Johnny’s Beef & Gyros

Stopped in here at 1:30 am on a Friday morning after driving 15 hours from Dallas on the way up to Dairyland. Maybe I was just starving and lusting after an Italian beef or maybe Johnny’s is just bad ass. Order the Italian beef combo meal and a pizza puff. My friend orders the Italian sausage topped with beef, mozzarella and a side of marinara.
First, the service was quick and polite. Good start. Takes about ten minutes to get our order but apparently a few people had just ordered and the crew does the grub up fresh, so no big.
Dig in and enter the good place. The beef was great and they hook it up with the fries. My friend inhaled his order and it looked so good I considered ordering one after finishing the beef, glutton that I am. My friend goes back to order a Maxwell Street Polish, which he, again, promptly devoured. My only complaint was the pizza puff. While it was fresh and molten lava hot, it did not have a whole lot going for it in the flavor department.
I especially loved that they’re open late. It allowed us to grab a taste of a staple Chicago dish while on the road.
Keep up the good work, Johnny’s!

I have to admit the thing I went here for were the pop tarts and they don’t serve them anymore. :(It was all good though. I ended up going with the gyros sandwich and the fries were seasoned really good. Staff was super sweet! My mom and sister got the chicken pita and they said it was good as well. Would revisit if in the area.

Normally I’m into eating grilled vegetables and quinoa bowls, but Johnny’s is like my guilty pleasure. Not super healthy, but so delicious.

Had the greek fries, its good considering its just fries. they also have the Italian Beef Combo Special. Because its beef and its italian, you can guarantee that it tastes good.
Well, if you want to have the big daddy, you can do so but I warn you, its so big that you cant even finish just one of it
Thanks Johnny’s Beef & Gyros, the meal was great. Itadakimasu.

Love Johnny’s! We used to live a little bit further away and would order for delivery, now we live on the same block which is dangerous! The salads are super fresh and the gyros are delicious. Fries are good too :)

I owe the owner, Johnny, an apology. I had a bad experience with the Italian Beef 2 years ago when the place was relatively new. I wrote a bad review and Johnny contacted be twice offering to have me back for another chance at no cost. I became busy and never took him up on the offer. Last week, I returned and, again, ordered the Italian Beef. Let me tell you, it was AWESOME. It seems as if either something was changed or maybe the first time I just had an «off» sandwich. This was exactly how an italian beef should be. Also, I don’t believe there was an extra charge for giardinara this time.

Great spot in the neighborhood for fast Greek food. Regular order is a Greek salad and gyro plate to share. Easy for pick up or delivery. Tzatsiki is excellent. Always order extra.

Solid! It might be the best chicken gyros I have ever had. Perfectly cooked, tender and moist. I met Johnny the owner and he seems really focused on giving the customers a great experience as if he was running a fine dining restaurant.

Better than most late night burger joints

The food is fine… definitely over priced but its never bad. They also ding you for any little extra thing. Sometimes, you wait about as long as you would at a sit down restaurant. My problem is the owner (or manager… whoever he is). I’ve witnessed him, on several occasions, treat his employees like garbage. Today the phone was ringing and while the cashier was taking care of a customer he balked at her «If I wanted to answer the phone, I would.» Dude. A) You need good employees, just as much as they need that paycheck. Treat people with a little respect. B) people like myself hear that– and it pisses us off to the point where we don’t want to support your business any more. We used to come here once a week for lunch since our office is a few doors down but in recent months we have definitely cut that back… might cut it out for good, after today.

Johnny’s is a staple! Delivery is always faster than estimated and my orders always arrive hot and incredible. Portion sizes of the gyro platters are definitely enough for 2 people. We usually order the gyro platter and a Greek salad, both to share, and we are stuffed!
One of my favorite things (although this may sound insignificant) is that they don’t grease their pita. So many local gyro joints douse the pita in butter first and it’s just TOO much! The lamb juices soften the pita enough and I think the fact that Johnny’s doesn’t do this makes a huge difference.
We haven’t ordered anything that wasn’t delicious!

Always get the two hot dog special with a cheese fry. Good value good food.

I live just down the street from Johnny’s and have been here a handful of times. I always order the Greek Salad and add chicken to my order. The vegetables are always fresh, and you get a few pieces of warm pita and tzatziki sauce on the side.
I have visited this place with people who have ordered the gyros. While I don’t eat gyros, everyone who has tried it seemed to like their food, and the portion size is definitely generous.
This is a great casual spot to pick up solid food, especially in an area that is full of greasy bar food. They also advertise decently priced daily specials. The only qualm I have with this place is that the price of their chicken Greek salad is a bit overpriced.
Also, be cautious and make sure you aren’t being charged when subbing items out. I asked for no feta cheese and extra olives, and was charged $.75 by the cashier. When I brought it to their attention (after I paid and looked at the receipt), the man (who I assume is the owner) was very nice/​apologetic and asked if I wanted extra olives. I didn’t want any extra food and would have rather had my $.75 back, but I’m not that ridiculous. It seems like they threw in some extra veggies, but forgot the tzatziki sauce this time. SIGH.
In short, food is solid and the Greek salad is probably one of the best you can get in this immediate area (besides Athenian Room). Unfortunately it is overpriced (paid almost $ 13 for a salad at a casual joint!), which stops me from eating here more often. The gyros seem to be a good value for your buck though.

One of the best places in Chicago. Amazing beef, burgers (charbroiled:) and gyro in the city. They only use top-​notch vendors/​ingredients and it definitely shows. Parmesan fries are amazing, as is the greek salad, tzatziki, black bean/​portobello burgers. Reasonable prices and great, friendly service.

Ordered delivery on a Saturday night. On the plus side, it came about 30 minutes earlier then the projected time.
I got the gyro duo platter. Its a pretty good value as it comes with lots of food, almost enough for two people. The lamb gyro was pretty decent, the chicken gyro lacked flavor and was a bit dry. It came with 2 olives, a few fries and sauce. It was mostly just meat, needs a little more to it. It wasn’t bad, but not something I’d need to order again.
The fries as a side were bad. All 3 of us got different varieties and they were all soft, soggy, and not warm at all. This was a huge downer as crispy fries on a gyro is a must. The parmesan truffle fries had no truffle. The volcano fries were just kind of weird.
This is a skip for me.

Johnny’s has delicious food and fast service. I go to Johnny’s frequently and have always had a positive experience. Johnny’s offer a wide selection, which is nice because I can almost always get whatever I’m in the mood for. I highly recommend the roasted red pepper hummus. Also, friendly staff and owned by two hard-​working and dedicated brothers. Johnny’s is open late so go there anytime and I guarantee whatever you get will hit the spot.

My husband and i ordered some food the other night. I had a cheeseburger and he had a gyro.
Fries were ok, but too greasy for me. He liked his gyro, but my cheeseburger was awful. It smelled like old, stale grease. I’m picturing the grill had not been cleaned in years and its tasted like it. This is the second time this has happened to me. The first time it happened was a last year and i’ve avoided this place since then. So, i thought, a year later, why not give it another chance. Well, the burger was just as bad as the first time. Avoid the burgers! They are really gross. Sorry, but unless they clean their grill, use fresh oil to cook with, i won’t be back.

Chicago dog was dece, beef was probably the worst Italian beef I’ve ever had. Gard was good but the bread was real bad, ruined the sandwich.

Friendly staff, great food. I especially love the chicken gyro and Italian beef there.

My search for the ultimate Italian Beef continues. In the past I have traveled through hell and high water looking for the best beef. I remember back in January, I traveled many miles by bus in –1 degree weather to Joe Bostons, It was worth it. Today was not a «hell and high water» kind of day. Sunny and cool. My beef adventures brought me to Johnny’s Beef and Gyros, not to be confused with the cult spot of Johnnies in Elmwood Park.
My order consisted of my usual beef ordering: Cheesy Beef, sweet, dipped. I could tell Gonella Bread but the beef was not house made. The peppers tasted a little weird, not as sweet and juicy as others. However the beef itself was a solid beef. The meat tasted decent for non house made beef. Good cheese and bread. My only complaints are the weird peppers and dip that Shit a little more. I like my beefs dripping wet! It’s still nothing close to Mr. Beef on Harlem (my fave) but solid for this part of town.
The best beef in Lincoln Park and one of the best options East of Western Avenue. Have you noticed most of the best beefs are out west? Johnnies, Mr. Beef on Harlem, Joe Bostons, Jays. Anywho, Solid service, a free cookie for a Unilocal Check-​In, and a solid beef make this a go-​to-​spot in Lincoln Park, all for $ 10.
3.8 stars.

Johnny’s was a pretty good. The menu is very big. It’s filled with different burgers and beefs. They also have different side orders and a variety of salads. The inside is nice. They have plenty of seating and a TV, which a plus. The man at the register was really nice also.
I got their special «Big Daddy» burger along with some bacon cheese fries. The presentation of the burger was really nice. It was clean and not messy at the beginning. But after digging in like a man, I couldn’t help but make a mess of it. I personally thought it was too much meat and it didn’t really accomplish a distinct flavor.
Everyone else said the food was pretty standard. The burgers looked like Sonic burgers. The hot dogs were normal hot dogs. The fries tasted like normal French fries. Everything was pretty basic and not out of the ordinary for a burger joint. If that’s what you’re craving in the moment, then this is a good place but you’re just going to spend a little more.
Overall, I wish I could give 3.5 stars but 3 will have to do.

Beautiful restaurant with really reasonable prices! The vibe is kind of 50’s style diner, but more mod and fresh. The food is excellent. Lots of classics with a twist like the greek style fries (lemon, feta) or the cheddar bacon fries. Some of our favorites are the chicken pita and gyro. Everything is fresh and the portions are pretty big! Don’t skip the chocolate chip cookie for dessert… it’s pretty good!
We are personally not brave enough to try the Big Daddy Burger, but if you are, there is a photo wall of fame that you might be able to get your picture on! It’s two burger patties, plus toppings, plus gyro meat!
Located on Lincoln at a great intersection across from John Barleycorn making it super easy to grab food and go. There are also a few dine in tables.
My only complaint is that you have to be super tall to check your teeth in the bathroom mirror after you eat! Or maybe just taller than 5’4″…