Restaurant in Chicago, United States
Daytime only. No reservations. Worth it.
Mr. Beef is Chicago's most recognised Italian beef counter, open Monday through Saturday until 4 PM and earning consecutive Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats recognition in 2023 and 2024. Walk in, order wet with hot giardiniera, and arrive before or after the lunch rush. No reservations, no dinner service, no substitutions for the format.
The common assumption is that any Italian beef sandwich in Chicago is roughly the same thing. It is not. Mr. Beef at 666 N Orleans St has been drawing a specific, devoted crowd for decades, and it earned its spot on the Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America list in both 2023 (Recommended) and 2024 (Ranked #436) for a reason. This is not a tourist trap dressed up in Chicago nostalgia. It is a working counter-service spot that opens at 9:30 AM and closes at 4 PM, Monday through Saturday. If you have been once, you already know the rhythm. This guide is for deciding what to do on your next visit.
Italian beef is a format built entirely on the quality of the beef and the quality of the gravy it is dunked in. There are no sauces, no complicated toppings, and no kitchen technique to hide behind. The sourcing of the beef and the preparation of the braising liquid are the whole product. At Mr. Beef, the result has earned a 4.6 rating across more than 1,500 Google reviews, which is a meaningful signal for a spot in this price tier and format. That kind of sustained rating at high volume does not happen by accident. The sandwich is typically ordered wet (dunked in the cooking juices), dry, or dipped (briefly submerged). If you have been before and ordered dry, go wet next time. The format rewards the full commitment.
The giardiniera question matters here too. Sweet or hot is a genuine fork in the road. Hot giardiniera, made from pickled vegetables in oil with chili, is the more traditional Chicago choice and adds a sharpness that balances the richness of the beef. If you played it safe on your first visit, the hot version gives you a meaningfully different sandwich.
There is no reservation system at Mr. Beef. Walk in, order at the counter, and find a spot. The practical constraint is the hours: 9:30 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday. That window is shorter than most people expect. If you are planning around it, the lunch rush from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM will mean a queue. Arriving at opening or after 2 PM gives you a calmer experience. Booking difficulty is rated Easy, but that only applies if you respect the hours. Missing the window means no fallback on the same block.
| Detail | Mr. Beef | Johnnie's Beef (Elmwood Park) |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Counter service | Counter service |
| Hours | Mon–Sat 9:30 AM–4 PM | Varies; check locally |
| Sunday service | Closed | Open |
| OAD recognition | Yes (2023 & 2024) | Not listed |
| Booking required | No | No |
| Price tier | $ (cheap eats) | $ (cheap eats) |
For a direct comparison on the Italian beef format in the Chicago area, Johnnie's Beef in Elmwood Park is the most frequently cited alternative. Johnnie's has its advocates, but it requires a trip outside the city. Mr. Beef's River North location makes it the more accessible choice for anyone already in central Chicago.
See the full comparison section below for how Mr. Beef sits against Chicago's broader dining options across price tiers.
Mr. Beef is one stop in a city with significant dining range. For the full picture across restaurants, bars, hotels, and more, Pearl's Chicago guides cover each category: Chicago restaurants, Chicago bars, Chicago hotels, Chicago wineries, and Chicago experiences.
If the trip is also taking you to other cities, Pearl covers comparable counter-service and fine dining across the country, including Le Bernardin in New York City, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Emeril's in New Orleans, The French Laundry in Napa, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, Providence in Los Angeles, Atomix in New York City, and Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler in Brunico.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Beef | Easy | — | |
| Smyth | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Alinea | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Kasama | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Next Restaurant | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Moody Tongue | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
How Mr. Beef stacks up against the competition.
Mr. Beef is a counter-service spot, not a bar. You order at the counter, grab a spot wherever one opens up, and eat standing or at a basic surface. There is no bar seating in the conventional sense. The format is fast and informal — think luncheonette, not sit-down restaurant.
For Italian beef specifically, Al's Beef and Portillo's are the most direct comparisons in Chicago and are easier to find across more locations and later hours. If you want a broader Chicago sandwich experience, the city's Polish sausage and Chicago-style hot dog counters scratch a similar daytime, counter-service itch. For something more structured at a higher price point, Kasama on the Pearl guide offers a completely different format but the same cult-following energy.
Italian beef is the menu. The sandwich is built around slow-roasted beef and gravy, so vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free diners will find very little to work with here. If dietary restrictions are a factor for your group, this is not the right stop — the format does not accommodate substitutions in any meaningful way.
Order the Italian beef sandwich, dipped — that means the whole roll goes into the gravy. Add hot giardiniera if you want heat. That is the only decision that matters here. The sandwich is ranked by Opinionated About Dining in their 2024 Cheap Eats in North America list, which is as close to an external endorsement as this format gets.
No. Mr. Beef is a counter-service lunch spot open weekdays until 4 PM and closed Sundays. There are no reservations, no dinner service, and no atmosphere suited to celebration dining. For a Chicago special occasion, Alinea or Smyth are the appropriate tier. Mr. Beef is for when you want to eat well for very little, not when you want to mark an event.
Lunch is your only option — Mr. Beef closes at 4 PM every day and is shut on Sundays. Hours run 9:30 AM to 4 PM Monday through Saturday. If you are planning around dinner, this does not fit. Build it into a midday stop rather than treating it as an evening destination.
Groups can come, but the format sets natural limits. There are no reservations and no private space — you order at the counter and find room where you can. For a group of two to four, it works fine as a quick lunch. Larger groups will find the space and the counter-service pace harder to coordinate. Do not plan a group event here.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
