Metro Deli and Cafe

this is one of those joint that i have grown to like… especially since my train friends and i end up here quite often when we miss our scheduled train going home (and sometimes on purpose, especially on wednesdays — when it’s hot wings night!)…the place is always packed but we have become familiar faces, so the bartenders will have already started making our drinks before we get to the bar to order… here is my «tip» for you (no pun intended) —-leave a good tip! and it will be reciprocated with great service…

While at union station waiting for my train I stopped in for drinks. The place bigger than it looks from the outside and not bad looking with lots of wood. The restaurant is on the left when you walk in and smells good, it smelled good when I walked through the corridor which got me in even though I was not going to eat there.
Service was acceptable for one server trying to work a large bar. The blond server had no personality for a server. Free wifi by the way. This is one of the few sit down places where you can relax while waiting for a train.
There was even a guy in a super hero out fit complete with cape having a meal, see my picture. If you want to get away from the cold food court this is a great option.

I don’t know what is is about Metro Deli — but I love to grab a beer and sandwich here whenever I’m traveling to or through Chicago.
Joining the crowd at the bar in the concourse, steps from the Great Hall in Union Station, will quickly transport you to the golden age of travel. Hurried commuters grab a beer or popcorn as they rush to catch their Metra trains. Families with children and luggage in tow watch the Amtrak train board to see which track they will depart from to all parts of the country.
Inside, the bar is a popular option with both locals and long-​distance travelers. Weekdays see the buffet set up with a wonderful selection of items and a full compliment of hot and cold sandwiches available to go.
PRO TIP: there are no restrooms, but Union Station has several, the closes are out to the left near the Metra ticket counters.

Metro is the frumpy guy who keeps to himself and who you never pay attention to until you one day chat with him and he’s actually quite a nice guy.
I’ve walked by this place next to Union Station’s (really) Great Hall tens of times over the years, and I’ve never thought to go in. It always seemed like a ratty little bar, and if I needed some quick food, I would stop at Corner Bakery, Jamba Juice, or some other place upstairs (while trying to walk fast past the Chicago mix at Nuts on Clark.
Last week I finally walked through the doors to see what was up. A lot is up. It’s actually a very large space, with a cafeteria line with sandwiches and some entrees. I just wanted a quick corned beef sandwich. It wasn’t cheap, and it wasn’t expensive, but they piled the corned beef very high (maybe three or four times what I might get at Corner Bakery) and it was lean! I got it to go, and it came in a nice plastic container that, while not environmentally optimal, made it very easy to eat the sandwich on the train. At about 5 pm, the line wasn’t crowded, yet the place was pretty full of people having a drink and listening to a live singer-​guitarist.
Too bad the place doesn’t look more inviting from the outside; I’ll definitely hang with that guy again when the need arises.

It’s nice to have a halfway decent place right inside the train station. If you order the right thing, the food is pretty good. I find the menu and ordering process confusing — especially when you’re lugging around baggage. It took me a few times before I realized that not everything is listed on the menu. I also would like to see more vegetarian options. On the plus side, they always have Sam Adams and Revolution on tap.
Oh yeah, not sure if it’s a new thing but the last couple times they came around with FREE POPCORN! There’s also an old school rock n roll impersonator here tonight singing some tunes.
Another interesting feature is the party room in back. Not sure who would book a party at Union Station but it might be nice if a large group had a Chicago train layover I guess.

1. You can avoid the food court.
2. You can get a cold beer and decent bar food while waiting for a train.
3. Did I mention you can get a beer and avoid the food court?

This divey bar-​tavern is located within the Chicago Union Station. Not on the food court level, but within the grand hall. A good place to grab a cold drink and watch people. Full bar with appetizers. There is food service within the bar, but you must go order from them. The beer is cold, the food fair to below average. The bar tender was distracted with her cell phone though I did manage to get her attention long enough to order an appetizer and a beer. Great wall décor — old sports & music memorabilia. Its nothing fancy, and not badly priced for downtown Chicago but it is mediocre pub food at best. Recommendation: go for the drinks and people watching — you are taking your chances on the food. Two draft beers with some over cooked extremely dry chicken fingers = $ 19 with a tip. In retrospect the food court may be a better choice since there are several options to choose from.
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I had a few hours inbetween my trains so I pulled up a stool and had some awesome bloody Mary’s and great conversation with the bartender!

It’s located in Union Station away from the «food court». Prices are average, not really sure why people are complaining. It’s obviously going to be marked up since it’s actually inside Union Station. $ 8ish for a sandwich is standard at a place like Bread Co, so why complain here? $ 2 to make it a combo might be a tad high but whatever, not outrageous. Get real folks.
I got some chipotle chicken club sandwich and added avocado. She apparently cut it up on the spot, so it was pretty fresh. The sandwich really wasn’t «chipotle”-esque in my opinion as there was literally no spice or flavor to the sauce really. However, the sandwich was still pretty good. I was pleased.
My sig-​o got a chicken Caesar salad that was reasonably priced as well, like $ 8ish. Again prices you pay at cafés around town. He did say it had a little too much dressing, but, overall pretty good and a decently large size.
It’s located away from the food court as mentioned, close to one of the ticket stations (I think Metra?) and by lockers. It was where the trains used to come in, sorta like what you think of when you think of from movies. Pretty cool.
When we walked in we were not entirely sure what to do. There’s some tables outside the actual restaurant and then you go inside and see a bar. No real sign saying what to do or if there are servers or what. We sat down and I noticed that there was an area similar to Bread Co or Qdoba that you order at and they make it, then you check out and take it to your table. I wish it was a little more explicit and not as hidden, but meh.
Overall the food was pretty good — could have been better but it’s in Union Station so what do you expect? Prices are pretty legit and the place had a nice vibe.

Small breakfast selection compared to what their menu said they served. Moreover I decided not to eat here when they turned away a deaf lady and her interpreter saying they were closed for breakfast then selling another lady that walked up a bagel and orange juice. This was within a minute of turning away the deaf couple.

I can’t speak to the food or service. I write simply to let people know my limited experience with this place. As I was returning from lunch, I needed to break a $ 20. I saw this place and simply assumed a bar like this one would easily break my $ 20. Instead, the bartender told me that they could not break my $ 20 without purchasing anything. Let me be clear… this is NOT a coffee shop, convenience store, or fast food joint. It is a bar/​restaurant with a register from the late 80s/​early 90s. The register could have been open with a the push of a button. The bartender refused to do so if I didn’t purchase a drink (in the middle of the work day) or other item from the kitchen. It seems ridiculous they wouldn’t break my $ 20.

I hit the one day they had table service. Great! Exhausted from being overlong on the Amtrak, I wanted to recoup. The place has been here since at least 1912 when it was a jewelry store. The service was caring and attentive. Of course, it was only 3pm. I don’t know about the rest of the food, but the chili con carne was the best I have eaten in 17 years. I’m in Chicago 6+ times a year. Look for me at the Metro Café.

Bartender was horrible I had for everything and she never came back to check on anything. Very poor customer service was a dissapointment. Bartender needs to quick walking around acting like she is the bomb when she only takes care of the customers that are regulars.

Okay, so I came back and tried the Reuben. Still love this place.
The Reuben was tasty and had the perfect ratio of corned beef to sauerkraut. I’d prefer a true caraway rye instead of that weird marbled rye bread that every place uses, but this is a fine point for Reuben aficionados, me.
The sandwich was a good size not giant and unwieldy, not too small. Reasonably priced. I’ll be back whenever I find myself in Union Station.

Always so enticing when i stop in for a drink. finally grabbed a turkey club sub and it was great. extremely filling and moderately priced

Food is ok, nbd. But, now that they stay open more often than previous years (new owners possibly?) so that’s a HUGE plus for train goers who are early… or MISS their damn rail :)

I like their large and rotating selection of food, but the service is sooooo sloooooow. Kind of ironic, since the restaurant is inside a train station where time is an omnipresent factor. I’ve gone to Metro often, at different times, hoping that service would speed up since I liked the food so much. No luck. I haven’t ordered from the bar yet, but I’ve only ever seen a maximum of 3 people bellied-​up at any given time.

I bought two orders of scrambled eggs, toast, potatoes and bacon and a fruit & yogurt parfait and it was only $ 11. I thought that was a pretty good deal. It tasted good. They have other offerings like salads and sandwiches as well. Very reasonable for Union Station.

Metro Deli & Café is Union Station’s version of a dive bar.
If you’re looking to be pampered and waited on hand and foot, well then you should probably look elsewhere.
If you’re looking for a drink and a place to sit during your commute or to grab one to go for the Metra ride home, this is probably your place.
Metro is very large with a big bar and lots of tables as well as seating outside (inside the station, but outside the actual establishment — great for people watching). They have a few large TV’s for those hoping to catch a game.
If you sit at a table know that Metro does not have waitresses, you will need to go to the bar yourself and order a drink. They also have an area where you can order food, again, it’s not coming to you, you need to go get it.
Belly up to the bar, grab a pitcher, a bag of peanuts and you’ll be a happy traveler.

I personally think Union station is a big embarrassment to the city of Chicago and Metro Deli & Café is one of the many reasons. With so many fast food joints at the station, it’s hard to find a decent place where one can unwind while waiting for the next train. Fine dining? Forget about it. But my party and I decided to give Metro a try because we thought it is a sit-​down restaurant.
Metro has a decent size seating area, a bar, and a cafeteria style food station. It has sandwich, salads, soups etc., the usual. But clearly, many items, if not everything, are not made fresh. Meat for sandwiches seems pre-​packaged. All sandwiches come with a pickle, as described on the menu but they did not tell us that they were out of pickles nor did they offer us anything else in place of the pickles. We asked if we can get a side instead but they would rather refund us 15 cents.
My chicken fingers looked miserable on a bed of lettuce and a side of watery ranch sauce. They are just as long as my ring finger and there were 4 of them for $ 5.99. There were more lettuce than chicken. It’s a fucking rip off! I could get frozen chicken fingers from places like McDonald’s or Popeye’s for much cheaper. The server while handing the chicken fingers to me, did it so quickly that he dropped 1 of the fingers on the counter and turned around to fix other people’s sandwiches. I don’t know if he intentionally ignored it but regardless, that’s a very bad customer service.
0 stars. Don’t come here.