Leona’s Restaurant

Do not purchase this Groupon. The only good thing about this restaurant was the waitress. The male hostess did not even smile at us. The chicken Alfredo and chicken carbonara were terrible. It tasted bland, dry and I could have done better out of a jar at home. Worst meal I’ve had in a long time!

I used to order from here a lot. The shrimp scampi was excellent. When the store was sold the quality sank like a bowling ball in quicksand. The sides were cheap and the shrimp recipe had changed.

I attempted to place a delivery order from the Stony Island location and was told I’m outside of the boundaries (by .5 mile). The problem is that I’ve had food delivered from this location at least three times. They told me to call the Beverly location which is farther away and they wanted to charge me a DOUBLE delivery charge! I’m not sure why I live in the bubble of non-​delivery but it is completely unacceptable practice. Why wouldn’t the boundaries meet to ensure complete coverage? I suppose the positive is I can save $ 40 but now I have to make alternative dinner arrangements.

Here with coworker’s and we had such a pleasant experience. Our waiter Jerry was awesome! (He’s also one of the managers) Very attentive, KNOWS the menu and even gave suggestions to the menu, due to my very picky eating. I highly recommend this Leona’s and ask for Jerry!

Ordered via Grubhub bc the wait time said 40mins — Long story short, the order took longer than expected (additional 30 mins) and longer than what I was told however the food was delicious, still hot (I’m about 3miles/​10 mins away) and the delivery guy was nice as well. My only complaint is to give realistic timeframes.

This place needs a major overhaul. To start, there are a lot of staff people standing around on their phones or joking around, who could easily be cleaning and organizing the restaurant. The floors and fixtures are dusty and grimy looking. FYI– I learned at the end of the meal that the bathrooms are extremely dirty and the stall doors do not lock.
Food-​wise, we wanted to order a few different items, including vegetarian burger. We asked how these were prepared, and the waitress that she would have to go to the freezer to read the package for this information. She blamed it on corporate that no one knows what’s in the food anymore.
It’s extremely sad that the restaurant isn’t what it used to be. I will never return.

The veggie burger is a sorry excuse for a burger. You can go to the grocery store and buy ANY frozen vegetarian and it would be better. It was so mushy, almost like mashed potatoes on a burger. The ranch dressing was also store bought as opposed to homemade like you’d expect from an Italian restaurant. The cheese bricks were small and overpriced. The server was nice but not very helpful with the menu.

Ok so I’ve been wondering why Leona’s in Beverly has such a low rating. Well I have my answer. The last few times I’ve ordered from there have been less than stellar. I’ve learned that you can’t place an order on line and pay with a credit card. For some reason it won’t process. They seem to know this at Leona’s and have not repaired the issued. Their way of fixing it is you order on line, choose the cash option and call to pay over the phone. Really??? Ok so like a fool I did it. When I asked the hostess that answered the phone if the delivery guy would know that I’ve paid she responded as if I was stupid for asking. With much attitude! What did the driver ask for when he arrived? You guessed it! Payment for the pizza. When this Leona’s first opened it was really nice. Now they SUCK!

45 min. Since we sat down, now, nothing’s coming… Bad bad slow slow service…
Pasta came, mushy and Luke warm

Everything says it’s open but the doors locked and its closed
I’m the second couple that has a bad taste in my mouth

Our party today was an absolute success at leonas! The dining room was packed with people in our party and on the side with regular customers coming in to eat! This one woman (who left a review named Christine) was not actually all that correct in her review. I remember the host she spoke about who was actually very nice and did apologize to her. I guess some people will never be happy! Any way, good job to the host for trying and to the servers who were so great today! We really enjoyed ourselves and we will certainly be back to leonas! The food was incredible as was our service!

One word … Disappointing. We ordered a vegetarian salad with calamari and a pepperoni pizza. The salad was ok but the calamari was tasteless, rubbery and not good at all! The pizza looked delicious but … didn’t have much taste. I hate to say it but I think we’re done

Not the Leona’s of my childhood!
Came here recently because I loved this place in high school. The menu was a book and they had trivia cards on the tables. Not anymore! Its a one page generic pizza menu with no drink menu, no trivia, clueless staff, and poor food at best. I was so disappointed. I loved the Leona’s veggie burger, mozzarella sticks, garlic bread, and pesto sides. This is not the same place. Won’t be coming back. RIP Leona’s of the past!

I had dinner there with my best friend a while ago and we were told by the staff that there was a change in management. The food was not good, they did not even have any butter, or parmesean cheese. I have never been to an Italian restaurant that did not have both items. I will NEVER go there again. I noticed that the restaurant was almost empty. It’s only a matter of time before they have to close if they don’t make some changes.

Not horrible, but there are some problems. We hadn’t been to Leona’s in quite a while, so we thought we’d give it a try.
The menu hasn’t really changed in 20 or 30 years. That was kind of a disappointment; while Leona’s has always had decent food, it wouldn’t hurt to change things up a bit. At least the menu itself isn’t a 20-​page book any more.
Mom ordered spaghetti and meatballs, and I got the Caesar salad with Romano chicken. The menu goes into some detail as to what’s in each dish. Being allergic to tomatoes, I read ingredient lists and menus carefully. Since Caesar salads typically don’t include tomatoes, and the menu made no mention of it, I was quite surprised when the salad arrived with sun-​dried tomatoes all over it. I sent it back, and they were happy to make another (even gave us a discount to help make up for it), but if they’re going to do something unusual, it really should be listed on the menu. (One thing — if there was no mention of components on the menu, I would have asked about tomatoes. Since there seemed to be a comprehensive list, I didn’t ask.) The second salad arrived, and was fabulous, but it took longer to arrive than the seven minutes the waitress said to expect.
Mom said her spaghetti was terrific, but the meatballs weren’t so great. I didn’t ask for details.
Service was good enough, but nothing exceptional.
One of my main problems with this location is that the acoustics are terrible. It’s way too noisy, even though at first, we were the only ones there. When a party of gentlemen from what sounded like a sales meeting arrived, not only could we hear everything they said, they pretty much drowned out our conversation. That shouldn’t happen, anywhere, ever.
Would I go back? Maybe to get takeout, but probably not for dine-​in.

It was exactly what you come to expect from this brand. Its not amazing, its just there.

Service was good. Had a large reservation, and the pizza was ready as soon as I got there and we were seated immediately. I have eaten at various leonas plenty of time over the years. I like their pasta and sandwiches, but their pizza is mediocre. I am not really a fan of the sauce.

Called in a delivery order… THEY NEVER SHOWED UP & CHARGED MY CREDIT CARD!!! After waiting 2 hours we had to go someplace else and grab a quick bite. I’m not sure what happened, but this location use to be really good! The only positive is they did promptly refund my money after I called and complained.

I came here on Labor Day having never heard of the place. I was late on my arrival, but found my two companions already seated and with water. The restaurant is noticeably empty and lacks a bar, which was well needed if you know what I mean. The waitress took our order and we all ordered burgers. The fries were extremely large cut and the meat itself was fine. I had ordered a 3 cheese burger and I was disappointed to find the cheese kind of put the actual meat in the backseat. My companions thought the burgers were ok and we only had trouble flagging down the waitress for more napkins. The bill was a bit outrageous, it was 50 dollars for 3 burgers and one beverage. I wouldn’t return but if the business added a bar and brought more customers in I would consider returning.

First and foremost I would like to say that this restaurant does not deserve the one star that Unilocal requires me to give them as my overall service from start to finish was horrible.
I had never been to this place before yesterday but I decided to attend this establishment after consideration with my girlfriend who remembers this restaurant being great back in her childhood. My girlfriend as well as others have mentioned that they have replaced their extensive menu which a much smaller one which honestly did not make me desire to order anything. It seems as if they only want people to order pizza and have these other smaller options for those who actually want a dinner.
Upon walking in the diner we were let waiting for ten minutes as there was no greeter in sight nor any waiters. With that said, there was only one other group of people in the restaurant already sitting down and eating there food which seemed very odd for a Monday evening.
After waiting over ten minutes we were finally guided to our table and given menus and asked what type of beverages we wanted. After bringing our glasses of water to the table we did not see or hear from the waiter again for another ten minutes and we were ready to order.
Around 4:55 we placed our order for two bowls of pasta and one side salad. The salad was brought out immediately yet it did not look appetizing or hearty as other side salads from other diners. Needless to say my girlfriend finished her salad as I finished my glass of water. Meanwhile it is now 5:30 and our food is still not ready. We ask the waiter and are told that it should be out shortly. 6:00 rolls around and we are feed up with the service and decided to walk out of the establishment before our dinner is ever brought out.
What makes the situation worse is at this point no one is visible in the restaurant. Not only do we not see any customers but no staff is to be found at all.
We decided to take our money to another establishment where we were treated significantly better. Within 30 minutes we had appetizers, drinks, and our dinner.
Needless to say, I will never attend or endorse Leona’s Restaurant ever again.

We hadn’t been here since the «update” – I doubt we’ll return.
(As I believe I mentioned in my first review, this is not in Beverly – it is a half mile south of Beverly in Morgan Park. I just like to be accurate.)
Anyway, Leona’s has morphed from an Italian restaurant that also serves pizza to a pizzaria that serves a few other dishes. Totally different vibe.
*They replaced their huge, fun, slightly-​retro menu with a smaller menu. Lots of items are gone. Their share-​with-​another-​person desserts are gone. Their slider options are gone. (At least here.) But you can get lots of pizza, lots of different ways! (Thanks, the neighborhood has only about a million pizza joints.)
*The prices went up a little but the portions are smaller.
*They used to have quirky little things like trivia cards at the table – it made going to Leona’s kind of entertaining. Gone. I think the new approach is to get you in and out as quickly as possible.
* The food is okay. I ordered an appetizer – pretty good. My husband had the Italian beef, which wasn’t exactly an authentic Chicago Italian beef, but it was okay.
*The side that comes with your meal is pretty small.
*The waitress came right away with water and a bread plate. I seem to remember they would put bread out when you ordered. Not anymore. They didn’t put out anything, not even a lonely little oyster cracker. Compare this to one of those family restaurants nearby that give you an entire breadbasket loaded with rolls, crackers, and breadsticks before you even order an iced tea.
So the question is, Is Leona’s cutting corners to save money, or is the corporation promoting Michelle Obama’s anti-​obesity initiative ?
If so, I will spend my money at a place that doesn’t judge but wants customers to leave satisfied.

Guess what! Shame on me for giving this place another try. Had to beg for my salad, which came after the entrée. Food was not as good as it’s been in the past. Instead of «sorry I forgot», I got a dirty look. You used to get a cute mini loaf of bread to nibble right away, now I get a packaged breadstick tossed in the dish with the lasagne and covered in sauce. See ya!

Wish I could give zero stars. They changed their menu and it sucks. smh Long islands used to be good now they suck too. Waitress was just ok. Won’t be back.

So, as I’m sitting here in a largely empty Leona’s waiting for half an hour for my order, I can’t help but thinking «what happened to this once great south side restaurant?»
In short, the quality of the wait staff has fallen off a cliff, the menu has taken a turn for the worst and inexplicably, ownership doesn’t seem to care. My wife and I have been coming to Leona’s since 2002, but the frequency of our visits has slowed as I’m just not in a hurry to get bad service anymore.
Two stars because the food is still tasty, but anything more would make any Leona’s employee reading this think their restaurant was «average». Average would be a compliment…“needs improvement” is appropriate. If I didn’t still like the Alfredo and chicken sandwiches so much, I’d write you off for good…

Place is terrible, management is an even bigger of a joke.
Horrible food, waitress was awful. Chefs or so called cooks should’ve been embarrassed of the food they prepared.
Do Not waste you or your families time and money on this joke of a place.

Change owners, change menu (about to change menu again) Food was absolutely horrible. HORRIBLE! If I want the true Leona’s experience, I will have to drive to Taylor Street. I’m so pissed that I have to pay for some sh*t that I did not just dislike, but absolutely HATED!!!

I guess it all depends on your waiter?!
Was my first time at a Leona’s and I am now a fan! The portions are on par with the likes of The Cheesecake Factory.
If you are not like starving, be prepared to take home leftovers. I can vouch for the mac n cheese, broccoli olio (so good), king shrimp, and the chicken tenders.
Pros:
Bang for your buck
Variety
Just Good Hearty Food
Cons:
Strawberry Lemonade was eh
Enjoy!
P.S.
Great for families, kids eat free.