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Leona's Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
1236 E 53rd St(between Woodlawn Ave & Kimbark Ave)
Chicago, IL 60615
Neighborhood: Hyde Park
(773) 363-2600
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 11 pm
Fri 11 am - 12:30 am
Sat 12 pm - 12:30 am
Sun 12 pm - 10 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
63 reviews for Leona's Restaurant
Review Highlights
"...am in dire need of comfort food, Hyde Park Leona's cradles..."
(in 4 reviews)
"The warm bread with garlic butter, marinara sauce, and..."
(in 3 reviews)
"my husband likes the vegan burger."
(in 3 reviews)
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63 reviews in English
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Review from Jesse H.
Chicago, IL
1/17/2012
Solid comfort food; I always love this place. The warm bread and soft herbed butter is fabulous, the salads are fresh and crisp, and the pasta and lasagna are always satisfying. Also recommended: chicken fingers. Heck yeah. My favorite part, though? Every table has a bunch of cards with trivia questions on them. Did I mention my girlfriend and I are trivia addicts?
Edit: Recently ordered their BBQ ribs, and they're amazing! Better than ribs n bibs. Highly recommended. -
Review from Ellie K.
Chicago, IL
2/9/2012
I ordered the Petit Romano chicken salad. The delivery guy was polite and on time, perhaps even early.
The salad was crispy, fresh and well-prepared. It is was nothing terribly exciting. However, it did the job on a Thursday night when I did not feel like cooking.
Judging by the reviews- avoid the greasy stuff. However, speaking from experience, give the salads a try! -
Review from Beth M.
3/19/2011
My boss assigned me to the task of ordering food for our lunch-and-learn. So of course I picked somewhere with a vegan option!
Surprisingly, I wasn't the only one of my coworkers who wanted the Big Fat Vegan Burger. It's made from grains and veggies, and is a lot better than the bland patty served at a number of places. You get to choose two toppings from the list; I had roasted mushrooms and roasted onions. You also get to choose one side; I had potato wedges, but I might try the lemon broccoli next time. Also included in the pricey $11 meal is as a non-vegan mini-cheesecake dessert. Couldn't they offer a vegan dessert to go with the vegan burger? It just went to waste.
The bun the "vegan" burger came on appeared to be an egg-based roll. Kinda defeats the purpose of labeling it as a vegan burger, no? Not sure if there are other bread options a vegan could substitute.
The delivery took about an hour, but everything was hot and made correctly.
Overall, I'm a bit perplexed about the "vegan" terminology, but the burger patty itself is quite tasty. I don't think I'd want to pay full price for it though. -
Review from Te D.
Chicago, IL
3/29/2011
The service is slow. The waiters are only nice if you are nice. The prices are decent, and whoa, seriously, my mouth is watering just thinking about when I used to eat at Leona's all the time. Here's the low down.
Order a side of lasagna. Jillian Michaels would be horrified of the portion size (huge), but honestly, you can't be friends with Leona and Jillian simultaneously, and since Jillian yells and pierces you with those gorgeous eyes all while you're hanging out, ya might wanna give Leona a try... just sayin.
Now that your conscience is clear,
Order Buffalo Chicken Strips and get blue cheese and ranch. Alternate dipping sauces for ultimate deliciousness.
Order Potato wedges only sometimes, but not with other fried items. Your arteries might explode right then and there. Ask for BBQ sauce. Dip it.
Order the fried catfish dinner. Splash hot sauce on it if you like tanginess. If you want something healthy but kinda chilled pair it with lemon broccoli (Leona's I'm not judging you, I know broccoli loses heat fast, maybe you could just microwave it for a few seconds)
Order the brownie sundae. Share with your friends, even if you're feeling stingy, at this point, you don't need calories for the rest of the week, but you and Jill aren't friends anymore, remember?
Next time you can order sausage pizza (their pepperoni is too salty) with mushrooms and jalapenos and dip THAT in ranch sauce.
Just don't tell Jillian I sent you. -
Review from Eliza B.
Chicago, IL
1/12/2011
I have found myself having to coordinate a TON of catering for work recently and just had the most WONDERFUL experience with Leona's. I know that the catering office is not at this location but this is near my work and, I assume, where the pasta was cooked today.
Cater with them. It was EASY (almost all via email). Trish was super nice. It was completely affordable and exactly what we needed. Their portions were super generous and the pasta came with bread and butter (WARM bread!). The delivery person was really nice and helpful too.
By far they are in my top 3 of Hyde Park catering options. -
Review from Rachael C.
Chicago, IL
9/29/2011
Just moved into the neighborhood.....heard good things about Leona's so we decided to try it out.....The service was slow, the waitress was rude and not very personable. The food was awful.....not very impressed with this restaurant at all.
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Review from Luther C.
Chicago, IL
4/2/2011
I just went to this place for lunch with a couple friends today. I had heard it was like Medici down on 57th, so I was preparing for some fantastically mediocre, overpriced food.
From the outside, this place looks like a cheesy, dirty, poorly lit restaurant... or like it would be one of those random backrooms of a bakery in chinatown. But it's pretty nice inside - I was surprised.
Our waitress was a bit severe, but nice. Service was quick and efficient.
The food was pretty good. Not knock your socks off, but solid. I got the meatball sandwich (pretty good meatball) and a side of cheese lasagna. Having a grandpa from Italy, I'm pretty used to some authentic Italian grub. I'm always met with disappointment when I go out, but Leona's left me feeling ok when I left. That almost never happens. Not saying that this place is anywhere near authentic, but it's good. -
Review from marco o.
Chicago, IL
1/24/2011
Best thin crust pizza in Hyde park. Soooo tasty! A little expensive, but very, very tasty. They have a good selection of veggies to pile-on.
Eating anything other than the pizza is a considerable step down. I mean, it's good, but not great. -
Review from Helena G.
Chicago, IL
8/1/2011
I tasted the burger ans was very good. It's a restaurant to eat simple food!
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Review from Brent L.
Chicago, IL
9/3/2010
I'll start with the bad first: the service is slow. It's always slow. Slow, slow, slow. For some people, that's a deal-breaker. It's not for me. I go with my fiancée or with friends, I converse, I smile and laugh, I order a great beer to nurse while I continue to converse and smile and laugh, I nibble on the bread that comes with an entree order. And then, about 20 minutes later, my food arrives. So, as far as the negative stuff is concerned, if you're okay with taking your time, expect to take your time and it'll be fine. If you're in a rush, don't come here for dinner. Leona's, if you can step up the service, all the better.
Now the good: the food is just flat-out good. Every thing I've ever ordered, I've enjoyed. Some more than others, but nothing has ever been a disappointment. Again, it's all about expectations, though. This is a popular restaurant with a variegated menu -- they serve what they serve, and I've never had my pallet challenged. But I don't want my pallet challenged. I want a delicious meatball sub with lasagna as a side. Or a buffalo romano chicken sandwich and psychedelic salad (one of the best pre-fabricated salads I've ever had). Maybe I'll splurge for a dessert, maybe not.
The atmosphere isn't a downer at all; it's a complete surprise to non-Hyde Parkers. Yep, it's in a "strip mall" that only changed the signage a couple years ago. But with embossed copper ceilings, flat-screen TVs playing music videos of what's being piped over the speakers, comfortable booths all over the place, and a menu on which I'll find exactly what I want, that to me is just fine. Again, my sense of decore is not challenged here, and looking out the plate-glass windows onto the sidewalk and parking lot... I see a lot of my neighbors walking to the shops!
And for delivery? Let me tell you, there have been several miserable January or February nights when I didn't want to cook anything, nor go out. 45 minutes later, I had a fabulous feast of comfort food while watching a movie.
So, yeah, I'm a fan of Leona's. And as is the case with all things in life, I think you'll be a fan, too, if you go in with your eyes open about the good and the bad. -
Review from Stefanie H.
Sacramento, CA
7/11/2010
I was never very impressed with Leona's. From the moment you approach the restaurant, it's just a sub-par experience. Wedged into a little mini strip mall, the atmosphere is definitely lacking. To be fair, they try hard to make it different on the inside than on the outside, but it's tough when you're looking out onto a junky parking lot.
Service was slow every time I ever visited Leona's, so I'm fairly convinced that I wasn't just getting unlucky. When they finally did get around to visiting the table, it almost felt like they believed they were doing me a favor. I don't expect them to actually BE happy about waiting tables, but they could at least pretend.
Finally, the food was never really anything special. While the prices were often higher than at other area restaurants, the food quality was typically equal or sometimes even lower. I never once had a meal here worth remembering or coming back for. It was never objectionably bad, just not something I'd care to repeat when there are so many better options. -
Review from Luke S.
Menlo Park, CA
10/6/2010
Many reviews complain about the service, but I found it pleasant and prompt. Both for service and atmosphere, think Chain Casual: extensive, laminated menus and "Hi, my name is Tiffany; I'll be your server tonight!" in the style of an Applebee's, Outback, Chilis, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, Cheesecake Factory...
The food was really not great. Sorry. Certainly edible, but meh. -
Review from Rose G.
Chicago, IL
11/7/2011
I ordered the fried catfish. I like my fish a little spicy, but they did not have hot sauce. The manager went to the kitchen and brought me back a cup of Cumin and Turmeric. It was absolutely wonderful and I only eat fish with those now. I forgot to get his name, but he was very courteous and went out of his way to cater to my taste buds. You can also have food delivered and they are fast, fresh, and the food is always hot when delivered. Thank you Leona's!!!
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Review from Aurore L.
7/15/2009
Reviewing two chains in a row?!!?
Did I just commit the ultimate Yelp crime?
Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do without second-guessing yourself.
To my defense Leona's is a mere two blocks away from me, and when we are too lazy to face the traffic on LSD or just to jump in the car AND when Cedars is packed and loud like it was the other night, well - it makes the deal.
Of course Leona is as Italian as mac & cheese so don't go there for pasta della mama.
(on their menu they try to trick you into believing that their family is behind the oven but don't fall for it... : )
So what do you get there?
- decent pizzas but nothing mind-blowing. Deep and thin.
- more than decent burgers (big selection too....always a plus)
- trivia questions to make you patient.....for geeks, dorks and nerds all around.
- veggies as a side. No extra!!! Gotta love it.
- oldies video clips on TV
Just nice to have around.Listed in: Hyde Park - the 'eating'…
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Review from Andrea G.
Virginia Beach, VA
12/1/2008
You know, the menu at least looks good, the decor is ok, and the Trivial Pursuit on the tables is always entertaining.
Anything good I have to say about Leona's ends there. The food is terrible. You basically get a huge plate of dog food. Seriously. Every time someone suckers me into going to Leona's I'll end up picking at a greasy appetizer and eating absolutely none of my disgusting entree, and just bring it home to my dog. Someone please shut this place down so that we can get a chain that doesn't suck. Maybe a Chipotle? -
Review from Kara B.
Chicago, IL
7/30/2008
The food here is at least consistent.
Consistently AWFUL.
It rarely has any flavor, is always over cooked and way overpriced. The portions are huge, but when you can only choke down two bites before spitting it back into your napkin the large portions aren't that appealing. They have very slow delivery, the service when you eat in is terrible and the place is always vaguely dirty.
I always wonder how it manages to stay in business. And then I remember this is Hyde Park, where edible food is hard to find.Listed in: Eating in Hyde Park
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Review from Sixto M.
Chicago, IL
8/19/2008
There have been a grab-bag of reviews for this place....and here's another one! I should start by saying that before last Friday, I had only ever ordered-in from Leona's. And the food is always very good for what you pay for: its a hearty, bar-food type place that gives you a good price.
Well, a couple of weeks ago I recieved a special offer from Leona's: use their coupon and take $10 off a meal over $30. Being the poor student that I am, me and my boyfriend [who ended up paying for everything :-)] decided to go there after work on Friday for dinner. We were seated immediately since it was only 5:45pm, and it was empty. Our waitress was very friendly to us, and took our drink order: we ordered to different kind of Long Islands (one lemon and one mango), which ended-up being very good! For appetizer, we ordered the roasted vegetable bruschetta, again, which was also delicious!
Here's where things went south: my boyfriend ordered the avocado burger, and I decided to try their pasta pizza plate (try saying that three times fast). A few minutes later, our server brought out the avocado burger, and informed me that my pizza was not done yet. So my bf waited for my food to come. Well, 5 minutes turned into 10, 10 into 20, and nearly 30 minutes after my bf was served his burger, my pizza finally came. The one redeeming fact was that my server came over several times to update me on the "status" of my pizza, and apologize for the delay. When it did finally come, the pizza was HUGE! I got the smallest option on the menu (ar 14.95) and was still only able to tackle about 3 slices. I ended-up taking home almost a full pizza. We were thinking about having dessert, but decided against it, since we were both so full.
All in all we spent around $60 ($50 after coupon deductions) for : 2 long islands, bruschetta appetizer, avocado burger, and pasta pizza plate. And both me and my bf left with most of our meals untouched. So 4 stars for the food + 2 stars for the service = 3 stars overall. At least I was able to keep myself slightly entertained with the music videos and sports playing on their Flatscreen TVs, and the "leona's table trivia" cards at our table.
**Bottom line: skip the dine-in experience, and bring the bar style food home with you by ordering-in.**Listed in: Hyde Park
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Review from GossipGirl l.
Chicago, IL
12/19/2008 3 photos
After a long day of oowing and awing at the wonders within the museum of science and industry-I WAS STARVING
Leona's Hit The Spot!!!!
a sit down Italian restaurant in a strip mall-wasn't crazy about the location...but it was the only restaurant where we could find parking. walking in with marginal expectations, they quickly were exceeded!
Clean, welcoming staff, amazing lighting, family friendly, unique decor, candle lite, and DELICIOUS FOOD!!! ----Don't believe me? Check out my pictures!
While savouring my chicken noodle soup, the owner walked over to ask us how our meal was going..Of course we told him wonderfully! and then he told us how the recipe for that soup has stayed the same since the 1950s...The only thing that has changed is that it's now all organic YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY
My favorite part was watching old school commercials modern day flat screen TVs -
Review from Kris M.
Chicago, IL
1/28/2010
This Leona's is like that friend you have that you keep inviting to parties even though she isn't particularly charming, tends to alienate other guests and drinks everyone else's booze.
Their food, as has been mentioned, is okay. Nothing to write home about, but pretty solid. What irritates me the most about this place is the downright awful service. I've been here 4 or 5 times and every single time, the waiter/waitress was downright rude to me. I'm a pretty patient person, and I know what it's like to work in foodservice- but I can't deal with this.
I've actually had waitresses roll their eyes at me when I asked for silverware. When ordering takeout once, the chefs in the back were mind-blowingly immature and rude (cat-calling female customers is the best way to retain them!) - and the manager on staff just laughed it off.
I've given them a few chances, but I guess I'm the sucker for going more than a couple of times. Mean friend, you're off the guest list. -
Review from Alan M.
Austin, TX
5/31/2006
I went there twice. I can't explain why.
The food is okay for a place with a long casual-dining menu. It's a notch above Crisco with sand.
Both times, the servers complained to me about their jobs before taking my order. Other than that, service was slow, and I was overcharged.
I think the crayons were the best thing about the place: they were average. -
Review from Kate J.
Belmont, MA
7/19/2009
My boyfriend and I have found ourselves at Leona's on three separate occasions because it's around the corner from our apartment, and because we got a bunch of coupons when we moved in. Unfortunately, coupons are not enough to make the food edible, and after each experience, as we're popping Tums on the couch, we've declared that we'll never go back. I can now officially say that I hate this restaurant. In fact, I joined Yelp as soon as I got home in order to give Leona's this one star review.
There's no need to discuss the atmosphere, since the restaurant is a tacky chain in Hyde Park, where the expectations for dining are already very low, so let's just talk about how bad the food is. The menu is enormous, and every option is a disappointment. The salads are tossed in what is apparently mayonaise, and with every bite you can feel yourself gaining weight. It seems that Leona's tries to make up for its poor cooking by adding lots of side dishes. Unfortunately, they are entirely unpalatable, and look suspiciously like alien vomit. Take, for example, the "mac & cheese lasagne," which is gooey enough to glue a dog's mouth shut. Not that I would feed any of this to a dog--that would be animal cruelty.
Tonight's conversation topics included "this food is so bad," "seriously, this is disgusting," and "maybe we should leave without paying." On the walk home, we were pleasantly surprised at the absence of the familiar nausea, until we realized the reason: we hadn't eaten most of our food, because it was simply too disgusting.
To sum it up: Leona's is really, really the worst place ever. It's over-priced, and with each bite your self-esteem will drop. Don't go here. Seriously, don't do it. -
Review from Anne S.
6/15/2009
I thought this place was decent. The portions were all huge, and everything I had was tasty. I ordered the salmon, and it was tasty, but oddly not particularly large. However I had a salad and soup as my sides and it was plenty of food! The salad was pretty good for being a side salad.
We ordered Bruschetta as an appetizer, and it wasn't at all what I expected. It was essentially garlic bread with tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, and mozzarella on top. It was really a lot better than I thought it would be looking at it!
I think this is a good place in Hyde Park to take people who want regular American food. (It never occurred to me that people wouldn't want Mexican or Thai food, but apparently some people don't want to eat ethnic foods). -
Review from Chrissy N.
Chicago, IL
1/15/2009
This is one of the larger and nicer restaurants in Hyde Park. It is nice inside, but very casual. Good for groups especially. It can get kind of noisy in here. But a good place to come with friends to have dinner and hang. They also just put up lots of flat-screens so you can watch the game while you eat too.
The menu is extensive serving casual Italian, pizza, chicken, salads, etc. The portions are very generous, the wait staff has been very friendly each time I've gone.
They do deliver, but both times we've ordered from them they've either forgotten something, or switched our order. Nice thing- delivery takes CC.
Beware the people hanging around the parking lot asking for money though. In fact, on etime while I was eating here when the parents were visiting, a guy wanting money parked himself right outside the huge window next to our table and just stared in for about 15 minutes. Hmmm... -
Review from Patrick J.
Chicago, IL
Great Calamari. Disappointed that they no longer have the Eggplant Lasagna. Take it off the menu.
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Review from Charlie V.
Scarsdale, NY
7/23/2010
The pizza is almost everything Chicago thin crust pizza should be. Thin and crisp without being too cracker-like, with flavorful sauce, spices, and cheese. The toppings are placed under the cheese, so you may lose some of the flavor. The pepperoni wasn't very crisp, but everything else about the pizza was excellent.
The wings here are some of the best I've ever had. They truly are massive, with hot sauce and spices covering them.
They do not give bread for free. -
Review from Bill G.
Chicago, IL
1/28/2010
I live right between this place and Kenwood, work mostly from home, and like to get out of the house. Considering I can walk here in ten minutes, you'd think I'd be a more frequent patron. There are reasons for that.
This place is good for delivery or takeout. When you're not dealing with the dining room, the food comes out in reasonable time, is relatively fresh (I'm not going to say it's never been frozen, but what's frozen is of high quality regardless, and never tastes of the freezer), and while not groundbreaking, isn't supposed to be. It's solid food. You get what you order, and yeah, you're going to pay a little extra for the quality (I want to say 15% more on average).
More often than you'd expect, you'll be taken care of by the manager, a quiet and diminishing, but efficient bald slender fellow who seems to genuinely care about good customer service. However, when you meet him, you can see why the aggressively bad dining service is still so bad: they don't respect him, and he doesn't COMMAND respect.
Dining service is what drags this place down. They're not happy to be there, and they've got that jaded-server attitude where the Customer is a collective of bothersome assholes, and by walking through the door, you've surrendered your individuality to the enemy. You Will Be Assimilated.
I occasionally get a pleasant surprise -- the place has relatively high turnover, and the newbies usually start out okay -- but you should be prepared to be tolerated rather than treated cordially, experience somewhat long waits for food, and be checked in on infrequently. Once or twice, I've felt less than respected, though to be fair, not recently.
Now, let's have some perspective: we know that in college neighborhoods like West Lincoln Park, University Village, and Hyde Park, dining service tends to be dragged down by classless/drunk/perpetually-overworked-and-annoyed /low-tipping college students and the nouveau riche (people who wear their privilege on their sleeve). In turn, the waitresses give bad service, even to the good clients, and get bad tips and bad reviews (like this one). Vicious cycle.
I'm not excusing it, but I am saying that whenever I do talk myself into eating here, I'm polite to the waitstaff and I always tip at least the bare minimum (15%; I tip 18-25% for good service). We've all gotta do our part.
A lot of reviewers here seem to be of the opinion that there's no good eats in Hyde Park, and that this is the best you can expect. NOT SO. Hyde Park could and should have more restaurants and nightlife, but you can do a lot better. Solid food with good service twenty minutes' walk from just about anywhere in the area includes, on the cheaper end, Maravilla's on Lake Park, Hyde Park Gyros on 53rd, the recently-reopened Giordano's, Japanese Rest, Kikuya on 55th near the Metra, and Bonjour Cafe next to Treasure Island on 55th. FWIW, the Potbelly's and Jimmy John's in the area are great too. The Original Pancake House isn't central, but is also great and a fun experience, and so is Z&H Cafe (om nom nom).
On the more pricey end, don't overlook some of the best French cuisine I've had in my life, La Petit Folie across from Bonjour, and the less expensive Pizza Capri on 53rd and Harper. This isn't even a complete list, as I'm still attempting to stay on topic (and yeah, failing).
Anyway, Leona's: go for the takeout. -
Review from M L.
Chicago, IL
10/28/2007
The food's decent, if a bit pricey (although the portions are huge enough so you'll always have some to take home). Also the sundaes are ENORMOUS -- you can literally feed six people on one sundae. They're mountainous.
Service not great; the waitress was friendly but never really checked in on us unless we waved her over. -
Review from Vanilla C.
Los Angeles, CA
5/15/2010
A local friend of mine lives about 1/2 mile from Hyde Park. So we hung out at Leona's on a Friday nigh around 7:30 p.m. ( It is a casual dining experience so don't overdress.) Gosh, maybe that was a bad idea. It was crowed, the dinner service was a bit spotty but the server was very friendly none the less. We each ordered the Wicked Chicken wings with the Jamaican Jerk spice on it. We had a few beers to go with it.
Since it is so near the university it attracts a young and noisy (party kind of crowd on Friday night). Even though it was noisy, we just were fine with it. We expected that type of crowd on a Friday night. The parking lot was a bit tight for parking but we found something in about 5 minutes as someone was just pulling out. -
Review from Susan A.
8/21/2009
First of all, this place is in Hyde Park. Anything in Hyde Park that is actually good and doesn't take more than 10 minutes to walk to is phenomenal. Second of all, portions are fantastic. The ziti/soup combo is so so good... I'm scared to venture away from it to try other dishes.
That said, service could be a little faster than molasses, people could be friendlier, and the table could be cleaner. Not to say this is the norm, but I've been here enough to know that it's luck of the draw (and hormonal cycle?).
In any case, when I am in dire need of comfort food, Hyde Park Leona's cradles my dietary emotional needs. -
Review from Lauren B.
New Orleans, LA
4/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
*EDIT: It is very important for anyone considering going to Leona's that you know that they have the BEST buffalo wings. Ever. They're huge, and flavorful, and spicy. Definitely check it out!*
The food here is pretty darn decent for a chain restaurant.
My favorite dish so far was the double salmon entree. You get two healthy (by healthy I mean large, not health conscious) servings of salmon topped with two different creamy sauces. This is a great place to go if you're really hungry or want to have leftovers because most of their entrees come with the addition of two sides (pasta/lasagna/soup/salad are all options for sides), delicious warm bread and butter, and a lenacake.
Although service in Hyde Park is... well... pretty awful, I have never had a problem with service at Leona's. Most times we have been there our servers have been friendly and attentive- a rare quality in Hyde Park.
If you join their mailing list you will occasionally get coupons. Recently we got a coupon for 50% off a pizza. Not too shabby.
We go to Leona's when we have a bit of money to spend for a sit-down dinner and want some comfort food.
Tip:If you get a salad, try their Italian dressing. It's pretty great, and good to dip their bread in. -
Review from Aashish J.
Chicago, IL
1/1/2011
I go here a lot as I love their wings. They used to offer thai bbq wings which they have discontinued but they still have buffalo wings which are spicy and tender. They are the best wings I have ever tested. They also have decent pizza. Also, the hostess and servers are super friendly. I appreciate the various pastries that they throw with the bill.
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Review from Angelica L.
Chicago, IL
3/13/2011
I had one of the worst meals and service at this location and I will never eat at another Leona's again. Usually, it would be the server I would have an issue with; however, it was the floor manager who was disrespectful and rude. I contacted the restaurant via the web with my complaints and them I received an inappropriate, condescending, and unprofessional email making light of the horrible serve. NEVER WILL I EAT AT THIS RESTAURANT AGAIN! IF I COULD HAVE GIVEN THEM NO STARS I WOULD HAVE!
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Review from Ben V.
Hyde Park, Chicago, IL
6/26/2008 2 Check-ins Here
I do enjoy me some Leona's.
Their competition in Hyde Park for the pizza market is Pizza Capri, Giordano's, Edwardo's, Chloie's, HomeMade, and Domino's. For my taste in pizza, they make the best pie in the neighborhood. The rest of their menu is pretty good too.
I enjoy the atmosphere. They have four large-screen TVs showing a mix of really-old and kinda-old music videos that are on a rather short rotation. The rest of the decor is dark and woody. It's comfortable.
The service can be a bit on the slow side, but I've never been outright ignored. The food is good enough to overlook a bit of slow service. -
Review from Heather L.
Terre Haute, IN
6/12/2009
I like Leona's. I like their pasta, I like their entrees. The salmon comes with two sauces and is really nice. My boyfriend and I go regularly. Most often we'll order a pizza and a large salad which we split. The lettuce is crisp and hearty, the vegetables fresh and chunky.
We have ordered in Leona's when we have company over and don't feel like cooking and all of our guests have always loved it. The fact that you get a desert with most entrees is also a great selling point. Their brownie cheesecake cupcakes are an awesome way to finish any meal!
But be warned, take a toothbrush if you plan on ordering the garlic chicken. When they say garlic, they mean garlic. The first (and only) time I ordered the garlic chicken there were actual slivers of garlic coating my chicken. A bit much for my tastes.
It's a bit expensive for what you get - In fact that's the only thing keeping this from being a five star review. -
Review from Myles A.
Chicago, IL
3/16/2011
Great owner and fantastic crispy thin crust pizza. Grab it with some soy cheese if you looking for something a little different.
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Review from Sarah L.
Chicago, IL
1/24/2008
I just recently went back to this Leona's location for the first time in many months, and immediately realized why I don't go more often.
The one good thing about Leona's is that the food is delicious. You get big portions, it's always piping hot, and it really tastes "home cooked."
The service at this location is consistently terrible. Even on a slow day, wait times are inexcusably long, and they always seem short-staffed. Our water glasses were never refilled in the 90 minutes we were stuck there for dinner. It took them 20 minutes after my drink was ordered to get it to me. I noticed a family at a table near me with small children. One of the children accidentally spilled their drink and no wait person came to help them clean up. The father even stood up to look around for a staff member and could not find anyone. I was in a party of two, and a table of four near us ordered and was served more quickly than we were.
Our waitress was nice enough, and obviously stretched too thin, but there's no excuse for how slow and invisible the service was in general.
I'm only ordering out from there from now on. -
Review from Ramel W.
Chicago, IL
12/23/2010 1 Check-in Here
They have always been very good to my belly. Maybe once they tried to kill me with the wrong order, but other than that, I highly recommend it.
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Review from Stephanie F.
Chicago, IL
9/23/2008
Leona's has good food, I think. I've had a couple things from there (burgers mostly), and I'm never disappointed. The portions are absolutely huge. I usually have to cut my sandwich in half and take the rest home. Their fries are really tasty. Oh, and I love, love, LOVE their toasted ravioli. It's definitely a weakness of mine. Apparently it's a St. Louis thing, or so my roommate tells me. Delicious.
One of the times I went there we asked the server to split our bill and she looked really confused (come on, we're college kids. Of course we want our bills split). She actually ended up charging all of us the same amount on three separate credit cards. I ended up having to call my bank and then Leona's to get it straightened out a couple weeks later. That was a little ridiculous. Because of this, I don't necessarily like eating there. It's always a little slow and short-staffed. Ordering out is great, though. It usually gets here within 30 minutes, and it's always tasty. -
Review from Vincent J.
Chicago, IL
10/18/2006 1 Check-in Here
I have never actually eaten inside this place, but their delivery service rocks. The pizza is what you can normally expect from Leona's. The drivers always show up early. My food is always still hot and what I ordered.
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Review from Allison E.
Chicago, IL
6/1/2009
Its certainly edible and a good moderately priced meal, but generally, everything about Leona's makes me think of a TGIF or Applebee's. It like a really local version of Chile's. The HP Leona's is not a disastor, but nothing special either. I'll probably end up eating her again at some point, but its rarely at the top of my list.
