portions are large) lame atmosphere. Stay away!
Don't you hate it when servers tell you they can't split a check? WTF? Why? Is it really that difficult. "I would have to void your order and start over" Okay, well do that. I usually wouldn't yelp or complain, but my co-worker and I need to keep our receipts for our expense reports. Sure, we should have said something up front, but this is 2009, learn how to use the computer.
Seriously, FOOD BLOWS!
I used to go here at least twice a week. Smoke up, coffee, friends, and ruckus 'til sunrise.
But ever since the smoking ban, the new renovations, and fresh crop of waiters/waitresses - it's been anything but worth my time for a 24 hour diner.
Admittedly, a select few staff veterans improve my experience there, and the food is consistent for a diner in this area. But I rarely see the veteran staff (those who know what they're doing and stop by more than twice), and I only order what has always been good for me, a Clark Burger.
So I couldn't say my opinions are a fair assessment, but I gotta say. Clark's just isn't what it used to be, and not the rehabbed bar area(what used to be the smoking area) nor a handful more of flat screens on the ceiling corners will save them. I've been in and out for the past few years, and lately - it's been significantly less.
There's definitely better diners out there in the area. It's the worth the walk in my opinion.
There's not much new I can say that hasn't already been said . . .
Poor service, mediocre food, overpriced, they love to squeeze large parties into small booths, etc.
I'll eat here in the Summer as it is the only place around with outdoor seating.
And what is up with the bathroom? Why is there a lock on the outside? Do they plan on holding me hostage?
I really want to like Clarke's on Belmont. I really do. I love a good diner and the whole diner experience. Since it's very close to my house, I have dined here often. I actually waited to write this review, hoping any of the poorer experiences were simply on accident.
Not so much.
The food is adequate and the portions are big. Notice I said adequate. Nothing special. I'd rather smaller portions and better tasting food. The service is slightly less than adequate, as on multiple occasions I have been seated and then waited more than 10 minutes before anyone even comes over to ask if we want water. The prices are decent, but when the service and food is sub-par, what's the point? Especially when there are far tastier options (i.e. Ann Sather) right down the street.
So in conclusion, one star for food portions, one star for the fact that they're open late-late-late, so if you've been out drinking and want to close out the evening with food, Clarke's on Belmont is always open.
24 hour diner in Chicago. Close to boystown...makes for interesting 4-5am trips.
If it's not crowded, it's great, the service is fine and food is decent. if not, well then, it turns into a shitshow.
PS: Their sweet potato fries are bomb. especially for drunk munchies. Definitely beats the 7-11 across from Roscoe's. You know what I'm talking about. (:
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
Category: Diners
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Breakfast & Brunch
Neighborhood: Roscoe Village
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: American (Traditional)
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