Marineth Sierra
Google
I visited Burger Bar Chicago for lunch this past Sunday, August 31, and unfortunately, the experience was very disappointing.
We checked in with the manager, gave him our name and phone number, and he said he’d call us when our table was ready — quoting about 30 minutes. After 45 minutes of waiting, I decided to call the restaurant and walk back, only to find out that our table had been ready for a while. The manager admitted he couldn’t even read his own handwriting and had failed to contact us.
Once seated, things went downhill. Our server greeted us with a rude attitude and zero patience, especially when we mentioned we had a flight to catch and needed to order quickly. Despite putting in our orders right away, 30 minutes passed with no food in sight. When we asked the server for an update, he said it would be another 10–15 minutes.
45 minutes later — still no food. At the 50-minute mark, I approached the manager, who went to the back and finally returned 10 minutes later with our entrees. At no point were we informed that the kitchen was severely behind, which would have allowed us to make an informed decision.
The manager’s demeanor when we expressed our frustration was dismissive and unhelpful. While he did end up comping the meals, the overall service was chaotic, slow, and poorly managed.
To make matters worse:
• My fountain drink didn’t arrive until the food came out.
• Our server never checked in on us after taking the order.
• Nearby tables were also frustrated — the one next to us had been waiting just as long, and another table only had drinks after an extended wait.
I rarely leave negative reviews, but this was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in Chicago. Between the mismanaged waitlist, poor communication, and lack of attentiveness, I cannot recommend this location.