27 Live

We had our daughter’s bat mitzvah party at 27 Live this past weekend and it was amazing. Joe and John are extremely kind, flexible and incredibly accommodating. We were throwing things at them at the last minute, like a donut machine (the kind that requires boiling hot oil) for our guests, and they took it all in stride, and figured out how to make it work for us. The servers were responsive and on top of all of our needs and requests. The food was delicious. We are extremely happy with our choice of 27 Live for this big day in our lives and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a venue to hold a party!

Place looks nice and has potential for being an outstanding place. But mgmt and staff need to step things up. I encourage everyone to boycott this establishment for their rude and lying attitude. NOTE: This has nothing to do with the Greek restaurant next door. They have separate entrances.
Per 27-​live website, tickets were $ 7 in advance or $ 10 at the door. So I purchased 2 in advance and paid a $ 4 service charge for a total of $ 18. When we got to the show we were told there was an error and it was $ 5 at the door and I was offered and never received a $ 4 refund as I asked for the service charge back too. When a mgr finally appeared he blamed ticketfly for the problem and refused to refund me anything.
When I refused to accept the feeble excuse of ‘its ticketfly. com’s fault’ the owner (?) bullied me out of the show and was nothing but loud, abusive and tried to bully me. I stood there while they yelled at me and when I said we were done, unless they talked in an appropriate tone, the owner blocked the entrance door and started talking softer.
In addition to being arrogant, he also blamed ticketfly for the errors and said it was all their fault and he doesn’t contract with them. Which we know is false per their site and my pointing out a few logistics.
When my wife came to see what the story was, they were insulting, loud and tried to bully her. I insisted they stop talking to her and once again lower their tone. With a witness there they complied and seeing I was not getting anywhere with this arrogant, abusive individual I returned to the show unhindered.
Why would I pay 40% more in advance? Had the correct price been displayed on the site, I would not have made an advanced purchase with a 40% surcharge; initially I was saving $ 2. (half a beer or added tip money).

Went there for a fund-​raiser /​benefit party. They had a simple selection of munchies: thin crust pizza, all of which were good (for thin crust — seriously, I’m a deep dish fan). Four cheese — very cheesy. Very nice sausage/​pepperoni. solid on the pizza. Bacon wrapped dates rocked the appetizer platters!
decent bar cheese burgers… and fried carrot chips to round out a healthy menu.
Tomato/​mozz/​basil on a skewer is something I’m stealing for my own party. The bar was well stocked with local brews from Temperance. Nice selection of other beers as well. I’ll be back…

Great place! The lamb burger is amazing. Excellent sausage plates! George the waiter/​bartender/​rockstar was awesome. Also among live music. Other tip– carrot fries

Loved my lamb burger for lunch. It’s obvious they have a talented chef! Service was great. I will be back to try the whiskey room and hear some music. If you’re in the area it’s a perfect lunch stop.

I came back here, and this time I had the Groupon. Since my first visit to place, the menu drastically had changed. Unfortunately, the amount of business they had on a weeknight was still pretty minimal (1 – 2 other tables full).
The deal was $ 35 for (up to $ 65 total value)
One appetizer (up to $ 12 value)
Two entrees (up to $ 23 value each)
One dessert ($ 7 value)
On the new menu, the most expensive entrée is now $ 15, so it kind of sucks if you bought this deal before the menu changed. They were nice enough to comp us an extra appetizer, but this still didn’t get us anywhere close to maximum value possible. We ordered the poutine as an appetizer, but the waitress forgot to mention this wasn’t vegetarian (even though she knew we wanted vegetarian appetizers). We realized the poutine wasn’t vegetarian when it came out. Our waitress was very accommodating and let us pick a different appetizer.
Between the extra and replaced appetizers, we ended up with Goat Cheese and the Kid Rock salad, both of which were excellent. These two probably could have filled us up too. For my entrée, I ordered the spinach and artichoke ravioli, which was fantastic and better than ravioli I’ve had at many Italian restaurants.
With the new, reduced, prices, I think the food is a much better value for the price than before. Ironically, with a groupon, the value is not as good as before. They said that they may bring back some old menu items seasonally, and I really hope they bring back the chestnut gnocchi because I’m craving it and the vegan lasagna because I’d like to try it.

The venue and the restaurant are both great! They actually have great options for those with dietary restrictions. The chef at the restaurant was excited by the challenge and made us a special vegan gluten-​free appetizer not in the menu, a delicious stuffed turnip. Sooo delicious! Plus the venue had a great ambiance and pulls in great talented musicians. You need to go here! It’s not overly crowded and hipster, although it very well should be. Also, the cocktails are great too!

Although I have not been here for an actual meal yet, I stopped by for the first time the other day for a Unilocal event. 27 live is a truly unique venue in Evanston — the interior is trendy without being pretentious, and I love how they have an upper level with VIP rooms, all of which have a lot of personality.
I got to try a small selection of their food, including carrot chips, fried mac and cheese, a few pizzas, and two types of burgers. It was pretty standard fare in terms of flavor and presentation, but you don’t really eat bar food for the «sophisticated flavors». The staff was highly efficient, which I appreciated — they were constantly replacing empty platters.
Definitely want to stop by for a meal sometime in the near future.

This place is amazing. From the nice stiff drinks to the upstairs «secret» bar and private rooms, this is a great place to throw a party. The house band rawks!

I was lucky enough to try this place during a Unilocal event last night.
So there was a selection of food:
We tried a couple slices of the pizza which was thin crust and simple but yummy. They also had carrot chips which were crunchy and sweet and a Blue House burger I believe it was called which was so unique. But the real winners where the yummy fried mac and cheese wedges. I had to restrain my self from eating more so I switched over to drinking.
The drinks:
Are strong and flavorful! The bartenders are fun to talk to and I really enjoyed seeing that our bar tender down stairs was tasting my drink (with his own straw of course!) because I got a margarita and we all know right now limes are not being our friends. Just him taking that little extra step rather then just handing it to me is nice to see and sadly we don’t see it a often as we should! I also enjoyed there was Veev sprits there (I feel in love with Veev about a month ago and haven’t seen it anywhere but Park Tavern in Rosemont).
I also really enjoyed the layout of the venue. I love the lounge seating upstairs and how its broken up into rooms so you don’t feel so smashed in together when its busy. I would definitely like to go back and listen to the live music they have. Especially for a Jazz night!

This review is based solely on my dinner experience.
It was a Friday night, and my first time dining in the restaurant off the menu. I ordered the braised shortrib — slow braised beef shortrib with gremolata and spicy polenta ($ 18). The portion size was perfect. The beef was nicely flavorful and tender and truly melted in my mouth and fell nicely onto my fork. I’m not much of a spicy food lover, so I was relieved that the polenta wasn’t overly spicy.
I opted for an iced tea with a delightful and lovely hint of hibiscus that was rosy pink in color. Not too sweet and different from anything I’ve ever tried.
My dining partner had the quinoa salad — goat cheese, dried cranberries, walnuts, white balsamic and orange dressing with added grilled chicken. The portion size was perfect for a hungry appetite. I had the opportunity to try it, and the best word I can use to describe this salad is refreshing. It’s a nice springy/​summery salad with soft, moist quinoa.
Service was friendly and prompt. The atmosphere was lively, and I could hear just a hint of music happening in the live venue beyond the walls.
They serve a lovely brunch here, and I’ve been told their flat breads are super yummy.
I’ll be back for sure. Take note: everything ala carte.

Love this place and we need to make it back. The chef came out to greet us … YES you Charles, I felt so special, I kept complimenting the appetizer and the server let the chef know and he made his way out to except it! such a kind gesture that make a difference. great place and atmosphere for dinner or live bands.

Possibly the worst bar ever.
They ran out of alcohol when I was there last spring. The place is really pathetic. Over /​under on how many weeks until this is featured on Bar Rescue?

October 31
Rocky Horror Show on Halloween! I love this place even though I have heard a few bad things about it. I have quite an enjoyable time there with the show and the bartender, Mario, is very impressionable.
I heard there’s a private bar upstairs, but I have yet to be there. John is also pretty cool as well. I have heard other bartender besides these two have a snotty attitude, but have not yet to encounter. Ask for management accommodation for a great time I guess.

Friend and I gave 27 Live a try last night.
I ordered a simple cocktail and they didn’t have the right liquor for my drink. I asked my drink to be served up, and the bartender gave it to me neat.
I ordered a simple burger with grill onion, simple right. No grill onion, and the fries that came with the burger were lukewarm and soggy.
My friend asked for a cup of coffee and it came to him in room temperature.
Sorry 27 Live you might have music but your bar and kitchen need some improvement.

UPDATE: We were invited back by the owner to give the restaurant another try after our first experience and were pleasantly surprised by how much things had improved. Better food, better service — even a great kids menu. LOVED the scallops and short ribs. The restaurant was pretty full and the atmosphere was upbeat. We were given a tour of the rest of the space and thought the performance space was really cool — we’re definitely looking forward to seeing some live music there. We appreciated the invitation to give the restaurant a second chance and give a lot of credit to the owner for taking our comments to heart and making some very positive changes.
We gave 27 Live a try last night. While we were seated immediately (8pm on a Saturday night), the service was rather slow and disorganized. We ordered wings and calamari for appetizers. It took quite a while for them to come out. My husband and son said that the wings were good, but the calamari was clearly from frozen and wasn’t great — what I would expect to get at a chain restaurant. The entrees finally arrived — my husband had the ribs, which were fine. The carrots were very good. I ordered the steak sliders, which were mediocre. Steak was very thin and over cooked. Two of our kids ordered plain pasta, which they accommodated, but charged us $ 14 each, which we found absolutely outrageous. Overall, given all of the wonderful restaurant choices in Evanston, I don’t see us going back. It was definitely too expensive for what it was.

After a few weeks of being open, we finally got our night out at 27 Live. Dinner with friends and all the kids.
We were far from disappointed. 27 Live Rocks!
The service was excellent. Our waitress was attentive, knowledgeable and great with the kids. The menu has a fairly wide selection of food at a variety of price points – from burgers to pasta to short ribs. They offer vegetarian and vegan menus too. Good but small beer selection (Bells and Lagunitas along with the usual suspects). And a full bar.
To start we had a few flatbreads (thin crust, great for sharing), calamari with giardinera (spicy rings of goodness) and the bacalao (tasty fish balls). For some unknown reason I went with the Yardbird chicken sandwich– which was probably not the best choice. But it was a solid chicken sandwich. However the pot roast sandwich was outstanding. And the burger looked terrific. Carrot chips were a unique twist done well. The only low spot was the coleslaw. How do you mess that up – low on flavor and high on onion and big pieces of cabbage. Meh.
The place was pleasantly full, but a little loud. Its a fun room. From the table of cougars on the prowl to the middle age couples to the families to the college kids, everyone looked like they were having a rocking good time.
Would love to see the beer list grow to include more local goodness. And it’d be great if they played off the origin of the name a bit more with the space. Otherwise, 27 Live is a hit.

If I would sum up this place it would be one word:
Loud.
That’s what this place is. It’s really, really, excessively loud for a such a tiny space. However, that doesn’t really kill the location. The minus of a star was mostly due to our waitress being… well, odd. Maybe she was new? Or just loopy?
Anyway, the idea of this place is simple — come in and enjoy some concerts, some food, some drinks. I personally digged the hot fashion (which I had assumed was a take on an old fashioned), and the drink with RumChata is obviously amazing.
Don’t be afraid to check out the pizza as well, the veggie pizza was surprisingly tasty (and good sized) for the $ 9 they want. In fact, it makes union pizza look a bit expensive.
The rest of the place is all about the wacky videos/​movies they put up on the projection and whatever band of your fancy that happens to be playing on the given evening of your selection.
I’d say this is a decent place overall with decent food, but how often are you going to go to a place this small and this loud, simultaneously?

Nothing prepares you for watching a projection on a wall of a camel giving birth, a guy pulling the seemingly dead camel baby out, slapping it around and rolling it around in the sand, while a Clash tribute band plays off to the side.
The man, our friend and I were ignoring the band, watching this giant projection on the wall with confusion and horror. Out of curiousity, I looked behind us as the rest of the crowd, and the looks of pure WTF on all of their faces while they stared at the wall instead of the band was just pure gold. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pee a little. YOU JUST COULDN’T LOOK AWAY.
Also, the baby camel was totally fine. The guy gave it something, and the baby camel just jumped up and started running around. My friend swears it had to be cocaine.
That entire video was filled with a bunch of different scenes that had nothing to do with each other. One minute a dude is scraping mud with a bowl, next thing you know there’s a hula hoop in a dark room with a spotlight, just spinning on the ground.
Aaaanyways
The whole reason we went there was for a Cure tribute band that was playing, and they were awesome. Sound was good.
Standard bar, beer pricing was high. 6 bucks for a Stella.
Seating sucks. We got there early, and there were a bunch of empty tables but barely any chairs. Benches on the side, but they’re super uncomfortable.
I would probably come back for another show. If the Cure tribute band played there again I would go, but I wouldn’t go there just for the hell of it.

Glad to see this space filled with something good now. SPACE needs a little competition for music venues, and damn — watch out for Evanston, racking up the good places to see music!
Good room, great sound and a nice layout.
Just a suggestion, though. When PBR is clearly marked at $ 3 on the menu, don’t charge me $ 4.