Fat Cat: User Reviews

Horrible Service and Mediocre Food--One of the worst dining experiences ever
By ChiQueen from Buena Park, July 15, 2008

Overall rating:

We will never go back.

It started by being difficult to get drinks. Over the first few rounds, someone could grab the waitresses attention and then that person would be the only one to get a drink even if other's were empty. A couple people got a first round of Corona, but then for the second round it turned out they only had one more in the place.

By the end of the third round, we still had all the empties sitting on the table. We ordered some appetizers, the hummus, the reuben balls, and some wings. The hummus was the best. The 999 special sauce and the blue cheese with the other two was bland. We tried the buffalo wings and the Hotter version. The hotter version had some heat. The buffalo was very disappointing. Some of the wings were so overcooked they were tough. A couple had a piece of meat that came off, but it was so overcooked it was crunchy,. We ordered dinner and a couple of other friends joined us. One of them ordered an appetizer. He got that before we got our dinner. After 40 minutes, we checked since still no dinner. Finally we talked to a manager. He claimed they were short handed, but the waitress had also screwed up the order. He tried to make things better by buying us a shot of pineapple vodka and took off a round of drinks. The vodka shot was good (but would have been pricey if buying one). Most of my fries were overcooked. I had the pork belly sandwich was supposed to have a jerk flavor--that means a little spice and there wasn't any spice flavor--so just an ok pork belly sandwich. At one point, one of us said to the waitress that she might want to take orders from the whole table for drinks not just one or two and she rolled her eyes. The dishes were rarely cleared from the table--dinner plates where still there after 1/2 hour.

Drinks were also expensive and weak.

We also noticed that another table had first gotten a wrong item, then got something closer to their order that still wasn't right.

Great new bar!!!!
By Brandy from Ravenswood, July 2, 2008

Overall rating:

Went for the first time on Sunday night. Great beers and the food was good as well. Very nice place with lots of seating and a huge patio. The bartender went out of his way to make us feel at home. We dont go out in the area much but will check this place out everytime we are near there.

Best bar staff I have seen in a while...
By Jamie from Ravenswood, June 27, 2008

Overall rating:

We go to Fat Cat about once or twice a week. Its usually just the two of us so we normally sit at the bar. Being food industry people oursleves, we take notice on everything. The two main bartenders, a guy and a girl are always so courteous. The barback is great too but we havent seen him for a while. I think they may be under new management but it for the best. The old manager freaked us out but the new guys, Shaun and Carl, are great. We always get a free shot and usuually a beer. They are accomodating with their tvs which is also a plus. We are just glad to have a neighborhood bar where we are treated like regulars. You just cant get that in Uptown.

Horrible experience without recourse
By jpinthecity from Lakeview, June 21, 2008

Overall rating:

Have you ever told friends about a great place, then taken them for some drinks and been severely dissapointed? Well, that's what happened to our group last night.
A quick list of the misses.
-Poor wine selection with limited availability of those already on the menu
-Slow food service out of the kitchen
-Inattentive server, willing to serve her friends over our group of 6
-Absentee management, not available when I asked
-Unflavorful food, not even salting could save
-All you can eat Fish Fry? Only if you have hours to spare.
-Cheap on condiments, some not even available (hope you don't need ketchup)
Overall, we wanted the same experience we had when we first went several months ago. I hope there's improvement for Fat Cat in the near future.

Not from Chicago and ended up at Fat Cat
By piratefan from Pittsburgh, PA, May 29, 2008

Overall rating:

In town for the Pirates series and was recommended to go to Gren Mill. Place was okj but you had it was more of quiet place and we had to big of a group people so we headed out. Saw Fat Cat on the corner and went to check it out. I was asked to give a review on this site and all I can say is that the place is amzing. Really super friendly staff and a great bartender. Cant rememeber his name, i think he was from somehwere in the south (had a southern accent) but he was was phenomenal. Guy went out of his way to make a call and get us an upgrade for the next days's Pirates/Cubs tickets and then made us some of the better drinks we have had in a while. I had a few bdifferent beers and my wife had some cucumber drink that was out of this world. Guy also makes a greats sidecar. I wish we had a Fat Cat here in Pittsburgh. We will be back when we come back to Chicago. Next time we want to try the food, menu looked great!

Sat night @ Fat Cat
By calus from uptown, May 26, 2008

Overall rating:

I agree that the music was too loud for the venue especially earlier in the night. However, The music selection was the best I've heard anywhere in Chicago for a long time. Perfect mix of real Hip Hop like Blackstar without any of the lame club music. The music will bring me back for sure.

An Awesome Addition to the Neighborhood
By Lakeviewguy from East LV. , May 19, 2008

Overall rating:

Fat Cat makes me wish I lived in Uptown. Its a comfortable, but not unsophisiticated looking bar with great food, a good draught beer selection and some original drinks. I've been a couple of times and their not run-of-the-mill menu has some great stuff. Try the Friend Mac n Cheese and the Bean Burger to mix it up.

Checked this place out for the first time on Friday night.
By Chad244 from Ravenswood, May 12, 2008

Overall rating:

Very beautiful bar and staff. Everyone was having a great time and it made for a great night. The 2 bartenders, Katie and Jeremy, were great! From the free shots of the delicious pineapple vodka to the great music to the whole atmosphere itself, all I can say is 2 thumbs up Fat Cat. Cant wait for it to warm up so we can enjoy the huge patio. Definetly looking forward to coming back to this spot.

After reading all of the great reviews, we gave the place another chance.
By Pam-O from The Northside, May 3, 2008

Overall rating:

Let me tell you, my husband and I were very unimpressed on our first trip to Fat Cat and then again on our second. My husband even wrote a review about our experiences. After reading all the great reviews, we decided to give the place another chance. We did everything all of the reciews said to do, ordered the things that they said to order, etc and guess what- WE LOVED IT. Great improvement Fat Cat. Hopefully some more bars will join you in the area. And thank you, Jeremy, for a wondeful Friday evening. Looking forward to coming back for your patio in the summer!