Exchequer Restaurant & Pub — Restaurant in Chicago

I don't like to leave negative reviews and I try my best to find something good in every situation. I had no chance here. We were looking to have some of the famous Chicago Deep Dish Pizza-- this came up as one of the top choices--- do not be fooled! The place looks like a mobster pub with all the old time posters and has a nice atmosphere - and has the prices to match. The Deep Dish Pizza starts at $15 for an 8" personal pizza and goes up to according to your request- we thought, "ok, you are paying for not only for food but also for the name", we were hungry, so let's give it a go. Ordered a Cesar salad; crispy romaine lettuce, Cesar dressing- what could go wrong?? Hmmmm... I'm a foodie, my friend is a chef--- boy, were we shocked... Yes, the romaine was crispy- aaaand that's where it stopped. The dressing was vinegary instead of made with anchovies, the croutons stale, rancid and had a 'fridge taste', the Parmesan grated, not shaved- you'd think it's not a big deal, but it does make a huge difference ( my friend is a chef) After a couple bites we gave up and hoped for the best for the Famous Chicago pizza. ( build your own with bacon and onions) Finally the steaming, cheesy goodness arrived- we are drooling at this point - and bit into the the half baked, reheated frozen pizza.... ( even I could tell it was made from frozen, and again; my friend is a chef, so it was not a question...) The unbaked dough was jelly-like, thick , white and hard on the bottom- it took ONE bite before our stomach did a 180 ... Our waitress was not pleased with our displeasure; not an apology, not an 'I'm sorry, let me make it right'. . We were not charged for the food- not that we would've paid for it, but damn...

So- go at your own risk, hope you will have a...

Overall this place was mediocre.

My husband and I were on vacation and it was our first time eating here. After dining in, we are surprised that this place has such good reviews. From subpar food, to poor waitressing.

The restaurant itself was very pretty on the outside and inside. Keep in mind that this place does not have public restrooms. Seems like all places are like this in Chicago for some unknown reason. Anyway. Our waitress was friendly but was not attentive to our very basic needs at all. Like my drink needing a refill. Most of the time the servers were huddled up talking by the computers and on their phones. My drink sat empty on the edge of the table for over 15 minutes. The entire time we were there, she came over to check on us once. We only got a box and the check(another waitress brought us our check btw) after having to wave her down after sitting there waiting for twenty minutes. Not acceptable.

Now for the food. We ordered a small house salad with ranch. There were two slices of cucumber, two slices of tomato, and three croutons. Topped with what tasted like cheap and unappetizing Hidden Valley ranch dressing. At this point we didn’t have high hopes. We also ordered a deep dish pizza. We did half and half toppings. From what I’ve eaten and seen in the past, Chicago deep dish pizzas normally have the sauce on top with cheese underneath. This pizza did not. My husband had Italian beef and mushrooms on his half. He didn’t like either. He said the mushrooms looked and tasted like they came straight out of a can. My side of the pizza, however, was delicious. No complaints there.

It was an overall disappointing experience. Wouldn’t...

At the last minute, a friend and I felt like pizza after work Friday night and I called to see if I could get a 5p reservation. It was easy to make and was there waiting for me when I arrived. They do seem to have open table but open table showed it was blocked out, maybe because it was too close to the time.

They were willing to seat me even though my friend hadn't arrived and gave us a great booth towards the back. Decor is British pub but also feels very old school Chicago since this bar is 50 years old, under the el tracks on wasbash in the loop.

We were greeted quickly and weren't ready yet. But a few minutes later someone else came to take our orders so we didn't wait long. However they were out of cider which is what my friend had been interested in. He settled on wine and I had a Guinness.

The pizza took a normal length for pizza. The cost seems pretty high but definitely paying for location and ambiance. They call their 12" medium which fooled me especially with the higher price so we probably could have gotten the large since we were really hungry and wouldn't have minded leftovers.

Still, it came packed full of toppings, lots of cheese, abd and a perfect browning on the cheese. I prefer the place near me, Mugs, because their pizza is more flavorful with basil added. But once I thought to add some salt , it was improved. My friend inhaled his, raving about how...