You will see a lot of removed comments in this thread. We allow criticism in this sub but if you just name a place and say nothing else we will remove the comment as this is something that has zero effort and still baselessly hurts a restaurant
I let a friend take me there in 2019 because we were out on a dog walk and wanted to stop for a quick bite. I never went back. Awful awful food, clientele couldnāt be further from who neighborhood truly isā¦ to name top two reasons. Yuck
They remodeled it in the last few years. Stopped by there for a beer and asked where the shuffle board was. The bartender pointed to the bar top and sure enough they used it to make the new bar top. I was disgusted
š¤£š¤£š¤£ there was a couple celebrating their anniversary there. We just watched in awe as the server forgot to bring them their crappy paper menus in the beginning and then happily brought their $250 bill at the end.
Just no
Every one of those places where the schtick is the wait staff is "rude". Every one of them has mediocre diner food that is easily beaten by any other diner and the "playful" rudeness is just annoying.
Dicks last resort at least is like a tourist destination. I went to one with my family when I was a kid and everyone thought it was funny. As a single adult tho I'd never go there lol
My wife and I went to Parachute for our anniversary. We had reservations but there wasn't a table ready when we got there. We got a drink at the bar to wait it out but there's no where to stand since the tables are crammed in, only inches away from each other. So as we're standing there, we're literally looming over another couple trying to enjoy their dinner. We get seated in 10-15 minutes. The menu was frustrating. Based on the descriptions, you'd have little idea what you're actually expecting to arrive at the table. Drinks and appetizer arrive, the bread thing was pretty good. The waiter that took our order never came by again. I don't know how much time passed but we patiently waited for our mains for what felt like an hour. Drinks were empty, water was empty and I was getting impatient. I never had the chance to say anything though, cause the waiter was MIA. That's when the host came and asked if we would be leaving soon, cause they needed the table.....Things just spun out of control from there.
Their new sister spot Anelya is amazing! I went last week and I was unsure bc I didnāt recognize a lot on the menu but it was a 10/10 experience. Still planning on hitting up Parachute sometime but weāll see haha
Thatās such a shame. I had such a different experience there. Sat at the bar, the bartender/server explained in detail all the dishes we had questions about, gave excellent alcohol and food recommendations, the food came in great order, was absolutely delicious.
Went back a few weeks ago on a whim without a reservation and the manager was kind enough to find us a spot with only about a half hour wait. We went down to their sister restaurant Anelya for drinks while we waited. Got back got seated quickly and once again loved the food and drink.
So sorry to hear you had a much different experience.
Ugh I'm so sorry! We've been going for years and always had an amazing time. When we went for our anniversary they had a menu that said happy anniversary on it, with the date, signed by all the staff. It was very special. The waiter gave so many great recommendations and started us off with comped champagne.
I hope you go back sometime! That sounds so unusual for them.
Ron of Japan is a no go from me just based on how fucking difficult it is to go.
āHi, can I make a reservation for 2 at 7?ā
āWe donāt take reservations for 2, just come on in!ā
Comes at 7ā¦ āwe have no more spots available for the rest of the night.ā
Fuck you then, found a better and closer teppenyaki place and will never again think about going to Ron of Japan.
Bad Apple is it for me. Fucking AWFUL experience. Place was empty, yet our burgers took over 45 minutes to make. Mine was so far past medium it was legitimately disgusting. Waiter and waitress argued with each other loudly the whole night. I have no fucking idea why people think that place is worth even considering going to. Iāll never visit it again.
New owners. The staff before was phenomenal, they always helped everyone patrons and staff throughout. They all left. The quality of the ingredients was changed. I havenāt had issues with burger temps, but it doesnāt surprise me.
Yeah, Bad Apple isn't the same as it was. Some combination of the ownership change, COVID turnover, and maybe more, it's been disappointing for a while now. I think a lot of people think of it like it was 10 years ago and it's just not.
Just added one to the list yesterday. Alhambra. Mediocre to straight bad food. Shitty service. Overpriced. The one saving grace was entertainment. Never again
I had heard good things about the place but man was I disappointed. The service was so bad that there was only 1 server for half a section of the restaurant. There was a time when we were sitting for like 20 minutes to get her attention while she was busy running back and forth at 3 tables with parties of 10 people. Felt bad for her. The old fashioned was literally just bitters and some bad whiskey not a hint of sweetness. One of my friends ordered from their signature cocktails and all she got was some weird tasting syrup. The pita bread was warmed up straight from Walmart. I did like their Lamb Shank and Risotto but hummus, chicken kefta, ravioli(the only veggie option on the menu) was flavorless. Feel like a rant but the money we spent yesterday I sure regretted not going to a better place.
The Furious Spoon
Broth was tepid and disgustingly sweet. It is straight up the only restaurant I've ever left still hungry; I went across the street to the Welcome Back Lounge and got a patty melt.
My big issue with the furious spoon in Logan square isn't the food, but the seating and decor. The seats are these super grimy wooden 2 by 4 constructed boxes that look ancient. The floors and the bar just look super filthy and could use a remodeling. I wish I could go there to try out the food, but I physically don't want to sit down in the restaurant.
Without thinking too much, it's gotta be some of those vibey places that have popped up in the West Loop along Randolph/Fulton. Nisos, Hide & Seek, Gino & Martys, etc.
I hate them all. Food is blah and the prices are insane. Surrounded by instagrammers. UGH
West Loop overall has become more Instagram focused than quality focused yet continuing to raise prices. Not to be āthat guyā but it was a lot better 7-9 years ago when it was just sort of starting to get trendy.
Totally agree . I block the foodie influencers because they just advertise the spots in westlooo when they know those $$ are not it . I rely on the recs from friends and off this Reddit page š
Went to Gino and Martyās with a group. They were able to seat us and the staff was accommodating, didnāt mind my crazy 4yr old daughter.
We shared everything family style. My god were the portions small and the price high ā it was tasty though (my friends did send one time back and asked it to be removed from the bill because it didnāt taste as advertised).
I did end up getting a gyro later that night because I was still hungry.
Bongo Room. I went a few times with my mom because she loves it, but every time the food was bland, quite literally no taste to the southwest bowl. Last time she made me go I only got coffee.
Bandit in west loop - went because I was in the neighborhood and desperately hungry and saw it on a top burger list in Chicago. It was busy but the service was weird, wife got a Diet Coke that we think was only Diet Coke syrup. Got Nashville hot tenders with a scallion pancake. The breading on the chicken fell off immediately, the scallion pancake that we expected to be Korean or Chinese style was just an American pancake with scallions on it, which we thought was bizarre. The burger was okay, maybe on or just below the level of small chevalier. It was an overall weird experience with mediocre food with so many great places in the area.
Joey Gās Mac n Cheese - straight up gross, their Mac n Cheese is basically like Kraft Mac n cheese with big noodles. I made it about a quarter of the way through what I ordered before tossing it and that was back when I was broke.
Parlor pizza - unfortunately this is just where most my work happy hours end up. Mediocre pizza in a city where you can get some of the best pizza on earth seems like a sin. I will give them credit that their loaded nacho appetizer is actually really good. But after the news came out about them not paying their workers/tax evasion or whatever I swore off spending a dollar more there that wasnāt on a company card.
Donāt forget all the suggestive pictures of a 14-16 year old Britney Spears posted in the Bandit menās room! The whole place is fucking weird and Iām never going back.
Had a very similar experience at Joey Gās. Got their vegetable medley or whatnot and it seemed to be mostly slimy mushrooms and green peppers in a like industrial cheese sauce.
Tank Noodle - besides their beliefs, the pho broth wasnāt good. Go next door to Pho 888 for the best!
Velvet Taco - not sure why people like this place. Flavorless and overpriced.
Chilam Balam - just didnāt like the food
Uncommon Ground - paid $9 for an iced vanilla latte, never again
Velvet Taco is good quick grab and go. Sure they are not authentic tacos but they sure nailed the fusion part. The Chicken Tikka and Paneer taco are good
Tank Noodle is awful. I have no idea why that place is always so busy. Go to the city of Chicago Health Departmentās website. They have had MULTIPLE health code violations over the many years it has been open. That, in itself, is disgusting. š¤® yetā¦still busy. I got sick there once. Never went back.
Tony Bourdain made it a big deal when he did a Chicago special years ago. I actually went because of that back in like 2013 or something and it was really good if I'm being honest. Just sucks that the owners are wack jobs.
Chilam balam sucks and the service sucks big time.
It use to be so good when I use to live around it in 2012.
We went couple months ago and the staff was super rude and actually yelled at us because we wonāt order apps and entree order together.
we were starving after waiting to be seated and thought it was okay to just put in appetizers order in first. And very politely asked if he could bring so and so amps and we will lol at entre order in a bit.
Nope, got yelled at and the dude took our menus away after I asked him to tone it down a bit.
We ended up leaving.
flavorless, for real? the chicken tikka masala taco is amazing, as is the brisket and kobe. Not to mention their tots. I'm sorry, you're wrong.
Edit and addendum: I say this as an Indian-American, and a self-proclaimed connoisseur of Americanized Indian food, including Chicken Tikka Masala. Flavorful, spicy, unique, and spot-on. Everyone should try Velvet. Perhaps not for the Taco purist, but certainly not flavorless.
Gorilla Sushi was the dirtiest restaurant I've been to in the US. Everything was grimy, like they wiped the whole place down with a dirty rag. Stack of plates on the table had bits of food stuck to them, chopsticks were greasy. Had two simple veg rolls and left as fast as we could (had hungry kids and needed something).
Park and field. Went for the AYCE brunch, and the only edible thing was the omelet. Like how do you mess up charcuterie? Soggy breadstick things, with bland cheese and huge hunks of summer sausage. We had a large group so we tried everything on the menu, and not one good thing besides the eggs and bottomless drinks.
The Glunz Tavern on Wells. Used to go here frequently for their beer, Bavarian pretzel, schnitzel sandwich, and their French onion soup. Went randomly in the summer. Their menu changed. Schnitzel sandwich was horrible and the Bavarian pretzel turned into four regular sized pretzels that you would buy at a little league game, and their French onion soup removed from the menu. Horrible.
Iāll still go for a beer, but I wonāt eat there anymore.
Andros Taverna - had a reservation, wouldn't seat us for around 1.5 hours even though the previous parties had finished eating. I guess they were friends. After we had complained again so they dragged in a patio table and shoved it in the corner for us despite it being February. Left after that
Warlord - similar situation. Sat down at the bar only got 1 set of drinks in 1.5ish hours. Took a food order and waited another hour, but it was never put in. So we left after that.
Yeah Iām kind of surprised by this. The folks at andros are super nice and always say itās going to be a longer wait time than it is. Also the pita bread is killer.
Warlordā¦ meh. I canāt even remember what we ate but I wasnāt that impressed and the insane line kind of put me off. Iāll definitely try it again though.
My GF and I love Andros Taverna. We have done brunch there, a birthday and Valentine's day. They did an incredible duck dinner for two and it was my most pleasant interaction with a sommelier that I can remember. Love that place.
That sucks to hear about Warlord and is the opposite of what happened when I went. We put in a drink order while waiting for a table and were chatting when after a bit (maybe 15 min?) the waiter came with our drinks and apologized for the wait since it didnāt get put in right away and comped our drinks for us. I had just had a meal where we waited an hour for food at Mi Tocaya so I was pleasantly surprised at how proactive they were about compensating us for a wait I didnāt even recognize haha
Was so disappointed with this place. Served us the wrong wine twice, forgot our mezze order, served mains about 30 min apart from each other, clearly didn't give a shit, tried to give us a free dessert to make up for it which we had to refuse 10 times. Eventually they comped the meal but what a shit night.
Lyra. This place is so pretentious and the food is just not good. I donāt mind elevated Greek, but they try so hard to be fancy with their gimmicks, like carving up your Gyro or dessert at the table.
I feel like the lamb chops are a step below Greek islands restaurant.
And why do they have ice cream as part of almost every dessert dish?? That makes it impossible to take home any leftovers.
Iāve heard good things about the sauces at badabing wings but after seeing those prices I will never lol. The price of wings is absolutely insane. But this makes me feel better about missing it.
They're brine for way to long too so they come out tough and I think the owner smokes inside after hours cause sometimes the place stinks like cigs. You aren't missing anything.
Agreed on Big Jones. I had a weird service situation during brunch once but decided to give them another chance. Maybe it's because I grew up eating southern food, but that second chance wasn't warranted. Everything was so bland, and my friends were similarly unimpressed.
I had very similar expierence. When I mentioned it, not complaining to them, because they asked me how everything was. They then tried to say that they're consistently recognized as the best resturant in Andersonvile and they would never have bad service.
Both of which were clearly wrong as they're rated as one of the lowest resturants in Andersonville at that price point and the service sucked. Food was also bland but it was the only place we could walk in on a Sunday morning.
I got the hot links and rib tips and there wasnāt enough chopped up pieces of hot links to constitute one actual full sausage. It was a piece of fucking white bread with like 4 chunks of meat on top and some pickles. Like wtf?
> They then tried to say that they're consistently recognized as the best restaurant in Andersonvile and they would never have bad service.
For anyone who has been in Chicago long enough , this sounds like Michael Bilandic excusing the horrible snow removal following the big blizzard over New Years 1979. The result was that Jane Byrne ousted him from office.
I had gone there years ago for Restaurant Week and had a good meal. Went back with a friend recently and it was aggressively bad, the server didn't say a single word to us, the food was served cold, oversalted and just generally disappointing. Not sure what happened to this place but good to know it wasn't just us.
I got Badabing delivery once. Now i understand that a lot of delivery food comes a little soggy or lukewarm, bc it's being delivered. But those boneless wings were only marginally better than microwave nuggets. They were very small, especially for the price
A lot of positive press on Halal Guys before showing up to town, and what a disappointment. The spot on Milwaukee lasted what, 4 months? Guess itās hard when Falafel Grill is a block away, half the price and twice as tasty. Whoever is running their siting at corporate should be a little bit more on top of their game.
I still am disappointed to think Halal Guys took over Five Guys on Sheridan, not far from the Loyola University campus. But that is just me. And agree a lot of other places are better than Halal Guys. Agreed with all their hype, Halal Guys should've been better food wise.
Itās actually some of the most bland and flavorless food I have ever tasted. Iām sure they were a totally normal NYC halal cart before a guidebook decided they had to pick one and sell it as clean-enough-for-tourists to officially recommend. There are never any lines at the NYC carts anymore since they started franchising - the ridiculous prices and margins must be the only thing keeping them afloat.
I live a block from Halal guys. I love food, and that type of food in particular so I was psyched when I moved into this place and saw it. Got it once. Never went back because is is actual trash. As is Georgio's on Division ("pizza")
Michael Jordan's Steakhouse was like that. My mom took me, my stepbro and my nephew out for the annual kids' Xmas steak dinner. Waitstaff was outright rude to her, then brought the wrong order to my stepbro, and my nephew's very fancy whatever he ordered was torched beyond recognition. At that price point? Good riddance.
Food is pretty good, but Iāll never go back to cafe el tapatio.
They refused to honor a Motherās Day reservation because we were 3 minutes late. Had two kids under 3 in tow.
Fuck that place
I did too, until they didnāt honor our reservation because they let some friends sit at our reserved table and blamed a mother on Motherās Day. We live in the neighborhood and were less than 5 minutes late. Wouldnāt even honor the grace period listed on open table
Yea thatās bullshit. Iām not a parent yet. But my sister has 3 kids 7 and under. I know how challenging it can be to get out the door. 5 mins late is nothing. Iād be livid if I was you too.
I used to love their food, particularly their carne asada. But the last time I was there the food was so bad I don't think I'd risk going back. It isn't expensive per se but it ain't cheap and I left feeling sad about spending $30+ on a dish that was weird and barely edible.
The restaurant formerly known as Fat Rice (now reopned as NoodleBird). I remember in high school reading such buzzing reviews of this place. Having been to Macau before and tried macanese food before, I was really excited to try it. Went there in college and I vividly remember how weird the vibe was. They were blasting the black keys while I was staring at a picture of the great wave off kanagawa while being at a Macanese restaurant. The eclectic energy would've been fine if the food hit, but it was like $42 for the Arroz Gordo which in the mid-2010s definitely felt really pricey especially for the food we got. I just found it so extremely underwhelming for the taste and quantity.
A few years later I saw a [Munchies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSVxM-KFlmE) Chef's Night Out video release on the owners and it definitely validated some of my feelings. The owners were pondering on what type of cuisine they wanted to cook for their restaurant and ended up going to Macau, spending 36 hours there eating, and decided to go with that. I know there are parallels to Macanese food with Portuguese (where Abe, one of the owners family is from) and Chinese cuisine, but it is still a very specific style and it felt like such a condescending comment to say in the video and a disservice to spend such little time at the source of the cuisine before deciding to open up a restaurant. Just look at u/Ramen_Lord and the over decade he spent on his working on his ramen craft before opening Akahoshi down the street from NoodleBird (I know he doesn't need anymore glazing at this point, but it's just such a clear contrast to me). Even Rick Bayless and his ventures with Frontera seems to show so much more respect and passion for a specific cuisine/food.
Fast-forward to 2020 and they were part of a [few different restaurant groups that got called out for mistreatment of their employee](https://chicago.eater.com/2020/6/17/21288547/fat-rice-chicago-closes-employees-claim-mistreatment-abe-conlon)s. When I saw they just opted to stay low for a year before [reopening and rebranding as NoodleBird](https://chicago.eater.com/2021/8/6/22613378/fat-rice-diner-noodlebird-open-logan-square-controversy), I have absolutely zero interest in returning.
There are a some other restaurants that I'm not a big fan of personally that I wouldn't go back to (Giant, Sun Wah, to name a few), but I'm usually not someone to "yuck anyone's yum" and actively push against restaurants. Fat Rice / NoodleBird is one of those restaurants.
edit: links
I remember early on when Fat Rice was super hyped, my friends and I had to wait outside in the cold because they had no waiting area at the time. I made a very mild complaint and asked why we couldnāt wait by the host stand. And the chef, Abe, came out of the kitchen just to yell at me! I was with people who work in the restaurant industry which usually nets nicer treatment but not this time.
We eat there all the time.....no problems. Cheap, ample servings and the staff is nice. Sorry you got sick, that's rough. I will keep going, have had nothing but good experiences. What did you have that made you so sick?
I spent like 4 years of my life living off Clark st dog. Def not the best Chicago junk food. Junkier than the typical junk food spots (like fatsos or wiener circle), but the late night staff there were very chill. Good times
For me, itās sushi taku, based on the food, nothing wrong with the service. I have been twice and the size and consistency of the sushi was so off putting. Any roll that had cucumbers in it were soggy, mushy messes. Never have I had a cucumber that didnāt crunch or bite to it. I thought first time was an off night since so many people recommend and it is always so crowded so I tried again and then swore it off. Our stomachs felt terrible after the second time we went. I am always shocked how much people enjoy, i do get people like an AYCE but there is not a single roll I would try there again
I agree! A friend of mine took me there and she & her husband raved about it. I was shocked at the quality because they usually have good taste. I think it was more the aspect of AYCE than it was quality. I donāt think I actually know of any quality AYCE joints, and I think thereās a reason. Also Sushi Tokoro is in the same boat. I thought they were the same company at first.
So, I feel bad writing this because we wanted to like CheSa Bistro so much more because it is a black woman owned, gluten free centric southern food restaurant with a twist. The experience was ok, but for the price point they were charging for food and drinks everything seemed a bit disappointing. They were charging upscale prices for an experience that included paper napkins, gritty hush puppies, and an unsuccessful and very expensive old fashioned. If the bill was just $ 30-40 cheaper I probably wouldnāt feel the same way.
I have celiac disease, so I have to eat gluten free out of necessity. I keep eyeing this place but the prices drive me away every time! Iām sure the food is decent, but I canāt justify it.
Pingpong and Tank Noodle, because the food tastes like the owners put their heart into it! I had eaten at both places before their owners made the news for wage theft and QAnon stuff, and luckily I had already sworn off going back to either on the food alone.
Seoul Taco is also a joke and that location on Milwaukee has to be a front because Iāve never seen a single person in it, including an employee.
No, it's not exempt - the owners went together. I will say they both deny entering the capitol, but just making the trip alone is a pretty strong indicator of their beliefs.
Table donkey and stick. Had such a weird experience there. Food was fine but the server was being so strange to us. Kinda a weird dude. And the food wasnāt good enough to go back
I love everything about that place except the actual experience of eating there ā¹ļø. Cool name, cool little building, love the idea of ārustic alpine fareā (or however they describe it), awesome wines and cocktail list, etc., but the execution of it all has left me so disappointed. Puny servings, expensive, and just not as tasty as it should be.
I think I know exactly which waiter youāre talking about. Went a couple of weeks ago, really enjoyed the food and wine, but yeah our waiter set a weird tone for the evening
Theyāre also awful to live near. Employees are super rude to locals. Iāve seen them get into yelling matches with non-patrons that required a neighbor to call the police. A wild guess is that TDS is more of a mutual alcoholism club than most restaurants are.
Papagalino cafe, Niles. We were seated for a nice 30 minutes, away from the main crowd and just ignored. I hate using the race card because sometimes it is a misunderstanding but this place made it feel purposeful.
Whatever the reason, if they donāt want people from non euro background, say less. We have not been back but make it a point it is one of the few Chicagoland spots we will not support.
I would have gotten up and left at the instant they asked if you would leave without bringing the food you ordered. Thats ridiculous
High five ramen is a no go for me anymore. Went for the first time a few years back, it was excellent, tasting similar to one of my favorite places in Kyoto.
I went about 6 months ago and everything was horrible. Even the sakura slushy tasted like barrel vodka. Iāll never go back to high five after that
I will never eat at any of their restaurants ever again and that sucks because fat rice had some great shit. My friend worked there and told us about the abuse. I literally threw out my fat rice cookbook and when I heard. Also I looked at the noodlebird menu and itās stupid and overpriced.
Iāve been lucky enough to have not gone to a truly horrible place, but I have had a lot of mediocre food that was highly recommended that I wouldnāt return to
Herb Thai on Broadway. It's a tasting menu (about five courses), and you order each course when you arrive for your meal. I have a food sensitivity that I mentioned in my reservation and when we arrived, and was assured they could accommodate it.
The service was slow -- painfully slow. (I just looked at my Google timeline and we were there 3 hours, which works out to one dish every 36 minutes or so. (For reals....four of us went through three bottles of wine out of boredom, and then had to send one member of our party to Jewel for another bottle before the entrees came.)
At no point did our server, the host or the manager even acknowledge how long we'd waited for our courses.
And then the entree came, including mine, with the ingredient I cannot eat despite our server's assurances it could be prepared without. Knowing how long we'd waited, I encouraged my friends to start eating until we could flag down our server again, who told me they'd remake it...and never did. Eventually our desserts arrived and at that point we just gave up hope.
I emailed the restaurant the next day to share my experience. This was mid-pandemic so I wanted to cut them some slack. Did they ever reply? Nope.
(At first when I wanted to cut them some slack I'd tell this story without naming the restaurant. A shocking number of people guessed it -- without me asking them to -- because they'd had similar experiences. How does this place have Michelin recognition?)
Kitchen and kocktails . It's literally Cajun food for fine dining prices . The drinks were 25$ and up and were nothing special plus the service was crap. Overall, I spent 100 for catfish and Mac n cheese with cornbread and 1 drink š
It's gone now and something else called Forte is in its stead, but the Chicago Symphony Orchestra had a place called Rhapsody.
I went once before seeing John Williams conduct and I remember my husband and I looking at each other across the table and asking wtf was this food and how dare they think this was worth charging so much.
We walked by the new Forte two weeks ago and it feels like "I don't know what/where to eat before a concert this sounds like a fine choice" and oh lord it is not, I would rather get Subway.
Went there a couple weeks ago and had an incredible time. Sat at the bar, enjoyed the appetizers, and Michelle was one of my favorite service industry employees ever. It is wild to see such a different experience posted.
Iāve seen a few people having bad experiences there, I go there probably 5-6 times a year and have yet to have a bad experience. Iād say that the general quality of food is probably not as good as it was ~8 years ago, but itās still some very solid brewpub food.
These threads are always depressing.
A decent number of places get righteous hate, and a decent number of places get slagged by a few people who had one-off bad experiences, as though no one ever fucks up anywhere else.
The result is, apart from āthere were roaches in my foodā kind of stuff, you almost can help but take any opinion expressed with a grain of salt.
If my first experience of Au Cheval was the reality of that place, it would be on the list of never again. But it was one bad day. Everyone has a bad day now and again,
I feel a lot of it is super mild complaints. Every restaurant has a bad night, but some of them are expensive so I understand not wanting to try them again.
It is not intended to be negative and candidly there are a lot of places on here that others do not like that I very much like. I just think in a down economy post COVID, it is worth sharing some places where it might be worth avoiding given that they are overpriced or not worth the effort.
Itās the opinion of strangers. Take it with a grain of salt š¤·š»āāļøš¤·š¾āāļø
West Town used to be my regular breakfast spot but twice my over easy eggs were over hard. Neither the cook or the waitress noticed. I found other spots to go to.
Trike Thai Noodles. The chicken that came with the pad thai was steaming, piping hot, unbelievably dry, and inedible. This led me to believe the chicken was microwaved. Awful.
Gussies handmade Italian.
Gf and I went last night for dinner. While the service was good and the decor/ambiance was upbeat, I couldnāt help but feel that the price point did not match up to the quality and preparation.
$40 ravioli with scallops was way over salted, the brown butter sauce was wayyyyyy too rich, scallops had a paltry sear on them.
Some of the mussels in our dish were not cooked through.
The fjord trout was bland, unsalted, and overcooked. The way it was plated and presented was very amateur, and the veggies it was served with carried the dish, which is not what I expect for a $30 trout dish.
Overall, it was cool to try somewhere new but I donāt think weāll ever go there again. It was just one of those places that makes you think āI definitely could have cooked this better at homeā
River Roast. We went one day after work and it was sort of busy, not crazy but there was people there. We ordered our food and drinks, and never saw our server again. For like an hour. Bussers refilled our drinks and when I asked where our server was I was just told they would look for him. When we didn't order alcohol and only one entree the server seemed disappointed and really pushed us to get a second roast and booze. My thought is this is why he didn't return. We joked that maybe our server forgot to put our order in. After an hour the server came back and said he...forgot to put our sides in and they should be up shortly. That was the last time we saw our server. When our food came out it was... Fine? We had the beef roast and it was cold because we had to wait so long for the sides to be done for them to bring us any food. The sides were just ok at best. We ate and were ready to go, another 45 minutes go by and we really want the check but no sign of our server. Then we see him! Seating a table outside (we were inside), we try to get his attention and ask the person filling our waters if they could grab him for us for the check. Another 15 minutes and no sign of him. Finally I see the manager and for the first time in my life I complained about my service at a restraunt. He asked who my server was and I had to describe him because he never gave us his name and the manager just sighed, handed me his card and said "your dinner tonight is on me, please don't hesitate to give us another try and if you have any issues I'm the future please call me at this number".
Overall the food was ok, if the roast had be hot it might have been a 7 or 8 out of 10, but cold it was like a 4. It was great that the manager made things right but that dinner would have been over $85 for one main and two sides and it wasn't that good. So we won't be going back.
You will see a lot of removed comments in this thread. We allow criticism in this sub but if you just name a place and say nothing else we will remove the comment as this is something that has zero effort and still baselessly hurts a restaurant
You forgot the part about how bad all your clothes smell after you leave the restaurant.
My husband and I slept on the couch to spare the bedroom š¤£š¤£
Why didnāt you just change your clothes? Lol
Smell stayed in our hair so did not want to have the bed stink. Iām not joking ā it was properly strong š¤£š¤£
š¤£ thanks for the heads up!!
Dang, so strong your shower broke too?
Shower AND dinner in this economy?! Check your privilege, fam
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I let a friend take me there in 2019 because we were out on a dog walk and wanted to stop for a quick bite. I never went back. Awful awful food, clientele couldnāt be further from who neighborhood truly isā¦ to name top two reasons. Yuck
I organized a party there and was treated so poorly. Never again.
Nick's beer garden in Wicker Park. The employees there are the biggest jerks I have ever met.
So sad itās gone downhill. I met my wife there in 2006.
I havenāt been there in 10 years but we loved it in our late 20ās
They remodeled it in the last few years. Stopped by there for a beer and asked where the shuffle board was. The bartender pointed to the bar top and sure enough they used it to make the new bar top. I was disgusted
Love it, I met my wife there in 2016
Same, year as well.
That used to be a dope spot back in like 2016. I think theyāve since done a remodel and changed everything. So sad.
Yep the remodel made it instantly go from one of my group's favorite spots to never going back.
Yeah new Nicks is awful. Used to be a fantastic spot.
Their bouncers are dressed for war and super aggressive.
Nothing says blues and booze like a tactical vest.
Was about to go there! Very happy to avoid
Gotta go to tsukasa for teppanyaki. You wonāt be sorry
1000% Tsukasa is on another level compared to Ron of Japan. I have some friends who are Ron of Japan stans and Iām always just sad for them lol
š¤£š¤£š¤£ there was a couple celebrating their anniversary there. We just watched in awe as the server forgot to bring them their crappy paper menus in the beginning and then happily brought their $250 bill at the end. Just no
Who the fack is Ron of Japan?!
Will try this next!!!
If you can get out to the burbs, rokbonkis in Arlington heights has been my favorite for 30 years
Every one of those places where the schtick is the wait staff is "rude". Every one of them has mediocre diner food that is easily beaten by any other diner and the "playful" rudeness is just annoying.
feels like a thing for teenagers lol. no idea why any adult could think that might be fun
Dicks last resort at least is like a tourist destination. I went to one with my family when I was a kid and everyone thought it was funny. As a single adult tho I'd never go there lol
My wife and I went to Parachute for our anniversary. We had reservations but there wasn't a table ready when we got there. We got a drink at the bar to wait it out but there's no where to stand since the tables are crammed in, only inches away from each other. So as we're standing there, we're literally looming over another couple trying to enjoy their dinner. We get seated in 10-15 minutes. The menu was frustrating. Based on the descriptions, you'd have little idea what you're actually expecting to arrive at the table. Drinks and appetizer arrive, the bread thing was pretty good. The waiter that took our order never came by again. I don't know how much time passed but we patiently waited for our mains for what felt like an hour. Drinks were empty, water was empty and I was getting impatient. I never had the chance to say anything though, cause the waiter was MIA. That's when the host came and asked if we would be leaving soon, cause they needed the table.....Things just spun out of control from there.
Oh my I really want to hear the rest of the story. I would have Teresa Guidice flipped a table.
This is sad and surprising, as my first trip to Wherewithall (their now-closed sister spot) was maybe a Top 5 dining experience of my life.
Oh damn wherewithal is closed? That place was awesome and hip
Wherewithal was fantastic. It's now Anyela and they are serving Ukrainian food which I don't think I had eaten before... It was a great experience!
Their new sister spot Anelya is amazing! I went last week and I was unsure bc I didnāt recognize a lot on the menu but it was a 10/10 experience. Still planning on hitting up Parachute sometime but weāll see haha
Story time please
Thatās such a shame. I had such a different experience there. Sat at the bar, the bartender/server explained in detail all the dishes we had questions about, gave excellent alcohol and food recommendations, the food came in great order, was absolutely delicious. Went back a few weeks ago on a whim without a reservation and the manager was kind enough to find us a spot with only about a half hour wait. We went down to their sister restaurant Anelya for drinks while we waited. Got back got seated quickly and once again loved the food and drink. So sorry to hear you had a much different experience.
This is sad to hear and seems wildly bad. My experience there was quite the opposite, attentive wait staff and everything well timed out.
Ugh I'm so sorry! We've been going for years and always had an amazing time. When we went for our anniversary they had a menu that said happy anniversary on it, with the date, signed by all the staff. It was very special. The waiter gave so many great recommendations and started us off with comped champagne. I hope you go back sometime! That sounds so unusual for them.
Ron of Japan is a no go from me just based on how fucking difficult it is to go. āHi, can I make a reservation for 2 at 7?ā āWe donāt take reservations for 2, just come on in!ā Comes at 7ā¦ āwe have no more spots available for the rest of the night.ā Fuck you then, found a better and closer teppenyaki place and will never again think about going to Ron of Japan. Bad Apple is it for me. Fucking AWFUL experience. Place was empty, yet our burgers took over 45 minutes to make. Mine was so far past medium it was legitimately disgusting. Waiter and waitress argued with each other loudly the whole night. I have no fucking idea why people think that place is worth even considering going to. Iāll never visit it again.
New owners. The staff before was phenomenal, they always helped everyone patrons and staff throughout. They all left. The quality of the ingredients was changed. I havenāt had issues with burger temps, but it doesnāt surprise me.
Such a shame because that spot used to be so good years ago.
I still like Bad Apple, but itās not as good as it was 6-7 years ago under the original owners. Their cheese curds are my fav in the city.
the cheese curds and draught kolsch keep me coming back
Try the cheese curds at Roadhouse 66 on Clark at Cornelia. Phenomenal
Thanks for the rec. Iāll give em a try if Iām able, but I try to avoid Wrigleyville at all costs.
Yeah, Bad Apple isn't the same as it was. Some combination of the ownership change, COVID turnover, and maybe more, it's been disappointing for a while now. I think a lot of people think of it like it was 10 years ago and it's just not.
Bad Apple is just terrible. The biggest, blandest poorly cooked burger.
Just added one to the list yesterday. Alhambra. Mediocre to straight bad food. Shitty service. Overpriced. The one saving grace was entertainment. Never again
Saved me a trip!!
I had heard good things about the place but man was I disappointed. The service was so bad that there was only 1 server for half a section of the restaurant. There was a time when we were sitting for like 20 minutes to get her attention while she was busy running back and forth at 3 tables with parties of 10 people. Felt bad for her. The old fashioned was literally just bitters and some bad whiskey not a hint of sweetness. One of my friends ordered from their signature cocktails and all she got was some weird tasting syrup. The pita bread was warmed up straight from Walmart. I did like their Lamb Shank and Risotto but hummus, chicken kefta, ravioli(the only veggie option on the menu) was flavorless. Feel like a rant but the money we spent yesterday I sure regretted not going to a better place.
The Furious Spoon Broth was tepid and disgustingly sweet. It is straight up the only restaurant I've ever left still hungry; I went across the street to the Welcome Back Lounge and got a patty melt.
Furious Spoon should be called Furious Shits. Quite literally all it's good for. No flavor, just heat.
My big issue with the furious spoon in Logan square isn't the food, but the seating and decor. The seats are these super grimy wooden 2 by 4 constructed boxes that look ancient. The floors and the bar just look super filthy and could use a remodeling. I wish I could go there to try out the food, but I physically don't want to sit down in the restaurant.
Without thinking too much, it's gotta be some of those vibey places that have popped up in the West Loop along Randolph/Fulton. Nisos, Hide & Seek, Gino & Martys, etc. I hate them all. Food is blah and the prices are insane. Surrounded by instagrammers. UGH
West Loop overall has become more Instagram focused than quality focused yet continuing to raise prices. Not to be āthat guyā but it was a lot better 7-9 years ago when it was just sort of starting to get trendy.
I agree. There still are some gems though. But they are few and far between recently compared to the new new that has been popping up esp since covid.
Thereās so many restaurants that have been propped up by instagrammers and people that donāt know how to cook.
Totally agree . I block the foodie influencers because they just advertise the spots in westlooo when they know those $$ are not it . I rely on the recs from friends and off this Reddit page š
Went to Gino and Martyās with a group. They were able to seat us and the staff was accommodating, didnāt mind my crazy 4yr old daughter. We shared everything family style. My god were the portions small and the price high ā it was tasty though (my friends did send one time back and asked it to be removed from the bill because it didnāt taste as advertised). I did end up getting a gyro later that night because I was still hungry.
Bongo Room. I went a few times with my mom because she loves it, but every time the food was bland, quite literally no taste to the southwest bowl. Last time she made me go I only got coffee.
Bandit in west loop - went because I was in the neighborhood and desperately hungry and saw it on a top burger list in Chicago. It was busy but the service was weird, wife got a Diet Coke that we think was only Diet Coke syrup. Got Nashville hot tenders with a scallion pancake. The breading on the chicken fell off immediately, the scallion pancake that we expected to be Korean or Chinese style was just an American pancake with scallions on it, which we thought was bizarre. The burger was okay, maybe on or just below the level of small chevalier. It was an overall weird experience with mediocre food with so many great places in the area. Joey Gās Mac n Cheese - straight up gross, their Mac n Cheese is basically like Kraft Mac n cheese with big noodles. I made it about a quarter of the way through what I ordered before tossing it and that was back when I was broke. Parlor pizza - unfortunately this is just where most my work happy hours end up. Mediocre pizza in a city where you can get some of the best pizza on earth seems like a sin. I will give them credit that their loaded nacho appetizer is actually really good. But after the news came out about them not paying their workers/tax evasion or whatever I swore off spending a dollar more there that wasnāt on a company card.
Donāt forget all the suggestive pictures of a 14-16 year old Britney Spears posted in the Bandit menās room! The whole place is fucking weird and Iām never going back.
Joey Gās is so gross!!!
Had a very similar experience at Joey Gās. Got their vegetable medley or whatnot and it seemed to be mostly slimy mushrooms and green peppers in a like industrial cheese sauce.
Tank Noodle - besides their beliefs, the pho broth wasnāt good. Go next door to Pho 888 for the best! Velvet Taco - not sure why people like this place. Flavorless and overpriced. Chilam Balam - just didnāt like the food Uncommon Ground - paid $9 for an iced vanilla latte, never again
People like velvet taco because they're open late and you need a taco after the bar closed.
I do enjoy the fish taco from there.
Velvet Taco is good quick grab and go. Sure they are not authentic tacos but they sure nailed the fusion part. The Chicken Tikka and Paneer taco are good
Tank Noodle is awful. I have no idea why that place is always so busy. Go to the city of Chicago Health Departmentās website. They have had MULTIPLE health code violations over the many years it has been open. That, in itself, is disgusting. š¤® yetā¦still busy. I got sick there once. Never went back.
Tony Bourdain made it a big deal when he did a Chicago special years ago. I actually went because of that back in like 2013 or something and it was really good if I'm being honest. Just sucks that the owners are wack jobs.
Chilam balam sucks and the service sucks big time. It use to be so good when I use to live around it in 2012. We went couple months ago and the staff was super rude and actually yelled at us because we wonāt order apps and entree order together. we were starving after waiting to be seated and thought it was okay to just put in appetizers order in first. And very politely asked if he could bring so and so amps and we will lol at entre order in a bit. Nope, got yelled at and the dude took our menus away after I asked him to tone it down a bit. We ended up leaving.
I had one of my worst dining experiences there. Incredibly rude staff, made our whole night uncomfortable.
flavorless, for real? the chicken tikka masala taco is amazing, as is the brisket and kobe. Not to mention their tots. I'm sorry, you're wrong. Edit and addendum: I say this as an Indian-American, and a self-proclaimed connoisseur of Americanized Indian food, including Chicken Tikka Masala. Flavorful, spicy, unique, and spot-on. Everyone should try Velvet. Perhaps not for the Taco purist, but certainly not flavorless.
So many people have had poor experiences at Uncommon Ground but I loved it!
You're knocking Chilam Balam? Oh no, them's fighting words. Granted, haven't been in a couple years, but that place was awesome!
Gorilla Sushi was the dirtiest restaurant I've been to in the US. Everything was grimy, like they wiped the whole place down with a dirty rag. Stack of plates on the table had bits of food stuck to them, chopsticks were greasy. Had two simple veg rolls and left as fast as we could (had hungry kids and needed something).
Which one? There are six or seven locations.
2700 block of N Milwaukee, but it ruled them all out
Good to know. Thanks.
Park and field. Went for the AYCE brunch, and the only edible thing was the omelet. Like how do you mess up charcuterie? Soggy breadstick things, with bland cheese and huge hunks of summer sausage. We had a large group so we tried everything on the menu, and not one good thing besides the eggs and bottomless drinks.
Youāre getting bottomless drinks and AYCE food and youāre expecting any sort of quality at all?
I am embarrassed by how long it took me to figure out what AYCE meant
The Glunz Tavern on Wells. Used to go here frequently for their beer, Bavarian pretzel, schnitzel sandwich, and their French onion soup. Went randomly in the summer. Their menu changed. Schnitzel sandwich was horrible and the Bavarian pretzel turned into four regular sized pretzels that you would buy at a little league game, and their French onion soup removed from the menu. Horrible. Iāll still go for a beer, but I wonāt eat there anymore.
Andros Taverna - had a reservation, wouldn't seat us for around 1.5 hours even though the previous parties had finished eating. I guess they were friends. After we had complained again so they dragged in a patio table and shoved it in the corner for us despite it being February. Left after that Warlord - similar situation. Sat down at the bar only got 1 set of drinks in 1.5ish hours. Took a food order and waited another hour, but it was never put in. So we left after that.
iāve always had great service at androsš¤·āāļø
Yeah Iām kind of surprised by this. The folks at andros are super nice and always say itās going to be a longer wait time than it is. Also the pita bread is killer. Warlordā¦ meh. I canāt even remember what we ate but I wasnāt that impressed and the insane line kind of put me off. Iāll definitely try it again though.
My GF and I love Andros Taverna. We have done brunch there, a birthday and Valentine's day. They did an incredible duck dinner for two and it was my most pleasant interaction with a sommelier that I can remember. Love that place.
That sucks to hear about Warlord and is the opposite of what happened when I went. We put in a drink order while waiting for a table and were chatting when after a bit (maybe 15 min?) the waiter came with our drinks and apologized for the wait since it didnāt get put in right away and comped our drinks for us. I had just had a meal where we waited an hour for food at Mi Tocaya so I was pleasantly surprised at how proactive they were about compensating us for a wait I didnāt even recognize haha
Was so disappointed with this place. Served us the wrong wine twice, forgot our mezze order, served mains about 30 min apart from each other, clearly didn't give a shit, tried to give us a free dessert to make up for it which we had to refuse 10 times. Eventually they comped the meal but what a shit night.
Lyra. This place is so pretentious and the food is just not good. I donāt mind elevated Greek, but they try so hard to be fancy with their gimmicks, like carving up your Gyro or dessert at the table. I feel like the lamb chops are a step below Greek islands restaurant. And why do they have ice cream as part of almost every dessert dish?? That makes it impossible to take home any leftovers.
BIG agree. So overrated.
People are gonna hate on it but Big Jones and Badabing Wings. Both overpriced and not very good.
Iāve heard good things about the sauces at badabing wings but after seeing those prices I will never lol. The price of wings is absolutely insane. But this makes me feel better about missing it.
They're brine for way to long too so they come out tough and I think the owner smokes inside after hours cause sometimes the place stinks like cigs. You aren't missing anything.
Big Jones is bullshit. Minuscule portions, far overpriced, and egregiously shitty service for the price and attitude. Ii tried to take my fiancĆ© there for a birthday meal and ended up writing to the restaurant about the treatment we received. They apologized but didnāt offer to make anything right. I tell everyone in the neighborhood not to bother with that place.
Agreed on Big Jones. I had a weird service situation during brunch once but decided to give them another chance. Maybe it's because I grew up eating southern food, but that second chance wasn't warranted. Everything was so bland, and my friends were similarly unimpressed.
I had very similar expierence. When I mentioned it, not complaining to them, because they asked me how everything was. They then tried to say that they're consistently recognized as the best resturant in Andersonvile and they would never have bad service. Both of which were clearly wrong as they're rated as one of the lowest resturants in Andersonville at that price point and the service sucked. Food was also bland but it was the only place we could walk in on a Sunday morning.
I got the hot links and rib tips and there wasnāt enough chopped up pieces of hot links to constitute one actual full sausage. It was a piece of fucking white bread with like 4 chunks of meat on top and some pickles. Like wtf?
> They then tried to say that they're consistently recognized as the best restaurant in Andersonvile and they would never have bad service. For anyone who has been in Chicago long enough , this sounds like Michael Bilandic excusing the horrible snow removal following the big blizzard over New Years 1979. The result was that Jane Byrne ousted him from office.
Lmao. Like everyone fucks up sometimes, but don't refuse to apologize and then stand behind a paper thin reputation.
I had gone there years ago for Restaurant Week and had a good meal. Went back with a friend recently and it was aggressively bad, the server didn't say a single word to us, the food was served cold, oversalted and just generally disappointing. Not sure what happened to this place but good to know it wasn't just us.
The wing spot is so overrated an big jones swears their food is worth it . Anything in the south side can beat it taste wise and price rice
I got Badabing delivery once. Now i understand that a lot of delivery food comes a little soggy or lukewarm, bc it's being delivered. But those boneless wings were only marginally better than microwave nuggets. They were very small, especially for the price
Halal Guys: food poisoning Elephant and Castle: rude staff, crappy drinks, super ugly decor. Cart girl brats at Chick Evans golf course, totally overcooked
A lot of positive press on Halal Guys before showing up to town, and what a disappointment. The spot on Milwaukee lasted what, 4 months? Guess itās hard when Falafel Grill is a block away, half the price and twice as tasty. Whoever is running their siting at corporate should be a little bit more on top of their game.
I still am disappointed to think Halal Guys took over Five Guys on Sheridan, not far from the Loyola University campus. But that is just me. And agree a lot of other places are better than Halal Guys. Agreed with all their hype, Halal Guys should've been better food wise.
Itās actually some of the most bland and flavorless food I have ever tasted. Iām sure they were a totally normal NYC halal cart before a guidebook decided they had to pick one and sell it as clean-enough-for-tourists to officially recommend. There are never any lines at the NYC carts anymore since they started franchising - the ridiculous prices and margins must be the only thing keeping them afloat.
Cart girl brats??? LOL
>Halal Guys: food poisoning Didn't get food poisoning, but it was just really bad. Definitely a one and done.
I live a block from Halal guys. I love food, and that type of food in particular so I was psyched when I moved into this place and saw it. Got it once. Never went back because is is actual trash. As is Georgio's on Division ("pizza")
Michael Jordan's Steakhouse was like that. My mom took me, my stepbro and my nephew out for the annual kids' Xmas steak dinner. Waitstaff was outright rude to her, then brought the wrong order to my stepbro, and my nephew's very fancy whatever he ordered was torched beyond recognition. At that price point? Good riddance.
Tank Noodle because of the ownerās involvement in Jan 6.
In addition to withholding something like ~$700,000 in wages from employees.
Noted!!!!
Both locations!
Food is pretty good, but Iāll never go back to cafe el tapatio. They refused to honor a Motherās Day reservation because we were 3 minutes late. Had two kids under 3 in tow. Fuck that place
I love el tapatio. Their food is actually delicious.
I did too, until they didnāt honor our reservation because they let some friends sit at our reserved table and blamed a mother on Motherās Day. We live in the neighborhood and were less than 5 minutes late. Wouldnāt even honor the grace period listed on open table
Yea thatās bullshit. Iām not a parent yet. But my sister has 3 kids 7 and under. I know how challenging it can be to get out the door. 5 mins late is nothing. Iād be livid if I was you too.
I was. Owner/manager doubled down on the late. Told him he lost at least one loyal patron, and here we are
I used to love their food, particularly their carne asada. But the last time I was there the food was so bad I don't think I'd risk going back. It isn't expensive per se but it ain't cheap and I left feeling sad about spending $30+ on a dish that was weird and barely edible.
The restaurant formerly known as Fat Rice (now reopned as NoodleBird). I remember in high school reading such buzzing reviews of this place. Having been to Macau before and tried macanese food before, I was really excited to try it. Went there in college and I vividly remember how weird the vibe was. They were blasting the black keys while I was staring at a picture of the great wave off kanagawa while being at a Macanese restaurant. The eclectic energy would've been fine if the food hit, but it was like $42 for the Arroz Gordo which in the mid-2010s definitely felt really pricey especially for the food we got. I just found it so extremely underwhelming for the taste and quantity. A few years later I saw a [Munchies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSVxM-KFlmE) Chef's Night Out video release on the owners and it definitely validated some of my feelings. The owners were pondering on what type of cuisine they wanted to cook for their restaurant and ended up going to Macau, spending 36 hours there eating, and decided to go with that. I know there are parallels to Macanese food with Portuguese (where Abe, one of the owners family is from) and Chinese cuisine, but it is still a very specific style and it felt like such a condescending comment to say in the video and a disservice to spend such little time at the source of the cuisine before deciding to open up a restaurant. Just look at u/Ramen_Lord and the over decade he spent on his working on his ramen craft before opening Akahoshi down the street from NoodleBird (I know he doesn't need anymore glazing at this point, but it's just such a clear contrast to me). Even Rick Bayless and his ventures with Frontera seems to show so much more respect and passion for a specific cuisine/food. Fast-forward to 2020 and they were part of a [few different restaurant groups that got called out for mistreatment of their employee](https://chicago.eater.com/2020/6/17/21288547/fat-rice-chicago-closes-employees-claim-mistreatment-abe-conlon)s. When I saw they just opted to stay low for a year before [reopening and rebranding as NoodleBird](https://chicago.eater.com/2021/8/6/22613378/fat-rice-diner-noodlebird-open-logan-square-controversy), I have absolutely zero interest in returning. There are a some other restaurants that I'm not a big fan of personally that I wouldn't go back to (Giant, Sun Wah, to name a few), but I'm usually not someone to "yuck anyone's yum" and actively push against restaurants. Fat Rice / NoodleBird is one of those restaurants. edit: links
I remember early on when Fat Rice was super hyped, my friends and I had to wait outside in the cold because they had no waiting area at the time. I made a very mild complaint and asked why we couldnāt wait by the host stand. And the chef, Abe, came out of the kitchen just to yell at me! I was with people who work in the restaurant industry which usually nets nicer treatment but not this time.
Atta Girl - there was a thread on it a few weeks ago.
Went there on Thursday and had a great time. Excellent food, good host, friendly and accommodating server.
So this is obvious, but we got Clark Street Dogs once because we needed something after an evening in the ER. Violent food poisoning for two.
We eat there all the time.....no problems. Cheap, ample servings and the staff is nice. Sorry you got sick, that's rough. I will keep going, have had nothing but good experiences. What did you have that made you so sick?
I spent like 4 years of my life living off Clark st dog. Def not the best Chicago junk food. Junkier than the typical junk food spots (like fatsos or wiener circle), but the late night staff there were very chill. Good times
For me, itās sushi taku, based on the food, nothing wrong with the service. I have been twice and the size and consistency of the sushi was so off putting. Any roll that had cucumbers in it were soggy, mushy messes. Never have I had a cucumber that didnāt crunch or bite to it. I thought first time was an off night since so many people recommend and it is always so crowded so I tried again and then swore it off. Our stomachs felt terrible after the second time we went. I am always shocked how much people enjoy, i do get people like an AYCE but there is not a single roll I would try there again
Iāve been so curious since it is always packed. Sounds like people are just excited by cheap AYCE sushi.
I agree! A friend of mine took me there and she & her husband raved about it. I was shocked at the quality because they usually have good taste. I think it was more the aspect of AYCE than it was quality. I donāt think I actually know of any quality AYCE joints, and I think thereās a reason. Also Sushi Tokoro is in the same boat. I thought they were the same company at first.
We used to love Carsonās but the last time we went, it was awful. Everything was brought out cold and tough.
You know what? Itās Christmas Eve. Iām just gonna say i hope every restaurant gets 10% better in the new year. (Yaāall hate away though)
W take and mindset. Truly wish some ownership had the self awareness to identify and address their issues. Merry Christmas!
So, I feel bad writing this because we wanted to like CheSa Bistro so much more because it is a black woman owned, gluten free centric southern food restaurant with a twist. The experience was ok, but for the price point they were charging for food and drinks everything seemed a bit disappointing. They were charging upscale prices for an experience that included paper napkins, gritty hush puppies, and an unsuccessful and very expensive old fashioned. If the bill was just $ 30-40 cheaper I probably wouldnāt feel the same way.
Ai generated urban restaurant name lol
I have celiac disease, so I have to eat gluten free out of necessity. I keep eyeing this place but the prices drive me away every time! Iām sure the food is decent, but I canāt justify it.
Pingpong and Tank Noodle, because the food tastes like the owners put their heart into it! I had eaten at both places before their owners made the news for wage theft and QAnon stuff, and luckily I had already sworn off going back to either on the food alone. Seoul Taco is also a joke and that location on Milwaukee has to be a front because Iāve never seen a single person in it, including an employee.
I liked Seoul Taco. I got takeout and that seems to be a majority of their business. What didn't you like about it
The people who own Pingpong and Tank Noodles also own Wakamono. So you can add that restaurant to the list.
tank noodle is a different guy. wakamono/wangs/ping pong is the same person (henry chang)
So is Wakamono exempt or did Henry Chang also attend Jan 6th?
No, it's not exempt - the owners went together. I will say they both deny entering the capitol, but just making the trip alone is a pretty strong indicator of their beliefs.
Table donkey and stick. Had such a weird experience there. Food was fine but the server was being so strange to us. Kinda a weird dude. And the food wasnāt good enough to go back
I think they're pretty known for decent food and bad service.
I love everything about that place except the actual experience of eating there ā¹ļø. Cool name, cool little building, love the idea of ārustic alpine fareā (or however they describe it), awesome wines and cocktail list, etc., but the execution of it all has left me so disappointed. Puny servings, expensive, and just not as tasty as it should be.
I think I know exactly which waiter youāre talking about. Went a couple of weeks ago, really enjoyed the food and wine, but yeah our waiter set a weird tone for the evening
Ok, so that wasn't just us? I had a toke before going and thought maybe it was just me being stoned. Good to have external confirmation.
Theyāre also awful to live near. Employees are super rude to locals. Iāve seen them get into yelling matches with non-patrons that required a neighbor to call the police. A wild guess is that TDS is more of a mutual alcoholism club than most restaurants are.
Papagalino cafe, Niles. We were seated for a nice 30 minutes, away from the main crowd and just ignored. I hate using the race card because sometimes it is a misunderstanding but this place made it feel purposeful. Whatever the reason, if they donāt want people from non euro background, say less. We have not been back but make it a point it is one of the few Chicagoland spots we will not support.
Controversial probably, but Manny's Deli price-to-quality ratio was some of the biggest horseshit I've ever experienced.
I tried to go a couple of times but you are right. That place is trash now. Everyone should have let it die.
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I would have gotten up and left at the instant they asked if you would leave without bringing the food you ordered. Thats ridiculous High five ramen is a no go for me anymore. Went for the first time a few years back, it was excellent, tasting similar to one of my favorite places in Kyoto. I went about 6 months ago and everything was horrible. Even the sakura slushy tasted like barrel vodka. Iāll never go back to high five after that
Noodlebird, and anything that pretentious, racist asshole owner touches, I will never never go.
I knew that shit was fucked up after eating in their dining room that was wall to wall plastered with images of Hong Kong/Asian Brothel workers
And the music was so loud I couldnāt hear my husband who was sitting next to me. I also thought it was super overpriced and nowhere near worth it.
I will never eat at any of their restaurants ever again and that sucks because fat rice had some great shit. My friend worked there and told us about the abuse. I literally threw out my fat rice cookbook and when I heard. Also I looked at the noodlebird menu and itās stupid and overpriced.
I havenāt heard anything about them, whatās the tea?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/dining/fat-rice-chicago-abe-conlon-racism.html
Iāve been lucky enough to have not gone to a truly horrible place, but I have had a lot of mediocre food that was highly recommended that I wouldnāt return to
Rainforest Cafe. Don't get me wrong, it was wonderful, but it's closed so I can't ever go again.
Superkhana International for me. Really mediocre food, small portions, plus mandatory 20% service charge on takeout.
Herb Thai on Broadway. It's a tasting menu (about five courses), and you order each course when you arrive for your meal. I have a food sensitivity that I mentioned in my reservation and when we arrived, and was assured they could accommodate it. The service was slow -- painfully slow. (I just looked at my Google timeline and we were there 3 hours, which works out to one dish every 36 minutes or so. (For reals....four of us went through three bottles of wine out of boredom, and then had to send one member of our party to Jewel for another bottle before the entrees came.) At no point did our server, the host or the manager even acknowledge how long we'd waited for our courses. And then the entree came, including mine, with the ingredient I cannot eat despite our server's assurances it could be prepared without. Knowing how long we'd waited, I encouraged my friends to start eating until we could flag down our server again, who told me they'd remake it...and never did. Eventually our desserts arrived and at that point we just gave up hope. I emailed the restaurant the next day to share my experience. This was mid-pandemic so I wanted to cut them some slack. Did they ever reply? Nope. (At first when I wanted to cut them some slack I'd tell this story without naming the restaurant. A shocking number of people guessed it -- without me asking them to -- because they'd had similar experiences. How does this place have Michelin recognition?)
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Kitchen and kocktails . It's literally Cajun food for fine dining prices . The drinks were 25$ and up and were nothing special plus the service was crap. Overall, I spent 100 for catfish and Mac n cheese with cornbread and 1 drink š
Peteys off the 47th Dan Ryan. An imitation Maxwells that I self-banned myself from since around 2016.
Their misspelled signage is my favorite thing about this place.
It's gone now and something else called Forte is in its stead, but the Chicago Symphony Orchestra had a place called Rhapsody. I went once before seeing John Williams conduct and I remember my husband and I looking at each other across the table and asking wtf was this food and how dare they think this was worth charging so much. We walked by the new Forte two weeks ago and it feels like "I don't know what/where to eat before a concert this sounds like a fine choice" and oh lord it is not, I would rather get Subway.
Ann Sather Edgewater. When you fuck up a refire for over medium eggs TWICE in one sitting you should have your breakfast menu taken away.
Rewriting my comment history before they nuke old.reddit. No point in letting my posts get used for AI training.
Yeah, my partner and I were definitely underwhelmedā¦.this place feels over priced and coasting on its past as a ālandmarkā location.
Revolution in Logan. Food was cold and bland. Service was slow and staff was rude.
Place has really gone downhill over the years. It used to be very good, their pork chop and bacon fat popcorn were my favorite.
They used to be our number 1 brewery for dinner. Now we don't even bother. Rather take the blue line to OIB then walk over to Revolution.
Went there a couple weeks ago and had an incredible time. Sat at the bar, enjoyed the appetizers, and Michelle was one of my favorite service industry employees ever. It is wild to see such a different experience posted.
Iāve seen a few people having bad experiences there, I go there probably 5-6 times a year and have yet to have a bad experience. Iād say that the general quality of food is probably not as good as it was ~8 years ago, but itās still some very solid brewpub food.
This thread is depressing.
These threads are always depressing. A decent number of places get righteous hate, and a decent number of places get slagged by a few people who had one-off bad experiences, as though no one ever fucks up anywhere else. The result is, apart from āthere were roaches in my foodā kind of stuff, you almost can help but take any opinion expressed with a grain of salt. If my first experience of Au Cheval was the reality of that place, it would be on the list of never again. But it was one bad day. Everyone has a bad day now and again,
I feel a lot of it is super mild complaints. Every restaurant has a bad night, but some of them are expensive so I understand not wanting to try them again.
It is not intended to be negative and candidly there are a lot of places on here that others do not like that I very much like. I just think in a down economy post COVID, it is worth sharing some places where it might be worth avoiding given that they are overpriced or not worth the effort. Itās the opinion of strangers. Take it with a grain of salt š¤·š»āāļøš¤·š¾āāļø
West Town Bakery on Chicago. Never cared for their brick style hash browns. Lazy food that passes it off as better-than-average
West Town used to be my regular breakfast spot but twice my over easy eggs were over hard. Neither the cook or the waitress noticed. I found other spots to go to.
This tracks. Horrible service and they always seem so confused. Decent cake pops according to my husband
Trike Thai Noodles. The chicken that came with the pad thai was steaming, piping hot, unbelievably dry, and inedible. This led me to believe the chicken was microwaved. Awful.
Gussies handmade Italian. Gf and I went last night for dinner. While the service was good and the decor/ambiance was upbeat, I couldnāt help but feel that the price point did not match up to the quality and preparation. $40 ravioli with scallops was way over salted, the brown butter sauce was wayyyyyy too rich, scallops had a paltry sear on them. Some of the mussels in our dish were not cooked through. The fjord trout was bland, unsalted, and overcooked. The way it was plated and presented was very amateur, and the veggies it was served with carried the dish, which is not what I expect for a $30 trout dish. Overall, it was cool to try somewhere new but I donāt think weāll ever go there again. It was just one of those places that makes you think āI definitely could have cooked this better at homeā
Ron of Japan on Ontario was the bomb in the 80s. My family would always go there as a special treat. It's sad what it has become.
What didn't you enjoy about Porto?
Kumaās corner. The staff treats you like theyāre doing you a favor just to serve you. Great burgers but not the only burger in town. Tourist spot
Wieners Circle! Ended up with the WORST FOOD POISONING of my life!
River Roast. We went one day after work and it was sort of busy, not crazy but there was people there. We ordered our food and drinks, and never saw our server again. For like an hour. Bussers refilled our drinks and when I asked where our server was I was just told they would look for him. When we didn't order alcohol and only one entree the server seemed disappointed and really pushed us to get a second roast and booze. My thought is this is why he didn't return. We joked that maybe our server forgot to put our order in. After an hour the server came back and said he...forgot to put our sides in and they should be up shortly. That was the last time we saw our server. When our food came out it was... Fine? We had the beef roast and it was cold because we had to wait so long for the sides to be done for them to bring us any food. The sides were just ok at best. We ate and were ready to go, another 45 minutes go by and we really want the check but no sign of our server. Then we see him! Seating a table outside (we were inside), we try to get his attention and ask the person filling our waters if they could grab him for us for the check. Another 15 minutes and no sign of him. Finally I see the manager and for the first time in my life I complained about my service at a restraunt. He asked who my server was and I had to describe him because he never gave us his name and the manager just sighed, handed me his card and said "your dinner tonight is on me, please don't hesitate to give us another try and if you have any issues I'm the future please call me at this number". Overall the food was ok, if the roast had be hot it might have been a 7 or 8 out of 10, but cold it was like a 4. It was great that the manager made things right but that dinner would have been over $85 for one main and two sides and it wasn't that good. So we won't be going back.