Man-Jo-Vin Restaurant

This is one of our favorite neighborhood stops for hot dogs and ice cream after playing in the park. My daughter loves the cheese fries and ice cream, while I am partial to the maxwell or beef. I especially like it when the staff surprises you with a mini soft serve or sample hot cocoa, which was really good.

A group of grade school friends and I visited the «old neighborhood» and a trip to Man-Jo-Vin’s was a must. Although it’s looks are not the same as back in the 60’s the food was every bit as great as we remembered it! Great Italian beefs. So glad we added it to the walk thru the area!

this review is specifically only for the Italian Beef. ordered my regular prep: dipped w/​hot peppers. the sandwich overall on the dry side w/​both bread & beef too dry. the dip oily which can be ok w/​me but the beef seems not to be soaking in advance of being served here which detracts from taste of beef, bread & sandwich. on the positive side i like the inclusion of the sport pepper in the mix.

When it’s actually open, this place is great! It’s family run and though the food takes a little while, it is worth the wait.
This place is a throwback to 1950 and offers service with a smile while offering good olé fashioned American comfort food in the form of hot dogs and fries. Definitely worth a stop if you’re in the area.

Still waiting on my food, but wanted to wrote this before I forget. No one said Hello at all. It is the most unwelcomed I have ever felt at a burger spot. It’s my first time here and I expected at least a little friendliness. I’m a server and would never treat my guests like this. The one star is just based on service alone.

I was hoping this place would be better. My girlfriend and I went tonight. We ordered a hamburger, chicken tenders, and fries. The burger was pretty soggy, both sides of the buns were falling apart. The chicken tenders were okay (they were the frozen kind which I expected). The fries were the best part – freshly fried with the skin on. The person working was nice, but there were a lot of fruit flies, not very appetizing.

I had the Italian Beef and it was pretty fantastic, better than most of the Italian Beef I’ve had in Chicago. Their milkshakes and fries also looked really good, I’m excited to give those a try sometime. The employees are friendly, the place is clean. Overall, it’s a very solid restaurant.

My friend is Chicago born and bred knows and loves a proper Italian Beef. He gives the Italian Beef with sweet peppers 5 out of 5 stars.
The service is friendly, the place very clean.
I will come back for hand-​cut fries. They look good.
Three hours later went back for fries – so fresh and tasty and addictive.

If you’re looking for an authentic beef sandwich, hotdog or burger with crispy yummy fries… This is your place. We love the shakes too.

I really can’t figure out why this place has maintained such good reviews. I’ve been here three times: italian beef, chicago dog, italian sausage. Each time it was pretty disappointing. Even a mediocre italian beef is worth a couple stars, but I can’t give it more than that.

My wife and I went to Man-​Jo-​Vin with our daughter after playing the park nearby last month. We ordered ice cream for our daughter and some fries for us. Instead of cooking us up a fresh batch of fries, the woman behind the counter took some already cooked fries and put them back in the oil to cook again. The fries were disgusting — the grease just oozed out of them. I have eaten at this place a few times and consider them to be decent hot dog place. The fries this time were terrible and I had to write about it. I could have asked for a fresh batch of fries but did not want to waste my time — I just won’t come back to this place.

MA-​R-​VIN at Man-Jo-Vin’s.
Childhood memories in this place. Kenneth, Kim, Jerry, Susan, Tiffany, Larry, Tony, Michael, etc. All the usual suspects from Audubon elementary school. I felt like Madonna singing, «This used to be my playground»
Located on Damen and Melrose Man-jo’s has been here since 1953. The team members working here today were here working 20 years ago. Amazing!
The place is squeaky clean. Not what it was before. I remember it being bigger as well. Or maybe I am just getting bigger now.
It’s a much nicer place and my mom and I were impressed with how clean the restrooms were. This whole area had changed from when I grew up here. Now, LET’S TALK FOOD!!!
Chicago Style Hot Dogs. This was mom’s order.
Jumbo Italian Beef with hot peppers. This was my order. We got one To Go for Pops.
Great food. Customer service is good. It was nice to reminisce about the good old days. I hadn’t eaten here for over 18 years. It was nice to be back.

The place is very tidy and the staff is really nice. I especially like the star wars characters neatly displayed by the counter. The prices are a little high for a meal so I just ordered a hot dog w/​a San Pelligrino. It was actually pretty good. I can’t really say much about the food since that is all I tried. I will go back again and finish this review.

Their fries alone would give them four or five stars, but overall, a three will suffice.
I’ve come here twice since my college bff lives so close. The first time I got their Italian beef, which was pretty good! But the price point is quite high, especially since the second time I visited the place I got a cheeseburger which was so obviously from a frozen packet it was a bit off-​putting to pay $ 8 for a meal.
I’d probably visit again, just not for their burgers.

The food here is pretty good, when you get it. The service is so amazingly slow. I’ve seen paint dry faster than these people can put a chicago style hot dog together.
Put a little pep in your step — oh and a smile wouldn’t hurt either.
i’d give them a 2.5 star overall…

Man-​Jo-​Vin?! Man-​Jo-​GEM!
So, Sunday we were hurting a bit. A tad (VERY) hungover on a rainy Sunday with no groceries in our house… I decided it was time to make our debut at neighborhood mainstay, Man-​Jo-​Vin. I’d walked by many times, but never quite understood the place… but now I do. NOW I DO.
It’s localized «fast food» in all its glory. Chicago style hot dogs, chili dogs, tamales (a Tamale boat is a tamale in a hot dog bun, what!?), fries, shakes, pizza puffs… you are craving American junk food? They’ve probably got it.
I tried to be relatively good and ordered the jumbo chicken sandwich. Besides the mayo, it was probably a pretty safe choice. Marinated and cooked fresh, topped with lightly grilled onions, tomato and lettuce and placed atop a lightly toasted bun. We both opted for massive Diet Cokes. Bill rang in at just about $ 8. Not too shabby! My guy tried to say he didn’t want anything, but then proceeded to eat half of my sandwich. He also commented that it was surprisingly good for the somewhat bland nature of a grilled chicken sandwich.
What would I come back for? A chocolate shake. A tamale boat. The Chicago style dog combo (TWO!) for under $ 5. Other things. Whenever I’m hungover again.
The place has history (check the pictures on the walls) and a sense of humor (see also: pictures on the walls). The staff was courteous and though not jumping to help me, were certainly adequate. The space is clean with 4 or so booths/​tables to sit and enjoy your food and we were joined by a group of little leaguers with their dad (rainout!) and a pair of older gentleman. Everyone wins and Man-​Jo-​Vin!
*Not open late.
*Does accept credit cards.
*Easy street parking surrounding (watch for rush hour limits)
*Fairly cheap for the ‘hood!
I’m surprised at how much I liked it… in this part of town a good lunch option can actually be a bit tough, but this place has its program on lock down.
Now someone please send me a tamale boat on the double!

I had heard really good reviews of this place, so I popped in to give it a whirl. As other reviewers have mentioned, the staff seems very catatonic, not able to display even the slightest sign of emotion whatsoever. You won’t get small talk, a friendly greeting and even a hint of a smile. To me, this is somewhat off-​putting and makes me wonder what the back story on this place is and why these drones are staffing the front counter as if they are in mourning.
Beyond this, the food is very delicious. French fries are out of this world. The Italian beef sandwiches are just as good as many others you’ll find across the city. Burgers and dogs are also done very professionally for a grill joint. I just wish the workers were a bit more personable and friendly. It would make things much less awkward and much more enjoyable.

This place has a great story going all the way back to the 50s, but honestly… I’m focused on the present when it comes to the food.
$ 4.99 daily special for a hot dog & soup. For the quality, its a total bargain. Tasty hot dog (loaded), incredible fries & decent chicken noodle soup. Coffee was a bit watered down, but maybe I got a bum pot… no biggie.
Next time, the home made shakes…

We stopped here yesterday for lunch while out Geocaching. The burgers and fries we had were excellent. The fries were nice and hot, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The burgers were tasty and hot!
This is not a typical hot dog /​burger stand. It is clean and well lit. The bathrooms are so nice you could think you were in a much more upscale place. The prices are not upscale though, so it was really a nice experience.
I was at the old Man-​Jo-​Vin many years ago. It had more of the type of atmosphere I like (typical hot dog joint), but this place blends in very well with the surrounding neighborhood and suits the clientele.

Great Chicago-​style hot dogs and polish sausages, outstanding pineapple shakes, and some of the best fries around!
Service can be slow sometimes, but it’s definitely worth the wait. Seating can be tight during normal meal times, but outdoor seating is available during the warm months.