Reality Bites

Lovely outdoor seating and delightful cocktails await you at Reality Bites. We enjoyed the Seared Tuna and Pork Potstickers appetizers. The Harvest Salad from the seasonal menu was also very tasty. The chicken on the El Bandido salad was tough- won’t order that again.

Great locally owned business that is pet friendly. Owner saw me outside with my dog and brought her a treat. Dog bowls available on the sidewalk. I bring a collapsible set for my girl, but other people might want public bowls.

Wonderful place! This was my first time here, and the food was amazing. I had the Ex Boyfriend (the drink in the picture) it's a perfect light drink if you like drinks on the sweeter side. The party I was with shared many of the menu appetizers, and all were a HIT! Especially the spinach and artichoke dip, along with the bacon wrapped dates.

The cocktail/mocktail menu is wonderful and well-stocked with seasonal offerings. I had a buffalo chicken sandwich on this visit (w/o bun) and it was OK - chicken was a bit overdone but the flavor was good. My conpanion had a burger and said it was very well seasoned and dressed. We enjoyed the seared tuna and goat cheese balls as appetizers - both were quite good! Service is always excellent and we will return

It's a very popular place, even during the week, so be sure to make reservations. It's a fine dining spot with a laid back vibe. The food is top notch. I had the red snapper which was excellent. They even got the skin cooked perfectly. The cocktail menu features some fun concoctions. Their standard old fashioned is yummy and they don't skimp on the liquor. I love how friendly the staff is here. Our waitress was very pleasant and accommodating. It's a pricey place, but worth every penny.

My boyfriend and I decided to try some place new for dinner and landed on Reality Bites. The owner greeted us right away. They were busy, so we sat at the bar while we waited for a table. It was worth the wait for sure! We ordered the Bang Bang Shrimp 🍤 and bacon wrapped dates for appetizers. I'm still thinking about how good both of those were. 🤤 My boyfriend ordered the New York Strip and I ordered "the Funks Grove Burger". I can't say enough good things about the food and environment there. We were raving to our family and friends about it!

Been here several times. Always good! My salad had one sliver of avocado on it. Bummer! A little slow today, got a parking ticket for exceeding the 90min park time.

Came here tonight for dinner and inside was "full". They told me we could only sit outside which would have been fine but you don't get any service! But now we have been here for an hour and no food. Went inside and there are 8 tables and a few people at the bar. VERY SLOW SERVICE!!! Had high hopes for this place but we will NOT BE BACK for dinner for 4 to take over an hour!

The seared ahi tuna was delicious especially the dipping sauce. The tacos are perfect for sharing. The shrimp was good but I preferred the fish tacos more. Very cool interior and a welcoming atmosphere. Loved the Halloween skeletons decor at the front of the restaurant. The menu is very different and we were excited to try this place. The only strange thing at the end was my brother left the server a cash tip which included some $2 bills. She came back and told us "we don't accept $2 bills." Excuse me? It is legal US currency. It was also meant to be part of her tip. So there went some of her tip.

Came here for the first time and it was a phenomenal experience. We sat outside with our dog on the beautiful patio and after about 10 minutes, the owner Butch, came out and brought us a pup cup and was SO friendly and kind. We tried a fall drink and app and they were delicious (get the buffalo chicken egg rolls while you can!). Maya was our server and she was very sweet and attentive. It started raining during our meal, both Maya and Butch made a special spot for us and our pup to come sit inside out of the rain and finish our drinks. Beyond the normal call of customer service. Will definitely be back for the Reality chicken and exceptional service.

Great Food, and Awesome service with a long tenured youthful staff that is friendly. The atmosphere is one of Bloomington's best. Not a huge menu but excellent food and variety. A regular visit for us. The owner is there on weekends helping to assure great service!! Try it if you're in town for a visit. We travel extensively and I'm pretty picky in posting reviews! Great for a date.

Starting with the food, I ordered a chicken wrap. It was a good size, however, it tasted overly-charred. The fries were odd, they where steak fries, however they where extremely crispy without much actual potato on them and must a crispy skin. My wife got the pecan chicken, which was a decent dish. The chicken was cooked well. And just seemed like a bland dish. With nothing really jumping out to you. The mustard sauce was delicious on it. Service was slow, not very busy. But took a bit of time to get our food. Ambiance was a bar with some tables. Nothing too fancy.

First off not a tapas place as in their description. Entrees didn't come out at the same time. 2 people had to send their dishes back. I got the wrong drink and they never acknowledged their mistake. Pretty big deposit for a reservation, when we got there at peak time on a Saturday the place was half empty.

Overpriced. Food was mediocre at best , lacking in flavor. Customer service was terrible. Definitely wouldn't recommend.

Professional manager training! Listen to what your patrons are saying! Food was subpar from start to finish. Learn to listen! I'm sorry you are stressed! Perhaps you don't belong in food service! Patrons were truthful and you chose not to hear the them. And involved other diners. Very unprofessional!

The low ratings make no sense. This is my new favorite hot spot in the Bloomington area. Amazing atmosphere and date night vibes, simple and well thought out menu, vibrant collection of enticing eats and drinks, and in tune staff, I first noticed a higher class aura than expected. The dirty downtown drags all down. Frontman asked if I had a reservation, worked out well as I didn't anyway, was seated and awaited my buddy celebrating his cake day. I quickly sampled two brews and went with a delightful salty fresh beer. There were gorgeous cocktails too but have to note all quite light and sugar forward. They really need some balanced and more raw options. Wished we were more hungry, skipped appetizers, straight to sharing a burger and wow what a fix it was! The Butch. burger tingled all tasted with that meat crowned with pineapple. Few burgers have done so much for me. My buddy's Ex Boyfriend cocktail was perfect for the pink diabetes. Easy to drink and quickly disappeared, wondered around the dessert menu a second, we went for the pumpkin cheesecake. And again what an amazing treat, I had plenty of amazing cheesecakes in my time but this trounced most of them. This is one gorgeous food spot. I cannot wait to come back!

A hot take. Great drinks and wine selection with solid apps. I started off with an old fashioned and then went with to a blended wine emit go with the main. Our app was the hummus, top notch. For the main I went with a weekend specialty item " scallop risotto cakes", and I guess it was a typo for the menu since I only received 1 scallop on top of the risotto cakes The risotto itself seemed to be okay but lacking any character... but could've been out shadowed by the overcooked cakes. Overall I wouldn't recommend that feature dish. For desert we went with the tiramisu and the cheesecake. Nothing amazing or offensive here - Both were good. Tip... if you are sitting in the booths, avoid the seat closest to the door (also near the stairs) as the AC will be blasting you non-stop

The service and the ambiance of this place was amazing. Ordered a mocktail which turned out pretty tasty. However, the food was alright. The chips that came on the side of my chicken sandwich were way too salty.

Chipped plates, dry overcooked appetizers. We had the stuffed mushrooms. There were 5 and small. Two were outright tiny and barely filled. We also had coconut shrimp. The dipping sauce was good but the shrimp were in a hard, dark crust. We peeled the batter from the shrimp and ate just the meat. For our entree we had miso salmon and c-bites chicken club. The chicken was cooked perfectly. It came with homemade chips. Most the chips were left on the plate because as like everything else they were overdone My salmon was so over cooked and dry, I was glad I had a glass of water. We were just sad, for $85. We hope for a nicer meal. The highlight of the meal was our waitress, Tyler. You couldn't ask for better service. She was friendly, cheerful, and everything you would want in a waitress.

Enjoyed the pork potstickers and Asian spring rolls for appetizers, along with the blonde ale. The 4 of us sat in a spot closer to the bathrooms which was great, cause it wasn't too cold near the front door. The aesthetics are great and it was delicious foods. I enjoyed the pork belly ramen and it was delicious. The only thing was, I wish our waitress asked us if we wanted dessert! Next time!

I drove in from Urbana and my brother and his wife drove down from Peoria and we met in Bloomington for lunch. What a great relaxing spot to catch up with each other. We started with the Italian beef egg rolls which were unique and crispy with just the right amount of jardinera. I had an amazing shrimp pasta and my brother and his wife really enjoyed their meals. The service was good although the server could have been a little more attentive on drink refills. Would definitely go back.

Rude. Sat at the bar for 10 minutes while the bartender told a story to another patron. Not busy at all. No one acknowledged me and I left without any service. Will never go back.

Disclaimer: Picked this place to eat on the way back to Chicago from a work trip downstate with my coworkers. I'm comparing my food/experience to all my others, not pretending Chicago is somehow better than anywhere else, because it's not. However, this is up there with terrible and disappointing food. So, coworker googled some Bloomington spots and this place describes itself as "Bloomington's Exclusive Tapas and Fine Dining Restaurant." We picked this place for the "tapas" description. This is not a tapas restaurant. Tapas, small plates, typically Spanish in nature, thinking we'd order a bunch of stuff to share. No, this place has a few "shared bites" that range from $15-$17. The menu then also offers a variety of salads, a taco menu at the bottom (very confusing, also $18 for three tacos lol), and flip side for burgers and the expensive "large plates" menu. I ordered the "Reality Chicken" large plate as recommended by the waitress: TERIYAKI GLAZED CHICKEN WITH MASHED POTATOES AND HOUSE VEGETABLES For $20. Was really disappointed when what showed up was a small, overcooked, dry chicken breast next to mashed potatoes with some grilled bell peppers next to it that had pesto on them (?). Some kind of teriyaki sauce poured on everything. Weird choice of flavors. Sad meal. Had me wondering if my coworker suggesting Cracker Barrel earlier was probably the better move. I'm trying to imagine what a $40 "fine dining" steak looks like considering the $18 tacos on the menu came with salsa in a plastic to-go container. Or "ossu bucco" on the menu? Yikes. They do offer $150 bottles of wine if you want. Seems like a spot that needs a new name and needs to figure out what kind of restaurant it actually. "BloNo" expect more!

The food here is some of the best in BloNo. Good service, great patio, and I always enjoy downtown.

All of the nicest spots in town! Excellent staff and food! Best place to pick up middle aged divorced women!

I will admit the name is like Oh this sounds like an okay place to eat! When actuality This place should be called Fantasy Bites! The food is so amazing, that you want to say slap me I must be dreaming. It is most certainly worth the drive from Champaign to Bloomington. The staff is on point and this place actually stays pretty busy. We have come here twice so far!! Not only that Bloomington's Downtown area has a lot going on. I want to come back during the day so I can eat and then walk it all off visiting the local shops!! Bravo Reality Bites Bravo!!

Very bad food with great drinks. Cook is very bad and has no clue about how to use salt. I had lobster roll and it was the worst that I ever had. Way too much salt. Wife had shrimp and mushrooms risotto. Not a risotto at all. Just badly cooked rice. My manhattan was great.

It was all so wonderful. Food is sooooo great. Fun cute atmosphere. They really take care of you. Can't wait to go back.

Great vibe and great food. This place had such a great feel to it. The food was very good and nice cocktails too.

Reality Bites is one of the more up-scale restaurants in town. I'm so glad that I finally got the chance to try it! It's my new favorite! The restaurant has a urban and modern decor, with a lively ambiance. Their speciality is tapas and I love it! I tried the date bites, goat cheese balls, the seasonal features, elotes, and the jalapeño steak tacos. I highly recommend the date bites, for it has the sweet cloudy fruit texture and tasty bacon on the outside. Steak tacos are great! The beef was amazing and the seasonings were diverse. I'm not a big cheese person but the cheese balls has a great presentation. Elotes can use more seasonings and cheese. For two, the bill could easily be 60 with drinks. But it's totally worth it! I just found my new favorite restaurant in town!

My friends and I came to Reality Bites on Taco Tuesday for their tacos and margarita deals. Though this isn't a Mexican establishment, I was blown away by their Chicken Taco. It was amazing and dare I say the best chicken taco in town. The other Pork Taco I had was decent but did not compare to the chicken. Same with the Peach Margarita, it was ok but I've had better. You can't beat the pricing however as it was only about $11 for the 2 tacos and margarita, a super good deal. I will definitely be a returning Tuesday customer.

What a great evening. Enjoyed the brisket, the brew and the bartenders. Delightful atmosphere and great food and drinks. We needed a night away and were pleasantly surprised at this spot we hadn't visited before. Try the brisket nachos and the sliders. Sure to please! This place is in our list going forward.

Last time I came here was my 4th time here, and I was a bit disappointed. We were seated almost right away on a busy night which was great. Our appetizers came out looking great, and tasting great, my favorite was the buffalo chicken dip with pitas. Surprisingly the mac and cheese egg rolls with honey mustard was good, even though we were skeptical! Each time I come here, I order the Reality Chicken, and each time it just has gotten worse - presentation wise and taste wise. I am disappointed as I truly thought I found something I can't find at another restaurant. Our server had brought me a red wine, when I had asked for white, and it took over half an hour to get it switched. My friend also had ordered her burger well done and it was served almost rare - it was inedible as she lost her appetite. We also had someone return their drinks a couple times as each cocktail was very vodka heavy and was not the flavor they expected based on the description on the drink menu. The first time I came here, I thought this would be one of my favorite restaurants of all time, so I'm really hoping next time will be a better experience. But, the staff are wonderful. Our server and the manager profusely apologized and we appreciated the service so much.

I give Reality Bites three stars because it was good, but not amazing. The service was good--our waitress was friendly and our food came out relatively quickly. The food was ok. I had the risotto, and while it was cooked well, it wasn't too special. One of my friends complained that the crab in the crab mac and cheese seemed like imitation and wasn't very good. The restaurant was rather dark, with a large bar as the focal point. My biggest complaint is that there was only one restroom, resulting in a line as women waited.

So so so disappointed with this visit. We had a friend in from out of town and brought him here because of fantastic previous experiences. Unfortunately, instead of enjoying the dinner I spent the whole meal apologizing for recommending it. Seated quickly in the darkest possible corner. Had to use our phones to read the menus. Waited quite a few minutes for our drink order to be taken, and then only 2 of 3 drinks came out. Waited quite a bit longer to get the attention of a passing server (not ours) to try and get the third drink. They said they'd send over OUR server who came 10 minutes later - she apologized and left to get that drink (but didn't pause to notice we were also out of water and both of the original drinks were gone). Eventually got more water and she took our appetizer and entre order. They were out of our guest's preferred entree (would have been nice to know when we got the menus) and despite being labeled "grilled mahi mahi" we were told the mahi was fried - in fact she said NONE of the fish on the menu was grilled, which nixed my husband's preferred choices. It's possible the server was conflating "sauteed" and "fried," but either way, if the menu says grilled it should be grilled (and for someone with a heart condition, that's an important distinction). Both of them got the chicken club, I got the salmon. At this point we were 90 minutes in and still hadn't received another water refill or a second round of drinks. Never got the appetizers. Finally got the entrees and when we told the server we didn't get the appetizers she offered to take them off the bill - which was great, but at that point they were the only thing we were looking forward to. Salmon was dry and overcooked (except the very middle which was yummy). Veggies and mash were delicious, but nothing special. The guys said the chicken was good, way too many fries, but the buns were grocery store quality - dry and disintegrated while eating. Both ended up knife-and-forking the chicken. Total visit was about 2 hours - after waiting an hour and a half we ate fast and got out of there to get dessert elsewhere. Reality Bites used to be one of my favorite spots in town, but I really don't think I'll go back after this. The small plates haven't updated much since they first opened and the entrees have become so basic they're not much different from what I can make at home - and that's assuming they have the proteins we want in stock. Moreover, the menu discrepancies are a problem when you have health issues to accommodate. I don't think it was our server's fault - she was clearly running and stressed and all the servers looked to be about the same. In fact, the only person who didn't look stressed was the host. Maybe this was just a one-off bad night, but for these menu prices, and with other great options in town, I'm not going to risk it.

Server was great. Food was better than expected from a college town establishment. Drinks were a little pricey, but not too bad.

Came here with my ladies for a dinner ! We loved it !! Drinks were delicious food was great! I'm from out of town so I'll make sure to make it a point to come back to eat here when I'm in town ! Service was phenomenal!

A few years ago this was my go to place downtown. Unfortunately, things have changed. I'm guessing they changed chefs or owners. The food is not as good as it once was. The goat cheese balls are still good! -- big plus! But most other things, especially tapas, I've tried are subpar. The tuna appetizer we had that was supposed to be spicy was bland and tasteless. We ended up leaving and not eating dinner there.

The Bar set up, menu and decor is great, attractive, and hip. Our server was very attentive and cordial, very friendly bartenders; as well is one server who scratched her buttocks and without washing her hands she was attending tables . The food was the worst experience we have ever had, i am not sure if they have a chef, but it was the Chef's day off; or is just a short order cook that does not know how to cook burgers. My wife had the Woodford Bourbon burger, I had the House Burger. We requested for specific meat temperatures, yet both of the meat patties were small because of the over cooking, very dry and burn that they tasted like cardboard, we were embarrassed to ask for meal replacement or the manager.... but the food was very very bad My wife's burger had no Bourbon taste, no bourbon poached pears, the caramelized onion were so overcook that they tested like wrapping plastic film, almost like the those onions were precooked, reheated and cold down again by the time they made it to our burger; the burger bun was the only thing that was not burn or over cook . My order had lettuce tomatoes and onions to my request, besides the over cook patty the cook had just plain salad lettuce, the big chunks that you see at the romaine's lettuce bottom shoot. Just like my wife's, the burger bun and in my case the Fries were the only good things We are not going back unless we know for sure that they have another cook or the cook they have now has learned how to cook.

Absolutely amazing! I had the Mediterranean Pita--so good I ate all of it before taking a picture. Our waiter, Kyle, was an absolute sweetheart and the manager checked on us a few times to make sure that everything was going well. The one thing that I do wish was different was the styrofoam take-out containers. A more eco-friendly material or at least a recyclable container would have been much more preferred!

We grabbed lunch here and it was really good! Sarah was our server and she was really quick, and had really good recommendations! We ordered the chicken ranch wrap (super tasty and we asked for quacamole inside), the special mahi mahi tacos (they were really full of stuff and super good to share) and the chicken bits sandwich with pesto (the fries on the side are worth it!). A great place for lunch and the staff is really great!

This is one of the few non-chain restaurants in Bloomington. The food is great, the service is fast, and the staff is friendly. I have eaten there hundreds of times and always had a good experience.

Great service! Bartenders and servers were super friendly and accommodating. We went with a group of friends and everyone agreed the food was just okay. My vegetables were over cooked and super oily.

I feel like Reality Bites has lost its way a little bit. I always enjoyed the Tapas style of serving, and Reality used to really shine. Now it's just fine. Here's the good first. The bartenders are VERY good. I enjoy just coming in for a drink and maybe an app. Here's my major complaint. The last time I visited the waitress did not seem to understand that my group of four was ordering Tapas style, and seemed confused when we didn't want to order entrees. Is Reality Bites not a Tapas restaurant? The menu seems to reflect that, as there is more weight on the entrees, however with the exception of the chef specials, I've never really had a good entree here. Reality Bites has always been a good Tapas restaurant but a mediocre Mod American restaurant. Will I stop going? Absolutely not! Again, the chef's specials have been quite good, to the point where I don't bother looking at the menu if I'm there for dinner. However what made Reality Bites unique was a robust Tapas menu and good service. Now the Tapas menu feels a little like an afterthought, and Reality Bites just isn't as good as other Modern American restaurants in the area.

A taste of urban dinning in a central Illinois town, YES! Reality Bites was an excellent surprise on my visit to Bloomington. I shared the Tiger Shrimp Risotto with a friend and indulged in the flight of draft beers. The risotto was delicious, the risotto was not mushy and the shrimp were plump. The flight of drafts were excellent, it was four beers almost a full pint of each Anchor Steam, 312, Smithwicks Irish Ale, and Octoberfest. Reality Bites is going to become a regular stop for me each time I am back in Bloomington.

Our food took a while to come out, but it was very good when it did. The chicken was extra juicy!!

I was thrilled when someone suggested we go here before a concert. Upon further inspection, yes it is tapas, and it does have some traditional dishes, like bacon-wrapped dates and goat cheese balls (Tradicional pintxo dishes from northern Spain). They also have some Mexican-focused tapas, like tacos. Remember people! Tapas are meant to be shared, so don't be selfish! We shared the baked goat cheese (Big bowl with the baked goat cheese surrounded by marinara sauce, eaten with crostini), chicken skewers (Three skewers of teriyaki chicken, onions and green peppers atop mashed potatoes) and bacon-wrapped dates (Eight of them plus a little field greens salad) which ended up being a lot of food. I lived in Spain, know a thing or two about tapas, so the portion size was excellent compared to other tapas places in Chicagoland. All of it was delicious but I would have been satisfied with one less dish. I paired the dishes with the house Chardonnay which was surprisingly good. I was itching to try one of the flights (They have beer, martini, wine and reds) but I'll save that for another time. We had excellent service so I'm confused when I read some of the other reviews. The server was very sweet and attentive. Small place, romantic with candles on the table. Four beers on tap. Wooden decor, which, if you read my Medici review, you'd know I absolutely love! Overall a nice place in BloNo and I hope to be back!

Planned on eating a full dinner here last night but only made it through appetizers before jumping ship to another place. The food was good (bacon wrapped dates and tiger shrimp appetizers) but the environment, service and pricing were less than okay. Our waitress seemed pained to deal with us at all, the tables are placed so close together, I could've eaten off of our neighbor's plates and joined their conversation...and the pricing was a tad high for Bloomington IL. (had the service and environment been better, I wouldn't be mentioning the prices.) All in all, don't waste your time.

I should probably not be reviewing this, but as an almost customer who was really looking forward to having a drink and a few small plates at Reality Bites, I feel I have to. This will be short. We drove in from Cincinnati to see Rickie Lee Jones. As usual, I looked on line to find places to eat / drink / hang before the concert. Reality Bites really caught my attention. Their food and drink menus get three stars. We arrived at @ 5:30. We were out of luck. They did not have an opening until 8:00. I suppose locals know better, but being from out of town I never dreamt we would need a reservation and there is nothing on the website that alludes to or suggests reservations. Not giving us a head's up equals minus one star. If this really is the place to be on the weekends and one needs a reservation to get in at dinner time, please consider mentioning this fact on the website. I would gladly have made reservations. Perhaps another concert will bring us to Bloomington, Il. If so, I will make reservations in advance. I definitely want to give this place a fair shake.

We love this place. From management on down, from the tap and small plate rotation to the entries, friendly staff with attention to detail...we like 'Inch', we dig this place....to steal some cliches...he 'does it right' and 'keeps it fresh'!

idk how they do it but these pork tacos are enough to make me keep coming back forever. Service here is usually good, except this one Friday we were forced to sit in the upstairs and I think were forgotten. Bacon wrapped dates are a must, and the brie plate is a delicious option too! Big fan of the parmesan they give you with the complimentary bread :). Beer list tends to err on the side of hoppy or dark, which isn't my taste, but if youre into that go for it.

I called to make a reservation asked if it was inside seating or outside was told inside, but when we got there it was freezing cold. Only one table had a heater. Was giving two thin blankets. Appetizer was good. Burgers were bland with no flavor. Poor service, will not be coming back. Highly disappointed.

I tried to like Reality Bites. It gets two stars for convenient location and the table bread being quite tasty. What bit? I ordered a Southern Manhattan. I was told the bar was out of both sweet vermouth and bitters. How can that happen in a bar, really? A Manhattan is really not that unusual of a drink, so I am not very forgiving. The food? I ordered The Bites Salad, thinking it was a signature item. I got a poorly dressed heap of lettuce without half the ingredients listed on the menu. Maybe the salad guy was off that day. I can't see myself heading back in for a second shot, there are just too many other places in the area.

Wow!! Wow! Wow!!! From the second I made a reservation I was impressed. I said we'd be there 'around 8:15ish' and didn't know exactly how many we'd be. 'No problem'. We had at least a group of 25. Food was AMAZING....goat cheese balls, spicy shrimp, risotto cakes with scallops, mushrooms, tuna, tacos. We ate and drank a ton. Everyone at our table was blown away. Oh and our server did not miss a beat!!! We were ordering a bunch of drinks too. And our bills were correct. Cant wait to go back!!!

Reality Bites, well bites. We stopped for a late lunch. I wish we hadn't. The Funks Grove burger was super burnt, dry and served without the bacon and fried potatoes. The Monte Cristo was strange and served cold. Not good at all. (I am gagging thinking about it now. Gross.) The waitress was good. She did mention that they had a new cook, perhaps that was the problem? Regardless, I will never go again. We were super disappointed. I could have walked across the street and spent the same amount of money on a farm to table burger that is outstanding.

The place had a good feel to it. Warm greeting by the owner when I walked in. Bartender made a great martini. Food was tasty and priced right. A slight hiccup on a food order and made right by the bartender. First time there and I'd definitely go back.

Such a cute and trendy atmosphere! We walked in and was greeted and seated immediately (lunch time on a Saturday). Server was polite and attentive. Food was very good! I'd recommend!!