Twisted Spoke

I think I might have a love /​hate relationship with the twisted spoke! This particular visit was my first time and everything was just ok. The place is pretty cool everything else just kindof fell a little short. I came in for dinner by recommendation with my BF and two of his buddies. One of the guys and my BF have eaten here on numerous occasions and vouched for the place. Needless to say I was expecting to be blown away.
The moment we were handed our menus I thought to myself «wow there is a ton to choose from». I was a little ahead of myself, it was only the drink menu. Great for the guys but I’m more interested in the food and specifically what I was going to order! I should mention that I do have certain food restrictions being a strict vegetarian. That said, the menu is pretty limited. I honestly thought my menu was missing a page or two. Not much to choose from, everything looked great but there wasn’t much for me to eat…
The guys decided on a Burger, Chicken sandwich, and the Buffalo Chicken tenders. They loved their dishes and overall they were pretty satisfied! I on the other hand got shafted and ordered an Egg Sandwich (it was all I could actually eat) — not exactly something I would order myself for dinner but when in Rome, right? The sandwich was ok, I’ll give them that, but I was hoping for something more than just a Grilled Cheese (so boring!). It was good but I was not impressed, I wanted the experience the guys were having with their meals. oh well.
One thing I have to commend the Twisted Spoke for is how fast our food came out. I’m not entirely sure if it was do to the fact that it wasn’t as busy or these cooks really know what they’re doing! As far as the service is concerned I found it to be somewhat awkward and a little cold. Our waiter was very quiet, I honestly did not understand or hear a single word he said the entire time. I can’t really say that he was attentive to our table or any other within our vicinity.
Overall I’d come back only if my boyfriend wanted to go, I personally wouldn’t come back on my own unless they expanded their menu… The website was down at the time and is still down today. Usually I do my research before dinner, unfortunately on this occasion I came in a little blind.

I came here with some friends for brunch this weekend and overall had a great time. We ordered the biscuits and gravy, chilaquiles with chorizo, and corned beef hash. The hash was just Ok, but everything else was great. The chilaquiles definitely took the win. We also tried 3 different bloody Mary’s and all were great. I like a place with a creative bloody! Mine was made with gin and had 2 shrimps as a garnish– delicious! They also get brownie points from me for the amount of beer options they have. Tons and tons of good beer on tap to choose from, so you’re sure to find something you’ll like!
The atmosphere is cool, laid-​back with a biker vibe. I look forward to returning for the upstairs patio come spring!

This place is awesome. Good food. Great prices. Parking is a litttle sucky but u can find one. Service is cool. We were on our way to show so my guy luved the service because we were able to get in and out and still make movie

Went for the first time after my daughter got a tattoo for the first time at Great Lakes down the street. Excellent beer selection and food is delicious. Started with the flaming lemon wings, which are lit on fire at the table and adds a nice caramelization to the wings, pork tacos and shrimp po’ boy. Service was friendly and prompt. We will be back.

There is an option to eat at the bar or there is a back room that is more of a restaurant feel. Anything with the pulled pork is a must try! I had the nachos. Meat was so tend and seasoned so well. I heard the pulled pork sandwich is just as delicious. Went on a Thursday night and it was pretty empty so service was great!

As awlays, excellent service, and excellent food. I love to come here late afternoon for the best stomach filling brunch menu ever.

My boyfriend talked Twisted Spoke up for months before we went to visit Chicago. He wasn’t lying. I can’t speak for the food — we weren’t exactly headed here for a meal. But their alcohol… now, that, I can speak for. Their ridiculously long metal bar and awesome bartenders was a great way to spend a few hours getting drunk before 2pm. Started out sweetly with a Road Rash Mary each and beer backs. That quickly turned into a whiskey adventure seeing as they have well over 400 whiskeys sitting behind the bar. Great atmosphere, great selection, awesome time.

Good for lunch or dinner, not my choice for brunch.
I went for brunch last weekend and was super disappointed. I had been before for dinner and drinks and was really pleased. See my previous review.
Anyway, brunch… two things I learned: 1) They love ground pepper and 2) they love poached eggs. So this is not the place for me for brunch. I had a bloody mary, it was ok, needed some vinegar so I got a pickle to put in there. I heard their gin bloody is better. I ordered the corned beef hash, it had poached eggs on top. I am not a big fan of poached eggs, but don’t mind them if everything with it tastes good. And everything I saw was poached eggs. I ordered the corned beef hash… it was loaded, I mean loaded with ground pepper. I think maybe they put en entire container in my dish. My tongue still tastes like pepper (ok, maybe I am exaggerating). Anyway, extremely overly peppered hash AND poached eggs, I was really disappointed. My brothers got the gumbo, they said it was just eh. I guess my one brother had it before and loved it, so maybe it was just an off day. One of the gumbos had overcooked, you guessed it, poached eggs.
I’ll come back any day after work or on the weekend for dinner and drinks. Say no to brunch here. I have had a burger and buffalo chicken sandwich and both were good. I also enjoy the music they play.

I’ve been in here a few times for a drink and this past weekend my boyfriend and I were driving by and decided to try out some lunch. The food was surprisingly delicious! Pork tacos were flavorful with a good hint of spice, and the chicken sandwich was inhaled by my other half. I would definitely come back and try some more of their food, the biscuits and gravy looked delicious as well, and like something I would like to try — I’m a sucker for biscuits and gravy and very few places make a good plate.
The only thing I have to say, which didn’t necessarily affect my experience here, is that the bartender was a little bit strange. She took our order with an omelette in her hand that she was chowing down on, and at some point in the hour we were there she put on sunglasses. She also had no qualms about answering her cell phone while bar tending. But, twisted spoke is airing towards the side of divey, so I try just to think of it as added character to the place.

I had brunch here yesterday and the food was very good… my complaint is with a particular issue of service. I arrived and was planning on ordering lunch, and so ordered a Diet Coke. After quickly perusing the menu, I realized that brunch was a better option, and approached the bar to change this order to coffee. The man at the bar told me «no problem» that he would let the server know. The server then returned to my table, seeming annoyed, with a Diet Coke and told me she had «already poured it», and did I want it. I told her no, I wanted coffee. We proceeded to have a nice brunch. When the bill came, I was charged for both the coffee and the Diet Coke. I have worked at many restaurants in my lifetime and am aware of the insignificant cost of fountain soft drinks, so this seemed very petty and punitive. Left a bad taste in my mouth after a nice meal. #pennywiseandpoundfoolish

Breakfast was great and so was the waiting staff

Incredible Bloody Mary’s on a Sunday morning. Eggs, bacon toast? You can get that anywhere. But the TS Sunday breakfast choices will take care of any Sunday morning craving… or hangover

Killer staff, killer food, amazing bar! Definitely go here!

I live right down the street from Twisted Spoke and always walk by the motorcycle riding skeleton up top. It reminds me of ghost rider actually. I finally made way and stopped in for brunch. I got the breakfast burrito because breakfast burritos were God’s gift to us. Probably one of my chart topping breakfast burritos. Tasty and a quantity eater’s sized burrito. Eggs, chorizo, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, chihuahua cheese in a flour tortilla and topped with freshly made salsa… damn good.
I washed the burrito down with a tasty bloody that comes with a complimentary/​necessary beer back. Everything else at the table looked awesome as well. Loaded/​stocked bar for all the drinkers. They have a nice little patio up top too.

So… I was pretty much a fan of Twisted Spoke at first sight. Who could possibly diss this place after seeing the rad motorcycle skeleton hanging about the entrance?! It’s just got that magnetic character and charm.
Overall, things about Twisted Spoke that stands the test of time:
1) Great outdoor rooftop bar and seating.
2) Whiskey Wednesday!
3) Can accommodate large groups, especially on week nights.
4) Above average food for a biker bar!
This is definitely one of those… «I want to be a regular» type establishments. Heck, let’s make a weekly Wednesday night of it, eh?

The hype around Twisted Spoke having an amazing Bloody Mary is real! Just the right level of spicy and perfect consistency. They even have rotating beer backs so wash down that delicious Bloody Mary.
The corned beef has was so/​so but the real highlight was the shrimp Po’ Boy. Absolutely out of this world. I know what I’ll be getting next time.

Wow. I would get food from here multiple times
Per month when I used to work nearby. Me and my fiancé came and I was excited to get a buffalo chicken sandwich!
.god. This was probably the worst food experience I have had in an extremely long time. I got my sandwich, it looked burnt and maybe just used the sauce to cover it up. The waitress recommended the fries which turned out to be cold spongy things. Didn’t even swallow one. The cheese curds were pretty cool, not enough quantity for the price and man was it strange biting into that glorious huge curd that was cold on the inside. I’m so sad. :-(

I went to Twisted spoke as part of my chicago burger club monthly event.
I had been before but considered it unremarkable.
For a large group (16) they were able to accommodate us on either the roof or in the back room seating are which was nice. We picked indoors which was good because a monsoon opened up before we were done eating.
Our table ordered a few appetizers including the bbq nachos, chili and the guacamole. The chili comes out in a 9 inch skillet and is a huge portion that includes 2 cornbread muffins. The chili was delicious. I’m not a take leftovers home kind of person but i definitely took the extra chili home and had it for lunch the next day which was even better the second day.
We all got the fat boy which comes with free add-​ons of cheese, onions, grape tomatoes and lettuce but also offers $ 1 add-​ons of bleu cheese, chorizo, avocado, bacon, and fried egg.
Some rock and roll style burger places blast loud music which is tough to have conversations over but Twisted spoke did not on this Tuesday which I appreciated.
Overall, a great memorable experience my second time at twisted spoke.

The first time I went to Twisted Spoke was last summer for brunch and had an awesome experience. They had an awesome po’ boy, amazing Bloody Mary’s and great rooftop seating. I never got around to reviewing it then, but if I had, my review would be much, much better.
We headed to Twisted Spoke after Pitchfork to grab a drinks and bite to eat with some friends we met up with after the show. It was around 11pm, and there was an insane wait. We were attempting to order drinks at the bar while waiting, but the bartender ignoring us and cleaning glasses that she didn’t need at the moment instead. They somehow were able to seat us right away, which we were relieved about. The server warned us that the bar was a bit backed up when we sat down. We had just come from the bar and didn’t think it should be that bad. We ended up waiting about forty-​five minutes for four beers and one neat pour of whiskey. We placed an order for cheese curds, guacamole and BBQ nachos, which took just as long as the drinks. I don’t know if they were slammed from Pitchfork or what, but the amount of time it took to get drinks was ridiculous.
I really liked Twisted Spoke before this visit, but they really need to get it together. When we left there were even more people than when we arrived waiting for tables. Like I said, I don’t know if it is typically like that, but man, it was insane.

Headline — It has so much promise; it should be great. It’s not.
Have driven by Twisted Spoke on many occasions. But, never stopped in. Tonight, the wife and I came in for dinner.
Let me start with the good:
1. Great location
2. The bar is well-​stocked, with a great assortment of beers on tap.
3. The rooftop is really nice. Lots of seating. Good views.
4. The BBQ Nachos were killer. Definitely a must have.
Now, let’s talk about the bad:
1. The burger was greasy. I mean really greasy. As in greasy enough to turn a toasted bun into something soggy.
2. The po boy was not fresh. A basic rule of «fish» is, it shouldn’t smell fishy. My po boy did. Not good. Also, similar to the burger, a toasted roll was rendered soggy. In this case, it wasn’t because of grease, but because the slaw was so plentiful.
3. The bathroom was disgusting. It’s a health hazard waiting to happen. I get that it’s a «biker bar», but cmon, the bathroom can’t be a toxic war zone.
4. Service was meh. I’d put it on the slow side, not the worst, but worth mentioning.
This might be a good place for a great cocktail, but I can’t recommend the conditions or the food. A real disappointment.

«Broken Spoke»
After coming here almost weekly for years, I was surprised on a recent visit to find a drastically cut down menu. The staff explained that the kitchen was abruptly closed for three days last month and upon reopening that this is what they are now serving. Gone are most of the signature Mexican dishes that held up one side of the old menu — no more tacos or burritos — sadly, even the remaining standards have been thoroughly mangled.
My typical order used to be chicken tacos or a burrito, but left to the limited options, I went back to an old favorite — the BBQ chicken sandwich. The breast itself was dry and about a half the size of the prior offering and inexplicably they have abandoned their delicious brioche bun for an oversized dry, almost stale style of bread — maybe to compensate for the smaller chicken breast. Either way, it was terrible.
This was all heartbreaking and I left wondering if this was just a bad day, a change in owner, manager, chef or all of the above.
With a sunny spring day at hand, my wife wanted to go for lunch outside the following week and suggested the Spoke for some fish tacos. I explained that they were no longer on the menu and tried to describe my experience from earlier this week and she scoffed at the possibility it could really be that bad. So we gave it another try…
Shockingly, the second experience was even worse. We tried a burger and against hope it showed up on that same inedible bun the chicken sandwich arrived on during my prior visit. Instead of a regular sliced tomato it came with a pile of grape tomatoes that spilled off the patty like a fistful of marbles. The salad which used to be a generous portion of crisp greens was an undersized and wilted mess. At $ 8 it is the certainly the worst value in salads in the city.
I took notice at the tables around us and the amount of uneaten food on peoples plates is notable, typically sandwiches and burgers picked apart, to eat around the dry, oversized buns. Read other recent reviews — post May 1 — and they are all on this same theme.
The staff are polite and apologetic about the changes and customer disappointment. I know most of them from my literally hundreds of visits to the Spoke. They reported that there has been no change of ownership or chef, just a willful act of abuse on a very loyal customer base.
As we were leaving, there was a table full of police officers eating lunch and it was all I could do to not stop and report a crime. I caught myself, because at heart I am a capitalist and respect a business owner’s right to change the product as they see fit — whether to cut quality, reduce portions or raise prices. I do however also believe in freedom of choice, and like many other regulars will be choosing to not return to this shell of a once great establishment.

I came here after church today. The bar has an industrial, biker theme.
We ate on the bar side, and it was pretty busy. The food is very reasonably priced!
We got the pulled pork nachos, which has a sweet sauce and melted cheese. The breakfast tacos are simple, but tasty. The burger is huge, and you can add a ton of toppings for no change.
I would love to come back in the summer and eat on the rooftop patio.

I’ve passed by Twisted Spoke on almost a daily basis for nine years. Perhaps I was intimidated by the biker feel the exterior of the restaurant exudes? In my defense, I haven’t been to any restaurants with a skeleton riding a motorcycle spinning on top of the roof (not your typical weather vane). Either way, I regret letting my prejudice keep me from one of the best brunches I’ve experienced in the city. Twisted Spoke is comfy in its own, very rock and roll skin. They put their own spin on traditional brunch items, which really sets them apart in my opinion. I ordered the Chila-​Killas. One of the best chilaquiles I’ve had outside of Mexico. The tortillas weren’t soggy and overpowered by the ingredients on top. There was the perfect amount of heat so the additional hot sauces that came out with the dish weren’t even necessary.
My friends and I shared the fried cheese curds… D-​LICIOUS! We also shared the banana fritters, which were thin banana pancakes as is the traditional Jamaican way. I love that I got to travel to Wisconsin, Jamaica and Mexico on a delicious culinary journey without leaving the near west side! I know I’ll be back because so many things caught my eye!
Also, they have a killer rooftop. Not so good during Chiberia but definitely well worth the wait for the blissful Chicago summers!
Twisted Spoke exceeded every expectation of mine and I can’t wait to go back and work my way through their menu!

Twisted spoke got it twisted.
And not the good, Keith Sweat-​kind of twisted.
My friends and I were looking for a beer and a bite in the area. It was fairly nice out and I suggested we do the rooftop every chicago mag raves about.
Our server was cool and the biker vibe was strong. We ordered drinks, the jalapeño poppers, cheese curds, seared tuna sandwich, couple fat boy burgers with egg and bacon, wings, and a shrimp po boy.
My friend asked if her po boy could be on another type of bread and the server was hesitant, saying she wouldn’t get the full experience with less shrimp. Umm, how does a diff bread = less portion of food? Just put the rest on the side or something.
When our food came, poppers tasted just like the frozen ones you get at target, cheese curds were barely cheesy and had the grossest salad dressing as a dipping sauce. My tuna ‘wich tasted exactly like the tuna steaks I buy @ Trader Joes (2 for $ 7) that I make with with way more seasonings. Her po boy was blah. I had a bite and felt like the shrimp was 99% breading with dried out lettuce. My hubby and his friend loved their burgers, so I guess this is a strictly burger and beer place. That’s cool.
Over the course of our meal, we asked for extra utensils, glasses and finally the bill. Each time we needed something, our server was missing and another server with a pretty stank attitude assisted us but took an eternity.
I get it. Bikers are badasses and the vibe is supposed to cater to beer, burgers, machoness, etc. But if you’re gonna have 20 other menu items, make them a little better, ok?
There’s definitely better rooftops and food spots in chicago. Don’t get it twisted!