Portillo's

Portillo's
100 West Ontario St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: River North
Portillo's website
Every once in awhile we get a craving for fast food burgers and fries, and instead of settling for low quality garbage like McDonalds and Burger King, we go to places like Portillo's. Portillo's is a fast food joint with multiple locations throughout the Chicagoland area, and specialize in hot dogs, hamburgers and Italian beef. While we normally don't review chain restaurants, we thought Portillo's would be an exception.


I got the bacon cheeseburger and crinkle fries. The burgers are pretty good for fast food. Nothing great, but certainly a step up from typical fast food burgers. All ingredients tasted fresh, which is often uncommon for fast food. They also had a number of vegetarian options on the menu including veggie sandwiches, tuna sandwiches and a number of soups and salads. Jenn got the grilled veggie sandwich: veggies, including grilled portabella mushrooms along with fresh mozzarella piled on grilled focaccia bread. The bread was fresh and chewy and the cheese was warm and gooey (sandwich not pictured).

Bacon Cheeseburger with Crinkle Fries

So next time you have a craving for fast food in Chicago, choose Portillo's instead of the usual junk. While you may have to pay a few dollars more than for something similar from McDonalds or Burger King, Portillo's is well worth it. We give Portillo's an 8.4 out of 10
Quality of Food: 8.4
Value: 8.6
Atmosphere: 8.4
Customer Service: 8.2
Overall: 8.4