23 Burger
Eleven City Diner

Eleven City Diner

1112 S Wabash Ave # 2 Chicago, IL 60605-2345, United States

Delis • Diners • Brunch • Terrace


"Eleven City Diner is a superb breakfast brunch spot in the Chicago area! It was recommended by staff at the hotel I was staying at in Chicago, and did not disappoint. Last Thursday, I rushed to come here for brunch, and took an Uber here because I am just visiting the Chicago area. I walked in and ordered table for one, and got bar seating immediately. I immediately enjoyed the casual, laid back atmosphere around me and snapped some photos to capture the moment. I asked the waiter for popular items, and 11 City French Toast (FT was mentioned. Rita's Plate appealed to me because it had eggs, meat, and potatoes, but also came with the FT. Waiter said FT is better with 11 City toppings strawberries and bananas that is. I said why not, let's go for it. While we were waiting, I saw a keg of root beer (RB and saw that 11 City is known for its authentic, bottomless RB. I said why not, and called the waiter over and ordered that for my drink. The wait time was not egregious, but it was somewhat long. I was presented with the Rita's Plate at long last, which came with what looked like ham, scrambled eggs with fresh avocado, and potato wedges. On the second plate there was powdered FT, and since this was 11 city style, came with strawberries and bananas. All the food was pretty spot on. I enjoyed ham, egg, and potatoes plate but it was not a home run. Still flavorful and enjoyable. The FT was amazing, probably one of best FT I've tried at a brunch spot before. Flavorful and with the strawberries and bananas it added lot of natural sugar to it. If getting toppings, I would advise against using too much of the maple syrup; in this case it is already sweet enough with the powder and fruit, and maybe conservative quantities of syrup is called for. As well, if you order anything else sugary like root beer as a drink, you most certainly don't want to get an overload of sugar for breakfast, so I would advise again limited quantities of maple syrup or skipping it altogether. I will say, there was a few mishaps and delays in my order, such as the bartender forgetting I had ordered RB so I had to remind him, and it only arrived much after my main dish. But it's not a deal breaker, and I understand that folks can be busy here. As for the RB, the drink was a bit sugary but I missed root beer as I haven’t had it for the longest time, it was good to try authentic fresh RB once again and best is they offer free refills, so I got one and finished half of the other (as I said, bit too sugary for me! All in all, this is a spot on breakfast or brunch spot if one is visiting Chicago, and cannot go wrong with 11 City Diner. I will recommend, and my suggestion will be to ask for popular items and or toppings, and then adjust or add substitutes as I have for the FT accordingly, based on best judgement or preference. I enjoyed this spot and will likely be back once I find myself in the Chicago area again. Definitely check it out!"