The Big Cheese On Lincoln

Do not eat here! Place is in turmoil… Owner said he will not honor Unilocal or groupons… Beware still selling Unilocal discounts for this place. I was told they are trying to sell the joint… Menu has changed… Blah!

I bought a Unilocal coupon and they won’t honor it tonight!!! The food isn’t good anyway so I won’t waste my time if I was you. Very unprofessional !!! Recently there was a sign posted proving this !!! Their hours have been unpredictable also !!!

Great grilled cheese, bread crispy perfect buttery flavor; went with traditional, bacon and tomatoe, had them chop it up, turned out great; tomato soup was thick and creamy, full of flavor; nice people, great value, will b back for some of their other creations

Had the ham and cheese sandwich. Thought it was very good, maybe just a tad over cooked. Bloody mary was $ 5. Will definitely be back again! Very nice interior too.

Stopped here randomly with my boyfriend last week as he was craving grilled cheese and tomato soup.
We both got the classic grilled cheese with a side of tomato soup. Fortunately, unlike other reviews, my sandwich wasn’t the least bit greasy and was amazing and cheesy. The soup was incredible and perfect for sandwich dipping. My boyfriend loved his too.
Will definitely be back next time a craving strikes.

Most depressing burger I’ve ever had. I asked for ketchup and mayo and didn’t get it. The fries were not fresh.

We’ve been driving by this Lincoln Square location wondering about The Big Cheese for months. Being a native cheesehead myself, I’ve been really curious about the possibilities of my favorite, grilled cheese and tomato soup. Well, I was not disappointed, this was like lunchtime in Wisconsin. Ooey, gooey goodness! And top it off with a full bar and great craft beers. I love cheese!

This place has gone downhill. There’s more of a focus on the bar now, and it’s at the expense of good service. My parents like coming here when they’re in town because they enjoy grilled cheese and there’s almost always a Groupon or some other deal going on for this restaurant. We were there a few weeks ago, and the server (who was also the bartender) was inattentive. We were the only customers until the very end of our meal, by the way, so it’s not like he was busy. Water glasses went unfilled. We had ordered Cokes that were served in tiny glasses, and they came from a can, which we found out when we asked our server for refills. I don’t know why he just didn’t leave the cans with us when he originally brought our drinks.
The food wasn’t great. The salad was supposed to be mixed greens and was iceberg lettuce. They only had two types of dressing. The fried pickles were gross, but we were hungry, so we ate them. And I can make better grilled cheese sandwiches at home.
If you’re paying with a Groupon, they don’t give you a bill at the end of the meal because apparently their computer system won’t let them do that.
A couple years ago, they had nice, attentive servers and the food was decent. I don’t know what happened.

Awesome food. Fries are fresh and delicious grilled cheese sandwiches are out of this world. Don’t pass it by stop in and dine you won’t leave hungry or disappointed. Ok went there again had the burger it was great and the fried pickles are a must.

The Big Cheese serves up big ol’ cheesy sandwiches. I was in the mood for something cheesy and somewhat greasy, and by god I got it — big time. I tried one of the premium cheeses with mushrooms and truffle oil. It was big, cheesy, crispy, and super greasy. All of that is both good and bad. I thought the sandwich was a tad overdone and pretty over-​greased with the truffle oil (a little goes a long way). I still enjoyed it, and the tomato soup was good too.
My non-​cheese eating companion ordered one of the burgers and fries which he enjoyed. It was a good size burger.
For dessert we split the churro sundae. It was an impressive sight — a tall sundae glass with four mini churros sticking out of the top, dressed with chocolate syrup and cherries. The churros were great, but the ice cream had a lot of ice chunks throughout it like it had been partially defrosted and re-​frozen a time or two too many…

Good grilled cheese– but very greasy. We ate here on a groupon and liked the food. The dining/​bar area reminds me of a good place to watch the game and eat food from their menu and have a few. It’s on the smaller side, so I wouldn’t go with a big group of people.
The staff was polite and welcoming.

Fried green beans were good. Classic and portobello sandwich were really good. The restaurant was being refinished so we had to sit outside, but it was nice out anyways. Service was ok just wish they would have had better utensils and napkins. Grilled cheeses can get greasy at times and a nice napkin would be great.

I love the big cheese– in fact I was a regular for a long time. Now they don’t deliver, and I’ve called for pick-​ups and they don’t answer. I’ve given up on this restaurant.

Don’t go by their Unilocal hours. They close at 3 on Sunday. We drove quite a bit up here at six on Sunday to find that out:(

Came here last Sunday and sat outside. Service was fast and attentive. Fried pickles were okay. Grilled cheese was pretty good. Nothing special.

Very disappointing. Came here for a quick dinner around 930−10pm on a sat. Once we walked in we thought they were closing bc the staff was at the bar. We asked if they were serving food and the response was a slow we can whip something up. Cook stood up and went to the kitchen. Food overall was below what I expected. I would of been better off making it at home. Even with the groupon this place was not worth it.

They were out of so many of their menu items when we stopped in; to name a few: out of a few beers (from their already limited beer selection), out ingredients (bacon) for their sandwiches, out of the special «Dijon chicken sandwich». Maybe their vision is limited as well, their is a major supermarket across the street (maybe 25 feet). Also, there is a brewery, Half Acre, that has amazing beer less than half a block away. There is no reason to be out of anything. I should have read the previous Unilocal reviews, the only thing they are not running out of is reviews about how they are often out of menu items or ingredients.
We were starving so stayed. One sandwich turned out pretty bad, the other rather good. Mine was the Diablo, tasted pretty good, the only exception would be the chorizo dripping grease. My Sugar had the cheddar and pickle sandwich, it was stellar. The tomato soup was good for dipping the greasy Diablo in; the fries were frozen, but good with the parmesan.

We were hungry and there were several other places around that we could have chosen. We selected this place because grilled cheese and they had a sign for beer in the window. The first thing the waiter said as we sat down? «We are out of most of our beers. There was a viewing of the fight last night and we ran out of a lot.» This should have been a clue. And before I continue, there is a grocery store directly across the street where a restaurant in need of supplies could go, in a pinch.
We ordered beer only to find that they had one bottle left of the kind we both picked. I selected something else. We ordered our food only to find that they were out of bacon for the sandwich. Also, the special still written on the board? Out of that, too. People who came in after us weren’t told about what they were out of, and they ordered the bacon sandwich, too. I ended up with the cheese and pickle sandwich. It was really tasty. My fiancé ordered the Diablo. The grease dripping out of it turned my stomach. It’s too bad because it was really good.
In the end? I don’t think we’ll be back. The Unilocal reviews seem to show a pattern of being out of things. I’ve watched enough «restaurant rescues» to know what that means. And also, if you are out of stuff, at least apologize for the inconvenience.

I was pretty excited about having a grilled cheese sandwich spot in the neighborhood. Tried it for the first time tonight, far from impressive. The sandwich was soggy (truffle), the fries were soggy (and tasted frozen… I get it, fresh cut ain’t everyone’s bag, nor should it be (well, it should be). But the obvious frozen taste is a huge bummer), and the fried pickles were soggy.
That said, I’m willing to give another shot. Next time perhaps going classic with the soup would be the option.

Really good, old fashioned grilled cheese. They use Texas toast for there bread and it totally makes the sandwich. Add to that the thick tomato soup and it makes the PERFECT fall/​winter combo.
Also don’t forget to order the fried pickles!