Stopped in to Panini's once again for lunch with an old friend. On this trip, I ordered the fish sandwich with some cole slaw. The bartender was friendly and very attentive. Our drinks were refilled consistently and quickly. A few minutes later, the glorious fish sandwich was served. Two large, steaming hot, breaded fish filets were served on a bun with lettuce, red onion, and a cup of tartar sauce. The fish was delicious. It was cooked right. It was flaky, hot and huge. It was a lot of fish for one sandwich, but I loved it and would definitely order it again. The sandwich slaw was pretty tasty, but probably better on a Panini's sandwich than eaten alone. I want to order the fish sandwich again soon. So good!
(4)
Katy S.
A casual sports bar with casual sports bar food. I enjoyed the food at Panini's. We split a platter of fried appetizers and then I went for the buffalo chicken wrap. All of the food was good and I could see myself enjoying a football game here. My only problem was the service. It was a bit slow and we found ourselves here for quite a while. Over all, an ok experience!
(3)
Chris S.
I first ate at a Panini's in 1996, in the Flats. I liked their signature overstuffed sandwiches, which are pretty unique and really fill you up. I've been to a lot of their locations as they've expanded over the years. I have been having lunch at the Mayfield Rd. location for a few years now, since 2011, but will never be going back to that location again after today unless someone gives me the apology that they owe. Here's what happened: I walked in and sat down at the bar like I always do. No one came over and greeted me. I waited several minutes, still nothing. I observed a few employees walking around, and figured that if I was patient soon one of them would come over, but no one ever did. I couldn't understand why no one was coming over to serve me. I waited several more minutes and still nothing, but three different waitresses were standing around by the kitchen entrance behind the bar, doing nothing, just staring blankly pretending not to see me. They were looking right at me, so I tried to get their attention, first by craning my neck like I was looking for help, and then eventually I started waving my arms. Not meekly, either, but like it was Day 15 on the lifeboat and I'd just spotted the first airplane since the ship went down. Still nothing. No sign of acknowledgement whatsoever, like I was totally invisible. I've never been treated like that, anywhere, not ever. After about thirty seconds of waving, I got up and walked out. I don't intend to go back again. I have no idea what their problem is, but they clearly have some serious issues with the staff. I tried to find a customer feedback contact on their web site, but there was nothing, so I'm taking my grievance public.
(1)
Aylovra T.
Came here on an afternoon. Service was decent; our waitress was friendly and attentive. However, the food was not. You would think they would serve actual paninis at a place called Panini's. The bread was dry Texas-sized wonderbread and not toasted or pressed like an actual panini. The only thing overstuffed in the panini were the fries, literally HALF the height of the sandwich. Our pretzel was dry and solid, like if it were left out since the morning. The soup tasted like it came straight out of a Campbell's can. Right after I ate the panini, I felt sick. One good thing? The food wasn't overly greasy. Maybe some of the other items on the menu are better tasting, but probably not going back there again if I could avoid it. Atmosphere: good, clean, and not too crowded. Bathrooms: Ew.
(1)
Alex P.
My visit in Panini's resulted in me and my friend feeling pretty sick after their food. Just for that, 1 star. Service was great, food wasn't great in taste or quality.
(1)
Bill C.
In general our service here has never been great. Not horrible but not too great either. Today we sat outside at about 7:00 on a Sunday. The music was cranked up reasonably loud and we asked if it could be turned down just a bit. I watched our waitress ask another employee who asked twice who had asked and then, seeing us said to our waitress, "Well, I'll just turn it up." Which she did. If I find out her name I'll post it here. The one star review was saved because the very friendly manager came by, asked us a routine, "everything okay?" question and lowered it to a reasonable level. He didn't seem too concerned about what idiot employee had done that, however. Perhaps he's stuck with that.
(3)
Cheeseburger M.
There's only 4 or 5 letter to describe this place, but I'm going to use 4 this time. C.R.U.D. To be perfectly frank I don't know if this is the exact location I dined at but I was at the downtown location. I ordered a Panini (go figure). You would think their paninis would be pretty on point, considering. They. Are. Not. The bread tasted like brown rice. The rest of the meats and toppings did not compliment each other well at all. And the fries tasted like cold cardboard. So... Maybe this establishment should think about growing up a bit?
(2)
Aaron S.
New menu is worth checking out. Lots of new items, haven't been disappointed yet. Service still needs a lot of work. Not very attentive. Blonde bar manager thinks it's okay to gossip and ignore customers at front of bar. She's been a problem as long as I can remember. Still - for a casual and laid back bar it's a go to.
(3)
Kristen D.
HUGE portions, especially a side order of fries. I ordered the signature sandwich with roast beef which was an unnecessary amount of food, complete with fries on the sandwich. I think I'd prefer my fries on the side. A little bland, but a good spot for our purposes. They were willing to switch the TV above the bar to the Blackhawks game for me, which was a plus :)
(2)
Max E.
Show me a Panini's without an amateur jersey shore cast and I'll show you an Italian that says his mother can't cook. This place is a pretentious Applebee's. The beer selection is monotonous and the food is a distant cousin of a hot pocket. Yes, there is a patio. It overlooks an asphalt parking lot and other commercial chains. Like many other Panini's, the crowd is full of faux- tanned breeders and women that got lost in their 20's circa 1999. The service is okay, but you'll be sitting in your seat distracted by the thoughts of why you even came to this generic bar. Do your self a favor and visit a near by dive bar.
(1)
Natalie S.
We had a great night - bar got busy after 10:00 or so, but the bar staff was very accommodating and made sure our drinks were filled and we had the right condiments for our food. The pizza, wings and panini were awesome!
(4)
Juan S.
I had some not so good service several years ago. This time, I brought may staff for a get together appreciation party. We mainly ordered appetizers like wings, mozzarella cheese sticks, artichoke dips, potato skins and few more. The garlic Parmesan cheese wings was good. The BBQ and hot is not bad either. The waitress that served us did an outstanding job. Compared to the last time I was here, it was a world different. At least for the service. It's a bar food and it's not too bad.
(3)
Vince C.
I came in at 3 to grab a bite and a Happy Hour beer. The prompt attention from the bartender was a great first impression. I knew about Panini's overstuffed sandwiches, but on recommendation, she told me about the new menu. I tried out the Corned Beef Smash Wrap with a side of macaroni and cheese and it, cliche-ely, did not disappoint. The mac-n-cheese stayed hot in its ceramic bowl and the wrap was a hearty one. Add the Happy Hour prices of $3.50 shots (any liquor!) and the $2.50 tall drafts, and we have a winner. I'm definitely coming back to this location again.
(5)
Jeff T.
I can't believe the bad rap this place is getting. Guys, what other sports bar do you have besides Fox and Hound....especially with a nice patio?? I know the food might only be 3 stars at best but its still got a little bit of everything for the happy hour crowd and late night partyers. I encourage you to adopt the 3 strike policy when it comes to restaurants, you might just be catching someone on their bad night. I also will stress the fact that getting anything premade like spinach dip is ALWAYS a risk. It might be difficult at Panini's but try to find something made with fresh ingredients, and if they still f' it up after that then ....strike 2.
(3)
Robert S.
M Pretty lame. Cheesesteak sandwich had little steak and even less cheese. It should be called mushroom and bread sandwich with a garnish of dried beef. My lunch including onion rings and iced tea was $17 including tax and tip. Ripoff. Would have given one star but the server was cute and it was a sunny day on the patio.
(2)
Shaw C.
This place is the WORST!!! I went here on a Sunday to watch football. My husband and I seated ourselves and waited at the table for 15 minutes and still no one came to greet us. My husband flagged a waitress down and asked her can we place an order. She asked was anyone helping us (stupid question because if someone was helping us he wouldn't have went out of his way to get her attention) and we replied no. She took our order and told us that she would send the person who was going to be our waitress to us shortly. We then sat at the table for 25 minutes and here comes our waitress to tell me that they were out of burgers so I would have to replace it with something else. I changed my order without complaining even though I was pissed because it took forever for her to let me know this. Another 20 minutes passed and she asked if we needed anything so I asked her how much longer would it take to get our meals. She said any minute now and it took another 15 minutes. The food is at best mediocre...definitely nothing to go crazy over. Our waitress came back a couple more times and when we were done with our food she brought us our check and we never saw her again. The game we went there to watch was over and we looked for her so we could pay and leave, but she was nowhere to be found. After waiting for a few more minutes my husband yet again flagged down another waitress and asked her could she take care of it for us because our waitress is nowhere to be found and she said sorry, she couldn't but she would get our waitress for us. We waited a few more minutes and still nothing so I went up to that same waitress and said "we are trying to checkout so we can leave but if no one can do it for us we're ok with just leaving without paying!" She took my card and gave it to her manager to cash us out. The manager came to the table and gave the most insincere apology ever! I've never gone to a restaurant and didn't leave a tip but today changed that! The only tip I gave was advice on how to have better customer service!!! The food is not good, the service absolutely sucks, and they ran out of certain foods and budlight on a Sunday during football season smh! This was my second time there and I didn't like it the first time and absolutely hated it the second time. No way will I go back and I wish I didn't have to give this awful place a star!!! I don't see how anyone can like this place!
(1)
Tianna T.
My mom and I stopped here to grab a light bite to eat on a late afternoon, but early happy hour. This bar and grill is located off of Mayfield Rd. and it's far enough from the street so that you won't hear the busy traffic. The restaurant is very spacious and the booths are quite large (maybe too large) and they have a patio. Prices here are reasonable and the restrooms are CLEAN (thank goodness) and the air freshener smelled awesome (seriously). We ordered the sampler that included chicken fingers, onion rings, fried cheese and potato skins. Tasty yet typical-it wasn't nothing to brag about. My mom ordered the creamy broccoli and cheese soup, but wasn't able to finish due to it being waaaaaaay too salty! Our waitress was sweet and did make sure she checked up on us often.
(3)
Nick Z.
Gave this place a second try after they annouced it was under new management. We started out with a happy hour priced spinach artichoke dip which wasn't very good, it was soaked in butter and garlic. There was acutally a pool of butter and garlic in the dip. The beer was warm and the entrees were below average at best. Don't waste your time or money.
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Bike Parking : No Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Outdoor Seating : Yes Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes
Rodney W.
Stopped in to Panini's once again for lunch with an old friend. On this trip, I ordered the fish sandwich with some cole slaw. The bartender was friendly and very attentive. Our drinks were refilled consistently and quickly. A few minutes later, the glorious fish sandwich was served. Two large, steaming hot, breaded fish filets were served on a bun with lettuce, red onion, and a cup of tartar sauce. The fish was delicious. It was cooked right. It was flaky, hot and huge. It was a lot of fish for one sandwich, but I loved it and would definitely order it again. The sandwich slaw was pretty tasty, but probably better on a Panini's sandwich than eaten alone. I want to order the fish sandwich again soon. So good!
(4)Katy S.
A casual sports bar with casual sports bar food. I enjoyed the food at Panini's. We split a platter of fried appetizers and then I went for the buffalo chicken wrap. All of the food was good and I could see myself enjoying a football game here. My only problem was the service. It was a bit slow and we found ourselves here for quite a while. Over all, an ok experience!
(3)Chris S.
I first ate at a Panini's in 1996, in the Flats. I liked their signature overstuffed sandwiches, which are pretty unique and really fill you up. I've been to a lot of their locations as they've expanded over the years. I have been having lunch at the Mayfield Rd. location for a few years now, since 2011, but will never be going back to that location again after today unless someone gives me the apology that they owe. Here's what happened: I walked in and sat down at the bar like I always do. No one came over and greeted me. I waited several minutes, still nothing. I observed a few employees walking around, and figured that if I was patient soon one of them would come over, but no one ever did. I couldn't understand why no one was coming over to serve me. I waited several more minutes and still nothing, but three different waitresses were standing around by the kitchen entrance behind the bar, doing nothing, just staring blankly pretending not to see me. They were looking right at me, so I tried to get their attention, first by craning my neck like I was looking for help, and then eventually I started waving my arms. Not meekly, either, but like it was Day 15 on the lifeboat and I'd just spotted the first airplane since the ship went down. Still nothing. No sign of acknowledgement whatsoever, like I was totally invisible. I've never been treated like that, anywhere, not ever. After about thirty seconds of waving, I got up and walked out. I don't intend to go back again. I have no idea what their problem is, but they clearly have some serious issues with the staff. I tried to find a customer feedback contact on their web site, but there was nothing, so I'm taking my grievance public.
(1)Aylovra T.
Came here on an afternoon. Service was decent; our waitress was friendly and attentive. However, the food was not. You would think they would serve actual paninis at a place called Panini's. The bread was dry Texas-sized wonderbread and not toasted or pressed like an actual panini. The only thing overstuffed in the panini were the fries, literally HALF the height of the sandwich. Our pretzel was dry and solid, like if it were left out since the morning. The soup tasted like it came straight out of a Campbell's can. Right after I ate the panini, I felt sick. One good thing? The food wasn't overly greasy. Maybe some of the other items on the menu are better tasting, but probably not going back there again if I could avoid it. Atmosphere: good, clean, and not too crowded. Bathrooms: Ew.
(1)Alex P.
My visit in Panini's resulted in me and my friend feeling pretty sick after their food. Just for that, 1 star. Service was great, food wasn't great in taste or quality.
(1)Bill C.
In general our service here has never been great. Not horrible but not too great either. Today we sat outside at about 7:00 on a Sunday. The music was cranked up reasonably loud and we asked if it could be turned down just a bit. I watched our waitress ask another employee who asked twice who had asked and then, seeing us said to our waitress, "Well, I'll just turn it up." Which she did. If I find out her name I'll post it here. The one star review was saved because the very friendly manager came by, asked us a routine, "everything okay?" question and lowered it to a reasonable level. He didn't seem too concerned about what idiot employee had done that, however. Perhaps he's stuck with that.
(3)Cheeseburger M.
There's only 4 or 5 letter to describe this place, but I'm going to use 4 this time. C.R.U.D. To be perfectly frank I don't know if this is the exact location I dined at but I was at the downtown location. I ordered a Panini (go figure). You would think their paninis would be pretty on point, considering. They. Are. Not. The bread tasted like brown rice. The rest of the meats and toppings did not compliment each other well at all. And the fries tasted like cold cardboard. So... Maybe this establishment should think about growing up a bit?
(2)Aaron S.
New menu is worth checking out. Lots of new items, haven't been disappointed yet. Service still needs a lot of work. Not very attentive. Blonde bar manager thinks it's okay to gossip and ignore customers at front of bar. She's been a problem as long as I can remember. Still - for a casual and laid back bar it's a go to.
(3)Kristen D.
HUGE portions, especially a side order of fries. I ordered the signature sandwich with roast beef which was an unnecessary amount of food, complete with fries on the sandwich. I think I'd prefer my fries on the side. A little bland, but a good spot for our purposes. They were willing to switch the TV above the bar to the Blackhawks game for me, which was a plus :)
(2)Max E.
Show me a Panini's without an amateur jersey shore cast and I'll show you an Italian that says his mother can't cook. This place is a pretentious Applebee's. The beer selection is monotonous and the food is a distant cousin of a hot pocket. Yes, there is a patio. It overlooks an asphalt parking lot and other commercial chains. Like many other Panini's, the crowd is full of faux- tanned breeders and women that got lost in their 20's circa 1999. The service is okay, but you'll be sitting in your seat distracted by the thoughts of why you even came to this generic bar. Do your self a favor and visit a near by dive bar.
(1)Natalie S.
We had a great night - bar got busy after 10:00 or so, but the bar staff was very accommodating and made sure our drinks were filled and we had the right condiments for our food. The pizza, wings and panini were awesome!
(4)Juan S.
I had some not so good service several years ago. This time, I brought may staff for a get together appreciation party. We mainly ordered appetizers like wings, mozzarella cheese sticks, artichoke dips, potato skins and few more. The garlic Parmesan cheese wings was good. The BBQ and hot is not bad either. The waitress that served us did an outstanding job. Compared to the last time I was here, it was a world different. At least for the service. It's a bar food and it's not too bad.
(3)Vince C.
I came in at 3 to grab a bite and a Happy Hour beer. The prompt attention from the bartender was a great first impression. I knew about Panini's overstuffed sandwiches, but on recommendation, she told me about the new menu. I tried out the Corned Beef Smash Wrap with a side of macaroni and cheese and it, cliche-ely, did not disappoint. The mac-n-cheese stayed hot in its ceramic bowl and the wrap was a hearty one. Add the Happy Hour prices of $3.50 shots (any liquor!) and the $2.50 tall drafts, and we have a winner. I'm definitely coming back to this location again.
(5)Jeff T.
I can't believe the bad rap this place is getting. Guys, what other sports bar do you have besides Fox and Hound....especially with a nice patio?? I know the food might only be 3 stars at best but its still got a little bit of everything for the happy hour crowd and late night partyers. I encourage you to adopt the 3 strike policy when it comes to restaurants, you might just be catching someone on their bad night. I also will stress the fact that getting anything premade like spinach dip is ALWAYS a risk. It might be difficult at Panini's but try to find something made with fresh ingredients, and if they still f' it up after that then ....strike 2.
(3)Robert S.
M Pretty lame. Cheesesteak sandwich had little steak and even less cheese. It should be called mushroom and bread sandwich with a garnish of dried beef. My lunch including onion rings and iced tea was $17 including tax and tip. Ripoff. Would have given one star but the server was cute and it was a sunny day on the patio.
(2)Shaw C.
This place is the WORST!!! I went here on a Sunday to watch football. My husband and I seated ourselves and waited at the table for 15 minutes and still no one came to greet us. My husband flagged a waitress down and asked her can we place an order. She asked was anyone helping us (stupid question because if someone was helping us he wouldn't have went out of his way to get her attention) and we replied no. She took our order and told us that she would send the person who was going to be our waitress to us shortly. We then sat at the table for 25 minutes and here comes our waitress to tell me that they were out of burgers so I would have to replace it with something else. I changed my order without complaining even though I was pissed because it took forever for her to let me know this. Another 20 minutes passed and she asked if we needed anything so I asked her how much longer would it take to get our meals. She said any minute now and it took another 15 minutes. The food is at best mediocre...definitely nothing to go crazy over. Our waitress came back a couple more times and when we were done with our food she brought us our check and we never saw her again. The game we went there to watch was over and we looked for her so we could pay and leave, but she was nowhere to be found. After waiting for a few more minutes my husband yet again flagged down another waitress and asked her could she take care of it for us because our waitress is nowhere to be found and she said sorry, she couldn't but she would get our waitress for us. We waited a few more minutes and still nothing so I went up to that same waitress and said "we are trying to checkout so we can leave but if no one can do it for us we're ok with just leaving without paying!" She took my card and gave it to her manager to cash us out. The manager came to the table and gave the most insincere apology ever! I've never gone to a restaurant and didn't leave a tip but today changed that! The only tip I gave was advice on how to have better customer service!!! The food is not good, the service absolutely sucks, and they ran out of certain foods and budlight on a Sunday during football season smh! This was my second time there and I didn't like it the first time and absolutely hated it the second time. No way will I go back and I wish I didn't have to give this awful place a star!!! I don't see how anyone can like this place!
(1)Tianna T.
My mom and I stopped here to grab a light bite to eat on a late afternoon, but early happy hour. This bar and grill is located off of Mayfield Rd. and it's far enough from the street so that you won't hear the busy traffic. The restaurant is very spacious and the booths are quite large (maybe too large) and they have a patio. Prices here are reasonable and the restrooms are CLEAN (thank goodness) and the air freshener smelled awesome (seriously). We ordered the sampler that included chicken fingers, onion rings, fried cheese and potato skins. Tasty yet typical-it wasn't nothing to brag about. My mom ordered the creamy broccoli and cheese soup, but wasn't able to finish due to it being waaaaaaay too salty! Our waitress was sweet and did make sure she checked up on us often.
(3)Nick Z.
Gave this place a second try after they annouced it was under new management. We started out with a happy hour priced spinach artichoke dip which wasn't very good, it was soaked in butter and garlic. There was acutally a pool of butter and garlic in the dip. The beer was warm and the entrees were below average at best. Don't waste your time or money.
(1)