Portillo's Algonquin

Reviews

• MG

  Maria Green

  4 days ago
  5.0
  Hands down amazing food and customer service. I had a small issue with a previous order, but the manager I spoke with was beyond amazing and went above and beyond to resolve my issue!! Portillo's has the best chopped salads!!
• DD

  Dan Davis

  5 days ago
  5.0
  Simply the best hot dogs and beef in Chicago. Always a pleasure to go there.
• RC

  Ryan Conrad

  Sep 3, 2026
  5.0
  Great food and fast. Drive thru kyle has my order down and always remembers when he sees my car. Great service!
• SA

  Sam Ade

  Aug 9, 2026
  1.0
  This was my first time visiting this Portillo’s location, and unfortunately, I deeply regretted choosing to come here tonight—especially because I brought my kids to try Portillo’s for the first time. We ordered two full slabs of ribs and were told there would be approximately a 20-minute wait. We were instructed to park near the stop sign, where there were two lanes, and wait for our order to be brought out. Shortly after we parked, a large SUV was trying to exit through the other lane and was having difficulty because the area was very narrow. For safety reasons and to avoid blocking traffic, I moved my vehicle to the other side of the curb. I remained in the same immediate area, just in a slightly different spot where I would not obstruct other vehicles. We then waited patiently for approximately 45 minutes, assuming our food simply wasn’t ready yet. Eventually, I went inside to check on the order, only to be told that our food had already been ready, but because I had moved from the original spot, they decided to keep the food inside. This was extremely disappointing. I explained that I had never left the area—I simply moved a few feet away because I was trying to be considerate and safety-conscious. Since I had specifically been told to wait for the food to be brought out, I don’t understand why no one made any reasonable effort to locate us, especially considering we were still right there. What bothered me most was the response after I explained what happened. There was no apology or acknowledgment of the inconvenience. Instead, I was simply told that “next time” I should stay in the exact spot. I understand that restaurants have procedures, but customer service should also involve common sense, communication, and courtesy. Was I wrong for trying to be safety-conscious and making room for another vehicle to pass? More importantly, I had two kids sitting in the car excited to try Portillo’s for the first time. They ended up waiting nearly 45 minutes unnecessarily while their food was apparently sitting inside getting cold. As a parent, that was the most frustrating part of the experience. Mistakes and misunderstandings happen, and I completely understand that. But a simple apology and a little empathy would have gone a long way. Unfortunately, the way the situation was handled made what should have been a fun first experience for my kids a very disappointing one. The food ended up being a waste as the kids slept off on me while driving home.
• TC

  Tyler Carolan

  Aug 6, 2026
  3.0
  Portillo's has been a staple of my love of Chicago food for my entire life. Over the past few years as I've been moving back here, I've had the opportunity to try it more frequently and at first I wanted to think that the changes were just the facts of opening a new store in Algonquin. And I wanted to be excited about the expansion of something that I thought was a really great restaurant. But the more that I've tried to eat here the more that I feel like we've lost the plot on what made Portillos awesome. After all I used to be able to come in here and have an Italian beef sandwich with hot peppers and sweat a bit from the heat and enjoy it. Sopping wet, fresh and hot. But the sandwich I just had is like so many others I've had since I moved back. A dry sandwich despite being dipped and a fraction of the peppers at a fraction of the heat. And it's not just limited to the Italian beef. Although I haven't had one since I last thought that "Hey, maybe I can still get a good Chicago dog from Portillos," that last experience had me remembering that I can in fact get Vienna beef and rosen's buns, sport, peppers and all of the fixings from the grocery store and at least it will still come out hot and well assembled. I mean I get it. We're in private equities takeover of everything that we love and at the end of the day there was a lot of money dangling here, but I can't help but feel like despite the expansions benefits, I'm losing the reasons to go to the restaurant. I mean let's face it. If I would rather cook my own Italian beef then buy your sandwich. At this point I think there's a problem.

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